Category: Books for Young Adults

It’s always fun to escape real life in the pages of a book, and I find it somehow more satisfying to read a book about a sweltering summer heat wave when I’m living through a snow-filled winter storm.  Add that to the fact that all of Sara Zarr’s books are pretty darn amazing, and you have a fantastic reason to read this book right now!

Sam is having a really rough summer.  Not only is her mom in rehab (after hiding her alcoholism for years), but her father seems more concerned with fixing the problems facing his church’s congregation than the problems facing his own family.  When one of Sam’s friends, Jody Shaw, goes missing, Sam’s life falls even apart even further… and she’s left feeling extremely guilty for even thinking about her own problems when she could be putting all of her time and energy into the search for Jody.  Despite Sam’s mounting depression, the story doesn’t drag.  And although Zarr addresses Sam’s crisis of faith, she provides some seriously amazing insights without being didactic or preachy.  This may very well be tied (with How to Save a Life) as my favorite Sara Zarr story!

I remember seeing this cover, reading the title, and thinking, “That looks interesting!”  I was especially curious about the story behind the old-fashioned typewriter keys on the cover.  Yet, somehow, SEVEN years went by before I actually took the time to listen to it.  How in the world did that happen?!?  (Especially considering that I listened to, and thoroughly enjoyed, her book Elsewhere!)  I guess this is a case of “better late than never.”  I’ve always been curious about what it would be like to have amnesia and, though this wasn’t a true story, it helped me to realize just how grateful I am for my fully intact memories.  It’s terrifying to consider the sudden loss of years worth of my life and  even forgetting the people I love.

Imagine waking up in an ambulance and not knowing how you got there or who you are with — especially after hearing him tell the EMTs that he’s your boyfriend.  Naomi “lost” about four years after her head injury and was forced to re-learn a lot of facts about her life, many of which were distressing.  Being a teenager is hard enough, and Naomi had to to try to piece together several years worth of memories and re-discover who she was while simultaneously trying to move forward with her life. I can’t imagine trying to navigate the social structure of a high school without any memories/background information about my so-called friends and boyfriend.  Definitely not an enviable position!  And although I was sometimes frustrated with the way Naomi handled things, I appreciated her flaws because they made her feel more real.

If you’re looking to scare yourself into being more environmentally conscientious, this is a book you should probably read!  Not only does it provide an entirely plausible scenario for how individuals will be effected when oil starts to run out — including but not limited to gasoline shortages and electricity blackouts — but it also goes into more global ramifications, like the potential for war.

Although there were times where I felt that the dialogue was a bit unrealistic and clunky (most likely to educate readers), I don’t think it was overwhelmingly so.  Upon finishing this book, I had two major reactions: 1) I really wanted to share this book with everyone I knew to try and show them *why* they should care more about their energy consumption and its impact on the world/environment, and 2) I started thinking that stockpiling food in my basement sounded like a really good idea!  My husband has since “talked me down,” and I am doing well with just working to do what I can reasonably do to make a difference for myself and my family. 🙂

Though it’s been quite a while since I’ve watched TV on a regular basis, I have to admit that I used to be absolutely obsessed with true crime shows like Law & Order and Criminal Minds.  I could seriously binge-watch Criminal Intent.  So, I was thrilled to discover that this story was basically an extended episode of Criminal Intent with teenage trainees thrown in the mix!  This story also reminded me quite a bit of the Jasper Dent books because Cassie was so much like Jasper — she was unbelievably good at reading people AND that she was also hunting a killer.  The main difference, nevertheless, was that she was hunting the killer who murdered her mom, whereas Jasper was hunting a random killer as a way to prove (to society and himself) that he didn’t/wouldn’t take after his serial killer dad.

The basic premise of the “Naturals” program was that, although people can be trained in crime-solving methods, some people have natural gifts that are difficult, if not impossible, to replicate with training.  Some people are naturally good at reading other people’s emotions, for example, making them like human lie detectors.  Some people are naturally good at combing through and manipulating data, which aids in detecting fraudulent data and figuring out the statistical probability of certain outcomes.  Others, like Cassie, are so good at reading people (based on their behavior, clothes, actions, etc.) that they can often figure out motives for past actions and/or predict future behavior, making them natural profilers.  By finding teenage “naturals” and training them in a special program, the FBI hopes to create an elite class of detectives.  Definitely a cool concept.  (I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this series when my TBR list gets a little more manageable!)

Lex had always been a reasonably good kid, but she suddenly started to get in trouble all the time.  And not just the cutting class and hanging out with the wrong people kind of trouble, but the knocking people’s teeth out for no apparent reason kind of trouble.  When her parents reached their breaking point, Lex’s Uncle Mort offered to take her for the summer.  He said that Lex would help him with work on his farm, but he wasn’t exactly telling the truth.  In reality, Uncle Mort was planning to train Lex to be a Grim.  As in “grim reaper.”  For real!  Though there were a few unsettling descriptions of death scenes, I thought this book was pretty hilarious overall.  Plenty of snark and immature humor to feed my inner 16-year-old!

I read this book in early fall, but I felt like it would make a good January post.  You know, with people making New Year’s resolutions about living their best lives and all?  After almost losing my father in September, this book really resonated with me.  I know it sounds super cliché, but both my real life experience and this book reminded me of just how short life can be — and how often we waste our time and energy on things that don’t even truly matter.  Sometimes, you just have to say “F- IT!”

After Alex’s father died, she had a major falling out with her best friend, Becca.  The formerly inseparable friends were estranged for the entire summer, but Alex decided she was ready to forgive Becca at the start of the new school year.  The only problem?  Becca had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and their non-communication meant that Alex didn’t even know.  As they began to heal their broken friendship, the girls decided to make the best of the (potentially short) time Becca had left by working together to complete the wish list of sorts Becca had started compiling as a tween.  They don’t like the term “bucket list,” though, and decide to call it a “F- It” list instead.  Infused throughout with humor and romance, this is SO much more than a sob story.

As I did with Divergent, I waited until the third book of this trilogy was about to be released before I started to read the first book. I didn’t want to be stuck waiting (most likely impatiently) for the release of the final book of the series as I am with the Lunar Chronicles.  But, lo and behold, it seems all my planning was for naught… because there’s now a FOURTH book!  Even though the audiobook for The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard had a sneak peek of The One — which it touted as the “thrilling conclusion” to the trilogy — I now have to wait until MAY 2015 to get my hands on The Heir… And I have a sneaking suspicion things won’t even end there since GoodReads lists a 5th (currently unnamed) book. /sigh

So, what’s the big deal about this series?  First of all, it’s a dystopian romance.  Enough said, right?!?  OK.  OK!  I get that some of you might want to know what sets this apart from the rest of the dystopian romances out there, so I will give a little more background. 🙂  In this dystopian future, the USA no longer exists.  In its place, there is now the kingdom of Illéa.  When Illéa was formed, a rigid caste system was created — in a supposed effort to bring about order and security.  The castes, which range from one (royalty and clergy) to eight (homeless, runaways, etc.), dictate which type of jobs people can hold.  Although it is technically possible to get into a better caste by buying your way up, it’s practically impossible for the lower castes to do more than survive.  For America Singer (and the other girls participating in The Selection ), though, marrying Prince Maxon could mean being instantly transformed to a one.  So why, then, would America NOT want to participate in The Selection?  This book is like an über version of The Bachelor with a side of uprisings and war… and I just can’t get enough!

As I was reading this book, I laughed out loud so often that my son — who normally “tunes out” the rest of the world when he reads — actually found it distracting to read in the same room as me.  He kept asking me, “What’s so funny?”  And, though I explained that I didn’t want to stop to share every joke that made me laugh, I offered to start over and read the whole book aloud.  He declined the offer because he was determined to finish the book he was already reading, but I think he may go back and read it himself because he loved the passage I felt compelled to read aloud (about Henry’s wish list of weapons with which he could have protected himself).

Strongwoods Survival Camp was like an even more ridiculous version of Camp Green Lake (from Holes by Louis Sachar).  Rather than being a forced-labor juvenile detention center, though, this survival camp was advertized as a way for parents to voluntarily toughen up their “wuss” sons.  The guy who ran the camp, Max, was basically a crazy drill sergeant, and the survival activities and games he designed were way over the top.  I think a lot of parents will probably appreciate the lack of harsh language and/or sexual situations, though I feel compelled to warn sensitive readers about the actual killers who make an appearance before the end of camp.  Fast-paced action, lots of humor, and short chapters punctuated with wacky “Wilderness Survival Tips” combine to form a zany adventure story that’s appropriate for younger teens and tweens but entertaining enough for adults.

I would like to acknowledge how insane I was for waiting so long to read this book.  I was among the first people on the request list, but I ended up sending it back and re-adding my name to the list because I was in the middle of another book and didn’t think I would have time to read it then.  Well… Even though this book was rather large (599 pages), I ended up reading it in ONE WEEK!  Considering that I didn’t have any days off from work and/or caring for my kids, that’s crazy!  But, this book is crazy good, so I went to extremes to stay up late reading. I’m talking, get up and walk around when I feel my eyelids start to droop or purposely play Candy Crush before sitting down to read because I know the glow from electronics makes it harder for me to fall asleep.  Yeah.  I’m dedicated like that!  😉

You may be asking, “But, what is so awesome about this book?”  For starters, it’s not just one book.  I can’t even begin to explain how awesome it was that Scott Westerfeld wrote two books in one and it totally worked.  (The two stories are told in alternating chapters.)  Why are there two books in one?  Because one of the books is about a girl named Darcy Patel, who gets her first book published just after high school, and the other book IS Darcy’s book.  It was so cool to read all about Darcy’s struggles with getting the book and characters right and then to read the book itself . (John Green should totally take notes, because it still slays me that I can’t read An Imperial Affliction!)  This book is both contemporary realistic and paranormal fantasy, since it has one book of each.  The only “problem” with this book, in my opinion, is that it left me with a bunch of questions.  Like, will there be a sequel?  And were the YA authors in Darcy’s world based on real authors that Scott Westerfeld knows?  I’m hoping the answers to both are yes — and that I will, someday, find out whether my guesses about those YA authors were correct.

If you’re a sucker for dystopias, like me, you’re definitely going to want to check out this trilogy — especially since the third book just came out and you won’t get stuck waiting for more books to be published!  In this world, most people are born with the power of an Element — earth, water, wind, or fire.  They can both sense and control their Element.  Someone who was a wind elemental, for example, could sense exactly how quickly a storm was blowing in and/or use the wind to fight off an enemy.  This book reminded me of Avatar the Last Airbender, which means I’ll need to pass it along to my son when he gets just a little bit older!

Thomas was born without an Element, so he never quite felt as if he belonged or had anything to offer his community.  But, when an unexpected storm threatened their island, the Guardians sent Thomas (and some other young people) off to the mainland to find shelter.  While they were there, Thomas found so much more than shelter… With so much action, adventure, and mystery, this book is sure to hook even reluctant readers.

I don’t typically like books that aren’t plot-driven.  Most of the time, I find that books without a plot just drag along.  I can’t truly say this book “doesn’t have a plot”… I mean, it has a sequence of events and the characters do things over a period of time.  But there’s not a big build up to a climax followed by a tidy resolution. (Which I tend to prefer.)   Rather than some huge event that the book centers around, it’s just a description of what happens to these two characters over a length of time.  A snapshot of their lives, if you will.   An absolutely beautiful snapshot!

With all the recent talk about the lack of diversity in publishing, I was reminded that I have yet to review this amazing book, which features two main characters of Latino heritage.  I thought this book was an especially refreshing read because the main characters were both (1) distinctly different from one another and (2) realistic without becoming cliched stereotypes.  Although Aristotle (aka Ari) had an older brother who was in prison, he was not the typical thug/gangsta type we often see depicted in books and on TV.  He was conflicted and angry, to be sure, but he didn’t embrace his anger so much as recognize it and hope to find a way to get past it.  It was clear that Ari was so uncomfortable expressing emotion because his parents hadn’t modeled effective communication, but that seemed to be much more an explanation than an excuse.  Dante, on the other hand, was very close to his parents and had a very open relationship with both his mother and father.  Because of his friendly demeanor, positive outlook, and ability to express his emotions, Dante was quite possibly the best person with whom Ari could have become friends.  And, though this book was an excellent read for many reasons, I was most impressed by the exploration of the fine line between the love of friends and romantic love.  If you’re looking for a book to restore your faith in humanity, this would be a good place to start.

I no longer review all of the subsequent books in trilogies and series that I read because it’s often hard to summarize without spoiling the earlier books in the trilogy/series for people who haven’t read them yet.   But, I just can’t let this book go without comment!  Neal Shusterman has completely BLOWN.  MY.  MIND!  If his story is not enough, in and of itself, to show you the insane path that humanity is blazing into the future, the included hyperlinks for stories which make the case for a future in which “unwinding” actually happens will scare the hell out of you.  The thing I am most grateful about with UnDivided, nonetheless, is that the story is actually done.  I have spent far too long wondering what happened to Connor, Risa, Lev, and the rest of the gang, so THANK YOU Neal for finally giving me closure!

I find it kinda funny that I was “so” sure I would love the Divergent series that I waited for the third book to be released and then read the books back-to-back-to-back. And after that, I “had” to read this collection of short stories as soon as it came out… Yet I still haven’t seen the Divergent movie, and I even forgot about actually posting a review for this book for three months!  I guess life just gets away from me sometimes.

This book reminds me of when I got really excited, back in the day, when Stephanie Meyer announced she was going to write a Twilight companion novel from Edward’s perspective.  I thought it would have been awesome to find out was really going through his mind as opposed to what Bella had assumed he was thinking.  Unfortunately, some idiots on the Internet leaked a supposed manuscript and Meyer got so upset that she decided not to go forward with the project after all.  Though the Divergent series is extremely different from Twilight, this book of short stories appears to have finally satiated my lingering need to see a YA book re-imagined from another character’s perspective.  In these stories, we not only get more background information about Four’s “previous life” as Tobias Eaton and his initiation into Dauntless, but we also get to relive some of the more memorable scenes from Tris’s initiation through Four.  I fear it may be too much to hope for any further re-tellings from this franchise, but a girl can dream, right?!?

YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten list was announced, and I CANNOT believe Panic wasn’t on it!  I mean, I had a heck of a time even getting my hands on this one because it seems like everyone else who loved Delirium and Before I Fall managed to get on the list before me.  I sometimes take the full four weeks to read my library books because I have so much else going on — like reading to my kids at night.  I mean, I know it’s important.  But that’s time I could totally use to read my “own” books! 😉  At the end of the day, I often only read to myself for about 15 minutes before I pass out.  It’s so common for me to fall asleep reading, in fact, that my husband has learned to check his side of the bed for my book or Kindle before simply lying down.  (He clunked his head quite a few times before he learned that lesson!)  This book, though, was so intense that it had me reading long past my standard bedtime.  So long, in fact, that my husband found me still awake and reading when he came to bed for something like four nights in a row!

Some people have compared Panic to The Hunger Games, but I don’t really see it.  I guess the whole competition between teenagers thing is what they’re stuck on, but it’s not some futuristic dystopia where the government forces teens to fight to the death.  It’s a bunch of graduating high school seniors in a modern day, depressed town [Carp] who voluntarily take part in a crazy competition to try and win a huge sum of money.  Though people have definitely gotten hurt, the goal of Panic is not to hurt other people; it’s simply to do whatever it takes to win.  Every year, there are new [anonymous] judges and new challenges presented — sometimes based on the fears of the people playing — but it always starts with a jump off a cliff and ends with a car “joust,” i.e. game of chicken.  Some people likely play because there’s nothing more interesting going on in their small town, but others play for a chance to be rich, and some have secrets that drive them to play.  It’s surprising that anyone in Carp feels confident in their friendships because friends turn on each other all the time… let alone when $67,000 is on the line.