Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233, by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Set up as the diary of Cathy, a 17 year old girl with an unhealthy curiosity about what her 23 year-old boyfriend is up to, this book tells the story of drugs, intrigue, and the Chinese mafia in San Francisco. The story however, is quickly dwarfed by all of the other elements to this package -- a half dozen real phone numbers (yes, you can call them!) and a bunch of web sites to research. Combined with copious illustrations throughout and a packet of 32 slips of paper (my library catalogued each of them!) that amplify and illuminate the story.

I found all the trappings a bit gimmicky and focused on the story, which was a bit convoluted and thin. However, if you like a mystery and want to have an unusual experience, then this is a book to digest. Some reviewers have compared it to an RPG and I can see how it would have a similar appeal. But I think the target audience is actually a bit younger. I could easily see a pair of seventh-graders having a blast researching every angle of the story and comparing notes. A lot of fun and hours of entertainment. As a read, however, this was not so exciting.

Haters, by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

When the studios option Paski's father's cartoon series for a movie and the two of them move to SoCal, paski feels like she has lost everything. And she's a bit fearful as well because of a premonition she has that things are going to go very badly. The thing is that her premonitions have a wau of coming true. And when she has a "vision" that the meanest (and most popular) girl in the school is going to be injured, she has to decide if she is going to try to save her or be just another "hater."

The first part of the book is quite good. Paski is a funny character (granted, with a lot of YA cliches) with an authentic voice. You want to be friends with her. But, for me, the supernatural stuff didn't work as well and the villian Jessica was poorly developed. I ended up feeling that a great character had been diminished by the rather silly story. And the ending combined the worst happily-ever-after set-up with managing to leave the most important issues unresolved. Great writing but a lousy story.

Anything But Ordinary, by Valerie Hobbs

Winifred and Bernie have been friends and soul mates through most of high school and plan to spend the rest of their lives together, even planning to go to the same college. But when Bernie's mother dies, his life takes a nosedive and their lives diverge. When Winifred goes off to college without Bernie, he's so broken up over their separation that he comes to her college and stalks her, not able to let go of what they had. But gradually their paths and plans diverge again and before the story is out, the tables will turn at least a few more times.

This very unusual and beautiful book about relationships, finding oneself, and holding on to what we have as we change our lives is an unusual gem. Perhaps not even a YA book (since the characters are more college-aged), it speaks to some very universal themes that will appeal to all ages. As a younger reader, I might not have appreciated the wisdom of this book, but as an older reader, I really appreciate what Hobbs had to say.

The characters are strong, not always likeable but interesting to follow. The plot is twisted but realistic and easy to follow. The conclusion satisfying. All in all, a great book.

First Impressions, by Marilyn Sachs

Alice has always been an excellent student and gotten good grades, so when she gets a C+ on her paper on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she is shocked. More so because she disagrees with her teacher's reasons for giving her the grade (Alice had written about the tragic nature of the character of Mary, instead of seeing her as a humorous figure). But as Alice re-reads the novel as part of a make-up assignment, she begins to appreciate the strength of Austen's novel and the ways it can give her strength in her own life.

[Let's quickly note my extreme distaste with any teacher who would downgrade a student's literary criticism because it was different or unusual (I recall a not-so-pleasant encounter or two of my own with literature teachers who were beholden to their particular views and graded on the basis of whether you agreed with them or not). To set up a story in which the great dramatic arc's end is to agree with the teacher is insulting.]

This is an ambitious, but ultimately confusing and disjointed novel. The story involves elements of fantasy mixed with realism as Alice find herself inside the story, re-writing what the characters do. A fascinating device but one which is used merely to point out that Austen is such a genius that a teenager is foolish to attempt to re-write her novel. Afairly unnecessary and even arrogant idea. As for a story, gthis is all over the place. Is it about Alice? Her relationship with a boy? Her mother? All of the above?

I am certain that within this novel there are plenty of wonderful allusions to Austen's work that I am undoubtedly missing. Truly Austen fans will probably find these clever stylistic devices and thus find something to enjoy in the book. In fairness, I'm really not a big fan of Jane Austen, so perhaps the exercise is wasted on me and I am an unfair critic or a lost cause.

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?, by Melissa Kantor

It's rough to be left by your Dad on the East Coast with his new wife (the witch) and her snotty daughters (princesses #1 and #2). Worse, you are either ignored or forced to slave away for the family. It makes you think of Cinderella. But life is not really a fairy tale and when the cutest guy at school starts to notice you, you have to get a bit suspicious that it's all too good to be true.

Borrowing a bit of Meg Cabot's it's-to-fabulous-to-be-real-but-boy-ain't-it-fun-to-read-about style, Kantor steers treacherously through realism and fantasy, creating an engaging heroine and a promising dramatic story. Lucy is pleasantly cynical and witty. The stepmother is both vile (in Lucy's descriptions) and strikingly realistic. But the ending falls apart as things fall too conveniently into place. This is a guilty pleasure read (quick and funny) but having set up a great conflict with a difficult family situation, Kantor doesn't seem to know how to resolve the issue and side-steps her way out. So, a disappointing ending on an otherwise promising story.

Razzle, by Ellen Wittlinger

Kenyon isn't exactly thrilled to be permanently relocated to Cape Cod from Boston by his retiring parents. It does not exactly help that the first person he meets there -- Razzle -- is so weird either. But over time, the two of them develop a friendship and an understanding that helps Kenyon blossom as he never has before. But another relationship with a promiscuous girl named Harley and far more damaging revelations about Razzle's past threaten that friendship.

I would not consider this novel to be one of Wittlinger's better books. The characters seem flat and unsympathetic, and the story plods along. Razzle herself is an interesting invention, but overall there isn't much in this story to recommend it.

The Parallel Universe of Liars, by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson

Robin is a big girl - a piggy- but that's far better than living in a universe of liars like the grown-ups around her (who are almost all cheating on each other and even leching after her). The one bright spot is a multi-racial friend Tri who may or may not be a boyfriend, but seems to genuinely like her either way.

The novel has some complexity and artistry (and even some clever layout and design), but it is not a terribly interesting experience. None of the characters really grow (I'm big on character transformation!) and you end the voyage wondering why you started. A book that neither changes the reader nor the characters. What's the point?

Easy, by Kerry Cohen Hoffman

Jessica's talent is photography, but it isn't enough. As she prepares for an upcoming national contest, she realizes that she needs something more: to be noticed and loved by others. And, although she is only 14, she knows there is one way she can get that attention. And while she fully realizes the danger of flirting with men, it is simply so easy to do and it provides her with the attention she craves.

This is an absolutely stunning book. Obviously, I don't know from any first-hand experience, but Hoffmann seems to have truly captured the eseence of adolescent feminine desire -- brilliantly balancing lust, insecurity, anxiety, love, and loyalty. It may help that she's a counselor, but a writer this good has to have both an ear and a heart. I was extremely impressed and highly recommend this book.

The book does raise a number of issues for adults. It's quite explicit (we've come a long way since Judy Blume!) and some parents may have second thoughts about kids reading it, but I would urge careful consideration. The sexual explicit scenes in the book are realistic and show respect for the readers (depicting both a strong sense of consequences -- one might even accuse the book of preachiness -- and a respect for life and self-worth). This novel is completely removed from exploitative trashiness. Part of me still is uncomfortable recommending it to its target audience of 13 and 14 year-olds, but I think the story it has to tell is important and true for that age group.

The Year of Secret Assignments, by Jaclyn Moriarty

At the beginning of the school year at prestigious private school Ashbury, Lydia, Emily, and Cassie are assigned pen pals at the nearby public high school. At first, the correspondance goes very badly as everyone gets off on the wrong foot. But gradually, as the weeks and the letters go by, the three girls get to know three buys (Seb, Charlie, and Matthew) who may be from the other side of the tracks, but are hardly anything like these privileged girls ever imagined.

I have developed a strong bias against Australian YA (because so much of it basically sucks!), so I steered clear of this novel for over a year. But it kept coming up in other people's "best of" lists, so I overcame my bias and dove in and was pleasantly surprised. I did find a few parts dull and the ending a bit too convenient (and silly), but there was some wonderful clever moments and some great observations on what being a teen is really all about. It had a good combination of emotion, adventure, and character development. It won't make my own "best of" list, but it was a decent read.

Aquamarine, by Alice Hoffman

Claire and Halley are spending their last Summer together ever. Calire is moving away at the end of the season. And, it's not just that. Their favorite place, the Capri Beach Club is also going to be demolished at the same time. In fact, it seems like everything will come to an end soon. But then the girls discover a surprise in the deep end of the Capri's abandoned swimming pool - a mermaid!

A very short book with a great deal of potential, but this one falls flat. Too many ideas left undeveloped and characters who just seem to be killing time, waiting for something more. Hoffman is maddeningly erratic in quality. This little novella needed more work and comes off as something that she just phoned in.

13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson

Ginny gets a letter from her late aunt telling her to pack her bags and fly to England. And somehow, although she is shy and reserved, Ginny does what she is told. What unfolds is a series of adventures travelling across Europe, meeting people and having experiences that she otherwise would not have. And at each stage, there is a new envelope (13 in all) for her to open to guide her on her quest.

This is a fun and lively book about the search for self (and also about learning some about your family). There's lots of local color and detail and most of us who have been to Europe (on our own) will recognize a bit of ourselves in the story. I liked this book a lot more than I expected to and can see why it has been so popular.

Better Than Running at Night, by Hillary Frank

Ellie arrives for her first year of art school and immediately meets the devil (and Elvis!) at a party. Actually, it's a guy named Nate, but in the end the relationship she develops with the clingy (yet unfaithful) Nate will become a sort of unhealthy association. Meanwhile, Ellie is also struggling to express herself artistically and grapple with the fact that her father is not her biological Dad.

This is a messy book, but has an element of realism to it, in the sense that life is not a convenientdramatic arc. The problem is that life can be dull too and there were sections of this story that truly put me to sleep (of course, reading the book on my 7am flight doesn't help!). I give the story high marks for realism and strong characterization but I wanted a more coherent story.

Goose Chase, by Patrice Kindl

Alexandra the Goose Girl has hair that looses gold dust when brushed, she cries tears that become diamonds, and her face is as fair as dawn. While these gifts might seem like blessing, they are the Goose Girl's curse as they also bring her the unwanted attention of the King and a Prince. When she runs away, aided by her geese, it sets in motion a series of events that change the course of the kingdom and help to right an ancient wrong.

This is pretty much a by-the-numbers fairy tale. A bit convoluted and long, but enjoyable with enough twists to hold your attention. Not fine literature (and I'd more highly recommend Hale's Goose Girl in its stead), but good reading. The Goose Girl is resourceful, her sidekicks amusingly dim witted, and the geese manage to save the day on more than one occasion. No surprises, but entertaining.

Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr

When she was 13, Deanna's father caught her in the back seat of a car with a Junior named Tommy. Three years later, she is still struggling with the reputation of being the school skank and a father who won't look her in the eye. But three years is a long time for healing and Deanna decides it is time to reinvent herself.

This novel has gotten a lot of hype and comes with an assortment of high-power endorsements (John Green, E Lockhart, etc.) -- all of which both made me look forward to reading it with anticipation and also scepticism that it would be able to live up to the hype. The truth lies somewhere in between. Did I buy the story and think it was something special? Yes! Did I think that Sara Zarr is a pretty cool writer? Yes again! That said, the story itself didn't completely grab me on a personal basis, but it was still good writing (and I'm fair enough to admit that I don't ahve to like something for it to be good). So, it might not make my "best of" list but I'm sure that Zarr's second novel will have my full attention. Recommended.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan goes to the elite Gallagher Girl where she studies 14 languages, covert operations, and how to kill people twice your size. But don't let the trappings of her elite school fool you: she's a typical sophomore girl with a crush on a townie boy and an endearing awkwardness. And even with the high tech trappings of spy gadgets and espionage tricks, the most dangerous mission is putting your heart on the line.

At times clever and other times silly, Carter has created a concept that she hopes to make into a profitable commercial enterprise. Combining spy novel cliche with high school cliche, this novel never really rises above either genre. Yes, I laughed the first couple of times Cammie and her friends did something James Bond and then immediately topped it off with a Gilmore Girls moment, but the joke wears thin and the conclusion got pretty muddy. It's a concept that may improve with the sequels, but we'll need to work on the story and come up with better jokes.

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass

Jeremy is a bit obsessive (he only eats PB sandwiches and never travels far from home) and his best friend Lizzy is a kleptomaniac. Just before his 13th birthday, a mysterious package arrives for him. In it is a box that his father (dead for the past four years) left him to be opened on his birthday. The problem is that the box is locked and needs four keys to open it, and the keys are missing. Inside the box allegedly lies the "meaning of life" and now Jeremy and Lizzie must search to find those keys and open the box.

I've really enjoyed Wendy Mass's other books. This one does not disappoint. The characters are quirky and original and the story is well thought out. I do find that her characterization are not very deep, but for a younger teen reader that is probably fine.

Psyche in a Dress, by Francesca Lia Block

If you ever thought that the Greek Gods were a pretty dysfunctional family, this verse novel won't change your opinion to the contrary. Placing the characters of Psyche, Echo, Aphrodite, Eros, and others in a modern urban context, Block explores the meanings of those myths (both as story and as metaphors). Surprisingly, it generally works.

This is not, however, a story (but more of a series of reflections and meditations). I'm not a big fan of that (see a couple of my Alice Hoffman reviews to get a sense of that!) but it is an interesting literary device to take characters whose names are metaphors and then dissect them (what does it mean, for example, to love Eros?). The modern references are a bit jarring, but this is a highly original book.

Harmless, by Dana Reinhardt

One night, Emma, Anna, and Mariah sneak out to a party with some older boys. And when their parents find out that they aren't where they are supposed to be, the girls panic and make up a story -- a lie that quickly escalates and grows bigger until it threatens everything around them: friends, family, and even their own sanity and perceptions of self-worth.

This chilling and engrossing second novel is a complete score for Reinhardt. Her first novel (A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life) was good, but here she improves many times over. I tend to get annoyed by stories based on shifting narrators, but this tired device worked well in this case and gave far more punch than a single voice could have delivered. An excellent sophomore effort and highly recommended!

The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron

Lucky spends her days in the desert town of Hard Pan, CA hanging out with her knot tying friend Lincoln, being pestered by young Miles, and eavesdropping on the SA, GA, and AA meetings that take place at the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center. It is from these meetings that she learns of the "higher power" and all the things it can do. Lucky would like to find her own higher power so that she could convince her homesick French guardian Brigitte to not abandon her.

This touching and affirming story, full of quirky and fun characters, got a lot of press for its use of the word "scrotum" on its very first page. That criticism probably was levelled mostly by people who didn't bother to read any further. As anyone who's hung with my Blog knows, I tend to hate most Newbery winners as being either too trite or too political, but this one scores really strongly and surprised me. It's good storytelling and well worth reading! Recommended.

This Is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn, by Aidan Chambers

In this huge book, broken into six parts, Cordelia and her friends provide an exhaustive revirew of her teenaged years and thoughts for her daughter. It wraps from how she met her daughter's father to a series of woes (romantic, comic, and tragic). Included throughout are various thoughts, facts, and "moans", as well as drawing and poetry.

At 808 pages, this is probably the largest YA book I have ever read, and it is not really a YA book. The explicitness of the sex alone would probably get it banned out of most school libraries, but the real issue is that the perspectives are adult perspectives, the worries and fears (money, jobs, future, etc) are the worries that an adult looking back on adolescence has. Missing are the insecurities and hopes and dreams (as a young person herself would see them).

It is also a very British book, not simply in terms of language but also in outlook. Everyone takes themselves very seriously in this story and hold themselves so tightly that tragedy (and the inability to deal with it) is simply a forgone conclusion. American readers may not be able to pinpoint this problem, but you'll sense it when you read this book that people are just a bit too uptight and stuck on themselves.

Finally, there is the style of the book. Chambers has been writing for some time and there is an impressive variety of styles in this book. I'm not too fond of them as most of them seem done to be clever and literary (as if the audience was a bunch of English teachers rather than a young reader) and often distract from storytelling. Still, it is extremely impressive to create a work of this size and this complexity. By the end, you really truly do know Cordelia in a way that most authors never quite have an opportunity to do.

After reading this work (it took an entire trip out to Seattle and back and an additional hour or two this weekend), I want to sing its praises and intimate that you have to read this book and that it will truly change your life (as some over-the-top Borders reviewer did), but I really cannot. There are some lovely passages in this book, but size and complexity do not make a book great, they merely make it long. I would give it a serious pass. In the time you spend on this novel, you could easily read three really good books that would change your life.

Soccer Chick Rules, by Dawn Fitzgerald

Tess lives for sports, whether it's soccer or basketball. In fact, sports are about the only reason that Tess shows up for school. So when they announce that a new tax levy is needed or the after school programs (including sports) are going to be cut, Tess jumps into the game and gives it her best effort to save the sports programs.

As my loyal readers know, I'm not a big fan of the sports genre but I'll be fair here and say that if you like good sports action (and love soccer) there's some good action scenes in this book. And since there are surprisingly few good soccer books out there, this book serves an important niche. That said, I'm also not a fan of first-person present tense writing (it's exhausting to read and tends to get really clunky) so I found this a bit of a chore to get through. Combine the style with a character that I found stuck-up and arrogant, and this was a hard slog.

The True Meaning of Cleavage, by Mariah Fredericks

When the geeky sci-fi fan Jess sees her best friend Sari going psychotically in-love with David Cole, she knows there will be trouble. David is not only a senior but part of the inseparable duo of David and Thea, and there is no way that Sari will ever succeed. But when Sari and David start fooling around on the side, Jess realizes long before her friend that there is a dangerous game being played and tries to do what she can to save her friend.

I could personally relate to this story on all sorts of levels (from Jess's sci-fi obsession to the alternative school she attends). I even noted with amusement that - like E Lockhart and Nora Raleigh Baskin - she also attended my alma mater Vassar. This was, in sum, a book I wanted to like a whole lot. Most of the time I really do like it and I'll give it a strong recommendation, but it is also true that this is just a bit short of greatness. Perhaps because it is too tied to YA cliches (geeky girl rises above popular in-crowd) rather than reaching for total greatness. You'll enjoy the book and it may even become a favorite, but I wanted something a bit more.

Oh yeah, and the title is actually appropos of nothing at all (perhaps a slight reference in the middle of the novel). Perhaps it made the book sound more like chick-lit, but it seemed a bit inappropriate.

Green Angel, by Alice Hoffman

When her parents and sister leave her at home on market day to take care of the farm, Green is so angry that she won't say goodbye to any of them. But then a cataclysmic event burns the cities and plunges her world into ash and gray. Grieving from her loss and unable to adapt to her changed surroundings, she must learn to heal and rebuild.

The fire-analogy parallels Hoffman's watery Indigo and folls many of its structures: being more of a meditation than a story. As a result, it's pretty enough, but not terribly substantive. More of a novella than a novel. More of an exercise in pretty prose than an interesting story.

Plan B, by Jenny O'Connell

Vanessa has planned out her life: finish senior year, and then go to Yale to be with her high school boyfriend. Her life looks pretty set and that makes her happy. But then a series of surprises occur: she finds out that she has a half-brother, that that brother is none other that then seriously hunky Reed Vaughan, and that he is coming to live with her family.

A fairly formulaic and predictable read, but entertaining nonetheless. O'Connell has crafted a heroine who is so amazingly rigid that when she breaks it won't really come as a surprise and you can basically guess whre the story is going. Think a B-List Meg Cabot. A sufficiently engrossing guilty pleasure but zip surprises or drama.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

In alternating chapters, written from the perspective of Cal (Hepler) and Eliot (Barkley), we get a story of two teens meeting in a sleepy southern town. They come from different backgrounds: Cal is the daughter of a restless jeweler who follows the Ren Faire circuit, while Eliot has been relocated from California by his God-huckstering father. Their relationship develops and is threatened by Cal's mother's decision to move on.

Joint-authored novels (especially boy-girl projects) tend to suffer from a tension of styles. Usually, the two authors start off pretty compatible, but by the end of the project, the authors are visibly fighting each other over the plot line. This is a classic example of the problem. To their credit, Barkley and Hepler try very hard to avoid messing up each other's stories, but they are diverging so far by the end, taht it is like reading two separate novels (but with the same characters). Ideas developed by one author are frequently ignored by the other. The result is distracting. I think both authors could have written a decent story (although I found Barkley's writing to be stronger), but together it is a mess.

A Certain Slant of Light, by Laura Whitcomb

In this unusual novel, Helen has spent her years attached to writers, artists, and teachers, following them wherever they go. But no one would accuse her of being clingy, because no one can actually see her -- she's actually dead and a ghost. But then one day in her host's English class, a young boy named James surprises her by talking to her. Romance and many complications develop.

I'm not entirely sure that this is my cup of tea, but it is certainly an original piece. The characters are strong, the story sufficiently compelling, and the action moves well. There were times when things could have been written a bit smoother, but this is a good first novel. I'd recommend this story if you like books with a supernatural twist to them.

The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson

A story of three girls: Nina, Avery, and Mel. The story opens at the beginning of the Summer when Nina goes away to leadership camp and meets Steve, while Avery and Mel stay home and discover each other. Yes, it's girl meets boy and girl meets girl (combined with the ever popular girl loses boy and girl loses girl to keep things dramatic). By the end of the novel, there will be plenty of love lost and friendships gained.

I'm probably making it sounds like this was a bad novel (it isn't). It's just terribly long and has a storyline that just keeps going and going without much regard for a dramatic arch. It is also a bit uneven in style and quality throughout (some sections really suck you in and others just drag on and one). But there is something to say about a novel about freindship that treats teen gays as really just normal teens (neither freaky nor unusually sophisticated). I'm beginning to really appreciate Johnson as a writer but this earlier novel is eclipsed by her later work. It's good, but not great.

Good Girls, by Laura Ruby

When someone takes a picture of Audrey going down on Luke at a party and sends it around the school so that everyone sees it (including Audrey's Dad!), you would think that her life has come to a complete end, but Audrey's a fighter and she's determined to show that the difference between a "good girl" and a "bad girl" is not so big after all.

A feel good novel with some very hillarious moments, as well as some great soul searching. The story can veer a bit, but overall this is witty and fun and strikes a very true note (the parents, in particular, come off very real; but I think it is safe to say that Ruby has just about everyone's number!). Some people might have problems with the explicitness of several chapters in the book (some readers might actually seek this out for them!), but I think that even those scenes add something to this story. A very good read and recommended for those who've grown tired of the depressing angsty literary novels (you don't have to be dry or politically-correct to have something important and empowering to say!). Hooray!

The Alison Rules, by Catherine Clark

Alison has a lot of rules. These rules help here stay safe and protected so she doesn't have to think about things. And it doesn't matter how hard her best friend Lindsey or the new boy Patrick try to change things. But then a horrible chain of events rock her world and destroy the safe cacoon she has created.

For the first 174 pages, this story chugs along as a pretty unsubstantial novel and I wouldn't be surprised if some readers didn't give up on it before then. There's the usual predictable YA cliches of love triangle, pranks, conflict with teachers and parents, etc. But then the story turns very dark, very quickly, and basically becomes something else altogether. In this respect, it reminded me of Nicholas Sparks (and I noticed that a lot of people who like Sparks like this one). But in my mind, taking a mediocre story and turning up the volume on the violins at midpoint by an out-of-the-blue tragedy is a cheap way to rescue the story. Yes, you'll cry for the second half of the book, but I'd rather have a single coherant plot line (or at least have the tragedy be sufficiently foreshadowed -- see Looking for Alaska or Almost Home).

Seven Tears into the Sea, by Terry Farley

Seven years ago, when Qwen was 10 years old, she went sleepwalking out on the beach and thought that she met a gypsy. But at the time, people figured that she was either making it up or had been molested. After the incident, she and her family moved away. Now at 17, she has returned to the beach to help her grandmother, and also to face her past and figure out what happened -- a mystery that is intensified when she encounters a young man who claims to have been that "gypsy" on the beach.

A bit clunky and hard to follow, this fantasy romance brings in lots of nice color and strong characters, but the plot veers all over the place and, by the end, becomes difficult to follow.

The Taker, by J. M. Steele

Carly is a good student with plans of going to Princeton, but when she gets the results of her SATs, she has a nasty surprise with a 1710. And then, just as she is receiving this news, she is contacted anonymously by the "Taker" who promises that he can fix her problem. And now she has to choose whether to accept the offer or not.

This is a passingly good story but excruciatingly predictable, packed full of every YA cliche you can imagine. The authors ("J. M. Steele"), the blurb tells us, are a "pseudonym for two New York entertainment industry professionals" and the novel reads likea formula (picture a bunch of TV producers pitching a concept!). It's harmless (aside from its questionable ethics), it won't bore you, but it is mindless entertainment with a "surprise" ending that you will see coming by the time you're even half-way through the book.

Ophelia, by Lisa Klein

As one of the greatest classics of English Literature, Hamlet has been not only remade in every possible way, but the subplots and characters of the tragedy have spawned many stories of their own. Ophelia's story, though, has really remained underappreciated. She loves Hamlet and seeks to console him as he grows mad, and then goes mad herself and finally kills herself. BUt her name has spawned an entire metaphor for adolesecent femininity. Thus, it is only in small irony that it should all come round and Ophelia's own story should become the subject of a YA book.

This novel picks up many years before the Bard's Hamlet, and continues for many years after -- a subject of some confusion as Ophelia dies in the more well-known version of events. And between this back story, the tale that follows, and a different viewpoint on the events in Elsinore, we get a story that expands upon Hamlet, adding details that change no fact of the narrative but which cause us to rethink the meaning of the tragedy itself.

It will probably shock the more cultured people to hear me say that I always picture Helena Bonham Carter in this role (as it is Mel Gibson's Hamlet that I most clearly remember). So, I'll take a special delight in seeing her story expanded and I enjoyed this novel a great deal.

All of which is not to say that I think this is a perfect book. I found the after story (the last 100 pages or so) to be completely unnecessary. It added so little to the understanding of Ophelia. If anything, it cheapened her a little by adding political correctness and anachronistic visions of gender roles to her character. But I understand Klein's purpose in doing so (having Ophelia's life end as a suicide was such a dramatic disappointment).

I think this novel can serve two purposes: it can serve as an entertaining novel in its own right, or it can help readers appreciate Hamlet more, opening up an interpretation of that story that might otherwise go uncovered. Fascinating!

Vive La Paris, by Esme Raji Codell

Continuing with the same semi-autobiographical setting as Sahara Special, we now shift focus to the story of Paris, who is dealing with a brother who keeps letting himself get bullied by a girl in Paris's class. And Paris also has an eye-opening introduction to history throug piano lessons with a Holocaust survivor.

While this book does not carry the novelty value of either Sahara Special or the autobiographical Educating Esme, it is still a special story. It is made a bit more poignant than its predecessors by the decision to bring up the Holocaust (a hot topic of discussion not so long ago on the CCBC list). Throughout, we get an admirable respect for life and education. A winner!

The Braid, by Helen Frost

An alternating prose poems, interspersed by short praise poems, Helen Frost tells the story of two sisters separated by the forced emigration of the Western Scots to Canada in the 19th century. One goes to Canada, while the other moves south to more remote sections of Scotland to avoid deportation. But they manage to stay connected despite the distance.

This is a fairly sophisticated piece of writing (both in terms of structure and content), but the story falters a bit in maintaining engagement with the reader. As a piece of art, I appreciated the style and the effort, but as literature I found it lacking. As a younger reader, I would have maybe even found it a bit dull. A mixed review.

The Foretelling, by Alice Hoffman

Rain is a warrior princess of the Steppes, ostracized by her mother for being the offspring of a gang rape, and feared/ignored by her tribe. But in the harsh world of the ancient world where her group of Amazon warriors defend themselves on horseback against greedy men, Rain is finding the strength to lead and the ability to interpret a prophecy to make her world a better place.

While a bit heavy on the macho images of brutal warrior women (is there a feminine version of macho?), this estrogen-packed action fest has a lot to offer. A bit more intellectual than Xena, but maintaining much of the appeal, this is a pretty brisk read. I did grow tired of the heaviness, but the cultural details were fascinating and it made for good storytelling. Hoffman has a stylistic rut in which she operates, but it's a good one to be in.

Side Effects, by Amy Goldman Koss

When 15 year-0ld Izzy finds a lump in her neck that turns out to be cancer, all of the everyday concerns of her life take second place as she enters a new regimen of blood work, labs, chemo, and endless sickness. But rather than be a story about a dying teen, this is one about survival and pulling through.

Unfortunately, this is about all the book is. I had been hoping for some sort of uplifting text about the power of human spirit and overcoming the odds. Or maybe about living a normal life in spite of the sickness. Instead, Koss is more interested in spelling out all the technical details of treatment and teen cancer (if I wanted that, I'd read non-fiction!). We know that Izzy doesn't like needles and can't swallow pills and that her Mom cries a lot, but none of these issues are really ever addressed. Nor is Izzy's romantic interests or her relationships with family and friends. In a word, almost all of the character development is wasted and become nothing more than windowdressing for a blow-by-blow description of cancer treatment and recovery. A major disappointment.

Letting Go of Bobby James, or How I Found Myself of Steam, by Valerie Hobbs

Atthe age of 16, Jody has made the decision to leave her husband after he hits her in a fit of anger. She has nothing to her name, but a good head on her shoulders and some luck. And those two ingredients help her set out on her own.

Told as a series of serious digressions in a letter to the owner of a grocery store chain (in order to complain about the store's coleslaw), Jody is an engaging character with an amusing ability to mix up her words (as someone - myself - who once wrote "intensive purposes" on the first draft of his dissertation, I can relate!). What Hobbs shows very nicely is that decent people come in many shapes and sizes, and that being a decent person amongst decent people can take you a long way. A good uplifting read.

Indigo, by Alice Hoffman

In this very short fable, a town that is afraid of water, a girl who wants to leave it, and two boys with a strong attraction to the sea all serve as metaphors for longing and insecurity.

In such a brief book (84 pages of very large type), it isn't really possible to develop much of a story and while Hoffman does relate a complete narrative, this is more of a novella, than a novel. My preference would have been for a longer book (and thus more to review).

Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

In DJ Schenk's family, people don't talk much and, when they do talk, they get pretty angry with each other. That's easy for them to do because they have a lot to be angry about. DJ's father is angry to be injured, her Mom is angry that Dad drove away his sons. Little brother Curtis doesn't say much to anyone. And DJ spends a lot of time taking care of the farm and the family, doing her best to please everyone, just like one of the cows on the farm. However, things change when she spends the summer training Brian (the aspiring QB of arch rival Hawley's football team). And then she decides to go out for football herself.

In honor of today's "big game," let me come clean and say that I'm not a big fan of sports or sport fiction, but this novel really hines as something of a notable exception. From strong, realistic characters to an interesting narrative voice to good plotting, Murdock has a talent with writing that I really hope to see much more of (and will soon, as her next novel comes out this summer!).

On a negative note: I really DO wish that writers would do their homework or stick to subjects that they know. It's hard to read a book like this and not be bothered by the factual inaccurancies. For example, no dairy farm in the US (let alone in WI) could survive if the barn wasn't clean because the dairy inspectors would shut it down. Secondly, a high school with 120 students per class would hardly be considered "small" in rural Wisconsin. To the contrary, any high school up near Eau Claire with that many students would be one of the largest in the area. And any school that size would have no problem fielding a large football team. These are sloppy mistakes that a few hours on the Internet could have prevented.

The Girls, by Lori Lansens

Rose and Ruby are twins, but not the normal sort. They are conjoined at the head. And if you've ever wondered what that is like, this novel explores what it is like to have your sister always with you. The book traces three decades of sisterhood, covering the highlights of the girls' lives (family, loves, losses, etc.). It is not so much that anything specific happens in this novel, but more that it is a realistic story of a type of life that is hard for any of us to imagine. And more than being a story about them, it is also about the people they live with and growing up in a Slovak household in southern Ontario.

At 345 dense pages, this is a very long read. It is not a bad read (except maybe towards the end where it just starts to drag and drag), but given it's essentially lacking a plot, it can grow a bad hard to plow through. That said, I found the subject matter so totally interesting that I have to give it a recommendation. There are so many things about being a conjoined twin that never would have occurred to me and that this novel addresses. And a book that opens a new world is always a valuable literary contribution.

Firefly Cloak, by Sheri Reynolds

After her brother dies, 15 year-old Tessa Lee goes looking for her mother. Mom left her and her brother seven years ago and Tessa Lee is just trying to fulfill a promise to her brother to find her mother. However, her Mom has become a drug addict and an alcoholic and denies Tessa Lee when they first meet. Told in alternating voices (Tessa Lee's, Mom, and Grandma), this story traces an attempt to reconstruct Tessa Lee's family.

I'm not quite sure how I tripped over this book, but someone must have thought it was YA (it isn't, despite having a teenaged heroine). I found it a bit gross to be frank, and I'm not that much of a prude. And the alternating narrative could get very hard to follow as the author would often switch voices without identifying who had taken over telling the story. Those sorts of distractions, plus some overall clunky writing, made this a bit of a chore to get through.

The Wall and the Wing, by Laura Ruby

Gurl is the only child at the Hope House orphanage who cannot fly, but she has a cat (a truly rare thing!) and an ability to make herself invisible. This power attracts attention from various evildoers. Before her story is done, she and her friend Bug must deal with punks in the subway, the Sewer Rats of Satan, Sweetcheeks Grabowski, the Professor, and the Richest Man in the World.

This fantasy story gets high marks for originality and liveliness and I'm sure it has its fans. However, it never engaged me. The characters were not very interesting and their adventures seemed too random and unpredictable to capture my attention. Instead, I found myself simply drifting through the story.

Baby Blue, by Michelle D. Kwasney

13-year-old Blue is struggling to keep her family together (or rather, what remains of it). Since her father drowned and her mother remarried to the abusive Lyle and her older sister Star has run away, this is a pretty big undertaking! If only she could convince her mother to stand up for herself!

This is pretty much a by-the-numbers abuse story. We get a series of abusive episodes that escalate and esclate, but also the predictable resolution and starting over again. It's an OK story and well-written, but no earth-shattering revelations or novelty.

The Somebodies, by Julianna Baggott [N. E. Bode]

In this third installment to the series about Fern, her friend and "brother" Howard, and the magic hidden in books, Fern and Howard must flee from their parents when the Drudgers decide to send them to military academy and the Blue Queen makes her move on the kingdom, located underground, under the city of New York.

The series has lost a bit of its lustre as it continues. The latest installment is more clunky and heavy-handed but most of all the novelty of books springing to life has declined. The message this time is about the sacrifices that writers make to create stories that transport you, but it is a message delivered with a sledgehammer. This time, the author has forgotten to liberally spread the joy and fun around that was in the previous books (replacing it with weirdness and unpredictable and meaningless plot twists). Re-read The Anybodies and give the sequels a pass!

Toys Go Out, by Emily Jenkins

Lumphy, StingRay, and Plastic all belong to the Little Girl who sleeps in the top bed. In this series of six related stories, the three of them have a series of hilarious adventures involving peanut butter, dictionaries, a washing machine (and dryer!), the sea, and a birthday party. Of course, they're all three of them just toys, but what fun adventures they can have!

For younger folks, you'll probably think Toy Story or its descendants, but these stories reminded me much more of Winnie the Pooh with their whimsical and clever nature. I'm not entirely sure that little kids will really understand the stories, but they are so cute and adorable. Highly recommended!

Drawing the Ocean, by Carolyn MacCullough

Since Sadie's twin brother died when they were 12, she has felt his presence wherever she goes and her habit of talking with him has gotten her in trouble at school. But when her family moves across the country, Sadie has a chance to start her life over again and carves out a new identity for herself as a normal and popular girl. But the more she succeeds at being popular and building a relationship with a jock named Travis, the more she feels drawn to an outcast Ryan and a life that might be too much like what she left behind.

MacCullough has not had a good track record with me. Both Stealing Henry and Falling Through Darkness were good but nothing terrific. This third novel, while less original and far more formulaic than her predecessors, is actually the strong thing she's written so far. You can probably guess how the story will end up, but that does not diminish the beauty of the writing or the engrossing nature of the read. When I had to put this book down, I genuinely regretted having to do so. That is a mark of a good book!

Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

When an asteroid collides with the moon and shifts the moon's orbit erratically closer to the Earth, the effect is catastrophic to the ecosystem. For 16-year-old Miranda, it is hard to understand the significance of the event and how it will change her life. But as civilization begins to fall apart and Miranda and her family struggle to stay alive, she begins to realize how precarious life is and what really matters in this world.

An extremely depressing and downbeat story of survival. This may shock the more innocent and naive, but overall I found it to be tedious. Not that I suppose that survival in such circumstances for an average family would be all that exciting, but the day-after-day repetition of hunger, boredom, and endless new agony just really makes the book's 337 pages a bit of a chore. A powerful story, but not a very entertaining one.

Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City, by Kirsten Miller

As the back of the book says, "Five delinquent Girl Scouts/a million hungry rats/one secret city beneath Manhattan/and a butt-kicking girl superspy-welcome to the world of Kiki Strike." That gives you a taste of the most original YA book of the year. Kiki and her band of Irregulars fight the nefarious evil powers let loose in Gotham and save the day, conquering evil Chinese gangs and snooty girl cliques for a direct head butt. These girls can blow out doors, become mistresses of disguise, jimmy any lock, and finish off anyone in their way.

My only complaint with the book is that it's terribly long (390 pages) and probably at least two books in one (the story is wide open for a sequel and perhaps a series), but the writing is fresh and fun (the technical advice given in each chapre is useful and adds flavor to the story). The heroines of the story are an irresistable bunch -- everything you typically expect from a group of 12-14 year old girls but with a good non-nonsense approach to battling evil thrown in. On one had, realistic and on the other completely over the top. This book is clever and fun. Did I mention that I like it?

Head Games, by Mariah Fredericks

Judith has been engrossed in the Game for months now. It's an online game and in it Judith can be a stronger person than she ever feels able to do in real life. But when she discovers that one of the people she plays with is actually a next door neighbor, the Game becomes real in ways that she never imagined possible. And she learns to find some strength in the real world that she had only tapped before in her fantasy world.

An engaging story with a realistic voice. Judith isn't an anybody, but her shy resolve will resonate with young book readers. Fredericks knows how to tap into that psyche, but moreover how to spin a good combination of teenage cynicism with some hope thrown in. The story does begin to drift off tangent at the end (almost as if Fredericks got worried when she passed the 250 page mark and wanted to wrap things up quickly), but her characters are such winners that you'll forgive the sloppy ending.

Accidents of Nature, by Harriet McBryde Johnson

In this autobiographical tale, 17 year old Jean (who has severe CP) spends a summer at Camp Courage - a "crip camp" for handicapped teens - in 1970. Over ten days, she has a few adventures and meets a more experiences (and more bitter) camper named sara who makes Jean question a little her life and her willingness to play her part in it as the cooperative poster child of disabled people.

As a book that raises serious questions about the way that disabled people were (and are) treated, you really want to like this book. If nothing else, it opens your eyes to the way that the "norms" treat disabled people with condescension and it will inspire many thoughtful essays (warning! book report alert!). HOWEVER, it just doesn't have much of a story. And no matter how educational or socially-agitating a book is, if it lacks a story, it isn't good fiction. Yes, in the end, we have a sense that Jean has undergone a life-changing event, but there is no dramatic arc or storyline to explain how this happened. I'm not asking for connect-the-dots, but something more than just presenting day-to-day facts would have made this interesting fiction. Read this book to learn more about a world you probably have never seen, but don't expect entertainment.

The Dandelion Garden, by Budge Wilson

In this collection of short stories, Wilson tells of the impact of a divisive family that blows into town, a spoiled older brother, a canoe trip, a boy who dreamed fo being a dandelion gardener, a Mother's pregnancy, and several others stories. The themes are diverse and seemingly unrelated. The jacket claims that each story deals with transformative moments, but that isn't really true, except in the loose sense that every story is about a change of some sort.

Short story collections are usually a bit uneven. This is no exception. The first three stories (including the title story) work very nicely and are quite outstanding. The last couple ones (including a fairly feeble science fiction one at the end) do not work nearly as well. When Wilson is good, she's very very good.

Looking for Normal, by Betty Monthei

After Annie's mother is killed by her father (who then kills himself), she and her brother have to come to live with their maternal grandparents. Some things there are better, but as grandma reveals her own abusive tendencies, Annie must both learn how to cope with all of her fears and anger, and also how to forgive everyone who is causing her pain.

The first half of this book really drags as Monthei brings us up to speed through the use of flashbacks that don't really do much more than explain how spousal homicide happens. The second half gets better, but seems to be so much of a different story that it is hard to develop a clear coherent story.

The Winter Road, by Terry Hokanson

In the dead of Winter in northern Ontario, Willa takes her uncle's plan to pick up her mother at a remote settlement. The plane crashes in a remote area and Willa has to fight to survive the elements.

The novel is booked as having lots of psychological elements (overcoming grief for a dead brother, problems at school, etc.) but these are fairly unrelated to the story, which is instead straightforward action-survival stuff. That's OK, but the problem I had was that Willa is pretty near perfect and always manages to do just the right things to survive. It strains credulity that someone without significant formal survival training could do the things she does. Beyond that, I just find the action formula a bit dull. As a character, Willa simply wasn't that interesting and I didn't really care if she survived or not.

Tending to Grace, by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Cornelia has a hard time expressing herself. She loves to read, but she stutters badly and doesn't want to talk. There are plenty of things, though, that she would like to say. She'd like to be in honors English and she'd like to be able to drink coffee again, but most of all, she would like to have her mother come back and reclaim her from her aunt Agatha (with whom she was dumped).

All of which may have you wondering where "Grace" and the book's title come from. You won't be able to figure that out until the last five pages or so of the story. And it doesn't have much to do with the rest of the book.

As for the book, it has some charm to it (requisite memorable characters, some nice individual scenes) but it does not really get to a dramatic payoff. Instead, it sort of meanders to a predictable claimax with Mom and is then completely underplayed. Fusco in fact seems to have trouble writing dramatic scenes and avoids them (using flashback as a means to avoid action). The result is a story that is all over the place and one in which she didn't seem to know what to do with her strong and well-written characters.

Devilish, by Maureen Johnson

Jane and Allison are best friends and would do anything for each other. When the new girl Lanalee comes between them, Jane knows something is up. There is something that just seems evil about this girl. But when Lanalee turns out actually to be evil incarnate, things take a turn for the weird and the stakes for Jane are raised significantly.

While it may seem a bit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is actually a clever original re-telling of the selling-your-soul-to-the-devil story. It's both entertaining and well-written (although it is very poorly edited -- I counted no fewer than three significant typos! -- who's proofing the galleys?!). There's ample opportunity for dry humor (my favorite being the comparison of corporate culture with hell!). Johnson has a great way with characterization and creates a truly multi-faceted Jane who can grow a little but still be very much a teenager. Fun!

Wow! Two really good books in a row...either I got lucky or I've become a softee!

Incantation, by Alice Hoffman

In the midst of Inquisition-era Spain, Estrella discovers two fatal secrets: her secret Jewish identity (hidden behind 100 years of pretending to be Christians) and the depths that jealousy will drive even your best friend to betray you. In the end, love will triumph over hate, but not before a terrible price must be paid.

This is a truly wonderful and beautiful book. It reads quickly, yet is full of some of the most gorgeous prose you will ever read. Even if historical Judaica does not interest you (and I'm not a big fan myself), this is a truly magical book that transcends its ubject to both inspire and entertain. There is nothing more that one could ask of a work of fiction. One of the best books of 2006!

Shadow Falls, by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Annie is spending her first summer in the mountains of Wyoming with her grandfather since her older brother died in a climbing accident. It's a hard thing to do because Grandpa always was so gung ho about Cody (her brother) climbing. Ironically, for the first time Grandpa is willing to let her start climbing too. But Annie has no interest. All she feels is anger. But her anger doesn't even begin to match what a young boy Zachary and his brother are struggling with. And then there's the strange grizzly bear that Annie keeps coming in contact with and a local Indian.

Perhaps because the story is all over the place or because the characters didn't engage me, but I never really quite got caught up in this story. It's a wonderful setting and follows all the standard rules of novel writing, but left me unsatisfied. The ending is bit too predictable and easy, but in the end it just seems a bit mushy.

The Life History of a Star, by Kelly Easton

Kristin Folger is dealing with Nixon, Vietnam, our "ghost" upstairs, her best friend Simon who keeps trying to get in her jeans, and her own body betraying her as she hits puberty. It's the 70s and everything you've forgotten (or didn't know because you weren't alive then!) is out with a vengeance. Told in diary form, Kristin relates the pain of a family who don't get along, parents who are separating, and a lost brother (physically present, but emotionally destroyed) who lives upstairs in their home -- a victim of Vietnam.

So very much potential here and so many vivid characters, but absolutely no story line to speak of. For folks who like the modern adult novel where everything is experienced but no story is actually told, this is a fantastic book, but I don't read for art -- I read for a story. There's some lovely details about the era (god help me, I'd completely forgotten about the game Masterpiece!), but it's not enough to save this meandering mess!

Guitar Highway Rose, by Brigid Lowry

Asher has a hard time fitting in at his new school, but he does manage to make a friend there, Rosie. Asher is a bit "feral" while Rosie appears to be a goody-goody (but we quickly learn that she's learning to be a wild girl herself - piercing her nose, smoking pot, etc.). They connect. And when Asher is unjustly accused of stealing, the two of them decide to run away.

The book has a quirky style of constantly-shifting viewpoints and writing styles. You'll either love it or hate it. Some passages are free association, others are dialogs (with none of the speakers identified), and there's some lists and poetry. The narrators shift between kids and adults. As a result, I spent the first 40 or so pages just getting oriented to the style.

The Valley of the Wolves, by Laura Gallego Garcia

Since she was six years old, Dana has been aware that she could see a boy named Kai that no one else could see. But that is only the beginning of her powers. When she is 10, a sorceror arrives at her home and convinces her parents to let her come and be apprenticed. For years she studies to become a sorceror herself. And while she doe, she also wonders about visions she sees of a woman dressed in gold, a legend about a unicorn in the woods, and the threat of wolves in the valley.

This rather complicated and convoluted story meanders in several directions. Plot twist after plot twist occurs without much of any sense of direction. Evil is overcome and good triumphs, but the plot changes so often that this becomes a frustrating story to read. Disappointment after having ead her wonderful Legend of the Wandering King.

The Sacrifice, by Kathleen Benner Duble

Based on the true story of the with trials of 1692, this historical novel tells the story of the Faulkner family and the struggle to survive as its members are accused of witchcraft and jailed for months, awaiting a trial that they cannot win.

This is a surprisingly engaging novel. I'm not too fond of historical fiction and less so of the period in question, but the author has created a genuinely interesting story that is a lively read. The details of prison conditions in the 17th century are truly horrifying and may gross out younger readers, but the story is actually fairly uplifting and affirming despite its depressing setting. Recommended.

Ingo, by Helen Dunmore

A year ago, Sapphire's Dad disappeared without a trace, lost at sea. But somehow she has always known that he was still alive. Then she meets Faro, a mer-boy, and discovers some of the secrets of Ingo (the world beneath the sea). And while no one can quite say what has happened to her Dad, Sapphire is closer to finding things out about herself.

As fantasy goes, this isn't a bad story. It could have used some serious editing to tighten up the narrative a bit and shorten the length, but it has some nice character development. Still, I never got a clear sense of who Sapphire was (not even how old she was!), and several plotlines seemed to get dropped in the name of keeping the action going. There's something to be said about leaving some things a bit open, but too much of that is not a good thing.

Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn, by Sarah Miller

Gideon comes to prep school and falls in with a pair of seasoned potheads, who spend their day getting high and scamming on girls. Gideon starts off awkward, but by mid-semester he's gaining confidence, but he's still undecided about whether to pursue exotic and flirty Pilar or sweet Molly. Given the choice, he'd rather chase Pilar, but his roommates have set up a bet for him to lose his virginity to Molly. So far, so very cliche. We have all the usual trappings of the clueless administrators and the unsupervised horney teens, except for one very important twist. The narrator, a girl, is somehow inside Gideon's head and knows everything that he's thinking; and so gives us some very funny commentary on Gideon's understandings/misunderstandings about the opposite sex. And, somewhat more mysteriously, she's also one of the girls in the story, but we don't find out who until the very end.

It's a very clever plot device, both interesting because we spend the story wondering who she is, and also fun because of the commentary she makes about the boys. I wanted very much to decry the boys as "unrealistic" mostly because they are portrayed as such shallow creeps, but I'll give Miller points for getting "boy" almost right (and probably better than most male writers could do). And I'll also give her points for getting the girls mostly right as well. But there are times when she veers more towards stereotypes and loses some of that realism. Still, this is pretty amazing for a first novel.

Plastic Angel, by Nerissa Nields

Randi is doing her best to be popular at school. Her best friend Angela is on the verge of being a famous model and actress. Together they share a talent for singing and a dream of making it msuically. This is not so far fetched, as Randi's Dad has made a decent career as a singer himself and the girls apparently have talent. But Angela's Mom is adament that Angela stick to modeling and not get sidetracked by a musical career.

This is, of course, Nerissa Nields of the Nields (East Coast trendy folk troubadors with the distinctive warble). And the girls' songs are actually Nields songs (a CD that comes with the book includes the songs on it). That's a clever conceit. While they say that an author should always write from their own personal experience, one might find a bit too much of that in this book. The characters seem a bit unreal and the story flat and predictable. It's a awkward book.

Diary of an Anorexic Girl, by Morgan Menzie

Based on the diaries of the author, this book reproduces the journals of a girl struggling with anorexia. At first, her weight loss gives her greater health, but quickly it plunges her intoweakness and lack of self-confidence. In near textbook fashion, she reveals the symptoms of the disease, obsessing over caloric intake, becoming less sociable, and battling depression , as she falls in further and further.

There's a maddening quality to the character who is so anti-social that it is hard to feel much sympathy for her, but that's also the realistic element to it. The story has a strong Fundamentalist Christian bent to it (and is published by a Christian publisher) , but the story is actually surprisingly ecumenical (there are frequent Bible quotations but they fit the story) and her struggle with faith actually adds a bit to the character. I wouldn't say that this is the best story of its type (Leaving Jetty Road -- which I just reviewed -- probably does a better job) but this is accessible and revealing.

Being Bindy, by Alyssa Brugman

Bindy starts off eighth grade being abandoned by her best friend Janey in favor of the most popular girl in the class. But that is just the beginnings of her woes, as her former best friend becomes her greatest enemy, and then - potentially - her step sister, when her Dad and Janey's Mom start dating. Bindy's Mom isn't helping matters either as she begins to meddle more and more in Bindy's life. All in all, it's hard for Bindy to just be Bindy!

A bit heavy on the youthful slang, which is a bit hard for someone from this hemisphere to get through (the book is set in Australia), but the story is surprisingly engaging. No major new ground broken here as everyone behaves pretty much as you expect and the ending is similarly predictable, but it's a charming and enjoyable read.

Get Real, by Betty Hicks

Dez is neat, her parents are messy. Her best friend Jil love's Dez's parents, but Dez would rather live in Jil's neat clean home and take piano lessons from Jil's Mom. But there isn't much to do about one's parents, is there? Except that Jill is adopted and when her birth mother contacts her, Jill gets to choose who she wants to spend her time with. Dez meanwhile watches her friend slip away and wonders what it all really means to be a parent, and to be a friend.

It has humor and strong characters, but the plot developments are a bit too convenient and the ending far too neat. So, a really mixed bag here. You'll like the humorous story of Dez's attamept to babysit her brother, but you'll get annoyed at the stupid mistakes she makes along the way and the predictable resolution.

Leaving Jetty Road, by Rebecca Burton

The story of three girls (Nat, Lise, and Sofia) in their last year at an all-girl's school in Australia. Sofia is the one who's rebellious and sure, Lise is insecure and developing an eating disorder, while Nat just "drifts" through life, jealously watching the others "swim" off. Told from only the viewpoint of Lise and Nat, we never quite learn if Sofia really is together or if that's just the other girls' impressions, but it is clear that they all struggle a bit with relationships (boys, parents, and each other) trying to stumble their way through life. Along the way, there are jobs, parties, and school to deal with.

The story has no real plot per se, but it does have a number of nice observations about human nature. Each of the girls is flawed in painfully realistic ways. It doesn't do much to make any of them likeable, but you will sympathize with their plights and their feelings. It is a bit annoying that we never really hear Sofia's voice. I would have rather liked to have heard what she was thinking. But, all in all, given my incredibly poor luck with Aussie YA, this is a pretty outstanding book. Not as much fun as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (which it owes an obvious debt to), but more realistic and true to the heart.

Defining Dulcie, by Paul Acampora

When Dulcie's dad dies in a freak janitorial accident, Mom pulls up their roots and transports Dulcie to the other side of the country, but it's all too much for Dulcie and she runs away back home in her Dad's old red pick-up truck. Back in her old home, she goes to work for her granddad, fixing up the school over the Summer (he's a janitor too) and befriends another girl with a troubled homelife.

It's a story with a lot of promise and some amusing bits (certainly all the stories about cleaning and fixing bring to mind a bit of Joan Bauer's style). It has decent characters and lots of nice anecdotes, so what's the problem? Well, it just doesn't hang together very well. Some of the writing is excellent but other parts drag and the uneveness wears at you. Acampora has promise, but this book doesn't quite reveal it yet.

Kiss Me Tomorrow, by Susan Shreve

In this sequel to Blister, Alyssa (aka "Blister") has moved on to junior high and subsequent problems of both a romantic and legal nature. Her friendship with Jonah is threatened by his desire to hang out with cool boys, while her mother's decision to move in with her boyfriend Frank threatens her life at home. In short, things are changing and Blister hates change. But when Jonah is accused of shoplifting and runs away from home, Blister knows that some things do not change and she has to help her old friend.

I wasn't too taken by the original book. If I remember correctly, the heroine bothered me because she was stubborn to the point of utter stupidity so I lost sympathy for her. But the sequel suffers from muany more problems -- a plot that is all over the place and very sloppy writing. Even if I was sympathetic with Blister's character (and some folks apparently find her witty and funny), I think this story falls on its face.

Hill Hawk Hattie, by Clara Gillow Clark

In the late 1800s, Hattie and her father eke out a living in the mountains, chopping down trees and floating them down the Delaware to Philadelphia. It's a hard life, but one made much harder by Hattie's anger at her mother for dying, and her father's unwillingness to accept her (in an odd twist, he treats her as a boy, not allowing her to wear a dress).

An unusual historical novel (with way too much to tempt a teacher to assign it for a book report), this shows off a period and a way of life which is probably little known. It's actually a decent breezy read too, but a bit repetitive (the author's favorite metaphor is hawks and she pretty much brings it up every two-three pages or so).

Pandora of Athens: 339 BC, by Barry Denenberg

Pandora is 13, betrothed to a first cousin she does not love, and bored with her cloistered life in Ancient Greece. But then a chance meeting with Socrates and his servant Phoenix opens up options that may change her life.

On one hand, this book is full of marvelous detail (and the tie-in to a major historical character is clever). It is the type of book that will get kids interested in Ancient Greek history. On the other hand, the book is so tied up with its history lesson, that it really doesn't have much of a story to tell. What story there is quickly falls apart as Denenberg recreates some of Plato's more famous dialogs (Apology, Phaedo, etc.) -- fascinating for a reader like me with a PhD in Ancient Greek Philosophy (yeah, that's why I work in computers now!), but not likely to be so enthralling to a younger reader (yes, I loved the Republic when I was 16, but at 10??).

My Big Sister is So Bossy She Says You Can't Read This Book, by Mary Hershey

Effie Maloney tries to do the right thing, but that's hard when your older sister Maxie is always getting you in trouble. And when Maxie steals money from the Scouts fund (and pins the blame on Effie), she has to figure out a way to set things right. Add to all this mess a mother who is distant, a terrible secret or three, and a struggle to find a new best friend, and you have utter 4th grade hell all over the place (but don't say THAT around Mom if you know what's good for you!).

It is a bit painful getting through the book as Effie goes through a lot of unnecessary suffering, and then the whole thing wraps up a bit too neatly at the end. But moving beyond the torturous plot, there is a bit of charm to the characters. And perhaps what is hard for an adult to read, would actually be fun for a younger reader. There's certainly an honestu and authenticity to this book that makes it charming. And I especially like the portrayal of a religious household that was neither mocking or cloying. It's a book that would please more conservative families because of its stress on morality and godliness, but at the same time Hershey's worked in some good multiculturalism as well (something for everyone!).

The Music Thief, by Peni R. Griffin

Alma has had a tough time since her grandmother died, but the music of Jovita has helped her get through things. Then, Jovita is gunned down in a drive-by shooting and Alma's life seems to fall apart. She struggles with a family trying to stick together amidst an older brother falling into gang life and an older sister who dumps her own daughter on Alma to take care of. But Alma finds comfort next door at the neighbor's house, where she sneaks over while the neighbor is out and discovers a wide world of music.

An oddly amoral story of finding oneself in the midst of the barrio. Things both kind and criminal take place with little acknowledgement of either one. Instead, Griffin keeps the focus tight on this child realizing her own potential and her own failings. Even the ending is left open and ambiguous, as if there was a lot more of a story to tell. I ended up liking this story, but mostly for its originality and vision.

What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

When Kyle's little brother commits suicide, he wants to get back at the girl who he believes pushed him to it: cruel mean Cass McBride. So, he kidnaps her and buries her alive in a box, slowly killing her from dehydration. But as she slowly dies, he extracts her confession and begins to wonder about his own culpability.

Creeping and upsetting, this is not a book for the faint of heart. In fact, it's a rather gross story, but it's also a page turning and if you like psychological thrillers, this is a good book for you. Excellent for its genre.

Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle, by David Elliott

Evangeline Mudd is brave and strong and she loves to brachiate, but that is a perfectly natural thing to do when your parents are a pair of primatologists. And when the parents go off to the jungles of Ikkinasti to research the Golden Haired Apes and leave you with the CEO of Mudd's Marvelous Minks and his demented retired ballerina wife (who is not letting herself go!) and then all of a sudden they disappear and you have to call in the help of the world's leading expert on Golden Haired Apes to help you find them... well, then you know that you have an adventure!

Lots of fun times and comic adventures in this clever early reader. The illustrations are charming too, but the best part is the cheerful bouncy adventure that everyone is having. A wonderful delightful little story!

I Don't Want To Be Crazy, by Samantha Schutz

In verse form, Schutz tells her story of discovering that she has an anxiety disorder which goes through phases of being utterly uncontrollable. It isn't all bad, but when it is, it's pretty harrowing. In between, she has time to go to college, make friends, find love, lose love, and travel in France. But always, the story (and her life) comes back to her anxiety.

It's an interesting story, and made very direct through the verse form. But free verse writing is tricky business and this is a fairly weak example of it. Here it is used in many ways to avoid going into any great reflective depth. Instead, just as she is approaching a deep personal truth or a revealing moment, she just shuts off. So, instead, we are subjected to countless woes again and again and again. By the end of the story, we really are back where we started (a point that she acknowledges explicitly) but unlike what the jacket claims, we really don't get much of a sense of growth. And that really seems to be the point of the whole thing.

Returnable Girl, by Pamela Lowell

Ronnie has spent the last few years in foster homes, getting passed around as time after time she is rejected as unmanageable and unwanted. And with each rejection, she becomes worse and worse. Still, she is bright and intelligent and wants to make the right decisions. Meanwhile at school, she has an opportunity to join the popular clique, but it means rejecting her friend Cat. And the more she struggles with her decisions, the worse her choices seem to be.

An excellent novel about children in foster care and the various issues of neglectful parenting and child abuse. Lowell is a Clinical Social Worker so she has a bit of a cause here: to describe various aspects of the system. However, the book is not preachy and the material is presented subtly in a way that fits the story. It's not an entirely engaging book, but it is a good read with some substance behind it. Recommended.

It Only Looks Easy, by Pamela Curtis Swallow

On the day before 7th grade begins, Kat’s dog is struck by an old woman driver who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. And the following day, Kat makes a fateful decision to cut school and “borrow” a bicycle to see her injured pet. This snowballs into a far worse situation that Kat must dig herself out of.

A rather poorly-written novel that suffers from two problems – unrelated plot lines and unrealistic dialog (what 7th grader uses words like “horrendous” or psychoanalyzes one of her peers?). Add to the mess some sloppy proofreading (who was the editor?) and this appears to be a weak effort. The author’s intentions are admirable (describing Alzheimer’s, showing the bad consequences of stealing), but this is a mess!

Having said all that, I did want to compliment the author for not creating a happily-ever-after story. Unlike I’ll Sing You One-O (that I recently reviewed), we’re not getting any sense that stealing is ever OK or that Kat herself even feels it is justified. Instead, the acts is presented as a mistake from the beginning and it is never OK. Hooray for an author with a moral compass!

In the Company of Crazies, by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Mia has been a girl who gets good grades and makes her mother proud, but then things start to slip, and she starts acting up, eventually trumping it all by getting caught shoplifting. Her parents respond by sending her to a special boarding school for emotionally-disturbed teens. There she finds that she’s the sanest one of the bunch and that, in fact, she’s quite normal.

I’m a big fan of Baskin’s other novels, so I was holding out great hopes for this one, but it seemed either too subtle, or just too uninteresting, and by the time I finished it, I really wasn’t sure what it was about. There doesn’t seem to be much point to the story, except that we get to meet a number of characters who are suffering from various issues.

I'll Sing You One-O, by Nan Gregory

When Gemma is adopted by her absent mother's family out of a foster home she has lived in for the past couple years, she is devastated. Considering them to be complete strangers, she schemes of ways to return to her foster parents, eventually coming up with a plan to impress an angel with all of her suffering. Despite numerous attempts by both adults and peers to reach out to her, she stubbornly refuses all help, choosing instead to compound her woes by stealing, lying, and cheating her way to create a "great act" that will impress the angels and bring her a miracle.

From my last sentence there, you'll get the sense of how much this story line really pissed me off. I'll give the author credit for creating a set of characters and a story that I believed enough to feel that strongly about. But as I read this story I found myself getting angrier and angrier as a plot became more and more convoluted simply through the artifice of a heroine who is unwilling to get help. It's a cheap trick and easily resolved by having the heroine eventually accept help. And, frankly, by the time she is willing to get help, I had ceased to care about her. Instead, I felt that Gemma was a spoiled deceitful brat who cared only about herself and felt no qualms about hurting people around her for her own ends. I frankly didn't care if she was ever happy, and so I found myself absolutely hating this story.

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away, by Joyce Carol Oates

In the aftermath of a car crash on the Tappan Zee that kills her mother, Jenna goes to live with her aunt. Haunted by survivor's guilt, she has a hard time adjusting to her post-wreck life. Instead, she becomes anti-social and withdrawn, experimenting with drugs and living an edgier life. The exception to her decline is her new found interest in a mysterious biker named Crow who seems to understand her in ways that no one else can manage.

It's a good story, but seems a bit rough at spots (few of the story lines are resolved, characters come and go fairly breezily). It's also a bit long and drawn out. All of which suggests the need for more vigorous editing. That said, this is a good read and worth your time. Oates is a good storytellers with skill at characterization and understanding human behavior.

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Colin is a child prodigy who showed early on an immense ability to learn trivia and digest data, but he is no genius and at the age of 17 he realizes that he never will do anything that matters. Still, it doesn't take a genius to realize that being dumped by 19 girls named Katherine is a bit of a coincidence. In fact, it seems like something one ought to be able to mathematically predict. After the most recent dumping, he sets off on a road trip with his quirky friend Hassan in search of self, anagrams, and the perfect theorem to explain the relationship of dumper to dumpee.

John Green scores again with a lively and original novel. While the territory (boy dynamics, special lingo, and unusual idiosyncracies) is familiar from Looking for Alaska, it is still very good. Perhaps because it is such familiar territory, I won't quite give this the same glowing review as his first book, but I still have to admire his talent. He has once again created one of the very few "boy books" that I consider readable.

Amazing Grace, by Megan Shull

As the story opens, Grace Kincaid has reached utter burnout. She is a rich and successful tennis pro and at the top of her game, but she has had enough. No worries though as her mother has an escape plan all figured out and Grace is off to the Alaskan wilderness with a new look, new name, and a chance to have a new life -- one where she can be all the things she never got to be when she was rich and famous.

Where Meg Cabot's novels end, Megan Shull picks up. You won't find more than a few minor road blocks between Grace and her happiness, but dramatic tension isn't really the reason for this novel. Instead, this is a fun romance where people are generally nice and things work out pretty well, beyond a few tears and cheers. Good escapism and a quick breezy read. Fun!

The Ordinary Princess, by M. M. Kaye

Delightful story of the seventh daughter of King Huldebrand and Queen Rodehesia, who is given the "gift" of ordinariness by a grumpy fairy godmother. But the Princess Amy benefits from this gift and goes out to seek her fortune, discovering a joy and happiness that a thin, milky white, long blonde haired sister could never have found.

Magical and enchanting, with strong similiarities to another favorite of mine (Ella Enchanted) but shorter and less compliacted and probably targetted to a younger demographic. The drawings are particularly nice and I understand that the currently-available reprint mangles them badly, so you'll want to read this in its original edition. Fun and recommended.

The Geography of Girlhood, by Kirsten Smith

In a series of verses, we cover two years of Penny's life growing up, covering the usual topics of 14, 15, and 16, with a bit of drama thrown in for good measure. So, we get stories of sibling rivalry, dating, feminine hygiene, sleepovers, and loud drunken parties, along with death, running away, and a mental breakdowns. The verses don't really tell a story, but rather provide a series of snapshots of the Penny's life.

With positive blurbs on the jacket from Sarah Dessen, Sonya Sones, Ann Martin, Deb Caletti, E. Lockhart, and a bunch of others, Smith's publicist is working overtime to give this book the highest possible profile. Does it match the hype?

Verse novels is a dicey genre. Some of them transcend to become truly great works, but many more fall into predictable melancholy. As a rule, they are terribly uneven. This is a prime example of that uneveness. Several individual poems in this collection really stand out ("The Thing About Boats", "Going Together") but so many more as just wistful phrases. My favorite game is to read just the final line of each poem and move on. If it sounds like a Hallmark card, then you basically are dealing with tripe. Too often, Smith falls into that trap.

One of the reviewers wrote that "these are the poems that every teenage girl ... would love to write." I'd believe that, and I won't question the honesty of the writing. But what I have to wonder is whether you'd really want to read it? Too much of what I wrote in adolescence really wouldn't have interested anyone but myself.

Accidental Love, by Gary Soto

Marisa is quick to anger and not the type to waste her time on wimpy boys, so it comes as a surprise to her that she falls for the geeky Rene. But sometimes love is like that, Marisa is discovering. And meanwhile, she is losing weight and improving her grade, discovering self-confidence in the barrio. The writing is heavy with Spanglish for atmosphere and features a glossary at the end to guide the reader.

Middle readers are far too often written in an awkward 3rd person narrative style that drives me nuts. This is a prime example of the style. The author (either intentionally or not) copies the disconnected style that one would expect from a 6th grader where dramatic events just pop up and fade away with little or no significance to the story. There is some character development, but it is sort of accidental. As a result, you could basically pick up this book at any point and start reading and be basically set. That doesn't speak very highly of Soto's ability to create a dramatic arch. A weak novel.