Snow in Summer

Snow in Summer by Jane Yolen
As a young child with hair black as ebony, skin fair as snow and lips red as blood, Summer leads a fairy tale life: her mother is beautiful, her father is the king of the garden, and all is well.  But when her mother dies in childbirth, Summer learns about living the middle part of a fairy tale, the part of the story where the wicked stepmother moves in and the young girl runs away to the forest to find safety with a bunch of little men.

Set in Appalachia in the 1930's, Jane Yolen recasts not just the "Sleeping Beauty" story but several other classic Grimm tales as well, with a fresh voice and an intriguing cast. 

No cussing (the word "witch" is noted as a side-step for another word involving mama dogs) and no sex (although Hunter clearly intends to have his wicked way with Summer before carving out her heart), and only a bit of blood...but there are several very poisonous snakes to watch for.

Recommended for ages 10 to adult.

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.

The Wonder Show

 

 

The Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby

The year is 1939.  14-year-old Portia Remini was abandoned by her family at McGreavey's Home for Wayward Girls, but she runs away when her best friend dies tragically.  Through a series of accidents and coincidences, Portia ends up working as a cook in Mosco's Traveling Wonder Show.  There, Portia meets and befriends the Wild Albinos, the Fat Lady, the Bearded Lady, the Strong Man and the other freaks, and tries to find her own place among them while looking for the father who has been missing for many years.

 

Circus and sideshow history and jargon intermingle with the tale of a girl who collects stories and seeks the truth among people whose livelihoods depend on falsehood and misdirection.  Some cussing.  No kissing or sex, but there are tactful descriptions of the "blowoff" part of the show where the conjoined twins dance naked for a crowd of rubes.

 

Ages 12 to 18.

Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You

Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You by  Joyce Carol Oates

Merissa, Hannah, Nadia, Chloe and (Katrina) Tink have been best friends at their very exclusive high school.  Tink is the leader, even to the extent that they call themselves Tink Inc.  Everyone is intimidated by Tink, a former child actress, who says and does outrageous things.  But as seniors, the group needs to carry on without Tink because she committed suicide.  

The story is told in three parts:  first from Merissa- the perfect one, the one who was accepted early by Brown University;  the new lead in the school play; the one whose family is falling apart; the one who cuts herself to have enough pain to forget the rest.  

The middle section features Tink, multi-talented, charming, exasperating, enigmatic; now gone, with some of her secrets.  

Nadia is the last voice, a girl who is now called the school slut because of an incident when her drink was altered. Nadia now fixates on her science teacher as her savior.  To all the girls in her inner circle, Tink is still present- they have dreams about her, wonder how she would handle a situation, even hear whispers from her.  These characters will stay with you long after you finish the novel.

We are left wondering about many peripheral characters who are intriguing but dropped:  Colin, who acts like he has deep problems; Virgil, the science geek from Budapest.  Even Chloe, one of Tink’s inner circle, is poorly fleshed out.

And there are still perhaps two or three things I forgot to put in the review….

For mature 14 up

Carter's Unfocused One-Track Mind

Carter’s Unfocused One-Track Mind by Brent Crawford

Will Carter is now a sophomore, buffing out through football, thinking about a theater school in New York City, and still hoping for sex with Abby.  Will took Amber to the Homecoming Dance, to make Abby jealous; however, Amber ditched Will, hooked up with Rusty, and became pregnant.  

Sophomore boys are mystified with Amber’s pregnancy.  Will says, “We’re just not cool enough to deal with the …baby situation, I think.  We’re just like really focused on sex, you know?  Like all the time… “   Will and his “boys” also join what seems like an unsupervised party every weekend, create a “fight club” with one pair of gloves (and one pair of ski gloves), go camping and start a major fire, and generally have more adventures than any ten average fifteen year olds.  

Realistic?  Not a chance.  

Laugh-out-loud funny?  You will be laughing so hard you will need to stop reading to wipe away the tears.  

Even after you put the book down, you will be visualizing a bathroom floor full of pee, feces, vomit, and Will slipping across the bathroom floor, getting puke even in his ear. Third in the series. 

Ages 14 and up;

cussing, kissing, pregnancy, Star Trek Sex. 

Americus

 

 

Americus  written by M.K. Reed, drawn by Jonathan Hill

 

8th-graders Neil and Daniel would rather read books in their favorite fantasy series The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde than pay attention to their gossipy classmates or the adults in their small town of Americus. 

 

 

 

However, Daniel's mom is convinced that Apathea is the work of the devil and sends her son away to military school, leaving Neil alone to defend his favorite book.  However, it turns out that Neil isn't alone in loving the book....

 

Here is a great graphic novel depicting terrific friendships inspired by books.  Following the example of the main character in Apathea, Neil learns to stand up to bullies on behalf of other book-lovers, gains the confidence of classmates and the local library staff, and even starts a new romance with a fellow-bookworm.  Three cheers!

 

Highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  No sex or cussing; there are depictions of bullying and some rather ugly adult behaviors towards books, children, and other adults.

Cat Girl's Day Off

Cat Girl's Day Off  by Kimberly Pauley

Natalie Ng's two sisters have "Class A Talents": Emmy is a chameleon, able to blend in perfectly with her surroundings.  Viv has X-ray vision and the gift of truth divination.

All Natalie can do is talk to cats.

Nat considers her Talent more of an embarrassment than a gift.  She has sworn her family and best friends to secrecy about the nature of her ability rather than face the shame of being known at school as "Cat Girl."  And yet, it is Natalie's unusual aptitude that leads her into a crime-fighting adventure complicated by a movie film crew and cast intent on re-making Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Funny and fluffy, this breezy read will appeal to girls who like a little bit of humor and magic or fantasy mixed into normal high school romance stories. The talking cats almost entirely steal the second half of the book. 

No cussing, no sex, some kissing, a few threats of violence from the Talented villain.  Recommended for ages 14 and up.

Lies Beneath

Lies Beneath  by Anne Greenwood Brown 
Delacorte Press  2012

“ I hadn’t killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that.” 

GREAT first line!  Calder is a merman, with three mermaid sisters- all very real monsters who feed off the happiness that exudes as an aura on others.  Unfortunately, these innocent swimmers are killed in the process. 

Calder's family is out to avenge their mother who was snared in a fisherman’s net after failing to acquire the son demanded as retribution for saving the father.  Yes, confusing.   In the mer-world, a promise is all-important. 

With many twists and turns, Calder and his sisters pursue the father and the family, now grown with daughters of their own.  In the midst of revenge, Calder falls in love with Lily, the sixteen year old daughter, and the world changes.

This is not Disney’s Ariel.  These are killers, exacting revenge in a blood oath.  Somewhat reminiscent of vampires, these mer-folk pull all readers under in a trance turning to terror.  The killer (pun intended) ending leads to the sequel that we knew (hoped?) was coming-
but not until March 2013.

Kissing; some violence  13 up.

There Is No Dog

There is No Dog  by Meg Rosoff
Putnam 2011

When philosophers have theorized about God, whether man was created in God’s image or what that entity could look like, they never saw God as a horny teenager--a teen who loves junk food and is constantly pouting. 

Yet, this is Bob, who created the heavens and the earth and all its species.  And then forgets it, allowing wars and natural disasters just through a normal teen’s thoughtlessness.  And who has constantly fallen “in love.” Some of the love interests, mentioned in passing, were taken from the Greek gods and therefore recognizable.

Now meet Lucy, a zoo worker who Bob has newly discovered.  A no-nonsense kind of girl who loves her job, Lucy has little time for Bob when she meets him, and although drawn to him in a way she can’t understand, initially rejects him.  As Bob is upset, so are the natural forces on earth, and we experience torrential rains, floods, mixed with inexplicable days of gorgeous sun when Bob is more hopeful.

Since the job of being God was won in a poker game, Bob now needs an assistant.  Mr. B.  does all the mundane tasks of “the job,” such as answering prayers and taking care of Bob, whom he sees as “devoid of discipline, compassion and emotional depth.  Foresight…the boy was obviously thick as a divot, and if there hadn’t been a push from someone with a bit of influence, he’d still be out in the middle of the great galactic nothingness sleeping, probably, or picking his nose.”

 That pretty much sums up all the characters in the novel. Even Mr. B’s constant complaining becomes tiresome.  When Estelle, a goddess, begins planning to change things, the plan is fuzzy and does not draw our attention.  Funny, even laugh out loud funny at times, at times very irreverent, but ultimately forgettable. 

We will not “stay up all night worrying about the existence of dog.”

When You Were Mine

When you were mine  by Rebecca Serle 
Simon Pulse 2012

Rosie (Rosalind) Caplet and her best friends  Olivia and Charlie (Charlotte) are entering their senior year.  They are rich, spoiled, and ready to be on top of the school social strata.  In addition, Rosie knows that she and Rob Monteg will finally become more than just
friends. 

Rob does return from summer camp to tell Rosie that he too feels they were meant to be- that is, until her cousin Juliet arrives and so easily captivates Rob.  This is the part where I ask if the story seems familiar; but it doesn’t.  The story is purported to be a retelling of Romeo (“Monteg”) and Juliet (“Caplet”), told from the point of view of Rosalind Caplet. As we look for the references that link this with the Shakespearian story, we find that we have little in common with these rich, spoiled Southern California kids.  We do look forward to seeing the ever-in-trouble Len, who lends comic relief and a quirky personality (personality being the factor lacking in the other two-dimensional characters).

The idea of using Rosalind as the narrator is a nice plot device, and Rose evolves in the second half as a character we can care about, even though she rambles on and on when she is remembering some incident(s) from childhood (filler for the author?)

The mystery of the family estrangement adds an interesting dimension.   A quick, light, summer read with a little romance thrown in.

Kissing; references to suicide; 12 up.