Category: Fiction

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.

After listening to What I Saw and How I Lied, I was excited to check out Blundell’s second book.  So many books were piled up on my “to be read” list, though, that this book got bumped… and then I forgot about it.  (Ack!)  Sometimes, thankfully, fate will intervene and remind me about a book I’ve forgotten to read.  In this case, my audiobook ended while I was out and about.  Since I didn’t have another CD audiobook on standby, I browsed the OverDrive app on my phone to see if any of my “wish list” downloadable audiobooks were checked in.  Boy, am I glad this one showed up!

I’ve always been intrigued by mob stories, and my husband and I have spent countless hours watching (and re-watching) movies and TV shows like The Godfather trilogy, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, and The Sopranos.  I have to admit, though, that it’s sometimes a bit too much for me.  Every time I hear “Stuck in the Middle With You,” for instance, I have flashbacks to a particularly traumatizing scene in Reservoir Dogs.  I much prefer stories like Son of the Mob and Strings Attached because mob action takes more of a back seat to another storyline and is mostly insinuated or very briefly visited.

In this story, it’s quite clear that Kit Corrigan is mixed up with someone who, at the very least, has ties to the Mob.  Yes, Nate says that he wants to help her because she’s his son Billy’s girl… but it’s very obvious that there are always “strings attached” to his favors.  Though she enjoys her job as a dancer at an exclusive night club and appreciates the apartment in which he’s letting her stay, Kit is disappointed that she is not making it on her own as she originally planned when she left Providence and set out for NYC.  And while she despises Nate’s assumption that she should be available and willing to run errands any time he calls, she has no idea how to extricate herself from the situation.

Chris Crutcher is most definitely one of my all-time favorite YA authors.  Not only is he not afraid to tell it like it is in his books, but he also tells it like it is in the “real world” via Facebook, Twitter, and his blog, Stotan Unplugged.  No matter how controversial a topic may be, he doesn’t feel the need to censor himself.  He believes (and I fervently agree) that teens should not be sheltered from the harsh realities of the world.  If teens have the potential to “live” something, who are we to tell them they shouldn’t “read” about it?  Sadly, I don’t have a review for the first Chris Crutcher book I read — Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes — because I read it before I started this blog.  But, I have reviews for several other books that I’ve read since then (Angry Management, Deadline, King of the Mild Frontier, Period 8) if you are not familiar with his books and would like a little primer.  I have no idea how I managed to work nearly ten years as a Tween & Teen librarian before reading Ironman (and without yet reading Whale Talk and Stotan!), but I suppose I just need to pace myself and I will get there.

Ironman is the story of a seventeen-year-old guy named Beauregard Brewster (a.k.a. Bo) who is training for a triathlon.  Balancing home life, school work, and training would be challenging enough for most teens, but Bo also has to deal with a father who constantly belittles him and even schemes to try and make him lose that race.  Many times, teens who experience problems at home find that school is a safe haven, but Bo has issues with his English teacher and former football coach, Coach Redmond, as well.  Fortunately, he has a couple of adults in his life who actually have his best interests in mind — Mr. Serbousek, who teaches Bo’s journalism class and also coaches him in swimming, and Mr. Nakatani (aka Mr. Nak), who runs the anger management group Bo has to attend in order to avoid a suspension over an argument with Coach Redmond.  While it can be depressing to read about the (based-on-reality) terrible parents that some kids have to deal with, books like this also serve as a beacon of hope for teens who are living through similarly terrible situations.  Whether it’s just realizing that their situation is not unique or finding hope that the situation can actually get better, albeit with lots of time and plenty of work, books like this definitely matter to teens.  Here’s to hoping you only need this book to make you aware of other people’s problems…

Lucky Linderman’s father patently refuses to acknowledge the problems in his life.  It doesn’t matter whether the problem is growing up fatherless (his father was a POW/MIA soldier in Vietnam), his failing marriage, or his son’s troubles with a bully named Nader McMillan.  He pretty much walks away and tunes out from life when things start to get uncomfortable — often retreating to his job at what Lucky refers to as “Le Fancy-Schmancy Cafe.”  Lucky’s mom is just as bad.  She, too, refuses to acknowledge that her marriage is falling apart and ignores the bullying situation.  (She just doesn’t have as hefty an excuse as her husband.)  Even after Nader takes things too far and hurts Lucky pretty badly, his parents still choose to avoid confrontation and merely plan for Lucky and his mom to go away for the summer.  Staying with relatives in Arizona doesn’t do anything for fixing the marriage or bullying problems, but Lucky does end up making some friends while he’s there.  He also starts working out, under the tutelage of his uncle, and gains a little confidence in the process.  The only question is whether that will do him any good when he returns home.

Though most of this story is fairly standard for YA contemporary realistic fiction, there’s one thing that pushes this book pretty far into the realm of magical realism.  Lucky visits his [POW/MIA] grandfather in his dreams.  For real.  As in, he comes out of his dreams with physical tokens of where he has been.  (It actually reminds me a bit of The Dream Thieves, which is the second book of The Raven Cycle.)  Though I am sure none of the teens who read this book are actually traveling to visit long-lost relatives in their dreams, I am sure a great many of them can relate to the generalized family issues and bullying Lucky experiences.  I only hope that Lucky’s realizations and growth will inspire readers to be more proactive in response to their own problems.

Although I read this book back in January, I never remembered to post a review.  Maybe it’s because I typically read more books per month than I review and some titles just slip through the cracks… but I prefer to think my subconscious was just saving this review for Banned Books Week!

I think this book is a likely target for would-be censors for a couple of reasons.  Not only are there the typical objectionable language and sexual situations that many people cite when challenging a book, but there is also the fact that the entire story revolves around Leonard Peacock’s plans to carry out a murder-suicide.  I understand that some people worry about teens being impressionable and mimicking the behavior of a character in a book, but I take umbrage with that reasoning.  After all, studies have shown that fiction can actually teach kids empathy.

While I agree, in theory, that it would be nice to be able to shield children from all of the terrible things that exist in our world, I recognize that it’s impossible.  Instead, I feel that it’s important to be open and honest so that my kids and the kids/teens I work with at my library feel comfortable enough to come to me if and when they find themselves in a troubling situation.  Rather than keeping this book out of the hands of teens for fear that a troubled teen who reads this book will decide to plan his/her own murder-suicide, I believe it is extremely important to make this book available.  Why?  Because I believe in the power of biliotherapy and think it is much more likely that teens who are struggling will learn from Leonard’s various mistakes, including his mistaken belief that he should end his life rather than seeking help.  Readers who enjoyed 13 Reasons Why should definitely check this one out.

After Del died in a car accident, Ben started helping out on Del’s family’s farm.  While working on the farm, Ben started to look out for and became friends with Del’s younger brother, Jimmy, in a capacity much like an older brother.  After Jimmy was murdered, Ben felt guilty and escaped his home town by enlisting in the armed forces and heading to Afghanistan.  This story is told from Ben’s perspective, in a diary-style letter to someone back home, as he reflects back over the series of events that lead to Jimmy’s death and explains why he feels responsible.  The graphic description of Jimmy’s violent death definitely makes this a book for more mature readers, and I am sure some people would ultimately like to see this book banned.  I think, nevertheless, that this suspense-filled story is a great way to draw in readers who might not otherwise think they’d enjoy a story that explores such heavy themes as homophobia and hate crimes.  A definite departure from the apocalyptic world of Ashes, but equally well written.

Happy Banned Books Week!