Blast from the Past - Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

So, I have to read this book for a comparison paper that I am writing for my young adult literature class. I read this book a LONG time ago, back when it first came out and I was really getting into LGBTQ YA lit. There are so many thing that I love about this book including two of my favorite characters:
Min: The main character Russel's best friend, who is bisexual! There aren't enough bi characters in YA lit. Or in any lit really.
Belinda: The straight girl who wants to join the Geography Club because she likes geography! yay geography!

I love how realistic this book is. The main characters, all who are gay to some degree, aren't perfect. The do spend a good portion of the book complaining about how it's hard to be gay in a society that devalues homosexuality. But unlike some gay teens in YA lit, they don't become dumping grounds for morality. They make mistakes and are assholes to other kids, which is totally real. (not very nice, but real). I'm specifically thinking of how they treat another student named Brian Bund. Brian is the school loser, and gets teased and assaulted on a daily basis. While some of the members of the club (Min, Belinda) think they should invite Brian to their club (even though they aren't sure if he is gay) others don't want to risk further alienation from the student body. And this sucks! But it's realistic to how teenagers are. Which I like alot. And I love how they start out this way, but grow and change over the course of the book. Yay for growing and changing! Hartinger writes teenagers as they actually would be, not how we, as readers (especially adult readers) want them to be. Good stuff.

The Fold by An Na

I bought this book a while ago at my bookstore, for some reason I put it on my shelf and forgot about it. About a month ago I saw the bright green cover and grabbed it to read on my break. The Fold is about a high school student named Joyce who is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to accept plasic surgery from her aunt to change the shape of her eyes. The idea of Korean women getting the fold put into their eyes, so that they might look more Caucasian is not something that was new to me. I can remember writing a paper in my freshman writing class at NYU about an MTV special I had seen on the topic hosted by Su Chin Pak (who is awesome!) I also recently watched the surprisingly awesome show, Jessica Simpson's Price of Beauty, where she went to Japan and met with a woman who was considering the surgery.
So while the surgery might not be national news, it is talked about in pop culture, especially on MTV. The book was great. Joyce was kind of aggravating sometimes, but the author more than made up for a lackluster main character with awesome supporting characters. My favorite was Joyce's sister Helen, who throughout the course of the book goes through a huge transformation of her own. The whole family is effected by both Joyce and Helen's dilemmas and that is what I loved most about this novel, it's description of family.
A lot of YA novels leave out important stuff that every day, real life teens experience. There is a great post on what's missing in YA at http://stephsureads.blogspot.com/2010/04/whats-missing-in-ya-lit-contemporary.html who is one of the best bloggers out there. There was also a recent NY Times article about parents in YA literature and how they mostly fit ridiculous sterotypes, there just arent any YA books with normal families. Now, I know that isn't true, and YA lit with well rounded families do exist, but they are far and few between. And while I wouldn't necessarily say that Joyce's family is completely normal, they are well rounded and realistic, and this is a breath of fresh air. I love reading about real families and the struggles they go through, and An Na does a great job of telling the story of this family.

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger

I am not going to lie. Part of why I love this book so so so much is that it takes place in Boston, where I live and I enjoy reading a book and shouting out "I've been there!" multiple times per chapter. But I also love this book because it is probably one of the most well written, witty young adult books I have ever read in ANY category, not just books with LGBT characters. This book also has many other things that I enjoy, here is a list:

Musical Theater
Julie Andrews AND Mary Poppins
Deaf Culture
Baseball
International Intrigue (ok, just a the daughter of an ambassador)
Dreams coming true
Unrealistic jaunts to NYC
Happy Endings

So much awesome stuff right? The book focuses mainly on three characters, T.C. Augie and Alejandra (the aforementioned daughter of an ambassador). T.C. is trying to get Alejandra to date him, Augie is coming to terms with his sexuality and Alejandra is trying to break free from her parents rigid expectations. It all culminates in an awesome musical theater production and other fun stuff that is too spoilery to talk about. There is also a really great subplot where T.C. befriends a deaf orphan who he (T.C.) thinks is a baseball savant. It might seem that the Boy rescues sad orphan from horrible future plot would be cheesy and overplayed, but it is totally heartwarming and touching.

This book is great for everyone to read, students, teachers, random adults, bloggers, everyone ever. Just go read it. Now.

Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel Fattah

Alright, here goes with my first review after lots of exciting changes! Ok, not that many changes but I AM going to try reviewing more books by POC and LGBT authors, liked I just said, one post ago.

This book is great, I can't really think of many other books that deal with the issues Muslim teens face, or actually any at all besides this one and Fattah's other book "Ten Things I Hate About Me." I read this book while I was sitting in my furnitureless apartment in the middle of Borough Park, Brooklyn. I had all hardwood floors and I repeat, NO FURNITURE. I sat on the floor for four hours, waiting for my bed to be delivered (damn you sleepy's) and read this book the entire time. So basically this book saved my sanity and boredom, but not my aching spinal chord.

The main character in this book, Amal, makes the decision early on to start wearing a hijab (head scarf) full time. Her decision is met with a lot of negativity, from her friends, her schoolmates, and even her family, but she sticks to her guns and doesn't let them bring her down! Ok, it's not as easy as that and she goes through a lot of inner turmoil and angst (my favorite) as she comes to terms with her decision.

Backing up Amal are a super duper cast of supporting characters, her four entertaining best friends, some cute boys, some bitchy girls, and her hilarious family.

Like I previously mentioned, the issues that Muslim teens face are not extremely prevalent in YA literature. I wish there were more books in general that dealt with teens facing religious issues and questioning their beliefs or their parents beliefs, or not questioning it, but embracing it and loving it. I don't have any particular religious ideal to push, but I think that many teens are struggling with these topics in real life and just like other things YA (sex, family, friendship, etc) religion is an important part of growing and forming your identity (for some, not all). Let's have some more of these books people!!!

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Well, this book was certainly a trip. It was kind of like watching The Sixth Sense and Fight Club at the same time. A lot has been said about the two different covers of the book. Bloomsbury sent out the advanced reader's copies (arc's) with the cover on the left, but there was such an outcry of rage, considering the main character is Black, that they changed it the cover on the right. (even though that model looks nothing like the way the main character Micah describes herself) The main point of this book is that you can't trust anything Micah says, and it is really hard to read a book where the narrator never tells the truth. One of the interesting things I thought about the original cover, is that that since it depicts Micah as white, does that mean she is lying about being biracial? Larbalestier says no, she says that her race is on of the only things Micah actually tells the truth about and while I am all for a larger range of POC (people of color) in YA fiction (and everywhere) I think it would be extremely interesting if that was something Micah was in fact lying about. It is confusing, at points, trying to figure out Micah's racial identity. I am thinking specifically of a point towards the end of the book. Now I can't really go in to what happens without giving away a HUGE SPOILER, so if you haven't read the book and you plan on it, and you hate spoilers, stop reading.






SPOILER: NO REALLY, A HUGE SPOILER WHERE I RUIN THE ENTIRE BOOK, STOP READING.
When she is talking to Pete, the new wolf that goes to live with her family upstate, she mentions that she is the only Black wolf on her father's side and the rest are white, even though her father is Black. Huh? I am pretty sure that her whole "I and generations of my family before me are werewolves", is a huge delusion and she is really just a psychopathic killer trying to justify murdering her boyfrienD and the entire story pretty much takes place in her mind. So if that were the case, she would basically be saying she is the only Black person in her family which I'm pretty sure is biologically impossible. So what does it mean?



END OF SPOILER













Is she lying about her race? Larbalestier says no, but that's the great thing about literature; once a book is published, it becomes open for a million interpretations and responses from the readers, some which the author might never had intended. Does that make them any less valid? That depends on which literary theory you believe in, and if you believe in reader response than my response and analysis is just as valid as anyone elses. But that's a whole other discussion. This is a great book, but it is very confusing. Read it if you are willing to scratch your head numerous times and go huhwhat?

Truancy by Isamu Fukui

Ok so listen up: when I first started reading this book I looked at the author's name and naively assumed it was a translation of some middle aged Japanese author. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I totally love all middle aged Japanese authors. But I was wrong. Surprisingly, Fukui is a college sophomore (!) at my alma mater, NYU. He wrote this book when he was 15 but the only hint that the author is not all grow'd up is that he actually manages to completely, and perfectly capture the disenfranchised teenager voice.
In "Truancy," an evil mayor of a nameless city rules the city and subsequently the educational system with an iron fist. Reading about how the students are treated by their teachers made me cringe, and I had HORRIBLE school experiences. Combating the evil government are "The Truancy" who will stop at nothing (even mass murder) to end the current regime. Caught up in the crossfire is Tack, who after the death of someone close to him, joins up with the Truancy to exact revenge. And holy moly does he kill a lot of people. This book is not for the faint of heart. As evil as the goverment, and as much as they deserve the horror rained down upon them by the Truancy, at times all the violence seems a bit excessive, which is something Tack realizes early on. This book is dystopian to the nth power and reminds me of my absolutely favorite book, The Hunger Games. I can't wait to read the sequel "Truancy: Origins" and then the third book comes out in August of 2011 (so far away!) I love this book so much it has inspired a new label. Top Book. I will hencetothereforth give this label to any book I consider an absolute must read for anybody, anywhere, anytime. I can't wait to keep reading.

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

Before I read this book, the only thing I knew about Lauren Myracle was most of her books were titled after chat room acronyms (ttfn, ttyl) I wasn't so keen on reading an entire book written in instant message format so I was a little hesitant to read Bliss, but boy am I glad I did. Bliss is the child of two draft dodging hippies who is sent to live in the south with her proper old grandmother. Bliss is super laid back and chill and into peace and love, so it's a harsh awakening when she gets to a school where there is one black student and rampant racism. There are also these weird interludes where an unknown character is doing crazy blood rituals and communicating with her kitty. Is it: Sara-Lynn the aloof, bitchy popular girl, Thelma, the hanger-on who just wants to be popular or Sandy, the fat girl who is teased by everyone except Bliss. The best part of this book is definitely the random history that Myracle throws in about the Charles Manson trials. Everyone at Bliss' school is obsessed with them and it is super interesting to read about all these women who were brainwashed and willing to kill for Manson. Good times.

Perfect by Natsha Friend

Don't let this girly pink cover fool you, this book deals with some SERIOUS issues, but not in a way that makes you think, "gee this book is sure dealing with some SERIOUS issues." Perfect focuses on Isabelle, an eighth grader who has a lot of problems in her life. She lives with her mother and her sister, all of them still reeling from the death of her father. Her grief manifests itself in her inabilty to stop binging and purging. The book focuses on what happens when her bulimia is found out and what she has to go through to recover. I read this book when I was leading a book club for seventh grade girls at the middle school I taught at in Brooklyn and they all loved it. It is the perfect (no pun intended) book for middle school girls because it deals with a very important issue without being preachy, but it is still an extremely engaging read. One of the main reasons that I read a ton of YA literature is to stock up on good recommendations for my students. This book falls squarely into that category.

This next pick comes courtesy of my friend Deena whose favorite number is 16. Thus, she picked page 16, book 16 and I ended up with the wonderful novel “Dark Angel”, part of the night world series by the incomparable L.J. Smith. The Night World is a series of nine (soon to be ten!) books that focuses on, well, the night world. Comprised of vampires, witches, werewolfs, shape shifters and all other things creepy and crawly, the night world books show what happens when various members of the community break the most important law and fall in love with a human. In Dark Angel we discover Gillian who is being watched over by a guardian angel, only does he really have her best interests in mind? Smith is arguably most famous for her Vampire Diaries series which has been turned into the SUPER awesome television show starring Mia from Degrassi, Boone from Lost and Maureen from Freaks and Geeks. VD unlike GG, is a perfect example of when the tv show actually exceeds the written material in amazingness. The show is awesome, the books are kind of lame. But that doesn’t really have anything to do with Dark Angel does it? Oh well. What I love about the Night World series, is that even though each book focuses on (mostly) completely different characters, there is a clear story line that runs throughout all of the books. Soulmates and wild powers, ancient kings and the witch child, the whole series vibrates with intensity and all builds to a (hopefully) Armageddon-y conclusion. Which brings me to my main issue with the series. I read these books when I was in middle school. That was like 1997ish, and I think the books actually came out a few years before. But the final installment, Strange Fate, has STILL not been published. It is supposedly coming out in April or July or something, but there have been potential release dates for years, YEARS, what’s a poor, impatient girl supposed to do? Apparently “Strange Fate” is like 12,000 pages long so I am excited, and the first few chapters are available for consumption which gives me hope, but if I have to wait ten more years, I might go VAMPIRE STYLE on someone’s ass. I don’t really know what that means…

This next pick comes courtesy of my friend Deena whose favorite number is 16. Thus, she picked page 16, book 16 and I ended up with the wonderful novel “Dark Angel”, part of the night world series by the incomparable L.J. Smith. The Night World is a series of nine (soon to be ten!) books that focuses on, well, the night world. Comprised of vampires, witches, werewolfs, shape shifters and all other things creepy and crawly, the night world books show what happens when various members of the community break the most important law and fall in love with a human. In Dark Angel we discover Gillian who is being watched over by a guardian angel, only does he really have her best interests in mind? Smith is arguably most famous for her Vampire Diaries series which has been turned into the SUPER awesome television show starring Mia from Degrassi, Boone from Lost and Maureen from Freaks and Geeks. VD unlike GG, is a perfect example of when the tv show actually exceeds the written material in amazingness. The show is awesome, the books are kind of lame. But that doesn’t really have anything to do with Dark Angel does it? Oh well. What I love about the Night World series, is that even though each book focuses on (mostly) completely different characters, there is a clear story line that runs throughout all of the books. Soulmates and wild powers, ancient kings and the witch child, the whole series vibrates with intensity and all builds to a (hopefully) Armageddon-y conclusion. Which brings me to my main issue with the series. I read these books when I was in middle school. That was like 1997ish, and I think the books actually came out a few years before. But the final installment, Strange Fate, has STILL not been published. It is supposedly coming out in April or July or something, but there have been potential release dates for years, YEARS, what’s a poor, impatient girl supposed to do? Apparently “Strange Fate” is like 12,000 pages long so I am excited, and the first few chapters are available for consumption which gives me hope, but if I have to wait ten more years, I might go VAMPIRE STYLE on someone’s ass. I don’t really know what that means…

Regina's Legacy - Sweet Valley High No. 73

Oh man, I love the Sweet Valley High books. They are about two beautiful, blonde twins, Jessica and Elizabeth, who are a "perfect size six." Elizabeth is the smart, studious, nice one and Jessica is a crazy bitch. This book focuses on Elizabeth, who receives a sweet camera after her friend Regina dies of a cocaine overdose. These chicks are hardcore! While the book where Regina dies is much more interesting, this book is pretty good if only because it involves drug rings, the mafia, and Jessica dating a guy who is only interested in one thing: a photo Elizabeth took (fooled you! it wasn't sex!) So some crazy stuff happens, darkrooms are vandalized, punches are thrown and everything ends up all fine and dandy, except of course, Jessica is hurt by the guy who Only Wanted One Thing, which ultimately ends up to her alienating herself from her friends and family and joining a cult in book no. 82, "Kidnapped by the Cult."

Recently, Random House republished the first couple books in the series which made me super excited. But then, when I opened them up to reminisce I noticed something fishy. Instead of being "perfect size sixes", the girls were now size four! And instead of Jessica dreaming about a sparkly gold pantsuit with extra-larage shoulder pads and a chunky turqoise necklace, she now wanted the last pair of sevens. COME ON GUYS, the only reason these books were so good was how well they captured the amazing levels of cheesiness that were present in the eighties. What's next? Are they going to to stop swooning over Burt Reynolds in favor of Taylor Lautner? Are they going to to trade their matching lavaliere necklaces for tiffany heart bracelets? Are they going to trade their sporty little fiat in for a prius! Ugh. As long as they keep the six part series where Margo, who is conveniently identical to Jessica and Elizabeth comes in and tries to kill them and take their place and then HER identical sister does the exact same thing five books late, I'll still be happy.

You Know You Love Me: A Gossip Girl Novel

Sorry this imaged is smushed (but not in the Jersey Shore sense where smushing equals something far dirtier) I love these books, they are hilarious and witty and super juicy. However there are a million of them and they all kind of run together in my head. This pick comes courtesy of my boss Greg who likes to pick the highest number possible, when I asked him to give me a number from 1-30, he said 50. I made him choose again so he chose 29. Then when I told him to pick a number from 1-50, he was super excited and mad to pick 50. Thus, Gossip Girl.
This book is pretty much the same as all the rest. Blair and Serena fight and act super bitchy. Nate dates someone who isn't Blair and she gets all testy. Jenny is all innocent and freshman like, and Dan is a super sketchy, weirdo creep. The point of this is that the books are awesome and the tv show is not. In the books (as I just said) Dan is super creepy and a stalker and a lame hipster poet. On the show he is having threesomes with Hilary Duff!!! Oh Lizzie Mcguire, where did you go wrong? Also, on the show Vanessa doesn't have a shaved head and is way more mainstream then in the books where her anti-everything sentiments actually make sense. And Jenny? Don't even get me started. Taylor Momsen is like a crappier Courtney Love and Courtney Love SUCKS. The only redeem quality of the show is how awesome Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) is. In the books he is kind of a secondary character (who wheres scarfs and carries around a monkey, classic!) but on the show he is all, "I'm Chuck Bass..." And then he has sex with you in a limo. Or anywhere basically. He is awesome and his relationship with Blair on the show is amazing. It's like Cruel Intentions incestous sibilings Katherine and Sebastian all over again but without the incest. Oh well, you can't when them all.
So to recap, Gossip Girl books: yay. Gossip Girl tv show: Boo. Leighton Meister and Ed Westwick: Double yay! Taylor Momsen: Barf. Random cameos by Dawn from Buffy: holler!

In A Heartbeat

So for my first review I picked page 14, book 15 which ended up being a book I just read (lucky me) called "In A Heartbeat" by Loretta Ellsworth. (And I added a picture! go me with my computer skills!)

Here is a short summary from amazon:

When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differentl,y through her still-beating heart.

When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different - dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy - her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan's life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.

Told in alternating viewpoints, "In a Heartbeat" tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart.

Ok, so full disclosure here: one of my closest friends had a liver transplant a while back so reading books about this topic seem to hit close to home for me. I recently read a similar book called "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" about the exact same thing and I am pretty sure that Lurlene Mcdaniel has a similar type book as well. Obviously there is no shortage of books about this topic and for that I am grateful.

This book was great, Ellsworth compellingly tells the story of both girls pre and post transplant. We learn about Eagan's life through flashbacks she has in a sort of purgatory she's waiting in and how Amelia ultimately ended up with her heart. While the separate stories of the girls are incredibly interesting and moving, the best part of the novel is towards the end when both girls learn about each other and come to terms with life (Amelia) and death (Eagan) While I didn't sob uncontrollably at the end of this book like I did with "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin, there is a moment towards the very end that will make anyone choke up (but look closely, it's never fully explained.)

Overall, while some might think that this book reads like a slightly more literary Lurlene Mcdaniel novel, I believe it's worth the read. Amelia and Eagan's stories are heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time and anyone who has ever experienced any kind of loss will appreciate their tale.

Rating: four out of five stars.