Tomboy

Tomboy: a graphic memoir  by Liz Prince

Liz was a kid who knew what she liked:  boy stuff.  Boy clothing, boy toys and games, boy sports, boys as friends.  She also knew what she didn't like:  girl stuff.

Her road to adulthood was bumpy and full of uncertainty.  Was she a lesbian?  Transgender?  A complete freakazoidal weirdo that nobody would ever like (except her mom, because that's her mom's, like, job)?  

Would Liz ever conform to gender norms?  And more importantly:  would Liz ever want to comform?

This quick-paced graphic memoir is full of angst, but it's also funny.  Liz may not be much like other people, but she's got a handle on that now.  Her story is worth reading--and sharing.

Recommended for ages 14 to adult. 

The Pearl Thief

The Pearl Thief  by Elizabeth Wein

15 year old Julia Beaufort-Stuart knows that her life is about to change in many ways:  the family estate has been sold to pay debts.  This will be the family's last summer spent at the old castle--and they will be surrounded by workers and strangers busily changing over the traditional home into a boarding school.

Even so, Julie never expected to get banged on the head and left for dead by the side of the river.

Part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, part historical tale, part exploration of the culture of Scottish Travellers ("gypsies" is an impolite term), this book is a page turner from beginning to end.  It is also, astute readers will note, a prequel to this author's award-winning Code Name Verity, and many of the scenes in Pearl Thief add light to scenes and situations in the other book.  

Highly, highly recommended.  I am perishing to hear the audio version.

Falling From Horses

Falling From Horses  by Molly Gloss

In 1938, 19-year-old Bud Frazer leaves behind his parents and the Oregon ranch life he has always known, climbs on a southbound Greyhound bus headed for Hollywood, and meets Lily Shaw, who will be his friend for life.

Bud is determined to be movie stunt rider, and quickly learns that horses and stunt riders are considered cheap and disposable by movie folks.  There are always more horses that can be chased off a cliff or tripped up by wires, or ridden to exhaustion, and there are always more movie-cowboy-wannabees dumb enough to carry out the deeds for a few bucks and a chance to be seen on the silver screen.

Meanwhile, Lily experiences another side of the Hollywood scene:  the seedy side of screen writing.  Lily is determined to write, and write well...and for many reasons, she doesn't fit in with the mostly-male writers of the time.

Bud's narrative voice is strong, calm, and believable.  His account of his year in Hollywood--and the time before that, back in Oregon--reads like a memoir.  Although the story is fiction, the characters and situations are carefully researched.  The accounts of horrific abuse of horses for the amusement of moviegoers are based on true events, and these abuses continued until 1940.

Bud, however, leaves the action much sooner.

The story is quietly told, despite the hair-raising stunts performed by human and animal actors.  Bud's grief (which precedes the first page, and is revealed in flashback chapters) carries the narrative without dragging it down.  Bud's naive encounters with women add flashes of humor, but it is his fondness for Lily that keeps the sometimes-grim story from becoming overwhelmingly dismal.

Falling From Horses is the 2015 "Everyone READS" choice for Shoreline, Richmond Beach, and Lake Forest Park WA.  The book lends itself to discussion, and is recommended for teen and adult readers.

Poisoned Apples

Poisoned Apples : poems for you, my pretty  by Christine Heppermann

After the kiss and the trip to the castle, Sleeping Beauty's day consists of showering, shaving, shampooing, conditioning....and so much more.  Little Miss Muffet signs up for a drastic diet to try to assuage decades of dairy-fed weight.  A "house of bricks" girl gradually starves herself down to mere straw.

In this poetry collection, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the Miller's Daughter, and many other folkloric ladies are besieged by modern body image issues including eating disorders, social pressure, verbal and physical abuse, and sexual situations.  

This collection is uneven and repetitive.  Some poems are deftly created, merging a traditional tale with modern sensibilities, offering insight to both.

Other pieces clunk when they roll, with messages about fat girls, mean boys, and relentless striving to conquer societal expectations, delivered via a merciless hammer fist and no reference to any external story.

Teachers and lovers of poetry will find useful bits of brilliance here, but the verses may be best enjoyed in small tastes, rather than large gulps.

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club  by Genevieve Valentine

Jo and her sisters are known to the dancers and musicians and club owners and bartenders only as "Princess."  

They don't disclose their names to anyone, they reveal no details about themselves or their lives outside of the speakeasies.  And at the end of a night of dancing, with their shoes wearing thin, the twelve dancing princesses slip away together, disappearing into the anonymous darkness.  

With a nod to the Grimm's version of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," twelve sisters escape imprisonment by a domineering father to the freedom of the dance halls.  Even with a fairy tale as a root story, these characters are firmly rooted in Prohibition-era New York City, and are heavily influenced by the fast-changing social landscape for women in America of the 1920's.  

Readers will keep pages turning to discover what happens to the "princesses" when their secret is discovered!

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.  The audiobook, deftly read by Susie Berneis, is also recommended.

Fangirl

Fangirl  by Rainbow Rowell
audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman and Maxwell Caufield

Cath assumed that Wren would always be by her side, no matter what.  After all, the girls are identical twins, and have shared every aspect of their lives together, always.   But when they leave home for their first year of college, Wren wants to try living her life as an individual, leaving Cath feeling abandoned and alone.

The only time Cath doesn't feel pathetic is when she's writing fanfiction.  She takes characters from her favorite book series and writes her own stories about them--and Cath's version, in which the two main guy characters are in love, has thousands of fans of its own!

But Cath is so busy writing fanfiction that she is overlooking some awesome real people.  Like her dad, who loves her.  And like that cute boy who asks her to read out loud, maybe....

For readers who would sometimes rather stay inside a fictional world.  Isn't that all of us, sometimes?

The audiobook is completely engrossing, with Rebecca Lowman reading Cath's world and Maxwell Caufield reading exerpts from books and stories about Simon Snow.

Some cussing, allusions to sex and sexual situations, and a fantasy-world-within-the-real-world.  Highly recommended for ages 14 to adult.

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents : straight answers to teens' questions about sex, sexuality and health  by Elizabeth Henderson & Nancy Armstrong, MD

When I have sex for the first time, will people be able to tell?
How old do I have to be to buy condoms?
What is the best birth control?
Does alcohol really kill brain cells?

These, and 96 other common questions are answered in simple, straightforward language. The questions are arranged in a random fashion (perhaps from most-frequently to less-frequently asked?), and the answers are succinct and factual--most Q/A entries are dealt with on a single page, with no fancy color formatting, no sidebars and no illustrations of any kind.

Most questions are related to sex and sexuality, but topics also include drug and alcohol use, suicidal thoughts, and friendships.  The "hot" topics of homosexuality, birth control (including abstinence, condom use and pills), and pregnancy are each addressed several times, but the topic of abortion remains untouched by this book.  Not all the responses are complete--it's notable that Planned Parenthood is not mentioned anywhere in the text or index, despite that agency's importance in the field of teen sexual health issues nationwide.

Index and glossary of terms are included. A list of additional resources, books, websites and governmental agencies would have been helpful, but was not included.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" starts off her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  

But the story is not the one that the Nazis think they are getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  

There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

No sex or overt sexual situations; this book is included on the SITL list because it features other controversial topics, including violence and torture.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" begins her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  But the story is not the one that the Nazis thought they were getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

And yes:  there's no sex in this book.  No romance at all, in fact (although the companion book forthcoming in September 2013 promises a bit of romance).  However, Code Name Verity is bound to be controversial, so we're including it on the list as a book our readers will want to know and share.

The Diviners

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Evie McNeill is a thoroughly modern flapper, exiled from her Ohio hometown for revealing the unwholesome secrets of the son of a powerful local man, and sent (happily) to live with her uncle at the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition and the Occult in Prohibition-era New York City. 

Once there, it becomes obvious to Evie and the reader that the "creepy-crawlies" aren't confined to Uncle Will's museum.  There are strange things afoot...and one of them is a serial killer, returned from the dead and determined to finish the grusome rituals that will release the Beast and drop Hell on the waiting world.

With a huge cast of characters, lots of historical context, accurate political, social and musical references, this book is a terrific immersion into 1920's New York.  It's also a ripping good mystery and thrilling horror story with just a touch of romance.

The audiobook read by January LaVoy is outstanding, and successfully created all the suspense, terror, and fun of the book in the front seat of my pickup truck.

Pos-i-tute-ly adorable book trailer available online HERE.
Search for "Diviners Radio" on You Tube to find episodes of the story interpreted as a radio play

With blood and guts on the page, this book may be overwhelming for squeamish or timid readers.  Be bold if you are able.   Highly recommended--I'm can hardly wait for the second book!

Ivy

 

Okeksyk, Sarah. Ivy.  (graphic novel)

Ivy is a talented high school artist growing up in a small town in Maine.  Her mom wants her to study business at a local college, but Ivy wants to study painting...as far away from her hometown as possible.  Her emotional roller coaster sometimes derails Ivy's good intentions, but gradually she works towards creating her own kind of freedom.

Although Ivy was published in 2011, one gets the feeling that it is set in a much earlier time.  She exchanges hand-written letters with her long-distance boyfriend, and they call each other on land-line telephones (the kind with cords!).  Still, the emotional journey towards adulthood is universally uncomfortable, and the story is well-drawn and well-told.  This graphic novel features on-page sex (tactful, but unmistakable), drug use and under-age drinking as well as lots of cussing and depictions of some seriously dysfunctional families.  Ivy is not a happy story, but the end promises just a bit of hope for the future.

Between

Between  by Jessica Warman

When pretty, popular, wealthy Elizabeth Valchar wakes up on the morning of her 18th birthday, she's dead.

Nobody knows exactly what happened, including Liz herself, who is stuck "between" life and death, haunting her hometown, her friends and her family, seeking answers.  The only person who can see Liz is Alex...and he's dead too.

The narrative gradually unwinds clue after tiny clue, drawing the reader deeper into the complex life of a pretty girl who apparently had it all.  Liz is not a sympathetic character, especially at first.  Yet, as the story delves deeper into the past, Liz  learns that her life was not as perfect as she thought it was...and that her accidental death on the family yacht might not have been an accident.

The mystery is not perfect--astute readers will figure out the connection between Liz and Alex long before Liz understands it--and there are a few plot holes.  However, the storytelling itself is entrancing.  

Mild cussing, sexual situations, underage drinking and drug use.  Recommended for readers 14 to adult. 

This is Aarene's review.  To review Mary Jo's review of Between, click HERE.

The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Ever wonder what happened to Carrie before the “Sex in the City” movie? OK, I didn’t either. But teens have seen the movie, and will jump at the chance to read this.

Carrie is growing up in a small town and wants nothing more than to be a writer and live in New York City. Into her senior year walks Sebastian Kydd, and predictably turns the year upside down. Carrie falls in love. Sebastian is the typical flawed character that Carrie finally understands at last.

The plot is predictable, and clearly written for teens who have watched the movie and know Carrie as an adult. Carrie clearly is the only virgin in the world, finds smoking and drinking just what teens do, has a single father who is just plain silly, and friends who have all the trauma of high school.

I found the constant smoking and drinking out of place, the attitudes toward sex only worthy of a book, and Carrie herself just annoying. By the time she finally stands up for herself, I just didn’t care. If you haven’t gone to the beach this summer, and you loved the move, take this along- and leave it. If your summer is over, just move on too.