Teen

Review: Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

| Tasha

boy nobody

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Boy Nobody enters schools, follows his orders, identifies his target, and completes his mission.  He is a soldier, working for The Program.  He is invisible, just another teen, but he is so much more.  His life changed when he was taken into The Program at age 11.  The Program fixed him, turning him into someone who can notice the smallest things, who can kill silently, and who has no emotions.  But when Boy Nobody is asked to do the fastest and most dangerous mission of his life, he discovers that he does have emotions.  And that is perhaps the most dangerous thing of all.

I have deliberately given a vague summary above, since a large part of the pleasure of this read is piecing things together.  Written in the first person, the reader gets to see the world from Boy Nobody’s skewed point of view.  This adds to the immediacy of the read, making it all personal, particularly the violence.  And there is violence, fights and murder, done with a coldness that makes it all the more sinister.  Throughout, you have Boy Nobody’s voice explaining just why it is all alright and how his life works.  Then as he begins to feel again, that voice changes and expands.  It is subtle but also powerful. 

This book is written with pacing in mind, the entire book reading like a movie script that plays before your eyes.  There is no hesitation here, little lengthy prose, just vibrant details that are necessary to hurtle the novel forward.  It makes for a read that is riveting and a joy to read. 

The ideal beach read for teens, this book has a thrilling combination of contract killing, subterfuge, and intelligence.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Little, Brown.

Review: Starglass by Phoebe North

| Tasha

starglass

Starglass by Phoebe North

Terra lives with her abusive, drunken father aboard the Asherah, a spaceship the size of a city.  Hers is the generation that will finally arrive at their destination planet after traveling for over 500 years in space.  Terra’s mother died of cancer, a disease completely unknown on the ship before her death, leaving Terra with her absent older brother and cruel father.  Terra is now 16 and assigned to a job, botanist, though she had wanted to be an artisan because she loves to draw.  Her father doesn’t approve of her art and Terra does not enjoy her dull work as a botanist.  Soon Terra is being courted by her father’s apprentice and is drawn into a mutinous scheme to change the hierarchy aboard the ship.  Her work as a botanist is also getting more interesting.  What more could a girl want than romance and a good job?  Terra definitely wants more, she wants answers.

Out of a standard spaceship story foundation, North has crafted something very special.  This small city-sized spaceship is filled with secrets, ones that spell freedom but also ones that can kill.  Yet the story is less about the endless travel and the claustrophobia of a closed society and much more about one young woman, her choices and the way in which an individual can impact the community around them.  It is a story of opportunities both good and bad, choices that are impossible to make, and a responsibility beyond oneself. 

North has woven Jewish traditions into the story and carefully changed them as if the passage of time had both torn at them but also strengthened parts of them.  The community on the ship is cohesive but deeply fractured.  It is this society that makes the book very compelling.  It is also Terra herself too, a young woman deeply grieving the loss of her mother and seemingly without any choices in life.  Yet she finds strength to fight back, to choose and to love on her own terms. 

Startling, beautiful and richly written, get this one into the hands of science fiction readers.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Review: Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge

| Tasha

will whit

Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge

The author of Page by Paige returns with another superb graphic novel.  Will has suffered a tragedy and now fear the dark, since she sees the shadows of those she has lost within them.  Her hobby is to create lamps out of found objects, keeping the dark at bay.  Then Hurricane Whitney roars in and takes away the electricity entirely so that Will is left in a complete blackout.  Happily, she is surrounded by great friends who are just as creative as she is.  There is even an arts carnival being created.  Now Will just has to face her fears, in the darkness.

Done in black-and-white, this graphic novel plays nicely with light and dark.  The entire background of the pages change from the bright white to pure black once the power goes out in the story.  Gulledge’s story embraces creativity and also features female characters who are real and honest.  Gulledge also nicely uses metaphor in the story, showing shadows coming towards Will who are human shaped.  As that part of the story is resolved, readers will notice the changes in the shadows around Will, a visual harbinger of real change. 

Get this into the hands of those who enjoyed Page by Paige as well as other teens who are creative and touch romantic.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

| Tasha

5W FINAL COVER.indd

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The author of the Monstrumologist series returns with this riveting story of alien invasion.  The planet knew that the aliens had arrived, but the silence for days left them feeling hopeful.  Then the 1st wave took away electricity and cars.  The 2nd wave took out the coasts.  The 3rd wave brought the Red Death.  The 4th wave took away trust.  Cassie is one of the survivors of all four waves and just may be the only remaining human on earth.  She has seen her family die, her mother from the Red Death and her father killed right in front of her, but her little brother may still be alive, since he was taken to safety on a school bus.  But Cassie also knows that it is death to trust anyone at all, so she is not sure whether where Sammy was taken is safe or not.  Now she is alone, just her and her M16, trying to reach him.  Then Evan Walker enters her life, saving her from a gunshot wound.  Cassie knows to trust no one.  So how does she deal with a situation where she was to trust to heal and maybe even to save her brother.

This is one incredible novel.  The pacing is what I have to talk about first.  There are moments where I could not turn the pages fast enough, then others where I had to walk away for a bit to deal with the latest heart-shattering reveal.  This book is a dance of hope and terror, trust and knowing better.  Yancey proves quickly that he is not afraid to shock, to kill, to maim.  This book is filled with death, filled with despair, yet it is also about strength, hope and humanity.  Yancey writes this perfectly, keeping readers on a razorblade of tension throughout. 

A large piece of the success of this book are the characters and the book tells their individual stories.  Cassie is one strong heroine, who is willing to go through hell to get her little brother back.  She is not fearless but is always courageous and willing to do what has to be done.  Readers find out before Cassie herself does what happened to her little brother.  This adds to that tension, especially since one doesn’t trust Yancey not to do horrific things even to the littlest of children.  There is Zombie, a boy that Cassie went to school with, who has been trained to be a child soldier since the aliens came.  And finally, there is Evan, the farmboy heartthrob who is dangerous but delicious too.

Expect this to be one of the big books this summer.  It would be a pleasure to booktalk, since the alien invasion in waves basically sells this.  Perhaps most telling of all is that this is now the only way that I see an alien invasion happening.  It is clever, chilling and deadly.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Putnam.

Review: Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

| Tasha

openly straight

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Rafe is openly gay in his home town of Boulder, Colorado.  OK, he’s beyond out of the closet, he’s the guy that is asked to speak publicly about being gay, his mother is president of the local PFLAG chapter, and he speaks to high schools about tolerance.  So when he heads to a private all-boys school in New England, he decides to no longer be that out about being gay.  He just wants to be normal, be one of the guys, have guy friends and play soccer.  So he goes back into the closet.  He tells himself that it’s not a big deal, since sexuality is just one part of the whole person.  But things get complicated.  First, a boy on campus has a breakdown.  Then he has to start lying to people when they ask about his girlfriend or even when asked directly whether he is straight or gay.  And yeah, there’s this guy he likes, maybe even loves.  This smart, funny novel explores what happens when coming out at home was easy, but coming out a second time is beyond difficult.

Konigsberg writes such a wonderful character in Rafe.  Rafe is fairly confident on several levels but in so many other ways, he’s a complete mess.  I love that he is a boy who spoke out about tolerance, yet seems unable to tolerate the consequences of his being out and proud.  The idea of returning to the closet is one that adds a freshness to this story while the book still deals with all of the stereotypes and negativity that gay teens face.  I also appreciate the frankness with which this book handles gay teen sex, another refreshing aspect of the novel.

Throughout the book, the tension is created through Rafe’s lies and the growing relationship he finds himself in with his best friend.  Throughout one wonders if this is the moment he breaks his silence and frees himself, but Rafe continues to live in the cage he rebuilt for himself.  It’s a book that is funny yes, but equally tragic too. 

Beautifully written with wit and style, this book takes a new look at being gay and out.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Review: Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

| Tasha

criminal

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

Nikki loves Dee but her friends warn her about him.  Her best friend Bird is particularly worried that Dee is dragging Nikki into dangerous situations.  Since Nikki lives with Bird, because her mother is too drug addled to take care of her or make a home for her, Bird’s opinion usually carries a lot of weight.  But not where Dee is concerned.  It’s not until Nikki finds herself in a very dangerous situation where someone is killed by Dee and Nikki drives the getaway car that Nikki discovers a lot of the truths the Dee has been hiding from her.  Now Nikki is in serious trouble and Bird may be drawn into the situation as well.  Nikki has to make some good decisions quickly before her bad decision changes her entire life.  Love is supposed to be what life is all about, so what happens when you can’t count on love after all?

McVoy pulls no punches in this gripping teen novel.  Nikki is a troubled protagonist whose perspective on what is happening is clearly skewed by the sexual attention that Dee pours on her and the warped way in which he treats her otherwise.  While that relationship is at the heart of Nikki’s troubles, McVoy does not shy away from making sure that Nikki and the reader understand that while it may be a factor, Nikki must still take responsibility for her own actions.  Nikki’s legal situation and the criminal process make for a taut read, as Nikki learns about herself and the TV version of jail is shattered into one that is transformational for those willing to change.

This book can be painful to read at times, since Nikki starts so deeply into Dee’s control and lies that she is starting to disappear herself.  By the time the crime is committed, readers will be almost screaming at Nikki for her poor choices.  It becomes almost too much when she continues to defend him, not recognizing the situation he has placed her in.  Throughout Nikki is not a character to be admired, but by the end, she has become strong, honest and has learned a lot.  This is a teen novel filled with character growth that is done gradually and realistically.

Brutally honest and filled with moments of dark and light, this book speaks to false love disguised as real love and the desperate lengths one might go to for it.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon Pulse.

Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

| Tasha

beginning of everything

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

After finishing the galley for this book, I was surprised to find that the title has been changed.  I think it’s an unfortunate choice, since Severed Heads, Broken Hearts was a title that really reflected what the book is about.  I will also try to cope with the sunny yellow of the new cover, something that also jars me compared to the muted colors of the original cover.  But enough with my confusion, on to the real review!

Ezra was one of the popular kids at school.  Captain of the tennis team, he struggled to keep his sarcastic humor from confusing his teammates.  Then in one moment, his entire life changed.  Leaving a party after finding his girlfriend “entertaining” another boy, he was struck by a car and his entire athletic career disappeared in an instant.  Now he has to walk with a cane, has lost his girlfriend entirely, and also lost touch with his group of friends.  None of them came to visit him in the hospital or at home during his recovery.  So the first day of school after the accident has him wearing all black, pale from being indoors all summer, and sitting by himself in the front row of the bleachers since he can’t climb any higher without being a spectacle.  His childhood best friend sits next to him, someone who has also known tragedy, and who is no longer friends with Ezra.  But tragedies do strange things, close some options and open others.  The question is whether Ezra has the courage to reinvent himself.  The hot redhead doesn’t hurt things either.

Told in the voice of a John Green novel with intelligence and lots of humor, this book hooks you from the very first with its tale of a beheading at Disney World.  Schneider writes with a great deal of confidence here, taking readers on a journey of rediscovery that involves debate teams, rivalries, jealous ex-girlfriends, and lots of fun along the way.

Schneider has written teens who read like real people.  They are all complex, interesting and unexpectedly tangible.  Even the support characters are funny and intriguing, leading me to want to know more about them as well.  Though readers may see the ending coming, it is entirely satisfying to see it play out.  Schneider does not back away from tragedies, embracing them instead as moments of change and courage. 

Strong writing, great characters and plenty of puns make for a book that teens should love, no matter what the title is.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss.

Review: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

| Tasha

bitter kingdom

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Released August 27, 2013.

This is the third and final book in the Fire and Thorns trilogy and it is just as amazing as the first two.  In this third book, Elisa has been forced out of her kingdom.  Her enemies have taken her captain of the guard hostage but even more than that, they have stolen Elisa’s hopes for a budding romance with him.  Now she must go after him, trying to respond as a queen rather than someone who is heartsick with worry.  As she follows their trail, she learns more about her enemy and more of the secrets that her family kept from her about her Godstone and its powers.  She must call upon all of her courage, all of her humanity and all of her magic to survive this quest.

It is seriously hard to keep that vague about a book I loved, but a large part of my pleasure in reading this book was not knowing where it was headed.  I have only given plot points that are revealed in the first few chapters, nothing about the latter part of the book that is filled with action and reveals information about Elisa’s destiny and the world she lives in that readers will find immensely rewarding.

Carson neatly crosses boundaries of fantasy and science fiction in this final book.  Her heroine is no longer recognizable as the chubby girl being sent to an arranged marriage who started this series.  This instead is a queen, a queen with a heart that loves endlessly and who also has immense trust in others.  She is a queen with a destiny that is unknown, a duty that has been stolen from her, and a love who is missing.  In short, she is one incredible heroine for a trilogy.

Beautifully written, this series speaks to acceptance, transformation and being true to oneself.  Get this series into the hands of fans of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore.  They will adore Elisa utterly.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss.

Review: The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

| Tasha

lucy variations

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Lucy Beck-Moreau was considered one of the top concert pianists.  Now at age 16, she has abruptly left the concert circuit and doesn’t play the piano at all.  Instead she is attending school just like any other teenager, doing homework, and listening to her younger brother Gus practice his piano pieces.  When Gus’ aging piano teacher dies, she is replaced by Will, a young teacher who was once himself a child pianist and recommends plenty of time away from the piano for Gus, including once forbidden video games and TV.  As Will balances out Gus’ life, Lucy is drawn to him.  Will is older and sophisticated and interested in Lucy herself as both a pianist and a person.  This is the story of Lucy’s triumph over grief and loss and her struggle to play music on her own terms and for her own reasons.

Zarr has beautifully captured a family of wealth and talent without lingering overlong on those details.  It is Lucy who is the center of the novel, which is told in third person but specifically from Lucy’s view.  This gives the book a necessary distance so that readers can view Lucy from a small space and recognize the mistakes that she is making and repeating.  Lucy is a wonder of a flawed protagonist, filled with talent yet drawn into destructive situations of her own making, one feels an affinity to her and yet pushed away as well.

It is this strength of the central character that lifts this novel above others covering similar subjects.  The writing here is strong and clear, and the story flows with a natural feel that allows Lucy to veer dangerously close to disasters that make the reading that much more exciting.  Along the way, a dysfunctional family is on display, showing readers how Lucy came to be the way that she is, and also showing hope for what is possible.

A true mix of hope, music and tenacity, this book is beautifully composed and harmonious with lingering crescendos.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.