My Life Undecided (YA)

My Life Undecided. Jessica Brody. 2011. FSG. 320 pages.

The sirens are louder than I anticipated.

I really enjoyed My Life Undecided. It is a fun read, very light, a bit silly, a bit predictable. But there are many satisfying moments in it. And once you've started it, well, it might be difficult to be put down. Not every book has to be oh-so-serious, right?

The heroine of this one, Brooklyn Pierce, struggles with making good decisions. Her life is full of mistakes and regrets. She always thinks she's doing the 'right' thing--like having a party in her mother's model home, while her parents are out of town. But she almost always makes the wrong decision, she chooses what feels good in the moment, and, well, she usually has to face the consequences.

The novel opens with her having to face the consequences...yet again. She's sentenced to community service.

Anyway, she decides early on that since she is horrible at controlling her own life, she'd open up all her decisions to others. She'd start a blog and let readers vote on how she should live her life. Any time she needs to make a decision, she writes a post and creates a poll.


But this decision to blog may not be the best way to live her life after all...

Can Brooklyn grow up and take responsibility for her own life?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , FSG , library book , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Huge (YA)

Huge. Sasha Paley. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages.

"Faster, faster!" Wil Hopkins's trainer, Heather, yelled over the sound of crashing waves.

Huge is the story of two girls at fat camp. Wil Hopkins who is understandably angry, bitter, rebellious, and generally unpleasant to be around, and April Adams whose issues may be a little less obvious. Both girls are at Wellness Canyon for the summer. Wil against her will; April because she has worked and worked and saved and saved. The two, of course, are roommates. Their "success" at the camp depends on their ability to work together as a team, to work through any issues, to learn to trust one another, etc. But how do you do that when you can't stand the other person?!

The cover reads, "at fat camp even the drama is huge," and that gives you a fair description of what to expect. Two teen girls who are first brought together when they compete for the attention of a guy, Colin, and then brought together by the need for revenge when that guy turns out to be a big jerk. Perhaps because of the "boy drama" going on, Wil forgets temporarily that she desperately wants to gain weight at fat camp so her parents can't have the satisfaction of her success. So by the end of camp, Wil has lost weight too.

Huge has two narrators. And to be completely honest I had a hard time liking either of them. Wil, the richer of the two, seems to be the biggest pain. She's angry, bitter, rebellious. She acts out--speaks out--in anger a good deal of the time. And she seems to like being rude and hurting people. But her pain is obvious to anyone who's ever been there. Her parents have hurt her repeatedly--hurt her with their words, their actions, etc. What she's hearing is that she's not good enough as she is, that they are ashamed of her, embarrassed of her, etc. She feels that her parents just don't love her, accept her, understand her. I think the more her parents force the issue, force her to try to feel ashamed about her body, the worse it will be for her. I think FORCING her to go to fat camp against her will, forcing her to deal with her weight when she's clearly not ready to deal with it,  may not be the best in the long term. Losing weight is a LOT more complicated than it might appear.

If you're expecting "Biggest Loser" insights--break down moments where they get it, they really get it...then you'll be disappointed.

As for April, I think she's lost in her own dream world. She's equated being skinny with being perfect, being popular, being happy. She doesn't really seem to realize that she'll still be herself when she's lost the weight. She can't escape her issues just by losing weight. I think she desperately wants to be someone else. I think her shallowness may be hidden by her cheerfulness. I think she's able to hide her issues easier than Wil. But April has her own troubles, and they are revealed to a certain extent by the end of the novel.

The drama didn't exactly wow me. It was light and fluffy, a bit silly. The "conflict" over the jerk--to see which girl he liked best. The answer--he loves ONLY himself, and any girl with a pulse is good for a few minutes of attention, but not much else. And while I'm glad the two girls were able to bond over their plans for revenge, I thought that was silly too.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2008 , review copy , Simon and Schuster , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Alice in Time (MG)

Alice in Time. Penelope Bush. 2011. Holiday House. 208 pages.

"I'm not wearing it."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not." 
Repeat those last two sentences about fifty times and you'll get some idea of what I'm up against. I'm trying to get my little brother into his page-boy outfit so that we won't be late for Dad's wedding, but I've been trying for the last hour without success.

I picked up Alice in Time because I was interested in the time travel premise. Alice, our heroine, is fourteen and miserable. She thinks her life is ruined, and it just happens that everyone else is to blame for all her woes. Her parents are divorced. Her relationship with her dad and his new wife, a bit awkward. And her brother, well, he's a bother and then some. Her mom is the worst of all. Even Imogen, her best friend, doesn't understand her. It seems the whole world is against her...

One late night in the park, a spin on the merry go round, a little accident ends up changing Alice's life forever. She wakes up from the accident as a seven year old. Her teenage memories are intact, but she's now seven again. She's forgotten how to be a kid, though, which makes this transition a bit tricky. Her mom definitely does NOT like the new Alice, who has turned mean and disrespectful and disobedient. What happened to her little angel that loves playing with Barbie and needed help brushing her hair and braiding it?

Alice soon decides that she'll try to "fix" all the problems of her life. She'll try to stop her cat from getting run over by a car. She'll try to warn her Grandma about the cancer. She'll try to warn anyone and everyone about her mom's postpartum depression. She'll try to stop her mom from throwing her dad out of the house, etc. The question becomes what should she do with her classmates? Should she make the same decisions? Should she choose Imogen over Sasha? Or Sasha over Imogen? Or should she choose a new path altogether? What if she could change her life for the better by choosing a whole new set of friends?

Of course, Alice doesn't really know what the consequences of any of her actions will be... One thing is for sure, this new-new Alice will be a different girl.

I liked Alice in Time. I didn't love it; I didn't hate it. I thought it took a little too long to get to the merry go round. Though that could be just me, since the time travel element is what I was most interested in. And Alice wasn't very likable. She was a brat. A full-time brat. But as she began to grow up a little (by growing down), I began to like her more and more.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , Holiday House , library book , time travel , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Science Fiction

Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? (YA)

Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? Sloane Tanen. 2011. Sourcebooks. 368 pages.

I should start at the beginning, four months ago, on the night of the senior prom. I wasn't a senior, or a prom person, so the fact that I hadn't been invited wasn't bothering me...much. I mean, I didn't want to go, but it would have been nice to be invited.

I picked up Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? because I wanted to see how it compared with Libba Bray's Beauty Queens. Each book has strengths, of course, and each has its own weaknesses.

The premise of this one is simple. What if a private plane carrying five celebrities, one contest winner, and one semi-famous blogger went down in the ocean near a small African island. Could these people ever learn to get along and work as a team? Would anyone know what to do? What are their chances of surviving it all?

The heroine, Francesca, is the contest winner. She wrote a little essay all about loss for Seventeen magazine. Her sob story about losing her dad in a car accident? So not true! She's just REALLY, REALLY angry that he's getting remarried. She never expected to win--never expected it to be published--so now she may just have to face the consequences.

The good news is that after the plane goes down, well, the people in her life might be so happy to see her again that they'll forgive her for her lies...

The other people on the island are Joe Baronstein, a middle-aged actor who supposedly got his start starring in Small Secrets, a sitcom about a psychic family living in Texas, and it was a musical too; Jonah Baron, the illegitimate son of Joe, a famous singer in a Christian boy-band; Milan Amberson and Eve Larkin, two actresses that hate, hate, hate one another, of course, each has flaws; Cisco Parker, the oh-so-dreamy actor who isn't as perfect as he appears. And then there's Chaz the gay blogger who is obsessed with all things celebrity. His site is all about publishing gossip, gossip, more gossip.

The good news is that Sloane Tanen did a good job with her characters; they are all developed. Especially when comparing them to the more stereotypical characters found in Beauty Queens. I can't say that I particularly loved--or even liked--any of the characters. They are all--in their own way, perhaps--so deeply flawed. Their personal lives are so messy--hate, anger, bitterness, pain, confusion, doubt, frustration, shame, etc. What Francesca learns is that everyone has issues, that no one is perfect. That celebrities are no better or no worse than anyone else.

Francesca (and to a certain extent Chaz) are good at mocking people. And both, I think, take a little enjoyment out of seeing the world in this way. How can I make a joke out of this or that. How can I get my one line in. And even when the person being mocked doesn't really mind at all, it can grow annoying after a while.

The story isn't as over-the-top as Beauty Queens. Yes, there were places I found it a stretch--the person who discovered them, his using Francesca--or trying to use Francesca, all the big "reveals" as they laugh about having all their deepest darkest secrets out of the closet now because of their time together on the island. And the ending, well, it felt a little too happy. But it still wasn't as crazy, over-the-top as Beauty Queens.

I didn't love the story. I have to be honest. I didn't really like--at all--or appreciate may be the better word, the way that Christianity was presented, discussed, mocked, etc. It's not completely unexpected. This book won't be the first or last to present Christianity in a false way and to depict Christians as evil or crazy or liars. So I was disappointed with this one because of that, because of the lack of respect, because of the insults and jokes and such, it was hard to like the characters.

I think there are plenty of readers out there who will appreciate this one--humor and all. It just wasn't for me.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , library book , Source Books , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Withering Tights (YA)

Withering Tights. Louise Rennison. 2011. HarperCollins. 288 pages.

Wow, this is it. This is me growing up. On my own, going to Performing Arts College. This is good-bye, Tallulah, you long, gangly thing, and helloooooo, Lullah, star of stage and ...owwwwooo. Ow and ow. The train lurched and I've nearly knocked myself out on the side of the door. I'm bound to get a massive lump. Oh good, I can start college with two heads...

Tallulah, our fourteen-year-old-heroine, is such a delight. She is on her way to a performing arts summer program in Yorkshire. As she was the last to sign up for the course, she won't be staying in the dorm, there wasn't enough room, but a local family, the Dobbins, has welcomed her into their home. As a reader, I must admit, I'm GLAD there wasn't room for her in the dorm. Else we would have missed out on this quirky family and the squirrel slippers. And Tallulah may not have caught so many glimpses of local bad boy, Cain, outside her window. Not that she likes him likes him.

So what is Withering Tights about? It's about her summer. It's about her going to summer school and taking all these classes. It's about her failing to make a great impression with the teachers, and making a funny impression on her classmates. It's about her making some GREAT friends: Jo, Vaisey, Flossie, Ruby, etc. It's about her meeting a couple of guys and getting her first and second kiss...not that either is perfect. Are the guys worth swooning over? Maybe. There's local bad boy, Cain, whom Tallulah does NOT like in that way, not even a little bit. There's Charlie and Ben, two friends of Jo's crush. There are a group of guys that like hanging around with this group of girls. (No one is exactly pairing up and getting serious.) And then there is Alex. He is THE ONE that makes Tallulah swoon the most. He turns her silly--or should that be sillier. He's also Ruby's older brother.

What did I love about Withering Tights? Well, I loved Tallulah. I just loved her. She was such a fun person to spend time with. I did enjoy Alex. And Cain. And Charlie. (Ben didn't thrill me all that much.) I loved Tallulah's friends. I think Ruby may just be my favorite--she is a bit younger than Tallulah. But there was just something about her that made me smile. The great thing was that none of these friends annoyed me. (One of my biggest annoyances with the Georgia Nicholson series was Georgia's friends. I'm not sure if I found them annoying because Georgia found them annoying. Or if they were just super-obnoxious all on their own.) I loved the humor! I did! For example, ONE of the assignments in this drama school was for them to put on a musical based on Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

Here's one of the songs she writes:

I'm out on the moors, the wild moors,
Let's roll about in rockpools.
Oh, it gets lonely without you,
I hate you, I love you.
It's Cathy, trying to get in your Windoooooow ow ow ow... (171)

and

I'm out on the moors, the windy moors,
Let's roll about in mud pools,
Or sheep poo, I hate you, I love you, tooooo.
Heathcliff, it's me, tap-tapping on your windooooow. (220)

Of course, that's just a small part of the Bronte humor!

So I'd recommend Withering Tights for anyone who loves funny romances. Of course, anyone who loved and adored Georgia Nicholson should give Tallulah a try. I actually liked Withering Tights more than most of the more recent Georgia novels. There was nothing tired about it.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , friendship , HarperCollins , humor , library book , Summer , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Trauma Queen (MG)

Trauma Queen. Barbara Dee. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages.

I am standing outside homeroom in yellow flannel monkey pajamas.
Everyone else is dressed normally: jeans, track pants, sweaters, whatever.
Apparently because today, Monday, February 3, is not Pajama Day at Crampton Middle School. Also apparently I am the only one who is celebrating Pajama Day, because I am the only one whose mother told her it was Pajama Day. 

Marigold doesn't always love her mom. You see, Marigold's mom is a performance artist. She does crazy, crazy, embarrassing things in front of people...on purpose. Sometimes Marigold wishes her Mom could really stick to one performance: normal, sane, ordinary mother of two. But that's a role she rarely does.

Trauma Queen is about new beginnings. Marigold's family is starting over--again. The last town, well, it didn't end so well. On the positive side, Marigold made a friend--a really good friend--a girl named Emma. And things seemed to be going well until Emma's mom met Marigold's mom. Then it got UGLY, UGLY, SUPER-UGLY. Now Emma isn't allowed to speak with her...at all. So it's just as well, I suppose, that they did start over in a new town. But some things Marigold can't really forget.

One of the things that I LOVED about Trauma Queen were the characters. I thought they were well-developed. I loved how we get to know Marigold's family: her mom, her sister, Kennedy, her Gram. I especially loved to see the conversations between Mari and her Gram. I did. I loved how we get to know Marigold's classmates. Those that like Marigold (Layla, Ethan, Brody, etc.). And those that don't (Jada). WE get to see the tensions in her class. And it's so well done! It felt very authentic. I thought the author did a great job with showing not telling.

It was easy to love Marigold. It was easy to sympathize with her. But it was also easy--at least for me--to see the Mom's strengths. I couldn't not like the Mom. I couldn't. And when she started working with some of Marigold's classmates in an after school program, well, I admired her all the more. Was she perfect? No. Of course not. But she was not "the enemy" out to ruin her daughter's life. Seeing Gram, Mom, and Marigold together, well, it felt right. This novel has substance and depth.

I would definitely recommend Trauma Queen. I've also read This is Me From Now On.

My favorite quote:

But how do you know you're seeing things through your own eyes? Maybe you think you are, but really, you're just collecting other people's points of view. Maybe you're seeing the world through their eyes, and you don't even know it. (211)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , family , J Fiction , J Realistic Fiction , review copy , school , Simon and Schuster , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Miles from Ordinary (YA)

Miles from Ordinary. Carol Lynch Williams. 2011. St. Martin's Press. 208 pages.

There are mice.

Lacey, our heroine, is holding on to hope. Hope that everything is going to be okay. Hope that her mom will be able to handle her new job at the grocery store. Hope that she'll get to volunteer at the local library as she's planned. But with Lacey's mom, it's hard to be certain about anything. So much depends on what her Granddaddy tells her momma.

The novel opens with a bad dream, but one could argue that Lacey's bad dream is nothing compared to her real life, the daily trauma of living with a mother who is mentally ill. It's a painful life, a lonely life, having that much responsibility, feeling the weight of the whole world on her shoulders.

In the quietest of moments, Lacey dreams of simple things: having a friend to talk and laugh with, having some time to herself--time for herself, I should say. No one is taking care of Lacey. No one is helping her, supporting her.

Miles from Ordinary is the story of one day--just one day--in the life of a troubled family. On this one day, her mom will start her new job, she'll start her new volunteer job for the summer at the library, she'll talk to the cutest guy in the neighborhood, Aaron, and maybe just maybe make a real friend. Of course, that is just the part of the day that goes well...

Miles from Ordinary is a compelling read, dark yet powerful. It's well written, and oh the characters! Especially Lacey and Aaron.

Carol Lynch Williams is also the author of The Chosen One and Glimpse.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , dysfunctional families , library book , mental disorders , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Front and Center (YA)

Front and Center. Catherine Gilbert Murdock. 2009. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 256 pages.

Here are ten words I never thought I'd be saying...

Dairy Queen and The Off Season. 

D.J. Schwenk, our heroine, is excited to be going back to school. (No, it's not August or September.) But she's been away from home tending to one of her older brothers, Win, after he was seriously injured playing college football. What excites D.J. most--besides returning to a familiar routine--is the fact that it is basketball season. She loves the game, she does. And when she's not worried about pleasing her coach and her family and her teammates and herself and any college coaches or scouts that may be watching her every little move, she's quite good at it. But it's not without pressure. For her coach--wanting only what is best for her--is encouraging her to start looking ahead to college, to start calling different coaches at different universities and seeing what scholarship possibilities there may be for her when the time comes. Yes, she's only a junior, but the time to act is now. If she puts it off until next year, well, chances are that there will be fewer opportunities. But what bothers D.J, what bothers Coach K, what bothers her brother, Win, is D.J.'s inability to vocalize on the court. She sees what needs to be done, but she doesn't speak up. She has all the skills needed to be a great player, but there is something holding her back. And the sooner she finds her voice, the better.

D.J. doesn't like being the 'front and center' of attention. She doesn't like the way one of her best friends, Beaner, is looking at her. He wants more from her than friendship. And while part of her wants a distraction from her heartbreak--her disappointing relationship with Brian Nelson--another part of her knows that she could never, ever feel anything close to romantic love for Beaner. He's great for laughs, great for hanging out with, he's a good guy, a nice guy, but. He's no Brian. Now she tries to talk herself into the relationship, using his very differences from Brian to show that he has to be a better match for her. But still. D.J. knows that it won't really work out.

I loved all three books in the series. I loved D.J. I loved her family. I loved how these novels were about D.J. finding herself and getting to be more comfortable in her own skin. Each book we see a vulnerable D.J. get just a little bit stronger, a little bit better, a little more confident. These novels have heart. They may be about sports--football and basketball--but they are character-driven too!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2009 , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , review copy , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance , YA Sports

Doggirl (MG/YA)

Doggirl. Robin Brande. 2011. Ryer Publishing. 269 pages. 

I believe in signs. And this one said: Dog trainer needed immediately. Must provide own dog. I snatched the paper off the announcement board before anyone else could see it. 

Riley Case is a girl after my own heart, and her story touched me.

Riley is amazing with animals; she has been from the time she was baby. And she can make friends almost instantaneously with animals--dogs, cats, birds, you name it. She's been training her dogs after school, teaching them new tricks, and loving every minute of it. She's just as eager as they are to be reunited at the end of each school day. She just has a way about her. She's a natural.

But with people, it's a different story. Riley doesn't feel comfortable with people--at all. They scare her, intimidate her. She's so afraid of being rejected, so afraid of being laughed at or picked on, that she'd prefer to spend her school days being ignored. Being invisible. Blending in with the background. That is what she prefers. Or what she thinks she prefers. She may not have friends. She may not have a social life. But she feels it could always be worse.

It would be worse if she tried with all her heart to make friends...and failed. It would be worse if she made a best friend....only to lose her again.

So when Riley learns of this opportunity to be a dog trainer, this opportunity for her dogs to star in the school play, she's thrilled. Does that mean she doesn't have doubts and insecurities about this whole project? No. She's not worried about her dogs, no, they'll be just great with these new people. It's herself she's worried about. Will she 'ruin' her new start? Will she be too awkward? Will she say the wrong thing? What if she does something stupid, something embarrassing? What if she earns herself a string of nicknames? What if this project leads to her humiliation? What if she starts crying and can't stop?

Riley has strengths. She does. She even knows exactly what they are. But her confidence is still a little shaky in some areas. What Riley needs are some good friends. Friends that will listen; friends that will love. Riley needs to learn to laugh and smile and just be.

I loved this one. I just LOVED this one! I loved Riley, I did. I could relate to her in so many ways! And I loved the story, loved the pacing. I loved Riley's journey. I loved the process of her development and growth. It wasn't too fast or too slow. It was just right. And Nate?! Well, I'm quite happy with him!!! Their conversations together were great! I loved their last scene together, it was giddy-making! I'd share it with you, but, that would be saying too much!

My second-favorite scene would probably be the one between Beverly, the volunteer seamstress--a senior, I believe--and Riley.

"Do you think I'm...okay?"
Beverly gave me a funny look. "Okay, how?"
"You know...normal. Like someone...you could be friends with. I mean, not you, but I mean like...anyone." I covered my face my hands. "I never know how to talk."
Beverly peeled one of my hands away and held onto it. "Riley, if you're asking me whether you're the kind of person I could be friends with, the answer is yes. Because we are. And if you're asking me whether other people like you, the answer is still yes, they do. Is that what you want to know?"
I nodded.
"In case you haven't noticed, everyone in here is just a little bit...unusual. If we didn't have each other, we'd all be roaming the halls calling out, 'Friend! I need a friend!' Sometimes it just takes a while to figure out where you fit. You know?" (193-94)

I loved Doggirl because it felt so honest, so genuine. It's a novel with a lot of heart. And it's not just a novel about a friendless girl finding a place to belong. It's a book for animal-lovers--specifically dog-lovers--and a book for those that love drama and theater--or creative writing, or film-making. It's for any one who has ever felt different. (It may just be a novel for everyone.)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , animals , coming of age , dogs , review copy , school , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Rage (YA)

Rage. Jackie Morse Kessler. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 228 pages.

The day Melissa Miller killed her cat, she met the Angel of Death. Except he was no angel--and he wasn't there for the cat. 

Rage is a follow up book to Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler. While Hunger was about a teen girl with an eating disorder becoming Famine, Rage is about a troubled young woman, Melissa Miller--or Missy, becoming War.

Missy Walker cuts. Very few people in her life know about her cutting--her self-mutilation--but that number is about to become a lot larger. For her ex-boyfriend, Adam, has either placed a bet--or accepted a bet--that he can get Missy naked at the party to reveal all her scars for the crowd at Kevin's party that Friday night. (Either way, Adam shows there is a good reason he's an ex.)

Missy hasn't really felt comfortable partying--at least not lately. But with encouragement from Erica, an old friend that she's distanced herself from, and Adam, who is reaching out to her saying how much he misses her since their break up, well, in a moment of weakness she decides to go. (Of course, if she'd stayed home, the novel would be much shorter!)

After Missy is deeply humiliated, she returns home--ashamed and angry, overwhelmed with emotion--and she decides to cut herself. She takes out her blade and begins hoping that it will help her be able to breathe again, that the emotional pain will lessen as the physical pain begins. But before she even knows it, it's all too much. There is too much blood, she wasn't careful enough. She's dying and knows it will look like suicide.

But Death hasn't been watching her the past few days without good reason. He steps in, if you will, and offers her a choice. Die or become one of the four riders of the apocalypse. To be more precise, become War, and take up War's Sword.

Will Missy learn to deal with her darker emotions. Will having control of the Sword help Missy conquer her own demons, her own darkness? Will she learn to use those dark emotions responsibly? Or will they conquer her?

For the most part, I thought Rage was well written. The blend between real life and fantasy is intriguing, I must say. The writing is strong and powerful. While I still had a few questions--when did Missy begin cutting herself, does she know why she does it--the novel works for me most of the time. I do wish, however, that the epilogue would have been handled differently. (Not necessarily the content. But the style. How the novel itself only covers four days, but the epilogue covers two months. How the novel does a great job of showing and not telling. But the epilogue was too telling, if that makes sense. The narration of it was just off for me. I understand that people want a hopeful ending, an ending that leaves no doubts or questions, but it just felt too much to me.)

Have you read this one? What did you think?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , review copy , YA Fantasy , YA Fiction , YA Paranormal , YA realistic fiction

A Monster Calls (MG/YA)

A Monster Calls. Patrick Ness. Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd. 2011. September 2011. Candlewick Press. 224 pages.

The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do.
Conor was awake when it came.
He'd had a nightmare. Well, not a nightmare. The nightmare.
The one he'd been having a lot lately. The one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming. The one with the hands slipping from his grasp, no matter how hard he tried to hold on. The one that always ended with--

There's a part of me that doesn't want to tell you anything at all about this book. The part that says that there is nothing I could say that would do it justice. The part that says this one is best discovered by readers in the moment. That knowing even the littlest things about it--the things the reader can conclude from the second or third chapter--would be knowing too much.

So I could simply tell you that it is beautiful and haunting and emotional and original. I could ask you just to trust me that it's worth a read. But would you believe me?

Conor, our hero, has been having nightmares. But it's the monster he meets shortly after midnight--on more than one occasion--that intrigues him the most. For it is this monster that he's brave enough to face. This monster that he's brave enough to speak with face to face. And if the monster is to believed, this is the monster that the boy called himself. This is the monster that both promises and threatens. He's got three stories--three tales--to share with the boy. But in return, he asks the boy to tell him a true story, his true story. And it is the threat of having to speak the truth out loud that causes Conor anxiety.

I could say more. I could mention the things going on in Conor's life--his daily life in his home and at school. But I really do think this is one you need to read for yourself, to experience for yourself.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , bullies , bullying , Candlewick , Death and Dying , grief , review copy , YA Fantasy , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

The Miles Between (YA)

The Miles Between. Mary E. Pearson. 2009. Henry Holt. 272 pages. 

I was seven the first time I was sent away. This raised eyebrows, even among by parent's globe-trotting friends, and I was brought back home in short order. Rumors are embarrassing, you know? A nanny was employed, but that only partially solved their problem. I was still in the house. I was seen and heard. When I turned eight years old, it seemed reasonable enough to send me off again. And they did. They never kept me at any one place for long. 

Des (Destiny) Faraday, our narrator, doesn't have many friends. Then again, she doesn't want any friends. Readers meet her on October 19th, a day that Des has come to dread year after year, though readers aren't quite sure why. Wanting to take control of her life, Des rips the page right off her calendar. Things seem to be off on a shaky start. Until she meets a stranger. Until she asks for one fair day in the universe. Until she finds a car with a running engine. Until she finds three companions that need escape from Hedgebrook Academy--a boarding school--just as much as she does. Can one day of freedom on the road change lives? Perhaps.

I enjoyed The Miles Between. It was emotional--very emotional in places. Though the novel only covers one day, there is so much growth and development. Destiny is changed by this day--and it's a wonderful thing to see. And the writing is lovely. I would compare it to Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, but I think The Miles Between is an easier read, a less-intimidating read.

There are so many different ways of being good. It's all about perspective. (35)

The world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it. (45)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2009 , Henry Holt , review copy , road trip , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

What Happened To Goodbye (YA)

What Happened To Goodbye. Sarah Dessen. 2011. Penguin. 416 pages.

The table was sticky, there was a cloudy smudge on my water glass, and we'd been seated for ten minutes with no sign of a waitress. Still, I knew what my dad would say. By this point, it was part of the routine. 

I love Sarah Dessen. I do. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her work. I love her characters, her stories, her writing. I love how easy it is to love her books. She makes it easy to love reading. There's just something wonderful about them. I've never once been disappointed. So it shouldn't really surprise anyone that I loved What Happened to Goodbye.

Mclean Sweet sometimes wishes things could be as simple as loving her dad and hating her mom. Since her parents have divorced, Mclean has had to reinvent herself again and again and again and again. Her dad has a job that requires him to move around a lot. He's been hired by a company to "fix" problem restaurants. (Think Kitchen Nightmares with less yelling!) Sometimes he's able to "save" the restaurant, and they move on to the next place, the next town or state. Sometimes he's not able to save a place--no matter how much time and energy he puts into a place--and they move on. In each town, Mclean gives herself a new name--a new personality, a new identity. Knowing that she can recreate herself into someone new--if only for a few months--gives her a sense of peace. Temporary peace, perhaps, but it helps her cope with what her life has become since the divorce. The divorce that she totally blames her mom for. I mean how could HER mom have an affair with the head coach of her dad's favorite basketball team? How could she become pregnant and leave them both behind? Why doesn't her mom get why she is so angry? Mclean feels she just doesn't belong in this new family with her half-siblings and her stepfather.

But she does find herself belonging here in this town, in this school, with her wonderfully strange friends, with her wonderfully strange neighbor, Dave. For the first time in a long time, Mclean can practice being honest--with herself, with her boyfriend, with her friends, with her dad, with her mom. Perhaps it's just as difficult for her to be honest with her parents as it is to be honest with herself. For in all her inventing, Mclean has lost pieces of herself. She's lost herself and buried her pain deep, deep inside. But it may just be time for Mclean to heal. In Lakeview, she may just find the support she needs.

I enjoyed this one. I liked Mclean. I liked her parents. I liked how complex these relationships are. How life can't be as simple as hating her mom and loving her dad. I liked how challenging these relationships are. I liked how we get Mclean's perspective--but not so blindly that readers can't see things from the other side. And it was great to see her relationship with her dad. How much she loves him and takes care of him. But also how he's there for her when she needs him. He's not perfect, but I do think he cares very much for his daughter. Her friends. I also liked them. Especially Deb and Dave. I love how eccentric yet believable her characters are! And I liked Dave as the love interest!

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , library book , Penguin USA , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Stay (YA)

Stay. Deb Caletti. 2011. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages.

First off, I've never told this story to anyone. Not the entire thing anyway, and not entirely truthfully.

Clara, our heroine, is struggling to escape a bad relationship. Told in alternating chapters--present and past--readers meet Christian, Clara's ex-boyfriend, and see all the warning signs. The signs that Clara herself missed during the early months of her relationship. The signs that Christian was a little too insecure, a little too jealous, a little too controlling, a little too possessive, a little too much to handle. Clara finds him wonderfully comforting at once. Wow--a guy who cares about every little thing that I do. But Clara soon finds herself in an uncomfortable position. For Christian's imagination combined with his anger issues leads to trouble.

But Clara is not alone. No, Clara's father--though flawed--is there for her. Even willing to take an extended-extended vacation to help his daughter escape her ex. The two go away together--telling no one where they'll be staying--hoping that Christian won't be able to track them down, won't be able to reach them there.

So Stay is about second chances, starting over, and being honest. It's a novel just as much about fathers and daughters as it is girlfriends and boyfriends.

I liked it. I really liked it. I thought it was well written. But. I'm not sure that Stay would be my "favorite and best" Caletti novel. But. Deb Caletti is a great author whose YA romances I've *really, really* enjoyed in the past. I've reviewed The Queen of Everything, The Fortunes of Indigo Skye, The Nature of Jade, and The Secret Life Of Prince Charming.

Oddly enough, Stay reminded me of all the reasons why I don't love Edward Cullen. 

He was taking care of me. You take care of the people you love, but it's true, too, that you take care of the things you own. (74)

"One of the hardest tasks as a human being is knowing when to keep an open mind," my father said, "And when not to." (97)

I guess that's what safety is. Sameness you can count on. (179)

I learned that the most true-love words are not ones that grasp and hold and bind you, twisting you both up together in some black dance. No, they are ones that leave you free to stand alone on your own solid ground, leave him to do the same, a tender space between you. (233)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , library book , Simon and Schuster , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Rules of the Road (YA)

Rules of the Road. Joan Bauer. 1998/2005. Penguin. 208 pages.

I leaped onto the sliding ladder in the back room of Gladstone's Shoe Store of Chicago, gave it a shove, and glided fast toward the end of the floor to ceiling shelves of shoeboxes.

I love Rules of the Road. I think it is my favorite and best Joan Bauer book. (In case you haven't read her, you should! You really should! She's fabulous!) I read this one in pre-blog days, so this is my first opportunity to gush about how wonderful it is.

Jenna Boller, our heroine, has a part-time job selling shoes. And it's a job that she enjoys very much--especially on days when her drunk father doesn't show up at the store to embarrass her. So Jenna is quite surprised when Mrs. Gladstone, the owner of the Gladstone company, asks her to drive her across country to visit all her stores before the big meeting in August. Surprised because Jenna is relatively a new driver. Surprised because she could have hired anyone, confided in anyone. But these two have a way of bringing out the best in one another. And a wonderfully odd friendship begins. Together these two will cover many, many miles. They'll have many opportunities to discuss the meaning of life. (Not that they'd ever call it that, mind you!) Each woman has their own battle to fight. Mrs. Gladstone struggling to hold onto her company, fighting her greedy son and stockholders. Jenna struggling to deal with her life, her father. Does he have any place in her life? Should she work at forgiving him so she can move on with her life? Is the anger and anxiety worth it? How do you stop worrying though? How do you stop hating? How can you turn your feelings off and on? She has a dad-shaped hole in her life, and it's a hole that is hard to ignore...

I loved this one. I loved the characters. I loved the writing. I would definitely recommend it!

I thought of all the good drivers I'd ever seen, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what made them that way. They just got behind the wheel, drove, and didn't run into things. The not running into things was important. (25)

Opal couldn't cope with my dateless state and kept trying to fix me up with sub-par guys like Morris, her second cousin twice removed, who, believe me, you want to be removed from at least twice. (31)

My grandma always said that people who snored were sleeping with enthusiasm. I tried to remember this, but there's just so much enthusiasm a person can handle in close quarters. (49)

I learned great road truths that teenagers aren't always exposed to.
Never go into a restaurant with a sign that says GOOD EATS.
Never eat at a place called MOM'S, because it's a safe bet Mom's been dead for years and whoever's in the kitchen didn't have a working relationship with her.
If you see four or more pickups in front of a diner, chances are you'll get a good meal. (113-4)

"I thought people in Texas were laid back," I shouted as two mega-trucks thundered by.
"They are," Mrs. Gladstone said happily, "except on the road." (121)

My grandma always said that God made libraries so that people didn't have any excuse to be stupid. Close to everything a human being needed to know was somewhere in the library. There was plenty I needed to know. (142)

It's the little things, not just in selling, but in life that make the difference. The small moments when you can touch another person. Harry Bender was always looking for them and he found more than any person I'd ever met. (146)

You know the thing about hope, how it sneaks up behind you when you're sure everything's in the toilet, and starts whispering to you that maybe, just maybe, things could turn around. That's the gift Harry gave us that night. Some people, all you have to do is stand next to them and you feel protected. Mrs. Gladstone said he was always like that, too, a presence of hope, even after all he'd been through, able to laugh darkness in the face. I wondered if that came from knowing the darkness so well, he'd figured out how to beat it. (153)

You never know where the road's going to take you. I think sometimes it's less important that you get to your destination than the sidetrips you take along the way. (165)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 1998 , dysfunctional families , library book , Penguin USA , road trip , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Bloom (YA)

Bloom. Elizabeth Scott. 2007. Simon & Schuster. 240 pages.

I guess I kept hoping some kind of miracle would happen.

Little did I know when I first read Bloom almost four years ago that Elizabeth Scott would become one of my favorite, favorite authors. (Her other romances include: The Unwritten Rule, Stealing Heaven, Perfect You, and Something Maybe. Her dramas include: Love You Hate You Miss You, Living Dead Girl, and Grace.) All I knew was that I'd discovered a giddy-making romance that reminded me of Valley Girl. And that was enough, more than enough, to keep me interested, to keep me wanting more.

Lauren, our heroine, is unhappy. She knows she should be happy, be content, with her life. Her boyfriend, Dave, is perfect. Everyone says so, so it must be so. But their romance has no sizzle. It's as exciting as watching grass grow. Remembering their early days, Lauren isn't sure if it was ever love--if there was ever a spark of passion, of love, between them. It was just so new, so exciting, to be wanted by someone, and not just anyone, but someone so popular, so loved.

Katie, her best friend, is someone she doesn't trust to listen to her problems. Perhaps because she knows that Katie's boyfriend is such good friends with Dave. Or perhaps because Katie monopolizes what time they do have together by talking about her boyfriend, her life, her problems. Would Katie listen if Lauren tried to speak up? We'll never know. It's certainly not Katie's fault--as a friend--that Lauren never makes the attempt to be open and honest.

For Lauren is not being open and honest with anyone in her life--not her boyfriend, not her best friend, not her dad. But there is one guy in her life, a new guy who is no stranger, Evan Kirkland. For a few months, these two were childhood friends. He being the son of her father's girlfriend, Mary. But when that relationship fell apart--as all her father's relationships fell apart--the two lost touch. Evan, all grown-up, takes Lauren's breath away. He's swoon-worthy in a non-traditional way. He's someone that for better or worse, Lauren can't help wanting and needing. With him, she can be real, she can be herself, she can be open and honest, she can be vulnerable and needy. Dave and Evan are complete opposites. Only one guy is right for her, but will she be brave enough to make the right choice? Or will she let what 'everyone else thinks' keep her from finding what her heart wants most: unconditional love.

I suddenly realize that he's nervous, just like me, but he went ahead and took a chance. People don't usually do that. I mean, I know people think teenagers hang naked out of cars and whatever, but you know, high school isn't an environment that encourages you to do anything other than exactly what everyone else is doing. (51)

"Are you late to work?" I ask.
"A little. They offered me extra hours this week, and I can take them so..."
"I'm sorry," I say. "You didn't have to drive me home."
"I know. I wanted to."
He wanted to. I may be sitting in his car, but really I'm floating. (56)

I would definitely recommend this one! I'd recommend all of Elizabeth Scott's books!


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2007 , library book , Simon and Schuster , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Close to Famous (MG)

Close to Famous. Joan Bauer. 2011. Penguin. 240 pages.

The last place I thought I'd be when this day began is where I am, which is in a car. Mama's car to be exact, and she's driving headstrong through downtown Memphis with an Elvis impersonator on our tail. I know the Elvis; his name is Huck. 

Foster and her mom are on the run from an abusive boyfriend when the novel opens. They end up in Culpepper, West Virginia. At first Foster isn't sure of this new town, this new place. Small is small and the opportunities seem a bit limited. Foster has big dreams of being a baker, and in Memphis she'd had the opportunity to 'help' at a local bakery. And well, there are only three restaurants in town--an Arby's, a Pizza Hut, and a local place called Angry Wayne's. Her mom, a back-up singer, may manage to find a job at the local hardware store. But Culpepper doesn't seem to be a town with much promise. Then again, Foster doesn't appear to be a kid with much promise. Not until you know her, not until you've tasted one of her delicious cupcakes. Not until you find out about her incredible memory--she cooks everything by memory. And most of her recipes come from the Food Network.

Foster is dreaming of fame, dreaming of her own cooking show, while her neighbor Miss Charleena is recovering from fame. She's had it all. A big movie career in Hollywood, a marriage to a beautiful guy, but it left a sour taste in her mouth. Now she's hiding away in a small town at times dreaming of a big comeback and at other times too depressed to even want to leave her bedroom. Miss Charleena comes to care for Foster, discovers her secret, and is determined to help her young friend. Foster may just give Miss Charleena some unexpected help as well.

I liked this one. It was well written. The characters were wonderfully developed. The small town is given a chance to shine. It's a great little novel with a couple of great messages. It deals with economic struggles, abusive homes, and illiteracy, yet it does it in a natural way, for the most part. I'm not sure I completely believe the big showdown where cupcakes save the day. But there were so many things I liked about it, that it is easy for me to recommend.

"Waiting," he told me, "is a powerful thing. Most folks today just rush off to get something done. You learn to wait, my young friend. You learn to wait and listen and not be afraid of the quiet. Too much noise in this old world. On a battlefield when you're getting shot at, you don't have time to think things through. You've just got to do as you've been trained and follow your best instincts. It's here in the quiet waiting for a fish that you can fill up for when the tough times come."
I knew I'd heard something important. I wondered if he'd taken me fishing to tell me that. (181)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , coming of age , friendship , J Fiction , J Realistic Fiction , library book , Penguin USA , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction

Five Flavors of Dumb (YA)

Five Flavors of Dumb. Antony John. 2010. [November 2010] Penguin. 352 pages.

For the record, I wasn't around the day they decided to become Dumb. If I'd been their manager back then I'd have pointed out that the name, while accurate, was not exactly smart. It just encouraged people to question the band's intelligence, maybe even their sanity. And the way I saw it, Dumb didn't have much of it. But they weren't in the mood to be reasoned with. They'd just won Seattle's annual Teen Battle of the Bands, and they were milking their fifteen minutes for all it was worth.

I loved this one. I just loved it. One of the reasons why I loved it so much was the narration. I loved our narrator, Piper. She's a (beautiful) girl who is accustomed to not being heard. Most people--if they notice her at all--notice her for the wrong reasons. Something that will be challenged through the course of the novel. Piper is practically daring people to take notice of her now. For this deaf girl is about to take on a big challenge: she's going to be a manager of a rock band. She's determined to make this band a real band--a band that earns money. But the band, for better or worse, seems to be clashing in all the wrong ways. (Original band members: Tash, Will, and Josh.) In impossible-to-ignore ways. It certainly doesn't help matters that two new band members have joined Dumb since it won the Teen Battle of the Bands (Ed, Kallie). Can Piper do the impossible? Can she be the brains of Dumb?

Another reason I loved Five Flavors of the Dumb was the richness of its characters, the depth of the relationships, particularly family relationships. Piper has complex relationships with her mother, her father, her younger brother, Finn, and her baby sister, Grace. Especially since Grace has just had her cochlear implant turned on. And the operation was paid for with Piper's college fund. So, you can imagine, some of the difficulties Piper is facing as the novel opens.

I also loved how surprising the novel was--for me. I found it warm and satisfying, in all the right places, as the relationships develop and the plot unfolds. But it's more than that. Yes, it's got heart and soul. But it's more than that. It's got humor. It's got drama.

Five Flavors of Dumb is a great coming-of-age story set in Seattle. I'm happy to recommend it!

Winner of the 2011 Schneider Family Teen Book Award.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2010 , brothers and/or sisters , library book , Penguin USA , school , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (YA)

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. 2010. [October 2010] Random House. 272 pages.

Imagine this: You're in your favorite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You get to the section where a favorite author's books reside, and there, nestled in comfortably between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook. 
What do you do?
The choice, I think, is obvious:
You take down the red notebook and open it.
And then you do whatever it tells you to do.

Dash and Lily are strangers when the novel begins, but they won't be strangers for long. For Dash--snarls and all--is up to the challenge Lily has presented, for the red notebook is hers. Her brother, Langston, wants her to find love, or maybe he just wants to keep Lily distracted this Christmas vacation, so he can have more alone time with his boyfriend. Their parents are out of town. Dash's parents are out of town as well. His mom with her new boyfriend; his dad with his new girlfriend. Dash and Lily take turns with the notebook, challenging each other to do things. The notebook binds them together. They are getting to know one another through their words. (It's fortunate Lily has a LARGE family.) But should these two meet up in real life?

Alternating chapters--it's narrated by both Dash and Lily--reveal this whirlwind friendship set in New York City during Christmas vacation. Dash hates Christmas. Lily loves Christmas. But though these two have their differences--their different outlooks and perspectives--they have plenty in common. This red notebook is a fun distraction, but it is also good at revealing the character's vulnerabilities. Lily learns more about herself through this experience as does Dash. They learn that writing can be very enlightening, and that words have power.

This book is the third collaboration between Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. And it is by far my favorite of the three. (I did not care for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist or Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List.) I thought it was well written. There were elements of this one that I just loved. A few scenes that had me laughing out loud in the middle of the night. But as much as I enjoyed it--I didn't love it. I liked it. I really liked it.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2010 , library book , Random House , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Prom & Prejudice (YA)

Prom & Prejudice. Elizabeth Eulberg. 2011. [January 2011] Scholastic. 288 pages.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.

Lizzie Bennet is a scholarship girl at Longbourn Academy. And it's tough going--many of her classmates (especially girls like Caroline Bingley and Cat de Bourgh) take joy in tormenting her. Fortunately, she's found a friend in Jane, her roommate, and Charlotte, the second scholarship girl. And she loves her piano teacher, Mrs. Gardiner. This opportunity--as challenging as it is, socially--is once in a lifetime. And Lizzie is grateful, most of the time. If only her school wasn't so prom-obsessed. If only every Longbourn girl wasn't expected to go with someone from Pemberley Academy. If only Collin Williams wasn't the only Pemberley guy interested in her.

Lizzie Bennet first meets Will Darcy through Jane. She's unimpressed. Sure, he's cute. Sure, he's rich. But. He's such a snob. (She happened to overhear him saying some not so nice things about scholarship girls.) And these two seem destined to argue if their first few meetings are any indication...but he seems to be going out of his way to see her. He knows her schedule at the coffee shop. And it's rare he doesn't show up for one of her shifts. He seems to want something from her, but what?

I loved this one. I just LOVED it. It's clever; it's funny. As a modernization of Pride & Prejudice, it works really well. There are so many scenes that illustrate this...

One of her conversations with Collin:

"Elizabeth, did you find your jacket?" He motioned toward Jane's red wool coat, which I was now going to be wearing until the end of winter.
"Unfortunately, no."
"Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. I once lost a jacket that I loved very much. It was corduroy. No, tweed. Brownish gray. Really, it was a fine coat. My teddy bear had a matching one. We often wore them together. But then, one day, I left it in a park. When my mother and I went back for it, it was...gone."
"I can see you miss it," I said, looking for an escape route. (101)

One of the scenes where Jane's younger sister, Lydia, "shines":

"I'm just having fun," Lydia protested. "You're so uptight." Her eyes grew wide and she started jumping up and down. "No. Way. This song was, like, THE song from camp last summer. I totally remember the routine we came up with. An up-tempo pop song started playing on the sound system, and before any of us could stop her, Lydia was on the dance floor, spinning around with her arms stretched out. In less than ten seconds, she cleared a space of about ten feet around her. She was relishing the attention.
Jane was horrified. "Please make her stop." Her voice was nearly inaudible.
I headed over to the platform. Lydia was doing something that looked like the Charleston, but with her usual manic energy. She started spinning her fists in the air and shouting "WOO!" every few seconds. I could hear the snickering as I passed through the crowd. (94-95)

I appreciated this adaptation. I loved what Eulberg added to the story. I thought it was a nice balance between staying true to Austen's original story, and creating a great teen romance all her own.

Points of Interest: Romance, High School, Popularity, Bullying, Prom, Dating, Friendship, Music (Piano), Modern Adaptations of Classics, Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice.

See also: The Lonely Hearts Club. Elizabeth Eulberg. Prada & Prejudice. by Mandy Hubbard.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Posted in 2011 , review copy , Scholastic , school , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance