Shepard, Sara. The Amateurs Book 1. Los Angeles: Hyperion, 2016.

Amazing how well this title taps into the true crime movement that seems to be transfixing so many.  Aerin, Seneca, Maddy, and Brett no each other from their involvement in the Case Not Closed website. They band together to work on the mysterious murder of Aerin’s sister Helena.  Years after her death, these kids are certain they can make a difference.  Through a series of adventures and misadventures, increasingly more dangerous, they close in on Helena’s killer.  Along the way friendships and more involved relationships are made and broken. Epiphanies are had; families are broken and healed.

The twists and turns of the mystery, its suspense and intensity, will definitely engage my readers. At multiple points the mystery seems solved and a plot twist will send the characters in a markedly different direction. Good YA mysteries are not necessarily easy for me to find.  The genuineness of the friends and lovers will attract them as well. The attractions are portrayed frankly. These characters have endured tragedy in a way that seems unbearable, and they respond ultimately with a strength that is admirable.

The novel is not so great for my 7- 12 library as it is geared for much more mature readers.  The drinking, drug use, sexual content, and violence will make it “real” for the older kids.  And they do appreciate books that seem to accurately reflect their thoughts and feelings. I will definitely recommend this to them as such. In my dream world, this book does not portray accurately what goes on in the lives of my kids, but they will tell me the truth, and the truth of this book will resonate with them.

 

 

 

Death Coming Up The Hill - Chris Crowe

Crowe, Chris. Death Coming Up the Hill. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2014.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get this book into my library or what led me to it just now, but I’m so very glad it is here! A novel written entirely in haiku.  I think that statement bears repeating - a novel written entirely in haiku-976 of them to be exact.  And exactness is crucial. 16, 592 syllables - one for each of the casualties in Vietnam in 1968, the year in which the novel is set.  Just. Wow.

 

Ashe’s story is one uncertainty and tragedy, but ultimately grace and sacrifice.  He is just trying to survive 1968.  He knows his parents’ marriage is on the verge of ending, and his mom’s unexpected pregnancy to another man is surely the catalyst.  His dad is angry and demanding.  He is determined to take care of his mom.  He falls in love with a “hippie.” And together they try to process the chaos of the Vietnam war and the chaos in their own lives.  Sometimes it feels like altogether too much. This glimpse into this volatile time in American history is a priceless one. One might think that much might be lost in the strictness of form, but the setting is fully fleshed out, the characters developed in lovely detail. In many respects students will be drawn to this books, because while the setting and the war are crucial, Ashe in many ways transcends time. Current students will relate well to his concerns and his triumphs - another strength to this story.

I love that after the story ends, the Crowe writes about the struggle he had in writing this book. Students who are aspiring writers can learn from his persistence.  Students often believe that the first thing they write is the best thing they can write.  He also talks about the process of revision with the complications of the form - such a lovely illustration!

I look forward to book talking this title, and will soon.  I am grateful, I have a couple of more opportunities this year to do so.  I can pair it with titles set in the sixties or titles about war or books in verse.  I love the versatility of this title.

 

Say What You Will - Cammie McGovern

McGovern, Cammie. Say What You Will. New York: Harper Teen, 2014.

Amy and Matthew are quite a … couple… or not.  I guess it depends on which you are talking to and when.  Their friendship is a precious one. Amy has Cerebral Palsy and has, until her senior year, led a fairly sheltered life.  Matthew is suffering from OCD and doesn’t really even know it. After he is brutally honest in his assessment of her life, she works toward getting to know him because he appreciates that honesty.  Instead of adult aides, she persuades her parents to hire high school students to help her navigate her day.  She urges Matthew to apply. He does, and the relationship that develops is awkward, intriguing, and all the while very engaging.

 

I believe that my readers will continue to be drawn to this book.  I love that both of these kids are somewhere outside of the realm of what teens define as normal and that this book illustrates so very effectively how their hopes and angst are just the same.  We learn that Matthew can truly “hear” Amy, in spite of the fact that she relies on a computer to do her talking. We watch Amy push Matthew to seek treatment for his OCD and step outside of his comfort zone. We also  see very clearly that they don’t always understand themselves nearly as well as they understand the other.  Together, yet apart, they navigate first jobs, first dates, a disastrous prom, first semesters in college, first love and so very much more.

I wasn’t necessarily as prepared for the very much more.  I didn’t anticipate the complexity of Amy’s first intimate encounter and all that it would lead to.  Oddly, the characters had seemed so fully realized to me up until that point, seemed strange to me for a bit.  But...I’m thinking, that my students might say, that is when they were the most genuine.  I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I guess this is vague, but I am always excited when a book provides talking points for me and my readers.  I love getting to know them just a little bit better. And I love any book that invites my students to accept others in spite of differences.  I so enjoyed, for example, the acceptance that Matthew experiences at his place of work.  They accept him for who he is; mock him just a little; and stretch him too.  I love the examples these character set.  

McGovern tackles a tough story and does so with originality and grace.  A neat, neat read!

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon

Yoon, Nicola. Everything, Everything. New York, Delacorte, 2015.

Good heavens! I don’t know which hat to put on to review this book.  I know that I certainly should be wearing my librarian glasses and talking that way. So for young adult librarians; your readers are going to love this book. Madeline Whittier has an unbelievable life. An immune disease has her living her young life in a bubble.  She lives in an air controlled home.  Her company is limited to her mom and her nurse Carla. Most of her living consists of reading and what she can see through her window. And then...she sees Ollie in her window. Forever her life is different.  Through electronic media, and the view through the window, Ollie and Maddy fall in love, causing them to dare fate and be together whatever the cost.  My romantic girls will LOVE this story.  Yoon creates the kind of relationship that dreams are made of.  She explores the lives of one ill and one abused teen and creates a beautiful new reality for them.   And certainly, I can encourage the read.  Maddy and Ollie come of age. They become brave, take chances, and defy the world around them.

Which (here comes a different hat…) was what also drove this grown woman and mother crazy! At some level, I’ll want to say, “Here, read this beautiful love story, but don’t ever, ever defy your parents in such a dangerous way!”  I’m not sure the ending made the middle OK for me. I understand the idea of young adult literature, and that for the most part I need to remove my parent lense, and I don’t know why this one was so rough for me, but it was, indeed.

So...great fiction.  Really neat characters - fully developed.  They are intellectual and tough.  The approach the world (kind of) with thoughtfulness, and don’t take beautiful days or moments lightly.  The ending is the kind of happy that my endless stream of Hallmark movies provides for me. The illustrations by David Yoon are such a cool touch.  I love how they accentuate the development of Madeline’s personality.  This mixed media of text and art is so appealing to my readers today.  Like with Challenger Deep, I love how the two work together to tell the story. Ultimately, is will suspend my disbelief, take a deep breath, and offer this book to my girls.  Certainly I will promise them a great story; likely I will encourage them to listen carefully to their parents. I don’t think I will be able to help myself.   The good news is that they will laugh at me and read a great new book!



 

                      


Velvet Undercover - Teri Brown

Brown, Teri. Velvet Undercover. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2015.

For a teenager living in Europe in the midst of World War I, life can be a series of suspenses.  Samantha’s father has disappeared. Her mother is lost without him. She comes in a sad second in her Girl Guides’ competition. Enter La Dame Blanche and the offer to serve her country as a spy. While challenged and intrigued, she feels she dares not leave her mother, but then the ultimate card is played.  If she spies, she gets information about her father.  She feels she must.  What follows is a true spy adventure.  She is trained and placed into undercover among royalty in Germany.  She is quickly thrust into the intrigue of double agents and chemical weapons.

While this title didn’t rock my world, I will be pleased to share it with my students.  Samantha is incredibly smart and stunningly capable.  She learns over the course of her adventure to heed the voice within her and recognize her own strengths. These are the kinds of heroines I love to give my girls.  Also, the glimpse into the intrigues of World War I and the life of spies is a solid one.  Our junior readers are looking for world history books for independent reading for social studies. I’m excited to add this one.  I am selling Elizabeth Wein’s protagonists everywhere.  While I am not quite as enamored of this title as those, I am indeed excited to have another title to offer.