The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
With alternating chapters of prose and comics, Cecil Castellucci has woven a gripping tale of sisters, young love, a summer of changes and jealousy that will rip two sisters apart. Tessa and her younger sister Lulu have always hung around together and been very close. But this summer, Tessa is old enough to go to the carnival alone and not be embarrassed about what her parents look like, say and do. But Tessa will not be allowed to just hang out with her best friend, Celina. If Tessa wants to go to the carnival with her best friend, Celina---younger sister Lulu must come too. Tessa has had a crush on Charlie forever and this will be the night that they hold hands or kiss--Tessa can feel it. When she gets separated from Charlie in line, it is Lulu who goes into the sideshow with Charlie and emerges holding hands. This is the beginning of Lulu's first relationship and Tessa's mounting jealousy toward her sister. But Castellucci doesn't just paint these sisters black and white----there is irrational feelings and moods---Tessa loves her sister, and wants the best for her---just not with Charlie. When strange boy Jasper seems to keep popping up, Tessa begins a secret relationship with Jasper (made easier by the fact that he lives next door to Celina---where the sisters spend so much time)and as the summer rolls on---Tessa really cares for Jasper but still is angry with her sister because not only did she steal her secret crush; Lulu has gotten taller and needs more clothes and shoes. Her mother keeps buying Lulu new things but not Tessa. I really liked the allusion to Medusa, who turns anyone who looks at her to stone. You can see the inner turmoil of Tessa through Medusa's hair of snakes. Tessa hates herself for feeling this way; but she just can't help it. What will happen to the sisters, Charlie and the secret boy, Jasper? You must read this, I was totally unprepared for the climax---even though there were hints, signs, etc. As always, I love Cecil's books, now I love Nate Powell's graphic illustrations, I was left with such a tragic feeling...
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relationships (10)
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley, Laura McHugh, Random House, and Spiegel and Grau for this advance copy of a thrilling, disturbing read. This novel, taking place in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, is captivating from the first page. Lucy Dane is shocked and bewildered to find out her childhood friend, Cheri, who disappeared, is found dismembered one year later. In the small town of Henbane, everyone is rocked by this grisly discovery. For a while, the town is cautious and rife with innuendo and theories. Lucy’s mother also disappeared when Lucy was a baby and was never found. It is how these two parallel mysteries connect and the effect it has on family (and kin) in Henbane that make for a spine tingling, can’t put it down, suspenseful read. The suffocating small town atmosphere is creepy with their suspicion of “outsiders” and their belief in witches, magic, lies and secrets, but Lucy is a strong female character who will not stop looking for answers. For book club, there would be so many great discussions and I know I will be recommending this as a great cross-over young adult title.
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Winger by Andrew Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book as part of the Yalsa Hub 2014 Reading Challenge and I loved it. For most of this book, I laughed at Ryan Dean West's loser status and proclamations. Winger, as he is called by his Rubgy friends is smart, 14, and a junior at a Prep school. After getting in trouble, Ryan Dean is now exiled to the bad kids dorm, Opportunity Hall with a really scary roommate, Chas. He misses his old roommates in the normal dorm. He is also madly in love with Annie Altman, who has been his best friend for two years. He is so insecure about so many things, you laugh out loud with him about his loser status. But this book is about so much more than his fumbling, sports, and high school hijinks. On the back cover of the book, I didn't understand why AS King said the book was "heart-wrenching" and Matt de la Pena called the book "raw." You only have to read Part Four to become so totally sad, angry, and beyond hope about this book. That is all I will say, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!!
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The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved LaCour's Hold Still and boy did I love this one too! Colby is such a great narrator. He loves Bev, she has been his best friend since forever and he can't wait to go on tour with her all girl band, The Disenchantments, before he and Bev tour Europe. They have decided not to go to college like everyone else. The other band members are Alexa(younger sister to Meg and still in high school) and Meg (will be dropped off to college at the end of the band's tour )while Colby is the driver of his uncle's prized Melinda, set-up guy and go to guy for everyone. He is an awesome artist, so is Bev, which makes it even more difficult when Bev acts very strange at the start of the tour and tells Colby she applied to RISD and will attend in the fall!!! Colby is stunned because Bev gives him no explanation, but Meg and Alexa make him feel great. They go to some interesting stops on their tour, get involved in trying to solve a tattoo mystery, and meet some "different" people, places, etc. There were so many great quotes, Colby SEES things and his comments are insightful, thoughtful, yet you know he is clamoring to find some meaning in this tour and what should he do now that they are not going to Europe. The more I found out about Colby's friends and what made them unique, LaCour's writing, setting, characters were all so memorable. I am not into tattoes, still am not after reading this book, but I do like the murals and graffitti artistry. Recommended!
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Girl Wonder by Alexa MartinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was not a fan of the lead character, Charlotte Locke. It is tough to move your senior year, but Charlotte seems to run headlong into the wrong best friend, pink haired Amanda, and her ex-boyfriend, Neal. Charlotte is jealous, mean and petty to her brainiac brother, James Henry. She goes from being a daughter who confided in her mother, to one who hides what she is doing and where she is going from her mother. Charlotte tells us she is afraid, yet she smokes, joins the debate team, does acid and secretly sleeps with Neal (he wants to keep their relationship a secret)so what is she afraid of---oh yeah---she wants to be popular and that propels her to do all these things that were not her before. She also shows disdain for Milton, a neighbor who is mentoring James Henry. Milton is secure in who he started a mushrooms club (I even liked his descriptions of the good and bad mushrooms!!!), snowboards, skis and wants to befriend Charlotte. When Charlotte does acid at a party, she really makes some bad decisions and it is in this aftermath that she finds out what kind of "friends" Amanda and Neal are...It is interesting to see Charlotte start to realize what a gigantic mess she has made of her life and how all her decisions have been so bad---but can she right her wrongs?
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Some Girls Are by Courtney SummersMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Talk about mean girls!!! Regina is 2nd in command of the Fearsome Five (Anna is her best friend, Kara is a hanger-on, Kyrstle and Jeannette) but make no mistake--Regina, Anna and Kara are evil, evil, evil. They make life hell for whoever they want- they tell lies--but then the lies become the truth to everyone in the school. At a party, where Regina is the designated driver and everyone else is drunk, Anna's boyfriend tries to rape Regina. When she runs crying to Kara, Kara hates Regina and decides to sever the Regina/Anna friendship, so she lies to Anna. Regina becomes pond scum, relegated to sitting with an outcast, Michael, (who Regina and Anna made an outcast)in the cafeteria. The bullying gets really bad, but Regina keeps fighting back and when she realizes she needs to apologize to many, many people, they hate her so much, they won't accept her apologies.
High school, the freidnships and relationships are really scary in this book. Girls will love the drama, I hope they learn how to care about others, and how to be friends and not enemies.
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Shooting Kabul by N. H. SenzaiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I sooo loved this book! A great book for middle/jr high as well as high school for its depiction of a Muslim family fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan after 9-11. Fadi and his family have tried to stay in their beloved country but the war has driven them from their home. Fadi's father, Habib, has paid the last of their money to flee their homeland. Fadi's family is close-knit, loving, and care deeply for each other. Fadi's mother, Zafoona, is ill and his sister, Noor, is helping her escape and Fadi is responsible for Mariam, his little sister. It is when they are leaping from one truck to another, that the Taliban attacks, and Mariam breaks away to pick up her doll, that Fadi loses his grip on his little sister. Once the family reaches safety in the United States, they try to locate their precious family member, in whatever way they can. Fadi begins school in a country very foreign to him, but he makes friends and also experiences bullying because he is Muslim. What I really enjoyed was how Fadi mentions his favorite book, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and how he relates to Claudia and her escapades in the museum. Fadi loves photography and uses his father's camera which took many a picture in Kabul. It is this love of photography that inspires Fadi to join a school contest in which the winner will win a trip---and Fadi is determined to win that trip and return his lost little sister to their heartbroken family. Fadi has so many things against him but he also has determination and with his new found friend, Anh, they both hope to bring Mariam home---but, will they succeed? This such a great book, great characters, believable plot, and the themes of belonging resonate in each chapter of this wonderful book.
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Almost Perfect by Brian KatcherMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Such a good book, you will love Logan Witherspoon. He is such a great teen, angry, sensitive, and totally ambushed by his long time girlfriend; he is having a very difficult time getting over her cheating on him. Katcher does a great job of showing how very, very small Logan's hometown is, how his single mother's job is taking its toll on her and the stifling smallness of his trailer park home and high school where everyone knows everyone's business. And into this small town community, comes Sage Hendricks, tall and pretty with braces who seems to like Logan immediately (much to his surprise).As Logan and Sage learn more about each other, Logan finds Sage has almost no freedom to date, she was home schooled for much of her high school years. Logan finds himself becoming more and more attracted to Sage despite her limitations, until one kiss changes life for Logan as he knows it. It is then that Sage reveals why it is so important that she have a friend, one who will stand by her and understand her. Sage reveals her big secret--she is a boy. Now Logan has his own reasons for keeping this hideous secret; he doesn't want anyone to know he kissed a boy, he over-reacts and forbids Sage to tell anyone and that he can't be her friend anymore. There is so much about this book that you will love; Logan and Sage are characters you will relate to; they laugh, they cry, they endure. But I even liked Logan's friends, his mom, and his sister, Laura. Katcher definitely deserved to win the Stonewall Award for this book (he definitely gets the transgender issue, but he understands teens, high school and friendship and how important identity is in defining who we are; I highly recommend this for high school teens.
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