Stupid Fast. by Geoff Herbach. June 1, 2011. Sourcebooks Fire. 311 pages. ISBN: 9781402256301I am neither male nor sporty, but I have always loved young adult realistic fiction with male narrators and sports themes. How I managed to miss last year’s Stupid Fast, even after it won a 2011 Cybils Award, completely blows my mind. Thankfully, though, a representative from Sourcebooks visited my library system recently, and included in the presentation was a plug for all three of Geoff Herbach’s books about Felton Reinstein.
Felton is fifteen, and lately he’s been dealing with some changes. For one thing, he can’t seem to stop growing, and every inch of him suddenly has hair. His mom, a hippy who insists on being called Jerri, is also starting to lose her mind, a problem which may or may not be related to Felton’s dad’s suicide ten years before. Pretty much overnight, Felton discovers he is fast, and the football team suddenly starts asking him to work out with them even though he’s never played before in his life. On top of that, Felton’s best friend has gone away for the summer and staying in his house is an African-American piano prodigy, whose talent catches Felton’s eye as well as that of his little brother, Andrew, who is also talented on the piano. The entire story is told from Felton’s point of view on one night late in summer when he just can’t fall asleep.
I think the biggest thing that makes me love a book is the main character’s voice, and Felton has one of the best YA voices I’ve read. He reminded me, at times, of some of Chris Crutcher’s characters, like TJ in
Whale Talk, and Moby from
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. At other times, I was sure he was channeling Karl Shoemaker from
Tales of the Madman Underground or Guy Langman from
Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator. Felton is self-aware and self-deprecating, funny even when he thinks he’s not, sometimes selfish, sometimes giving, very talkative, even if only inside his own brain, and messed up in the way that all people are messed up when they’re trying to survive puberty. Being inside his thoughts for 300 pages was a treat, and even now, having finished the first book and not yet moved onto the second, I am carrying Felton around with me, still sometimes seeing the world from his point of view instead of my own. His voice is infectious, and it lingers for a while after the book is over.
Plot-wise,
Stupid Fast is just as engaging as its protagonist. Felton’s journey from the weird kid everyone calls “Squirrel Nut” to a confident and competent member of a sports team is interesting enough on its own, but family dysfunction and romance really add to the reader’s interest and keep the pages turning. Jerri’s slow retreat from her duties as mother and Andrew’s strange behaviors in reaction to the loss of his mother actually made me worry for their future, and concern for Felton’s relationship with Aleah after his mom makes a fool of herself in the neighborhood, kept me up until 2 AM when I finally finished the book and felt satisfied.
In addition to the 2011 Cybils Award in Young Adult Fiction,
Stupid Fast also received well-deserved recognition from YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, the Junior Library Guild, and the American Booksellers Association. It is one of the funniest books I have ever read, and a great read-alike for books by Allen Zadoff, Josh Berk, Chris Crutcher, Eric Luper, and Rich Wallace. The second book about Felton, entitled
Nothing Special, was released in May 2012.
I’m With Stupid, the third in the series, will be published in May 2013.
Geoff Herbach can be heard reading the beginning of Stupid Fast (with a few differences from the published text)
here - it’s a great preview of the book and just as fun to listen to even if you’ve already read the whole story.
I borrowed Stupid Fast from my local public library. For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.
Katie and the Cupcake Cure. by Coco Simon. May 3, 2011. Simon and Schuster. 160 pages. ISBN: 9781442422766Katie never spent any of her summer vacation worrying about the start of middle school, so she is more surprised than anyone when her best friend, Callie, ditches her on the first day to join The Popular Girls Club (PGC). Katie is really upset, but she channels her sadness into baking cupcakes, a pastime she and her mom have shared over the years. Eventually, her cupcakes lead her to a group of new friends - Mia, Alexis, and Emma - who join with her to form a cupcake club and business.
Though this book is set in middle school, it’s actually written to appeal to a younger audience. Girls in grades 3 to 5 who enjoy the Baby-sitters Club, How I Survived Middle School and similar series are the most likely candidates to read this one, and their parents will be pleased to have them do it. Not only does the story portray involved moms who are strongly attuned to their daughters’ social lives, but the girls themselves have wholesome interests, positive attitudes, and strong work ethics. They’re not caught up in fashion, cliqueishness or (at least in this volume) boys. They maintain a sense of innocence and focus on the good they can do instead of how to exact revenge on their popular enemies.
The writing in this book is similar to that in other paperback series - mostly generic, with no real frills - but that isn’t necessarily a problem. Everybody needs a little fluff now and then, and younger tweens looking to ease into their summer reading will - excuse the pun - eat these up. Only two things might cause confusion. One is that the series is not written in diary format, even thought it’s called Cupcake Diaries. The other is that there is another series available now that is called
The Cupcake Club, but which is not related to this series. It seems that no matter which one I’m searching for on Barnes and Noble’s website, I get the other one, so it’s a good idea to keep track of the authors if you’re looking for these in the bookstore or library.
Katie and the Cupcake Cure was originally published in 2011, followed by
Mia in the Mix,
Emma on Thin Icing,
Alexis and the Perfect Recipe, and
Katie, Batter Up. The most recent additions to the series are
Mia’s Baker Dozen, published in February 2012, and
Emma All Stirred Up, published in April 2012. New books will continue to be published through the end of this year, as follows:
Alexis Cool as a Cupcake (June 26),
Katie and the Cupcake War (August 21),
Mia’s Boiling Point (October 16), and
Emma, Smile and Say “Cupcake!” (December 4.)
Visit Simon Spotlight’s Cupcake Diaries
page to learn more about the books and view the adorable trailer.
I purchased Katie and the Cupcake Cure from Barnes and Noble for my Nook.
Missing on Superstition Mountain. by Elise Broach. 2011. Henry Holt & Co. 272 pages. ISBN: 9780805090475 Missing on Superstition Mountain is a fast-paced adventure novel by Elise Broach, who is the author of
Masterpiece and
Shakespeare’s Secret. Three brothers - Simon, Henry, and Jack Barker - move with their parents to Arizona. Their parents warn them to steer clear of Superstition Mountain, but since they are vague about why, the boys take it upon themselves to go exploring. What they find - a creepy atmosphere and three human skulls - sparks their interest and sends them, along with a neighbor girl named Delilah, on a hunt around their new town for clues that will lead them to the truth about the mountain’s dangerous secrets.
What I did not realize when I started this book is that it’s part of a trilogy. It’s important to know this ahead of time, because otherwise, the reader will most definitely be disappointed by the lack of resolution at the end of the story. Only one thread of the plot comes to its conclusion in this book, and that conclusion raises as many questions as it answers. The key to enjoying this book is to view it as the first installment of a larger story, rather than a self-contained novel.
That said, this book is very well-executed. Broach’s effortless writing leads the reader seamlessly from plot point to plot point, charting a course that readers will eagerly follow. She builds suspense very effectively and keeps her language simple and straightforward, so that readers graduating from basic chapter books to novels can easily appreciate and engage with the story. Each of the boys has an appealing personality, and their interactions with Delilah - both before they become friends and during the friendship - ring very true.
My favorite of all the kids was Henry, whose budding anthropologist mind provides two of my favorite lines. Twice in the story Henry’s curiosity about other families and their houses is piqued. On page 83, he muses:
Another kid’s family was like a whole other civilization, Henry often thought - different rules and habits, different snacks that were allowed or forbidden, different bedtimes and acceptable television shows. And on page 194, he goes on to consider:
Other people’s houses were so interesting, Henry thought - like a giant version of the inside of someone’s backpack. There were so many different ways that their owners’ personalities could shine through - in furniture, knickknacks, how messy or neat a place was.These two descriptions perfectly encapsulate the way kids view their friends’ families and homes, but they also get at the heart of the novel’s fascination with culture and history. Elise Broach herself holds two history degrees from Yale, and she does a wonderful job of sharing her expertise at a developmentally and educationally appropriate level for her readers.
I really enjoyed
Missing on Superstition Mountain, and the ending definitely left me hungry for the next installment. Readers - both the reluctant and the enthusiastic - in grades 3 to 5 are likely to react the same way. The second book in this trilogy,
Treasu
The Lemonade Crime. by Jacqueline Davies. March 21, 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 160 pages. ISBN: 9780547279671 In this sequel to
The Lemonade War, Jessie and Evan have begun school in the same class for the first time. Though they aren’t fighting anymore, they do still have one unresolved issue leftover from their end-of-summer war - they still haven’t gotten back their stolen money. Both Jessie and Evan are sure of who took it, but Jessie is the one who is truly determined to seek justice. She studies up on criminal law and turns the playground into a courtroom, complete with judge, lawyers, and jury. She assumes that her classmates will all be on the side of right - that is, her side - but finds that anything can happen in a court of law.
I liked this continuation of the story begun in
The Lemonade War, but I don’t think it was quite as strong. What made the first book so enjoyable was the tension between the siblings, and because there is a third-party villain this time, some of that tension was necessarily missing from this book. What did work nicely was the relationship between Jessie and her older classmates and her obvious desire to win their affections even as she gets far too into the courtroom aspect. In keeping with the previous book’s format,
The Lemonade Crime defines legal words at the opening of each chapter, and whereas math lessons abound in the first book, a lesson in criminal justice is the central focus this time. I also think the author handled Evan’s reaction to the alleged thief and his possible motives in a very believable way. The emotional conclusion of the book shows some especially good character development for Evan as he ultimately confronts the thief.
Kids who read the first book won’t want to miss this second volume, or the recently released third one,
The Bell Bandit. Readers should start with the first book or the gravity of Jessie and Evan’s loss when the money is stolen might not be fully realized, but I think it is possible to get the gist of things and keep with this story without that first book. I would probably be most likely to give this book to kids in grades 3 and 4, and I think it would be a great one for kids who are interested in mysteries, or who express interest in becoming lawyers.
I borrowed The Lemonade Crime from my local public library.
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. September 27, 2011. Henry Holt. 160 pages. ISBN: 9780805092165Sasha Zaichik is ten years old, and ready to become a Young Pioneer. He is devoted to Stalin, and proud of his father, who works for the secret police. He blindly accepts the socialist teachings of his society, and sees nothing unusual in his communal living arrangements, or the harsh punishments doled out at school to punish the children of Stalin’s enemies. Sasha’s sense of security is greatly challenged, however, when his father is arrested on the eve of the Young Pioneers induction ceremony, and Sasha himself accidentally breaks a statue of Stalin in the school hallway. Slowly, the truth about Stalinist Russia begins revealing itself to Sasha, forcing him to make some serious decisions about who to trust.
This book is small and short, but very powerful. The most remarkable thing about it is the author’s ability to immerse the reader in the naive mindset of a child raised in a socialist society. It can be hard for kids to connect with history in a personal way because textbooks are written in such dry, analytical language. This book teaches kids everything they could want to understand about living under Stalin, but it does so by appealing to emotions and experiences, rather than listing a litany of facts without context. Yelchin really drives home the fear and unfairness of totalitarianism by showing the way kids in Sasha’s school are punished, even for the smallest accidental infraction, such as knocking over a statue. I was absolutely riveted by the entire story, and worried, as events progressed, for Sasha’s future.
I’m really thankful to the Newbery committee for recognizing this book this year because otherwise, I’m certain I would have missed it. There aren’t many historical fiction novels out there that expose kids to the darker side of humanity, and this one’s honesty is much appreciated. I also noticed that Yelchin used humor very carefully, but very effectively, to keep hope alive for the reader, even in very dark and disturbing moments.
Breaking Stalin’s Nose is very well done, and will appeal to kids right up through their teens. I don’t review historical fiction very often, but you can read my other reviews of this genre
here.
I borrowed Breaking Stalin's Nose from my local public library.
By:
Katie,
on 4/4/2012
Blog:
Secrets & Sharing Soda
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genre: fantasy,
source: public library,
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format: ebook,
level: chapter books,
publisher: random house,
author: cecilia galante,
series: little wings,
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Little Wings #2: Be Brave, Willa Bean! by Cecilia Galante, illustrated by Krista Valiant. December 27, 2011. Random House. 112 pages. ISBN: 9780375869488This second book in the Little Wings series might be set in a fantasy world, but it deals with some real issues faced by kids in early elementary school. Willa Bean has learned to fly, but that doesn’t mean she’s completely confident. In fact, when it comes to flying high up into the air like her friends do during the playground game of Tip-Top, and flying at night in pitch darkness, she’s downright scared! When her sister gets into a sticky situation after sundown, Willa Bean is the only one who can help her. Will she face her fears and save the day?
I am a huge fan of the world Cecilia Galante has built for this series, and this second book immerses the reader even further into it. This time around, we learn that the days of the week have different names in Willa Bean’s world (Thursday is Thunderday, for example) and we find out that her father’s arrows, which he uses to help grown-up humans fall in love, are actually very special objects that can only be touched by members of the cupid’s family. We also learn more about Willa Bean’s owl, Snooze, who is sick with a cold. All of these details paint a rich portrait of Willa Bean’s fantasy world, making it easier for early chapter book readers to relate to it.
The other thing that struck me when I was reading this book was how much I love Willa Bean’s best friend, Harper. She’s much less timid than Willa, and willing to face the world head-on, and she encourages Willa Bean to take on things that scare her, and to look for the positive in life. Their friendship reminds me a lot of other chapter book best friendships - namely Mallory and Mary Anne from the Mallory McDonald series, and Grace and Mimi from the Just Grace books- where opposites attract and complement one another. Willa Bean’s fears of flying and the other fantasy elements of her school life also reminded me a lot of the Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy, which would make excellent read-alikes for the Little Wings series.
Read my review of the first Little Wings book,
Willa Bean's Cloud Dreams here.
I borrowed Be Brave, Willa Bean! in Kindle format from the public library and read it on my Smartphone.
For more about this book, visit Goodreads and Worldcat.
Nerd Camp. by Elissa Brent Weissman. April 26, 2011. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 261 pages. ISBN: 978144241738Ten-year-old Gabe is super-excited about two things - meeting his stepbrother, Zack, who is also ten, and going to the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment for six weeks of camp. Unfortunately, while Gabe has impeccable spelling and grammar and gets excited about subjects like logical reasoning and poetry, Zach is the opposite. Zach is cool, and he thinks kids who study for fun are nerds. The last thing Gabe wants is to appear uncool to his new stepbrother, so he purposely plays down his brainy interests, and devises a logic problem to help him prove that he is not just a nerd. Try as he might, though, Gabe can't seem to separate out the nerdy parts of his camp experience from the awesome adventures he has with his new friends Nikhil and Wesley, leading him to wonder whether being a nerd is so bad after all.
Nerd Camp was the winner of the 2011 Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction, which is what inspired me to read it. While I am not sure of the book's universal appeal, I will agree that it's well-written and entertaining. Gabe is a very believable ten-year-old boy, who reminds me of at least one child I taught during my stint as a CCD teacher. His "nerdy" interests obviously set him apart as very smart, but the facts he mentions in the text are described in a very accessible way which assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the reader. The camp environment itself is also very well-drawn. I could imagine Gabe's bunk and the other locations he visits very clearly, and I thought the campers were smart, interesting characters who represented much more than mere stereotypes. The entire book, in fact, is a safe haven for nerds, providing a glimpse into a world where being different is not just okay, but accepted.
There are a good number of books out there about kids like Gabe - nerds, geeks, dorks, wimpy kids, etc. - but this is the only one I can name which portrays a completely positive experience. This book really just celebrates being smart and quirky and different, almost without regard for the reactions and opinions of the rest of the world. Kids feeling ostracized by their peers for being smart, or having unusual interests, can take great comfort in this book, and begin to realize other kids like them do exist. My guess is the appeal will be more for boys than girls, because most of the main characters are boys, and the only girl who figures heavily into the plot is described as annoying for most of the book. I also think self-described nerds are more likely to read this book than kids who would consider "nerd" to be a pejorative term, but I'd love to see the discussions that might arise from reading this in a classroom or book club setting with lots of different cliques and interests represented.
Nerd Camp is, overall, an inspiring feel-good read with a wonderfully sweet and memorable main character. Recommend it to readers who have enjoyed
The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman and
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. Kids who like this book might also enjoy
An Abundance of Katherines,
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, and
Geektastic when they reach their teens. For more nerdy reads, see my Themed Thursday post about
Geeks and Nerds.
I borrowed Nerd Camp from my local public library.
1 Comments on Review: Nerd Camp by Elissa Brent Weissman, last added: 3/26/2012
Why We Broke Up. by Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman. December 27, 2011. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 368 pages. ISBN: 9780316127257 Daniel Handler’s 2012 Printz Honor Book,
Why We Broke Up is a long letter, illustrated by Maira Kalman, in which sixteen-year-old Min Green catalogs the contents of the box she is returning to her ex-boyfriend Ed, and explains, in vivid detail, how and why they broke up. Bottle caps, matches, a coin, a toy truck, and a ribbon are just some of the seemingly random objects that have been significant in Min and Ed’s short history - and each one gets its own chapter explaining its meaning and why it should have been a warning sign to Min that things would end badly. All these small tokens ultimately lead the reader to the big reveal of the devastating last straw that finally ends their relationship - the true reason they broke up.
This book is so different, in style, subject matter, and reading level from Daniel Handler’s books written as Lemony Snicket that I found it difficult at times to remember they are by the same author. Where Lemony Snicket’s tone in the Series of Unfortunate Events books is playful, ironic, and detached, Handler’s narration from Min’s point of view in
Why We Broke Up is very sincere, honest, and personal. I was completely immersed in Min’s voice from the first page, and it amazed me how well Handler understands the minds of teenage girls. His characterization of Min, and of her feelings toward Ed during the good parts of their relationship were so true to my experiences, and so true to what I think high school relationships are like for a lot of kids. Ed, too, is carefully characterized as both villain and hero. The reader can understand why Min falls in love with him, and why they ultimately fall out. Handler expertly walks the fine line between portraying Ed as a prince and turning him into a complete jerk.
Handler also surprised me with the long, beautiful descriptions he writes in this novel. Min has many moments where she becomes emotional in some way, and expresses her feelings in elaborate prose bordering on stream-of-consciousness. This wordiness and tendency toward run-on sentences could be annoying in the hands of a less skilled author, but Handler really makes it work for the story, and these passages are what, for me, distinguish the book and make it Printz-worthy.
Another surprise was the artwork by Maira Kalman. I have always been turned off by her picture books about Pete, because I don’t think her style works well for the picture book format. But
Why We Broke Up just wouldn’t be the same without her uniquely drawn and colorful illustrations of the box and all it contains. The endpapers of the book, too, provide subtle suggestions about setting that really enrich the reading experience. I read one review (at
Someday My Printz Will Come), which suggested that the decision to use paintings rather than photographs distances the reader from the story, but I disagree. Kalman’s art sets the scene for the entire book, and really matches Handler’s tone perfectly.
I have just a few criticisms of the book. The biggest one is Min’s constant use of film references. This is important on some level, since she and Ed spend much of their relationship planning a birthday party for Min’s favorite film star, but there were way too many references, and it turns out that most of them
Dumbstruck. by Karla Oceanak, illustrated by Kendra Spanjer. October 1, 2011.Bailiwick Press. 160 pages. ISBN: 9781934649169Dumbstruck is the fourth Aldo Zelnick comic novel, which follows
Artsy Fartsy,
Bogus, and
Cahoots. The concept for the series is based on vocabulary and the alphabet. Each volume takes a particular letter and uses words beginning with that letter throughout the plot, providing definitions for each one in a detailed glossary at the back of the book, called “The Gallery.” The explanation for this gimmick within the stories is that Aldo’s teacher is obsessed with words and helps Aldo collect new ones in his sketch books. The main plot of Dumbstruck has to do with a pop art contest, for which Aldo is having trouble finding inspiration. While he struggles to find something to draw, he also realizes his developing crush on the new art teacher, befriends a new student who communicates through sign language, and endures a dodgeball injury.
I was very skeptical of this book when I started reading it, because I couldn’t imagine incorporating so many new vocabulary words into a fictional story without making it obvious that the author is trying to teach the reader their definitions. Karla Oceanak completely pulls it off, however. The words she uses are so carefully chosen, they fit seamlessly into the plot, even when they are marked with the asterisk that signals readers to look up the definition in The Gallery. Even more impressive are the ways she manages to work the letter D into the story outside of the words defined by the text. The deaf student in the story is named Danny, for example, a fact that I didn’t even pick up on until almost the end. The book is just so educational, not only in the area of vocabulary, but in the arts, sports, sign language, deaf culture, and even in romance. I think some books try to incorporate gimmicks like this to trick kids into learning, but Dumbstruck doesn’t shy away from the educational aspect at all. Rather, it makes learning all these different things into a form of entertainment that kids will be drawn to without being tricked.
The characters - including adults - are well-developed and believable, and Aldo especially is a very appealing protagonist whose problems and concerns are common to fifth grade boys. These books are very much like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, but they have a gentler touch, and suit a slightly younger audience. They also share similar characteristics with the Origami Yoda books, and with the Big Nate series. Every library that serves Wimpy Kid fans (which, honestly, is every library, period) should have the Aldo Zelnick series on its shelves. I’m really surprised I haven’t heard more about them before, and I look forward to the rest of their journey through the alphabet.
Dumbstruck was published in October 2011, and the next book, entitled
Egghead, comes out this May.
I borrowed Dumbstruck from my local public library.
McKenna. by Mary Casanova. December 28, 2011. American Girl Publishing. 128 pages. ISBN: 9781593699949
McKenna, Ready to Fly! by Mary Casanova. December 28, 2011. American Girl Publishing. 128 pages. ISBN: 9781593699956
American Girl’s Girl of the Year 2012 is McKenna Brooks. In addition to a doll,
which can be purchased on the American Girl website, there are also two books about this character:
McKenna and
McKenna, Ready to Fly! Both books are set in Seattle, Washington, and their storylines revolve around McKenna's struggles balancing her strong interest in gymnastics with the rest of her life, including friendships, family, and school.
In
McKenna, McKenna's fourth grade teacher discovers she has trouble with reading comprehension and assigns her a tutor named Josie. Josie uses a wheelchair, a fact which makes McKenna nervous at first, until she realizes that having a disability doesn't mean Josie isn't capable in every other way. McKenna is still embarrassed that she needs a tutor, though, and must face the consequences when she can't tell her friends the truth. In
McKenna, Ready to Fly!, McKenna works on gaining her strength back after an injury, in the hopes of making the competitive gymnastics team. She also helps Josie overcome her fear of horseback riding and begins volunteering at the stables where Josie rides as a means of adding balance to her life.
Both these books have the same wholesome sense of right and wrong as every other book published by American Girl, but as compared with last year's books about
Kanani Akina, they come across as preachy. The "people with disabilities are just like everyone else" message is certainly valuable, but the way it's delivered in these stories is so heavy-handed and condescending. I love that the books involve a girl who uses a wheelchair, but why does her role in the story have to be to teach us that people who can't walk are people too? Do kids really not know this? And if they don't, would it not be more effective to show them through a character's actions, rather than have the characters spout forced platitudes? The second book handles the issue a little better than the first, but the tone never completely loses that annoying patronizing quality.
That major criticism aside, though, the books combine two topics beloved by many 9- and 10-year old girls - gymnastics and horseback riding. There are plenty of descriptions related to both sports, so that fans and participants of both will be equally satisfied. There is also a good amount of conflict among girlfriends, but very few boys anywhere in the story. The focus is really on McKenna's decisions and how they affect her
Every You, Every Me. by David Levithan. September 13, 2011. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 245 pages. ISBN: 9780375860980
After Ariel goes away, Evan can't stop thinking about her. He still hangs out with his friends, but he also makes a point of remaining close to Ariel's former boyfriend, Jack, the only other person who can possibly understand what he's going through, and his role in Ariel's situation. When a mysterious photographer starts leaving photos for Evan to find - photos containing images of Ariel as well as himself - he becomes completely obsessed with figuring out who is delivering them, what that person knows, and why he or she would want to torment Evan. What he learns, in the end, is shocking, and proves Ariel's theory: "You know one me. Just like I know one you. But you can't know every me, Evan. And I can't know every you."
This haunting novel is an interesting piece of experimental fiction, which David Levithan wrote as a collaboration with photographer Jonathan Farmer. Farmer sent Levithan one photo at a time, and Levithan pieced together his story based on the photographs. The result, though mainly successful, is not without flaws. For one thing, I think the framework of the story is inherently a cop-out when it comes to integrating the photos. By creating a story in which a mysterious source delivers a series of photographs, Levithan makes it very easy to use each photo, regardless of what might appear in it. The collection as a whole is arguably important to the plot, but each individual photo has little meaning on its own. The photos undoubtedly inspired the story, but I'm not sure they are essential to it.
A second problem is Levithan's main character. Evan is filled to the brim with angst, and it's important for the reader to buy into that angst early on in order to stick with the book. I managed to accept that Ariel's loss loomed so large in Evan's day to day life that he truly couldn't shake it, and some of the secondary characters' commentary on his unhealthy obsession also helped, because at least some part of the narrative recognizes that Evan is not functioning normally. But it still felt like a lot - especially compared with a character like Levithan's Will from
Will Grayson, Will Grayson, whose depression was present in the book, but not nearly so overbearing. Readers who can't stomach the angst - and I think there will be many, judging from reactions I've already seen on Goodreads - will not give the book the attention I think it deserves.
I do think
Every You, Every Me, is worthy of praise. Levithan's previous books have always been very poetic and philosophical in a wordy and descriptive way. The text in this book, though emotional, is more concise, cutting to the heart of matters much more quickly and decisively. The language isn't as superficially pretty as in his other books, but I actually think that makes it stronger. I do wonder about the decision to publish what is essentially a writing exercise, but if there is an audience for John Green's
Looking for Alaska and for
A Separate Peace by John Knowles, both of which deal with very similarly dramatic friendships, then there is certainly room for one more teen novel about an important, high-stakes, and utterly ruined relationship. I recommend it highly, even to those who will dislike it, because it will undoubtedly spark intelligent discussion among all readers of young adult literature.
0 Comments on Review: Every You, Every Me by David Levithan as of 1/1/1900
The Future of Us. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. November 21, 2011. Razorbill. 356 pages. ISBN: 9781595144911.The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler is the story of Josh and Emma, next-door neighbors who, in 1996, are high school students just discovering the Internet. When Josh gives Emma an AOL CD-ROM, she creates an account, expecting to send and receive email and maybe instant message some people from school. What appears on her screen instead, however, is a website called Facebook, and a profile page for Emma 15 years in the future. At first, she thinks it might be a prank, but when Josh turns out to have a Facebook page as well, they realize they can actually see - and manipulate - what will happen to them as adults. Emma becomes obsessed with changing her present life to achieve better outcomes in the future, while Josh tries to embrace the future predicted by Facebook, even if it doesn’t feel exactly right. All the while, their friendship, which has been on rocky ground, goes through a roller coaster of ups and downs.
Though this book is marketed as YA, I strongly suspect that the appeal is actually to adults in their late 20s and early 30s who were themselves in high school during the late 1990s. I finished 8th grade and began 9th in 1996, and I was amused, in the early parts of the book, by the references to all the music that was popular then (Dave Matthews, Green Day, etc.) and all the technology, like cell phones and the Internet, that was brand-new. Unfortunately, the novelty of these 90s references wore off pretty quickly, as did the cute jokes about the future that were obviously meant to point out certain accomplishments or drawbacks of 21st century society.
The story’s plot, too, is not as strong as it could be. While watching the characters toy around with their fates was interesting and raised a lot of questions about what we might change if we could, the concept of Facebook was pretty much irrelevant to the story line. Josh and Emma also felt like very flat characters, and I was not at all invested in their friendship or potential romance. At times, I couldn’t even tell their voices apart, and I kept forgetting whose point of view I was supposed to be in. What kept me reading, honestly, was the possibility of finding out why these teens were given the privilege of seeing their futures, and was hugely disappointed by the neat and tidy ending that explained almost nothing.
In the end, I see this book as a novelty title, which appeals to the interests of the portion of the adult population who attended high school between 1994 and 2003. For those readers, the 90s references will be a good laugh, but the time period ultimately won’t ring true. And for teens who have always lived in a world with the Internet and social media, talk of AOL won’t mean a thing, and the weak storyline will lose their interest, even if the concept is appealing at first.
I borrowed The Future of Us from my local public library.
For more about this book, visit Goodreads and
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There is No Long Distance Now. by Naomi Shihab Nye. October 11, 2011. Harper Collin's Children's Books. 256 pages. ISBN: 9780062019653
Poet and young adult novelist Naomi Shihab Nye has written a collection of literary short stories for teens, all of which are 1000 words or less. Each story focuses on a pivotal or significant moment in the life of its main character, which serves to somehow uplift that character. Death, war, love, loss, and history are just some of the themes touched upon by these beautiful poetic stories. Some of the stories are interconnected, either because they focus on the same characters, or because the characters in one story are somehow related to the characters in another. Other stories stand all on their own. Different races, cultures, family structures and belief systems are represented, and as in Nye's other works, political and environmental issues turn up again and again.
This is a book for older teens who are used to reading more complicated prose. The stories remind me a lot of the things my fellow creative writing students used to write in college - thoughtful, deep, and filled with idealism and hope for a better future. High school kids interested in activism will eat up this collection, as will those kids who aspire to write fiction. Many of the pieces in this collection are open-ended and difficult to understand at first glance, or even after just one reading, so there is lots to think about, and lots to discuss.
My only criticism of this book is that after a while, the tone became monotonous. Every story has the same strong intellectual outlook, which can be somewhat draining to read all at once. I read this book in one sitting, but I wish I'd given myself more time to let each story settle before moving onto the next one.
I borrowed There is No Long Distance Now from my local public library.
by Linda Urban
2011 | 176 pages | Middle Grade
Hound Dog True is a quiet, middle grade novel about a girl named Mattie Breen, who is extremely shy, and worries about many things. She and her mom have had to move a lot, due to changes and shifts in her mom's jobs, and that has made the prospect of starting fifth grade at yet another new school even more frightening. This time, though, Mattie has a plan. Since her Uncle Potluck is the janitor at the school, she's going to learn everything there is to know about his work and then become his apprentice so she can avoid having to socialize with her classmates during recess. Her apprenticeship to Uncle Potluck takes an unexpected turn, however, and she realizes she's going to have to face her peers. To do so, she will also have to face some demons from her past and perhaps even trying making friends with Quincy Sweet, an older, cooler girl in her new neighborhood.
I am having a hard time collecting my thoughts about this book. I really wanted to read it, since I loved
A Crooked Kind of Perfect so much, but somehow I didn't connect with it as well as I expected. The book has a lot of really strong elements. For example, I loved the specificity of Mattie's experiences. The very simplest of things, such as the loss of a pajama button, or the violation of a private notebook by a nosy classmate, take on a deep and almost indescribable significance in Mattie's life, which really drew her out as a character and provided a lot of insight into her personality and anxieties. I also thought Mattie's shyness was one of the strongest aspects of the book. I think it's difficult to understand the paralyzing feeling of not knowing how to interact with other kids, and even more difficult to put into words, but Urban pulls it off.
Still, though, something in this book didn't work for me. I liked many of the individual story threads, but I never felt like those threads formed one cohesive whole. I was frequently confused, particularly by the continuous use of the word "plunk," and by Mattie's devastation over her lost pajama button, and her need to apologize to it. I could understand her feelings well enough from a logical standpoint, but I never got to the point where I also felt them myself. Usually, I can get into a child's mindset when I'm reading a children's book, but I never saw Mattie from anything but an adult point of view. One of the reviews I saw on Goodreads mentioned that this book would be adored by adults, but maybe not so much by children, and that's the impression it gave me. The writing is strong, even if I wasn't crazy about all of the characters, and the childhood difficulties Mattie faces are the kinds of things people of all ages can recognize from their own lives, but I didn't connect with Mattie, and I suspect middle grade readers may not either.
Here's what some other bloggers have to say about Hound Dog True...Urban’s writing style can be summed up in one word: likeable. And this is a supremely likeable book. A great new Urban title that won’t disappoint her already existing fans and may lure in new ones. - Elizabeth Bird,
Fuse #8This is a book that will speak
I remember reading the original Amelia Bedelia series as a kid, and thinking they were pretty great. I loved seeing her misinterpretations of the instructions she received from Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, which led her to do things like throw dust on the furniture and cut up a calendar to make a date cake. But when I look at those books now, they actually make me somewhat uncomfortable. Though I realize that Amelia Bedelia is meant to stand in for a child, and that her actions are meant to be silly, I can't help but want to roll my eyes at how utterly ridiculous her behavior is, and how she can't function properly in any situation.
But now Herman Parish, the nephew of Amelia Bedelia creator Peggy Parish, has brought Amelia into the 21st century with stories from her childhood. Usually, I object to the attempts on the part of authors or publishers to repackage "classic" characters for new generations. But I have to admit, that compared with the original Amelia Bedelia books, the newer series sits a lot better with me, and I think the writing is every bit as good, if not better in the new books.
In
Amelia Bedelia Makes a Friend, Amelia's best friend, Jen, her opposite in every way, moves out of Amelia's neighborhood. When the new neighbors move in, Amelia isn't very interested, but she does listen as her mother lists the items the movers have brought into the house. These include a footstool, which Amelia imagines as a small table held up by three feet with painted toenails, armchairs, which she draws with her crayons as goofy objects with long, bendable arms, and a twin bed, which Amelia assumes is home to a pair of twins.
As it turns out, the new neighbor is a grandmother named Mrs. Adams. Though she and Amelia are quite different, they enjoy one another's company. Soon, Amelia and Mrs. Adams do many of the same things together that Amelia and Jen used to do, and they become best friends too.
I enjoyed this book on a number of levels.
First of all, I really liked the way the text and illustrations work together to incorporate the original Amelia Bedelia concept of literal interpretation into this story. Amelia's interpretation of each piece of furniture her mother names as she watches Mrs. Adams move in isn't explicitly stated in the text, but instead comes to life in Amelia's own imaginings and drawings.Her only actual statement revealing her confusion occurs when she asks Mrs. Adams about the twins who use the bed.
Secondly, I liked the theme of unlikely friendships, and the idea of friendships between kids and their older neighbors. Amelia's relationship with Mrs. Adams paints a very positive picture of older folks and encourages the reader to focus on what we have in common as human beings, rather than differences that might pull us apart.
Finally, I like the way Herman Parish has changed Amelia from a bumbling, incompetent, and borderline obnoxious adult to a sweet, outgoing, and confident little girl whose confusion is a product of being young and uninformed, rather than just a gimmick to create silliness. This younger version of Amelia is really appealing, and I think I'd actually like to read some more books about her.
My only complaint is that the cover is misleading. Yes, a girl Amelia's age does appear in the story, but it's a brief encounter, and she is not the new friend referenced by t
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You had me at Nerd Camp :D