tiny pink books

Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books, 2007

What if you found out you only had a year to live?  In Deadline, 18-year-old Ben Wolf discovers, at the start of his senior year, that he has a terminal disease that will likely kill him within a year.  Forgoing treatment with iffy promises, Wolf instead chooses not to tell his friends and family and decides to live a lifetime in his last year, challenging himself in sports, relationships and school.  Dying becomes more complicated, however, as Wolf’s relationships shift and change, making him engage with the world around him like he never has before.

What I liked about Deadline was that it was a fairly smart book that really captured a complex dilemma.  The concept of life and its meaning run very central to the plot and, written in a very honest, down to earth teenage boy perspective.  To top things off, Deadline has some of the best sports scenes that I’ve read in a long time.  Some of the football games were absolutely riveting…and that’s coming from someone who has never actually watched a full football game!

I listened to the audiobook version of Deadline, but I’d recommend the paper copy (nothing against the audio, I just think this type of book would have read better internally).

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010

I was very excited about this sequel to last year’s chilling Forest of Hands and Teeth and was even more thrilled to see the audiobook version out so quickly.  Contrary to the buzz surrounding this book, I found it to be a slight disappointment.

Almost nothing like her mother, Mary (the protagonist of Forest of Hands and Teeth), Gabry lives happily within the barriers of her small, seaside town of Vista.  The barriers around Vista keep out the mudo–hordes of undead zombies that have overrun most of the world. Everything about Gabry’s life changes one night when she and her friends sneak over the barrier and are attacked by mudo.  Death, adventure, infection, love triangles and revelations of Gabry’s past follow in this muddled sequel.

I was bothered by the abundance of melodrama in this book.  The romance plot lines, in particular, were overly dramatic and felt forced.  I think the audio format enhanced this…it was almost unbearable at parts!  When there was action was where The Dead Tossed Waves shined.  Although I’d still highly recommend this book to fans of the Forest of Hands and Teeth (as well as other books in the genre), Dead Tossed Waves lacks the mystery, pacing and strong characters of Forest that made it so appealing.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Scribner, 2005

I Heart This Book!
The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeanette Walls, is one of the best books I’ve read in years. Telling the story of her childhood, Walls shares her story of growing up with two ultimately loving, but dangerously eccentric parents leading the family down an extremely unconventional path. Walls’s knack for detail and character make the stories and characters so vivid and lifelike that The Glass Castle is impossible to put down. Despite the neglect and suffering that Walls and her siblings are put through, she tells the story without judgment and, ultimately, with a heartbreaking undertone of love

Who Will Like This?
Tear jerking at times, inspiring, hilariously offbeat and absolutely fascinating to read, this is a book that just about anyone will enjoy. Although it isn’t a book specifically published for YA, I’ve found that young adults, especially girls, love this book as much as I do. I know this title has been around for a while, but I just can’t stop recommending it to friends and family.

(I listened to the audio version and recommend it!)

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2007.

The final book of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing delivers a thoughtful and satisfying conclusion.  Nearing the end of their time at the Spence Academy for Young Ladies, Gemma Doyle and her friends, Felicity and Anne, are faced with the harsh realities of their futures.  Meanwhile, the Realms are awash with conflict as Gemma holds all of the magic and must decide how to share it within the tribes there.  In this final book, Gemma’s two roles, as a strong sorceress of the Realms and as a powerless English school girl, collide and reach an exciting conclusion.
I enjoyed this whole series much more than I expected to.  I love that way Bray uses the historical setting to create a unique and feminist theme.  As Gemma and her friends struggle against the corseted boundaries that society holds them in, the only power they seem to have is that of magic.  I could go on, but basically, this trilogy was a very good blend of genres (both historical fiction and fantasy) with really well written characters.  As someone who is not particularly inclined to either genre, I am amazed at how enjoyable I found this series.  Recommended to readers, especially teen girls, who want action, realistic characters, and a bit of magic.  Also, though long, the audio versions of all of the Gemma Doyle books were excellent!

Vegan Virgin Valentine
by Carolyn Mackler

Overachieving high school senior Mara Valentine’s biggest problem seems to be duking out for her school’s valedictorian.  She’s already gotten into Yale and, on paper, she appears to be the perfect teen.  Finicky and uptight, Mara’s regular routine gets completely turned around when her relative, V, comes to live with her.  V is just one year younger than Mara, but V is a free spirit–wild, compulsive, chaotic–just about everything the Mara is not.  While V drives Mara crazy with her mere presence, Mara begins to see the cracks in her perfect life.  Finding that there is more to life than high GPA and SAT scores, Mara begins to explore other sides of herself and finds that her life’s desires go far beyond accelerated university programs.

What I loved about this book where the characters.  This is only the second book by Carolyn Mackler that I’ve read, but her characters are totally believable and nuanced.  Mara could just be a stuck up, overachieving nerd (and, in part she certainly is!), but Mackler creates the right balance to make her questioning of herself and eventual transformation totally believable.  Same with V.  The everyday drama of having these two characters trying to live under one roof is not just entertaining, but readers, whether they are more like V or more like Mara, will relate.  While the conclusion is reached, perhaps with a slightly sugar coated ease, it is certainly believable.

I enjoyed this book and I think that smart teen readers will too.  While it doesn’t have the drama and excitement to grab any reader, I think the realism in the characters and the problems they face will reach readers who want realistic fiction and drama.  I listened to the audiobook, which was well read and not too long!

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
2007, Little, Brown Young Readers

When Deanna was 13, her father caught her in the backseat of a car with a 17-year-old Tommy, her brothers best friend.  The story got around her small, suburban town and Deanna was labeled a slut, by both her peers at school and her father.  Two years later, Deanna is 15 and struggling with the inertia of her past.  Her father still won’t even look her in the eye and her reputation hasn’t changed (even if she has).  In this angsty teen novel, Deanna confronts her past (literally–she ends up working at a pizza place with Tommy) and begins to deal with her issues.

Although Story of a Girl presents a realistic character sketch of a troubled 15-year-old girl, I think what Zarr’s greatest achievement in this book in in the way she captures the suburban teen lifestyle.  Having been an angsty suburban teen myself, I could identify with the boredom and trapped nature of the characters.  While Deanna’s journey out of passivity is interesting and very well written, I had trouble getting into it.  The characters are well fleshed out but I felt like the story was so internal that there just wasn’t a lot happening in terms of plot.  Part of this may have been exacerbated by the fact that I listened to the audio version of the book which, like her other book Sweethearts, read by the Zarr.  Like many author read audiobooks, I found the narration just a little bit off.  I love you Sara, but please stop reading your books in the audiobooks!

So in summary:  well written, realistic, good characters, but a little bit emotionally internal and slow on plot.  Not for reluctant readers, but fans of slower paced realistic fiction will find something here.  Set in the bay area town of Pacifica, which adds bonus amusement if you, like me, live in or near the bay area.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
Feiwel and Friends, 2008

Eli is the 15-year-old son of a mega rich, genius founder of a major technology company (think Bill Gates) in Seattle, Washington. His father, obsessed with the threat of nuclear war, has built an incredible underground compound where he and his family will live out a 15 year nuclear fallout. Only, when the family is rushed into the compound one night, under the threat of nuclear way, things don’t go smoothly, leaving Eli’s twin Eddie and his grandmother locked outside, presumably to die. Six years later, with not a word from the outside world, Eli has grown used to a sad and drastic life of routine in the compound. But, as the food supply grows low and Eli’s father pushes the entire family towards a horrific and immoral solution, Eli begins to question everything he has known of his father, the compound, and life as he knows it.

The premise of The Compound is terrifically cliche…and everything about the book–the characters, their motivations, the plot–really works on this level. It’s like a really good, cheesy action movie that keeps you hooked, even though years of television and movie watching have trained you to know what’s coming. The characters, especially, the father, are cartoonish caricatures in some ways…but that only adds to the fun of The Compound. Bodeen has managed to write a novel that reads in an almost cinematic way (and it would make a great movie!).

Perfect for reluctant readers and boys who enjoy things like the Anthony Horowitz novels. Oh and I listened to the audio version, which was well read.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
HarperCollins, 2009

Chloe Saunders is a normal, albeit sheltered teenager…until the day she discovers that she can see ghosts.  Sent to a group home and deemed schizophrenic for her visions, Chloe finds herself completely removed from what was her life.  As if that weren’t enough, Lyle House, the group home Chloe is locked in, is full of mystery and other kids who seem to have strange powers along the same line as Chloe’s.  Full of unease and a little bit of creepiness, The Summoning is a decent scary book.

I think one of the best things about The Summoning is that the scariness is subtle enough for younger young adults, without being too babyish.  There’s a very occasional, PG-13 swear word, but overall the content is fairly tame for a horror book.  The writing style is very soap opera/movie-ish, but that sort of works to The Summoning’s favor, given that the main character has a thing for film directing.  All in all, this was a reasonably entertaining book.  I’d recommend it to fans of Twilight (especially the youngish ones) and readers looking for girly horror.  Not recommended for readers seeking intensely scary books, these are creepy, but just not all that frightening.  Also, the ending cannot even be described as a cliffhanger-it’s such a shameless non-ending that you will have to pick up the second book to finish not just the story, but the final conversation in the book!  This may frustrate some readers (and intigue and excite others)!

I listened to the audio version of this book…it had a pretty good reader and I recommend it for a long drive.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Little, Brown Young Readers, 2009

Probably deserving the award for most misleading cover of the year (and the year’s not even up!), Sweethearts is an emotional story of friendship, loss, and self identity.  Jennifer Harris grew up as the fat, ugly girl in school.  Mercilessly teased by the other kids, she only had one friend-Cameron Quick.  As elementary school children, they had a pure and close friendship that made life bearable…until one day when Cameron disappears.  Jennifer is left alone, wondering what happened to her best friend.  The taunting and the teasing takes over and she spends the rest of her childhood miserable and alone, mourning the loss of her friend.  As she grows up, she reinvents herself.  She loses weight, she changes her name to Jenna, she switches schools and she puts on an exterior of friendly normality that makes her friends.  Now, at age 17, Jenna is skinny, she has friends, and she even has a boyfriend.  When Cameron mysteriously enters her life again, her already shaky world is rocked, forcing her to confront, not just her past, but her entire self identity.

It’s hard to sum up Sweethearts because so much of the plot is pure emotional development.  Jenna is frustratingly sad…and painfully familiar to anyone who’s struggled with self esteem and self identity.  Zarr does a beautiful job in creating a voice for Jenna and the result is a powerfully emotional character.  While there’s little drama in terms of action, there are enough friends and relationships impacted by Jenna’s struggle to keep things interesting.  The ending will be a bit of a letdown for anyone expecting neatly tied up packages, but those who can handle and end with an ellipses instead of a period will walk away with satisfaction.

I’d recommend this book to young adult and adult readers seeking an emotional journey rather than an action based plot.  While there is drama involving the other characters, this book is first and foremost about self identity and a struggle to come to terms with that.  Boys will probably hate this book as will anyone expecting action, humor, or neatly tied up endings.  The real travesty of Sweethearts is that it looks, from the cover, to be either a lighter, sweeter book (romantic) or a book about body image issues.  While there is a little romance and it certainly touches on body image, neither of these is even close to the main subject of the book.

I listened to the audio version of this book.  Read by the author, it is acceptable, though I wished that they had gotten someone else to read  it (sorry Sara, you are an awesome writer, but your reading lacked energy).  Like I said though, the narration was not distracting and perfectly acceptable.

Hatchet by Gary Paulson
Bradbury Press, 1987

I know, I know, Hatchet is way old and is such a standard part of every children’s book collection.  It’s incredible that I never got around to reading it until now.  I like disaster/survival stories and I needed something that was available and on the shelf immediately for a drive home one day!  Hatchet was there and here we go.

Hatchet is an exciting story about an amazingly adaptable boy named Brian who is stranded alone in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash on a single engine plane.  With no rescue on the way, Brian must figure out how to survive with no food, no special knowledge, and only a small hatchet.  As he slowly learns how to use the environment and the hatchet to create fire, find food, hunt, fish, etc, he also struggles emotionally with his memories of home and his parent’s recent divorce.  It’s an interesting story, if a bit didactic at times.

The best thing about Hatchet for me, of course, is the development of Brian’s survival skills.  It’s exciting and, although he is a frustratingly slow to learn characters sometimes, I was quite impressed with his bravery and determination.  The emotional moments of Hatchet were the really droll parts for me.  Maybe it’s just that we’ve come a long way since 1987, but the whole tortured child over his parents split was, I don’t know, kind of silly considering the other odds he had to fight again (wolves, bears and a deranged moose!).  It’s still a good story though and I’ve noticed that we recently got in a new edition with an updated cover that doesn’t scream 1987 anymore.  I think the story will still be loved by children and tweens (especially boys) seeking adventure stories or stories about survival.

I also have to add that I listened to the audiobook…and it was probably the worst audiobook I’ve ever heard!  Terrible, overly dramatic reading and mindlessly place mood music.  It was hard to get through it, even though I enjoyed the story itself.