ALAN’s Picks: September 2008

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“ALAN’s Picks” is a recurring post on ALAN Online featuring book reviews of the newest titles in Young Adult Literature.  Reviews are compiled and posted monthly.  Be sure to visit ALAN Online often to read more about the newest titles from the best authors in the business.

Reviewed this month:

 

 

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer
Dutton/Penguin, 2008, 278 pp., $16.00
Vampires/Horror
ISBN: 978-0-525-47892-8

The first year of high school is never easy, but Vlad has issues that make high school even more challenging than usual. He thinks it’s his fault that both his parents were killed in a fire because he didn’t wake them up one morning before leaving for school. He is constantly slammed against the lockers by Bathory High’s two resident bullies. He feels like an idiot every time he sees Merideth Brookstone because he missed the opportunity to kiss her at the Freedom Fest dance last year. 

It doesn’t help that Vlad’s vampire hormones give him as many problems as his human hormones do, or that being a halfblood—born of a human mother and a vampire father—make him the unwilling target of a hired vampire slayer. Otis, his vampire guardian, arranges a trip to Siberia over winter break so Vlad can be tutored by his father’s closest friend, Vikas, in the vampire ways and traditions of Elysia. 

Typical tensions of a teen coming-of-age are interwoven with the intrigue as some in the vampire community who distrust and fear Vlad’s very existence have paid handsomely for his extermination. To complicate things further, guarded whispers suggest that Vlad may be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, the long-awaited Pravas—a walking god among vampirekind. 

Strong character development and compassion for the complex difficulties and dangers Vlad continues to face help the most squeamish readers overcome their qualms about cheering for a character who enjoys a “nice warm mug of O negative” for breakfast.

Reviewed by Kathleen Rowlands, Northridge, CA

 

The Day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Knopf/Random House, 2008, 217 pp., $16.99
Death/Grief/Identity/Guilt
ISBN: 978-0-375-84158-3

Like the Colliers’ My Brother Sam Is Dead, the title of this book lets readers know up front that the book is about more than the plot of James’ death.  Theresa, 17, has always overlooked James, the young man next door.  For starters, he’s a few years older than she is and has served in the military.  Theresa ignored James’ numerous letters as she spent time with her fickle boyfriend, Randy.  Fun-loving James is more than happy to help make Randy jealous by taking Theresa to the party of the year, but she hasn’t bargained for the intensity of James’ feelings after she reunites with Randy at the party.  

Told through first-person narration as well as Theresa’s journal entries that inform readers of the days prior to, after, and on “The Day” of James’ death, the authentic, surly voice of Theresa elicits both annoyance and endearment.  Running away from her guilt and grief, Theresa realizes her situation is perhaps not the worst life could offer when she meets a neglected and emotionally-abused girl.  Filled with intensity, this author of Pay It Forward provides a powerful, character-driven story.  

Reviewed by Angie Beumer Johnson, Hilliard, OH

A Difficult Boy by M. P. Barker
Holiday House, 2008, 298 pp., $16.95
Historical Fiction/Adolescence/ Coming-of-Age
ISBN: 0-8234-2086-8

Daniel, or “Paddy,” a 15-year-old indentured servant, has been through a lot in his short life: immigration from Ireland to America, subsistence farming with his family, and a tragic fire that left him an orphan. To stay off the public welfare system of 1839 Massachusetts, he is indentured to Mr. Lyman, a wealthy shop owner and farmer. The protagonist, Ethan, comes to live with Daniel when his father is unable to pay off his debts at Mr. Lyman’s store. Ethan and Daniel survive by supporting each other and trying to please the increasingly demanding and dishonest Mr. Lyman. Daniel’s love of horses promotes both his downfall and redemption in the heroic climax of this engaging story. 

Reviewed by Susan Wegmann, Orlando, FL

Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008, 181 pp., $16.95
Cystic Fibrosis/Death
ISBN: 0-374-32436-0

The closer one approaches the end of his or her life, the more he or she reflects upon the choices made. Facing mortality is often not thought about until after raising a family and watching your family raise their own families. Imagine such inner turmoil churning within an 18-year-old girl. Brianna Pelletier is a senior in high school with cystic fibrosis. Her father is raising her on his own, working just to keep up with towering medical bills. Brianna’s father wakes her up at five o’clock in the morning, beating her back to help her hack the fluid from her lungs into a handkerchief. She then takes a mountain of pills and gets ready for her day, knowing she will endure several more coughing fits before lunch.

The only comfort Brianna has does not come from her father. Not her absent mother. Not her friends. Brianna makes it through each day because of mathematics. Eccles, her new math teacher, is more of a philosopher than a mathematician. He, too, faces his own mortality from his heart condition. Each class, Eccles refers back to infinity. No matter the situation, infinity is ever present. The distance between 0 and 1 is infinity, a distance most people’s mind limits to a simple and depressing 1. More than a kindred spirit, Brianna begins to adopt Eccles’s beliefs in an effort to make sense of her short life. She ponders the infinite after life and the imprint she can leave behind after she has left the earthly world. Brianna tackles her unfinished business before her hourglass drops its last grain. 

Halpin is masterful at weaving the abstract world of mathematics into a beautiful understanding of life and death. This novel stretches math content beyond the expected realm of numbers and measurements. Math becomes accessible to all readers, whether enamored with or terrified of such a complex, abstract way of interpreting the world.  Reviewed by Malorie Barrett, Dallas, GA

The Ghost of Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
HarperCollins, 2008, 154 pp., $16.99
Family Problems/Isolation/Survival
ISBN: 978-0-06-009007-4

Cole Matthews has had a rough life as a teen. He watched his parents arguing, his father’s drinking get out of control, and had to deal with school bullies. Since his parents didn’t care and he was left to fend for himself, Cole began to steal, drink, and try drugs for fun.  Eventually, Cole even acquired charges of assault and robbery. Instead of spending time in jail, Cole’s punishment is to have a year’s banishment on an island in the most remote part of Alaska.

However, once in Alaska, Cole and his friend Peter are attacked and nearly killed by a great white Spirit Bear. Because of his anger over the attack and his sentence to Alaska, Cole burns the cabin down that was built to help him survive.  After his recovery, he is allowed back on the island as long as he promises to rebuild the cabin he destroyed. 

After his year of exile has expired, Cole and his friend Peter are set to start the most terrifying journey of their lives: students at Minneapolis Central High School. Cole can fend for himself, but what about Peter? He has an unmistakable limp and his speech impediment doesn’t seem to help. The school is riddled with violence and gangs, and Cole must learn to adapt to the new lifestyle he has been given: one of peace and non-violence. He must learn to harness the anger and violence within himself that he once depended on for survival. 

Will Cole be able to overcome his inner issues to make it through high school without incident? Will his proposal of the Spirit Bear mascot be approved by the school board so that he finally gets the recognition he deserves? Cole’s journey of lessons learned and self-discovery are just the beginning.

Mikaelsen delivers a heart-stopping novel that will have you rooting for the under dog until the very end. He delivers an inside view of what life is like on the other side of the tracks for a teenager dubbed to be troubled and how never giving up can sometimes be harder than it sounds.

Reviewed By Lindsay Williams, Dayton, OH

 

Headlong by Kathe Koja
Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008, 208 pp., $16.95
Adolescence/ Social Situations
ISBN: 0-374-32912-5

Designated as a “lifer,” Lily Noble has been a Vaughn School student since preschool.  Vaughn “lifers” are the role models of the school: they come from proper families, earn perfect grades, and date appropriate co-eds.  When Lily meets Hazel, a transfer scholarship student from public school, she begins to question if she really wants to be the perfect person that she has been her entire life.  

Despite disapproval from her parents, friends, and school advisers, Lily’s friendship with Hazel grows until they are practically inseparable, both inside and outside of school.  Hazel shares with Lily her perspective on life, which helps Lily make the ultimate decision—whether or not she should remain a Vaughn student.

Using an unusual narrative organization where the chapters alternate between a chronological retelling of the school year and a description of the events during June, Kathe Koja foreshadows the importance of Lily’s final decision.  Anyone who has had to make a tough, possibly life-altering, decision can relate to Lily’s character and the pressure she feels from the people around her.

Reviewed by Amy Lavin, West Jordan, UT

 

The Invasion of Sandy Bay by Anita Sanchez
Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills Press, 2008, 144 pp., $16.95
Historical Fiction/War of 1812

ISBN: 978-1-59078-560-7 
It’s 1814 and the War of 1812 is taking its toll on the New England economy, and Lemuel and his mother are no exception.  They have to leave their farm and move to the small fishing town of Sandy Bay, where his mother can try to make a living as a tavern keeper.  Lemuel finds the monotony of tavern life boring, and he wants to become a fisherman.  But his first night out with an older fisherman proves just as boring and has Lemuel wishing to be back in the warmth of the tavern. That is until the dullness is broken by the approach of a British frigate that forces them aboard ship.  Lemuel and the old man are forced to lead the frigate into the harbor, and a small battle ensues.  As the story continues, Lemuel is called a traitor for leading the Redcoats in, but eventually through a strange and heroic turn of events, Lemuel becomes the town’s very own “Paul Revere.”

Sanchez has taken a small piece of history from the War of 1812 and created a great tale of adventure and heroism for a young Sandy Bay boy.  

Reviewed by Frankie Huff, Orlando, FL

 

A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis
Knopf/Random House, 2008, 280 pp., $15.99
Cooking/Relationships
ISBN:  978-0-375-84815-5

What’s a senior girl to do with a mom she thinks is too bossy, a boyfriend who isn’t really yet a boyfriend, and a dream of becoming a famous chef with her own TV show?  Elaine (“Lainey”) moves from ecstatic to devastated as she slowly realizes that her crush cares more for her food and her help than her true self. A thriving upscale restaurant that Lainey’s mom co-owns provides a backdrop for Lainey’s lessons and dreams.  She experiments with recipes that she then records in a notebook.  Readers can try their hand at “Lainey’s” recipes, complete with notes, interspersed between chapters. Although the exposition could be shorter and the ending seems a bit rushed, readers will enjoy the fare Davis serves: teen angst that seems sadly realistic.

Reviewed by Angie Beumer Johnson, Hilliard, OH

 

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2009, 320 pp., $17.99
Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome/Relationships/Legal Drama
ISBN: 0-545-054-745

Seventeen-year old Marcelo has Asperger’s Syndrome—an autism-like developmental disorder that affects a child’s ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. For some mysterious reason, he hears music that nobody else can hear and more troubling, has difficulty reading the intentions of others. As a result, he has always attended a special school. Yet, his father is a non-believer and figures that the best way to cure his son’s “supposed symptons” is with a “cold dose of reality.”

Hence, the summer after Marcelo’s junior year, his father demands that his son work in his law firm’s mailroom. There, he learns more than his father ever bargained as Marcelo finds in a file a picture of a girl with half a face. Curious, he investigates who she is and before he knows it, he begins to truly connect with “the real world,” learning firsthand about suffering, injustice, and indifference.

As readers know, few young adult novels deal honestly and openly with developmental disabilities. Happily, though, this is an exceptionally good read about the similarities among all human beings and the music that rests within our souls.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kaplan, Orlando, FL

 

Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
Scholastic, 2008, 312 pp., $17.99
Fantasy/Magic
ISBN: 978-0-545-05264-1

Patches of land and fresh water sources are dying and the people of Starns Island have called on the mages from Winding Circle for help.  Apprentice Evvy has been forced to join the voyage with green mage Rosethorn and water mage Myrrhtide in order to escape from trouble on Winding Circle. An engaging clash takes place as Evvy’s abrasive tongue and solid stubborn streak breaks against Myrrhtide’s effusive pride and self-importance.  It is up to Rosethorn to keep Evvy and Myrrhtide in check. Myrrhtide does not understand why a mage of his caliber has been required to attend to the needs of farmers, fishermen, and former pirates.  The Gods have stepped in, and Evvy is now the key to saving the island from disaster.  Will Evvy’s traumatic past provide the means for the island’s destruction or salvation?  Evvy is bound to determine her own path; is she destroyer or builder?  Luvo, the heart of a mountain, guides her above and below the surface.  Starns Island has the potential to shape Evvy into a powerful, yet isolated, hardened dedicate; and yet the pull and warmth of human connections transform her, allowing her to release her past.  Islanders and mages alike depict the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit in this appealing story. 

Teachers who are looking for novels that read across the curriculum will find that this novel blends nicely with Earth Science. Tamora Pierce readers will quickly recognize her return to the world of the Circle of Magic and the Circle Opens novels.  Melting Stones, is a stand alone story with a clear and unique voice depicting a series of new and engaging characters.

Reviewed by Sandra Fisher, Hiram, GA

 

My So Called Family by Courtney Sheinmel
Simon and Schuster, 2008, 208 pp., $15.99
Adolescence/ Family/Identity
ISBN: 1-416-957855

The last thing a thirteen-year-old girl wants to be is different from her friends. Leah is different. How can she not be, when she’s a walking, talking science experiment? She doesn’t have a biological father, she has a donor. Her mom flipped through a book and selected donor number 730 like she was choosing a dinner special. Except in this case, the “sides” had all the qualities she wanted in a baby: Jewish, olive skin, green eyes, slender, healthy. Voila! Leah was born.

Leah’s mother had eventually married and had another child, Charlie, making Leah the odd one out in another way. She’s not even fully a part of her own family. No one can understand her—not really. Except perhaps the half siblings she finds out about when she looks up donor 730 on the Web site for Lyons Reproductive Services. They’re her half siblings as much as Charlie. So, what makes a family? 

Observation is what makes this book stand out. Not because the observations are huge and life-altering, but because the author makes little things count. The little things people do that make them…people. Then she takes the people of her story and explores the little things that bring them together and tears them apart. On a bigger level, she explores the connections that make a family. 

Leah may be unique in origin, but she’s an average teen girl with hopes, fears, and feelings that are relatable to all. The relationships explored here are also unique but relatable. This book is tightly written and definitely re-readable—one to keep on the shelf. 

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince, Tucson, AZ

 

Paper Towns by John Green
Dutton/Penguin, 2008, 352 pp., $17.99
Social Issues/Runaways
ISBN: 0-525-478183

Quentin Jacobsen has spent the better part of his life obsessing about Margo Roth Spiegelman. A unique shared childhood memory and the fact that they have always lived next door to one another ensures that Quentin can never get Margo completely out of his head. However, the different worlds (and cliques) that separate them keep the two from getting any closer. What would a vibrant and popular girl want with a band geek who’s not even in the band? But, it turns out Margo Roth Spiegelman does want something from Q, and she shows up at his bedroom window in the middle of the night to get it. 

If I had to use one word to describe Paper Towns, that word would be “strong.” The book elicits strong emotion with every page turned. I found myself laughing, frustrated, and hopeful—no exaggeration—with every single page.  Green’s signature cynical humor makes this book an incredible read, and it will, no doubt, be a contender for the 2008 Printz Medal, just as his other two books, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines had their turns as medalist and honor book, respectively. 

Paper Towns is about people and the different ways of viewing them, and it’s about learning to think, really think about the world, rather than accepting easy explanations. It’s a philosophical book, peppered liberally with humor. 

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince, Tucson, AZ

 

Planet Pregnancy by Linda Oatman High
Front Street, 2008, 197 pp., $16.95
Teen Pregnancy
ISBN: 978-1-59078-584-3

This poetic novel takes us into the mind of Sahara, a sixteen-year-old who just discovered that she is pregnant.  Her life isn’t hard enough without having to deal with a selfish mother and annoying siblings, and now she has to figure out how to tell them she is going to have a baby.  Luckily, she has her best friend Emma who sticks by her, even if Emma does have a “perfect” family.  And as for the father, Sahara would rather not even tell Dustin about his future child but when she finally does, he denies the possibility. This story is told through poetry.  The lines give us an in-depth look into the mind and ever-changing emotions of a teenage mother.  Her surface level concerns about being fat or not being able to attend the prom only remind us of the true responsibilities she will have to face.  

Reviewed by Cynthia Mitchell, Satellite Beach, FL

The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha
Walker, 2008, 240 pp. $16.99
Peer Pressure/Relationships/Bullying
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9651-6

Caleb Dunne, one of the world’s great slackers, is persuaded by his girlfriend Vickie to join a new school club based on the book The Rule of Won (a thinly guised reference to the wildly popular and controversial book The Secret). He soon realizes that the club, which promises to fulfill members’ every wish, functions more like a cult, and when students start getting emotionally and physically hurt, Caleb must choose between his slacker lifestyle and a definitive course of action. 

Petrucha has created a cast of very believable characters, from the overachieving girlfriend to the leader of the Rule of Won, a seemingly mild-mannered kid with a dark past. Caleb is both likeable and frustrating as a teen who is forced to deal with a very real and challenging problem in today’s schools, the power of group thinking. What makes this story so fascinating is that as Caleb leads us through this world of high school peer pressure, we become interested not only in the events taking place but in the choices that Caleb makes and how those choices will affect his life. 

Reviewed by Bryan Gillis, Kennesaw, GA

 

The Running Man by Michael Gerard Bauer
Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2008, 294 pp., $16.99
Coming-of-Age/Childhood Fears/Loss and Death
ISBN: 978-0-06-145508-7

Young Joseph Davidson is a quiet and artistically gifted boy who lives in a quiet suburban community.  He, along with his overly protective mother, lives in a very normal community among chatty neighbors and friendly townsfolk.  On the other hand, Joseph is beginning to notice the realities of the world as he comes of age.  He is attempting to come to grips with a father whose job keeps him away for months at a time and his childhood fears of the frightening outcasts in his community.

Attempting to complete a project for his art class, Joseph comes in contact with his neighbor, Tom Leyton.  Tom is a Vietnam veteran, who lives in the neighboring house with his sister Caroline.  Tom has become a mythical figure in the town, in which stories have circulated for nearly thirty years about his beleaguered past as a soldier, teacher and outcast.  Upon meeting Tom, Joseph is forced to look at his fear and what is at the heart of his feelings.  Is it his overprotective mother?  Is it his lack of a father figure at home?

As Joseph and Tom begin to share a common likeness of art, poetry and silkworms, they expose their fears and begin to gain insight into the realities surrounding them.

The Running Man is beautifully written with great metaphor and wonderful symbolism.  It deals with real issues of loss, depression, fear and the division of family and how the smallest things can have profound effects on the way we think the world turns.

Reviewed by Ray Engle, Dayton, OH

 

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