Submarine

by Joe Dunthorne, c. 2008, Hamish Hamilton, 290 pages.

Fifteen year old Oliver Tate is a boy obsessed. He is equally obsessed with his parent’s failing marriage (and lack of sexual activity) and learning new words from the dictionary. Another obsession is losing his virginity—and soon. Though he finds himself entwined in a relationship with the eczematous and occasionally pyromaniacal Jordana, his precocious awkwardness eventually isolates him from her.

Oliver is at times callous and detached as he takes a clinical view of those around him. This makes him a tough character to like in those moments. Luckily there are more moments throughout the novel Submarine in which Oliver reveals the awkwardness and anxiety of adolescence allowing him to become relatable to readers. This is a very darkly funny novel.

Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro. Knopf (2005), Hardcover, 304 pages.

A quiet yet potent tale about three young people who are fated to brief lives because of their role in a society now free of disease. This story unfolds in an alternate version of the near past and much of it takes place in the remembrances of an idyllic (and disturbing) boarding school in a scenic English countryside. This novel is a heartbreak and the questions it leaves a reader with is why I highly recommended this book.

WIll Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green & David Levithan. New York: Dutton, c2010, 310 pages. ISBN 9780525421580


Two teens with the same name meet on a fateful night out in Chicago. One Will is straight and one Will is gay but both are major characters in the life and the autobiographical musical by (the quite large) Tiny Cooper.

The story is told by both Will Graysons in alternating chapters. This is a very touching and accurate portrait of the complexities and anxieties of being a teen. It is also a great, hilarious depiction of male teen friendships and falling in love.

Going Bovine

by Libba Bray. New York: Delacorte Press, c. 2009. 480 pages. ISBN 9780385733977

A disappointment to his parents and an embarrassment to his twin sister, lackadaisical Cameron Smith is simply getting by in high school when he gets the news he has a disease that is going to kill him--Creutzfeldt-Jacob or "mad cow" disease. Clues from a punk angel (or a hallucination?) lead Cameron to break out of the hospital with a video game-obsessed dwarf and take them on a quixotic road trip in search of a Dr. X, the cure and possibly a chance to save the world.

2010 Michael L. Printz Award Winner

Butterfly

by Sonya Hartnett. Candlewick, c. 2010. 240 pages. ISBN 978-0763647605.

From LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers

Plum is awkward and uncomfortable in her body as she is poised unsteadily between being a child and becoming a woman. Her place in the hierarchy of her friends is precarious and her loneliness apparent to her housewife neighbor, Maureen. Convincing Plum to reinvent herself, Maureen becomes a friend and confidante but with motives Plum cannot readily see.

In the UK this book has been marketed as Hartnett’s first adult novel while in the US, it has been labeled young adult. While some LibraryThing Early Reviewers do not seem to agree that this is a YA book, I feel it is a shame they do not give teens more credit in their reading tastes, capabilities and experiences. Butterfly may be enjoyed by teen readers as well as adults--especially those women who can still remember those sharp pains of fear and loneliness during adolescence. Hartnett’s lyrical style of writing is clever at times but also often distracting. I am disappointed in the US choice in covers as it seems to be an unimaginative choice along with the title. For a writer whose prose is almost poetical, "Butterfly" is a bit of a letdown as title.

tales of the MADMAN underground: an historical romance 1973

by John Barnes. New York: Viking. c. 2009. 532 pages.
ISBN 978-0-670-06081-8

Karl Shoemaker has decided to turn over a new leaf at the start of his senior year, 1973. He is going to be normal. The first step is to avoid therapy. Not so easy when your dad is dead, your mom is a drunk who steals your money (the money you make from working five jobs!), you're in AA and you and all of your friends are self-proclaimed "madmen."

Set in a small, depressed town in Ohio, Barnes' book spans six days in the life of Karl Shoemaker. Told in the first person, this book is so honest, sad and hilarious that teen readers will tear through these 500 plus pages.

2010 Printz Honor Book, 2010 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

Liked it? Try Benjamin Alire Saenz's Last Night I Sang to the Monster: a novel, Julie Anne Peters' Between Mom and Jo, Jaye Murray's Bottled Up: a novel, Blake Nelson's Paranoid Park.

Punkzilla

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp. Westminster, MD: Candlewick Press, c. 2009. 244 pages. ISBN 0763630314

Jamie, known as Punkzilla, has been living in a low rent hotel in Portland since he went AWOL from military school. He went off his meds and survives on money he makes stealing iPods and doing cheap drugs. When he finds out his older brother Peter, a gay playwright, is dying of cancer, he begins a harrowing journey to Memphis. Told in a series of unsent letters to Peter and mixed with old correspondences from family and friends.

A Junior Library Guild Selection and 2010 Michael L. Printz Honor Award, 2010 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2009 Booklist Editor’s Choice-Books for Youth-Older Reader’s Category.

If you liked it, try Steven Herrick’s The Simple Gift: a novel and Willo Davis Roberts’ Blood on His Hands

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins. New York: Scholastic Press, c. 2009, 391 pages.

Katniss and Peeta have survived the televised battle to the death of the Hunger Games and have returned as victors to their home of District Twelve. They should return home to lives of ease and plenty but a visit from the sinister President Snow reveals that it will not be so simple. The president expects Katniss to play the lovesick girl at Peeta’s side—not out with her longtime friend Gale. Soon Katniss and Peeta are on the mandatory victory tour through the nation of Panem as rumors of uprisings in other districts follow them.

This is the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy. This is mandatory reading for fans of the first book and most should not be disappointed. There is a lot of action and suspense leading up to the conclusion leaving the reader anxious for the last book (not due out till 2010). At times Katniss’ love triangle dilemma can become a little exhausting and frustrating. Maybe boy trouble can seem necessary for a young adult book and it can be done successfully. However in this book Collins doesn’t fully explore the relationships and dynamics between the three and this may be because there is no room in the book. This too often happen in the middle books of trilogies. While not as strong as the first book, here’s hoping the final book may be able to redeem it.

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by David McKean. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, c.2008. 312 pages.

Nobody Owens, Bod for short, is a very alive boy who happens to call a graveyard home. After his family was murdered when his was only a baby, Bod found himself adopted by ghosts and given the freedom of the graveyard. This freedom not only lets him explore things the living never could but also keeps him safe from the man who killed his family and still looks to finish his job—murdering Bod! But this is only inside the gates of the graveyard, outside is a whole alive world where Bod cannot be protected.

The 2009 Newbery Medal. Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009 (UK). Suggested ages are from 8-12 but this book could easily be enjoyed by teens.

Audiobook on CD read by Neil Gaiman, 7 discs, 7 hours & 45 minutes

Three Girls and Their Brother: a novel

by Theresa Rebeck. New York : Shaye Areheart Books, c2008. 341 pages.

After one very successful photo shoot for The New Yorker, three gorgeous, red-headed sisters find themselves as the latest "It Girls" (think "Hilton sisters" plus some literary roots). Their brother in turn finds himself taking on the protector role against the unscrupulous and moral-lacking members of the entertainment/modeling world, the paparazzi and the hungry-for-scandal public. Told in four parts by each sibling. An Alex Award winner for 2009.

Ironside

Title: Ironside; A Modern Faery’s Tale

Author: Holly Black

Publication date: 2007

Number of pages: 323

Genre: Young Adult fiction

Geographical Setting: New York City & New Jersey

Time Period: present, 2000s

Series: yes, third book of the Faerie series, more of continuation of the first book Tithe

Plot Summary: Pixie changeling Kaye is in love with the king of the Unseelie Court. There is war brewing with his kingdom and the rival Seelie Court. Kaye finds herself in the middle as the possible key to bringing peace and stopping death on the faerie and human side. She also struggles with the desire to tell her human mother that she is not the daughter she gave birth to while her best friend, the human Corny, joins her on this quest.

Subject Headings: coming of age, faeries, supernatural, homosexuality, fantasy, love, first love, betrayal, loyalty, war, urban fantasy

Appeal: exciting addition to the Faerie series; tackles issues facing young adults like first love, homosexuality, identity; fantasy set in modern times and location

If you liked Ironside, you might enjoy: Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, Charles de Lint’s Little (Grrl) Lost, Herbie Brennan’s Faerie Wars

Twisted

Title: Twisted
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publication date: 2008
Number of pages: 250
Genre: young adult fiction
Geographical setting: suburban Ohio
Time period: 2000s, 21st Century
Series: N/A

Plot: Tyler Miller commits "The Foul Deed” and soon he is transformed from a nobody to a tough guy. Advances from his crush, one of the most popular girls in the school, do not come without their consequences. Tyler’s home life doesn’t get any easier either as fights with his distant father increases. As the pressure builds around him, Tyler begins to wonder if ending his own life is his only choice.

Subject headings: identity, fathers and sons, suicide, bullying, sexual assault, popularity, cyberbullying, peer pressure, coming of age

Appeal: told in first person; literature for boys, identifiable protagonist especially for boys questioning the idea of what it takes to “be a man”; family troubles are realistic without seeming too stereotypical as the “dysfunctional family” type.

If you liked Twisted, you might enjoy: Chris Crutcher’s Whale Talk, Blake Nelson’s Rock Star Superstar, Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War, Michael Laser’s Cheater: A Novel

The Hunger Games

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publication date: 2008

Number of pages: 384

Genre: Young Adult dystopian fiction

Geographical Setting: North America, now made up of 12 districts and ruled by the Capitol

Time Period: post-apocalyptic future

Series: book one, book two expected to be released September 2009

Plot: Katniss of District 12 is sixteen and a very adept hunter. Now her hunting skills will be tested as she volunteers in her young sister’s place for the country’s annual Hunger Games. A fight to the death is demanded by the Capitol and its citizens. Two tributes from each of the 12 districts are entered in the Games. Peeta, the baker’s son, is chosen as the male tribute from District 12. He has been in love with Katniss since the age of five and now must enter the arena prepared to kill—and it is all televised.

Subject Headings: dystopia, war, hunger, poverty, survival, death of a parent, first love, coming of age, reality television

Appeal: New York Times Notable Children’s Book 2008, Cybils Award for YA Fantasy and Science Fiction 2008, 2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults Top 10, New York Times Bestseller, and numerous other award and best lists; film adaptation set to begin production in 2011; strong female character who is smart and ruthless, romantic subplot, thrilling pace, cliffhanger ending.

If you liked The Hunger Games, you might enjoy: Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Kristin Cahsore’s Graceling, Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Ann Halam’s Dr. Franklin’s Island, Sonia Levitin’s The Goodness Gene, Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now.

Jellicoe Road

Title: Jellicoe Road (Australian title: On Jellicoe Road)
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication date: 2006
Number of pages: 419
Genre: Young Adult fiction
Geographical Setting: Australia
Time Period: present (early 2000s)
Series: N/A

Taylor Markham is visited many nights by a young boy in her dreams. She tells him her stories, stories about the children at her school and the manuscript Hannah has written about five friends. Hannah found Taylor when she was eleven and abandoned by her drug-addicted mother on Jellicoe Road. At seventeen, Taylor has been chosen as the leader of her boarding school dorm and their leader in the territory wars with the Cadets and the Townies. Soon Taylor’s memories and questions about her past begin to overtake her duties and she finds herself relying on some of her sworn enemies for the answers.

Subject Headings: identity issues, abandonment, orphans, boarding schools, drug addiction, death of a parent, first love, coming of age

Appeal: 2009 Michael L. Printz Award; war game of the Territory Wars at first gives the story a sinister almost dystopian feel but as the story progresses, the reader begins to understand how the “game” began; story of first love rings very true and the pains of separation; nontraditional families.

If you liked Jellicoe Road, then you might enjoy: John Marsden’s So Much to Tell You, John Green’ s Paper Towns

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (2008), 342 pages, 2008 National Book Award Finalist

my review:

Elite boarding schools often provide a popular backdrop for young adult novels. They also provide the young adult novelist numerous opportunities to create situations where parental involvement and adult supervision is lacking; money and resources may abound for the characters. Many times, these characters live in a world that most young readers have never experienced--that of a life of privilege and status. All of these elements are a part of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks but the title character of Frankie is such an odd (in a smarty, funny way) girl that she is more realistic and relatable for many readers than the usual prep or boarding school characters.

Frankie becomes obsessed with her plans to infiltrate and be a part of the all male secret society (the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds) at Alabaster Prep. At the same time, she is experiencing her first love and a relationship where she struggles to not lose her own identity. More than just a pretty girl, Frankie fights for her place in the academic institution and in the world where the “Old Boys Club” rules.

The Disreputable History… is filled with clever wordplay and even more boarding school and college pranks, ideas of interventionist art, subverting the institutions of power and notions of gender roles and breaking the rules (whether written or just understood). Written in the third person, the narration is a welcome change from the usual first person narratives of many young adult novels. This is a coming of age book that defies many of the conventions of this genre.

2009 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

I Am Rembrandt's Daughter

Title: I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter
Author: Lynn Cullen
Publication date: 2007
Number of pages: 292
Genre: Young Adult historical fiction
Geographical Setting: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Time Period: 1660s
Series: N/A

Plot Summary: Cornelia van Rijn’s mother has died of the Plague. As the daughter of the famous Rembrandt, one would expect to be living the life of a wealthy and prestigious young woman. This is not the life Cornelia has been given. Rembrandt is going mad and refuses to paint what will please the wealthy patrons. The budding friendship with the well-to-do and handsome Carel begins to stir passion in Cornelia’s heart. But the Westerkerk bells that toll death begin to ring again—and family secrets best kept hidden may come to light.

Subject Headings: the Plague, painters, father/daughter relationships, illegitimate children, adultery, gender roles, poverty, artist-as-genius, coming of age.

Appeal: story based on real characters; flashback chapters; descriptions of some of Rembrandt’s paintings and novelist’s imaginings behind their depictions; love triangle; fictional telling of Rembrandt’s daughter about whom very little is known.

If you liked I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter, you might enjoy: Katherine Sturevant’s A True and Faithful Narrative (historical fiction, takes place in London 1680s). Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days.

What I Saw and How I Lied

Title: What I Saw and How I Lied
Author: Judy Blundell
Publication date: 2008
Number of pages: 284
Genre: Young Adult historical fiction
Geographical Setting: Palm Beach, Florida
Time Period: 1947, post-WWII
Series: N/A

Plot Summary: Fifteen-year-old Evie Spooner’s stepdad Joe has survived his tour of duty in Europe during World War II. Before Evie and her gorgeous mother, Beverly, can enjoy this happy homecoming, Joe takes them on a sudden trip to Florida. In Palm Beach, Evie meets and falls for a young ex-GI, Peter--someone Joe is not too happy to see. Soon secrets surface and whispers start to be heard. Everything Joe has tried to keep hidden may soon be discovered.

Subject Headings: post-WWII, racism, prejudice, Noir, first love, espionage, mystery, coming of age, mother/daughter relationships, stepfamilies, adultery

Appeal: National Book Award Winner (2008); suspenseful, nourish drama set in a post-WWII Palm Beach, Florida, where Jews are not welcome; young woman living in the shadow of her mother’s beauty and allure; stylish, retro dialogue; author of Star Wars novelizations

If you liked What I Saw and How I Lied, you might enjoy: Mary Downing Hahn’s Look for Me by Moonlight, Siobahn Dowd's Bog Child