Our Bodies, Ourselves: Artichoke's Heart

Rosemary Goode is a fat teenager. This is how she sees herself: self-defined by the word "fat." She is tired of being harassed by mean girls at school and by her own mother and aunt. She is also interested in a football player, himself a strapping hulk of a guy, but doesn't believe that anyone can be interested in her in the body she's got. Ill-advised as it may be, Rosemary begins drinking Pounds-Away (a fictionalized SimFast) instead of eating regular meals and begins exercising with the help of a skinny, gorgeous new friend, and soon starts to feel better about herself. Before she begins her diet plan, however, the cute guy actually notices her and eventually asks her out, which I appreciated-- it makes the book less "cause-and-effect." One of the novel's main plot points is when Rosemary's hyper-ambitious mother is diagnosed with cancer, which affects her mother's approach to life. I loved the book and the author's wry writing style. I didn't understand, however, the best friendship that developed between Rosemary and one of the prettiest, most popular girls at the school, and I also didn't understand the out-of-the-blue attraction that the cute guy showed for Rosemary. Maybe I'm cynical, or maybe I've been working in a high school for too long, but it seemed way too easy. At least they all could have gotten to know each other in youth group, or even been forced into being lab partners (why is this always how YA authors get two totally different characters together?). Artichoke's Heart is an important addition to the teen lit genre because of its "real girl" protagonist and because of its positive message about the importance of health and of a healthy body image. 3 out of 4 Bananas!

What If You Only Had One Year to Live?

Chris Crutcher is a prolific young adult author adored by fans all over the world for his coming-of-age novels, of which *Deadline* is a fine example. I was intrigued by the premise, which is that Ben Wolf, an 18 year old senior in high school, finds out at the beginning of the school year that he has an aggressive form of blood cancer, and has, at most, one year to live. The kicker is that he decides not to tell anyone-- not even his parents-- and not to undergo any sort of treatment. He wants to spend his last year living life to its fullest instead of living it weak and sick from chemotherapy. He is visited in his dreams by "Hey-Soos", a sort of spiritual guide who helps him process his thoughts about the time he has left on earth. Ben decides not to live life according to his own fears or societal expectations, so he goes out for the football team (he had previously been a cross-country superstar), asks his long-held crush out for dinner, and challenges a particularly conservative, hard-headed civics teacher on a variety of social issues. This, for me, was a huge detractor from the novel. The civics teacher reads like a caricature of some sort of Bill O'Reilly ultra-conservative numbskull who actually argues that Japanese internment camps were acceptable and that book burning can be okay. I have a really hard time believing that any civics teacher would actually act like this to the degree that this guy does, and I also was irritated by his staunch refusal to allow Ben to do his senior project on Malcolm X due to his own conservative political beliefs (Ben wants to campaign to have a street in their small Idaho town named after Malcolm X). Another issue I had with the book is Ben's miraculous healing of the town alcoholic by giving him food and supplements. Really? Is that all it takes? A final element that I found hugely disturbing and out of place in the novel is the TWO parallel storylines involving incest. If Crutcher had stuck with the main dilemma of Ben's one year to live and avoided these odd sidetracks, I would have given this novel at least one additional banana. 2.5 out of 4 Bananas!

Dream or Nightmare?

Janie is a high school student who, ever since she was eight years old, gets pulled into people's dreams if they are sleeping somewhere nearby. This often happens to her in the school library where she spends her study hall, since many students use it as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Most of the dreams she experiences involve falling, giving speeches while naked, and fantasies involving various love interests. When she gets pulled into Cabel's dreams, however, she faces a level of frightening violence unlike anything she's ever experienced. As the novel progresses, Janie learns how to control her participation in the dreams, which allows her to learn help the people in them. Although I think Wake's premise is fascinating, McMann's writing style made it difficult for me to enjoy the book. The chapters are very short, and are made up mostly of dialogue, which I felt robs the book of some depth and development. Possibly enjoyable as a very short, fun read, but don't count on much challenge. 1.5 out of 4 Bananas.

Best Sequel Ever!

What an awesome book! Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games, a semi-dystopian novel about an America divided into 13 Districts, run by the Capitol. The Capitol asserts its authority by forcing each District to send two teenage "tributes" to the annual Hunger Games, which are a Mad Max type of fight to the death. Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games left off: Katniss and Peeta have won the Hunger Games and are supposed to be enjoying their victory tour throughout the Districts. They gradually become aware, however, that some of the Districts are in revolt, and that Katniss is somehow connected to the uprisings. There is a sharp turn of events, and Katniss and Peeta find themselves back where they never thought they'd be: in the Hunger Games arena. Super fantastic sequel that I liked even better than the first book! 4 out of 4 Bananas!

Boot Camp: Check Your Humanity at the Door

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser is a chilling look at real-life army-style bootcamps for troubled teens. I remember seeing old '90s talk shows such as "Jenny Jones" and "Maury" (which I actually just learned is still airing- good for you, Maury!), where desperate parents, with the help of the show, would ambush their out-of-control teenagers and have them carted off to a disciplinary boot camp. Todd Strasser's Boot Camp begins much the same, with main character Garrett on his way to Lake Harmony, a boot camp in upstate New York. Garrett's parents are sending him away because he has been skipping class and continuing a relationship with one of his teachers, who has since been fired from her job. Garrett argues that he does well in school without going every day, and that love knows no age, so why is his relationship wrong? As soon as Garrett arrives at Lake Harmony, however, he is barraged with messages about how worthless he is, how wrong he is to disobey his parents, and that before he can "graduate" from the boot camp, he must accept that he was wrong and be willing to submit fully to his parents. Methods of "education" employed by Lake Harmony include solitary confinement, lying face-down on a cement floor for hours and days at a time, emotional abuse from employees and other students, as well as student-on-student beatings. Although Boot Camp's main character is (I assume) unlike a typical boot camp resident and did not have problems with drugs, alcohol or violence, Strasser did his research on boot camps and paints a disturbing picture of a real-life phenomenon. 3 out of 4 Bananas

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award 2011 Nominee

Hold Tight Falls Short

Any reader of this blog knows that I love a good mystery, so I had high hopes for Harlan Coben's Hold Tight, even though I had been disappointed by another of his thrillers Tell No One. Hold Tight begins promisingly enough, with concerned parents installing spyware on their teenage son Adam's computer. They reluctantly decide to spy on Adam because one of his friends had recently committed suicide, and Adam had continued to withdraw from the family. The spyware reveals that he is planning to go to a party with drinking and drugs on Friday night so Mike, Adam's father, buys hockey tickets for that same night and won't let Adam refuse to come. When Adam does not show up at home the night of the game, however, his parents become terrified that something has happened. What follows is an adventure deep into the underground of blackmarket pharmaceuticals, with a healthy dose of revenge, insanity and betrayal to make things more interesting.
Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, and several seemingly unrelated storylines are brought together for a surprising conclusion. What I liked about this is that Coben's characters use a lot of current cell phone and computer technology, which will probably render the novel outdated in a few years, but makes it seem cutting edge in 2010. What I didn't like is Coben's writing, which is not very interesting (to me, but maybe that's snobbish), or his storyline which seemed contrived. However, this novel received enough student, teacher and librarian votes to land on the 2011 Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award list, so what do I know? 2 out of 4 Bananas

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award 2011 Nominee

Ever Wish You Were a Robot, So Your Feelings Woudn't Hurt?

Hello…This is Mrs. Narkis, a student teacher in the library and guest blogger. (Thanks, Mrs. Duell!) I just finished How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, and I loved it. I was going to describe the book for you, but this review from School Library Journal does an excellent job: “…Beatrice Szabo's family has moved multiple times, most recently…to Baltimore. In order to protect herself from the emotional fallout caused by the constant moves and her parents' troubled relationship, she has invented a cold, emotionless persona for herself called Robot Girl. When she begins her senior year at a small private school, she enters a class where the students have known one another since kindergarten. She finds herself drawn to outcast Jonas Tate, aka Ghost Boy, who introduces her to the Night Light show, a local late-night radio show. They form an intense friendship, complicated by Jonas's obsession with his mentally disabled twin brother, whom his father had told him died in an automobile accident years before. When Jonas discovers that Matthew is actually alive and in a local institution, events gradually spiral out of control as Jonas plots to liberate him. Beatrice begins to realize that her deep love and friendship for Jonas cannot help him overcome all of his emotional difficulties. This is an honest and complex depiction of a meaningful platonic friendship and doesn't gloss over troubling issues…Teens will identify with the intense emotions of Beatrice and Jonas, the reasons they are drawn to each other, and the ups and downs of their relationship. An outstanding choice for a book discussion group.”

Don’t let the pink cover make you think it’s a girly, romance-y book, because it isn’t. The character development was wonderful – you’ll probably love some and despise others – and the balance between humor (Bea and Jonas’s “prom” date) and sadness (their dysfunctional families) was well done. I don’t usually like books that end with my heart aching (okay, I’m a wimp), but it was so appropriate in this case. Two thumbs up!

Leaving Paradise Left Me Behind

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles has an intriguing premise: a year before the novel begins, Caleb Becker admitted to driving drunk, hitting his neighbor Maggie Armstrong, and then leaving the scene of the crime. Caleb was sentenced to serve a year in the Department of Corrections' juvenile jail, where he lived with gang members, was subjected to full body searches, and spent his time hardening both his body and his mind. The novel begins with Caleb's release from jail, and the reception he receives from his family and from the kids at school. One of the best aspects of the novel is that it is told in alternating chapters, going back and forth between Caleb's and Maggie's perspectives. Maggie has spent the previous year undergoing numerous surgeries and physical therapy to help heal the leg that was ruined by the accident. She is angry that Caleb is released and can go back to what she perceives as his "normal life", while she has been forever damaged by his reckless behavior. Both Caleb's and Maggie's families have been changed by the accident, and both have unreasonable expectations of how their children should act in the accident's aftermath. Caleb's mother wants him to pretend to be a cleancut, preppy kid for the sake of outward appearances, while his sister has become totally goth and largely unrecognizable. The reasons for this are revealed later in the novel. Maggie's mother (her father has left the family and holds Maggie at arm's length) desperately wants her to be happy and to feel like she fits in with the rest of the kids at school, which is far from reality. Maggie and Caleb are forced to confront one another when they begin helping an elderly woman after school, Maggie to make money for a trip to Spain, and Caleb to fulfill his community servicement requirements for parole. They begin to fall in love, but have to keep that love secret because how could anyone possibly understand why Maggie, the victim could forgive Caleb, much less fall in love with him? And how could anyone understand how Caleb can love damaged Maggie, when his ex-girlfriend Kendra is the hottest girl in school?
Leaving Paradise is a gentle romance which many students may enjoy. For me, Elkeles' writing and dialogue fell flat, and her adult characters were way over-the-top caricatures of "out-of-it parents". Also, the ending! What was up with the ending? If you can overlook the abrupt ending and the (IMHO) bad writing, you just may find paradise. 2 out of 4 Bananas.

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award 2010 Nominee

Love Love Love Love Love LOVE This Book!

If you liked Harry Potter because of J.K. Rowling's creatively imagined world of sorcery, private schools, and hilarious hijinks, then you will LOVE (note the title of this post) I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter. It's set in a top-secret, all-girls school for spies, where girls from spy families, girls with genius IQs, or girls who have shown a talent for espionage are educated in Covert Operations, hand-to-hand combat, garbology (the study of trash), conversational Swahili and other non-traditional subject areas. As far as the town knows, however, the Gallagher Academy is simply a private school for spoiled rich girls. What happens, then, when Cammie Morgan falls for a cute townie named Josh? She can't let him know that she's a Gallagher Girl (he'll just think she's a stuck-up snob), but she also can't tell him that she's been trained to kill someone with a piece of uncooked spaghetti, because, let's face, that's just a little weird. Cammie's friends are also suspicious that Josh may be a "honeypot" (someone who uses romance to trick an enemy agent), so they convince Cammie to conduct a covert operation to spy on Josh and find out his true motives for dating her. Can she trust him? Should she? What's a spy girl to do in this dangerous day and age?? I LOVED this book because of its fresh and humorous writing style, creativity, and fast pace and unhesitatingly award it 4 out of 4 Bananas!

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award 2010 Nominee

Teenagers Fighting to the Death, Survivor-Style? Cool!

I just finished reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and am already picturing which Hollywood starlet might be cast as Katniss, the novel's spunky heroine who must fight to the death in order to win the Capitol's annual Hunger Games. A Hollywood version of this action-packed Thunderdome for the under-18 set is inevitable, so I'll just have to hope that they get it right. The Hunger Games takes place in a future world, where Armageddon has essentially befallen the United States, and the Capitol is located somewhere west of the Rockies. The country has been divided into twelve districts, which at some point in the past rose up together in a revolt against the Capitol. The Capitol won, however, and as a punishment and warning to the Districts, it holds the Hunger Games, to which each District must send two "tributes." The tributes must fight to the death in order to win the Hunger Games, which are held in a specially-designed arena controlled by the Capitol's gamemakers, who can control the weather, introduce enraged mutant animals, and even hurl fireballs at contestants if things have gotten too calm for the viewing audience. Twisted, yes. Good? For sure! Katniss and Peeta are sent as the tributes from District 12, long known as the weakest and least successful district in Games history. They work together to try and survive, even though there can be only one true winner. The Hunger Games would appeal to anyone and everyone, I think because there it's got a little of everything: action, suspense, a teeny bit of gore, a pinch of romance, and plenty of twists to keep things interesting. I didn't love it, but I really liked it, so I'm giving The Hunger Games 3 out of 4 Bananas!

I Am the Messenger

I just finished Markus Zusak's *I am the Messenger*, which was a 2006 Printz Award Honor Book (The Printz Award is given annually to outstanding YA titles). It's also been chosen as an 2009 Abraham Lincoln Award contender. So... I wanted to like it. I really wanted to like it because I loved *The Book Thief*, and I was anticipating another beautifully-written novel full of the figurative language I had grown to expect from Zusak (see previous post). I will say that *I Am the Messenger* has an imaginative plot that is always surprising and sometimes fulfilling: Ed Kennedy is a 19 year old underachiever who drives a cab for a living and lives in a shack with an odiferous dog named "The Doorman". Ed suddenly begins receiving playing cards in the mail, each marked with an address in the beginning or, as the novel continues, increasingly mysterious words or phrases which Ed must interpret. He must go to the home of the message's recipient and then figure out what message he must deliver. Like I said: clever, right?
I think that what I objected to in this novel was the voice of the characters, particularly of Ed himself. I loved that, as an Australian author, Zusak set his novel in Sydney and uses delightfully colorful Australian slang. My problem is that I felt like Ed is too whiny and navel-gazing, as are his friends. I felt like reaching into the pages and slapping him, saying "Get a life and quit your whining!" I also felt like some of the things the characters say (especially his rough-around-the-edges friends) are too romance-novel to be realistic. I don't think I'm a heartless reader, but it made me wonder if Markus Zusak himself is still going through some sort of "she loves me, she loves me not" teenage angst. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
My final issue with *I Am the Messenger* is the ending. I was gearing up for at least a satisfying answer to the question of who is sending Ed these messages for him to deliver, when... what? It was sort of a weird and all-too-quick wrap up for me.
Has anybody else read this? If you have, or if you do, let me know!
I hate to say it but I'm giving this one 2 out of 4 Bananas.