Teen

Review: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

| Tasha

why we broke up

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman

Released December 27, 2011.

Min and Ed have broken up, that’s why she thunks down a box full of things on his doorstep.  Inside the box are the small mementos of a relationship and the answers to what is behind their break up.  The box also contains a long letter to Ed that Min has written, explaining fully both the growth of their relationship and her feelings for him, but even more so the reasons that they can never be together.  The box holds memories and mementos: a toy truck, a movie ticket, a protractor, a note, and rose petals.  Each item is tied to a part of the story, a moment in their time together, times when there were warnings of how it would end but Min ignored all of them until that last one.  The one that brings us back to this box and that doorstep.

Handler’s writing here is striking.  He moves from a more normal syntax and structure into rushes of stream of conscious writing that is breathless and dazzling and bitter.  These are the moments where the pain of the breakup is right there, a heartbeat away.  It is a book filled with surprising moments, aching with importance and equally part of normal life. 

This is a relationship laid bare and honest, searingly truthful at times.  At the same time, distrust and foreboding is always right there since the reader knows from the first page that the relationship is doomed.  It is this rich mix of the delight of new love and the awareness that it ended badly that makes the book compulsively readable. 

Dazzling and honest, this book will speak to any teen who has been dumped, any teen in a relationship, and any teen looking for one.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Check out the Why We Broke Up Project website too.

Review: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

| Tasha

probability of miracles

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Cam has been battling cancer for the last seven years.  At age 16, she has reached a point where nothing more can be done.  All she has left is acceptance and a lot of attitude.  But Cam’s mother and sister are not ready to give up hope, so they move the family north from their lives at Disney World in Florida to Promise, Maine.  Promise is a small community where miracles happen.  Cam certainly doesn’t believe in miracles or religion for that matter, but Cam feels the magic of Promise too.  Her blemishes from the disease fade, her hair grows long, and she feels better than ever.  Then there is her Flamingo List that she created at summer camp.  It’s a list of things that she wants to do before she dies.  Many of them seem very unlikely at first, but as the summer goes on, she ticks them off the list.  Cam has one final summer to reach her goals and even to exceed her own expectations.

This is not a weepy cancer book at all.  Rather it is the story of a sarcastic, brilliant girl battling a disease and finding a place to be herself and create the best days ever.  In Cam, Wunder has given us much more than a tragic story of the last days of a life.  Instead Cam seems more filled with life than the rest of us.  She shines, entrances and lives with abandon.  It is like watching a shooting star race past.

Wunder also creates an entire cast of impressive supporting characters.  They are often introduced as stereotypes, but then they become more fully realized as the reader gets to know and understand them.  We as readers get to discover the characters alongside Cam.  The setting of Promise, Maine is also beautifully rendered with the magical parts interwoven to create a dance of magical realism and realistic fiction.

Gorgeously written and realized, this is a powerful read with a great, flawed heroine.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Razor Bill.

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Review: Prized by Caragh M. O’Brien

| Tasha

prized

Prized by Caragh M. O’Brien

In this sequel to Birthmarked, Gaia has escaped into the wasteland with her infant sister, following a rumor to guide her.  Gaia is reaching the end of her strength and her baby sister is perishing when she is discovered by a rider from Sylum.  When she is brought into their matriarchal society, Gaia is forced to give up her sister into the society for care and must submit herself to their rules.  No man can speak to her first much less touch her, and a kiss can get you jailed.  Sylum is slowly dying, since there are many more male births than female.  But Sylum also cannot be escaped easily.  Newcomers get physically ill and then after that violent illness are unable to leave.  If they try to leave, they will die of an even more extreme illness.  So Gaia is trapped in Sylum without her sister, trying to follow their rules, when she discovers that Leon is also there, imprisoned.  In order to free him, Gaia has to give up the last of her will to the ruler of Sylum. 

I adored the first book in this series.  The Enclave was a skewed society that was fully rendered and well thought out.  O’Brien has done the impossible in a single series and created within her world another complete society that makes sense, surprises, and then displays its darker side.  Sylum is a world run by women, but also a decaying society where there are few rights especially for those who refuse to follow the rules.  It is a beautiful, green but dreadful place where the darkness is right below the lovely surface.  In short, it is immensely readable and a wonderful dystopian setting.

O’Brien introduces us to new characters just as we are getting reacquainted with those we enjoyed in the first book.  Gaia remains a fierce, independent force who is bright, inspiring and strong.  She is a character thrown into a society she does not understand, who makes waves with every step and friends too.  There are two brothers who serve as additional love interests in this complex society that forbids touching.  They are wonderfully similar but also very different, attractive in different ways to Gaia.  Still, there is also the angry and ever-frustrating yet fascinating Leon to consider.  As Gaia muses, it is actually a love square rather than a triangle.

This is a compulsively readable book, just like the first.  The world is well drawn, but it is the different societies that truly shine here.  I look forward to the rest of the series, because this book was very unexpected and I can’t guess what is going to happen next.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.

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Review: Bluefish by Pat Schmatz

| Tasha

bluefish

Bluefish by Pat Schmatz

Travis misses his home after moving with his grandfather but even more, he misses his dog.  He used to have lots of room to roam in the country, but he’s stuck in a small house with his alcoholic grandfather.  At his new school, he is nearly silent but loud Velveeta will not allow him to withdraw far.  She joins him at lunch after seeing Travis help out a boy being bullied, firmly adopting him and filling his silence with all of her words.  The two unlikely friends are both hiding secrets.  As the story progresses, the secrets are shared with the reader first and then with each other.  This story explores the meaning of friendship and how we can all be friends that help one another in our own unique way.

Schmatz’s writing is clean and clear.  She doesn’t fill the story with flowery language, instead exploring the story alongside the reader.  The book is filled with characters who are struggling, including both Travis and Velveeta.  Another example is Travis’ grandfather who is battling his addiction and trying to be a parent to Travis.  There is nothing perfect here, and the message is clear that perfection is not something that is necessary or needed.  It is the striving, the doing that matters.

The two main characters are well drawn and intriguing.  They are very similar to one another in many ways and yet so different in others.  Their struggles may not be the same, but the two definitely need one another to get through.  There are also other adults who help, including one incredible teacher and a librarian.  It is a joy to see two adults helping children written free of any didacticism. 

This powerful read offers great characters, no easy answers, and no grand solution of an ending.  It’s a book that is about the journey.  Appropriate for ages 11-14.

Reviewed from copy received from Candlewick Press.

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USA Network Blogs about Teen Lit

| Tasha

character approved blog

USA Network’s blog has a feature article on Great Voices in Young Adult Fiction.  And they have picked some great ones.  Their focus is on books with crossover appeal for adults.

All the Earth Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale

   

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

| Tasha

legend

Legend by Marie Lu

This dystopian fantasy is set in what used to be the western United States and now is The Republic.  The rising waters have caused issues with power, large slums, and lawlessness.  June is the only person to ever get a perfect score in the Trials, marking her as a prodigy.  She lives a live of luxury with her older brother, who has raised her after her parents’ accidental deaths.  Trained as a soldier, she is about to claim her destiny as the ideal warrior.  Day is the most wanted criminal in The Republic.  From the slums, he has managed several amazing feats of defiance but worries most about his family and the plague that is in their neighborhood.  The two of them would never have met, but then June’s brother is killed and it looks like Day is the culprit.

Lu takes the dystopian genre and weaves a story that both hearkens back to the heart of the genre yet creates something new and amazing.  The setting of a decaying United States at war with itself is slowly revealed through the story.  The results of that war are shown rather than told in details that bring the entire world to life.  From the luxury of June’s life through the squalor and danger of the slums, the setting is a pivotal piece of the tale.

The two compelling main characters add the action, the style and even the romance to this book.  June is trained to be a lethal weapon, yet she questions orders and thinks deeply about the ramifications of what she is doing.  Day is a dystopian Robin Hood with plenty of moxie and appeal.  Both of them wonder at their world, the truth of The Republic.  They also both see themselves as people who are able to make a difference.

The writing here is crisp and clean.  The story is vibrant, fast moving, and stellar.  This is one outstanding dystopian fantasy.  It is sure to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and will leave many fans eager for the next book in the series.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

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Review: Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce

| Tasha

liars moon

Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce

When Digger is arrested and thrown in jail, she isn’t that surprised.  She is a pickpocket after all.  But it is interesting that the men who grabbed her knew that she was a girl though she was dressed in men’s clothing and that they were looking just for her.  When she is put into prison, she is surprised to find that she’s been put in Lord Durrel Decath’s cell.  He has been accused of poisoning his wife.  This is the man who once saved her life, and so she sets to work with her thieving skills to set him free.  As she searches for answers, she is drawn into the high society of their besieged city.  The clues seem to lead to only more questions and new theories rather than answers in this politically charged, masterful mystery.

This second book after Star Crossed is just as elegantly plotted as the first.  Bunce excels at creating a world that is familiar to readers but also unusual and unique.  Throughout the book, magic is a theme.  But in this world, it is reviled rather than embraced.  Magic users are persecuted, imprisoned and even slaughtered.  This forms the backbone of the story, the society itself, and our protagonist.

Digger is an amazing female protagonist.  She is gutsy, strong, intelligent, and loyal.  She never seems to be afraid of action or danger, making the entire story a delight to read since it is always moving quickly forward.  The other characters are equally complex.  There are women who appear to be flighty and dim, yet are something else entirely when their pretense is dropped.  There are suspects who seem obvious but then melt away to innocence and others who are just the opposite.

This is a complex and intricate mystery set in a world that is equally compelling.  Get this into the hands of fans of Tamora Pierce who will discover another amazing female protagonist to enjoy.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

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Review: Amplified by Tara Kelly

| Tasha

amplified

Amplified by Tara Kelly

The author of Harmonic Feedback returns with another book that centers around music.  Jasmine has decided that she doesn’t want to attend Stanford in the fall, so that she can follow her dream of becoming a musician.  She finds herself homeless when her father kicks her out for her decision.  Jasmine’s car breaks down in Santa Cruz.  She finds a listing for a place that she can almost afford but the kicker is that she needs to audition for a band and get picked as their guitarist in order to get the room.  All she has to do is convince three jaded, ultra-cool guys and one amazing girl that she can do it.  The problem is that she’s never played for anyone except her best friend.  Can Jasmine fool them all and for how long?

This book sings.  The character of Jasmine is complex, haunted, frigid, closed off, wide open, and entirely human.   The other band members are equally fascinating, often veering away from what you would expect from them, making them all the more intriguing.  Though it would have been easy to make Jasmine’s father a cardboard stereotype, Kelly didn’t.  One of the conversations with her father shows that both Jasmine and her father are trying yet unable to connect. 

Music is difficult to write about in novels, but Kelly manages to invite readers into a band, allow them to experience the hard work, the drive, the crap and the intensity of the relationships that music creates.  The music in this book is not subtle, this is not another book about a quiet pianist or violinist.  Instead this book thrashes and rocks. 

Impossible to put down, readers will thrum to the rhythm of disaster, recovery, lies and truth.  It is a compelling and remarkable combination.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt and Company.

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Review: Level Up by Gene Luen Yang

| Tasha

level up

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang, illustrations by Thien Pham

As a child, Dennis was forbidden from playing video games.  When his father died, he played them all the time.  He was even good enough to consider playing on the professional circuit.  But that was before THEY showed up.  Four cute little angels with plenty of attitude and a lot of bossiness seemed to know exactly what Dennis should be doing with his life, and it certainly was not video games.  Instead, they pushed and insisted in his father’s name that he start studying hard and then go to medical school.  But will Dennis find happiness there?  Or will he return to his love of gaming?

Yang captures the tension between following your own dreams and following those of your parents.  The four angels serve as universal parental voices, insisting that the future path is set and that one must fulfill one’s destiny.  The writing is infinitely readable, down-to-earth and yet striking.  The book wrestles with important themes, using the graphic format to lighten things but still looking deeply at the choices that shape a life.

Pham’s illustrations are filled with simple lines, washes of color, and often have a play of light and dark backgrounds in different frames on a page.  But if one looks at the illustrations, they are well rendered, interesting and far more than the simple lines may originally seem.

This book has teen and gamer appeal galore.  Before I got to read it myself, my husband and two sons had to read it first.   Both the theme of video games and the graphic format made it impossible for them to pass up.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from library copy.

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