Teen

Divergent Final Trailer

| Tasha

2014 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers

| Tasha

YALSA has announced their selections for the 2014 Quick Picks list.  The list features 77 titles and three series and represents books specifically chosen for teens who do not like to read.  I always find new titles and fresh faces in this list.

They also selected a top ten:

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents: Straight Answers to Teens' Questions About Sex, Sexuality, and Health Boy Nobody (Boy Nobody, #1) How to Speak Dog: A Guide to Decoding Dog Language

100 Questions You’d Never Ask Your Parents: Straight Answers to Teens’ Questions about Sex, Sexuality and Health by Elisabeth Henderson and Nancy Armstrong

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

How to Speak Dog: A Guide to Decoding Dog Language by Aline Alexander Newman and Gary Weitzman

Killer of Enemies Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong Proxy (Proxy, #1)

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen

Proxy by Alex London

Star Wars: Jedi Academy The Testing (The Testing, #1)

Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Casualties of War (Vietnam, #4) Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Vietnam #4: Casualties of War by Chris Lynch

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

| Tasha

cruel beauty

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

A stunningly inventive retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this debut novel turns the entire tale around over and over again.  Born into a world captured under a paper sky, Nyx has been promised as a bride to their demon ruler since she was born.  Her father promised tribute when he made a deal with the demon, so Nyx is to be sacrificed.  But her sacrifice is not to be without results, so she has been trained to kill her demon husband.  On her seventeenth birthday, she is sent to live with her new husband whom she has never met in his incredible castle.  She is not expecting to be beguiled by her new husband or by his silent shadow that serves him.  But once in the realm of her husband things are different, answers are not as clear, and even the questions shift and change just like the rooms and doors in the castle.  Nyx must figure out how she can save not only her family and her world but whether her newfound love can be saved too.

I was amazed when I discovered that this is a debut novel.  The writing has a polish and steadiness that would not lead one to believe that when reading.  Hodge has managed to take the foundation of the Beauty and the Beast storyline but then transform it, writing her own original world on top of it yet never quite leaving the original too far behind.  It is a critical balance in reworking familiar stories, and Hodge manages it admirably.  She turns it into something wilder, more frightening and just as beautiful.

Nyx is a wonderful protagonist.  I love how prickly she is, how feisty and fiery.  She can stand right up to a demon and match wits with him.  Yet she is also entirely human, torn by the fact her father chose to sacrifice her, awash with a mix of love and hate for her twin sister, and at times overcome with the situation she finds herself in.  Hodge allows these opposite forces to linger, building the tension and not resolving it until the end. 

Dramatic, romantic and completely beguiling, this retelling of Beauty and the Beast will get teen hearts racing even as the world twists and turns changing the story.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

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

2014 Great Graphic Novels

| Tasha

YALSA has announced their choices for Great Graphic Novels 2014.  Selected from 122 nominations, the list has 78 graphic novels for teens ages 12-18 that are that special mix of quality literature and teen appeal.

They also named a Top Ten:

16231347 Boxers & Saints Boxed Set 

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Dogs of War March (Book One) MIND MGMT, Vol. 1: The Manager

Dogs of War by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox

March: Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell

MIND MGMT v. 1: The Manager by Matt Kindt

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong Rust Volume 2: Secrets of the Cell Strobe Edge, Vol. 1 (Strobe Edge, #1)

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks

Rust v. 2: Secrets of the Cell by Royden Lepp

Strobe Edge v. 1-6 by Io Sakisaka

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel Will & Whit

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel by Sharon McKay and Daniel Lafrance

Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge

2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults

| Tasha

YALSA’s list of the Best Fiction for Young Adults has been announced.  There are 98 titles on the list from 175 nominated.  The books are appropriate for ages 12-18 and have that winning mix of great writing and teen appeal. 

From the 98 titles, there is also a Top Ten List:

All the Truth That's in Me Better Nate Than Ever Eleanor & Park

All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Far Far Away Freakboy Golden Boy

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan

Midwinterblood Rose Under Fire

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Rose under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Out of the Easy Winger

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Winger by Andrew Smith

Review: And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

| Tasha

and we stay

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Emily has been sent to a private board school in Amherst so that she doesn’t have to face all of the questions at her public high school.  Her boyfriend, Paul, brought a gun to school.  Emily is sure that Paul never meant to hurt her, though he did threaten her with the gun.  She is also sure that he never planned to kill himself with it, though that is what he did.  At her private school, she doesn’t quite fit in.  She doesn’t wear the right shoes and her reluctance to talk about what happened and why she is there mid-term doesn’t lead others to get closer to her.  Emily finds herself more and more interested in Emily Dickinson whose home is in Amherst.  She starts writing poems herself, putting her grief and confusion on the page in poems that she plans to never share with anyone.  But as the days go by, she becomes closer with her room mate and other girls on campus, including one of the teachers.  It is now up to Emily to figure out how much she is willing to share of her own role in Paul’s death.

Hubbard’s writing is crystalline and brilliant.  She captures the stunned nature of sudden loss with clarity and understanding.  Emily could easily have become and inaccessible character to readers as well since she is prickly and shut down.  Instead though, Hubbard creates a space around Emily for readers to understand her and feel her pain.

A large part of this is through her poems which honor Dickinson, follow her structure and voice closely at times, and other times reveal Emily’s soul in brief lines that shine.  These poems serve as islands in a sea of pain and grief.  They are concrete and dazzlingly good.  They are bright with hope as one can see in each one Emily moving forward toward the future after putting her pain on the page. 

Beautiful writing, a strong heroine, and plenty of poetry make this a very unique and exceptional book about loss and suicide.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and NetGalley.

Review: Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

| Tasha

why we took the car

 

Why We Took the Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Originally published in Germany, this is a gorgeous coming-of-age story that is dark and immensely funny.  It is the story of Mike who just doesn’t fit in.  He’s considered one of the most boring people in his school, ignored entirely by girls and laughed at when he reads his writing out loud.  He’s not even invited to the best party of the year though everyone else is.  Everyone but Andre, better known as Tschick, who comes to school drunk, looks like he’s been fighting, and wears outdated clothes.  Tschick and Mike have absolutely nothing in common, but when Tschick shows up unexpectedly in a stolen car when Mike has been left home alone for an extended time, they head on a road trip that no one will ever forget.

Winner of several awards in Germany, this book is much more than a standard teen road trip book.  What could have been cardboard stereotype characters instead blossom in the hands of Herrndorf to become much more complex and intriguing.  They get more and more interesting as the book progresses, steadily revealing themselves to one another and to the reader.  It turns out that Mike is far from boring in any way and Tschick is far from any sort of stereotype.

Readers know from the beginning how the road trip ends, but the joy is in getting to that point.  I guarantee it is not a straight line!  The setting of modern Germany is one that many teens may not have explored, especially through the eyes of native Germans.  The translation is done very well, leaving it particularly European, but also making it flow for English speakers.

I am usually not a fan of road trip stories, but this is definitely one trip worth taking.  Funny with a lightness but also depth, this is a wonderful teen read.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Arthur A. Levine Books and NetGalley.

Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson

| Tasha

defy

Defy by Sara B. Larson

This debut YA novel is a mix of romance and fantasy.  In a jungle kingdom with a cruel ruler, Alexa and her twin brother survive the murder of their parents.  Alexa has been raised by her father to fight, something very unusual for a girl in their society.  This lets her disguise herself as a boy and avoid being taken to a rape house and used by the king’s soldiers.  She becomes one of the best fighters in the prince’s guard.  But the prince is aloof and cold to everyone, never showing any interest in becoming a ruler.  Alexa finds herself guarding the prince personally after an attempt on his life.  Then she is taken hostage along with the prince and another of his guard.  She finds herself drawn to the man the prince is behind his cold exterior and also drawn to the other guard, a man she has known for years.  But how will they ever accept her as a girl when they have only known her as a man? 

Larson has created a very compelling world here.  The jungle setting is refreshing as is the kingdom ruled by fear and cruelty.  The pacing is fast, almost breakneck, making it a very riveting read.  Larson’s characters are complex as well.  In particular, the prince himself is very well drawn as a mysterious figure that is constantly revealing new aspects.  The ending is satisfying with a build up that adds to the tension.

At the same time, the book does suffer from some debut mistakes.  Alexa is constantly losing consciousness throughout the book.  She is tough as nails, except for her skull.  Then she seems to recover from long blackout periods with few ill effects.  The rape house aspect of the kingdom was not necessary for the story at all.  I hope that it becomes vital in the rest of the series, because otherwise it was a poor choice to be included.  When Alexa’s real sex is revealed, it is very anticlimactic.  For something that was seen to be life or death, the result is lukewarm at best.

While it does suffer from some plot issues, readers who enjoy fantasy mixed with romance will enjoy this new series.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from digital galley received from NetGalley and Scholastic.

2013 Best Teen Books

| Tasha

Here are my picks for the top books for teens in 2013.  Share yours in the comments!  Scroll down to the end to see my pick for book of the year too.

all the truth thats in me bird king black helicopters

All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

A great pick to book talk for teens, the premise of this historical novel should be more than enough to get teens to pick it up.  The writing and the mystery will keep them reading.

The Bird King: An Artist’s Notebook by Shaun Tan

This is a book to get in the hands of teens who enjoy art and writing, for it is a look at the unformed and the just formed.  It is a book of pure creativity and the creative process.  Beautiful.  Haunting.  Inspiring.

Black Helicopters by Blythe Woolston

Well written and carefully paced, this book is tantalizingly taut and thrilling.  In the end though, it is about a girl caught in a web of lies that she cannot see past.

boxers saints dark triumph

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Highly recommended, this graphic novel duo has a place in every library collection.  Its violence and questions about faith, duty and responsibility make it a good choice for teens and tweens.

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

A killer book, this is a strong sophomore book in a riveting series.  Not for the faint of heart, this book has abuse, murder and true tragedies in its pages.

eleanor and park engines of the broken world fangirl

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Her book is just like first love.  It is stunning, honest and raw.  It is unforgettable.

Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

A horror book for teens, this is also something much more.  It is a beautifully written apocalypse that is harrowing, striking and powerful.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rowell does it again with this second book for teens.  Her writing voice is uniquely hers, so that her books could only be written by her.

fat angie forgive me leonard peacock freakboy

Fat Angie by E. E. Charlton-Trujillo

Beautifully written, dark and wildly funny, this book will have you crying, raging and cheering.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Harrowing, frightening and astonishingly hopeful, this book is a strong and passionate look at a boy willing to destroy everything, especially himself.

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

A powerful blazing novel that gives insight into teens struggling with gender variance and also offers a book where those teens can see themselves and a way forward.

Farizan_IfYouCouldBeMine_REV.indd just one day ketchup clouds

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

This book depicts in life in Iran but also offers a diverse look at GLBTQ issues in the Middle East.  With a piercingly strong heroine, it is a powerful pick for public library collections.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

This exceptional teen novel is a whirlwind romantic trip to Europe that will have you wrapped up in its arms much faster than just one day.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

This is a book that is burning and compelling.  It is a book that is beautifully honest, vibrantly written.  This is Zoe’s heart on a page in all of its wounds and glory.

little fish love in the time of global warming maggot moon

Little Fish by Ramsey Beyer

This is a very strong, dynamic look at the first year of college.  Teens will enjoy looking into their own future plans with a little laughter and lots of optimism.

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block

Block has created another amazing read in this book.  Her fans will rejoice at a new book from her, but this is also one that will create new fans.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

This book defies description by genre and really is impossible to summarize well.  Let me just say that it is powerful, brutal and set in bleakness but never far from hope.

midwinterblood more than this openly straight

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

This compelling novel is amazing teen literature.  It has enough depth to be used in a classroom where the symbolism and incredible writing can be celebrated.  It is also a riveting combination of romance and horror that will thrill discriminating teen readers.

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Complex, gritty and profoundly beautiful, this book is a wonder of writing.  It is beyond inventive, taking readers to a place they never expected to find.  You are in the hands of a master storyteller here in one of his best books yet.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Beautifully written with wit and style, this book takes a new look at being gay and out.

picture me gone reality boy relish

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff

A virtuoso book that is rather quiet, very thoughtful and filled with insights just like Mila herself.

Reality Boy by A. S. King

Gerald is a magnificent character, and the book is compelling and harrowing.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Funny and delicious, this book is sure to whet the appetite for more books by Knisley.  Get it into the hands of teens who enjoyed the books by Telgemeier.

sorrows knot two boys kissing

Sorrow’s Knot by Erin Bow

Unique and amazing, this book offers a fresh take on horror and an incredible teen heroine who faces death in many ways.

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Beautifully written with strong characters and a brilliant concept, this book is breathtaking, just like a great kiss should be.  It is also easily my pick for book of the year.