romance

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.

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: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

| Tasha

two boys kissing

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Released August 27, 2013.

Based on true events, this is the story of Henry and Craig, who attempt to set the World Record for kissing the longest.  That means they have to kiss for over 32 hours without a break, no pee breaks, no drink breaks, no sleep and no food.  They start it as a way to support their friend who had been attacked for being gay, but it quickly becomes so much more than that.  It is a kiss felt around the world.  It’s a kiss that speaks to other gay boys, boys who are in their own relationships, those just starting to meet one another, those born into the wrong bodies, those exploring the dark side of the Internet, and others who are just coming out.  The entire book is narrated by the voices of gay men who died in the AIDS epidemic, a generation of gay men who watch the violence, the continued anguish, but also the hope, the progress and the open joy of love.

This book is quite simply a masterpiece.  The pairing of the fresh young love of these gay teens against the wisdom of those who fault earlier battles is brilliant.  It places the entire book into a context that could otherwise be lost.  It is through those many narrators that the truth is laid bare in luminous poetic sentences like “He has no idea how beautiful he is as he walks up that path and rings that doorbell.  He has no idea how beautiful the ordinary becomes once it disappears.”  I highlighted so many sentences like that, bursts of beautiful insight scattered across the sky of the book.  Levithan is at his best here.

Levithan’s pairing of the modern with the perspective of those dead also makes sure that the book has a certain focus on death and dying.  He plays with both, contrasting it with the beauty of the every day, the wonder of perfect moments that are perfect only because they are momentary.  The book reads as one of those crystalline moments caught and tangible.  Levithan also offers gay characters who are in complicated relationships, adding to the depth of the narrative even further.  None of these teens are stereotypes, they are all deeply human, wonderfully so.

Beautifully written with strong characters and a brilliant concept, this book is breathtaking, just like a great kiss should be.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from e-galley courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss.

Review: If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

| Tasha

Farizan_IfYouCouldBeMine_REV.indd

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

This debut novel from an Iranian-American author takes a look at what it is like to be a teen lesbian in Iran.  Sahar loves her friend Nasrin intensely.  They have been friends since childhood and Sahar has loved her since she was six.  They steal kisses when their parents are not around and long to be able to plan their lives together.  But in a country where women can be arrested and beaten for showing their elbows in public, their love is not allowed.  When Nasrin is betrothed to a young doctor, Sahar desperately looks for a solution that would allow them to be together.   She discovers that in Iran, you can have a sex change if you declare yourself to be transgendered and be considered fully the opposite sex.  So Sahar sets out to do just that, become a man so that she can marry Nasrin.  As Sahar’s plan develops, she has to make some serious choices, ones that will affect her for the rest of her life.

Farizan’s writing is clear and beautiful.  She adroitly shows the society of Iran, its treatment of women, the fear of the police, and the danger that the characters are living with.  The portrayal of their love is tender and exploratory, as it begins to crumble, one can see Sahar’s love for Nasrin remain even when their closeness begins to evaporate under the stress of the upcoming wedding and Sahar’s desperation to find a solution.

Throughout the book, there is a sense of longing, of yearning for freedom, for love, for one another.  It is a book filled with choices where nothing is right due to the society around them.  Yet through it all, Sahar shines.  She is a wonderful character who is strong, smart and unstoppable. 

This book depicts in life in Iran but also offers a diverse look at GLBTQ issues in the Middle East.  With a piercingly strong heroine, it is a powerful pick for public library collections.  Appropriate for ages 13-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Algonquin Young Readers.

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: 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: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

| Tasha

just one day

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Allyson has always been the good girl, following her mother’s expectations of her completely.  That’s why she’s on a whirlwind tour of Europe.  Allyson is the girl who follows the rules, rarely goes out in the evenings with the others, and fades into the background next to her flashier best friend.  So when Allyson suggests that they go see an underground performance of Shakespeare and cut out of the tour, it’s very out of character.  When she discovers one of the actors, Willem, on their train the next day to London, the two of them just click.  Quickly, she and Willem decide to head to Paris together for just one day before they both have to return home.  As they travel together, the spark they had on the train becomes something even stronger.  So when Willem is gone the next morning, Allyson struggles to figure out what happened even as she returns home and starts college.  But the memory of Willem won’t leave her, coloring everything she experiences.

Forman is the author of If I Stay and Where She Went.  Here she explores the world of a sheltered teen girl who decides to take a huge risk and break free of her confines if only for just one day.  Forman captures the fatigue of travel where one day blurs into the others and the way that tours can dull the wonder of even the most amazing places.  She then shows the difference between that way of travel and the travel of discovery and serendipity where your entire being is caught up in experiencing things.  Forman writes of Paris and then also the Netherlands with a true affection, creating moments that are splendid and transformational. 

Forman’s writing is assured and skilled.  Upon opening the novel, the reader knows that the book will be solid.  They will be delighted to also find that her writing is romantic and beautiful, truly recreating the experience of falling in love as a teen.  She has also created a very compelling teen heroine in Allyson, who struggles mightily with the expectations set upon her.  One roots for her to find her way free and also to find her way back to what she lost.

This exceptional teen novel is a whirlwind romantic trip to Europe that will have you wrapped up in its arms much faster than just one day.  Appropriate for ages 16-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Dutton.

Review: Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

| Tasha

midwinterblood

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Intertwined stories that range from the near future of 2073 to the distant past of the Vikings, this book lures the reader in with dark promises, strange happenings, and dares you to follow your curiosity deeper and deeper.  When Eric Seven arrives at the island of Blessed to see if the claims that people have discovered how to live longer (if not forever) are true, he is greeted with warmth and immediately set up in house of his own.  No one lives on the western side of the island and the eastern side only has adults, no children.  Eric starts out with drive to discover what is wrong, but the longer he spends on the island and drinking the tea the community provides him, the less he wants to explore at all.  When he travels to the western side of the island finally, his story forms the door to those that follow.  Layer upon layer, the lives of the people on Blessed are told, each layer revealing something new and equally odd.  This impressive novel is impossible to put down until the final story and the real truth is revealed in all of its horror.

Immediately upon opening this book, the strangeness of the story was apparent.  As Eric slips into complacency, I was almost screaming at him with frustration.  It was the ideal way to open this book where so much hinges upon the moments of hair raising oddity that link the stories.  Sedgwick has built this book so exquisitely that there is no guessing at the ending until it comes.  It is a story of love but also of revenge, of brotherhood but also of murder. 

Set on a Scandinavian island that is remote, Sedgwick uses the unusual formation of the island as a large part of the story.  The two halves nearly severed from one another, they are two worlds connected only slightly.  So the island itself reflects the story of generations of people who remain connected as well.  The inclusion of the dragon orchid and the powerful tea it brews is also a great symbol within the story.  The orchids are powerful, strange but also beautiful and delicate. 

This compelling novel is amazing teen literature.  It has enough depth to be used in a classroom where the symbolism and incredible writing can be celebrated.  It is also a riveting combination of romance and horror that will thrill discriminating teen readers.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.