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.
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
Title:The Outsiders Author: S.E. Hinton Publication date: 1967 Number of pages: 192 Genre: teen fiction
Geographical Setting: Oklahoma City
Time Period: late 1960s Series: N/A
Plot Summary: Recently orphaned Pony Boy Curtis is 14 years old and growing up on the East Side of town with his brothers and friends. They are in the poor class known as the Greasers and are very different from the other kids from the wealthy West Side who are known as Socs (short for Socials). One terrible night changes Pony Boy and his best friend Johnnys’ lives forever. Now Pony Boy questions everything about his life as a Greaser and his place in a world amongst other people like the Socs.
Appeal: author wrote novel when she was 16, coming of age, gang rivalries, violence and abuse in families, young adult heroes, older brother as head of household, have and havenots, ALA’s top 100 “Frequently Challenged Books,” film version from 1983
If you liked The Outsiders, you might enjoy: other S.E. Hinton novels like Tex, Rumble Fish, That Was Then, This is Now. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Walter Dean Myers’ The Scorpions.
by John Green & David Levithan. New York: Dutton, c2010, 310 pages. ISBN 9780525421580
