Archive Page 39

Invisible by Pete Hautman

Published May 15, 2009 Award Winners , RAC , Realistic Fiction 2 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  149 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Award Winner:  Iowa Teen Award 2009-2010

Doug Hanson is the social outcast of the school.  He has trouble interacting with people, he spies on the prettiest girl in school, and he spends all his time building a train set in his basement.  His parents make him go to counseling even though he doesn’t think he needs it.  The most important thing to him in life is his best friend, Andy, who lives next door.  Doug admits that they have gotten into trouble together in the past, but he doesn’t like to think of those times.  Doug sees Andy as everything he is not.  He plays sports, has lots of friends, and even performs in school plays while Doug fails to interact at school at all.  Doug begins to realize that people including his teachers, parents, and therapist are deeply worried about him.  The question is whether they have a right to be.

There is an aspect of this story that is not immediately apparent, but becomes so fairly quickly.  Most readers will be able to pick up on it early on in the book, which may or may not entice them to keep reading.  It is unclear if this plot element is supposed to be apparent to the reader early on or it if it supposed to be a surprise at the end.  Either way, it is a plot development that has been used quite a big in movies and television.  The character development is strong in this book, but some of their motives seem confusing.  For example, if Doug’s parents are so concerned about his behavior why don’t they try to do more to help him before it is too late?  Readers who liked Laurie Halse Anderson’s Twisted will like this title as well.

We Beat the Street by The Three Doctors

Published May 12, 2009 Award Winners , Nonfiction 16 Comments
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Genre:  Nonfiction

Age Level:  12 and up

# of Pages:  183

RAC Book: Yes

Awards:  Iowa Teen Award Winner 2009-2010

This true story follows three young men as they grow up in tough neighborhoods and through sheer luck manage to escape big trouble with the law.  They find themselves at an informational meeting about a program that helps inner city kids become doctors.  The three make a pact to see it through to the end.  There are many times when one or another wants to quit and the other two have to remind him of why he wants to be a doctor.   The story tells of some of the trouble these boys got into as young kids and why it is so difficult to even go to college from where they come from.

This story does try to tell the story as accurately as possible.  The neighborhood friends and scrapes with the law are all mentioned in vivid detail, but in each instance they somehow manage to escape unscathed.  There are many young men out there who are not so lucky.  The pact was a good way to keep each other motivated and it is unlikely that all three would have succeeded without the other two.  Readers who liked Hole in My Life will like this one, but the writing is not as sophisticated as that one and often details are glossed over in order to move the story along faster.  An interesting story for those who like nonfiction.

Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss

Published May 8, 2009 Award Winners , RAC , Realistic Fiction 5 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  143 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Award:  Iowa Teen Award Winner 2009-2010

Izzy is a fifteen year old girl telling the story about when she was diagnosed with Lymphoma and how her life changed because of it.  This is a story about a girl who survived Cancer, but that does not mean it was easy.  Izzy had to struggle with terrible side effects from the Chemo, being treated differently at school, and even watching her family suffer as they watched her become weaker.  Izzy was surprised at how different people reacted to the news that she had Cancer.  Some people believed she must have done something bad in a past life, others kept telling stories of people they knew who had Cancer and died, and still others left her alone because they did not know what to say.  She missed the days when all she worried about was school and tests, but Izzy makes it very clear that her story is important because not all people die from Cancer.

This is an honest story about a young person with Cancer.  It depicts the many difficult aspects of having Cancer, both physical and mental.  Amy Goldman Koss wanted a book out there that did not end with a person dying because there are too many books and movies that end that way.  She wanted a book about a person who fought it and lived.  The reactions of Izzy’s friends and family were also interesting and might help any young people who know someone who is very sick.  It can be difficult to know how to react in a situation like this.  An interesting and quick read.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Published May 5, 2009 Award Winners , Poetry , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Poetry

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  530 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Awards: Iowa High School Award Winner 2009-2010

This story is told in poetry form and follows a young girl named Pattyn whose strict family belongs to the Church of Latter Day Saints.  She is the oldest of six girls and her father does not hide the fact that he would prefer boys.  He often drinks and then hits Pattyn’s mother and the other members of the congregation look away.  As Pattyn begins to think about boys, love, and women’s roles in life she begins to question everything her family stands for.  After some mishaps at school she is sent to live with her aunt who opens her eyes to a different way of life.  Will she ever be able to break free of her family?  Will she ever be able to protect herself from her father’s wrath?

This story depicts a very dysfunctional family through the eyes of the oldest teenager daughter.  She struggles with finding right and wrong and wonders if she is wrong to want a better life than what her mother has.  The time she spends with her Aunt is refreshing as Pattyn begins to learn and grow in a bigger world than the one her family has shown her.  Her summer romance with Ethan shows her what a good relationship is like with open communication and mutual respect.  The story ends ambiguously and many readers will wonder what actually happens to Pattyn.  The ending reminds readers that sometimes there is no happy ending for the characters you have come to care about.  This is a serious book that discusses serious issues.  Fans of A Child Called It or The Rules of Survival will find this interesting.  Those looking for a lighthearted romance need to keep looking.

Fade to Black by Alex Flinn

Published April 29, 2009 Award Winners , Realistic Fiction 1 Comment

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  184

RAC Book:  Yes

Awards:  Iowa High School Award Winner 2009-2010

This book follows three different perspectives:  Alex, Clinton, and Daria.  Alex is a new student in a small town school where everyone knows he is HIV positive.  At the beginning of the story he is attacked in his car by a baseball bat.  The attacker breaks the windshield so that he is cut by the glass.  Daria, a student with Down Syndrome, is the only witness and believes the assailant to be Clinton Cole.  Clinton has made it known that he is afraid of catching AIDS and wants Alex to leave the school, but swears he did not do this crime.   Did Clinton do this and if he did not will he be punished anyway?

The three perspectives in this book help the reader to understand where each character is coming from.  As the three perspectives follow the events after the attack it becomes clear that Alex and Clinton both have many issues they are dealing with at home and at school.  Some of the issues they deal with at school are fear, guilt, and a desire to fit in and be “normal.”   At home they find that they want to please their parents without allowing them too much control over their lives.  This book emphasizes how difficult it is to be a teenager and be different in any way.  Teenagers are always wondering what if their friends are real friends and would stand by them during difficult times and these three people are disappointed by what they find.  This would be a great story for any high school student to read because it helps them think about situations from other people’s perspectives.  It also helps them realize that everyone feels self conscious about something and that people are more aware of what people say about them than those who say mean things realize.  Also recommended are Alex Flinn’s Books Breathing Underwater and Diva.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Published April 14, 2009 Fantasy , Mystery Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Fantasy

Age Level:  15 and up

# of Pages: 322

Storm Front is not a new release, but has recently come to my attention.   Fantasy fans should be aware of this series that follows a wizard names Harry Dresden.  He lives a difficult life in which he tries to make a living as a wizard while constantly being monitored by the wizarding counsel who are looking for any excuse to destroy him.  In this first installment, Harry becomes involved in two cases at the same time.  One is a housewife simply looking for her husband who has gone missing, but Harry soon finds that there may be some magic involved in this disappearance.  There have also been some gruesome murders involving magic and everyone automatically assumes that he is to blame since he is the only self proclaimed wizard around.  As he tries to clear his name he becomes aware that he is now the killer’s next target.  How can he compete with someone he has yet to identify?

This story is a lot of fun and includes a basic private investigator theme with magic and fantasy creatures.  There are some sophisticated topics and adult language, which readers should be aware of, but most fantasy readers will enjoy it nonetheless for its intricate plot and carefully integrated details.  It is easy to see why this has been a popular series and I’m glad I was introduced to it.

Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

Published March 27, 2009 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Mystery

Age Level:  15 and up

# of Pages:  319 p.

RAC:  Yes

Ellie Hatcher is a detective in the NYPD who has been a media favorite in the past due to her police officer father’s untimely death when she was a child.  Now she has been unexpectedly called up to help in a murder investigation that the lead detective believes might be involved with an online dating company called First Date.  Two female members of First Date have been murdered and they believe that maybe someone is stalking women he meets on this service.  The CEO of First Date refuses to cooperate with any valid names and IDs unless they have more information than just a hunch, which leaves them without a way of finding any information on any of the men these women were in contact with.

This exciting mystery has many twists and turns in it and keeps readers guessing all the way up until the end.  The mystery itself gets more complicated before anything starts to get resolved, which might frustrate some readers, but the last third of the book is very exciting and action packed as the details start to fall into place.  All of the elements needed for a good mystery are present and the clues for the end result are present throughout the story.  Fans of murder mystery stories will enjoy this book.

 

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

Published March 24, 2009 Adventure , RAC , Realistic Fiction 8 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Adventure

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  191

RAC Book:  Yes

This book is based on a true story about a Boy Scout Troop who go into Halape, Hawaii for a weekend campout.  When an earthquake strikes unexpectedly and causes a tsunami, the boys’ survival skills are put to the test.  All of the boys are put in peril and although some of them do not get along, must work together in order to survive.

The fact that this story is based on fact makes it all the more exciting and adventuresome.  As the boys strive to survive this ordeal they come to learn a lot about themselves and each other and begin to appreciate each of their different backgrounds.  Readers who enjoy reading about true survival stories should not miss this one.  It is mainly catalogued as fiction because a few minor details have been changed, but the body of the story is based on fact.  Overall, this is an exciting and suspenseful journey.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin Van Draanen

Published February 10, 2009 RAC , Realistic Fiction 3 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  13 and up

# of Pages:  294 p.

RAC Book:  yes

Evangeline is going through a difficult time as her parents have recently separated due to her father’s infidelity and she cannot bring herself to even look at him let alone talk to him.  Her best friend, Adrienne, is very supportive but is also very involved at school and is therefore not around as much as Evangeline would like.  After reading one of her mom’s romance novels Evangeline decides that what she needs is a true “crimson kiss.”  In order to find her perfect kiss she begins going around kissing random people and soon gets a reputation.  As rumors swirl about her she must decide what it is she is really looking for and how she can center herself before spinning completely out of control and losing everyone she cares about.

This story is about a girl who is struggling with her parents’ separation and finds herself trying to look for things in life that she thinks she wants.  In the end, she discovers that she does not even really know what she wants and she must face some of the difficult situations she has been trying so desperately to avoid.  The main situation being that she refuses to speak with her father even after his repeated attempts to communicate.  The story is entertaining and will be popular with teenage girls.

Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson

Published February 3, 2009 Mystery , RAC , Realistic Fiction 8 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  260 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Scarlett Wakefield goes to an exclusive private school called St. Tabby’s where she has two best friends and aspires to be an Olympic gymnast.  She is shocked when one day the elite group of girls in the school asks her to join them for a party.  She immediately drops her best friends in favor of this new group which causes a permanent rift.  When she is at the party she ends up kissing one of the most popular boys in school and he unexpectedly dies of an allergy attack.  No one is able to understand why he had this reaction and why he did not have his epinephrine pen on him.  She soon becomes blamed even though there is no proof that she did anything wrong.  Her life becomes so miserable that she is forced to move away and go to the private school her grandmother is headmistress of.  As she relives that horrible day when Dan died she cannot seem to stop punishing herself.  One day she receives a mysterious note in which she realizes that there is much more to this incident than she knows and she is determined to find out what it is.

This story is interesting and captures the reader’s attention from the beginning.  Anyone can identify with the feelings Scarlett has throughout the book.  The mystery element also becomes intriguing as most readers will not know right off what actually caused Dan’s death.  The only issue with the story is that the ending is unsatisfying and feels unfinished.  Whether a sequel is planned or not does not excuse the fact tht the ending feels too abrupt.

Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi

Published January 30, 2009 RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of pages:  136 p.

RAC:  Yes

Miles recently moved to live with his musician father in New Orleans and is still trying to get used to his new city when Hurricane Katrina unexpectedly changes his life forever.  Miles, his father, and his uncle all end up in the overcrowded Superdome.  There are terrible living conditions, including not enough food, gang activity, and limited bathrooms.  They also lose the freedom to come and go freely.  Miles and his family try to make the best out of their stay, but face many hardships as they try to wait out the storm.  In the process, the people around Miles struggle to come to terms with the fact that their entire lives and the city they love are all gone.

Many people saw accounts of Hurricane Katrina on the news, but this book gives an inside view of what it would have been like to actually live through this catastrophe.   There are some violent and difficult situations that arise as people panic and strive to keep their families safe.  For anyone who has not been in a situation this sudden and severe this can be an eye opening read about the many aspects of human nature during a natural disaster.

My Life: The Musical by Maryrose Wood

Published January 27, 2009 RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 228 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Emily and Philip are two best friends who love the musical Aurora. They have accumulated a substantial debt going to see it every weekend for three years. Now they are shocked to learn that their beloved Broadway musical is set to close and there are no more tickets to be had.  Emily had borrowed all of their money for these tickets the last three years from her grandmother, who now wants to elope with her boyfriend and would like her money back.  This puts Emily and Philip in a bad situation as they have no way of paying this back and they can’t tell their parents because they never told them where they were going every weekend.  Can they manage to see their favorite show one more time or has their obsession ruined their lives forever?

This is a cute story about young adults who love musical theatre.  It is not fast paced or full of action, but students who enjoy the arts will find it amusing and fun to read.  Some young adults identify with activities such as sports and others enjoy the performing arts.  This is a book for those students who cannot live without the performing arts.  For students who do not know anything about Broadway and musicals they will learn a lot about this form of entertainment from this book.  This is a good book for those wanting something light that is not a romance.

Blind Faith by Ellen Wittlinger

Published January 22, 2009 RAC , Realistic Fiction 10 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  12 and up

# of Pages:  280 p.

RAC Book:  Yes

Liz’s grandmother, Bunny, dies before the book begins and Liz watches as her mother sinks further and further into a depression.  Liz and everyone else loved Bunny too, but she feels helpless as she watches her mother withdraw from everything important to her.  Meanwhile, the mean old lady across the street has some new visitors.  Liz learns that these visitors are her estranged daughter who is very sick and her two children.  Nathan is about Liz’s age and extremely angry about the fact that his mother is dying.  Courtney is younger and no one seems to want to tell her the true prognosis of her mother’s condition.  As Liz struggles with everything around her the one constant is her love of the piano.  She finds that playing the piano can help her cope with anything, but can she help those around her find their own ways of coping?

This story about life and death reaches out to everyone.  It illustrates how differently people handle loss and how all of their relationships are affected by it.  It also shows how important it is to communicate with people you care about, whether it be during a difficult or easy time.  When people fail to communicate with each other about anything it can cause tension and lead to bigger problems later on.

Host by Stephenie Meyer

Published January 20, 2009 Fantasy , RAC 2 Comments

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 619 p.

RAC Book: Yes

The planet Earth has been taken over by a species who need human bodies to live off of. This species takes over the human mind, but has the power to heal any physical problems easily and painlessly. Wanda or the Wanderer has been a host on many planets, but has difficulty in her new human body when she can’t seem to suppress the soul that lives inside it, Melanie. As her and Melanie struggle for power inside this one human body, Wanda starts to grow weary of her overbearing alien supervisor. She decides to go find the people Melanie left behind in order to see if the memories Melanie has of love and friendship are true. They are met with suspicion and aggression by these humans who have thus far protected themselves from this species. As she strives to prove that she won’t hurt Melanie’s family and keep them from hurting her she begins to understand the capacity humans have to feel and love.

This book by Meyer is very different than her Twilight series and appeals to a different audience. I think the action and scientific aspects in the story will appeal to more young adults and even adults who have reservations about reading about vampires, especially men. The story is long and a bit slow at times, but it is also unique and interesting. Fans of science fiction or even fantasy books will enjoy it.

Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney

Published January 16, 2009 Multicultural Fiction , RAC , Realistic Fiction 8 Comments
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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 14 and up

# of Pages: 228 p.

RAC Book: Yes

Jared Finch and his family have agreed to take in a refugee family from Africa that their church is sponsoring. Jared is less than thrilled with the idea of sharing his room, his house, and his school with total strangers. The arrangement was made at the last minute when the planned apartment fell through. When the family arrives they seem distracted and afraid of everything as if something is chasing them. Jared also starts to notice that they do not act as a family. They hardly speak to each other and no one seems that concerned that the young daughter, Alake, has yet to speak or show any emotion about anything. Despite all of his misgivings, Jared begins to feel compassion and love for this family as his family helps them adjust to life in America. His concerns are not unfounded, however, and a dark secret is about to expose them all to terrible danger.

This book discusses what life is like in Africa including child armies, cruel treatment, and blood diamonds. The Finches, like many American families, are oblivious to the fact that people have to live in conditions like this. They are surprised that this African family has never seen a grocery store before and therefore cannot even fathom losing family members to preventable diseases and being forced to do things they would never do otherwise simply because a gun is pointed at their heads. This story discusses real issues that are going on in the world and would be a great read for any person. In addition to being informative, it is compelling and interesting all the way through. Highly recommended.

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