RSS

Category Archives: Young Adult

Six sensational times two

03 Mar

On Sunday I discussed the emotional tailspin that Perez’s book put me in and vowed to share some of my favorite emotionally-charged stories. But I couldn’t pick just six, instead I found twelve to share with you. If these don’t make you feel something, you may just be grumpy cat.

  1. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez: See my previous post– ultimately, the racially-charged atmosphere and ill-fated love story climaxes with deadly consequences.
  2. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch: I don’t cry often over books, but the final chapters of Carey’s reclamation of normalcy after being abandoned by her drug-addicted mother while having to raise her mute younger sister.
  3. Nothing by Janne Teller and Martin Aitken (translator): This book. This. book. The age of the characters mixed with the existential nature of the central conflict of the story make this dangerous but thought-provoking.
  4. Guardian by Julius Lester: The opening of the book is one of the best hooks “But there are times when a tree can no longer withstand the pain inflicted on it, and the wind will take pity on that tree and topple it over in a mighty storm. All the other trees who witnessed the evil look down upon the fallen tree with envy. They pray for the day when a wind will end their suffering. I pray for the day when God will end mine.”
  5. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan: This adult novel digs deep into human emotions, duty, and loyalty with multiple perspectives to move the novel forward focusing on a wife married later in life to a husband wanting to try his hand at farming. The mood is melancholy in this character-driven story.
  6. Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess: Like A Child Called It, students gravitate toward stories that are unavoidably painful. In this case, Cricket has been sexually abused by her father and upon his return, the naive mother continues to side with her husband and not her daughter.
  7. Identical by Ellen Hopkins: The psychological roller coaster of identical twin girls being abused paired with the creativity of the dual narrative again erupt in fireworks by the end of the book, leaving jaws dropped.
  8. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott: One of the slimmest books out there, it’s staggering that Scott exposes pedophilia in such a raw way.
  9. Lucky by Alice Sebold: Knowing this back story lends itself to a deeper understanding of her fictional The Lovely Bones. The memoir of her rape at eighteen sheds light on how horrible situations can transform a person.
  10. And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard: Think of how Emily Dickinson’s poetry feels and sounds, then think about how a girl seeking answers after the suicide of her boyfriend and discovers her poetry and parallels that will give her comfort.
  11. Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin: Family dynamics is at the heart of Felin’s book focusing on an immigrant family hiding abuse. At it’s height, Karina is also exploring who she is and who she wants to be, if others will let her.
  12. The Sin-Eater’s Confession by Ilsa Bick: This is one of my favorite GLBT titles that highlights homophobia alongside the beauty of the human form and relationships.
 
1 Comment

Posted by on March 3, 2016 in Adult, Authors, Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Emotional roller coaster

28 Feb

Everyone should experience at least one time in their life, the weight and significance of a book. I’m lucky that I both enjoy reading (doing a lot of it) and that’s it is part of my job description, so having these experiences with books has happened more than once. Sometimes they are unexpected. For Perez’s book, I don’t even know who or where the recommendation came from to add it to my TBR pile, but boy am I glad it did.

The emotional toll this book took on me after eking out time to finish it as soon as I could is invigorating. Though the book’s summary discusses the school explosion in 1937 in Texas, it is about the characters and their obstacles, not closing chapters that center on the explosion that create the turmoil. Perez speeds the book up at times with fast-moving changes to the narrating characters, which include Naomi, the Mexican half sister to twins Cari and Beto, Beto, Henry, the twins’ biological father, Wash, Naomi’s Romeo to her Juliet, and the appropriately named “The Gang”, essentially town bystanders watching events unfold from a safe distance but not withholding judgement or disdain.

The tumultuous atmosphere of discrimination against blacks and Mexicans plays an equally traumatizing role as loss and heartbreak. Naomi is bursting with emotion that is pushed down for the sake of the twins until is is unleashed by meeting Wash. Wash is black. Naomi is Mexican. Henry wants to make his deceased wife’s daughter his new wife, but Naomi knows what consequences this will have and what her true feelings are knowing their dark history. But the book is layered and these are just the surface elements at play. It is dark and beautiful, rich and haunting.

This week, I’ll post six sensational emotionally draining books. I bet you’ll see one there that you already heard me discuss.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 28, 2016 in Adult, Authors, Fiction, Young Adult

 

Stacked up

21 Feb

So I thought I would get a bit more reading done during ‘winter’ break– instead I spent my hours organizing the house, enjoying my family, entertaining friends, and doing some of my own work (I’ll be blogging for YALSA’s The Hub alongside this personal library/book blog and contributing to a books blog for our local newspaper).

In preparation for the book marathon that I thought I’d be enjoying, here were some of the advanced copies that stacked up in my digital to-be read pile. I’ll look forward to sharing some reviews once I’ve actually read them!

  • You Were Here by Cori McCarthy
  • Avonelle’s Gift by Nova Scheller
  • The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
  • Welcome to Hell Damini by John Otis Biggs
  • What Comes of Eating Doughnuts with a Boy Who Plays Guitar by Nicole Campbell
  • Amaranthine by Lanie Jacobs
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 21, 2016 in Adult, Authors, Fiction, Young Adult

 

Woodland creatures

18 Feb

As I finish up the invitations for my kids’ birthday party happening at a local nature discovery center, I’m reminded of a few of my favorite outdoor novels. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a Gary Paulsen story, but then there’s a movie-adapted nonfiction tale by a master storyteller/investigator, and a newer-ish coming of age juxtaposing a human and an animal that may just be an emerging trend.

What I love about Gary Paulsen’s Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod wasn’t so much the story of his actually running it, instead, it was the magical way Paulsen describes his bond with the dogs and the runs he did in preparation. I specifically remember a few scenes where his imagery takes over your five senses and you’re touching, smelling, tasting, hearing, and seeing all of the glorious things nature serves up, if only you took time out to do so. It’s that beauty that he captures that’s perfection.

In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the ultimate man versus nature saga trumps the mystery of why Chris would venture to the Alaskan expanse. For me the speculation about all that he must have endured and the lasting image of the young man’s body in the abandoned bus that graces the front cover is fascinating. How could one survive with so little?

And last, Martin Marten, set at the foot of Mount Hood is a spectacular feast that rolls and twists every cool National Geographic WILD show into a side-by-side comparison to the toils of teenage life. Its rich language is as much a treat as the intelligence that shows in how the story is told, yet only a tad maddening as Doyle does not use quotation marks for dialogue: readers must pay close attention to every word in response which plays to its richness.

So here’s to truly wonderful examples of how we all must slow down just a bit and enjoy nature, whether it’s by actually experiencing it or reading about it to make us remember.

 

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 18, 2016 in Adult, Authors, Fiction, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

For the love of a character

15 Feb

There’s something about a well-developed character that makes a reader swoon. I went into this book not expecting to like it as much as I did. Instead, I was thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it and waiting for the next time that I could sit down to finish it. It’s also worth discussing the excitement of a clever cover that not only grabs a reader but representEverythingEverythings a central theme that from nothing can come something.

Maddy is the main character of the story in which she is sheltered from the outside world as a “bubble baby”, understanding that she is allergic to the outside world and must live under the care of a nurse. And, anyone wishing to be near her, must go through decontamination before entering the house. Surprisingly, Maddy has created a world that she owns: reading, taking classes online, and connecting with her nurse that has become as much her caretaker as a friend. So it’s assumed that Nurse Carla would have a soft spot and arrange an indoor meeting between Maddy and her new neighbor, Olly, who she has taken a liking to after instant messaging and emailing. Olly is a risk-taker and somewhat damaged by the abusive relationship inside his house, which Maddy is privy to as she watches from her window. But Olly has now given her the freedom to dream of something more as love has blinded her from any fear she might have. And, in the best way possible, a shocking revelation has allowed Maddy to be set free.

The reader is along for the journey of a girl, coming of age, in a rich narrative that focuses on the development of the characters. And we’re ever so grateful to Nicola Yoon for bringing her and others to life.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 15, 2016 in Authors, Young Adult

 

Friends?

07 Feb

After reading Francesca Davis DiPiazza Friend Me!: 600 Years of Social Networking in America, I want to highlight my “six sensational” stories of unique friendships in literature.

  1. Bear’s New Friend by Karma Wilson: What’s not to love about the beautiful pictures, vivid colors, and the collection of friends from the ground and the air that hang around with bear?
  2. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen: When Terra meets Jacob in a collective quest to find inner strength from an outward ‘flaw’, they become inextricably linked.
  3. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See: All of See’s works are gorgeous, but the historical significance and flowing language of this secret language is beguiling.
  4. Chemical Garden trilogy (Wither, Fever, Sever) by Lauren DeStefano: From the eye-catching covers to the unique storyline of three girls of varying ages brought together to be wives for a man who, like them, is losing the battle with a genetic predisposition to die prematurely, the three ‘sister wives’ bond in varying ways.
  5. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne: On opposite sides of the fence, the Jewish boy on one side of the fence is befriended by the Commander’s son on the other with a heart-wrenching end.
  6. Selection series (The Selection, The Elite, The One, The Heir, The Crown) by Kiera Cass: Similar to DeStefano’s books, a crew of girls come together, this time in a palace to vie for the affections of a prince, with one girl seemingly disinterested repeatedly winning the attention from the prince.
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 7, 2016 in Adult, Authors, Childrens, Fiction, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

An ode to Sarah Cross

17 Jan

Book lovers understand Ambaum & Barnes’ Unshelved comic strip titled “The Seven Stages of Falling in Love with an Author”. I certainly do and have on a few occasions, fallen in love with an author, whether it be everything they’ve written or a series of books. I’ll call out Anne Rice from my teen years, Erika Robuck in my adult life, and a few that seem timeless like Ruta Sepetys and now Sarah Cross. That’s also not to mention the authors I can call out for being tireless in their efforts like Ann Rinaldi in making historical fiction accessible to middle grades or experts in delivery like James Swanson who writes awesome fast-paced thrillers based on true events.

But now to lay it on thick– a true early Valentine’s Day ode to the beauty of Sarah Cross’ writing– her talent for incorporating the wicked and the beautiful, the twisted and the sexy into engrossing fairy tale re-tellings. Not to mention the awe-inspiring covers that I want to hang as wall art and her selfless connection to her fans as evidenced by her short story “After the Ball” that she published on her website for fans to read because she knows how rabid we all are in wanting more.

If you’re not already reading her Beau Rivage series, you need to be. It’s a lesson in fairy tales– the famous and the obscure. It’s the best of a Disney movie with all of the grotesqueness of a true Grimms’ tale. It’s deep character development with a heaping dose of creativity. It’s striking ambiance and expeditious pacing. Sarah Cross– I ♥ you.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 17, 2016 in Authors, Fiction, Young Adult

 

Sneakers

16 Dec

It’s no secret that over the last four years, I have become obsessed with reading nonfiction, especially when it’s relevant and accessible to high school students: Keyser’s Sneaker Century: A History of Athletic Shoes is just such a book.

I will full-on confess that I own one pair of sneakers at a time and my most recent purchase were more expensive because they were custom fit for my type of workout as well as my tendency to walk on the inside of my feet. They aren’t a name-brand but they’re amazing. I also confess that in high school, I was obsessed with Adidas for no particular reason than I loved the threeSneakerCentury-stripe.

Keyser’s book reveals so much about the brands we know and love including their backstories, the history of footwear and how sneakers impacted popular culture, how jogging became a recreational activity, and name-dropping athletes and their association with specific companies. All of this is neatly compacted into less than one-hundred pages. As I said, accessible in every way. And relevant. A recent author visit with Jason Reynolds had us talking about sneakers: specifically he referenced showing up to college with a bag full of sneakers and having a conversation with his roommate about why he didn’t have more than a pair or two. How many do you own? Do they each have a story to tell?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 16, 2015 in Authors, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Graphically speaking

02 Dec

DonBrown

Simply looking at the two covers of Don Brown’s graphic nonfiction books allow a glimpse into the talent Brown has in illustration. But the story and storytelling are equally evocative. In fact, a reader learns as much through the text as they shown by turning the pages of these accessible stories providing perspective on two disasters that affected Americans.

The Great American Dust Bowl showcases the man-made tragedy of dust storms sweeping the west during the early 1900s after the land was taken from Native Americans and turned over to farmers who, without proper knowledge, farmed the land to excess. This led to dust storms that brought financial ruin, health issues and death, and environmental devastation. And with little dialogue and a precise narrative, the shocking story is ripe for discussion about what actions were taken (or not) which prolonged the problem.

Likewise, Brown makes the issue of action– or lack of it– central to Drowned City about Hurricane Katrina: trains that left stations without passengers, buses that were never called upon on top of politicians that would have known more if they turned on the television rather than from their own administrations, and the lack of basic necessities at the Superdome and local hospitals.

Brown makes you think and react because his visual art is stunning and rich. There are images etched in my brain and facts that I can quickly recall that make his work thoughtful and enriching.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 2, 2015 in Authors, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

A brewed romance

01 Dec

There are friends that you have where conversation is so easy, fluid, and casual yet carries an importance of epic proportions. You don’t need to check in every day, you also don’t need to have a deeply philosophical conversation each time you speak either. That is the way this book feels. As I started, I actually didn’t think I would enjoy it but instead became engrossed in the dichotomous complexity of each of the characters. As much as Aysel is billed as the main character, I would argue that Roman becomes a central figure with as much punch as Aysel and his relationship with his mother and his level of hurt is more sentimental while Aysel’s is more complicated because of her disinterest in life AND death.

The story picks up as Aysel visits a suicide website and decides to find another person interested in creating a suicide pact. FrozenRobot immediately catches her attention and lives close by. Even from their first meeting, a connection is born and through the pages, both characters reveal their reasons for wanting to commit suicide with troubled pasts that deal more with family than themselves .

As their relationship becomes intertwined and they have off and on conversations about how they’ll commit suicide (since Roman already had a date, the anniversary of the death), their feelings mutually grow. And Warga does a phenomenal job of warming this brewing romance rather than turning it on hot from the start. It’s subtlety is endearing. And why it’s the most fascinating non-romantic romance story and worth the read.MyHeartBlackHoles

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 1, 2015 in Fiction, Young Adult

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →