Young Adult Literature - Speak

Anderson, L.H. (1999).  Speak. New York: Penguin.

Speak follows Melinda Sordino through her freshman year of high school.  The summer before, Melinda and her friend Rachel went to a party where a senior, Andy, rapes her.  Melinda calls 911, but is unable to tell them what is wrong.  When the police break of the party, the students blame Melinda and she becomes an outcast at school.  She even loses her friend, Rachel.  As the school year progresses, Melinda keeps her secret and slips further into depression.  She begins skipping classes and hiding in an abandoned janitor's closet which she fixes up as her own hideout.  When her former friend, Rachel, begins dating Andy she feels she must warn her about him.  She writes Rachel a note, but Rachel is angry and doesn't believe her.  She eventually realizes that Melinda is telling the truth and breaks up with Andy.  At the end of the school year, Melinda goes to the janitor's closet to collect her things, and Andy corners her.  He attacks her, but Melinda breaks a mirror and holds a shard of glass up to him.  Fortunately, some other students hear her screaming and come to her rescue.  Melinda begins to come to terms with what happened to her and she becomes a hero at school.

I really enjoyed this book.  I liked the way the book was divided up by the grading periods.  Melinda has an authentic voice in the book and the reader can't help but like her and feel sorry for her.  She doesn't know how to cope with her life, but she eventually learns how to express herself and come back from her depression.  I loved the ending, though I felt that, unfortunately, I think it was not totally realistic.  I think that in many schools, many students would take Andy's word over Melinda's and say that she made it up, or that it was consentual. 

Young Adult Literature - A Great and Terrible Beauty

Bray, L. (2003). A great and terrible beauty.  New York: Delacorte Press.

A Great and Terrible Beauty  introduces the reader to Gemma Doyle, a sixteen year old girls who has been sent to the Spence Academy after her mother was mysteriously killed in India.  Gemma is not like other girls.  She learns that she has the ability to open a door to another realm, and she and her new friends at the academy begin spending more and more time there.  Gemma also learns that her mother was part of a mysterious group called the Order, who could also move between realms.  Furthermore, a mysterious young man named Kartik, follows Gemma from India to warn her to close her mind against strange visions she has of the future.

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't one that captured me and compelled me to keep reading.  I was curious about the outcome and the supernatural aspects were interesting, but I felt that it could have been better.  I know that there are more books in this series, but I don't know that I will continue reading.  I enjoyed Bray's Going Bovine much more than this book.

Young Adult Literature - American Born Chinese

Luen Yang, G. (2006). American Born Chinese. New York: Square Fish.

Graphic novels are not the type of books I normally choose to read.  However, I did find this graphic novel to be interesting, even if it was somewhat confusing in spots.  The story follows Jin Wang, who has trouble fitting into school since he is the only Chinese American student.  Later, when Wei-Chen moves from Taiwan, Jin Wang doesn't want to be friends with him at first.  Jin wants, more than anything, to be as American as possible.  The story also follows the tale of the Monkey King, who tried to fit in with the gods, but was rejected because he was a monkey.  Another important character is an American student named Danny.  Danny is embarrassed each year when his Chinese cousin, Chin Kee comes to visit his school.  All three main characters learn about fitting in and being themselves.  I enjoyed the book, but I became somewhat confused towards the end, when Danny became Jin Wang, and Chin Kee revealed himself as the Monkey King.

Young Adult Literature - The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Pearson, M.E. (2008).  The adoration of Jenna Fox.  New York:  Henry Holt and Company.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox was an enthralling read.  I thoroughly enjoyed unravelling the mystery along with Jenna.  Jenna Fox awakes from a coma after 18 months to learn that she has been in a terrible car accident.  At first, she remembers next to nothing, and she begins watching home videos to learn about herself and her parents.  As her memories start to return, piece by piece, Jenna begins to unravel a secret about her recovery.  The book broaches the question of how much medical attention should be permitted.  Just because we have the ability to save a person's life, is that always the right course of action? 

Young Adult Literature - Amulet: The Stonekeeper

Kibuishi, K. (2008). Amulet:The Stonekeeper. New York: Graphix.

I was surprised that I enjoyed reading Amulet as much as I did.  I am not usually interested in graphic novels; however, I thought the story for this book was interesting.  My only complaint was that it was short.  It left me wanting more, and it left me wanting more details in the story.  I think that it would definitely be a book that teens would enjoy.

After losing their father in a car accident, Emily and Navin move with their mom to a house that has been in the family for generations.  On their first night in the creepy, abandoned house, their mother is kidnapped by a strange creature in the basement.  Emily and Navin must use the powers of an amulet that Emily found to free their mother. 

Young Adult Literature - The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Ryan, C. (2009).  The Forest of hands and teeth.  New York: Delacort Press.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  The title immediately caught my attention, and the cover art also intrigued me.  Mary's community is surrounded by a high fence to keep out the Unconsecrated.  The unconsecrated are zombies who try relentlessly to get those who are kept safe by the fence.  When there is a breach in the fence and most of the people Mary has known her entire life are killed or are turned into the Unconsencrated, she and a small group of survivors must go beyond the world they have always known to see what is beyond their village.  I thought this was a fairly unique twist on the zombie stories.  There were times where the story dragged a little, but it was a worthwhile read.

Young Adult Literature - Night Road

Jenkins, A. (2008). Night Road. Toronto: Harper Collins.

Night Road is a different take on the old vampire genre.  Cole is a vampire, but his kind does not like that term.  They prefer to be called hemevores, since they rely on the omnivores of the world to provide the blood they need to survive.  Cole reluctantly sets out on the road to train a new heme named Gordo, with the help of Sandor, the heme who accidently turned Gordo to his new lifestyle.  Gordo is not adjusting well to leaving everyone and everything behind him, and Cole and Sandor know that they must train him in survival and their ways before he gets himself and others killed. 
I enjoyed this book.  It is not one that is full of action, but it is a fast-paced read.  The author focuses more on character development than anything else.  It is easy to feel a connection to Cole.  He is the tortured soul who regrets the choices he made in his past.  Sandor is more lighthearted and well-adjusted.  While Gordo is sullen and unlikeable at times, the reader can forgive him since he is tryng to adjust to the loss of everything dear to him. 

Young Adult Literature - Nation

Pratchett, T. (2008).  Nation.  New York: Harper Collins.

Nation is a book that I really enjoyed.  First off, it is a book that makes the reader think, which is always a plus!  Secondly, it is an adventure story, which I always enjoy.  When a tsunami destroys everything and everyone Mau knows and loves, he is left almost completely alone.  One other survivor, a girl named Daphne, washes up on the island.  Neither understands the other, but they begin to slowly learn how to communicate with each other.  Mau tries to understand why something so devastating could possibly happen to his Nation when the people worshipped the gods and followed the rules before them. Daphne learns to be useful and to take care of herself and refugees that begin arriving on the island.  Daphne also has lost people close to her and she doesn't understand how bad things could possibly be the will of God.  The book focuses on the necessity of having something to believe in, even if that something turns out to be a lie (as in Mau's case).  Nation  asks the question, why does bad things happen to good people, and why does God allow such things to happen?  The book doesn't pretend to answer the question, and while various characters struggle with this question in different ways, the book itself leaves the answer open to the reader's own interpretation.

Young Adult Literature - Shiver

Stiefvater, M. (2009). Shiver . New York: Scholastic Press.

Shiver appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Summary:
When Grace was eleven, a pack of wolves dragged her from her back yard and almost killed her.  One wolf, saved her from the pack and brought her back home in human form (though she doesn't remember this part).  Sam is a werewolf who changes into wolf form when the temperature drops.  During summer months he remains a human.  At seventeen, Grace is still obsessed with the wolf that saved her.  When she discovers Sam in human form, she falls in love with him and tries to keep him human.

Personal Reaction:
Shiver intrigued me because of the cover and the blue font.  Furthermore, I thought the premise was interesting.  I liked the unique take on the werewolf legend.  I also liked that each chapter began with the temperature to set the scene a little bit.  Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations and was a disappointment.  While it had some good points, I found it to be slow and boring in parts.  Also, the characters, especially Sam, were not believable.  Sam's voice did not sound like that of a teenage boy.  Furthermore, throughout the book, he writes lyrics in his head about things that are going on around him.  I found this habit to be tedious and annoying.  Grace is hard to relate to.  She is very self-centered and barely interacts with the girls who are supposed to be her best friends.  Also, she has an unhealthy, romantic obsession with and attraction to a wolf, before she ever knows that the wolf is a boy for half of the year.  The book also has holes in the plot that left me confused at times.  After Sam turns human, he basically moves in with Grace and sleeps in her room.  I didn't think it was realistic that her parents never noticed that they had another person living in their household.  I know that they were supposed to be busy with their own lives and so on, but realistically, even the most inattentive parents might figure out that their daughter has a boyfriend who is living with them. 
Overall, I can see where this book would have some appeal to certain readers, but for the most part, I felt that the action of the book was lacking, the characters were unrealistic and dull, and the holes in the plot should have been filled.

Young Adult Literature - Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Green, J., & Levithan, D. (2010). Will Grayson, Will Grayson . New York: Dutton.

 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a book with an amazingly unique concept.  John Green begins the book with a narrator named Will Grayson.  Green's Will Grayson has a large, homosexual friend named Tiny Cooper, and a friend named Jane, who Will may be romantically interested in.  At the beginning of the book though, he is not even sure if Jane is gay or straight since he meets her through his friend, Tiny.  In the second chapter, David Levithan introduces the reader to his character named Will Grayson.  Levithan's Will is homosexual and is in love with a boy named Isaac, who he has only had contact with via the internet.  Will has a friend named Maura, who wants him to open up to her.  Levithan's Will suffers from depression, lives with his single mother, and while he is not ashamed to be gay, he wants to keep this piece of information to himself.  Both Wills have difficulty opening up and making meaningful connections with people.  Green's Will prefers to keep to himself to keep from getting hurt.  Levithan's Will is similar in that he only knows how to become close to someone through the internet.  When Levithan's Will goes to meet Isaac, he makes the shocking discovery that Isaac never existed and that he has been talking to Maura all this time.  It is during this event that he meets Green's Will and they discover that they share a name.  Green's Will introduces Levithan's Will to Tiny Cooper.  Tiny helps Levithan's Will realize that he should embrace the person he is, after which Will comes out to his mother.  Will's mother is accepting of her son, and even has dinner with Will and Tiny.  Unfortunately, the two later break up because Will realizes that Tiny is more attracted to the Will's need, than to Will himself.  Meanwhile, Green's Will decides to step out of his comfort zone and begins a relationship with Jane.  Throughout the book, Tiny is in the middle of producing a play about his life as a gay teenager.  The novel culminates with the opening night of the play.  Levithan's Will goes to the play and invites all the Will Graysons of the area to attend.  At the end of the play, they all stand up and tell Tiny how much he means to them.