Teen

Review: Explorer: the Lost Islands

| Tasha

explorer lost islands

Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi

This second book in the Explorer series again takes a single theme and has short illustrated stories that center on that.  The book is a collection of different illustrators and authors, so one story to the next is very different both in the story itself and in the style of the art.  It makes for a very compelling book to read.  I had several favorite stories in the book, including The Mask Dance by Chrystin Garland where the setting is dark and looming and people are disguised by masks.  The reveal of the truth is great fun while still being dark and eerie.  Another favorite was Desert Island Playlist by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier.  Readers of Smile and Drama will enjoy seeing another piece of work by Telgemeier.  This story too has a mystery at its heart all set on a desert island.  This is another strong graphic novel that young readers are sure to enjoy.

This second book loses some of the darkness and wonder of the first which was a masterpiece.  At the same time, it is a book worth getting because it displays such a wide range of art styles and story types.  Both books in the series are like unwrapping presents when you turn to a new story, you are sure to be surprised.

Amulet fans, graphic novel readers and students interested in art should all find something to love in this new collection.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Abrams.

Review: My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman

| Tasha

my basmati bat mitzvah

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman

Tara’s father is Jewish and her mother is East Indian, so Tara has mixed feelings about her upcoming bat mitzvah.  Some of the kids in her Hebrew class even wonder if she is actually Jewish at all.  Tara though is more concerned with whether she actually believes in God and if she doesn’t, does that mean that she can’t have a bat mitzvah?  She also worries about what celebrating this side of her family says to the other side.  So Tara decides to make sure that both sides of her family are represented by wearing a family sari that had been passed down for generations.  Unfortunately though, the sari is accidentally burned and Tara has to figure out how to tell her mother about it.  But that’s not the only complexity in Tara’s life.  Her best friend Rebecca seems to be spending more time with another girl, someone that Tara doesn’t get along with.  Her other best friend Ben-o seems interested in being more than friends sometimes but other times spends a lot of time with another girl.  It’s up to Tara to navigate all of the confusion and make her bat mitzvah her own.

Freedman very successfully tells the story of a young woman dealing with two distinct family heritages.  Happily, she doesn’t feel the need to build heightened angst about it, allowing Tara’s personal doubts to really drive this part of the story.  Her family around her does not have the same feelings, sharing holidays with one another and enjoying the same foods, most of the time. 

The book has a lightness of tone that makes the book very enjoyable.  Freedman explores bullying with a perfect touch, but less successfully explores the underlying issues.  Tara is a strong heroine who is far from perfect.  She has a temper, responds physically at times, and can be too self-absorbed to really see what is happening with her friends.

Hurrah for a book with a brown-skinned girl right on the cover that explores her multicultural heritage in such a straight-forward way!  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Amulet Books.

Review: March by John Lewis

| Tasha

march

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

This is the first book in a planned series of graphic novels that follow the life of Congressman John Lewis and his work in the civil rights struggle.  This first book opens with President Obama’s inauguration day and then flashes back to critical points throughout Lewis’ life.  It tells the story of his connection to animals on the farm, particularly chickens.  It also shows him as a young minister and his determination to stay in school and then to attend college.  Readers get to witness the violence of the opposition to the Civil Rights Movement including many pivotal moments in history like the sit-ins at Nashville lunch counters. 

This is one powerful graphic novel.  The writing is sterling and strong.  It shines with an honest portrayal of historical events from someone who did not just witness them, but fought the battles personally.  The book clearly explains the world of the 1950s and 1960s, making sure that modern readers understand the dangers of the times and the differences.  It is both a historical book but also one that is important for modern teens to understand how far we have come and how far we have to go.

Powell’s art is stellar.  It is stirring art that evokes history with a fresh eye.  He creatively uses light and dark, playing with words across it at times, other times allowing the darkness to take control.  There is a sense of witnessing history throughout the book in both the words and the art. 

An impressive graphic novel for teens, this book shines light on the Civil Rights Movement.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

| Tasha

all the truth thats in me

All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry

Judith has returned to her family and her small Puritan town after being missing for two years but she is unable to speak because her tongue has been cut out.  Without speech, the entire community ignores Judith and treats her as if she is less than a person.  Her own mother reviles her, never saying her name and ordering her around as “you” instead.  In her silence, Judith has many secrets that she keeps close.  She sees everything and moves through the town as if she is a ghost.  But inside herself, Judith is smart, caring and dutiful.  When her mother refuses to hear her attempts at speech, Judith stops trying altogether.  When the boy she loves takes another as a fiancé, Judith is only kind to the girl.  Secrets though have a way of getting out and one dangerous secret may just be able to save their community.

The first thing I have to say is that the cover is lovely but very misleading.  This is a book set in an unnamed historical setting and the cover reads entirely modern.  Reading the book I was astonished to find it was historical fiction and kept turning back to the cover in confusion.  The paperback cover is no better since it also conveys a modern feel. 

With the cover aside, this is one incredible read.  One might think the lack of real historical context would be an issue, but it works well here.  The focus is on the people rather than the setting, though the world of Puritanical thought is an important element throughout.  The book is a real mystery novel with the questions of what really happened to Judith swirling throughout the book.  The reveal is tantalizingly written, making for one compelling novel.

Berry writes with a lyrical voice throughout, capturing the loneliness and longing of Judith.  The beauty of the writing serves as a way for readers to see the thoughts of Judith and understand that she is rich with thinking inside.  Berry is also masterful at pacing and how she reveals the details.  It is entirely on her terms and readers may guess what is coming but can never be sure until it is revealed.  It is a book where the ending is crucial, exciting and immensely satisfying.

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.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Giver–The Movie

| Tasha

EarlyWord has the news that the film version of The Giver has been given a release date of August 15, 2014.  There has also been lots of casting news:

Brenton Thwaites Picture

Brenton Thwaites as Jonas (yes, “aged up” so that Jonas is no longer a child, sigh)

Jeff Bridges Picture

Jeff Bridges as The Giver

Meryl Streep Picture

Meryl Streep as the Chief Elder

Taylor Swift Picture

Taylor Swift in a supporting role

Odeya Rush Picture

Odeya Rush as Fiona

Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

| Tasha

eleanor and park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor is the new girl at school.  She is different from everyone else with her bright red hair and men’s clothes.  Park has gone to this school forever, he knows everyone on the bus and just wants to keep his head down and be ignored.  But Park can’t ignore Eleanor when she is standing in the aisle and needs somewhere to sit.  So he lets her sit by him.  They don’t talk though, until he notices that she is reading his comics too.  Their relationship slowly grows and they start talking together only about comics.  Eleanor doesn’t want to talk about her horrible home life that had her kicked out of the house for a year.  Park doesn’t want to scare her off by pushing.  Little by little, this becomes a book about first love between two teens who didn’t fit in anywhere else.  Little by little, this book steals your heart too.

I honestly don’t think I can voice how good this novel is.  Rowell writes with such truth and passion through the entire book that it makes your breath catch at times.  She does not turn away from the most horrible parts of being a teen, bullying, family crisis, the stumbles on the way to a connection.   These are the moments that cast the others in such light, that make the others shine and dazzle. 

Eleanor and Park both narrate the story in turns.  That decision was critical to this book, allowing each teen to talk about what they love about the other and the amazement they feel that someone likes them too.  The two characters are so different, from such differing backgrounds.  They are living people, ones who enter your dreams because you feel like they are part of you. 

Her book is just like first love.  It is stunning, honest and raw.  It is unforgettable.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

| Tasha

siege and storm

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

After surviving annihilation in the Fold, Alina and Mal have fled their native country to disappear from the attention of the Darkling.  But their respite is short-lived when the Darkling discovers them and reveals the extent of his new powers.  He can now create entities from the darkness, creatures whose bites never heal and who kill quickly and mercilessly.  Alina still bears the neckpiece that the Darkling had forged and bound to her, but now the power is hers to wield.  Then she learns of two more objects of power, led to one by Mal’s tracking and the Darkling’s own desire to own both Alina and her Sun Summoner abilities.  Helped by an unlikely ally, Mal and Alina may have survived their first encounter with the Darkling, but soon hidden identities are revealed, one of them is welcomed as a saint, and Alina must come to terms with her own responsibility to save her country.

Bardugo’s second book in The Grisha series is just as riveting as the first.  She puts both Alina and Mal in trying circumstances, continually playing hope against fear and destiny against what can actually be accomplished.  These tensions in the book as well as Bardugo’s smooth but detailed writing style make for a book that cannot be put down. 

Bardugo continues to build upon the stunningly inventive world she has created.  New touches emerge, different parts of the world are revealed, and familiar characters are transformed.  My only complaint with the book is that it does have pacing issues in the middle.  While the moments of indecision by Alina are well drawn, they last too long and dull the brilliant pace of the rest of the book.

A strong addition and great second book in the series, this is a must-read for fans of the first book.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

| Tasha

boxers saints

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

These two incredible graphic novels tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1898.  Boxers is told from the point of view of Little Bao, a young villager who has seen the foreign missionaries and soldiers take the ancient Chinese gods and beliefs and smash them apart.  Trained in kung fu by a wandering man and also introduced to a ritual to bring the ancient gods to life, Little Bao becomes the leader of a band of commoners who become instrumental in the rebellion.  Saints looks at the other side of the rebellion and is the story of Four-Girl, a daughter not even given a real name by her family.  She finds a place for herself in Christianity, at first only attending the teachings because of the cookies but eventually finding a new name and new identity as Vibiana.  Her faith makes her a target and both Vibiana and Little Bao have to find the extent of their beliefs and what they are willing to sacrifice for them.  There are no easy answers here, no right and wrong, there are only choices in the middle of violence.

Yang has created two books that must be read together to get a full picture of the history.  Both books are one-sided, showing only the point of view of the rebels or the Christians.  At the same time, they are both balanced against one another, showing the violence on both sides, the hubris, and the faith.  They also both capture a young individual caught up in history and questioning their own choices.

As always, Yang has written a compelling book.  His art is strong and his story arcs are well developed.  I found Boxers to be the more interesting of the two with the Chinese gods and the question of being in control of that amount of violence.  Saints to me is a necessary foil to Boxers but lacks its depth.  That said, Boxers is one of the more compelling graphic novels I have read for tweens, so Saints had a lot to live up to. 

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.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from digital galleys received from NetGalley and First Second.

Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

| Tasha

antigoddess

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Published September 10, 2013.

From the author of Anna Dressed in Blood comes the first book in a new series, The Goddess War.   The Old Gods have been around forever and knew that they would be around for eternity.  But then Athena started to sprout feathers under her skin and in her lungs.  Hermes started to lose weight and become emaciated.  They started to do the impossible: they began to die.  Desperate to find a solution, Athena and Hermes search out Cassandra, the prophetess, who is an regular teenager but one who has visions and is linked to the ancient Cassandra from Troy.  There are more Gods involved though.  Apollo is there to protect his beloved Cassandra.  Hera is moving to survive while the other Gods die and Poseidon is throwing his considerable power behind her.  This is one God-sized epic throwdown that you will not want to miss!

Blake’s world building is incredible here.  While she builds off of Greek mythology, she has created a scenario where the Gods are humanized through their mortality.  They are still amazing, wondrous beings, but somehow Blake manages to mix that with a fragility that makes them accessible in a new way. 

Her writing is fresh and vivid both in character development and in the many action scenes.  Danger seems to lurk everywhere and there are wonderful moments where the shock of violence after being lulled away is breathtaking. The book is so filled with violent action scenes that it is completely compelling to read. 

Vivid and dazzling, this book will appeal to fans of Greek mythology and fantasy novels.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from Tor.