Marcelo isn’t your typical seventeen-year-old boy. He refers to himself in the third person, is often confused by verbal metaphors, and isn’t crazy about meeting new people. He has “special interests†in religion, classical music, Halflinger ponies and little else. That’s because Marcelo has an Asperger’s-like condition that limits the natural development of his social skills and causes him to be obsessively interested in only a handful of specific topics. Now his father, a high-powered attorney, wants him to take a summer job at his law firm in the mail room so he can learn how the “real world†works. Reluctantly, Marcelo agrees. But from the moment he sets foot in the firm, he is confronted by people and situations that defy the logical way he has always approached life. First there’s Jasmine, the smart and funny head of the mail room whose natural beauty causes Marcelo to feel butterflies in his stomach for the very first time. Then there’s Wendell, the boss’s son whose slick charm keeps Marcelo constantly guessing at his motives. And finally, there’s the picture of the injured girl Marcelo finds at the bottom of an office trash can. Who is she? And was she hurt by the company that Marcelo’s father is defending? By the end of the summer, Marcelo finds himself made much wiser and sadder in the ways of the real world. But also much more hopeful about his survival in it. While this fresh and unaffected novel will be compared to the ground-breaking Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, it deserves a pedestal all its own for Marcelo’s singular voice and the artfully constructed moral mystery that awakens his awareness of good and evil. The Candide-like Marcelo will leave you viewing your own real world in a whole new light.
French Milk by Lucy Knisley
In this charming graphic memoir, twenty-two-year-old artist Lucy Knisley narrates her trip to France with her mother in photographs and drawings. Lucy is about to graduate from college, so her parents spring for the ultimate graduation present: a six week trip in the spring of 2007 to Paris where she and her mother will stay in a rental apartment and sample all the City of Light has to offer. In many ways, this is a typical travel memoir: Lucy lists and draws her everyday experiences, including all the yummy French food she consumes (she estimates having eaten at least 60 croissants and a “metric ton of chocolate mousse” during her stay) and the rich, thick whole French milk she drinks constantly. But what makes this lil’ blue graphic novel special are the very intimate and emotional details of Lucy’s life that are tucked in and around all the sketches of museums and cafes. She unselfconsciously chronicles the fits of depression she falls into when she thinks about leaving the security of school behind, her lusty longings for her boyfriend, and all the times her mother gets on her last nerve. She confesses her doubts that she’ll ever make it as a cartoonist and shares her self-loathing about her “fat American feet” that don’t fit into the sleek European-sized shoes. Lucy is on the scary cusp of adulthood, and even the delights of Paris can’t ease those growing pains. Lucy’s antics will make you chuckle and sigh in recognition, especially if you’re living through that anxious time in your late teens or early twenties. And it was the perfect read for me, as I embark on my own first trip to Paris today! Because of the length of my stay and the jet lag I’m sure to suffer on my return, please don’t expect a new post from me until the end of the month. So au revoir mes amis until then!
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
Sixteen-year-old Brit Laura Brown just wants to rock out with her punk band, the dirty angels. Unfortunately, the environment keeps getting in the way. Due to the violent global warming storms that keep ravaging greater Europe, the England of the near future has decided to lead the way to a greener planet by being the first country to try “carbon rationing. Everyone is issued their own “carbon card,†a credit card that monitors how much CO2 your personal lifestyle is unleashing on the atmosphere. Pretty much anything that uses electricity or gas causes the emission of carbon dioxide, so suddenly everyone is shivering and walking instead of turning up the thermostat or hopping in the car to run to the store. Laura’s family takes the new rationing especially hard: selfish sis Kim uses up all her points immediately then locks herself in room and refuses to come out, Mom joins a wacky women’s collective that believes in the power of positive thinking, and Dad falls into a drunken downward spiral after being laid off. Laura’s had it with all of them, and is too busy stalking her hot but aloof next door neighbor Ravi to get involved in their personal dramas. But it soon becomes clear that if they don’t learn to pull together, they’ll be torn apart by the blackouts, looting and fuel shortages that are devastating London as a result of the rationing. Like the sassy British cousin of my favorite eco-thriller, Laura’s in-your-face diary describes what it’s like to be a teen at the end of the world as you know it and still feel fine. In spite of the chaos and craziness that surrounds her, Laura still manages to rage, rock, fall in love and keep her head when everyone around her is losing theirs. A timely first novel that unfortunately feels all too real.
Death Jr., Vol. 2 by Gary Whitta, illustrated by Ted Naifeh
They say Death never takes a holiday. But he will need to plan for retirement at some point, which is why he decides to set up Death Jr. with an internship at Terminal Industries for the summer. DJ’s not sure what he thinks about this, especially when all his friends, including the charming empty-eye-socketed Pandora, the armless, legless Seep and the brilliant Siamese twins Smith & Weston, are heading off to summer camp. He’s even more disappointed when he discovers that dear old dad intends for him to start from the bottom—the sub-basement bottom. DJ is assigned to work under Mr. Cracy (as in “Bureaucracyâ€) who is in charge of collecting, collating and filing all the paperwork of the dead. The job is boring, but it keeps DJ out of trouble—until he tries to fill Death’s shoes and finds himself at the center of a corporate take-over, with the bitter Mr. Cracy leading the charge against his dad. Meanwhile, Pandora and Co. are finding that summer camp is not exactly what they expected, and are all too eager to come home and help DJ win back his dad’s job and reputation. This creative re-imagining of Death as a harried suburban dad and his son as just your everyday middle schooler with girl problems was funny and punny in equal measure and sure to please everyone from your bratty little sister to your high school librarian. A spooky treat for all ages! And if the lil’ bonehead makes you chuckle as much as he made me, make sure to go back and check out Death, Jr. (Volume 1).
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Cairo by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by M.K. Perker
What do a smart-aleck drug smuggler, a female Special Forces Israeli solider, an idealistic American college student, a disenchanted Lebanese teenager, and a cynical op-ed columnist in the modern day city of Cairo have in common? Easy! They are all searching for (whether they know it or not) an enchanted hookah pipe that contains a benevolent genie who has the power (“We don’t pull things out of thin air, we manipulate probability.â€) to make all of their dreams come true. The only obstacles in their way? A drug king-pin-turned-magician (who bears a striking resemble to Mike Myers’ Dr. Evil), the horned cousin of the benevolent genie who may or may not be Satan, and their own inability to work together as a team. If they can figure out how to do THAT, well, there just might be hope for peace in the Middle East. Funny, busy, and endlessly inventive, this stunning GN mixes faith, politics and fantasy in a way I’ve never seen before. The only thing I can think of that comes close is one of my favorite fantasies from ’08, The Dragons of Babel
King of the Screwups by K.L.Going
There’s only one thing high school senior Liam Geller is good at—screwing up. No matter what he does or says, he just can’t seem to please his uber-strict dad, a controlling CEO who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Unfortunately, metrosexual Liam is his former runway model mother’s son—popular, gorgeous and impulsive, all qualities that his father despises. So when Liam finally screws up one time too many (getting caught drunk on his dad’s desk with a nearly naked girl), he is sent to stay with his gay, glam-rocking, trailer-park-living “Aunt” Pete in upstate New York. Aunt Pete is about as thrilled about the situation as Liam is, and the two strike an uneasy truce: Liam will ignore Aunt Pete’s large collection of animal-print and neon colored spandex pants if Aunt Pete will carve out a corner of the trailer as a make-shift closet for Liam’s select number of carefully chosen designer duds. In an effort to embrace trailer living and get back into his dad’s good graces, Liam resolves to squash all the aspects of his personality that his dad hates and become the biggest nerd the world has ever seen. There’s just one problem—his impeccably good taste and inherently good looks keep getting in the way. Even as a dork, Liam is a complete and utter failure. Will Aunt Pete ever be able to convince Liam that what his dad views as weaknesses are actually strengths? Or will Liam continue to hide his light under the bushel of his dad’s sky-high expectations and unrealistic demands? Liam struggles to see what the reader and Aunt Pete understand right away–he is massively talented, but what he and his father view as “talent” are two totally different things. Not just another “my parents are ruining my life” re-tread, this very funny fish-out-of-water tale is also about discovering what you’re good at and staying true to your personal vision, no matter how outrageous it may seem to others.
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose
When Brown University student Kevin Roose told his parents he wanted to attend Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University for a semester, they were obviously shaken. After all, they had raised him to be a good liberal with solid Democratic values—where had they gone wrong?! Then Kevin explained that he wanted to enroll undercover in order to write a book about what it was really like inside the cloistered world of Christian college, and they relaxed…a little. The result of Roose’s anti-secular semester sojourn is this enlightening, balanced and highly entertaining book, where he shares his experiences with dating Liberty girls (“Hand holding and hugging are the only official displays of physical affection allowed at Liberty…and hugging only for a three-second maximumâ€), taking Liberty science classes (one professor provides physical dimensions for Noah’s ark and explains how the animals were in a state of hibernation so they didn’t need as much food), and checking out Every Man’s Battle meetings, “Liberty’s on-campus support group for pornography addicts and chronic masturbators.†But while some aspects of Christian collage were exactly what he expected, Roose was also surprised by how honest, kind, and funny his dorm mates were, and how much they struggled with the strict rules of Christianity that they professed to completely agree with. Although he was deeply troubled by the rampant homophobia that existed on campus and the anti-evolutionary stance taken by the faculty (some of whom are highly respected and published scientists) he was also deeply touched by the sincerity of these same students and faculty when it came to praying and helping one another through difficult times. Roose also really loved singing in the church choir, waking up on Sunday mornings without a hangover, and the surprisingly lack of pressure when it came to asking out Liberty girls. As someone who graduated from a (slightly) less strict Christian college than Liberty, and who no longer follows that spiritual path but still has friends who do, I really appreciated Roose’s tone, which was always open-minded and respectful and never condescending or patronizing. You can read more about Roose’s evangelical experience on his blog and website.
Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
After a summer spent hiking and becoming one with nature in the mountains of Tennessee, fifteen-year-old Carly has discovered she’s more turned on by Neil Young and peasant skirts than Ne-Yo and Coach bags. So she tries to trade the materialistic trappings of her privileged life in the blinged-out Buckhead suburb of Atlanta for a hefty dose of sincere spirituality and altruistic activism. Easier said than done, especially when she returns home to discover that her sweet lil’ sis Anna has sprouted some serious breasts and a smokin’ hot bod. Suddenly, newly noble Carly finds herself in the painful position of being jealous of her own sister, an icky feeling that lingers no matter how much she tries to rationalize it away. It doesn’t help than Anna is also questioning Carly’s god-given big-sister authority and becoming a serious boy magnet while the boy Carly’s crushing on doesn’t even know she’s alive. Meanwhile, Carly’s also struggling with how to get her ultra-slick dad to take her seriously, to assure her new BFF, who happens to be black, that she’s not just a part of Carly’s do-gooder, hippie make-over, and to convince herself that she’s definitely NOT in love with the boy next door who she’s known forever. Contrary to its’ super-cute cover and title, Baby Ducks has some serious meat on it’s pink-n-paisley bones. This surprisingly deep read covers everything from relationships and racism to socioeconomic class and spirituality, and contains lots of those interesting, uncomfortable moments that make you think. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Justina Chen Headley will want to snatch up this sister act asap. And just for fun, check out this video of Myracle chatting about friends, coffee, and Baby Ducks.
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel
In the latest episode of Kenneth Oppel’s Victorian steampunk fantasy, young pilot-in-training Matt Cruse and scientific wunderkind Kate DeVries go back up, up, up into the wild blue yonder, only this time they continue on—into the black maw of space. Since their last adventure in mid-air, Matt has been attending the Airship Academy to get his pilot’s license, while Kate has been busy presenting and promoting her zoological discoveries: the cloud cat and the electrifying aerozoanian. But when they are offered the chance to be members of the crew of the Starclimber, the very first vessel to go into outer space, they drop everything to be a part of the historic event. The project is plagued with problems from the beginning, including terrorist attacks by the Babelites, an underground group that believes Man shouldn’t tread on God’s doorstep, mechanical failure on an astronomical scale once they are aloft, and bizarre alien lifeforms that threaten to destroy their fragile ship. Still, cool-headed Matt has proven he can handle any situation, as long as he is confident of Kate’s love. But when Kate announces that she is to be married to another as soon as they land, Matt is plunged into a depression deeper than the blackest Black Hole. Can Matt and Kate put aside their romantic tensions to save the Starclimber and their fellow space travelers? Or will the ship fall from the sky on her maiden voyage like an astral Titanic, dashing her crews’ hopes and lives and the young lovers’ broken hearts onto the unforgiving ground? Oppel’s ability to write perfectly paced, page-turning prose has not lessened in this third volume of Matt and Kate’s sky-high adventures. I always know I’m in for a treat when I crack open one of Oppel’s books, and so far have never been disappointed. The pseudo-science in this one is especially fun, as Matt and Co. use actual principles of physics and biology to get themselves out of various stellar scrapes. While you can read this astral adventure/romance on it’s own, you’ll probably want to go back and hitch a ride with M &K in Airborn and Skybreaker.
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
“We held hands when we walked down the gingerbread path into the forest, blood dripping from our fingers. We danced with witches and kissed monsters. We turned us into wintergirls and when she tried to leave, I pulled her back into the snow because I was afraid to be alone.” Lia and Cassie have been best friends since they were little girls. They did everything together: sleepovers, ski trips, and, as they got older, starvation. Egging each other on in a deadly competition to be the thinnest, Lia developed anorexia, while Cassie became the bulimic. Now Cassie is dead, and Lia is left to fight her silent desperate battle with food alone. Haunted by Cassie’s ghost and the painful memories of two stints in rehab that didn’t take, Lia can’t seem to muster the strength to either kick her disease once and for all or join Cassie in what sometimes feels like the blissfulness of death. Instead, she drifts through her perpetually hungry existence a wintergirl, “a ghost with a beating heart,” not quite alive and not yet dead. She has gotten so good at manipulating her divorced parents and her shrink that no one knows just how close to the edge she really is. Deep down inside, Lia wants to hang on. If she could just find something to hang on to. Using lyrical language and a touch of dark fairy dust, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson shines a powerful light on the secret world of eating disorders. Her characterization of Lia is morbidly compelling, and once Anderson has you in the icy grip of her persuasive prose there is no breaking her hold until you discover what Lia’s fate will be. Brutally honest and incredibly well-crafted.
The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb
The Fetch is one of those rare books that took me completely by surprise. An inspired combination of history, religion and the supernatural, Laura Whitcomb’s unique if sometimes ponderously paced second novel pushes at the boundaries of teen literature, nudging the field in a startling new direction. Calder was nineteen years old when he died and became a Fetch, one of the few souls chosen to escort the newly dead into Heaven. Always dutiful, he has never wavered from his task even though he is nagged by feelings of insecurity and doubt as to why he was called to such a sacred post. But when he sees a beautiful woman with red-gold hair nursing her ill child, he falls instantly in love and is for the first time ever compelled to go back into the land of living in order to be with her. What he does not discover until later is that the woman is Alexandra Romanov and her sickly child Alexis Romanov, heir to the Russian throne. Once he realizes that there is no way he can take the woman from her husband and family, it is too late. Calder is stuck on the earthly plane, trapped in the bearish body of none other than the infamous Rasputin, the “mad monk†and questionable spiritual adviser to the Romanovs. Meanwhile, Rasputin’s soul is running amuck in the Land of Lost Souls, raising a spirit army who see Calder as their enemy and are determined to keep him from Heaven. Those familiar with history know that the Imperial Family comes to a tragic end during the Russian Revolution. Calder as Rasputin is able to save two of the Romanov children, Anastasia and Alexis, although they are stuck in a limbo between life and death. Now he must embark upon an impossible quest to deliver the children to Heaven and find his way back to the Fetchkind. Reading this book is like being lost in a fevered dream. Calder’s quest is hazy and exhausting, plagued with flashbacks from his past human life and avenging demons from this one. Years can pass in few paragraphs, while some legs of the journey take pages. Like Ana and Alexis, some of you will simply want to put your head down and go to sleep after several promising leads turn out to be dead ends. This densely written tome, loaded with literary and religious symbolism, is not for all of my teen reader peeps. But for those who savor a challenge and stick with Calder to the end, a paradise awaits. Whitcomb’s gorgeous descriptions of the afterlife are comforting and original, and my heart lifted as almost never before when I read the final few pages. Pacing aside, this strange bird of a novel is quite a start to the 2009 year in YA lit.
The Astounding Wolf-Man: vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard
My favorite superhero has always been Wolverine. So imagine my surprise and delight to discover this new wolf on the block! Cosmopolitan CEO Gary Hampton is attacked by a wild animal while on a routine camping trip with the wife and kid. He awakens from a coma to find that he has been bitten by the werewolf bug. Unlike traditional howlers, Gary can change into a powerful wolf man each night at will. He only loses control of himself once a month when the moon is full, so he takes special precautions to make sure that while under the lunar influence he doesn’t eat his family. He is mentored by Zechariah, a turtleneck wearing Sean Connery-esque vampire, who teaches him how to harness his powers and hooks him up with some sweet superhero gear. Soon Wolf-Man is taking a bite out of crime and loving every minute of it. Until the night where he meets up with a pack of his own kind, who tell him that Zechariah isn’t what he appears to be and that Gary shouldn’t trust him. Who is Zechariah? And what does some dusty old vamp want with a virile wolf-dude anyway? I love Jason Howard’s angular, sharp, square-jawed style, even though he takes a little too much joy in splashing the blood around whenever Wolf-Man raises a ruckus with some baddies. Still, despite the gratuitous gore, I really dug this story of a struggling superhero trying to find his way when no one will tell him the truth. The Astounding Wolf-Man has an impressive pedigree, penned by none other than the zombie-rrific Robert Kirkman, author of the awesomely awful The Walking Dead
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
In 1943 Louisiana, nineteen-year-old Ida Mae Jones wants nothing more than to contribute to the war effort like her big brother Thomas. She’s tired of serving on the home front, where all women can do is save bacon fat for machine grease or donate their silk nylons for parachutes. Like her father before her, Ida Mae has the flying bug and won’t be happy until she’s piloting a plane for Uncle Sam. There’s just one lil’ problem: Ida Mae is an African American woman, and although black men are allowed to enlist and serve in segregated units, women are not welcome as pilots or soldiers in the United States Army. But just when Ida Mae has given up all hope of realizing her dream, she hears about the WASP, or Women Airforce Service Pilots program. Due to the shortage of able-bodied men, the Army needs female pilots to ferry planes across the US to drop-off points where they can then be flown overseas to the battlefields and Ida Mae is determined to become one of those women. To the horror and dismay of her friends and family, armed with just her father’s forged pilot’s license and her light skin, she enters the WASP training program as a white female pilot. Her fear of being found out is quickly eclipsed by the thrill of flight and the close friends she makes at the training center. But her family and her roots are never far from her mind. Exposure as a black woman would mean expulsion from the program, criminal arrest, or worse. Can Ida Mae make it as a black woman in a white man’s Army? Will she even want to after facing discrimination, ridicule and the death of a dear friend? Sherri L. Smith’s fourth novel is a high flying historical adventure, full of thrills and spills, but also jam packed with fascinating historical facts about the amazing WASP and their unique brand of heroism.
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
Short and bowlegged with a snub nose, protruding chin and unfortunate tendency towards bad practical jokes, fourteen-year-old Halli Sveinsson is nobody’s idea of a hero. He loves to listen to the ancient tales of all-mighty Svein, the fearless founder of his House who never hesitated to settle a quarrel with cold steel and made the Valley safe by defeating and banishing the man-eating Trows to the windy moors. But that was long ago. Now the different Houses in the Valley settle disagreements by wielding lawsuits, not swords, and peace is maintained at any cost. As the second son of the House of Svein, Halli has little to do but twiddle his stubby thumbs and dream of adventure—until the arrogant Hakonsson family comes to call. Expecting hospitality from the House of Svein, the Hakonssons get food poisoning instead when fun-loving Halli dumps some dung into their ale. Incensed at having been made fools of, the Hakonssons retaliate with murder, an act that sends Halli on an odyssey of revenge. But unlike the warrior heroes of his favorite stories, Halli barely knows which end of a weapon is up and is soon in way over his head trying to bring honor back to his House. By relying on his wits and some unexpected help from the clever Lady Aud, Halli discovers that heroes are made, not born, and just because he doesn’t look the part doesn’t mean he isn’t fit to hold the sword. This is just a rousing, good old-fashioned Norse-flavored adventure tale, complete with an unlikely hero, a blood thirsty villain, a few terrifying monsters and an impossible quest. Author Jonathan Stroud, the hilarious voice of the canny Bartimaeus, inserts loads of his trademark humor here, even as he imparts a serious message about not putting too much stock in hero stories when our own adventures can be just as exciting. I quite enjoyed passing through Stroud’s Valley, and I think you will too!