Teen

Lips Touch

| Tasha

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo

In three stories, this book explores the power of a kiss and its ability to change one’s life.  The first story, Goblin Fruit, features a teen who has been raised by a family who still lives off the land and believes in the old stories.  But Kizzy longs to be loved, yearns to be noticed.  She is noticed by a beautiful new boy at the school.  Readers will immediately realize that this is too good to be real, but will Kizzy?  The second story, Spicy Little Curses, is set in India.  An elderly woman visits a demon in hell and negotiates for the lives of children.  In one deal, she trades the lives of over 20 children for a single curse.  That curse gives a young English woman who has been born and raised in India the most beautiful voice in the world.  The twist is that if she speaks, anyone who hears her will die.  In the final story, Hatchling, readers find themselves in a fairy tale that turns dark with the howling of wolves and a race of beings who collect children as pets, breed them for coloring, and have lost their souls. 

Taylor’s writing here is lush with imagery.  Her language is rich and sensual, dark and frightening.  She explores large, deep themes without hesitation, leading readers through explorations of lust, longing, and trust.  Through her skilled characterization, readers are captivated almost immediately by each story.  They are not linked stories, but are laced together loosely by theme and tone.  Taylor creates three distinct stories, each fascinating and complex.  The grouping of the three together is masterful with each of them becoming stronger by being next to another. 

These are short stories that will have teen readers asking for more.  Point them towards Margo Lanagan for more short stories that have dark themes.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.  ARC did not contain the bulk of the illustrations.

Also reviewed by Becky’s Book Reviews, Charlotte’s Library, and A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy.

Ice

| Tasha

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

Cassie has been told the story of the Polar Bear King and her mother making a deal with him for years.  When she matured, she realized it was a fairy tale to explain her mother’s death.  But when she sees a very large polar bear out on the Arctic ice and he walks through solid ice, she has to admit that the story may be true.  It becomes even more real when Bear begins talking with her and then takes her away to his ice castle past the North Pole.  Cassie has grown up surrounded by ice and bears in her father’s Arctic research facility, but nothing has prepared her for the magic that suddenly surrounds her.  Cassie is caught in her own fairy tale, where she has to brave true love, harsh weather, protective prisons, and frightening trolls before she understands what love and family are really about.

I am a fan of Durst’s previous novels and their twists on fairy tales.  Nothing in those however, prepared me for the wonder and magic of Ice.  Durst has taken my favorite fairy tale of all time, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” and transformed it into a modern novel.  There have been other retellings of this story, but Durst has reached new heights.  Bear is immediately appealing, large and protective, and readers fall for him long before Cassie does.  Their relationship with its tumult and trust issues rings so clear and true. 

Durst’s largest accomplishment in this novel is its heroine, Cassie.  Her inner voice carries this novel as she struggles not only with Bear and the magic, but with real forces that would keep her docile.  Her bravery is amazing, but never off-putting.  She is definitely a modern heroine caught in an old-fashioned fairy tale, which makes the book even more marvelous. 

Durst’s story takes readers from the Arctic to the tundra to the boreal forest and back again in the arms of the wind.  Through it all, she creates settings that are vivid and tangible.  Bear’s ice castle comes to life in minute details and crystalline beauty.  The Arctic wilderness is frightening, white and barren.  The boreal forest is spectacular in its diversity. 

Highly recommended, this novel is a magnificent swirl of romance, ice crystals and warm fur.  Perfect to curl up with in front of a roaring fire.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copies received from publisher.  Copies will be placed in library collection.

Also reviewed by Bib-Laura-graphy and Laini Taylor.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot

| Tasha

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Beatrice is new in town, but that’s nothing new for her.  She and her parents have lived in city after city, following her father’s career as a professor.   Bea tells herself that she doesn’t care what the other kids in school think of her.  She’s a senior and only has to make it through one final year until she heads to college.  In assembly, she finds herself between Anne who is very perky even early in the morning, and Jonah who everyone calls Ghost Boy because he is so pale and reserved.  It would make sense for her to become friends with Anne, especially because that’s what Anne wants.  But she finds herself drawn to Jonah.  They have one vital thing in common: they are both insomniacs and listen to late-night radio to fall asleep.  And so they become unusual friends, true friends who would do anything for each other. 

Standiford does the near impossible here.  She has a male/female friendship with no kissing, no groping, no sexual tension.  It is a real friendship: taut with tension at times, deep with emotion, glassy with superficiality too.  The relationship between these two teens is so genuine.  It is fragile at times, breakable, but iron strong and vital too.  It is shifting, changing, and true.

Standiford excels at several things in this novel.  Her characterizations are wonderful.  Not only the two main characters are real, but Bea’s parents, the radio callers, and other teens are fully realized and interesting.  Standiford’s pacing is also very well done.  It is so well done that it is unobtrusive and unnoticed while reading, which is just what pacing should be. It makes the book hard to put down and a pleasure to read. 

I should mention the cover, which I really don’t like.  It should not be a pink book, especially not a hot-pink book.  And the phone really doesn’t work for me.  With as special as this book is, it deserved a much better cover.  Let’s hope that it gets released in paperback with a better cover that really shows what it’s about.

This is an unusual book. The characters are unique, interesting and fun to spend time with.  Their friendship is so real that it is almost painful at times to read because it is so accurately and unflinchingly portrayed.  Sadly, the cover will have to be worked against to get it into the hands of teens who will relate to it.  Anyone with a real friend will find themselves on these pages.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.

Also reviewed by Jen Robinson and The Hiding Spot.

The Silver Blade

| Tasha

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner

This sequel to The Red Necklace is just as winning a book as the first.  Readers are once again taken into the French Revolution with Yann and Sido.  Yann is still rescuing people from the bloody edge of the guillotine, spiriting them out of the country using his innate magic of the threads of light.  His nemesis Count Kalliovski is now living deep under Paris in the catacombs and is once again seeking Sido for his demonic uses.  This is a magical romance set against the horror of the French Revolution.  It is a dark but shining novel which could be described as the Scarlet Pimpernel for teens.

Gardner creates books with a unique mix of historical fiction and fantasy.  Her historical fiction is so vivid that one might just think that the fantasy interwoven into the story is part of that actual history.  Gardner’s language is just as powerful and deep as the novel itself.  Here is a passage on page 76 of the novel where she describes the darkness in the catacombs:

Yet here, where no sunlight had ever been, the darkness had an altogether unfamiliar texture.  No dawn would break through these shadowy corridors.  This darkness would never remember the light of a lantern’; it would be nothing more than a pinprick in the liquid heart of eternal night.  So powerful was this absence of light that for the first time, Yann experienced the sensation of being blind.

She weaves her story together out of the different strands of light and dark.  She takes the vilest of characters and brings them unflinchingly to life while also creating a hero for the ages.  The story is as riveting and fascinating as the first book thanks to her strong characterization and great action sequences.

Get this pair of books in the hands of teens who like either historical fiction or fantasy.  Both sets will enjoy it immensely.  Appropriate for ages 13-16. 

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Sweet Valley High, the Movie?!

| Tasha

The author of the screenplay for Juno is set to adapt The Sweet Valley High series for the big screen.  And just after most libraries finally weeded the bulk of the very long series.

I remember the series being one of a group that in the nineties you absolutely did not weed.  They sat on the shelves until they were in tatters.  Other series that could not be weeded at the time were RL Stine and Christopher Pike.  No matter how old they got, they still checked out constantly.

I was so thrilled when I could finally get those old books off of the shelves as their use went down and get newer titles.  And now, now they are making a feature film?!  Why now?  It also looks like they have already been made into a TV series in 1994 when they were still hot.

So my big question for all of you practicing YA librarians is whether you still have Sweet Valley on your shelves and whether they still go out. 

Front and Center

| Tasha

Front and Center by Catherine Murdock

Released October 19, 2009.

In this third and final book in the Dairy Queen series, DJ has returned home after caring for her injured brother Will.  Now she is back in the high school mix of homework, basketball and plenty of pressure.  Pressure from her coach to turn into a better leader and start to speak out more on court.  Pressure from the bag of offers her father has kept, filled with coaches that she is going to have to call.  Pressure from a new boyfriend and lingering thoughts of Brian.  Pressure from her brother Will to do it all perfectly and to do it now.  Luckily DJ has basketball and workouts to keep her mind from spiraling completely out of control.  But she has some big decisions to make and soon.

DJ is such a wonderful character that I am sad to see this will be her final book.  She is genuine, funny and reminds me vividly of all of the Wisconsin farm girls I knew growing up.  Murdock has created a character who is above all real, filled with doubts, and exceptional.  Even reading this as an adult, it brought up all of the tough decisions I have had to make about school and work, along with their accompanying not-good-enough feelings.  Murdock has written a book about struggling with self-doubt and the future without becoming whiny in any way. 

Murdock also excels at the characters of DJ’s family, giving them each their own motivations, logical growth of their characters, and sudden understanding.  It is a pleasure to see a series where an entire family changes together, growing stronger and more important to one another.

Highly recommended for anyone who has read the first two.  This final book is just as good as the others in the series, if not better.  I’d recommend seeking this series out and enjoying all three books right in a row if you haven’t read them yet.  A great end to a marvelous series!  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Also reviewed at Librarilly Blonde, Abby (the) Librarian, Feed Your Imagination, and Jen Robinson’s Book Page.

The Indigo Notebook

| Tasha

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

Released October 13, 2009.

Fifteen-year-old Zeeta has lived all over the world with her mother who teachers English.  She has been raised to dance in the middle of the night, bathe in mystic pools, and embrace the world and its mysteries.  Her mother spouts the poetry of Rami all the time and doesn’t believe in rules at all.  Zeeta has spent most of her life wishing that she had a normal family.  Now the two are in Ecuador.  Zeeta meets American teen, Wendell, at the market place and is drawn into a quest to find his birth parents with only the clue of a crystal that was placed in his blankets as a baby.  They journey together to a neighboring small village where the answers are hidden in time and everyone seems to have a secret.  As she tries to help Wendell on his quest, Zeeta’s home life starts to change after her mother nearly dies.  Her mother gets a normal boyfriend and starts to watch TV, set rules, and think about returning to the states.  Could it be that everything you really wish for you already have?  The first in a new series.

In this many layered, complex work, Resau has created a fascinating heroine who speaks multiple languages, is at ease approaching strangers, and Can move across the world and in a few weeks feel at home.  Zeeta is an engaging heroine whose life may seem blissful when seen from afar, but living it takes more skill that one would expect.  She is nicely balanced in the story by Wendell, who has left the US for the first time since his adoption.  Their romance is well done, with nothing beyond kissing, and an obvious deep connection to one another. 

The depiction of Ecuador is done without cleaning it up and making it pretty.  There is poverty, begging, alcoholism, deceit, and broken families.  But there are also women who are mothers of the entire village, wise healers, friendly people at the market, generosity, and beauty.  Resau does not make it simple and easy.  She revels in the complexity, creating a real world for readers to immerse themselves in.

Resau’s writing is filled with imagery.  Here is a description of the mountains from Page 98 of the ARC:

Each of the mountains has its own personality. Some beam down at you, gently, like a big-bosomed grandma.  Some are sexy, slinking around in the lacy clouds.  Others shoot up, jagged and fierce, with a passionate energy.  Some guard magical realms, their smiles silent and secret.  No wonder the locals say that the mountains are gods.

With this, her setting is built and strengthened.  Ecuador comes alive in her writing.  One can almost smell the popcorn in the air, the fresh bread baking, and the potato soup. 

Highly recommended for tween and teen readers who are looking to travel.  This book brings a place to life so vividly it is almost like being there.  Add a little romance and it becomes irresistible.  Appropriate for ages 12-15.

Reviewed from an ARC.  The quote used should be checked against the final version for accuracy.

Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z.

| Tasha

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner

Gee would much rather be out running than sitting and hearing about the leaf project that is due next week.  Her place in sectionals is in jeopardy though, if she doesn’t get this project in on time.  But her life is more complicated than that and she has always had problems with deadlines.  Now with her grandmother’s health in decline, Gee has very serious things on her mind.  Plus her relationship with one of her best friends could be turning into something other than friendship.  And another girl is out to steal her place on the team.  Sometimes a girl just can’t catch a break! 

Perfectly set during the glory of changing autumn, Messner captures the season’s sounds, smells and feeling.  As Gee faces difficult situations that have her world changing, nature too is in mid-change.  Messner manages to capture this with a delicate hand, allowing readers to connect the two themselves. 

Gee is a wonderful heroine.  The combination of athlete and artist is an unusual one that works very well.  The characterization is very strong for not only Gee, but all of the people around her.  Nonna, the grandmother, is captured with a warm and heart that is exceptional.  The passages about her becoming more foggy and forgetful are written with a beauty and grace that is breathtaking. 

This is a pre-teen book that is not about kissing, not boy-crazy, and not pink!  It is a book that will work for many kids who are looking for something real and beautiful.  And who isn’t?!  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from publisher.

Also reviewed on A Patchwork of Books, Writing and Ruminating, Jen Robinson’s Book Page, and Welcome to My Tweendom.

Check out Kate Messner’s blog.

Bait

| Tasha

Bait by Alex Sanchez

Diego can’t seem to control his anger.  He punches a kid just for taunting him at school and ends up in court.  There he meets Mr. Vidas, a parole officer, the first person in his life who listens and holds him accountable.  Although he was going to be sentenced far more leniently, Diego asks to be put on parole because that is the only way that he can continue to talk with Mr. Vidas.  But will the supportive Mr. Vidas continue to be supportive when he learns what Diego has done?  And will Diego have the courage to be honest about his past?  After all, no one in the world knows.

This novel is as powerful as Diego’s fists.  It tells the story of a teen so filled with rage, bitterness, and misery that his skin can barely contain it.  But it also tells the story of survival.  It is a deep novel where Diego grows in believable and tangible ways and hope comes in where there was none.  The writing is filled with the same tension one sees in Diego.  Sanchez writes with an understanding of the complexities of the teen boy who has survived desperate situations.  He has a background as a parole officer, which I am sure contributes to the strong sense of the good a single person can do in a teen’s life.  Despite its dark themes, the book is positive, a hopeful novel. 

Highly recommended, this book is a powerful story about a survivor.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.