Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing  by Rebecca Yarros

Red Tower Books, 9781649374042

Violet Sorrengail is small, brittle, and well-prepared for the quiet life of a scribe.  But after the death of her father, Violet’s mom orders her to change her plans and pass the stringent ordeal to become a dragon rider instead–or die trying. Almost every other cadet in the Quadrant will try to get her to fail (with a few notable exceptions), and a dragon who finds her unsuitable will simply incinerate her.  

This book was originally marketed for adult audiences, but teen readers have run away giggling with it.  The characters are young adults in their 20’s dealing with teen issues, most especially the task to to define themselves as separate from their parents. Non-binary gender expression and sexual diversity is presented as normal. The on-page, window-shattering sex scenes do not seem to alarm younger readers but might concern their elders.

Action, adventure, magic, intrigue, loyalty and betrayal keep the pages turning.  Recommended for ages 14 to adult.

Bullying, cussing, death, dragons, friendship, gender diversity, kissing, magic, off-page intimacy, on-page sex,  parents, straight friends, teachers.

Different for Boys

Different for Boys  by Patrick Ness, illustrations by Tea Bendix

Walker Books, 2023  978-1-5362-2889-2

Anthony (Ant) Stevenson has a lot of questions about sex, but most especially, “at what point is a person not a virgin anymore?”  Is it when they >redacted<?  Or when they’ve >redacted< with >redacted<?  Or >entire sentence redacted<?  

Ant wants to know more…about himself, and about his friends, and about, well, everything.  But it’s hard to learn things when so much is >redacted< – and that’s how this book is written, with big black boxes (which the characters all comment on) obscuring some text the reader will intuit and some that isn’t quite so obvious, even with pictures to help.

Short, quiet, powerful, poetic, and real.  Sex on the page, but it’s >redacted<, of course. Highly recommended for ages 14 to adult.

cussing, friendship, gay friends, high school, homophobia, kissing, masturbation, on-page sex,  parents, rainbow+, redactions, sports, straight friends, teachers

Plan A

 

Plan A by Deb Caletti

Labyrinth Road, 9780593485545

16-year old Ivy is strong, independent, opinionated…and pregnant.  She has plans and hopes and dreams for her future, and that future does not involve a child originating from sexual assault.  

Unfortunately for Ivy, she lives in contemporary Texas, which has some of the most restrictive women’s health laws in the country.  Ivy doesn’t realize that she is pregnant until she has passed the 6-week mark, after which an abortion is illegal in her home state.  Fortunately for Ivy, she is not alone:  her mother, grandmother, and a host of other women (and men) are willing to prioritize her choices, and so begins what Ivy and her adorable boyfriend Lorenzo call their “abortion road trip love story.”  

This book is serious and funny, timeless and timely.  It will absolutely be banned and challenged, and should absolutely be available for any reader who wants it–because these choices are important, and stories about these choices are possibly even more important. Highly recommended for ages 14 to adult.

Abortion, birth control, bullying, cussing, diversity, friendship, high school, kissing, parents, pregnancy, rainbow+, religion, sexual assault (on-page), Star Trek sex

The Dead Queen's Club

The Dead Queen’s Club by Hannah Capin
This is going to sound hokey.  In fact, you will be tempted to put off reading this.  But don’t!  It was a hoot and 1/3!

So let’s get the hokey part out of the way:  In a forgettable small Midwest town, the high school is obsessed with football star and gorgeous guy Henry…Plantagenet.  He’s now on his 6th girlfriend.  2
are dead.  His first, (Catalina Aragon) left him.  His 2nd (Anna Boleyn) died in a horrible accident where her head was severed.  

We all know that poem, right?  Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survive.

So the not hokey part:  The story is told by Henry’s best friend Annie, who is determined to not only solve the case of the dead girlfriends, but also to clear Henry’s name.  And she is downright 
hilarious:  snarky,  irreverent,  bright and spot-on.

So as the real Anne Boleyn (and the character Anna) said, Ainsi sera groigne qui groigne: Grumble all you like, this is how it’s going to be.

Highly entertaining (and recommended) for ages 14 up.

Check Please!

Check Please!  by Ngozi Ukazu

Eric "Bitty" Bittle just wants to bake pies, listen to pop music, vlog, play hockey, and maybe make some friends on the college hockey team.  A former Southern Junior Champion figure skater, he's kinda small for hockey, but he's wicked fast on the ice and that counts for a lot on a competitive team.  

It will take a long time for Bitty to come out as gay to his teammates...especially to team captain (and secret crush) Jack Zimmermann.  In the meantime, there are college classes, epic keggers, and (of course) hockey.

Don't let the big-eyed manga style of the illustrations fool you:  this is not a kiddie comic.  The characters are college guys (and gals) and they are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.  They cuss a lot.  In other words, they are hockey players.  They are also good friends, and much sweeter to each other than you might think.  

I wouldn't normally put "hockey player" and "adorable" in the same sentence, but this book practically requires that I do.  Love the supportive environment, love the ongoing references to fabulous food (mmmMMMmm, pie!), love the art, love the story.  

Highly recommended for ages 14 and up.  

What Goes Up

What Goes Up  by Katie Kennedy

200 teen scientists vie for two positions with NASA's Interworlds Agency.  The tests cover math, science, problem-solving...and a lot more.  Rosa Hayashi is an obvious choice.  Eddie Toivonen is not.

Then gravity flutters, which it definitely should not do.  Immediately after, alternate-dimension aliens show up, and they look human.  In fact, the alternate-dimension aliens look exactly like the astronauts who just left Earth, only these astronauts are carrying a very dangerous cargo.

What could possibly go wrong?

Part Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, part Ender's Game and part literary roller coaster.  Put it all together for a fast-moving, fun book with an intriguing premise and appealing characters who make nerdy the new cool.  Highly recommended!

Ages 12 to adult.  Some cussing, some kissing and some unbelievably corny knock-knock jokes.

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen  by David Clawson

17-year-old Chris is the undervalued stepson in the socially-prominent (but financially bereft) Fontaine family.  He does all the cooking and cleaning, and keeps his step-siblings well-dressed and his step-mother comfortably numb.  When J.J. Kennerly, "The Most Eligible Bachelor in America," publicly announces that he will be attending the prestigious Autumnal Ball, the household goes nuts--and Chris gets left behind. 

Will Chris be cut off from happiness forever, or will his new friend Coco Chanel Jones work her fabulous fashion magic and bring about true love between Chris and J.J.? 

This Cinderella-reboot has a lot of cute elements and some laugh-out-loud moments, but tries a little too hard to rock the gender boat.   And then there's the ending, which involves a shoe and an unexpected coming-out that should have been satisfying but felt forced instead.

A quick and fun read for ages 12 to adult.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  by Becky Albertalli

16-year-old Simon Spier is in the closet, and he isn't sure how to get out.  But he's been corresponding online with another local boy called "Blue," and Simon is pretty sure that Blue (or whatever his real name is) will be worth all the drama that will probably accompany coming out. 

Then, Martin finds the emails and blackmails Simon.  

Did somebody say "drama"?

The book features all of the heartache-y, up-and-down drama of a John Hughes "brat pack" movie, updated with modern characters and modern sensibilities.  It's fun, it's funny, it's surprising, and it's a feel-good book with a happy ending--perfect summer beach reading.

And if you liked Simon, you'll love Leah:

Leah on the Offbeat  by Becky Albertalli

A year has passed since Simon learned Blue's true identity, and in that time, nobody has made much progress getting to know Leah better.  She's smart, she's snarky, she's a damn good drummer and a good friend.  But even though her mom has known for ages that Leah is bisexual, Leah hasn't told anybody else yet.  Not even Simon.

Now senior year is almost over.  Prom-drama is running high, with graduation and college coming soon, and Leah is torn when her rock-solid group of friends begins to fracture in ways she never dreamed. 

Sweet, warm and funny, with all the melodrama that only 18-year-olds can muster.  It makes me remember my high school days with a smile, even though I'd never want to re-live them.

Recommended for ages 12 to adult.  Some cussing, lots of under-age drinking, and more sexual situations and angst than you might have thought possible.  Gold stars for appropriate mentions of safe sexual practices.

Dress Codes for Small Towns

Dress Codes for Small Towns  by Courtney Stevens

The story starts with the night that Billie McCaffrey and her best friends accidentally burn down the church youth room. 

That sentence leads you to think some things about Billie and her friends, and those thoughts would probably be inaccurate. Preacher's kid Billie has a good relationship with God, a strained relationship with her dad, a rocky relationship with the church people, and a confusing relationship with her friends.

Billie's friend Janie Lee might be in love with their other friend Woods, which is confusing because Billie might also be in love with Woods...or with Janie Lee. Or maybe Davey? She really isn't sure. But she's pretty sure what the church people think of her.

She might be wrong.

All the stereotypes of small-town Kentucky that you've ever seen in books are not in this book--at least, not the way you've seen them before. The characters are dimensional and lovely, and almost nobody does what you think they might do. And yet, the story makes sense, beautifully, from beginning to end.

This may be the best book I've read all year. Highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult. Some kissing and cussing on the page. Also some praying, some square dancing, a broken bone, and Batman.

Every Breath

Every Breath  by Ellie Marney  (Every #1)

Rachel Watts has recently moved with her family from their failed farm in the country to a crowded house in Melbourne.  She misses the farm and the quiet of the land.  But soon, she is drawn into friendship--and more--with genius-boy James Mycroft who lives down the street.  Together the teens research obscure crime-solving strategies and write essays for the "Diogenes" website.

Allusions to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson abound, especially when the teens discover that their friend, known only as "Homeless Dave," may have been murdered...after he was dead.  And, as in the famous story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the key to the crime may lie with a dog that didn't bark.

Nice world-building, excellent characters, and great action sequences (especially in the second half of the book).  The romance between Mycroft and Watts bubbles quietly at first and is certain to boil over soon--the steamy kisses on the page are definitely only the beginning of the physical side to their relationship.  Australian slang may boggle some readers.

An Australian "Hills Hoist" sounds more ominous than it actually is.

This is a great introduction to a fun new series.  I look forward to volume 2!

Suffer Love

Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake

Told from the point of view of two teens, Hadley and Sam, in alternating chapters, we learn of two dysfunctional families.  Hadley’s parents are trying to piece their marriage back together after her father’s affair.  Sam has just moved into town with his mom and sister after mom’s affair.  Seems like a match.  Except that it was Sam’s mother who had the affair with Hadley’s father. 

While the teens’ struggles with their families is painful, it is also unreal.  This is the usual “teens are more mature than their dysfunctional parents” novel.  Not diminishing the stress the teens feel within their relationship, it is a titch unrealistic.  Sam and his sister know the truth of Hadley’s father and their mother, but Hadley does not.  In fact, Hadley deals with her father’s mess by drinking to get drunk, and going to bed with anyone who crooks their finger.  She treats Sam awfully just to keep him from getting too close. 

Throughout the novel, we wait for the “big reveal” and its aftermath.  Will the teens’ relationship survive?  The tension in the novel is the hook, and it works.

Peppered with Shakespeare references throughout lending an interesting quality to the novel.  But first, you have to buy into the premise.  Or not.  Teens will grab the story and not bother about the implausible story line.

Recommended for ages 14 and up

Totally Awkward Love Story

Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Hannah and Sam meet in the bathroom of a party after exams in this British comedy. Each feels a connection, but need to leave before learning the other's name.  She goes off to lose her virginity, and he becomes “Toilet Boy," because that is where they met.   

Throughout the rest of the book, they keep finding and losing each other through lies, missed communication, and just plain stupidity. Each chapter was written alternatively by two separate authors, whose real-life story this was originally. In fact, it reads as if there are two separate diaries. Who wants to read their high school diary?  

Sam's first sexual encounter/explosion is really funny.   There are many raunchy jokes and a lot of swearing.  When these silly romantic kids finally get together, their their own first sexual encounter is cringe-worthy. There are relationship problems, ego problems, self-esteem problems, and of course, clueless parents.

The plot device using two authors has been done well elsewhere, but not here.  Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist (Rachel Cohen and David Levithan) was a better story with superior writing. 

This could have been a good story with cute subplots. Instead there is no character development for any of the teens, and subplots, while cute, add nothing to extend the story line. The continual use of the word "literally" will grate on your nerves.  It is literally a book teens will find funny, read the "naughty bits" to each other, and forget.  

For readers 10th grade and older.

Still Life with Tornado

Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King

At sixteen, Sarah has lost her ability to create artwork.  Her best friend Carmen is drawing tornadoes.  She tells Sarah that it is not a picture of the tornado itself, but of everything it scoops up and carries inside.  This metaphor for Sarah’s life allows us to see the chaos more clearly.  Sarah’s older brother has moved away and is no longer speaking to anyone in the family.  She would like to reach out to him, but cannot.  She refuses to go to school, and wanders the streets of Philadelphia, meets a homeless man, goes to an abandoned school- and then meets her ten-year-old self, her twenty-three-year-old self, and her forty-year-old self. 

This is more than a little confusing for the reader. Is Sarah crazy?  

Certainly she thinks she is.   Does she need a psychologist?  Should we just quit reading and toss the book as silly?  All of the Sarahs have information that Sarah needs to move on with her life.  Especially ten-year-old Sarah, who helps Sarah remember what happened before her brother left.  Then her mother also meets and talks to ten-year-old Sarah while Sarah is present. 

Somehow it just works:  all the Sarahs become magic that everyone simply accepts.  The plot device has been used before, and we accept it too, though.  We know Sarah has been lying to herself and want to see her pull through.   Sarah is a complex character, as is her mother, when King allows her into the plot.  If you can’t accept the magic, you probably won’t like the book.  For the rest of us, the story IS the tornado, and the characters worth the read.  This is a book that will make you think.

Recommended 13 up

Learning to Swear in America

Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

Well, that Asteroid that is about to hit Earth could possibly be moved; or maybe it will only hit (and annihilate) the entire West Coast.  

And Russia has loaned us Yuri Strelnikov, the seventeen-year-old wonder-kid with a PHD in anti-matter.  

And we have 17 days to figure this out before it hits Earth.  (“The pizzas came in, smelling of oregano and despair.”)  

How do American scientists deal with this?  How does anyone, really, even Yuri?  Wouldn’t you swear?  

But the new girl, Dovie, a slightly pudgie hippie, (her words) won’t teach him.   He’ll just have to continue reciting the Nobel Prize winners, in order, for now.

Romance, impending doom, international intrigue, computer hacking (“Yuri nodded back, thinking that there was remarkably little security around the {Jet Propulsion Laboratory } computers, particularly considering what was at stake… but it had only taken him a cell phone and fifty seconds to hack in- not because he was a genius, but because he was a teenager.”), car chases/crashes, and witty dialog.  This is a movie waiting to happen.  Also not to be missed by science nerds, teenagers, and anyone who likes a great, fast-paced read.

recommended for ages 12 and up

The Serpent King

The Serpent King  by Jeff Zentner

Dill has two friends and two problems.

Dill's friends are Travis and Lydia. Travis is big, shy, kind, and so obsessed with his favorite sword-and-sorcery book that he can mostly ignore his lousy home life. Lydia is cute, smart, rich, upwardly mobile, and aimed OUT of the dinky backwater Tennessee town (named for a founding member of the KKK, wahoo!) where they all live.

Dill's problems are his name and his future. His name is Dillard Early, Jr, and he was named for his father, Dillard Early, Sr., (known locally as the Pervert Preacher), and for his papaw, (known locally as the Serpent King).  His future looks a lot like his present day, and that's not good.

Then something happens to make Dill's life unbearable.  The reader knows that something is going to change.  But...what?

If you think you know what will happen to the preacher's kid from "one of those crazy snake churches,"  you are probably wrong.  The journey is not predictable, and yet, it all makes sense. Extra stars for religious extremists who are deeper than the paper on which they are written, and for religious questioning without obvious answers.

You may see this book compared to the works of John Green, and while I understand the comparison, I also don't think this reads like a JG book.  It has some excellent (and some dreadful) parent characters, it has super-tough situations, there is kissing on the page.  But JG rarely touches religion, and I don't know if he could handle (pun intended) a snake church.

And if there's sex, I missed it.  It might have happened off-page.  In fact, I kind of hope it did.

Rivoting read; recommended for readers ages 12 to adult, and it definitely needs to be a movie!

Guy in Real Life

Guy in Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

Lesh does not have romance on his mind as he staggers home drunk at 2:30am after a heavy metal concert in downtown Saint Paul.  He is thinking about his head, his guts, and the sidewalk, and how soon those three things are going to connect in vivid, pukey Technicolor.

That's why Lesh isn't watching where he's walking...and he walks right into Svetlana,

Svetlana isn't thinking about romance either.  She's riding her bicycle, thinking about her friends, and contemplating the amazing artwork she has created for the upcoming Gaming Club campaign...until Lesh wobbles into her path and sends them both sprawling into a puddle.

The collision of Lesh and Svetlana starts a series of events that might be reminiscent of a modern reboot of a 1970's television sitcom...until the plot takes a sudden twist and everything changes.

Lesh is so fascinated by Svetlana that he secretly creates a online MMO  character that looks just like her.  He even names his character "Svvetlana" (with two V's), and campaigns her up to level fifty, gaining power, virtual gold, and lots of magical online loot.

Lesh enjoys spending time with Svetlana (one V) in real life, but he also enjoys being Svvetlana (two V's) in the game.

What could possibly go wrong?

In alternating narrative voices (Lesh and Svetlana, and also the virtual warrior orc Kugnar and the virtual elf priestess Svvetlana), the story gradually stumbles and reels to an unexpected--and sort of wonderful--final chapter.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.  Lesh is verbally misogynistic (calling girls "skanks" etc.) which is somewhat disturbing, especially considering his own gender questions.

Into the River

Into the River  by Ted Dawe

Te Arepa Santos lives with his grandfather Ra, surrounded by cousins and aunts and uncles, descendants of a Maori woman who married a heroic Spanish pirate.  The day that Te Arepa encounters the giant eel in a haunted stream, his life changes.  Soon Te Arepa, like his piratical ancestor Diego Santos, will leave his family home and his traditions.  Soon, he is on his way to an exclusive boy's boarding school in Auckland.

Into the River was the first book ever to be banned in New Zealand, although that country has much stricter "decency standards" than we have here in America.  The book wasn't even banned when it was first published; actually, it spent two years picking up prestigious awards like the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year first.  Then it got rated "for mature readers ages 14+".  Then it was banned entirely: not available for sale to any reader in New Zealand at all (although sales of the international Kindle edition went up as readers circumvented the ban).

Why all the fuss?  That's what I wondered.  So I read it.

The story contains sexual situations--including naked body parts, masturbation and intercourse--on the page.  There is cussing, and drug use.  There is homosexuality, bullying, underage drinking, suicide, lawless behavior and rampant racism. 

My verdict:  the censors in New Zealand really need to get out more.

In other words, Into the River contains nothing we haven't seen in teen lit before.  Why this particular book bothered the outspoken members of Family First, I cannot say.  

Unfortunately for my feelings of unfettered righteousness, I did not love the book.  

Not because I object to sexual content in teen books (obviously) but rather because I thought that the main character had tremendous potential as a young Maori man entering Western society...and he quickly turned as mainstream as the bullies around him.  

Yawn.  

While the first half of the book raced along with the glory of Maori words footnoted on each page, the last half trudged inexorably towards the main character's expulsion from school.   

Buy this to diversify your collections, or to demonstrate the power of censorship (sales soared!), but if you want to read a great coming-of-age story of Maori New Zealand, you may have to write it yourself.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl  by Jesse Andrews

Senior Greg Gaines has planned out his last year at Benson High School:  he's going to keep an insanely low profile, make lousy films, and survive until June.

It's good to have a plan.  A plan makes excellent traction when you crumple it up and drive over it.

And that is, essentially, what happens Greg's plan.  His mom greets him at the end of Senior Year Day 1 and tells him that Rachel has cancer, and that he, Greg, will go and befriend her.

If this was a regular book about cancer, Greg and his friends and family would learn a touching lesson about the sweetness of life and the bitterness of death.  If this was a book by John Green you would need three boxes of tissues just to face the world after the final page.

But it isn't.  Here are a few lines from the final chapter, just to give you a taste of the narrative voice:

...doesn't mean I'll be making a film out of this book.  There is no way in hell that is going to happen.  When you convert a good book to a film, stupid things happen.  God only knows what would happen if you tried to convert this unstoppable barf-fest into a film.  The FBI would probably have to get involved.  There's a chance you could consider it an act of terrorism....

Greg's sarcastic, self-deprecating voice throughout the story rings true to anyone who has ever been a teen--or even spoken to a teen lately.  However, Earl nearly steals the show several times.  I won't quote any lines from Earl, partly because I don't want to spoil the fun of reading Earl in context, and partly because he cusses so much that every other word would be bleeped.  And that is absolutely all I will say about Earl, except maybe this:

Great story, great characters, buckets of cussing and talking about sexual situations, but no bare skin except sometimes the bald head of Rachel, which looks (according to Greg and Earl) like Darth Vader when he takes his helmet off:  "insanely white, like it had been boiled, and sort of veiny and lumpy."  Not exactly an erotic image, but hey:  cancer isn't very pretty.

Oh, and by the way:  there is a movie. 

 And according to folks at Sundance, the movie didn't totally suck.

Carry On

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

• A boy magician, identified at age 11 as "the Chosen One" and taken away to a magical British school
• A series of books about the boy and his friends as they battle the enemy of all Wizard-kind
• Lots of magic, magical creatures, action, adventure, mystery, and good vs evil

You know the boy I'm talking about, right?  Yes!  It's Simon Snow!

Wait.  What?

Simon Snow's evil roommate Baz says that Simon is probably the worst Chosen One ever chosen, and he's probably right.  Most of the time Simon doesn't know what his magic is going to do...if it does anything.  His magic wand is a hand-me-down, his spell casting is capricious, and although the Sword of Mages comes to his hand sometimes when he needs it, it's never reliable.

And then there's Baz:  rich.  pale.  mysterious.  wicked.  and a vampire.

Wait.  What?

The reader joins Simon and Baz mid-story, after they have already survived adventures in six other books fighting chimeras, goblins, bone-teeth hunters...and each other.  Unlike that other series of books about a boy magician in a magical school, this series has never been written.  And Carry On isn't the series itself either, it's a fan-fiction novel.

Keep up, will you?

Only Rainbow Rowell could write a fanfic salute to a series that she invented as a "prop" for a different novel...and only Rainbow Rowell would start by writing the end of the story but not the beginning!

And just wait until you get to the romance between Simon and XXXXXXXX    ....oops.  Sorry, no spoilers here.

Fast-paced adventure and a flawed hero with flawed friends, awesome love story and terrific world-building.  

Highly recommended.

The Nightingale

The Nightingale  by Kristin Hannah

WWII is on, the Nazis have invaded, and France is occupied.  Elder sister Vianne is committed to surviving and to keeping her daughter safe.  Younger sister Isabelle is outraged, and determined to join the Résistance and beat the Germans.  The siblings rarely agree and are separated by time and politics for almost the entire duration of the conflict.

The point is made several times during the story that "war stories" are almost always about (and told by) men, and that the Nazis often overlooked the role of women in warfare, sometimes to the tremendous detriment of the Third Reich. 

Not everything goes well, of course.  Some of the wrong people are taken away, some of the characters that readers attach to come to grievous harm.  Very few of the characters would be objectively considered "good people"...and yet, the details of their lives are so compelling that the book is difficult to put down.

Written for adult audiences but with plenty of teen appeal, especially for readers of Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire.  Sexual situations are mostly off-page, but some of the violence (and torture) is not.

Highly recommended for readers ages 14 to adult, and especially for book discussion groups.