by Paolo Bacigalupi
Set in the Gulf Coast in a gritty, harsh future, Ship Breaker depicts a not-rosy-at-all future. Nailer is part of a scavange team whose job it is to take apart and salvage valuable resources in the hulking wrecks of ships that have sunk and now washed up on shore. His team belongs to Bapi, who has tattooed his sign on the cheeks of all of his workers. Nailer thinks he might stay small enough to scrounge through the duct-work tunnels of the old wrecks for one more year. What he does after that is uncertain, dark, and scary. But he doesn't give a second thought to the future, because just getting through each day is exhausting enough. When a storm washes a different kind of a wreck ashore, and he and his friend Pima find it. Will it be the thing that changes both of their lives?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Grace Happens
by Jan M. Czech
Grace's mother is Constance Meredith, famous for her acting career and infamous, with Grace, for keeping her entire past a secret. Grace has no idea who her father is, and Constance isn't talking. For years Grace has moved from movie set to movie set with her mother, her tutor, and her nanny. But this summer will be different; Constance has told her that they will spend the summer on Martha's Vinyard for an extended vacation. When the arrive, it's clear that they are not renting a house; they are living in a place wehre Constance grew up. Will this finally be the time for Grace to learn about her father?
Grace's mother is Constance Meredith, famous for her acting career and infamous, with Grace, for keeping her entire past a secret. Grace has no idea who her father is, and Constance isn't talking. For years Grace has moved from movie set to movie set with her mother, her tutor, and her nanny. But this summer will be different; Constance has told her that they will spend the summer on Martha's Vinyard for an extended vacation. When the arrive, it's clear that they are not renting a house; they are living in a place wehre Constance grew up. Will this finally be the time for Grace to learn about her father?
Hate List
by Jennifer Brown
Flashbacks and memory-jags litter this novel, and staying with the story's present can be a challenge for less savy readers. However, the writing is excellent, the characters strong, and the plot important for teen readers.
When Valerie was in that awful-middle school age, she realized, clearly, that she didn't fit in with the kids in her town. Didn't. Won't. Ever. And instead of just leaving her to be herself, kids and teachers and the world looked down their noses at her spiked hair, torn jeans, and taste in clothes. To deal with the acid that ate her up, she wrote a list of things she hated: mom and dad fighting, homework that means nothing, names of teachers, names of kids. And that list helped her deal with the hatred that was directed at her day in, day out. And when Nick moved to town, looking and acting much as Valerie did, the found each other and kept the list alive, because it was their proof that they could hate too.
Fast forward to the end of their junior year. Valerie had no idea that Nick had a gun, and that he had a plan. And so, when he opened-fire in the common area, methodically taking out the people who appeared on the hate list the most often, she was as shocked as the rest of the school. Trying to protect Nick's next victim, Valerie was shot. Then Nick shot himself.
Five months, countless hours of therapy, and even more hours holed up in her room have passed. And now it's September. And Valerie must face her peers and finish her senior year. And to do that, she must face the part her hatred had what happened on that awful day in May.
Flashbacks and memory-jags litter this novel, and staying with the story's present can be a challenge for less savy readers. However, the writing is excellent, the characters strong, and the plot important for teen readers.
When Valerie was in that awful-middle school age, she realized, clearly, that she didn't fit in with the kids in her town. Didn't. Won't. Ever. And instead of just leaving her to be herself, kids and teachers and the world looked down their noses at her spiked hair, torn jeans, and taste in clothes. To deal with the acid that ate her up, she wrote a list of things she hated: mom and dad fighting, homework that means nothing, names of teachers, names of kids. And that list helped her deal with the hatred that was directed at her day in, day out. And when Nick moved to town, looking and acting much as Valerie did, the found each other and kept the list alive, because it was their proof that they could hate too.
Fast forward to the end of their junior year. Valerie had no idea that Nick had a gun, and that he had a plan. And so, when he opened-fire in the common area, methodically taking out the people who appeared on the hate list the most often, she was as shocked as the rest of the school. Trying to protect Nick's next victim, Valerie was shot. Then Nick shot himself.
Five months, countless hours of therapy, and even more hours holed up in her room have passed. And now it's September. And Valerie must face her peers and finish her senior year. And to do that, she must face the part her hatred had what happened on that awful day in May.
Reality Check
by Peter Abrahams
Cody's Mom died from cancer years ago, and since then his dad has been an absent alcoholic. Cody has only two things going for him: quarterbacking the football team for a possible college scholarship, and Clea, his feisty girlfriend who also happens to be rich. When Clea's father takes a dislike to Cody, Clea is shipped off to visit her uncle in Hong Kong for the summer. That isn't enough to keep them apart, so her dad sends her off to a boarding school across the country, in Vermont. When Cody tears his ACL in a spectacularly bad hit, his football season is over. Unmotivated, he drops out of school and works making deliveries for a local lumber company. When he learns that Clea is missing, he drives from Colorado to VT hoping to help find her, ending up neck-deep in a lot of small-town/rich-boarding-school-kid secret. A page turner with likable characters.
Cody's Mom died from cancer years ago, and since then his dad has been an absent alcoholic. Cody has only two things going for him: quarterbacking the football team for a possible college scholarship, and Clea, his feisty girlfriend who also happens to be rich. When Clea's father takes a dislike to Cody, Clea is shipped off to visit her uncle in Hong Kong for the summer. That isn't enough to keep them apart, so her dad sends her off to a boarding school across the country, in Vermont. When Cody tears his ACL in a spectacularly bad hit, his football season is over. Unmotivated, he drops out of school and works making deliveries for a local lumber company. When he learns that Clea is missing, he drives from Colorado to VT hoping to help find her, ending up neck-deep in a lot of small-town/rich-boarding-school-kid secret. A page turner with likable characters.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Last Exit to Normal
by Michael Harmon
If it's possible to be laughing and crying in the same moment, this book will do it to you.
Ben's dad decided after close to 20 years of marriage and raising 17 year old Ben, that he is gay.
Ben's mom skips town.
Ben's dad's boyfriend, Edward, moves in with them.
What's a guy to do? He skips school, skateboards constantly, smokes pot, and is generally a pain in his Dad's butt. I mean, what can Dad do?
What Dad and Edward do is up-root Ben from his urban lifestyle and move him to Edward's Mom's house in a tiny hick town in Montana. It's pretty tough being a spiked-hair skateboarder in rural Montana, but it's even harder when you get involved in the kid next-door's business...business that the kid's dad doesn't want Ben in.
Laugh out loud funny. Powerful characters. GREAT book!
If it's possible to be laughing and crying in the same moment, this book will do it to you.
Ben's dad decided after close to 20 years of marriage and raising 17 year old Ben, that he is gay.
Ben's mom skips town.
Ben's dad's boyfriend, Edward, moves in with them.
What's a guy to do? He skips school, skateboards constantly, smokes pot, and is generally a pain in his Dad's butt. I mean, what can Dad do?
What Dad and Edward do is up-root Ben from his urban lifestyle and move him to Edward's Mom's house in a tiny hick town in Montana. It's pretty tough being a spiked-hair skateboarder in rural Montana, but it's even harder when you get involved in the kid next-door's business...business that the kid's dad doesn't want Ben in.
Laugh out loud funny. Powerful characters. GREAT book!
Shift
by Jennifer Bradbury
Best friends Win and Chris decide to ride their bikes from West Virginia to Washington State during the summer after they graduate from high school. The big problem is this: Win doesn't return at the end of the trip, and even Chris does not know where he is.
The book's format contributes to the enormous suspense in this book. Chapters alternate from telling the story of the trip, to the post-trip investigation bank-rolled by Win's powerful father.
Great read. Great book.
Best friends Win and Chris decide to ride their bikes from West Virginia to Washington State during the summer after they graduate from high school. The big problem is this: Win doesn't return at the end of the trip, and even Chris does not know where he is.
The book's format contributes to the enormous suspense in this book. Chapters alternate from telling the story of the trip, to the post-trip investigation bank-rolled by Win's powerful father.
Great read. Great book.
Say You're One of Them
by Uwem Akpan
The author of this collection of short stories (some are actually quite long stories) grew up in Nigeria. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2005 and received an MFA from U of Michigan in 2006. This is his first published book, and it is amazing.
The most powerful (for me) story was about a family living in a shanty town in urban Kenya. With work unavailable and the adults of the family sick or high from sniffing glue to escape the horror of their lives, the twelve year old girl prostitutes herself to keep her family eating. The narrator, her 10 year old brother, is expected to beg for coins to pay for the books at his school. It's a dismal setting told with gut-wrenching honesty.
The other stories deal with the alarming realities for children in other African countries: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. This book is a call to open our eyes, and a call to act. I will use the first story, at least, with my Women's Lit class. A tough, but important read.
The author of this collection of short stories (some are actually quite long stories) grew up in Nigeria. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2005 and received an MFA from U of Michigan in 2006. This is his first published book, and it is amazing.
The most powerful (for me) story was about a family living in a shanty town in urban Kenya. With work unavailable and the adults of the family sick or high from sniffing glue to escape the horror of their lives, the twelve year old girl prostitutes herself to keep her family eating. The narrator, her 10 year old brother, is expected to beg for coins to pay for the books at his school. It's a dismal setting told with gut-wrenching honesty.
The other stories deal with the alarming realities for children in other African countries: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. This book is a call to open our eyes, and a call to act. I will use the first story, at least, with my Women's Lit class. A tough, but important read.
Dope Sick
By Walter Dean Myers
So my MOST reluctant 9th grade boy reader from this past year recommended this book to me (from my own collection). Yep, it's a great one. Rough-and-down-in-the-hood... drugs, cops... and throw in some magic... Myers has another great read for reluctant readers.
Lil J was just trying to scrape some cash together to send his alcoholic mother to South Carolina to her mother's house to dry up. The line for six jobs at Home Depot was more than a block long, so he found his way to a drug dealer that he knew. He was just going to run some heroin across town so they could eat tonight. And then it went wrong, and now a cop is in critical condition, Lil J has a bullet lodged in his arm, and he's on the run. He hides out in an abandoned building where a seemingly homeless guy shows Lil J his life on the TV. He's given the chance to take one day back. If he chooses the day the cop got shot, can he turn his life around?
So my MOST reluctant 9th grade boy reader from this past year recommended this book to me (from my own collection). Yep, it's a great one. Rough-and-down-in-the-hood... drugs, cops... and throw in some magic... Myers has another great read for reluctant readers.
Lil J was just trying to scrape some cash together to send his alcoholic mother to South Carolina to her mother's house to dry up. The line for six jobs at Home Depot was more than a block long, so he found his way to a drug dealer that he knew. He was just going to run some heroin across town so they could eat tonight. And then it went wrong, and now a cop is in critical condition, Lil J has a bullet lodged in his arm, and he's on the run. He hides out in an abandoned building where a seemingly homeless guy shows Lil J his life on the TV. He's given the chance to take one day back. If he chooses the day the cop got shot, can he turn his life around?
Flight
by Sherman Alexie
So this book started out really well. "Zit" (as he calls himself) is 15 years old. His mother, an Irish American, died when he was six. His father, an Indian (Alexie has written, elsewhere, about how he believes it hog-wash to call Indians "Native Americans," so I'll stick with his language.) Anyway, his father, an Indian, disappeared before he was ever in Zit's life. Zit has been in 22 schools and 21 foster homes. He is irreverent, nasty, and some kind of pissed off. Juvenile Detention center is no place new to him, and he's on a first-name basis with several of the local cops. The writing is honest, tough, and, at times, very funny.
About 20 pages in, Zit aligns himself with a street-wise 17 year old who seems to have all the answers. Following an Indian tradition, he performs a ceremony at about page 50...and that's when things go badly, both for Zit & for the book. Suddenly Zit is zipping along through time: as an FBI agent in the 1970s, then as the son of an Indian chief at the time of Crazy-Horse...zip, he learns a lesson, zip he's gone again...learns another lesson...
The history is interesting. The Native American Indian perspective is much missing in YA fiction, and well-done here. The writing is amazing. The lessons Zit learns are well-worth learning. If readers are willing to suspend their disbelief (as I could sort of, kind of, at times do...), the book is worth reading. Just be willing to go with the time-travel without the time-machine thing.
So this book started out really well. "Zit" (as he calls himself) is 15 years old. His mother, an Irish American, died when he was six. His father, an Indian (Alexie has written, elsewhere, about how he believes it hog-wash to call Indians "Native Americans," so I'll stick with his language.) Anyway, his father, an Indian, disappeared before he was ever in Zit's life. Zit has been in 22 schools and 21 foster homes. He is irreverent, nasty, and some kind of pissed off. Juvenile Detention center is no place new to him, and he's on a first-name basis with several of the local cops. The writing is honest, tough, and, at times, very funny.
About 20 pages in, Zit aligns himself with a street-wise 17 year old who seems to have all the answers. Following an Indian tradition, he performs a ceremony at about page 50...and that's when things go badly, both for Zit & for the book. Suddenly Zit is zipping along through time: as an FBI agent in the 1970s, then as the son of an Indian chief at the time of Crazy-Horse...zip, he learns a lesson, zip he's gone again...learns another lesson...
The history is interesting. The Native American Indian perspective is much missing in YA fiction, and well-done here. The writing is amazing. The lessons Zit learns are well-worth learning. If readers are willing to suspend their disbelief (as I could sort of, kind of, at times do...), the book is worth reading. Just be willing to go with the time-travel without the time-machine thing.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Some Girls Are
by Courtney Summers
Regina has been to the top of her high school's social ladder, courtesy of her best friend Anna. But when Anna's boyfriend tries to rape Regina at a party and she confides in a "friend" (who is really her competition in Anna's world), she tumbles to the bottom. She finds herself outcast and bullied in ways that she has outcast and bullied others before her. Now she eat lunch with someone she once victimized, and she is coming to terms with the horrible things she's done to others at her high school.
This book is a good look inside teen culture, and we can all learn about the mind of would-be bullies in today's high schools.
Regina has been to the top of her high school's social ladder, courtesy of her best friend Anna. But when Anna's boyfriend tries to rape Regina at a party and she confides in a "friend" (who is really her competition in Anna's world), she tumbles to the bottom. She finds herself outcast and bullied in ways that she has outcast and bullied others before her. Now she eat lunch with someone she once victimized, and she is coming to terms with the horrible things she's done to others at her high school.
This book is a good look inside teen culture, and we can all learn about the mind of would-be bullies in today's high schools.
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
by Chris Crutcher
Sarah Byrnes was burned, as a child, when her parent pours boiling water on her. Eric is fat, or he was until he joined the swim team. They are friends and have been forever. But now Sarah sits catatonic in the mental ward at the hospital. And Eric needs to help her, but he doesn't know how. This is another winner from Chris Crutcher. He tackles tough topics: race, incest, abortion, mental health....and manages to do it with style. His writing is quirky and poetic. His characters are drawn from is other job - that of a child therapist - and, as such, are very teenage and very real. Great book.
Sarah Byrnes was burned, as a child, when her parent pours boiling water on her. Eric is fat, or he was until he joined the swim team. They are friends and have been forever. But now Sarah sits catatonic in the mental ward at the hospital. And Eric needs to help her, but he doesn't know how. This is another winner from Chris Crutcher. He tackles tough topics: race, incest, abortion, mental health....and manages to do it with style. His writing is quirky and poetic. His characters are drawn from is other job - that of a child therapist - and, as such, are very teenage and very real. Great book.
Angry Management
by Chris Crutcher
CC is my all-time favorite young adult author. He writes, openly, about how very difficult it is for him to write. He skyped with my 9th grade class this year and told them that it takes him more than a year to write a book, which is a pretty long time for most YA authors. In this collection, he has written shorter, novella-length, stories in which many of his characters, from previous books, meet. He has Montana West from The Sledding Hill hook up with Angus Bethune from "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune." Wonderful. Funny. Well-written in his sardonic, CC, style. Great read for lovers of CC's books. Probably not the best for someone who doesn't know the characters already.
CC is my all-time favorite young adult author. He writes, openly, about how very difficult it is for him to write. He skyped with my 9th grade class this year and told them that it takes him more than a year to write a book, which is a pretty long time for most YA authors. In this collection, he has written shorter, novella-length, stories in which many of his characters, from previous books, meet. He has Montana West from The Sledding Hill hook up with Angus Bethune from "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune." Wonderful. Funny. Well-written in his sardonic, CC, style. Great read for lovers of CC's books. Probably not the best for someone who doesn't know the characters already.
The Monster Variations
by Daniel Kraus
James, Willie, and Reggie have been friends since the summer when Willie was in a hit and run accident that cost him his left arm. That same summer another boy is killed in another hit and run with a silver truck, and the town decides to enforce a curfew of 8pm for all kids. The boys, who come from extremely varied backgrounds, follow Reggie's reckless lead and try to find the killer. They are followed by the dark, myseterious bully, Mel, and haunted by demons of their own making.
James, Willie, and Reggie have been friends since the summer when Willie was in a hit and run accident that cost him his left arm. That same summer another boy is killed in another hit and run with a silver truck, and the town decides to enforce a curfew of 8pm for all kids. The boys, who come from extremely varied backgrounds, follow Reggie's reckless lead and try to find the killer. They are followed by the dark, myseterious bully, Mel, and haunted by demons of their own making.
The Gardener
by S.A. Bodeen
Mason's father isn't in the picture, and all he has from his dad is a video of his dad reading GoodNight Moon - no face, just his big hands (blue butterfly tattoo), and his torso as he reads. That's all he knows of his dad, and his mom's not talking. Mason's mom works at a nursing home, as does his best friend Jack. One night, while he waits for Jack to get off work so they can go to his family's cabin in the mountains, Mace "meets" the people on his mom's floor of the nursing home: 4 perfect looking and totally catatonic teenagers. While he waits, he watches the video of his Dad, and at the part "If you become a crocus in the garden, I'll be the gardener and come find you" one of the girls wakes up. When she freaks out and follows Mason out the door, he and Jack take her with them, beginning a thrilling, frightening journey to discover who, or what, she is.
Mason's father isn't in the picture, and all he has from his dad is a video of his dad reading GoodNight Moon - no face, just his big hands (blue butterfly tattoo), and his torso as he reads. That's all he knows of his dad, and his mom's not talking. Mason's mom works at a nursing home, as does his best friend Jack. One night, while he waits for Jack to get off work so they can go to his family's cabin in the mountains, Mace "meets" the people on his mom's floor of the nursing home: 4 perfect looking and totally catatonic teenagers. While he waits, he watches the video of his Dad, and at the part "If you become a crocus in the garden, I'll be the gardener and come find you" one of the girls wakes up. When she freaks out and follows Mason out the door, he and Jack take her with them, beginning a thrilling, frightening journey to discover who, or what, she is.
Ender's Game
by Scott Orson Card
I first read this book with my sci fi classes this spring, and I "read it cold" with them (meaning I read it along with them) so that I could experience it the way they did. I enjoyed it, but I knew there was more "meat" in it that I could discover before teaching it next year. The writing is extremely well done, and the plot is engaging.
Set in the distant future, Earth is in jeopardy from the Buggers, an alien race that we have fought before, narrowly winning. Commanders are seeking the "one" who can save the human race, and Ender is it. He is chose, at age 6, to attend Battle School (in space) and be trained in all aspects and strategies of war. Readers follow Ender though his training and his promotion to leadership positions. It's fast-paced, but also deeply character-driven. Readers will be left wondering what, exactly, we should be doing in war, politics, and life.
I first read this book with my sci fi classes this spring, and I "read it cold" with them (meaning I read it along with them) so that I could experience it the way they did. I enjoyed it, but I knew there was more "meat" in it that I could discover before teaching it next year. The writing is extremely well done, and the plot is engaging.
Set in the distant future, Earth is in jeopardy from the Buggers, an alien race that we have fought before, narrowly winning. Commanders are seeking the "one" who can save the human race, and Ender is it. He is chose, at age 6, to attend Battle School (in space) and be trained in all aspects and strategies of war. Readers follow Ender though his training and his promotion to leadership positions. It's fast-paced, but also deeply character-driven. Readers will be left wondering what, exactly, we should be doing in war, politics, and life.
Crow Lake
by Mary Lawson
This was one of my favorite books that my Book Club read in the 11 years we have been meeting. So re-reading it this summer was like being back in touch with an old friend. It is a beautifully written story of a family devastated by the tragic loss of both parents in a car accident years ago. Kate Morrison is now a zoologist and she believes she has outgrown her once-beloved siblings, Luke, Matt, and Bo. But her emotions were arrested years ago, and the sacrifices family members made to ensure the children stayed together are now resented and festering. The story unravels slowly, and readers are swept away, into the lives of the characters because of the hauntingly beautiful writing. I loved it every bit as much the 2nd time as I did the 1st.
This was one of my favorite books that my Book Club read in the 11 years we have been meeting. So re-reading it this summer was like being back in touch with an old friend. It is a beautifully written story of a family devastated by the tragic loss of both parents in a car accident years ago. Kate Morrison is now a zoologist and she believes she has outgrown her once-beloved siblings, Luke, Matt, and Bo. But her emotions were arrested years ago, and the sacrifices family members made to ensure the children stayed together are now resented and festering. The story unravels slowly, and readers are swept away, into the lives of the characters because of the hauntingly beautiful writing. I loved it every bit as much the 2nd time as I did the 1st.
Three Days
by Donna Jo Napoli
Jackie is thrilled to go to Italy with her adoring (and adored) father, but is completely unprepared for what will happen. When her father drops dead of a heart-attack on the side of the road in the Italian countryside, she is vulnerable...and then she is kidnapped. This hair-raising, race-to-the-finish book will hook reluctant readers and those who love reading alike. Great, fast read.
Jackie is thrilled to go to Italy with her adoring (and adored) father, but is completely unprepared for what will happen. When her father drops dead of a heart-attack on the side of the road in the Italian countryside, she is vulnerable...and then she is kidnapped. This hair-raising, race-to-the-finish book will hook reluctant readers and those who love reading alike. Great, fast read.
Something, Maybe
by Elizabeth Scott
Scott's writing is lovely, and this book will not disappoint her fans. Hannah has worked really hard to be invisible in her high school because of who her parents are. Her Dad, an old man, met her mother when he was 50 and she was 19. He's a Hugh-Heffner-ish (Playboy) kind of guy, running around with hot almost-children, and living his life in the spotlight at his castle (literally) in New York. Hannah's mom works on the Internet in her underwear. All teens are embarrassed by their parent; but I think Hannah has them all beat. So she works at her job taking orders at a Burger place and secretly (well, not so secretly) lusts after handsome Josh, the all-American, all-about-popular guy from school who works with her. Too bad Finn, who also works with them, is so annoying. Right? It's something, maybe...
Scott's writing is lovely, and this book will not disappoint her fans. Hannah has worked really hard to be invisible in her high school because of who her parents are. Her Dad, an old man, met her mother when he was 50 and she was 19. He's a Hugh-Heffner-ish (Playboy) kind of guy, running around with hot almost-children, and living his life in the spotlight at his castle (literally) in New York. Hannah's mom works on the Internet in her underwear. All teens are embarrassed by their parent; but I think Hannah has them all beat. So she works at her job taking orders at a Burger place and secretly (well, not so secretly) lusts after handsome Josh, the all-American, all-about-popular guy from school who works with her. Too bad Finn, who also works with them, is so annoying. Right? It's something, maybe...
Doing It
by Melvin Burgess
Dino, Jon and Ben are best friends, and they are completely, totally, obsessed with sex. This book is not for the faint of heart; everything, and I mean everything, is cause to speculate about sex for these guys. This window into adolescent male minds is irreverent and despicable, but somehow hilariously funny.
Dino, Jon and Ben are best friends, and they are completely, totally, obsessed with sex. This book is not for the faint of heart; everything, and I mean everything, is cause to speculate about sex for these guys. This window into adolescent male minds is irreverent and despicable, but somehow hilariously funny.
Candor
by Pam Bachorz
The town of Candor, Florida was founded by Oscar Banks' father. Houses cost upwards of a million bucks, but the waiting list to get one built is long. Because in Candor, everyone does exactly what they should. Kids listen to their parents, do chores, study all the time. No exceptions. Well, except for Oscar's clients, the ones with money, who pay him well to get them out of the town. You see, within a week, you will be brainwashed by the subliminal messages that are played everywhere - in your room, in the houses, at the park...school, library, grocery store. But Oscar makes a pretty penny getting kids who can pay out of Candor because he knows how his Dad does it. When Nia arrives in town, she complicates things. That's when Oscar's world falls apart.
The town of Candor, Florida was founded by Oscar Banks' father. Houses cost upwards of a million bucks, but the waiting list to get one built is long. Because in Candor, everyone does exactly what they should. Kids listen to their parents, do chores, study all the time. No exceptions. Well, except for Oscar's clients, the ones with money, who pay him well to get them out of the town. You see, within a week, you will be brainwashed by the subliminal messages that are played everywhere - in your room, in the houses, at the park...school, library, grocery store. But Oscar makes a pretty penny getting kids who can pay out of Candor because he knows how his Dad does it. When Nia arrives in town, she complicates things. That's when Oscar's world falls apart.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by
Told in alternating chapters by Will Grayson and Will Grayson, this book is so ridiculous, that it's wonderful...I think. The first Will Grayson lives by two rules: don't get involved and don't care. He thinks this will keep him from getting hurt, like his mother did when his father walked out. Instead, what it gets him is lonely. He has just one friend, Tiny, an enormous gay friend who is so publicly-out and so flamboyantly gay, it's kind of painful to read about him. But you do because you love Tiny and the musical he is writing/directing/producing about his life and his gayness. Tiny is so full of heart, readers can't help but want him to succeed. Readers want to alternately smack Will for being distant, and hug him when he disobeys his rules.
the other will grayson does not use capital letters, which makes it a tad annoying for an english teacher like myself to read. he is depressed and chronically pessimistic. he is also gay and very much in the closet. his friend maura wants to date him, but he won't (because he is very gay, and very much in love with isaac, a boy he met online). he leaves ohio and takes a train to chicago (where tiny and the other will grayson live) to meet isaac. there, he has a painful surprise and a surprise-meeting with the other will grayson and tiny. meeting them changes his life.
Though I am still not sure if I like this book, it has stayed with me and I keep thinking about it, so clearly it's a keeper and good food for thought.
Told in alternating chapters by Will Grayson and Will Grayson, this book is so ridiculous, that it's wonderful...I think. The first Will Grayson lives by two rules: don't get involved and don't care. He thinks this will keep him from getting hurt, like his mother did when his father walked out. Instead, what it gets him is lonely. He has just one friend, Tiny, an enormous gay friend who is so publicly-out and so flamboyantly gay, it's kind of painful to read about him. But you do because you love Tiny and the musical he is writing/directing/producing about his life and his gayness. Tiny is so full of heart, readers can't help but want him to succeed. Readers want to alternately smack Will for being distant, and hug him when he disobeys his rules.
the other will grayson does not use capital letters, which makes it a tad annoying for an english teacher like myself to read. he is depressed and chronically pessimistic. he is also gay and very much in the closet. his friend maura wants to date him, but he won't (because he is very gay, and very much in love with isaac, a boy he met online). he leaves ohio and takes a train to chicago (where tiny and the other will grayson live) to meet isaac. there, he has a painful surprise and a surprise-meeting with the other will grayson and tiny. meeting them changes his life.
Though I am still not sure if I like this book, it has stayed with me and I keep thinking about it, so clearly it's a keeper and good food for thought.
Bullet Point
by Peter Abrahams
Wyatt is a baseball player, but when his school cuts all sports programs, he is faced without what he most enjoys. The opportunity to move to a larger school presents itself, and, after a fist fight with his unemployed step-father, Wyatt decides to take it. What he doesn't count on is meeting Greer, a smart, edgy, beautiful girl who introduces him to Sonny, his biological dad who was sent to prison for murder before Wyatt was born. What is he to do with this new information, this new person in his world, especially when he and Greer learn that Sonny is probably innocent? It's a page-turner.
Wyatt is a baseball player, but when his school cuts all sports programs, he is faced without what he most enjoys. The opportunity to move to a larger school presents itself, and, after a fist fight with his unemployed step-father, Wyatt decides to take it. What he doesn't count on is meeting Greer, a smart, edgy, beautiful girl who introduces him to Sonny, his biological dad who was sent to prison for murder before Wyatt was born. What is he to do with this new information, this new person in his world, especially when he and Greer learn that Sonny is probably innocent? It's a page-turner.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
Let's imagine that all dogs have complex thoughts, and that this one particular dog can reason, learn, and articulate thoughts. This book is told from the dog Enzo's point of view. His owner is Denny, a race car driver, to whom Enzo is fabulously loyal. When Denny marries Eve, Enzo wonders and worries about this new intrusion into his life. Soon Zoe is born and Enzo has a new human to protect and serve. When Eve gets sick, life for Denny, Zoe and Enzo changes in ways they could never imagine. Funny, sad, fierce and wonderful - it's a quick read that will leave you feeling amazed by the connection between dogs and their humans.
Let's imagine that all dogs have complex thoughts, and that this one particular dog can reason, learn, and articulate thoughts. This book is told from the dog Enzo's point of view. His owner is Denny, a race car driver, to whom Enzo is fabulously loyal. When Denny marries Eve, Enzo wonders and worries about this new intrusion into his life. Soon Zoe is born and Enzo has a new human to protect and serve. When Eve gets sick, life for Denny, Zoe and Enzo changes in ways they could never imagine. Funny, sad, fierce and wonderful - it's a quick read that will leave you feeling amazed by the connection between dogs and their humans.
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