Chime by Franny Billingsley

I will admit that I read the novel Chime less because it was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature than because it was part of this year's controversy surrounding the award. And though I'm sad that its author Franny Billingsley was dragged through an ugly mess that should never have happened, I'm so glad the turmoil put the book on my radar.
This inventive tale about self-perception and memory defies classification, or more accurately, meshes the best elements of many genres seamlessly. It is a coming-of-age story told in first-person by 17-year old Briony Larkin, a self-described witch who believes herself unloveable and controls her awful powers with a combination of strict self-control and self-loathing. It is part historical fiction and magical realism, set in a rural swamp village in England at the height of the Industrial Revolution, where uneducated fishermen, rich businessmen and even the clergy (Briony's father) believe in the Old Ones--the mythical creatures like witches,  pixies, and monsters that control the elements of nature. It is a novel of mystery and suspense as Briony reveals her troubling story: daughter of a distant and oblivious father, twin of a sister whose childlike mentality leaves Briony in the role of constant caretaker, griever of her beloved step-mother whose suspicious death is believed to have been a poisoning. When wild-hearted Eldric arrives in town with his "boy-man" charm and uncomfortable questions, Briony begins to thaw against her will. She finds herself acting like a normal girl when in his company, though always returning to her senses when she remembers how it was her uncontrolled power that caused her sister to fall from a swing and her terrible magic that crippled her step-mother before her death. Briony must ever remind herself she can never have the love story.

While the novel is dense with dialogue and less plot-driven, I was completely riveted by the conflict of Briony vs. Briony and the slowly unraveling mystery of her power and her step-mother's murder. But the true tension comes from the expert use of dramatic irony as I found myself wanting to scream at Briony to realize what was happening at the end...so I suppose the novel is bit horror as well. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it highly, especially to those who enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. And do yourself a favor and get this one as an audiobook because actor Susan Duerden is fantastic in this production by Listening Library.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

If I could have coffee with any writer living or dead, high on my list of picks would be Libba Bray. Even if she didn't write witty, irreverant, and often intensely personal blogs and tweets (which she does), I would find her diverse range of characters and unorthodox plots irresistable . As we sat down for lattes, I'd ask her things like: "Libba, you describe A Great and Terrible Beauty as 'a gothic creepfest of a Victorian story with a heroine who could kick butt and take names all in a crinoline and corset' ...did you always want to write a Buffy the bustle wearer-type novel?" Or maybe, "Libba, how exactly does one decide to write a surrealist contemporary novel about a boy's Don Quixote-esque adventure as he descends into the insanity caused by mad cow disease?"
But after reading her latest novel Beauty Queens, I would start our conversation with a giant thank you for writing such a moving and honest book about young women--how they are perceived and what they perceive, how they are treated and how they treat each other.

The book begins with a plane crash (not unlike the popular TV show Lost, one of many pop culture icons parodied in the novel). The survivors are contestants in the Miss Teen Dream USA competition, but through chapters told from alternating characters' perspectives, we discover each young woman has more to offer than her beauty queen package. Unlike their Lord of the Flies and Lost counterparts, these young women manage to work together in suprising ways to survive and even thrive in hostile conditions. But as they begin to discover their own power, they are tested by temptations they discover on the island, temptations that reflect the challenges all young women face in trying to become strong, self-confident, empowered females.

By turns quirky, philosophical, fantastical, and touching, Beauty Queens is definitely the best book I read this summer. I foresee more awards coming Libba Bray's direction. Guess that means we'll have more to talk about when we finally sit down for coffee.

For a fun look at the making of the novel (and a glimpse of the author's personality), read this interview Libba Bray conducted with herself: http://www.omnivoracious.com/2011/04/ya-wednesday-a-conversation-between-libba-bray-and-libba-bray.html.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

From the wonder twin power team of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn comes another hip New York novel about teenagers who are intelligent, witty, and interesting while searching for love and finding themselves. For the audacity to believe that teens can not only can be this but might want to read about this, I commend the authors heartily.

Our two main characters are ostensibly polar opposites. Dash is a pessimistic young man damaged by his parents' nasty break up and lack of  familial connection. He's snarky and bookish and proud of it: "I was a Decemberist, a Bolshevik, a career criminal, a philatelist trapped by unknowable anguish--whatever everyone else was not, I was willing to be."

Lily is naive and starry-eyed and loveable--the much-adored and overprotected baby of her extended, close-knit family. Lily loves Christmas with all the trimmings--she's the kind of person who organizes caroling societies and bakes six kinds of spritz cookies at four in the morning. With her parents out of town this Christmas on a silver anniversary vacation, Lily is bored and lonely until her older brother Langston creates "the notebook"--a beautiful red notebook full of clues that will lead a prospective boyfriend to Lily. Langston leaves the notebook at the famous bookstore The Strand where Dash discovers it and thus, the adventure begins.

The romance unfolds like a giddy summer camp scavenger hunt in famous locations around New York City with a cast of quirky secondary characters that add to the merriment. For me it was the best kind of romantic comedy where the chemistry is palpable, the dialogue is crisp and smart, and the ending is not a foregone conclusion. Like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (also by Levithan and Cohn), it looks like Dash and Lily may get made into a movie as it currently has a screenwriter and producer attached to the project. Here's hoping they do these likeable characters justice.

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

I find the nature of friendship fascinating--not unlike new love. There's the giddy beginnings when all the things you have in common with another seem an endless discovery and you want to spend every waking minute getting to know the other as you would yourself. There's the supremely delicate moments a friendship balances on, the ones you don't recognize while they're happening, but that will determine whether this will be a life-long bond of kindred spirits, a casual connection destined to fade, or a love-hate case of friends turned enemies.

The novel Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer explores this topic of friendship with great skill. Seniors Kathryn and Brooke are both talented singers preparing to compete in a prestigious competitition for fame, fortune, and a ticket out of their small town. In chapters alternating between the two girls' perspectives we learn that the bitter rivalry they share began as a friendship during junior year, and through a series of flashbacks the mystery of what went wrong is slowly revealed. On the surface, the girls are remarkably different. Kathryn is tiny and shy and drowning in stress as she tries to please her parents, scrape together money for college, and deal with constant bullying while Brooke is larger than life, popular without effort, searching for the attention of her distant but beloved father and for something more meaningful than the shallowness that is high school.

What I loved best about this book (and there were many things to love) was the depth of the characters. The author makes it impossible to take sides because you hear both girls' versions of what happened and see that they both behave badly, make poor decisions, and misunderstand--as do we all. I also found the ending richly satisfying, nicely balanced between sweet and realistic.

All told, a wonderfully timely tale that has a ripped from the headlines feel with its subjects of music competitions and female bullying (think Glee and Mean Girls for classical music). A great beginning for Sara Bennett Wealer--here's hoping for many more to come!

You can follow Sara Bennett Wealer on Twitter at @sbennettwealer or at her blog: http://sbennettwealer.livejournal.com/.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have

Andrew Zansky is a big guy. At fifteen years old, he weighs 306.4 pounds. And unfortunately, this is all anybody seems to see in Andrew. Nobody cares that he is funny and smart, and nobody notices that he is a good writer or that he is devasted by his dad's decision to leave his mom. That's what it is to be big in this society. Every moment of every day, Andrew thinks about his weight--whether his jeans will fit in the morning when he gets dressed, whether he will fit between the desk and the chair, whether he can go to his locker without being body checked into his locker by a bully. His pain, his humilitation, his worry--they're all visceral and they make the reader cringe for him.

Enter O. Douglas--that constant of every high school, "the popular quarterback." When O. Douglas takes notice of Andrew and rescues him from a beating, Andrew's life takes a dramatic turn. Without consciously meaning to, Andrew finds himself trying out for the football team--maybe to get in shape, maybe to get popular, maybe to get the girl of his dreams. Even Andrew isn't sure. What he is sure of is that something in his life has to change...the question is will Andrew be able to live with the consequences of change?

I loved the self-deprecating, witty protagonist of this book and found his emotions and situation realistic and touching. A couple of unexpected twists keep the "teenage makeover" plot fresh, and there are laugh-out-loud funny moments sprinkled throughout. This was author Allen Zadoff's first novel, and, based on its quality, this reader can't wait to read is next one out in May.

Matched by Ally Condie

Ahh...once again I have been sucked in by cover art.

It's sort of new age Wizard of Oz, right? Well, while the book has little in common with the Wizard of Oz, I'm pleased to say it is wonderful novel. Matched takes place in a future where a nonspecific global disaster has caused most humans to give up their personal freedoms to "the Society" in exchange for health, security, and stability. The Society uses the data it collects about you to provide you with the optimal diet and exercise plan, to place you in the job best suited to your skills and abilities, and to match you with the person optimal mate both psychologically and genetically.

The main character Cassia largely buys into all this at the novels open. She is preparing for her "match" ceremony--kind of like prom and a debutante ball but with a big screen on which the face of your future spouse will appear for all to see. Cassia is stunned to discover her match is her good friend Xander--both because it is rare to be matched with someone you know and because she wonders how this will change their friendship. The real drama begins when Cassia opens the data card about Xander in preparation for her first date with him and sees a different boy's face flash momentarily across the screen--Ky.

Cassia's curiosity bests her--like a self-fulfilling prophecy she finds herself seeking Ky out and finding him equally attractive to and more compelling than Xander. Meanwhile "The Society" begins cracking down on liberties in her neighborhood and family and Cassia gets disturbing visits from its representative. As events spiral out of control, we, like Cassia uncover more details about what The Society is really up to.

A satisfying, yet cliffhanger ending leaves this reader anxious to read the next installation, Crossed, due out November 1, 2011. I especially recommend this to those who loved The Hunger Games and Graceling--similar strong female characters facing a hostile society and the same strong use of suspense. Be sure to check out the trailer on Youtube.

Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

I have never been what one would call picky when it comes to reading. I'm more of your all-you-can-eat buffet type of girl--a little of this, a little of that, a side of this.... I find that this is especially true when it comes to downloadable audiobooks, where I'm less impacted by the cover art, less likely to browse by genre, and more likely to pick based on what's available at the library that day.

Because of this open-mindedness (or, as some would call it, lack of standards) I regularly wind up reading something that isn't at all what I expected it to be. This is certainly true of Girl Parts, a first novel by John M. Cusick.

Girl Parts could certainly be called science fiction, but not so "heavy" that haters of the genre should shy away from it. It is somewhat futuristic, but not so far into the future that our world is unrecognizable--call it "near future." In this near future, we meet two very different young men. David is rich, popular, and constantly connected to the online world. After David witnesses a classmate committing suicide online and does nothing to stop it, the school counselor and David's parents decide he is suffering from disassociative disorder, or, the inability to make true human connections. The counselor suggests David get a "Companion," a robot in the form of a young woman who is programmed to teach young men how to develop healthy relationships. When "Rose" arrives, David is immediately compelled by her, despite knowing she isn't human.

Charlie is a neighbor and classmate of David's, but there the similarity ends: "Charlie Nuvola was weird. He looked weird; he acted weird; he was interested in weird things. Worst of all, he didn't seem to know or care that everyone else thought he was weird." In the high-tech, sophisticated world he lives in, Charlie seems a throwback, a gentleman and a scholar.

When David and Rose's relationship takes an unexpected twist, Charlie is uniquely situated to come to the rescue. But can Charlie and Rose outrun the evil Sakora corporation? Can true love really happen for a boy and a robot? Will you find out by the end of this novel? The answer to that last one is...not really--it's a cliff-hanger ending and controversial with a lot of reviewers. The good news is there's a sequel coming "soon" according the author's Facebook page. Ahhh the suspense!

P.S. MHS Book Club is currently reading this one, so if you'd like to join in the conversation, see Mrs. C.

P.P.S. For video reviews/trailers, see:
http://www.60secondrecap.com/library/
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7478360/19803270

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

As a librarian, I am regularly asked "What is your favorite book." I never have an answer for this. I have many "favorites" depending on my mood and what I need from a book at the moment. However, I will admit to a soft spot for the fantasy genre. I know, I know...it's not for everyone, but the thing is, there's a reason why so many books with cult followings are fantasy. Fantasy like the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, The Wheel of Time, and Harry Potter have all the hallmarks of good storytelling--well-developed characters whose lives and fates you care about, suspense, drama, and compelling themes. But on top of the storytelling the writers of good fantasy have the almost other-worldly ability to invent entire worlds that are simultaneously foreign to us and yet recognizable. They develop entire mythologies and histories for the peoples in their books and often new languages, new environments and new cultures. We fantasy fans are so loyal to these invented worlds because we find them so wondrous and believable that we want them to be real.

So yes, generally, fantasy is my "go-to" genre, but I'm picky about what I label "really good fantasy." In the past couple years, I've added Kristin Cashore's Graceling and Fire to this list, along with Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern series and Elizabeth Knox's awesome Dreamhunter Duet. I am happy to say I've recently added another--Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.

Incarceron is a prison, created as an experimental closed system to rehabilitate and relocate troublemakers away from the "mainland." The book begins several generations after the invention of Incarceron, when the experiment appears to be going horribly wrong. In the opening scenes we meet Finn, a young man surviving in a gang through ruthlessness and street smarts. Finn can't remember his childhood, but he believes he is from the outside--something those around him dismiss as impossible. Through a chance of fate, Finn comes across an enemy who may be able to get him some answers.

Later, we meet Claudia, daughter of the prison warden, and, in some ways, a prisoner herself. She lives in an artificial world where everyone must stay "authentic" to a medieval time period where loyalty to one's lord and king is all. She has been groomed to marry the prince since childhood but knows she is being manipulated. When she breaks into her father's office looking for proof, she finds a key that connects her to Finn. Can Claudia find the door to the prison before her wedding day and without the queen or her father discovering her? Can Finn trust Claudia with his life and the lives of his companions? Ahh...these are just two of the many deliciously suspenseful questions that get answered by novel's end. This book is just full of imaginative detail and wonderful plot twists that will have you holding your breath as you race to end. And kudos to Catherine Fisher for a bang-up finish with an exciting question left to be answered in the next book in the series (I hate this latest trend of first books having a weak or unresolved ending to ensure the need for a sequel). The sequel, Sapphique will be out in stores December 28. I know I'll be there!


To watch the book trailer for Incarceron, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMRFsTwwj_U

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

Green Angel is a brief, haunting, modern fairy tale by prolific novelist Alice Hoffman. The protagonist, Green, lives with her parents and younger sister on a farm outside an unnamed city where they sell their produce. Always considered the quiet one with the knack for gardening, Green is left behind to tend the crops on one trip. Resentful, Green climbs the hill on the farm overlooking the city and witnesses its catastrophic destruction by a mysterious fire bombing.

In what follows, Hoffman illustrates the process of dealing with trauma and grief through the mind of a terrified, lonely 15-year old girl. Each day Green loses herself more in the armor she literally and figuratively builds around person while discovering a valuable talent for survival that helps keep her and those around her alive.

It's been a long time since I've read a book through in one sitting, and I so relished devouring this one. It's a gem of a book, and a powerful parable on the humanity of grief. I can't wait to read the sequel Green Witch.

Gone by Lisa McMann

Gone by Lisa McMann is the third and final installment of the creepy, minimalist Wake trilogy. If you haven't read the first two, start there, as this review has spoilers. Main character Janie has the ability, or really, is compelled to enter other people's dreams. In the previous two books, Janie discovers she is not alone in this power and that being able to enter people's dreams has its rewards--she can help people find peace by guiding them in the dream and she can uncover crimes and abuse by observing dreams. Unfortunately, she has also discovered using her "gift" will eventually debilitate her hands into useless claws and cause her to go blind.

In Gone, Janie must make an impossible choice a "Morton's Fork"--either stay in her relationship with her love Cabel and keep using her gift as it cripples her or completely isolate herself from the world and all the joy of love, the way her long-lost father did.

As always, McMann writes in a spare, poetic style rich with emotion and depth. Fans of realism and modernism will like McMann's no-nonsense, life is too complicated for a happy ending approach. Though it certainly involves fantastic elements I would classify it more as contemporary, than fantasy. Gone uses more adult language than the previous two books in the series, but it is authentic to the characters' ages and experiences.
Over all, a very enjoyable series, and I know I'll be standing in line to read her next book, Cryer's Cross in 2011.

Liar

I'm a big fan of the stylistic device known as the "unreliable narrator," especially when employed by an author who knows what he or she is about. And judging by her latest book, Liar, Justine Larbalestier clearly knows what she is about. The narrator Micah introduces herself as a compulsive liar who this time indends to tell the truth: "No lies, no omissions." We learn early on of the death of Micah's sort-of boyfriend Zach (he sees Micah only after school and the relationship is a secret). Micah's narrative jumps around in the telling of her story, and chapters are labeled "Before" or "After" (as in, before or after Zach's murder) and others are labeled "History of Me" and "Family History"; this can be confusing, but stylistically it works to keep you guessing and second-guessing what you know to be true.

I cannot tell you much about this book without giving away some interesting plot and genre twists (is this a mystery...is it sci-fi...no wait, is it a thriller?). Suffice it to say it's very compelling and if you enjoy a good page turner, check this out. It's not your average young adult novel.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

For shame, Madam Librarian. You of all people, should not have been lured in by slick marketing and a cool cover...but, I must admit that I bought into the hype surrounding The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. The book was getting rave reviews from bloggers, the Amazon book trailer was cool, the blurbs on the back cover were wildly complimentary kudos from authors I like. I was fully prepared to love this book.

I did not.

In its defense, the book has many virtues. The premise--a young woman fights for love and survival in a dystopian future where the human race has been mostly overrun by a plague of zombies--is thrilling. The world in which the heroine Mary lives, a fenced-off compound where technology and societal values are approximately those of the late Middle Ages, is richly imagined and increasingly suffocating as we the audience develop sympathy for the narrators' tragic losses (family members turned zombie), lack of choices (marriage and babies are critical for survival), and constant worry about the zombies banging against the fences for her flesh. Early in the book, Mary is forced to go to the sisters, a group of women who live in the cathedral, much like the nunneries of medieval times. Mary's attempts to penetrate the secrets of this all-powerful society are full of suspense and mystique.

Where the author lost me was about midway through the book when Mary and her betrothed Harry, and her best friend Cass and her betrothed Travis (the man Mary actually loved) are forced to make an awful choice. From this point on, Mary becomes obnoxious and unlikable, in part because the book is written in first-person, present tense. I soon got bored with hearing Mary think, and wonder, and suppose on page after page. Had the book been written in 3rd person, the action and dialogue would have spoken for themselves and eliminated the repetitive descriptions of how the narrator was "feeling." Additionally, the interesting plot thread about the sisters remained undeveloped and left me unsatisfied with the ending.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first of a trilogy (the second book, The Dead Tossed Waves comes out Spring 2010) which somewhat explains the inconclusive ending, but I'm finding this trilogy trend in fantasy novels is giving authors the excuse to write sloppy endings. So no, I didn't love this book; I thought it could have used a lot more editing and revising. But a lot of people did love this book (see starred reviews by School Library Journal, Publishers' Weekly, and MTV), so you may not want to take my word for it. If you give it a shot, let me know what you think...am I missing the boat on this one?

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

I'm back from a loooong break and rarin' to go. For my first review of the year, I snagged Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, a collection of short stories edited by well-known authors (and good friends) Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. If you haven't noticed, we're currently in the middle of a Geek-Chic Phenomenon wherein, geekiness, nerdiness, dorkdome, etc. have come in to their own and suddenly, being an outsider is a very fashionable brand indeed. I happen to agree with Wikipedia's astute analysis of the geek chic trend, which points out that the Geek-Chic label is largely superficial. However, as a rather dorky person (I heart reading, Star Trek NG, Star Wars, LOTR; I was in band and 4-H in high school, as well as the forestry team), I couldn't resist the premise of this book.

The editors have gathered an all-star team of YA authors to write stories in which the protagonists are all geeks of one ilk or another. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the variety of tone and theme offered in these stories, which ran the gamut from dark, social commentary to silly, entertaining romps. I have to say, I expected better from some of the authors whose work I know and love, but was not let down by John Green and David Levithan. I thought Libba Bray's "It's Just a Jump to the Left" was an interesting commentary on growing up which channeled Judy Blume's ability to nail the fears of a teenage girl while covering more mature concerns. I also enjoyed Sara Zarr's "This is My Audition Monologue," whose intriguing narrarator surprises with her blunt honesty (and, I might add, this story would make for an interesting audition monologue, even if it is long). The majority of stories contain some mature content, mostly language (a lot of which I felt was unnecessary and self-conscious) and some themes. Admittedly, I didn't enjoy every story in the collection, but, found the collection entertaining on the whole. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone with a little geek in them, whether they let it show or not. To read an excerpt or play the game "The Great Geek Escape," check out the publisher website: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/geektastic/index.html.

Graceling

It's been awhile since I've been this enraptured by a book, and truly, I love Graceling. Kristin Cashore has opened a rich world of seven kingdoms with "seven thoroughly unpredictable kings." In these lands where the kings tend toward tyranny over the people, some individuals are graced with special abilities--some are amazing cooks, others can foretell the future, and some, like Katsa, niece of King Randa of the Midlands, are graced with the ability to kill. Like most of the kings, Randa has claimed Katsa's abilities for his own uses and she finds herself a tool being used to torture and kill the king's enemies. Katsa worries she is becoming a monster and longs to escape her uncle's control. With the help of her mentor and her beloved cousin, she is finding ways to thwart the destructiveness of the kings.

On one such mission to stop an evil plan, Katsa meets Po, a graced fighter and prince of the kingdom of Lienid. Po is a worthy adversary for Katsa and friendship blossoms between them as they practice their fighting. When they join forces to attempt a daring rescue of Po's cousin Princess Bittersblue, new revelations change their relationship and Katsa must confront her feelings and the truth about her abilities...but only after a desperate race for survival through the mountains.

I can't do this book justice in a brief summary. The characters are richly developed and interesting, the plot addictive, the conclusion satisfying without being too neatly wrapped up. Two more books are planned in the trilogy, one a prequel (Fire, out October 2009) and the other a sequel/companion novel following Princess Bitterblue (Bitterblue, in the works).

Love and Peaches

In this, the third and final book of the Peaches series, author Jodi Lynn Anderson brings Murphy, Leeda, and Birdie back to the Darlington Orchard for one more summer of exploration, adventure, and romance before bringing their stories to a close. Wild Murphy cut all ties with Bridgewater, Georgia when she moved to New York City after high school, including those with boyfriend and all-around great guy Rex. Deciding to return home for the summer means facing him again and facing some truths about her emotional hangups. Beautiful, perfectionist Leeda has found love with a perfect new boyfriend at Columbia University, and his love gives her an instant identity complete with a circle of new friends. When she returns to Bridgewater and receives a most unusual inheritance from her eccentric grandmother, Leeda may finally have to confront who she is and what she wants. Meanwhile Birdie had planned to stay in Mexico where she has been studying abroad and where she and Enrico have grown even closer...perhaps too close since Birdie shows up at the orchard unexpectedly at the start of the peach picking season. Birdie finds that her father has plans for the orchard and the house that may destroy her dreams. Now Birdie must decide whether she really wants what she thought she wants and figure out how to follow her true heart.

The writing is a little uneven on this installment, but the characters are richer and those who've read the first two will enjoy seeing where life is heading for the three girls. A sweet story of love and growing up. If you loved the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, you'll want to grab this series too.

Madapple

Madapple, also known as "rank-smelling, rash-causing, poisonous jimsonweed...green dragon and stinkwort and angel's-trumpet" is also the title of the strange and intriguing first novel by Christina Meldrum. Meldrum took to the old addage to "write what you know," spinning a tale that taps her knowledge and interest in nature and religion and her experience with the juidicial system. It is the story of Aslaug Hellig, a young woman raised in almost complete isolation by her mother in rural Maine. Her mother, Maren, has encyclopedic knowledge of science and philosophy, and, scorning the education the local school would give her daughter, educates Aslaug herself. Aslaug grows in academic knowledge but remains ignorant of the outside world or how to socialize with the people in it. Aslaug also has no knowledge of who her father is, as Maren refuses to give Aslaug any details about her family and relatives. Aslaug feels this ignorance, and resents her mother for keeping her insulated from the world even though she also loves her mother in a worshipful sort of way.

The chapters following Aslaug are filled with a lyrical beauty, which contrasts deeply with the interspersed chapters covering Aslaug's trial for the murder of her mother, aunt, and cousin (I warned you this was a strange book). These pages read like transcripts and allow the reader to judge Aslaug's story like a juror, hearing the events and circumstances of Aslaug's life through the eyes of coroners, police detectives, and forensic pathologists. This is a powerful technique when mixed with Aslaug's telling of events, one that builds suspense and a feeling of horror as you begin to put together the truth and suspect that justice may not be done in this case.

All told, an extremely well-written book full of mystery and suspense, one that technically fits the young adult label since the main narrator is a young adult but is definitely meant for more mature audiences since it deals with deep philosophical questions and issues like incest and drug use.


"I remember wanting the madapple to carry me away, to take me to that place again. And I wonder, If I go, will I find Mother there?"

What I Saw and How I Lied

"When Alice fell down the rabbit hole, she fell slow. She had time to notice things on her way down--Oh, there's a teacup! There's a table! So things seemed normal to her while she was falling. Then she bumped down and rolled into Wonderland, and all hell broke loose."

I love this quote from the opening chapter of What I Saw and How I Lied, not only for its imagery but also for the way it tries to prepare you for the story to come. The narrator, 15 year-old Evie Spooner, is looking back, trying to figure out how her life unraveled in just a few short months. She goes back to the beginning, the day it all started, on a warm day in Queens just after World War II has ended. Joe, the step-father she adores, has returned from the fighting to open appliance stores for a country ready to buy "not only what we needed but what we wanted." Evie and her gorgeous mother are trying to make home life the picture of perfection for him, with roast beef and mashed potato dinners and everything neat and tidy, though it is a strain living under Joe's mother's roof.

Joe comes home from work that day with a wild idea to pack up and drive down to Florida for a vacation...that night. He convinces Evie and her mom with his slick sales skills, and in a few days they find themselves in a half-empty Palm Beach resort during the off-season. There Evie meets Peter, a dashing soldier who makes Evie feel like a woman, her mother light-hearted, and Joe strangely moody. As Evie plots to spend more time with Peter, her mother and step-father's relationship grows tense, and Joe becomes increasingly erratic. Soon events spin into a downward spiral of passion, blackmail, and secrets, and Evie finds the adults in her life are not what they seem. Evie must choose her own path and make a decision that will control all their destinies.

Author Judy Blundell won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature for this suspense-filled, noirish, dramatic novel. Those who love attention to detail will revel in the vivid depictions of post-war America, from the fashion (Revlon's Fatal Apple lipstick and nail polish and full-skirted evening gowns) to the dialogue ("Don't be in such a hurry to grow up, baby...it's not all polka dots and moonbeams, you know.") Those who love crime dramas and Bogey and Bacall movies will delight in the stylish mystery and suspense. And for those who appreciate album covers as much as albums, check out the cover, which I thought stunning (and an accurate depiction of the story, something becoming more rare in the book world). I loved this book, which brings me to two years in a row where I thought the National Book Award winner was better than the Printz Award winner.

The Possibilities of Sainthood

Not gonna lie to you, reading The Possibilities of Sainthood felt cleansing after the last two uber-dark books I posted on. First time author Donna Freitas brings us the story Antonia Lucia Labella, a 15-year old Catholic school girl who's never been kissed. Antonia lives with her very strict, very Catholic, very Italian mother and grandmother above their speciality food store in Rhode Island. While she spends most every hour at school or working in the store, Antonia dreams of two things--becoming the first living Catholic saint and getting kissed by her secret love, Andy Rotellini.

Sounds contradictory right? I found Antonia sweet and completely naive at first, and therefore pretty unbelievable as a modern teen protagonist. But I gradually gave into her charms and realized that though her obsession with sainthood was not typical of most teens, her optimisim and longing to believe are not completely unheard of in 15-year girls. Besides, her monthly suggestions to the Vatican for new saints are darn funny and her vision of sainthood is decidedly modern (e.g. she puts herself up for Patron Saint of Kissing, among others).

All told, a sweet story about a girl's first forays into romance, one that stands out in the genre for its humor and warm-heartedness.

Tender Morsels

I seem to be reading thematically of late because the book for this post, like the last one, deals with dark, emotionally disturbing subject matter. However, unlike Living Dead Girl with its chilling realism, Tender Morsels uses fantasy and fairy tale to explore issues like abuse and violence.This Printz Award Honor winner by Australian writer Margo Lanagan is a compelling revamping of the fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red." The novel begins with a short scene narrated by a vulgar and earthy dwarf in a setting that resembles the Dark Ages of Europe. This is a prologue of sorts and the story line quickly shifts to the story of the mother of Snow White and Rose Red...a dreadful story as Lanagan reveals with great subtlety and drawn out suspense.

Just when you can't take any more of the cruelty the girls' mother endures, the tone lightens and she and her daughters find peace and loveliness in a magical "other" world. Snow White and Rose Red grow up, and of course, begin to explore the forbidden, the world which their mother would do anything to protect them from. At this point, the sense of inevitability pervading the novel had me by the throat...that delicious sense you get in a horror movie that something bad is about to happen. But I definitely didn't foresee the twists and turns the story would take as it spun out and in this way the novel proved its maturity...it is literary and complex and worth the effort. It reminded me a little of reading Toni Morrison or Louise Erdrich.

Though this is based on a fairy tale, the story telling is original and innovative, using fantasy to explore how violence and ugliness exist along side innocence and love. Fairy tale or no, this is a most human story.

Living Dead Girl

I write this post still feeling emotionally devastated by the experience of reading Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl. This terrifying novel is the account of 15-year old "Alice," a young woman who has been in the clutches of a sexual predator since he kidnapped her at age 10. Ray has named her Alice...the same name he gave his last victim. Now Alice is nearing the age when Ray tired of the previous girl, and despite the fact that he starves her to keep her looking like a child, Ray grows angrier with her every day. She longs for the release of death, but Ray has something much more sinister, much more sadistic in mind.

The prose in this novel is so sparse and lyrical it feels like poetry. The author convincingly portrays not only the physical but the psychological damage Ray inflicts on Alice; Alice seems barely human at times, incapable of any but the basest instincts.

I usually avoid this type of book, put off by the "movie of the week" feel of the plot description, but this one just drew me in despite (or maybe because of) my intense feeling of horror on reading the inside cover. I feel wrung out having finished this novel, and still slightly nauseated...but I can't deny it was a powerful reading experience. Certainly a must read for those who liked The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.