Review: Never Ending by Martyn Bedford

March 14, 2014 | Tasha

Never Ending by Martyn Bedford

Shiv is unable to live with her brother Declan’s death, particularly her own role in it. So she is sent to the Korsakoff Clinic where she hopes to be cured and be able to continue her life. Unable to see past her own guilt and loss, Shiv finds herself in an unusual clinic where she is first forced to focus on her brother and then forced to look directly at his death without turning away. She is joined in the clinic by several other teens who all lost people in different ways but all feel as responsible and guilty as Shiv does. As they are forced to see the truth of their loss, all of them react in different ways. When hope is highest though, the ground falls out below Shiv and she must figure out that saving someone else may be the answer to saving herself.

Bedford has created a very compelling read. He slowly reveals Shiv’s life before Declan’s death. Along the way, readers get to know Shiv and Declan and their warm and loving parents. They see directly what grief and loss do to people and the way their relationships are torn asunder. They also see how hard it is to return to life after such a loss. Bedford maintains a large level of complexity throughout the novel, moving into flashbacks and also showing Declan as a human rather than a lost angel. The relationship between the siblings is good until a gorgeous young man enters their lives and creates waves for both of them.

As the flashbacks to Declan’s final days continue, the tension in the book mounts. The pressure is also building in Shiv’s recovery as she starts to recover and then suffers setbacks. There are no easy answers here. Declan’s life as well as Shiv’s are complex. The therapy she undergoes is unusual but it is up to Shiv to really do the work of recovery.

Beautifully written and structured, this novel of recovery, pain and guilt weaves a mesmerizing web for the reader who is never quite sure how things are going to end. Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Random House Children’s Books.

Review: No Place by Todd Strasser

March 7, 2014 | Tasha

No Place by Todd Strasser

Dan seemed to have it all from being popular to his hot girlfriend to probably getting a baseball scholarship to college. But then his family started having financial problems and they got worse and worse. Finally, they were forced to leave their home and live in Dignityville, a city park reused as a tent city for homeless people. Dan struggles to figure out how to continue being the same person with his friends, how to stay focused on his future, and how to keep dating one of the wealthier girls in town. On a daily basis, Dan is confronted with the differences in lifestyle and priorities. But Dignityville is not without some good aspects. Dan gets to spend more time with his family and he gets to know Meg, a girl who attends his high school and who also lives in Dignityville with her brother and family. Then Meg’s brother is brutally attacked and it quickly becomes evident that there is a conspiracy to destroy Dignityville, one that may end up hurting those that Dan loves.

Strasser tackles the issue of homelessness head on here. Yet he does in such a way as to make it accessible to those who have not experienced it. The emphasis is on the fact that there are all sorts of people who are homeless, not just those with addiction and mental health issues. Seeing the slow fall to homelessness by Dan’s parents and their reaction to being homeless further underlines that people are doing their best in trying and exceedingly difficult situations.

Dan is a very engaging character, one who quickly learns how profoundly his life has changed. The other characters at Dignityville are also well drawn and interesting as are Dan’s parents. The only character I found two-dimensional was Talia, Dan’s girlfriend, who seemed distant and aloof from what was happening. As the book progressed, the mystery of who was trying to shut down Dignityville moved to the forefront of the story. I felt that this distracted from an already powerful story and took it over the top. It was an unnecessary addition to the book.

An important book about a teen and his family experiencing homelessness, teens will find much to love in these pages. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

2014 BEA Editor Buzz Books

March 5, 2014March 4, 2014 | Tasha

BEA logo

The committees have selected the books for the 2014 BEA Editor Buzz panels. Here are the book on the YA and Middle Grade Buzz lists:

YA Buzz Books

I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

King Dork Approximately by Frank Portman

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Middle Grade Buzz Books

Life of Zarf by Rob Harrell

Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson

The Truth about Twinkle Pie by Kat Yeh

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

Zoo at the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale

Review: The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

February 7, 2014 | Tasha

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Trying to fill out a college application, Harry decides to ignore the word limit and tell his full story to that point. When he was 8 years old, kids in his neighborhood tied him to a tree during a thunderstorm. The tree was struck by lightning and set ablaze with Harry tied directly to it. Harry has severe scars both physically and emotionally from that day. Harry had no friends until Johnny came into his life, a charismatic and confident boy who swept down and saved Harry from obscurity and loneliness. Together the two of them started a band, one that really sucked at first, but then amazingly got better and better. Called The Scar Boys, the band transported Harry from his dull life into a different type of storm, one of music and pure joy. But bands often fall apart and so do high school friendships on the brink of college. As the future looms closer, Harry has to figure out what to give up on and what is worth fighting to keep.

Vlahos’ debut teen novel is a screamingly funny wild ride. The author was in a band himself when he was younger and the moments onstage read honest, zany and completely true. The writing throughout is smart and clever, making points with arrow-sharp zingers that are surprising and make for a great read. Here is one from page 97:

Truth is, if we’d had a shred of sense, we’d have known we were getting in way over our heads. But you can’t buy shreds of sense, and even if you could, we were pretty much out of money.

Harry is a great protagonist. He is witty and smart himself, since the book is written in first person from his point of view. Vlahos manages to never lose track of Harry’s scars but also manages to make his scars much deeper than his skin and therefore the book about much more than that as well. It is a book that explores friendships, power and dreams.

An amazing debut novel, it has a winning mix of punk rock, guitars and real life. Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from digital galley from Edelweiss and Egmont.

Divergent Final Trailer

February 5, 2014 | Tasha

2014 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers

February 5, 2014 | 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 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 by Joseph Bruchac

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen

Proxy by Alex London

Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Vietnam #4: Casualties of War by Chris Lynch

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

February 3, 2014February 3, 2014 | Tasha

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

February 3, 2014January 31, 2014 | 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:

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

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 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 by Sharon McKay and Daniel Lafrance

Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge

2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults

January 31, 2014January 31, 2014 | 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: