Teen

After the Woods by Kim Savage

| Tasha

After the Woods by Kim Savage

After the Woods by Kim Savage (InfoSoup)

Julia can’t remember what happening in the woods except in brief flashbacks. She knows that she saved her best friend from an attacker and then was taken by the man for 48 hours. A year later, Julia is still trying to understand what happened to her in the woods. Liv, her best friend, is urging her to forget and move on. Then a girl’s body is found in the same woods, triggering more memories that Julia had suppressed. Liv too is caught up in what happened, seemingly intent on her own destruction by dating a dangerous boy and participating in other risky behavior. As Julia starts to recreate what really happening in the woods, the incredible truth will lead to understanding what makes someone a hero.

Savage’s writing is dark and gorgeous. Early in the novel as the two friends enter the forest, the writing shows the danger coming:

Despite the desolation  – no one runs at four p.m. in November after weeks of rain – the woods pulse. The canopy shatters fast-dropping light into glittering shards. A chipmunk skitters close to my foot and ducks into a hole.

Throughout the novel, Savage offers clues of what happened in her language. It’s a wrenching combination of what Julia is discovering herself and also allowing the reader to see a bit farther ahead towards the conclusion without revealing all quite yet. The tempting and seductive mixture makes this book an especially great read.

Julia is a jagged character, covered in the pain of what happened to her, striking out at those who protected her, reaching out to those who wronged her. At the same time, she is very bright, looking at the world and this mystery as something that logic can solve. And she is funny and sarcastic too. She’s a survivor, a hero and everything that that complexity brings is shown on the page.

A brilliant novel for teens about heroism, survival and what bravery it takes to keep on going. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Edelweiss.

Giant Days by John Allison

| Tasha

Giant Days by John Allison

Giant Days Volume 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar (InfoSoup)

Susan, Esther and Daisy are new friends having just met a few weeks ago at the start of university. The three could not be more different from one another. Daisy is innocent and naive, just beginning to explore her sexuality. Esther, on the other hand, is part goth and brings drama wherever she goes. Meanwhile, Susan has to deal with a man from her past suddenly appearing on campus. The three friends have lots to face, including illness, a list of the hottest new coeds, and the pressures of their courses too. It will take the three of them supporting one another to get through it all.

This graphic novel is the first four issues of the comic book. This is a colorful and glorious look at the first weeks of college, the friendships that are made, and the way that these friends are some of the most unique and special of your life. The three lead characters all have a lot of depth, surprising readers as they grow as one gets to know them better.

The entire series so far embraces important and timely issues like slut shaming, sexuality, open mindedness, and feminism. But beyond that, this is a book that is about real women, making real choices both good and bad, and learning to live after high school. Beautiful.

Perfect for fans of Lumberjanes, this graphic novel embraces girl power and LGBT issues too. Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Radiant Road by Katherine Catmull

| Tasha

The Radiant Road by Katherine Catmull

The Radiant Road by Katherine Catmull (InfoSoup)

When Clare and her father move back to Ireland and the house that Clare was born in, Clare discovers memories of her dead mother that she had forgotten. Clare has always believed in the Strange, fairies and magic, makings that only she seems to notice in real life. Returned to her family home, Clare discovers that the Strange and fairies are real and have been in her life for some time. She remembers the powers of the yew tree that forms part of the house and serves as a gate to Timeless, the world of the fairies. She meets Finn again, a boy she has known since she was an infant. Now the two of them must figure out how to stop a threat to both the human world and Timeless, a threat that is coming for Clare’s family, her tree, and Finn personally.

Catmull’s writing is rich and beautiful. She creates a different world of fairy on the page, a world where yes there is danger and iciness, but there is also an important connection between humans and fae, one that if lost will change both worlds in a permanent and devastating way. Catmull’s writing unfolds at its own pace, sometimes languorous and almost dreamlike and other times rampaging and racing. It’s a book that dances and moves, circles and threatens, where things are not what they seem.

Catmull uses imagery and poetry to add even more richness to the book. Clare writes, reluctantly at first, and then more openly. Her poetry is fresh and lovely, offering a glimpse into a world that Clare herself has mostly forgotten. The book encourages each person to make things as they will, showing the importance of creativity to our lives and to the way we connect to our world.

An unusual and exceptionally gorgeous look at fairies and their world, this book is just right for teens who don’t mind a book that meanders a bit like a night in Timeless. Appropriate for ages 12-14.

Reviewed from library copy.

Titans by Victoria Scott

| Tasha

Titans by Victoria Scott

Titans by Victoria Scott

Astrid’s family has been destroyed by the Titans, mechanical horses raced at a track near her Detroit neighborhood. Her father lost everything betting on the horses and now they may lose their home. Yet Astrid also finds herself drawn to the Titans and spending time figuring out the math to create the best approaches to turns. So when Astrid meets a strange old man who has a Titan of his own, the first generation ever made, Astrid knows that she just has to try to ride it. It is up to Astrid now to secure the future for her family if she can only prove that a poor girl and an old horse can win.

Scott has written such a rip-roaring story. It is a book that will hook those who love horses as well as those who love racing. It’s a book that is science fiction, but a near future that is all too possible, where the division between rich and poor is even more strong than today and where impossibly complex robotic horses come to life. Even better, it is a world that makes sense for the reader, one with great appeal and a strong heroine to cheer for.

Astrid is an amazing heroine. She has a brain that thinks in mathematics and physics, naturally bounding ahead of others. And she uses it not just to ride differently than the others but also to face the horrible traps set into the race track that change from one race to another.  Astrid is complex. She is deeply loyal to her family, yet does not tell them what she is doing. She also takes longer than the reader to fall for her Titan, something that works very nicely so that the reader is cheering them on together.

A riveting read that is compulsively readable, this teen novel has great appeal and will set anyone’s heart racing. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

| Tasha

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (InfoSoup)

Riley carefully chooses the right clothes for the first day of public school, probably more carefully than another other teen ever has. Riley’s clothes need to blend in, but Riley has never been good at that, particularly with having a congressman for a father but even more so because being gender fluid makes dressing all the more complicated. When a therapist tells Riley to start a blog and find a cause, Riley starts to write online about what it is really like to be a gender fluid teen. At school, Riley is starting to fit in with new friends and what could be a budding romance if Riley is reading the signs right. But then advice Riley has given to a transgender teen online takes makes the blog go viral and the issue gets national attention. Soon Riley realizes there is a local stalker reading the blog, threatening to reveal Riley’s identity to everyone.

Garvin has managed to write an entire novel without letting readers know the gender that Riley was assigned at birth. It’s a tremendous feat, made all the more amazing because readers will not notice what he is doing. A large part of that is because Riley is an incredibly engaging and extraordinary character, filled with angst about gender but also longing for friends and even a dash of romance. Riley is a blaze of light as a character, burning so brightly on the page that is impossible to look away. This is a book that you read in one long gulp, caught in the world the author has created so vividly. It is a book that dances with disaster, offering a protagonist who is smart, courageous and simply superb.

Garvin deals with a series of serious issues in this novel. He does not shy away from any of it, which makes the book all the more raw and engaging. He shows exactly what being androgynous is like, the bullying and speculation about a person’s gender. He speaks to the tragedy of suicide in the trans population, the hatred that is directed their way, the lack of understanding and even violence by parents. He turns his attention to sexual attacks as well, creating a book that is riveting to read but also very important to have on library shelves.

An impressive, important and glorious teen novel about one gender fluid teen who will let you understand what being gender fluid is about and the courage it takes to be yourself every day. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss.

2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

| Tasha

The Quick Picks list is always my favorite list of the year. I find titles on it every year that I’ve never heard of and that are amazing and even better will be popular with teen readers! YALSA picks the Quick Picks list every year and it includes both fiction and nonfiction. Here are the top ten titles for 2016, but the big list is worth looking at for great additions to your library collections:

Dumplin' Everything, Everything

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks The Iron Trial (Magisterium, #1)

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Nimona Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History… and Our Future! by Kate Schatz

Red Queen (Red Queen, #1) Shadowshaper

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Shadowshapers by Daniel Jose Older

The Silence of Six (SOS, #1) Zeroboxer

The Silence of Six by E. C. Myers

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee

2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults

| Tasha

YALSA has selected a list of the Best Fiction for Young Adults. They also choose a Top Ten which happens to have many of my personal favorites of the year:

Audacity Bone Gap

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

The Boy in the Black Suit The Bunker Diary

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

Challenger Deep More Happy Than Not

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Shadowshaper Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) X

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon

2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

| Tasha

Every year YALSA creates a list of amazing graphic novels for teens. They also pick a Top Ten Great Graphic Novels list. Here is this year’s top ten:

Awkward Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed

Lumberjanes (Volumes 1 & 2)by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters, illustrated by Brooke Allen

Ms. Marvel (Volumes 2 & 3) by G. Willow Wilson

Nimona Roller Girl

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Sacred Heart A Silent Voice, Vol. 1 (A Silent Voice, #1)

Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia

A Silent Voice (Volumes 1-3) by Yoshitoki Oima

Trashed The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power

Trashed by Derf Backderf

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Volumes 1 &2) by Ryan North, illustrated by Erica Henderson

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

| Tasha

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

Released January 26, 2016.

From the outside, Vicky’s life looks perfect. Her father is wealthy, her step mother loves to take her shopping, and her sister is a high achiever. But Vicky can’t get over the loss of her beloved mother, whom she cared for during her last months. So Vicky turns to the only solution she can see and tries to commit suicide. When she wakes up in a mental disorders ward, she starts the process of putting her life back together. She meets three other teens who have lived very different lives from her and yet they all are part of each others recovery. Slowly Vicky starts to see that she suffers from depression and what it will mean to return to her life after her time in the hospital.

Stork has once again created a book for teens that will speak directly to them. He takes on mental illness here in a forthright way, showing the way that depression can creep up on a person and change the way they perceive things. He also shows how a person’s life can be glamorous and yet stifling and not fulfilling. It is a book that speaks to the importance of support from a therapist, of medication and of creating a group of people who understand you in your life. It’s a brilliant novel that is complex and deep with plenty to explore and feel.

Vicky could have been a very different character in a lesser writer’s hands. With Stork’s skill, he hints at a superficial look at Vicky’s wealthy life and then goes much more deeply into why she is experiencing life in the way she is. She is a poetic soul caught in a capitalistic family, driven by high achievement but in ways that she cannot relate to. With the loss of her mother, her father changed, her sister distanced herself, and Vicky had no one to turn to for support any more.

Organic and real, this novel has a diverse heroine and cast of characters that will appeal to a wide range of readers and deals with a serious subject in an uplifting way. Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Arthur A. Levine Books.