Review of Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

It feels so strange to read a book about what happened on 9/11.  It’s been a while since I thought about what it felt like that day to be watching events unfold on the TV, but it sure came back when I started reading this book.  There are 5 parts: What Just Happened, The Next Hours and the Next Days, The Drown of Things and the Swim of Things, Hold Dear, and After; and each section is told in 3 voices: Claire, Jasper and Peter.  After awhile I did get tired of the sort of mystical-speak of one character in particular.  But, at least at the beginning, the voices of the kids rang very true and, like I said, brought back a lot of memories.  Definitely worth reading.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

This is the latest book by K.L. Going, the author of one of my favorite YA books, Fat Kid Rules the World.  Liam Geller is the son of a fabulously wealthy and successful CEO and a formerly fabulous supermodel.  He himself, as the title says, is the King of the Screwups.  His father is abusive and neglectful, seemingly  seeing Liam as an extension of his wife, who he seems to loathe.  The only real insight into this situation comes from the short chapters recounting past events in Liam’s life.  Reading them makes you want to shake Liam and tell him to pay more attention to what has brought him to this point: being kicked out of the house after being caught by his father about to have sex on his desk while he and Liam’s mom are right downstairs.  Instead of getting shipped off to his grandparents (who seem to hate him as much as his father does), Liam’s mom arranges for him to go to his dad’s brother, who was ousted from the family 17 years ago for some unnamed transgression.  And so Liam finds himself living in a trailer park with a glam-rocker/night DJ he calls “Aunt Pete.”  Liam proves to himself that he’s still a screwup by immediately becoming popular in his new school despite his best efforts at being nerdy (joining the AV club, befriending the outsider girl who lives in the next trailer).  I love the description of Liam getting dressed for the first time in the trailer. “…I make a hundred trips back and forth to the tiny, filthy bathroom at the other end of the trailer.  I consider rushing, but getting ready is a ritual, so I do each thing carefully.  I shower, shave, moisturize, and choose cologne –the one that matches my mood – then put together the right clothes.  Nothing high fashion or anything –those are best left for the runway –just the brands and designs that will fit in but are interesting enough to catch people’s attention.  Getting ready is the only part of my day I can be sure I won’t screw up.”  It’s hard to believe that anyone could be so oblivious to the true nature of his situation as Liam is, but Pete and his friends do their best to get him to see his good qualities.  The book has a satisfying ending (which I won’t hint at, except to say that the dad loses out).  Review by Stacy Church

Poetry!

Not sure if you like poetry?  Here are a couple of unusual books to take a look at.

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The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle with art by Sean Qualls

Juan Francisco was born into the household of a wealthy slaveowner in Cuba in 1797, and spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own.  Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry.   His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.  In this book, Margarita Engle uses her own powerful, haunting verses to evoke the voice of the Poet Slave of Cuba.

The Spoken Word Revolution Redux edited by Mark Eleveld

In the tradition of The Spoken Word Revolution, Redux brings more of the gripping, moving, innovative, often hilarious poetry in the oral tradition.  75 minute CD of live poetry: slam, hip-hop, and musical interpretations.

Review of Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris

In the late 1200’s and early 1300’s, England and Scotland were ruled by King Edward I, or Longshanks, as he was known. He ruled Scotland with an iron fist, and when Robert de Brus declared himself king of Scotland in 1306, Longshanks declared war against Scotland. Robert de Brus managed to escape capture, but some of his relatives were not so lucky. One of those relatives was his 11-year-old daughter, Marjorie. In order to try and force her father to surrender, Longshanks had Marjorie placed in an outdoor cage right in the middle of an English village. It was October, and she had only her clothing to keep her warm. The only furnishing in the cage was a curtain around a bucket for her to relieve herself in. Nobody was allowed to speak to her, and the only voices she heard were the peasants who taunted her and threw garbage at her. The chapters alternate between her captivity and the months leading up to her captivity - learning that she’s going to be a princess, and then fleeing through the Scottish Highlands trying to evade capture. This is an exciting book that takes place during a fascinating time and place in history.  Review by Katie Corrigan

Review of Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman

I would like to be able to say I loved this book by the author of one of my favorite books, King Dork, but the truth is that I loved some things about it. I’m certainly glad I read it, but I wonder how many people can get through the overwhelmingly slow pace and vast amount of arcane information about tarot cards, and the history of the occult and magical literature that the book is filled with. The main character, Andromeda, is so unusual and fascinating: she has osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition causing extremely fragile bones, and, as Andromeda explains, most people fail to realize that you hear with your bones. So, the text is peppered with the things Andromeda thinks that people say, often to hilarious result (stained flowers=strange powers, steak antlers=snake handlers, slam sex=slant six). The other lingo is a little harder for me to follow ( but is probably clearer to teens). It’s made up of word substitutions based on predictive spell corrections in texting.

Other things I love about the book:

1. That Andromeda’s cat is named Dave, and has “his own, unknowable cat religion, centered on the concept of unquestioning Dave worship…”

2. That Andromeda’s mom, who she calls “the mom,” plays an online networking game obsessively,and has been known to chant, “I can’t get on the network. I can’t get on the network. I can’t get on the network.”

3. That Andromeda’s dad, who suspects the government of" “spying on American citizens by implanting surveillance devices in electronic products,” periodically switches his antidepressant based on what free samples the clinic is giving out.

4. That Andromeda’s friend Rosalie regularly hacks into the mom’s computer game and messes things up for her. She also drops off packages filled with strange combinations of items (flip-flops, stapler, stick of gum, pinecone) when Andromeda isn’t home.

The thing I most didn’t love about the book is the ending. All of those elaborately set-up situations in the book that I couldn’t wait to find out the resolutions to were just dropped at the end of the book. Who was the older lover (or non-lover) Andromeda was involved with and was the relationship really as creepy as it seemed? Is she really communicating with spirits or is she insane? I think I’ll just forget about the ending and keep wondering about the things I was wondering about. Review by Stacy Church

Read Beyond Reality: Post-apocalyptic Fiction

Post-apocalyptic fiction takes place after some terrible event occurs that alters life as we know it.  If that sort of fiction intrigues you, try these books.  They all take place after some horrible event –plague, nuclear disaster, alien invasion –you name it!

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Juvenile Fiction

• The Hermit Thrush Sings Butler
• The Roar Clayton
• The Last Dragon De Mari
• The City of Ember DuPrau
• The Other Side of the Island Goodman
• Among the Hidden Haddix
• Phoenix Rising Hesse
• Gathering Blue Lowry
• The Giver Lowry
• River Rats Stevermer

 

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YA Fiction

• The Hunger Games Collins
• Catching Fire Collins
• The House of the Scorpion Farmer
• Gone Grant
• Hunger Grant
• Turnabout Haddix
• Hole in the Sky Hautman
• The cure Levitin
• Tomorrow, When the War Began Marsden
• The Host Meyer
• Shade’s Children Nix
• Z for Zachariah O'Brien
• The Transall Saga Paulsen
• Life as We Knew It Pfeffer
• The Dead and the Gone Pfeffer
• The Last Book in the Universe Philbrick
• Nation Pratchett
• How I Live Now Rosoff
• Bones of Faerie Simner
• Welcome to the Ark Tolan
• The Uglies Trilogy Westerfeld

Teen Read Week October 18 - 24

Read Beyond Reality!  Come to the library during Teen Read Week to get books on your favorite fantastical topic: Bio-Engineering and Genetics, Post-Apolcalyptic Fiction, Fairy Tales, Vampires, Fantasy and Science Fiction.