Hero

Hero by S.L. Rottman

Okay, if you enjoyed The Outsiders, you'll probably enjoy this book. It's very boy-centered, very realistic, and very tough. The author even has initials like S.E. Hinton! (Also, S.R. Rottman is a girl, too!)

Sean is a 15 year old who is frequently in trouble - in school and out of school. His father is absent, and his mother is an emotionally and physically abusive drunk. After getting picked up by the police for trouble-making, Sean must complete community service at a farm owned by Mr. H. On Sean's first day there, he must help Mr. H with a difficult labor and delivery of a foal - a foal that Sean names Knickers. The foal's mother instantly rejects her baby, and Knickers must be bottle fed and kept away from his mother. Sean makes an instant connection with this young horse, and his attitude about his community service begins to change. While Sean finds purpose in his work at the farm, his mother's abusiveness escalates.

At first, this felt very programmed. However, the story goes to an unexpected place in the last few chapters, and that definitely improved the story a great deal. And while this story is a great companion to The Outsiders, it doesn't capture the deft characterization that SE Hinton manages (even though she was only 15!). (Also, I must mention that sometimes SE Hinton's characterization DEFINITELY shows her youth! Like the overly detailed descriptions of physical appearance!) It also doesn't make the characters nearly as lovable. But for fans of The Outsiders, I would very much recommend this book!

Flying Lessons & Other Stories

Flying Lessons & Other Stories -- Edited by Ellen Oh

This is a great collection of short stories. When I was younger, I really enjoyed short story collections. As I've gotten older, I've moved away from them. I don't know why, since they are a perfect fit for a working parent. This collection focuses on diversity. A lot of them focus on the quiet support of an adult in the background. After you read so many YA novels, (especially anything that's not realistic fiction) you begin to wonder if there are any responsible, sensible adults around! Perhaps that's why I like Matt de la Pena's "How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium" and Meg Medina's "Sol Painting, Inc." best. In the background (but really foreground) of both stories, is a quiet, strong, supportive dad. I guess these stories are very touching to me, even though my dad could be a real talker, too, at times.

I also really loved Soman Chainani's "Flying Lessons" in which a grandmother pushes her shy, awkward grandson to bloom. "The Difficult Path" by Grace Lin was more historical fiction with a pirate twist, so as a fan of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, I took to the ending of this quickly.

Long enough to feel connected to the characters, but short enough to read in one sitting. This was really a pleasure.

Iqbal

Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo

Iqbal Masih was a young boy living in Pakistan during the 1990s. He was sold into slavery to help pay off his debts. Through determination, he helped free himself and those who worked with him, eventually freeing hundreds of other children and  becoming a global spokesperson against child slavery.

This story is a fictionalized account told from the perspective of a character named Fatima. She narrates life with the carpet maker who holds all the children prisoner. She details the cruelty and the chains and the nightmare of being punished in "The Tomb." Through her eyes you see how dead the children are in these situations; how entirely without out hope.

For a book hat raises awareness to inhumanity, I would give this an A+. However, as a story, I would say this is of the same quality as the small books detailing the trials of homeless teenagers that groups such as Covenant House would sometimes send to my home as a teenager.

(Tragically, Iqbal was shot to death while visiting his family over a holiday.)

The Night Visitors

The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman (NOT YOUNG ADULT)

This book by the author of The Other Mother (another addictive read)  has all 43 flavors. Violence. Unreliable narrators. A young boy in danger. Ghosts and supernatural stuff. Star Wars allusions galore! Mysteries. Layered plotlines. Alternating points of view. I don't think this is great literature, but it is a fantastic read.

Escaping from an abusive partner, Alice and her young son, Oren, find themselves in upstate New York, looking for sanctuary. Mattie, a volunteer at a domestic abuse organization, is called upon to pick the two up. As you read the chapters told from Mattie's point of view, you learn that Oren reminds her of her long-dead younger brother, Caleb. From that point on, Mattie feels drawn to help Alice and Oren. As the story progresses, you learn that neither woman's backstory is as it seems. As a reader, you're constantly questioning, "Is there more to what she is saying?" "Are we finally at the truth of it?" "Can we trust her?"

As I said before, I don't think this is great literature. However, I have to hand it to Carol Goodman because this is a very complicated plot with little details interspersed that tie parts of the novel together. On the flip side, the plot is a bit fantastical and there are some scenes that just seem too improbable. (For example, when one of the antagonists breaks into Mattie's house and has time to stop and read through some of her father's old court cases! Another example are some of the supernatural/improbable things that occur. They're never explained very well and I wonder if the book could have gone without so much of it.)

Grade: B+

The Hired Girl

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

It's 1911 and our protagonist is Joan Skraggs, a young farm girl who longs for more than what her current life can give her. Joan runs away and changes her name to Janet, a name that she imagines as a more romantic, less homely name than Joan. (Obviously, she's never seen Three's Company.)

She finds herself on the streets of Baltimore on her first day. She has no idea what she is doing, or what she should do, or where she is safe. Luckily, a young man named Mr. Solomon takes her back to his parents. Janet's one night of safe haven turns into a permanent job as a housekeeper. What makes this story interesting is that Janet's employers are a wealthy Jewish family, and Janet is clearly a Christian with a deep desire to become a full Catholic. While Janet works for this family, she gains a greater understanding of faith and family. In that vein, this book had some wonderful reflections on what it means to have faith and what it means to have respect for all faiths.

Below is my representation of the suspense and excitement I felt while reading this book. There wasn't much. This was like a Sunday car drive in the spring. Pleasant and roundabout, with a much anticipated ice cream trip at the end. 

That being said, I imagine this may be the book I feel the most satisfaction about reading this summer - including all the books I hope to read in the weeks to come. Like, I really felt good about myself for reading it AND I enjoyed it. I would give this book a solid A- and I would recommend this book to anyone who truly enjoys female-focused historical fiction. This has the self-discovery and growth evident in Call the Midwife, but also brings in that interesting intersection of the privileged and their working class servants - like Downton Abbey. 

Bird Box

Bird Box by Josh Malerman


Keep your eyes closed.

Imagine an apocalyptic event and your only defense is keeping your eyes closed. The danger in this story is unknown, for anyone who lays eyes on it dies.

After several years of living blind and afraid, Malorie decides she will leave the only home her children have known in a blind search for a safe haven she once heard about, twenty miles down a nearby river. The trip down the river alternates with recollections about Malorie's previous life before the Boy and the Girl were born. Through these flashbacks, you also learn of the journey that Malorie has taken to push her such a crazy task of rowing, blindfolded, with two young children.

This entire book felt like one held breath.

Okay, this is not a YA novel; however, I don't see any reason why it couldn't be read by a young adult. There's no sexual content and the violence is relatively minimal (considering the story line). In fact, I have to wonder if the Netflix movie version is more risque than the book. (I also have to decide whether or not I want to see the Netflix movie, too.)

 As soon as the book was over, I desperately hoped for a sequel. But then I quickly thought to myself, no. No sequel. I think as a stand alone book this is perfect. It keeps you thinking as a stand alone book. Any sequel would provide too much exposition, and ruin the suspense and wonder of this story.

Grade: B+/A- (still thinking about it)

Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25

Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans.

My husband has a fake book for Michael Vey under the V section of his library. When you pick it up, it then directs the patron to the E section for Evans. That's how popular this series is.

Okay, so I wouldn't say there's much for originality here. There's a select group of teens who have superpower abilities - all electrically related - due to some experimental mishap. Michael Vey, the protagonist, is, of course, the most powerful one of all. But that's not how the book starts out. Michael is the classic underdog. His social life consists mostly of Ostin, his best friend, and his mom. Through a series of events, Michael becomes friends with Taylor Ridley, a hot, popular cheerleader, who also has electrical superpowers. And so the Electroclan is formed.

There's more -- a sick and twisted company is out to get Michael and Taylor. They are collected all of the electrical children and conditioning them into the ultimate weapons.

Okay, so there are a lot cliches and typical plot lines here, but, regardless, this was still a really great read. I read it fast, just like I'm typing fast, through my two children's fighting and constant bickering. I'm actually getting the second book, and that says a lot for me.

PS - This book has "Movie Deal" written all over it. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't one already in the works.

PPS - Another thing I did like was that some chapters were told in first person from Michael's point of view and other chapters in the third person perspective.

Grade: B+

The Van Gogh Deception

The Van Gogh Deception by Devon Hicks

This was a fun mystery read for me. It started out with a scene of a crime: highly technical art forgery. The next chapter lands on a boy who is found within the National Gallery of Art in DC. He has amnesia and neither he nor all of the security cameras can piece together who he is, where he came from, or who brought him there. He quickly ends up in a foster home - and meets a young girl named Camille.

Attempting to jog his memory, the boy (Art), Camille, and Camille's mother, return to the National Gallery. Action quickly ensues - the boy holds a secret he cannot remember. A secret too precious to survive. The suspense is doubled because there are chapters that focus on the criminals' attempts to capture Art and Camille. The action and chase scenes are aplenty, and I enjoy the fact that these kids generally feel like real kids  -- not overly mature for their age.

This was fast-paced and fun. Interspersed are QR codes that link to the works of art that are described throughout the book. This was pretty cool, and as a middle-aged person, this is what finally got me to download a QR reader app on my phone. However, as a middle-aged person who has an interest in art, I didn't really need a link to the artwork mentioned. I already knew what most of it was!

Grade: B

I'm Back!

So, it's been almost 7 full years since my last post. And a LOT has changed from what I remember on Blogger.

I had a son. Michael.
I had a daughter. Darcy.

And I pretty much stopped reading anything longer than a story book.

Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Turtle is an eleven year old girl who has lived life on the move. Her mother's a maid during the Great Depression and jobs are hard to come by. What isn't so hard to come by are the numerous men that Turtle's mother seems to fall in love with. Needless to say, Turtle is no dreamer; she's a realist.

Mother does finally land a job, but the lady of the house won't allow young children to live there. And so Turtle finds herself shipped to Key West, Florida, where her mother's sister lives.

Key West is nothing like anything else Turtle's ever experienced. Shoes are optional, but the heat is not. Used to being a team consisting of just herself and her mother, Turtle must now get used to a house full of cousins and a town where most of the residents are related to her - somehow!  Slowly, she adjusts to her new life and her new family. She's even accepted by the Diaper Gang, a group of boys (her cousin's the leader) who have a babysitters' club type-of-thing going on - except they get paid in candy! She comes to love the boys' daily gathering to create a "Key West Cut-Up" - a tradition of cutting up whatever fruits and veggies the kids had on hand and pouring key lime juice all over it. She's even lured into the romance of the many stories of pirates and buried treasure that fill the land.

Turtle didn't want to go to Key West, but the question you ask yourself, is how could she leave it now?

This was a super charming read. Turtle is adorable and scrappy. Key West is a fantastic setting. You'll love reading about the water, the heat, the scenery, and the fruit-laden trees. The Diaper Gang is hilarious. This book reminds me of the Goonies and the Little Rascals. While I can't say I loved it, I really enjoyed it. The writing is brisk and light. The descriptions are clear and concise but not heavy-handed. It's a quick, pleasant read.

For more info on a Key West cut-up, click here.

Oh, and more interesting info. The author, Jennifer Holm, writes the Babymouse series, which I abhor, AND Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf, which is a graphic novel-esque story that I LOVED. It's just interesting to come across a writer with so many different styles.

The Forgotten Garden

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A tale within a tale within a tale...

1913: A portmaster on some Australian coast finds a small girl on an English ship that has just arrived in Australia. The little girl has no recollection of her name and is carrying nothing but a small suitcase containing a book of fairy tales. The portmaster has no choice but to bring the small child home. Day after day, he and his childless wife wait to hear news of some family searching for the girl, but no news appear. Eventually they claim her as their own.

Nell grows up to be the apple of her father's eye, the delight of her mother and younger sisters, and one of the most beautiful girls around. But on her 21st birthday, her father chooses to reveal a deep secret: Nell is not their biological daughter.

And she disconnects. Breaks her engagement. Becomes distant from her family. Moves away.

1976: Now 65, Nell finally decides to attempt to trace her true roots. (Yeah, I know. Doesn't it seem like she would have done more of that a lot sooner?) Nell eventually discovers where she is from, but not much else surrounding her mysterious arrival in Australia or why she was abandoned and by whom. Although she wants to go back to England to continue her search, her own daughter leaves her granddaughter, Cassandra, with her for a few weeks. And those weeks turn to years.

2005: After Nell dies, Cassandra learns her grandmother's dreadful (sarcasm on my part) secret and takes up the search. The search leads back to a rich family in England. A rich, young lady named Rose and her cousin Eliza, an author of fairy tales. Cassandra works tirelessly to discover who Eliza is and why she would have taken Rose to another country.

So this is really and truly a tale within a tale within a tale: rotating between Cassandra's continued search for Nell's origins to Nell's own search during 1975 to Eliza's own story at the turn of the century.
And sometimes Eliza's own fairy tales are inserted between these chapters.

It's a lot, right? That's my primary complaint. The story of how little Nell got to Australia is a compelling and worthwhile one, but the narratives that follow Nell and Cassandra as they unravel the mysteries are not. And neither are the fairy tales. And neither are the many side characters that pop up in Cassandra's story. I don't care about Ruby, the daughter of an Australian Cassandra knows, who now lives in England. I don't really care that Cassandra is falling in love with the English gardener. I don't care about the woman who bought Rose's family estate and turned it into a hotel. I just don't care. In fact, I found myself skimming a lot, sometimes skipping pages outright.

All in all I only made it through this 549 page story because Eliza is a compelling character, as is her cousin Rose. Unfortunately, we don't hear nearly enough from them.

Grade: C

Baby Time!

First Part Last (A Coretta Scott King Award)

by Angela Johnson

Poetic prose told from the first person perspective of Bobby, a teen father who is the primary parent of his daughter. The chapters alternate between his narration of the present and all his struggles encountered while caring for baby Feather, and chapters about the past, including those moments prior to and during his girlfriend Nia's pregnancy.

Poignant and superbly written. Also, it flies by at only 131 pages and crisp, clean narration.

Grade: A+

Someone Like You

A rather dull cover of the book.

by Sarah Dessen

Haley helps her bff, Scarlett, deal with her pregnancy while working through her own strained relationship with her mother. This book is a quick, easy read dealing with a rather typical girl's transition from mom's best friend to an individual fighting to define herself. The unusual backdrop is that of her friend's pregnancy.

All in all, this book was good and quick - a few hours will finish it up - but not the quality I expected from Dessen. My sister also agrees, and I believe she's read probably 100% of Dessen's books up to a publication date of 2009.

Grade: C+

Lock and Key

by Sarah Dessen

Not as good as Keeping the Moon, and definitely longer, but still a great read in my opinion. Definitely a girl's book and has all the markers of a great vacation read. What I love about Dessen's books is they are so easily upper teen fiction.

Here's a review from Reading Rants! since it's been awhile for me:
http://www.readingrants.org/2008/05/05/lock-and-key-by-sarah-dessen/

Luna

by Julie Ann Peters

Liam is a good-looking, freakishly smart high school upperclassman, and yet the only person who really knows him is his younger sister, Regan. Regan is the sole holder of his very heavy secret. Liam is transgendered, and planning to crossover into his new identity as Luna.

I didn't finish this book. Don't get me wrong. It was well-written and the plot was definitely one I had not encountered before. But I began to be saddled by the stress of Regan having to keep such a powerful secret for her brother. This is a stressful and tense book, and I wish I could say I know how it ends, but I had to put it down. This book is (as far as I could see, and I read 147 of the 248 pages) much more about the stress Regan encounters keeping Luna's secret as it is about Luna becoming Luna.

Grade: B (but my school librarian highly, highly recommends it.)

I Am Legend

by Richard Matheson

A long time ago, when I saw the movie I AM LEGEND with the lovely Will Smith, I thought "Wow! Can I read this book?" Years later, while at the Goodwill, I found a copy. I read this book in April, so my review is going to be a bit dusty and perhaps a bit more of a book-movie comparison than a book review.

Robert Neville is the only man alive. Everyone else has succumbed to a deadly vampiric infection. Or have they? Neville spends his days refortifying his house and killing the infected. At night, he holes up in his fortress-like home and tries to drink away the howls of the now dead and the memories of the ones he used to love. (So far, pretty similar to the movie.)

However, the book Neville isn't one of the best scientists in the world, so gone are all the absolutely wonderful science-lab backstory and vaccine montages that I loved in the movie.

Another however, this book has absolutely none of the hope that the movie does. The book is an end-of-the-world and there's not much you can do about it type of story. I'm torn between which I like better: the bittersweet, yet hopeful ending of the movie or the damned, that's it? ending of the book.

That being said, this is a great read at only 169 pages and while it's not hopeful, I would still easily classify it as light beach reading. B+

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

This book has a Hunger Games, Jr feel to it. Thomas finds himself in the "Glade" with no memory of where or who he was in the past. But he's not alone, a number of other boys are also in the Glade with the same problem. They've developed their own working hieracrchy and manage to get by since whoever created the Glade had the foresight to build in all the essentials: farm, slaughterhouse, etc. The kicker is that the Glade is surrounded by a giant wall and each day the wall's gate open and each night, they close. Outside the walls is an giant, ever-changing maze which the runners (maze explorers) dutifully go out into every day trying to find an escape. But the maze changes every day as well, and there are hidden dangers - robotic, yet mythological creatures whose bite or scratch can prove fatal.

All is running normally - as normally as it can in the Glade - when another new child arrives. This child is different. He's a girl. And she's the last new child to ever be brought to the glade.

The writing in this book is fast-paced and exciting, but definitely for the 10 to 14 range, and not really older. While this is a great read, it lacks the weighty ethical issues that I found myself thinking about in The Hunger Games. One thing I loved was the fact that the storyline is so obviously based on King Minos, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth.

Grade: B

Story of a Girl

By Sara Zarr

This is a great coming-of-age novel that deals with a teen girl who is dealing with a reputation she just can't seem to lose and a family that feels like it's definitely falling apart. This book is short, realistic, and definitely a downer. However, it's still a worthwhile read - but one I read in April. So I'm going provide a link to a great book reviewer, Karin the Librarian.

http://www.karinsbooknook.com/2010/02/21/story-of-a-girl-by-sara-zarr-review/

My Grade: A- because it was very well-written, but probably just a B because I still felt like I was just reading the book - not a part of it.

Plague (The Gone Series)

Boy, the covers are cheesy, though....

Well, stock in the Gone series has gone back up. After a tepid swim with Lies, Plague is back kickin' ass.

I love a good story about a plague. But strangely enough, the fatal flu wasn't what I flipped over. It was the absolutely disgusting parasitic worms that infected several characters and would literally eat their own hosts. Goodness, I think Grant should have gone into even more detail about those. It was stomach-turning and awesome at the same time. (An aside: Strangely, I have no stomach at all for scary movies, but do love the book versions.)

Back to the book: Albert, the self-made Trump of the FAYZ, has realized that the water levels of the reservoir are dropping dangerously low. Even with one gallon per person rations, the water supply isn't going to last long enough. He sends out an expedition made up of Sam, Dekka, Taylor, and Jack to search the outer boundaries of the FAYZ for additional water sources. While they explore their world, the kids at Perdido Beach must deal with both a devastating flu and a case of parasitic worms - that hatch and turn into almost indestructible and very hungry insects.

But, of course, that's not all. (Because it's not a Gone book unless one hundred other plots lines are happening, right?) Drake and Brittany are back - working for and against the Darkness (a.k.a. the Gaigaphage). What is left of the hate-group, the Human Crew, have beaten Albert to a pulp. Edilio is on his deathbed with the flu, and all hell, of course, breaks out.

Let's just say Caine comes back.

My review? This book really took time to explore Pete Ellison's mind - he's the five year old autistic boy who is responsible for the FAYZ. And he's the center of this whole mystery, so it's terribly exciting to see how he perceives his world. There's a lot of close-up time with Diana, and she absolutely will be the driving force  behind why readers will flock to the fifth book of the series. Character development is still a bit slow, given all the pages, and I'm particularly saddened that I don't really care much for Sam anymore than when I started. However, as always, the storyline is non-stop adrenaline that doesn't let up - or give you time to reflect on plausibility, character development, etc.

Grade: B+

N.B. The covers for these books are absolutely horrible.