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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Reading Level TEEN, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 39
1. You Know Me Well by David Levithan and Nina LaCour, 256 pp, RL: TEEN



David Levithan is one of my top five favorite writers of YA fiction. His a gifted writer when it comes to getting the intricacies and delicacies of relationships - be they platonic or romantic - on the page, and his work always reminds me that making and maintaining connections is possibly the most important work we can do. Besides being an editor at Scholastic, Levithan is the author/co-author of twenty books! His newest, You Know Me Well, written with Nina LaCour, is the dual narrative of Mark and Kate, junior and senior at the same high school who, before bumping into each other at a bar in the Castro district on the first night of Pride Week, had never spoken to each other.

Mark and Kate are at a crossroads with their longtime best friends and feeling pushed to change. Mark, varsity baseball playing, straight A student is good looking enough to get asked if he is a model and secretly in love with Ryan. Ryan, who is not out, takes a big step forward, just not with Mark. Kate, a painter headed to UCLA who is having a crisis of confidence, and Lehna have been best friends since second grade. They came out to their parents, together, when they were fourteen, but lately it seems like Lehna is a different person. Lehna's cousin, Violet, has been traveling the world with her photo journalist mother, and is the girl of Kate's dreams. When she finally gets the chance to meet Violet, Lehna almost sabotages the moment and Kate sabotages herself. That's when Kate and Mark, a little heartbroken, scared and confused, find a new friendship with each other - and find a way to keep the old friendships that seem to be falling apart.

Mark and Kate both go through emotionally painful confrontations with Ryan and Lehna, Mark's being especially raw. It is moving to watch these new friends as they support each other through challenges and encourage each other to say what they are feeling. Violet acts as both the glue and catalyst that keep Mark and Kate moving forward in You Know Me Well. But it's not all strum und drang for Mark and Kate. A David Levithan novel usually includes some kind of late night adventure and chasing a mysterious person (or band) and a Nina LaCour novel usually includes some sort of artistic, creative expression. You Know Me Well has all of this, from a party in a mansion on Russian Hill where a photographer and his friends turn the two into Instagram stars to a poetry slam to an art gallery opening and a charity auction, all with the festivities of Pride Week in San Francisco as a backdrop.

Reviews have called You Know Me Well a fairy tale story filled with "it gets better optimism," noting the impossibility of Mark and Kate really becoming friends and the high capacity of "emotional switchbacks" packed into one week. To me, You Know Me Well  is a work of art. It takes some of the hard truths and lessons of being alive, being human and becoming an adult, and presents them in a way that, while it may not be entirely realistic, lets me look into other people's lives, empathize and learn. As an adult, I find it more hopeful and uplifting to read YA fiction where the characters are just beginning to make and learn from their relationship mistakes.




Books by Nina LaCour</a>




 My reviews of a few of the many books by David Levithan

                       
                      Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist              Two Boys Kissing



And coming this October!



Source: Purchased Audio Book

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2. Red Ink by Julie Mayhew, 320 pp, RL: TEEN


Actress and playwright Julie Mayhew makes her literary debut with the YA novel Red Ink. Melon Fouraki has grown up in London with a challenging first name, a mother who is only 15 years older than her, as well as thinner and prettier, and a lifetime of stories her mother tells her about growing up and her family back on Crete. Stories about the melon farm where Maria grew up and her love of her family's land; stories of moving to London with her mother when Maria became pregnant as a teenager; stories about sitting on the top deck of the bus to find other Greek speakers in England; of making kollyva, the traditional dish of boiled wheat, for her mother's funeral and of the many Greek superstitions like never writing a letter to a person in red ink unless you wish them death. 

Melon begins narrating her story seventeen days after her mother is hit by a bus and killed. The chapters of Red Ink jump backward and forwards in time, always indicated by days since (her mother's death) tangling the plot in a compelling way that makes Melon's difficult character tolerable. Melon tells the reader and her therapist and social worker, as well as Paul, her mother's fiancé, a social worker just like Maria had been, that she is not grieving and does not miss her mother. At school, Melon lashes out at fake friends and bullies, realizing that Chick, the girl she considered her longtime best friend has no loyalty and no way to connect with Melon in her grief. But, she does "borrow" Chick's credit card to visit a swanky salon and get her long, curly hair chopped off. Melon does not cry at her mother's funeral, which Paul has tried to make as close to a Greek ceremony as possible, although she is surprised by all the people who turn out for it.

It is only when Paul brings home her mother's ashes that Melon begins to cry. As therapy, she has been trying to write down the story of her life, and her mother's life, as often told to her. When Paul and Melon travel to Crete to meet Maria's family and spread her ashes on the farm where she grew up, Melon learns the many falsehoods that made up the family story Maria always told her. Getting to this massive revelation was both a great anticipation and one that I didn't mind waiting for over the course of Red Ink. While Melon is an abrasive character, her voice feels so authentically adolescent that it was easy to forgive her and listen. The power of stories of the past and the power to change your own story and rewrite it in the present, as your life is unfolding, as explored in Red Ink are fascinating. This is especially so when you consider that Melon is at a point in her life when she is figuring out who she is and beginning to write her own story, which is exactly what she does by the end of the novel, and with a healthy dose of appreciation for the subjectivity we bring to our own narratives.

Source: Review Copy

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3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, 320 pp, RL: TEEN



Since I started working as an elementary school librarian I have not bee reading as much YA as I used to. As a bookseller, I shelved in the teen section and set the displays and was always reading the blurbs for the books - even the ridiculous fantasy titles I knew I'd never read. I have a few favorite authors like Publisher's Weekly invites publishers and editors working in the kid's book industry to share their favorites, which is where I learned about Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, winner of the William C. Morris Debut Author award this year! 

What draws me to the works of David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell over and over are the unforgettable characters and narrative voices they create along with the engaging, sometimes breathlessly so, sometimes achingly so, romances that unfold over the course of their novels. In Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Albertalli hits all these marks and more. Using first person narrative, emails, texts and tumblr posts, Albertalli creates Simon Sphere, an articulate, witty, occasionally carless, sometimes impulsive, and frequently self-absorbed high school junior who evolves over the course of the story, taking the occasional step outside the out of the inevitable bubble of narcissism that envelops most teenagers. The audio book, which I thoroughly enjoyed, is narrated perfectly by Michael Crouch.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda begins, "It's a weirdly subtle conversation. I almost don't notice I'm being blackmailed." But the story really begins at the start of school in August when Simon sees a post on the creeksecrets tumblr, a gossip (and bible quotes and bad poetry) feed where students from Creekwood High post anonymously, and he responds to it. The post is only about five lines long, but it was grammatically correct (something that most posts on creeksecrets aren't) and "strangely poetic." Blue, the poster, wrote about feeling both hidden and exposed about the fact that he is gay, and the "ocean between people," and how it seems like the "whole point of everything is to find a shore worth swimming to." The two begin a fast, intense correspondence, fueled by the fact that they don't know each other's identities. The beginning stages of their crush are exhilarating and Albertalli captures the flirtations and intimacies perfectly in their emails and Simon's eagerness and anticipation around them.

Martin Addison, fellow drama student and subtle blackmailer, has let Simon know that he forgot to log out of his gmail account while using the library computer. Martin has taken a screenshot and, in return for deleting this image, he would like Simon to "help him talk to Abby," the new girl in school who has bonded with Simon. This sets the story in motion, Simon struggling to protect Blue, who has not come out yet, and juggling his friends and their individual turmoils and his own evolving sense of self. Alebrtalli does an amazing job making the supporting characters fully formed, believable and integral to the story while also having their own story lines. From Simon's closest friends, the classic rock loving soccer jock Nick and the moody, anime obsessed, self-conscious Leah, to Simon's older sister Alice and younger sister Nora, and his almost-too-cool and possibly over-involved parents, these characters feel real and their struggles have meaning. And there is no extra baggage in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. As much as I love Simon's voice and Albertalli's writing and probably could have happily read/listened to an additional 50 to 100 pages of this book, I have the greatest respect to Albertalli and her editor for keeping it tight.

While the plot of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda hinges on Simon not wanting to be outed, the story is more about Simon and Blue's burgeoning relationship and the mistakes and missteps Simon makes along the way, than it is about coming out and being openly gay. That said, Simon's story subtly makes some points and asks some important questions. At one point Simon asks, "Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another and it shouldn't be this big, awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi or whatever." As a straight person, Albertalli's novel allowed me a deeper understanding of how it feels to be in the minority, to have people assume something personal and intimate about you. Like all brilliant books, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda allowed me to feel what it's like to be someone else.

I can't wait to read Becky Albertalli's next book, which features Molly, a chubby Jewish girl who lives in the suburbs of Washington DC. Molly is the cousin of Abby, the new student at Creekwood High School and her story takes place the summer after Simon's. With this connection, Albertalli has promised appearances by some familiar faces! For more details, read this fantastic interview
!

Source: Purchased Audio Book

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4. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, 527 pp, RL: Teen


A couple of years ago, Rainbow Rowell gutted me with her YA novel, Eleanor & Park, a powerful story of a relationship between outsiders growing up in Nebraska in the 1980s. Her next YA novel (Rowell also writes for adults, Attachments and Landline, both of which I've read but have not reviewed. Adults can be kind of boring) Fangirl was equally amazing and opened a window on (for adults, anyway) the world of fan fiction and "shipping." With Carry On, Rowell 's main character is Simon Snow, a "fictional fictional character," as she refers to him in her Author's Note, hero of his own series of Harry Potter-esque novels and subject of the fan fiction created by Cath, the main character in Fangirl. It probably sounds a little confusing if you haven't read Fangirl and/or know nothing about fan fiction. It's probably best if you dive into Carry On with dim-ish memories of Fangirl and almost no memories of Harry Potter. If, like me, you have pretty vivid memories of both, things could get tangled in your head and you just might start asking yourself questions like the one Rowell addresses on her website: did she write Carry On as Gemma T. Leslie, fictional author of the fictional eight-book-children's adventure series, did she write as Cath, the fanfic writing star of Fangirl, or did she write as Rainbow Rowell? Her answer is this, "I'm writing as me. . . I wanted to explore what I could do with this world and these characters. So, even though I'm writing a book that was inspired by fictional fanfiction of a fictional series . . . I think what I'm writing now is canon." If you are still confused, my best advice to you is this: keep calm and read on. 

For me, Carry On was most enjoyable when I was reading it for what it was - Rowell taking these two compelling characters, Simon and Baz, and letting them work things out over the course of their final year at Watford, a school for humans and other magical creatures. In Heather Schwedel's review, "Rainbow Rowell's New Book Is a Harry Potter Rip-Off That Proves How Great Fan Fiction Can Be," she writes, the "achievement of Carry On is that, even with a template more or less designed by someone else, Rowell has written a book that conjures Rowling-esque magic just as effectively as J.K. Rowling herself - and yet still feels like something new." While I admit to struggling, Rowell definitely does create something new in Carry On.  A couple of years ago I reviewed the first book in Lev Grossman's trilogy, The Magicians because I was deeply interested in seeing what an author could do with the concept of a school for magicians when the students were on the verge of adulthood. Grossman is a phenomenal writer and the characters and world he created have stayed with me, but my overall take-away was that the one defining factor that makes a book about magicians for adults is the presence of overwhelming depression and hopelessness felt by the characters. Grossman's book had a level of sadness that reminded me of why I stopped reading adult novels almost entirely. Rowell's books for adults, while presenting genuinely complex struggles, just don't get as deeply sad and this is true in Carry On as well. 

This isn't to imply in any way that the issues Simon and Baz grapple with in Carry On are superficial. In fact, I found Simon's storyline, his origin story and the climactic resolution, the most compelling, creative and philosophical aspect of Carry On. Rowell uses magical elements and circumstances to create tension between Simon and Baz, their relationship seamlessly flipping from antagonistic to amorous more than half way into the novel. Perhaps because I couldn't entirely quiet the Harry Potter voices in my head, waiting for this moment to arrive felt nearly interminable. But, once it did arrive (we all knew it would happen, right? And not just because Cath wrote it in her fanfic?) the pace and plot of Carry On poured out like a flood and I couldn't put the book down. While Rowell does a fine job establishing the wizarding world, the most rewarding moments in Carry On are the moments of personal interaction between the four main characters. Adults are off the page most of the time, even though, as in Harry Potter, it is the children dealing with the messes made by the adults. Rowell's take on the classicism of the wizarding world and the desire for revolution amongst the underrepresented and discriminated against magicians feels a little more American than Rowling's, despite the fact that Rowell has set Carry On squarely in England. And, knowing that Rowell is an American writing in a British voice, I sometimes found myself feeling that occasional Briticisms rang false. That said, Rowell did a superb job with her wizarding swears, my favorite being, "Nicks and Slick," uttered by Phoebe. "Crowley" and "Chomsky" were other swears that got me grinning. "Chomsky," especially, as Rowell's very cool rules for spells - words gain meaning through repeated use, therefore idioms and other phrases frequently uttered by a certain culture, are powerful spells when uttered (along with use of a wand) by magicians. Be Our Guest, Up, Up and Away, As You Were, and Scooby-Scooby Do, Where Are You? are just a few that are used to varying degrees of success over the course of Carry On

Everyone who loves Rainbow Rowell should and will read Carry On. For those who aren't familiar with her works, Carry On could be a pretty cool introduction to her work. It almost makes me wish that I could start with Carry On and read backwards, looking to see if the magic - the powerful relationships and moving characters -  that made me fall in love with her work the first time I read Eleanor & Park works both ways.



Source: Purchased




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5. The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet, 320 pp, RL: TEEN


Mal Peet was an award winning British author of young adult books, although he disliked being defined by his audience or by genre, who died at age 67 in March of this year. Although he seemed like a veteran writer, he only began his career as an author at the age of 52. Peet wrote over 100 easy readers with his wife, author Elspeth Graham, before writing his first novel for young adults, The Keeper, in 2003. He went on to write six more novels, The Murdstone Trilogy being his last. Peet's name was not unfamiliar to me and I always intended to review his books here before now. When I read the blurb for The Murdstone Trilogy I determined that this would be THE book by Peet that I reviewed and, it was only after reading (and listening to it) that I learned of his untimely death. The Murdstone Trilogy is a wickedly funny novel that skewers so many sides of the publishing industry, from literary agents and reviewers to literary awards and authors, as well as provincial British villages and the people who live in them. And, as I learned while reading reviews of The Murdstone Trilogy, Peet makes fun most of all of himself, his novels and the village he lived in. Although British reviews of The Murdstone Trilogy refer to it as Peet's first book for adults, the book is being published in here as a YA novel. I'm not sure I could think of the teenager who would enjoy this and get all the jokes, although there are plenty of them who have read enough of the phantasy genre to appreciate that portion of the novel and especially how Peet wraps it up...

Philip Murdstone is the protagonist of The Murdstone Trilogy. Like Peet, Philip is an author who shot to fame with the young adult novel Last Past the Post that "made Asperger's cool." Since then, as his agent puts it, Murdstone has, "in five lovely sensitive novels" said everything there is to say about "boys who are inadequate." Over lunch in London, during which Murdstone orders a Mexican Platter that consists of an "enormous square plate upon which, apparently, a cat had been sick in neat heaps around a folded pancake," his agent, the gorgeous, driven Minerva Cinch, urges Philip to try a new genre. Specifically, fantasy, or, even better, high fantasy, also known as "phantasy." Completely unaware of the phenomena that was Harry Potter and the new series, The Dragoneer Chronicles, that is sweeping the genre, Minerva explains this genre to Philip as "Tolkien with knobs on." She goes on to tell Philip the formula for writing high fantasy, which she "pinched out of the Telegraph. From a review of The Dragoneer Chronicles, actually." Armed with this formula and the knowledge that his total income for last year, from all five books, was "twelve grand and some change." As his agent, Minerva's share was "a measly eighteen hundred quid plus VAT." 

Even though he lives the quiet life in Devon in the tiny village of Flemworthy, Philip knows that if he doesn't do something drastic Minerva will dump him and his career will be over. After the Ploughman's lunch and a pint of Dark Entropy at the Gelder's Rest, Philip wanders home, a bit hammered, stopping by the Wringers, the stone circle of Flemworthy where he blacks out. While unconscious, Philip hears a voice in his head narrating a story - a phantasy story. When he goes home and types it into his laptop, it flows from him in a continuous, powerfully voices narrative stream. Peet's send up of the real world of publishing are hilarious, but the fun that he pokes at the world of fantasy is almost more intriguing that funny. As with the names of the towns, pubs and patrons in Flemworthy, Peet does an excellent job building the fantasy world and the glimpses of it we see are rich and intriguing. Pocket Wellfair, a Greme who is Clerk to "Orberry Volenap, last of the Five High Scholars," has a mind of his own and inserts his point of view into the story that he is supposed to be recording for Volenap, the story that becomes Murdstone's book, Dark Entropy. The book becomes an international sensation, and Philip a literary celebrity. It seems he can do no wrong, say no wrong, even when forced into events (like speaking to a crowd) that he would have previously fumbled. Knowing that he needs to write a sequel, Philip tries to recreate his black out at the Wringers and instead finds himself face to face with Pocket Wellfair.

Philip's life becomes irrevocably, and increasingly, uncomfortably, intertwined with Pocket's as he struggles with his success and the demands of his public. He makes a Faustian bargain that he thinks he can get out of, making the last quarter of the novel tense and suspenseful. The ending seems only right, given the spirit of The Murdstone Trilogy (which is NOT an actual trilogy, in real life or the book, although Peet slips in one, final brilliant jab at the creative act of writing on the final pages) but, having quite a soft spot of my own for fantasy, I wish it had been a bit different.

Source: Review Copy and Purchased Audio Book

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6. Anna and the French Kiss written by Stephanie Perkins, 384 pp, RL: TEEN

First reviewed 3/21/11, Anna and the French Kiss is the perfect YA romance, in my opinion, notable for the fact that the love interests have the opportunity (and gift) to become friends first. Thoughtful, charming and exciting, the fact that this story takes place is Paris is the ganache in the macaron... Back in December of last year when I reviewed Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by

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7. Undertow by Michael Buckley, 376 pp, RL: TEEN

Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series was one of the first books I reviewed when I started my blog in 2008 and four years later, with the publication of the ninth and final book in the series, it remains one of my all-time-favorite reads. If you, or anyone you know, loves fairy tales even the slightest bit, Sisters Grimm is a MUST read. Buckley is also author of another middle grade

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8. Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgewick, 288 pp, RL: TEEN

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick is the winner of the 2014 Printz Award, the Newbery for Young Adult books. While preparing to write this review, I was taking a look at past winners and surprised by how many of them I have reviewed - and loved - here and also pondering the current trend of adults reading YA literature. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the review for a list of these

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9. YES PLEASE by Amy Poehler, 329 pp, RL: YA

I am reviewing Amy Poehler's book, YES PLEASE, because I have been a fan of comedy since I was a very young child (see my sloppily personal review of Caitlin Moran's novel How to Build a Girl) but I am also reviewing it because I think that all girls and young women need successful, smart, women they can look up to as role models, mentors and/or trailblazers on paths that they

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10. Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer, 272 pp, RL: YA

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer is just flat out brilliant, both for the subject matter and how the author chooses to tell the story.  And in this, Belzhar is ideally pitched to its audience, in tone and content. Even the cover image is perfect! Wolitzer is an award winning writer of books for adults, most recently The Interestings, as well as The Ten Year Nap, which I read and enjoyed immensely.

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11. How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran, 328 pp, RL: YA

For a truly superlative, clear-eyed review of How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran, I beg you to read Ann Friedman's review for the New York Times Book Review. Read on for my somewhat personal, reflective, rambling review that is really a thank you, tribute and plea to get everyone to like (and share) the writing of brilliant, funny, articulate women like Moran - and Tina Fey, (Tina, if you

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12. Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen, 343 pp, RL: TEEN

After reading my review, be sure to read my interview with Michelle Knudsen here! When I heard the title of Michelle Knudsen's new novel, Evil Librarian, I got really excited. I didn't even need to know what the plot was, the mere idea of a  character who is a high school librarian AND a demon is hands-down awesome. Happily, Knudsen brings so much to the plot of this supernatural story,

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13. Unwind by Neal Shusterman, 352 pp, RL: TEEN

Unwind is the first book in the Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman. Unwind was published in 2007, fourteen years after the thought provoking, conversation starting Newbery winner, The Giver and one year before the book that made "dystopian" a household word, The Hunger Games. I was a bookseller when The Hunger Games was published and my fellow booksellers and I avidly passed around the

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14. Delicious! by Ruth Reichl, 372 pp, RL: TEEN

I bought Delicious!,  the debut work of fiction by restaurant critic, food writer (food memoirist might be a better moniker), former editor of Gourmet Magazine, Ruth Reichl as a gift for my mother, who is a decent cook and ardent reader of Reichl's work and that of other great food writers, and my aunt, a spectacular, thoughtful cook who does not read fiction. I thought I might borrow it (

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15. the strange beautiful sorrows of ava lavender by Leslye Walton, 301 pages, RL: TEEN

When I was in high school I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude and it remains one of the handful of books I have read twice in my life. There is something about the genre of magical realism that seems perfectly suited to the adolescent experience. It provides escape from what might be painful, difficult and confusing times and presents a version of the world that can

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16. we were liars by e. lockhart, 225 pp, RL: TEEN

Recurring retellings of fairy tales, echoes of King Lear and Wuthering Heights, personal mottos and a blinding pain that keeps memories out of reach are the threads that e. lockhart weaves together to make the fabric of her stunning new novel, we were liars. I have to precede this review with a handful of warnings: this IS a book that you will be compelled to read in one sitting; this IS a

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17. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, 418 pp, RL: TEEN

I have heard so much about Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and wanted to read and review it since it came out in 201. And now I finally have - just in time for the release of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, the third book in the Declaration Trilogy. Reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a bit like following a trail of breadcrumbs through a tunnel - you don't know

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18. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, 196 pp, RL TEEN

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - TWO BOYS KISSING -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> If I am honest with myself, I have to admit that I don't know what it means to be different. I don't know what it feels like to genuinely be an outsider. I

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19. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, 256 pp, RL: TEEN

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - WHERE THINGS COME BACK -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley has the distinction of winning the William C. Morris Debut YA Novel Award and the Michael L. Printz (the

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20. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, 434 pp, RL TEEN

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - FANGIRL -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> When I reviewed Rainbow Rowell's stunning novel Eleanor & Park, there were so many things I wanted to talk about in relation to the book, in addition to the fact that

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21. Anna and the French Kiss written by Stephanie Perkins, 384 pp, RL: TEEN

First reviewed 3/21/11, Anna and the French Kiss is the perfect YA romance, in my opinion, notable for the fact that the love interests have the opportunity (and gift) to become friends first. Thoughtful, charming and exciting, the fact that this story takes place is Paris is the ganache in the macaron... Back in December of last year when I reviewed Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by

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22. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, 419 pp, RL: TEEN

First reviewed 3/2/11, Melina Marchetta's Printz winning novel is stunning for the craft with which she tells this layered story as well as the complex, compelling characters she creates. Stick with it and you will be greatly rewarded - and need a box of tissues. If you search the internet for reviews of Melina Marchetta's Printz winning novel, Jellicoe Road and read a few lines, you

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23. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart, 345pp, RL: TEEN

First published on 9/10/10, Lockhart's book is one that I think all teenage girls should read. Frankie is a vulnerable but smart protagonist who challenges the status quo. I hope you'll read my review.   I don't think I will be revealing any secrets if I tell you here that teen author E Lockhart is also Emily Jenkins, author of young adult and picture books, since she was outed in the NY

2 Comments on The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart, 345pp, RL: TEEN, last added: 8/1/2013
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24. Shadow and Bone, Book 1 in the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, 416 pp, RL: TEEN

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - SHADOW AND BONE -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> There was a lot of great buzz around  Leigh Bardugo's debut novel Shadow and Bone when it was published in June of 2012 and rightly so. Newly out in paperback

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25. Siege and Storm, Book 2 in the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, 448 pp, RL: TEEN

  My review of Siege and Storm, the second book in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy represents something very rare for me (at least in the past five years) and for this blog - a review of a sequel. Since I started reviewing books here, I've felt like I can't spare the time to continue reading and reviewing a trilogy or series since there are so many other books out there waiting to be read and

0 Comments on Siege and Storm, Book 2 in the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, 448 pp, RL: TEEN as of 7/15/2013 3:30:00 AM
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