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Category Archives: Young Adult

A new powerhouse

ReynoldsCollage

I said it in my review of his second book, that Jason Reynolds was quickly becoming a powerhouse and with the September 2015 publish date of All-American Boys co-written with Brendan Kiely , it’s safe to say that that’s been solidified.

Of the three, my favorite continues to be The Boy in the Black Suit. It has everything from a simple evocative title, beautifully vivid characters in emotionally-charged situations, to true depth and relationship-building through shared experiences and understanding. You can’t help but make the comparison to the sentimentality and atmospheric bests of Walter Dean Myers resonating within the pages of this one. Though it’s all Reynolds’ own.

Yet it’s safe to say that All-American Boys will become an anthem of a new generation filled with hashtags and revolution. A contemporary classic. A call to action. A battle cry.

Pay attention.

Jack Gantos: Read Them All

01 Nov

There is nothing more fulfilling than author visits. I had the opportunity to bring in Jack Gantos to our high school as well as spending an extra day at a few of our elementary schools. I was smitten from the start. He’s a powerful presence, a dynamic speaker, and a lighthearted and friendly guy who oozes thoughtfulness.

In preparation, I read some of the titles that I don’t often read at the high school level, his elementary and middle school books along with lesser known titles that while they don’t get the notoriety of Hole In My Life and the Joey Pigza books, show his depth as a writer. I want to share my thoughts on The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs and Desire Lines.

First, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs is fantastically dark with an originality that is unmatched. Ivy doesn’t know which of the adult twins across the street is her father and her mother won’t share the fact either. Ivy now has her mission, to discover the identity of her father and what goes on behind the closed doors of the pharmacy that they run and their apartments upstairs. What is upstairs is more macabre than the scariest Halloween costume and more fantastical than an atmospheric event. I can’t spoil this short novel with too many more details, but know that fans of Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will enjoy.

Second, Desire Lines, can be a perfect addition to GLBT titles in the library, but it angers and infuriates then shocks and shakes you. Knowing that Gantos knew of a similar event during his life only makes it more painful. Our main character is being pressured to out gay classmates and while he does know two girls who meet at a pond that he frequents he isn’t giving in just yet, but the cracks are appearing. In one hundred and twenty pages the books gives a three hundred and sixty degree perspective of a tragedy in a small town with vivid characters that pushed me to finish within two hours. Save for slowing down to re-read phenomenal lines of text, I needed to see to the end in one sitting.

So, take yourself to a different place by reading a Gantos book that may not be targeted to you specifically because you won’t be disappointed as his stories are timeless and his storytelling is genius.

See you Saturday

15 Oct

In just a few short days, middle and high school students will descend upon the University at Albany’s Downtown Campus for the second annual TeenReaderCon. Write this down—on Saturday, October 17th. Boasting nine authors, including a few famous locals, let me take a moment to share my favorite book from each of the authors in one sentence.

Jennifer Armstrong’s Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and The Endurance: A riveting survival story with a killer setting.
SA Bodeen’s The Raft: A smart thriller on the open water with mind-bending twists—a contemporary version of survival classics.
Eric Devine’s Press Play: Compelling rather than sensationalistic, there’s a sensitivity and intelligence that makes the book so grounded.
Helen Frost’s Salt: A Story of Friendship In a Time of War: An eloquent verse tale of two boys whose lives are changed by the War of 1812.
David Levithan’s Every Day: Uniquely existential it allows readers to take a long, hard look at who we are, how we treat one another, and the fluidity of love.
Jackie Morse Kessler’s Breath: The final book in her Riders of the Apocalypse foursome, Kessler kills it with imagination, creativity, humor, and Death perched on a balcony.
James Preller’s Bystander: The necessary tale of Eric’s role in a middle school drama that can be happening in Anywhere, USA.
Eliot Schrefer’s Endangered: With the bonobo sanctuary destroyed and war breaking out, a beautiful story unfolds of the riches of the animal kingdom and the cruelty of humanity.
Todd Strasser’s Wish You Were Dead: The first in his ‘thrillogy’, I know it’s good when I’m scared in the middle of the day.

As anticipation builds, the most deeply personal images from our first event and the infectious excitement of the students reminded me of something Holden Caulfield said in The Catcher in the Rye that “what really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though,” so while I can’t promise that you’ll be able to call up any of them like they’re a terrific friend, you can get pretty darn close Saturday.