Winter is a past winner of the National Spelling Bee, a stellar student, fledgling writer, and a early admit at Kenyon College for next year. She's always been a good girl and done what was expected of her. But then, a careless post on social media of a joke that falls flat goes viral. Suddenly, people she does not even know are attacking her online, calling her a racist or worse. And the outcry is followed by far worse repercussions: her title is stripped away, her acceptance to Kenyon is revoked, and her mother's career is jeopardized. Winter's attempts to apologize simply inflame mass opinion and make things worse. Her plans and future destroyed from that single post, Winter embarks on a search to understand who she is, how she can move on, and what sort of future she can have.
A surprising and thought-provoking look at cyber-shaming, microaggression, and so many other interesting topics, this is a book begging for a book club discussion (if you've read it and have an opinion, I'd love to hear from you!). And while the ending may be a bit naively optimistic, Sales has so many interesting things to say that I won't begrudge her attempt to "solve" some of the issue.
I loved the sheer complexity of the characters, who defy easy classification. Winter's evolving relationship with her African-American BFF Jason is particularly interesting and worthy of an essay on its own. The book's nod towards romance was also well done and complex, raising its own issues about prejudice. The adults do get short shrift, but Sales knows that her readers won't mind keeping the attention on the kids.
I do wonder if events have overtaken this story. Winter's own particular "crime" seems so trivial compared with the daily barrage of offenses trumpeted on the internet these days. It's hard to imagine anyone would even care what she had said, if she said it today. And that, in itself, would make a fabulous discussion topic.
Friday, November 16, 2018
Friday, November 09, 2018
Love Me, Love Me Not, by S. M. Koz
After years of abuse and neglect from her mother, seventeen
year-old Hailey is now in the foster care system, but she has a hard time
staying in any placement for long because her jealous boyfriend Chase keeps sabotaging
them. But on her most recent placement with
a wealthy and generous family, she may not need Chase’s meddling – she’s fallen
hard for her sexy foster brother Brad and gotten embroiled in an illicit tryst
with him.
Finally offered an opportunity to graduate, maybe even go to
college and make a future for herself, will she risk throwing it all away for
a guy? Well, you can pretty much can guess
what comes next and how it turns out!
Occasional moments of implausible events aside, this was an
entertaining read. Nothing too heavy and
the pace was brisk. I was disturbed
however by the premise of the romance.
Koz works hard to convince us that the boy isn’t exploiting Hailey, but
there’s so many levels of inappropriateness taking place here (Hailey's emotional vulnerability, the class differences, the fact that Brad's family is providing shelter and material well-being, etc.). And the damage done, while depicted, is
played down. The romance was simply too
creepy for me to take as the blissful True Love thing Koz wanted to show it as.
Invisible Ghosts, by Robyn Schneider
Rose doesn't need to grieve over the death, at age 15, of her older brother Logan because she's been able to interact with his ghost for the past several years. They watch old TV
shows together (Buffy, Star Trek, Dr Who, etc.). In doing so, she's allowed other social outlets to wane. Obviously, explaining this to anyone is out of the question: if she told them that she was hanging out with her brother's ghost, they would think she was crazy! As far as she knows, she's the only one who knows he's there.
That comfortable status quo though is thrown off with the return to town of her former neighbor Jamie. They were close as children and in the intervening years, he's grown into a very handsome boy. But what really draws them together is the realization that he can see Logan as well!
While it comforts Rose that she's not crazy, Jamie's appearance threatens the relationship between Rose and her brother. Falling in love, Rose spends more time with Jamie and less time with Logan. Jealous and increasingly worried that Rose no longer needs him as much as he needs her, Logan becomes possessive and violent.
A quirky ghost story, or as one character puts it, "a love story with a ghost," but the story meanders. There are some clever parts (like having a school production of Dracula), but so many ideas are not fully developed, be it Rose's affinity for costuming or Rose's growing independence (first from her passive social life and then finally from her brother), Jamie's ability to communicate with ghosts, and even Logan's growing instability. Throughout, Schneider struggles to develop and complete her ideas. So, while there are many lovely parts to the book (and a very satisfying conclusion), the overall story is a frustrating string of incomplete thoughts.
That comfortable status quo though is thrown off with the return to town of her former neighbor Jamie. They were close as children and in the intervening years, he's grown into a very handsome boy. But what really draws them together is the realization that he can see Logan as well!
While it comforts Rose that she's not crazy, Jamie's appearance threatens the relationship between Rose and her brother. Falling in love, Rose spends more time with Jamie and less time with Logan. Jealous and increasingly worried that Rose no longer needs him as much as he needs her, Logan becomes possessive and violent.
A quirky ghost story, or as one character puts it, "a love story with a ghost," but the story meanders. There are some clever parts (like having a school production of Dracula), but so many ideas are not fully developed, be it Rose's affinity for costuming or Rose's growing independence (first from her passive social life and then finally from her brother), Jamie's ability to communicate with ghosts, and even Logan's growing instability. Throughout, Schneider struggles to develop and complete her ideas. So, while there are many lovely parts to the book (and a very satisfying conclusion), the overall story is a frustrating string of incomplete thoughts.
Friday, November 02, 2018
Learning to Breathe, by Janice Lynn Mather
Growing up in a poor and dysfunctional family on an island in the Bahamas, Indy has had to deal with the reputation that her mother has left her with. And being nicknamed "Doubles" on account of the size of her breasts hasn't helped either. When her grandmother sends her away to live in Nassau with family, it seems she may have another chance. But no sooner does she arrive than her cousin starts to sexually abuse her, eventually getting her pregnant. Knowing without a doubt that she'll be thrown out on the street if her aunt finds out she is pregnant, Indy starts to unravel, missing school and staying away from home to avoid the cousin. But then a fortuitous encounter with some sympathetic adults gives her an opportunity to fix things, if only she can find the inner strength to speak out and defend herself.
Sort of a Bahama-flavored Speak, what will surprise readers the most about the story is what it is not about: class and poverty. While there is plenty of patois in the speech of the characters to make it clear where this take place, the setting seemed quite universal. There was little here to exclusively place this in the Bahamas. What there is in this novel is an engrossing heroine and many other vivid supporting characters. There's some shocking cruelty depicted here, but it is balanced by plenty of kindness, as the adults generally rise to the occasion.
I found the story engrossing and hard to put down.
Sort of a Bahama-flavored Speak, what will surprise readers the most about the story is what it is not about: class and poverty. While there is plenty of patois in the speech of the characters to make it clear where this take place, the setting seemed quite universal. There was little here to exclusively place this in the Bahamas. What there is in this novel is an engrossing heroine and many other vivid supporting characters. There's some shocking cruelty depicted here, but it is balanced by plenty of kindness, as the adults generally rise to the occasion.
I found the story engrossing and hard to put down.
All That I Can Fix, by Crystal Chan
When Makersville IN experiences a crazy wind storm,
squirrels are falling out of the trees.
But the craziest thing is the old guy who lets his exotic animals go free and
then promptly shoots himself dead. For Ronney, it’s all
reminiscent of when his father tried to off himself, missed his head,
and shot his shoulder instead. With Dad
now stuck in a depressive funk and Mom doped up on prescription pills, it falls
on Ronney to take care of his family and his little sister Mina. And along the way, he’s picked up the
attention of a very focused young boy named Sam who is convinced that Ronney
should help him find his older brother, who has run away from home.
Wild animals are on the loose and they are hungry. When these lions and tigers and hyenas
and pythons (some fifty-odd animals in all) start mauling the locals, the locals
pull out their guns. Soon, outsiders
are coming in to join the fun and hunt down the escaped animals, which in turn brings in the anti-gun people and the animal rights
folks. And when the hunters can’t find
animals to shoot, they start shooting each other.
Now, if Ronney could just get his Dad to come
out of his shell and take care of things.
Their house is falling apart and Ronney keeps skipping school to conduct home repairs. Taking care of Mina is also burdening him. Thanks to his Dad’s failed suicide attempt, Mina is terrified of
gunshots, which in gun-happy Makersville IN right now are pretty much the only thing you
can be certain of.
The critics call the story “life-affirming,” which probably isn’t
true if you’re a squirrel or a tiger or a lion or a python. And probably not true if you’re one of the
humans in this high-body-count story that never quite takes itself seriously. Given the violence and how flippantly it is recounted, I really couldn’t take it
seriously myself. For me, there are other
problems. Ronney’s rants against his
father are understandable at first but just grow annoying and
repetitive. Thankfully, Ronney gets his comeuppance in the end, but I was really aching for it to come long before I
got satisfaction. Similar repetition
plagues Ronney’s relationships with his best friends (Jello and George) and
with the kid Sam. In general, whatever
the theme, Chan doesn’t seem to know what to do with it except repeat it again
and again. This only breaks suddenly at
the end of the book and resolution comes – in many ways – out of nowhere. The ending is satisfying but hardly
satisfactory in a novel that really doesn’t seem to know what it wants to say
and certainly doesn’t know how to say it.
How We Roll, by Natasha Friend
The good thing about having to move across the country from
Colorado to Massachusetts is being able to start again. Quinn can’t do much about the alopecia which
has caused her to lose all of her hair, but with a good quality wig, she may be
able to hide the condition from the kids at her new school. But new schools don’t necessarily give you a
chance to start again and with a little brother with autism, Quinn is still
going to have a rough time fitting in.
Still, it's not the issues that you expect that challenge you. The girls at her new school turn out to be surprisingly nice even when her secrets are inevitably revealed. Harder is her developing relationship with Nick. Nick, whose promising football career was cut short in an accident
that led to the amputation of both of his legs, proves more challenging. At first, she finds him to be someone who
understands her anger and frustration at being defined (and found lacking)
through physical conditions she cannot control, but the relationship grows complex.
A very busy story (one wonders if we really needed all of the
health and developmental issues in a single story) but they do all gel together in the common theme
of making the best of physical challenges and continuing to “roll” with them. The characters were mostly charming
and it was great to see some nice kids interacting (including especially nice girls), when so much children'sliterature focuses on bullying.
I could
have done without Friend’s half-hearted effort to give the locals an Eastern
Mass accent (which she does mostly be changing “-er” to “-ah” and tossing in a few
random “wickeds”). It didn’t really add much,
was inconsistently applied, and ultimately just became distracting. Another issue is the targeting of the story. The subject matter seemed more pitched at
middle readers, but some of the sexual scenes might be more appropriate for older readers
– perhaps a later tween or early teen? I'll class it as YA, but I think the subject matter may seem babyish.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Summer of Salt, by Katrina Leno
Every woman in Georgina’s family has had some sort of
magical attribute (her sister floats). And while the other residents of By-The-Sea
(their island off the coast of New England) are vaguely aware of the family’s talents, no one talks about it. Just as
well, as Georgina’s own particular talent hasn’t yet revealed itself.
The women run an inn and take care of the
“bird heads” who come every summer to watch a rare bird whom everyone calls
“Annabelle.” But this year, Annabelle doesn’t make her annual appearance
and the island grows concerned that the bird may be gone for good. Then, Annabelle is found dead and
mutilated and Georgina’s sister is strangely
silent and avoidant about the whole matter.
Suspicions spread that her entire family is somehow complicit. The truth is much more complex.
A bit hard to follow at point, the book exalts in its
depiction of a quiet island life. There
is a flirtation with a romance between Georgina and one of the tourists and a
late introduction of sexual violence into the story (which is subsequently
rushed along). But none of these
themes seem very consequential to the tale.
Instead, the book seems mostly to be about life on the island (and to a
lesser extent the process of gaining the courage to leave it).
It’s that generally languorous pace that makes this a hard book to
really get into.
Fat Girl On A Plane, by Kelly Devos
The eye-catching title alludes to the protagonist's struggle with inconsistent airline policies during a cross-country trip, and the humiliation of being informed that you are "too fat to fly." This takes place at the beginning of the novel, but the story actually has little to do with air travel. Told through parallel story lines, we learn how Cookie Vonn's life changed (or failed to change) as the result of a crash diet.
Cookie loves fashion and is a skilled clothing designer. There is little room in the industry for a 300+ lb woman and even less for her idea that plus-sized women deserve to be able to wear haute culture. She's determined to prove them wrong. As a fierce fashion blogger, she jockeys herself into a meeting with fashion icon Gareth Miller which grows into a professional relationship and more. Soon, she is on top of the fashion world, putting out a collection of plus-sized fashion under Gareth's label, embroiled in a hot romance with Gareth, and about to realize her dream of attending the Parsons School. Almost everything seems possible, especially compared to the struggles she had a two years ago as an overweight teen.
But life is not so simple. She is just as estranged from her parents as she was as a child. Her nemesis Kennes is still trying to steal away her success. And she's never managed to reconcile with the loss of her BFF (and crush) Tommy at the end of high school. It would seem that losing nearly 200 lbs doesn't really solve anything. Instead, Cookie finds that she must address underlying issues of anger, learning to let go of emotional hurt and perceived injustices, if she is ever going to be truly happy.
It's a busy book, full of themes ranging from nepotism to neglect, from fashion to life as a full-sized woman. Being an NA (and a Harlequin Teen) book, there's the requisite romance and pursuing career ambitions, and even some humor (Cookie's description of the ill-fated eponymous plane trip is as hilarious as it is aggravating). But with so much going on, Devos never gets too reflective and keeps the pace of the book quite brisk. That leaves lots of room for the reader to draw their own conclusions, but it leaves the story shallow. This is no where more clear than the ending plot twist that comes out of nowhere and sideswipes the conflict that has been building up. The postscript tirade against the fashion industry is lovely, but comes out of nowhere as there is no build-up for it. In sum, the book is enjoyable and a quick read, but really is all over the place in terms of the ideas it wants to convey.
Cookie loves fashion and is a skilled clothing designer. There is little room in the industry for a 300+ lb woman and even less for her idea that plus-sized women deserve to be able to wear haute culture. She's determined to prove them wrong. As a fierce fashion blogger, she jockeys herself into a meeting with fashion icon Gareth Miller which grows into a professional relationship and more. Soon, she is on top of the fashion world, putting out a collection of plus-sized fashion under Gareth's label, embroiled in a hot romance with Gareth, and about to realize her dream of attending the Parsons School. Almost everything seems possible, especially compared to the struggles she had a two years ago as an overweight teen.
But life is not so simple. She is just as estranged from her parents as she was as a child. Her nemesis Kennes is still trying to steal away her success. And she's never managed to reconcile with the loss of her BFF (and crush) Tommy at the end of high school. It would seem that losing nearly 200 lbs doesn't really solve anything. Instead, Cookie finds that she must address underlying issues of anger, learning to let go of emotional hurt and perceived injustices, if she is ever going to be truly happy.
It's a busy book, full of themes ranging from nepotism to neglect, from fashion to life as a full-sized woman. Being an NA (and a Harlequin Teen) book, there's the requisite romance and pursuing career ambitions, and even some humor (Cookie's description of the ill-fated eponymous plane trip is as hilarious as it is aggravating). But with so much going on, Devos never gets too reflective and keeps the pace of the book quite brisk. That leaves lots of room for the reader to draw their own conclusions, but it leaves the story shallow. This is no where more clear than the ending plot twist that comes out of nowhere and sideswipes the conflict that has been building up. The postscript tirade against the fashion industry is lovely, but comes out of nowhere as there is no build-up for it. In sum, the book is enjoyable and a quick read, but really is all over the place in terms of the ideas it wants to convey.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Screenshot, by Donna Cooner
While Skye, Asha, and Emmy are goofing around, Skye entertains her friends by putting on a slinky negligee and prancing about for them. In one of several lapses of judgment that fill this story, Asha posts a video of the dance to a social media site. While she takes it down quickly, a few days later Skye is contacted by an anonymous stranger who threatens to post a screenshot of her performance to the Internet. Skye, terrified of what this could do to her reputation, let alone to her plans of pursuing an internship in the office of a local senator, finds herself caving in to the blackmailer's demands. But how far will she go to get the blackmailer to stop? As the demands escalate in severity and seriousness, Skye is forced to decide just how much her reputation is worth.
That's the main plot, but a series of subplots hit at the novel's broader theme of image, the effort that people will go to in order to project a visage of perfection, and the magnifying effect of the internet on this process. The writing is not subtle and the mysterious blackmailer is not such a well-kept secret, but the story is entertaining and competently executed. Fine literature it is not, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
That's the main plot, but a series of subplots hit at the novel's broader theme of image, the effort that people will go to in order to project a visage of perfection, and the magnifying effect of the internet on this process. The writing is not subtle and the mysterious blackmailer is not such a well-kept secret, but the story is entertaining and competently executed. Fine literature it is not, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
The Universe is Expanding and So Am I, by Carolyn Mackler
In this sequel to The
Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Virginia is falling out of like
with Froggy. She's also trying to come to terms with her older brother’s fall from
grace after his suspension from Columbia for allegedly committing date rape.
Summer
is hitting her with surprises as her friend Shannon decides to not come home,
her older sister does, and she meets a new guy – Sebastian – an artist with
plans to attend Columbia in the fall.
And then her brother is arrested for the rape charge for the woman decides to press charges.
None of this stops Virginia from playing
tour guide and showing off the Big Apple to Sebastian and a romance developing. However, in one of those crazy coincidences that only ever occur in novels, he turns out to be much more intimately tied to her family than she could have imagined. And, as a result of this revelation, Virginia and Sebastian have to make some sobering decisions about their own relationship. They choose badly. of course, which gives us a story to read.
While dealing with the thorny issue of date rape, this story is
actually fairly light stuff. Mackler is
a great writer and can write really funny passages -- she's wasted on serious drama and doesn't dwell on it.
Virginia is one of my favorites characters from her novels and I looked forward to this
sequel. It did not disappoint. Virginia’s voice is mildly
self-deprecating but brave and strong when she needs to be. The ending is a bit too perfect for Virginia
(and the rape charge gets largely sidestepped) but wrap up feels good and not too
contrived.
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