All These Things I've Done

All These Things I've Done  by Gabrielle Zevin

16-year-old Anya is the heir to to the "family business":  chocolate. 

In the year 2083, chocolate is a controlled substance, and Anya's family is a modern mafia, importing chocolate and other prohibited luxuries to New York.   Her parents were both killed in mob hits, leaving Anya in charge of a younger sister, a brain-injured older brother, and a dying grandmother.  Anya considers herself the least romantic girl in the world...until she falls in love with Win Delacroix, the son of New York's new assistant DA.

Then Anya's ex-boyfriend nearly dies from eating a poisoned bar of Balanchine Chocolate, and the story begins to twist and turn and twist again.

Crime, drama, chocolate, forbidden romance...and this is only the first book!  At least two more in the Birthright series are already in the works. 

This book contains some sexual situations (including a steamy "near miss" scene in a hotel room) with no actual body parts on the page.  There is no cussing, some not-very-bloody mob violence, and several scenes of alcohol consumption by teens; in 2083, alcohol is legal for all ages, but coffee is not.

Recommended for ages 14 to adult.

After the Golden Age

After the Golden Age  by Carrie Vaughn

Forensic accountant Celia West is the daughter of superheroes Captain Olympus and Spark, but her only "talent" seems to be a gift for getting kidnapped and held for ransom.  When the insane supervillian Simon Sito (aka The Destructor) is captured and prosecuted for tax evasion, Celia finds her chance to help bring evil to justice.  However, her investigation uncovers a conspiracy that might be the key to the origin of Commerce City's superheroes...and more.

Fast action, excellent writing, great characters, a unique setting, a little romance, and some tactful off-page sexual situations.  This book is written and published for adults, but it will be welcomed by teen readers of superhero fiction. 

Highly recommended for ages 14 and up.

S.E.X. the all-you-need-to-know progressive sexuality guide

S.E.X. : the all-you-need-to-know progressive sexuality guide to get you through high school and college  by Heather Corinna

Teens who want to know everything about sex:  here's your book. 

Complete (and I do mean complete) information to answer all the questions you've ever had (and possibly some you never considered).  Body image, relationships, masturbation, STDs, pregnancy (and prevention of STDs and pregnancy) as well as the "mechanics" of kissing, mutual masturbation, and various types of intercourse are discussed in frank, readable language. 

The author "translates" medical terms into slang terms (and vice versa) to make the information in this book as accessible as possible. She also addresses many topics that traditionally have been skipped over in sex information books: pornography, relationship skills, gender identity issues, and detailed information about the process and the phyical and mental ramifications of abortion.

Obviously, this book could be problematic in many public schools, and probably too much information for middle schools or junior high schools. However, the information is good, current, and needful. 

This is a $16.95 investment that libraries should try to make wherever possible.  Recommended.

Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens  by Libba Bray

When a plane crash-lands on a (supposedly) deserted island, a small group of teenaged beauty pageant contestants are stranded away from parents, television cameras, and a powersupply for the straightening irons.  Will they turn all Lord of the Flies? Will the Sparkle Ponies prevail?  What will happen to their newfound sense of independence and self-worth when a ship full of faux rock star pirates lands on the island?  

Most importantly: what will happen when the television cameras and Corporation representatives reveal themselves in the heroic conclusion?

Satire?  Oh, yes.  Social commentary?  That too.  Wickedly hilariously funny?  Yes, yes, YES! 

HIGHLY recommended for teen girls, and parents of girls, and teachers of girls, and anybody who ever talks to girls (including boys).  This book contains sexual situations, GLBTQ characters, feminists, corporation stooges, an insane dictator of a tiny country called ChaCha, and a little bit of cussing. 

Also: some really good tips on alternative uses for feminine dipilatory cream.

Doing It Right

Doing It Right : making smart, safe, and satisfying choices about sex
by Bronwen Pardes

With chapter headings like "The Lowdown on Down Below", "Planning, Not Parenthood", "LGBTQ...Which One R U?" and "Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite", it's easy to tell that this book is a cheery, chirpy, and frank guide to sexual information.  The data is up-to-date, with online and toll-free contact information for organizations like Planned Parenthood, as well as for sources of emergency contraception, adoption resources, and STD testing locations.

The writing is naturally friendly without being condescending, the information is complete without being overwhelming, and the narration is uninhibited without being embarrassing.  The author's gentle sense of humor pervades the book, but she also offers non-judgemental advice on sexual decision-making that will make sense to teens. 

Highly recommended.

Unshelved = bookish laughter!

If you don't already get a daily giggle in your inbox, you are missing out. 

Unshelved comics aren't just for library staff--they will tickle anybody who has ever squinted at a situation and said "Huh?"

Here's my favorite comic, which seems like it was designed especially for Sex in the Library...and the cartoonists have graciously granted us permission to re-print it here:

http://www.unshelved.com/2011-8-22












Click the link in the caption to biggify the picture and view the comic as it originally appeared on the Unshelved website on August 22, 2011.

Lips Touch Three Times

Lips Touch Three times  by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo

 

Three stories of supernatural love, each of which pivots around a single kiss. 

 

In the first story, a dead grandmother might be the only one who can save Kizzy from the seductive promises of the goblins. The second story features an old woman who makes a demonic deal to save the lives of children, and agrees to allow a newborn baby to take on a curse to bind the deal...a curse that the child contains until she grows up and falls in love. The third story is a tale of mothers, children, and a fey and magical race called the Druj. 

 

What took me so long to read this book?  I suppose that somehow I thought it was "just another kissing book", maybe with a vampire in it.  It is not just another kissing book.  The tales are dark, enticing, and entrancing, with hints of longing and a hope (but not a promise) of salvation that will draw readers into each story, beautifully illustrated in shades of red and grey.  As soon as I finished reading it, I knew three people with whom I wanted to share it. 

 

Highly recommended for ages 14 to adult; minimal cussing, some implied violence (including very muted and off-page sexual violence) and three profoundly significant kisses. 

 

Glimpse

Glimpse  by Carol Lynch Williams

Yes, we are all tired of novels in poem form.  Yes, it is easier to read about abuse if it is in poem form.  And yes, you do need to read this one.

Glimpse begins with 12 year old Hope talking her sister out of the gun that she is about to use to kill herself.  Liz, who is 14, is taken to a mental hospital.  This begins a series of back flashes through Hope's eyes of a severely dysfunctional family where mom has become a prostitute because it pays so much better than working anywhere else; where Hope has all the dreams and simple reality of a 12 year old.  And where the sisters are told to take care of each other, even if it means that 14 year old Liz will perform as a prostitute and cry all night but keep that from her sister to protect her,  After the psychiatrist and her mother both want the diary Liz kept, Hope finally realizes where it is and reads it, finding out why Liz cried every night, and why she won't talk about what happened to her. 

The verse format does not spare the harsh reality from the reader, although the reader will have figured it out long before Hope does.  Recommended for 8th grade and up.  Sexual parts mentioned; sexual acts alluded to.

Swim the Fly

Swim the fly  by Don Calame

Matt, Sean and Coop, best friends since grade school, always set a goal for themselves for the summer.  This summer the goal is:  to see a real, live girl naked.  While they are doing this, Matt also decides that he wants to swim the 100 yd butterfly – a grueling event for any swimmer, and one Matt will need to really practice to even attempt; but he will impress Kelly, a new girl on his swim team- whose boyfriend also swims the 100 yd fly.  

This is a laugh-out-loud, read-to-anyone-around book.  The extents to which his friends go to help Matt avoid swimming this event are hilarious.  The lengths to which Matt will go to keep his friends from actually seeing Kelly naked while not alerting them to the fact that he is doing just that are outstanding.  When Matt does fall in love, we all cheer.  Vomiting, pooping, possible naked girls- what junior high boy wouldn’t want this book?  Ok what adult male wouldn’t want this book?  Or is that too redundant?  Even the adults in this book are well drawn.

Sexual situations; coarse language; raunchy situations;  ages 13 and up.

Sweethearts

Sweethearts  by Sara Zarr

What is your earliest memory?  Do you remember being 3?  Jennifer does.  

What is your strongest memory?  For Jennifer it was 5th grade.  That was when everyone at school called her “Jennifer Fattifer, and her only friend was Cameron.  

Strong memory-involved bits of flashbacks continue through the book...including some parts of that memory that Jennifer can’t face yet...including some parts that she has never shared with anyone but Cameron. Then things change dramatically - Cameron disappears.  Everyone says he was killed.  

Now flash-forward to when Jennifer is 17.  Jennifer’s mother is remarried and they move- and Jennifer remakes herself into the thin, fun Jenna with the gorgeous football player.  But you know that strong memory?  It keeps coming back in bits and snatches.  Then Cameron reappears, and he says they must face that memory together.  

Sexual and physical abuse; coarse language; ages 14 up