Teen

Book Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

| Tasha

beautyqueens

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Released May 24, 2011.

Printz-award winning author, Libba Bray, returns with another modern story for teens that is filled with satire, sarcasm, and wit.  It is the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on an island. The girls must figure out not only how to deal with several deaths and the wildlife of the island, but also how to keep up their beauty routines and pageant skills.  As the days pass, the girls discover that they have far more skills than anyone would have thought and that it takes a woman to build a village, or at least a hut.  As their chance at a rescue diminishes, they discover that the island is home to far more than they ever dreamed or dreaded. 

The book begins as a chance to giggle at the poor girls who are left to fend for themselves rather ineptly.  Readers will smugly watch the beauties have tiffs and arguments.  It is all very satisfying to see them get their due.  But then the book twists, stealthily, until readers see the real girls behind the makeup and start to root for these heroines.  It is masterfully done and all with a lot of humor. 

Bray takes the opportunity to really give commentary on our American life.  She skewers beauty ads, commercialization, pert actresses, and reality TV.  She mocks popular stores and movies.  But this book has depth as well as biting humor.  The contestants who survive are portrayed as individuals, which gives us a cast of teen girls who are all unique and fascinating.

The book also remedies some of the worst tropes of teen novels.  First, the girls may love hot boys, but they do not need the boys to rescue them.  Second, those same hot boys are great for hot sex scenes, and this book has them for sure.  The girls have sexual encounters with no horrible things happening to them as payback for their slutty ways.  They have sex on their own terms, with the boys they choose, and the world continues to turn.  Imagine that!

Bray also introduces a lesbian character who doesn’t angst over being a lesbian, a bisexual, and a transgendered girl who finds love in a young pirate who steals her high heels. 

The cover is great.  I love the lipstick in place of ammo and the sash that if you look closely is battered and dirty.  It speaks directly to the book, its humor and attitude.

This book is wildly, laugh-out-loud funny.  Bray has created a read that is exactly what I needed in my late teens to see that I was OK the way I was.  Each and every teen girl will see themselves supported by this book, and hey the hot scenes alone make it worth the read!  This is a great feminist read for any teen girl. Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic Press.

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Book Review: Enclave by Ann Aguirre

| Tasha

enclave

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Deuce lives underground in her enclave where life expectancy is short and live is brutal.  From the time she was a brat, she knew that she wanted to be a Huntress.  Now that she is 15, she goes through the naming ceremony and is given the role of Huntress in her community.  It is her job, along with her partner, to protect the enclave from the strange beings, Freaks, that share their underground world.  Deuce is paired with Fade, a Hunter who was not born in the enclave, but found wandering underground.  As Deuce learns more about their society, she begins to question the enclave’s rules and the injustices she sees.  When she sacrifices herself to save a friend, Deuce is thrown out of the safety of her community and forced to survive with just Fade to help her.

The strength of this book was in the underground world, the enclave and its lies, the brutality of the life, the unquestioning people, the darkness and danger.  The world Aguirre created underground is compelling and intriguing.  Deuce’s character is equally successful.  She is a strong heroine whose weakness is ignorance thanks to the enclave.  She experiences real growth as a character as she learns the truth.

Unfortunately, the book does not stay underground.  When Deuce and her partner head to Topside to survive, the book loses some of its strength as well as its unique society and setting.  For me, the book seemed to drag despite the high level of violence.

But for me, worst of all was that the world building that worked so well underground began to fall apart.  The Topside misuse of women angered me, but even worse was the insistence that one of the raped women accept one of the gang as a compatriot in their travels.  That she had to let her repeated rapes go and learn to cope seemed to trivialize rape and survival at the same time.

Readers of dystopian fantasy may enjoy this series, but I will stop reading with this first book.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Feiwel and Friends.

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Book Review–Where She Went by Gayle Forman

| Tasha

whereshewent

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

The sequel to If I Stay tells the story of what happened in the three years since the accident that killed Mia’s family and left her choosing between life and death.  The three years since Mia headed to Julliard and left Adam behind, completely.  Now Adam is a rock star living in LA, riding on the fame that his songs of heartbreak and anger created.  Songs that were inspired by his loss of Mia.  But the life of a rock star is not working out well for Adam.  He has to take medication to calm himself down, is no longer traveling or living with his band, and worries that he may have to leave music behind entirely.  In one final evening before he leaves on a long tour, the impossible happens and he meets up with Mia at one of her concerts.  The two of them explore Mia’s New York, and explore the accident and devastation that caused them to pull apart.

This sequel is just as beautifully written as the first book.  Forman excels at exploring emotion, writing it in such a way that it causes readers to feel it inside their own skin.  Without overwriting at all, Forman creates a lyrical and sparking prose that rings with truth and feelings.  In this second book, she explores betrayal, abandonment, grief and success. 

The characters have nicely grown since the first book, showing that the three years have changed them but not enough to leave readers behind.  These young adults bear the scars of their previous relationship, scars that imprint so many of their choices and reactions.  And then we have the city of New York, which is almost a character herself.  The background to the reunion that serves as action and adventure for the characters.

A compelling, surprising and haunting sequel.  This is one that fans of If I Stay will be satisfied and enthralled by.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Penguin Young Readers Group.

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Reading Gets Teens Ahead in Careers

| Tasha

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Image by Holtsman

Oxford University has found that reading is the sole out-of-school activity that will enhance a teen’s career prospects.  Not even sports or music can make this claim.

The study found that 16-year-olds who read books at least once a month were significantly more likely at age 33 to have a job that is managerial or professional.

Video game playing is the other side of the coin, where changes of attending college fell if a teen was spending a lot of their time that way. 

The study looked at 17,200 people aged 33 and compared their extra-curricular activities at age 16 with their careers.  For girls, there was a 39% probability that they would be in managerial or professional careers if they read as teens, compared to a 25% if they had not.  For boys, the figures were 58% for readers, compared to 48% for nonreaders. 

It’s another study win for reading as a teen.  The other study that can out recently showed a link between decreased depression in teens and reading.

Top 10 Unsuitable Books for Teenagers

| Tasha

Patrick Ness, author of the wonderfully tense The Knife of Never Letting Go, has selected ten books that are entirely unsuitable for teens but perfect to read when people say you are far too young to read them.  One wonders how many more teens would be reading if they just got a few inappropriate books in their hands!

Here is his list:

  

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

The Stand by Stephen King (this and everything else by King were a huge part of my teen reading habits)

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

  

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Dracula by Bram Stoker

  

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Maul by Tricia Sullivan

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Unrecommended by Unnamed – the place to put those all those books that YOU read as a teen but now think that teens are WAY to young to read.  Yeah, I can relate to Ness’ Flowers in the Attic reference…

Review–Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

| Tasha

darknessbecomesher

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Ari has always stood out with her silver hair and teal eyes.  Now after years in foster care, she is on a quest to discover what happened to her parents.  Her long-dead mother, who committed suicide, left her a message.  Run!  Ari heads to New 2, what has become of New Orleans after several devastating hurricanes and after some wealthy families purchased the land from the United States to make their own domain.  It is where Ari was born and where she must return to learn the answers about not only her parents but herself.  When she reaches New 2, Ari finds a place that accepts people who are very unique and different, like herself.  For the first time ever, she feels she might have found a place she can belong in and maybe even love in.

Keaton writes with a beautiful clarity, creating a setting and characters that are vivid and compelling.  Ari is a protagonist that teens will relate to easily.  She is deadly, fascinating and unique.  Her voice is strong, her actions make sense, and the truth about her is a delight to discover.

One of the strongest characters in the book is New 2, the destroyed city that serves as a haven for the paranormal.  Keaton renders New 2 in prose that is filled with imagery, lovingly detailed and places readers right inside the city alongside Ari.  Those who know New Orleans will recognize it under the ruins, others will be drawn to the city in new ways.

With so many paranormal romances available, one grows jaded reading them.  Don’t make that mistake with this title which keeps the genre fresh and enjoyable.  Fans of Twilight and Hunger Games will find a well-written story to long after here.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon Pulse.

Here is the book trailer:

Book Review – Lost & Found: A Graphic Novel Wonderland

| Tasha

lostfoundtan

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

This collection of three stories by Tan which were previously published in Australia as separate stories combine to create an incredible experience.  Tan wrote two of the stories himself and did the art for all three.  The three stories are unique and different, though they are all about loneliness, discovering what is right in front of us, and unexpected beauty. 

The Red Tree tells the story of a woman trapped in darkness, though if you look closely you will see a sign of hope that continues through the images.  The illustrations are filled with large urban buildings, strange mechanical beings, and empty curving landscapes.  Until finally, the red tree is found where you least expect it. 

The Lost Thing is the story of a man who discovers something strange on the beach.  It was something odd, unusual and completely out of place.  The man searches for where the lost thing belongs, eventually taking it home with him and figuring out what it eats.  But this is not a story of a lost and new pet.  It is a story of secret places, unusual beings, and discovering what you were once blind to.

The Rabbits is a story written by John Marsden, who is also from Australia.  The story takes a look at the colonization of Australia through the story of the rabbits entering and taking over the continent.  Marsden and Tan create a story that tells the tale of take over, theft and oppression through animals, at once making it a story that can be told clearly and coolly but also one that echoes with tragedy on a larger scale.  For me, this was the story in the book that resonated and continues to linger.

Tan pays close attention to details throughout the book.  The transitional pages between the stories create a unified feel to the book, tying the stories together as if they are hand-in-hand.  The effect of the three stories is one of uniqueness and universal themes. 

Beautifully created, these stories are a treasure for graphic novel fans who will find out that graphic novels can be artistic, deep, compassionate and amazing.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

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Wither: Surprising, Exceptional Dystopian

| Tasha

wither

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

In future America thanks to genetic manipulation that went wrong, people have a very short and specific lifetime.  Women live until they are 20, men until they are 25.  Society has collapsed with science turning toward trying to save the human race.  In this world, girls are stolen from the streets and kidnapped to become wives and keep the population up.  Rhine is a girl who is taken and survives the selection process.  Now she is forced into a polygamous marriage to a very wealthy man.  She is trapped with her sister wives in a mansion; her cage is beautiful and sumptuous but it is still a cage.  Rhine tries to think only of her escape, but it is made difficult as she begins to form relationships with her fellow prisoners, a handsome servant, and her husband.  This book explores uncertainty, love, desperation and strength.

DeStefano’s writing is what elevates this book above other dystopian fantasies.  Her phrasing is subtle and natural, occasionally turning poetic to make a stronger point or present an important event.  Her plotting is masterful.  In a book where much of the time is spent waiting for action, the story never lags or disappoints.  It is a book of quiet desperation not only for Rhine but for the entire society. 

The world building here is particularly exquisite.  There is just enough of the science background given to make the story work.  The real beauty is in the exploration of the effects of the situation, the revealing of a society in decay, the division of wealth and poverty, the allure of a life at ease in a world like this.  It all adds up to a very powerful statement about our current society.

The characterizations are also beautifully done.  From Rhine, the brave heroine who tells the story in first person present tense, allowing readers to figure out what is happening right along with her.  The sister wives are as different from one another as can be, each of them unique and human, each a character worthy of her own book.  Then there is the complexity of the husband, Linden, a man who could have been portrayed as a monster.  Instead he is a man with a background that formed him, a love for others, and who is haunted by loss. 

Ideal for fans of dystopian science fiction, this unique book will have readers unable to put it down and begging to know when the next book in the series is coming out.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

 

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster.

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Self-Publishing Idol Amanda Hocking Gets Deal

| Tasha

  

Amanda Hocking has made $2 million selling her paranormal teen Trylle Trilogy.  Now she has a deal with St. Martin’s for another $2 million for a new series called “Watersong.”  This series too is paranormal teen novels. 

Hocking explained on her blog:

“I want to be a writer,” she said. “I do not want to spend 40 hours a week handling e-mails, formatting covers, finding editors, etc. Right now, being me is a full-time corporation.”

Expect the first book in her new series in fall 2012.