Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern. 208 p. Feiwel and Friends, October, 2007. 9780312367954. (Own)
This epistolary novel consists of the thoughts of sixteen-year-old Anna Bloom, who has been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. She is having panic attacks that prevent her from going to school and, well, generally functioning. While there, she falls into a routine of dysfunctional but oddly funny group therapy sessions. She also develops friendships and a experiences a crush before being released to her parents care. Will she be alright out in the real world?
This short novel is a quick and compelling read. Anna is snarky, bright and often quite funny. Get Well Soon was the author's debut. She wrote a sequel, Have a Nice Day, in 2012.
Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan. 326 p. Sourcebooks Fire, April 1, 2016. 9781492630142. (Review from arc courtesy of publisher)
Max Cobb is coasting through high school, bland and invisible with his 2.5 GPA and zero social life. He's a huge fan of heist movies and admires the pranks of the Chaos Club, a legendary, secret club famous for epic pranks at his high school. So when he receives an invitation from them, he can't believe his luck. But he can't help wondering, why him? Why Just Max? Should he become Not-Max and go for it?
He does but instead of glory, he and four other "invitees" were set up as the patsies. And their fail was epic. The entire school was talking about it. Unfortunately for the Chaos Club, Max isn't going to take this sitting down. Not-Max may have been duped but Not-Max is someone he kind of likes. He and his fellow dupes form an unlikely alliance with one mission. Take down the Chaos Club.
Ordinarily, I don't particularly enjoy heist or prank themed movies. The suspense of the heist makes me too antsy and I am not fond of pranks. If I do find the prank funny, I always feel guilty because pranks usually rely on humor at someone's expense. But pranks and heists have hit children's and YA literature hard the last year or so starting with Varian Johnson's The Great Greene Heist and Jude Watson's Loot. Both authors are due to drop sequels in the coming year. And I did enjoy both. I also ended up enjoying The Tapper Twins Go to War (with each other) by Geoff Rodkey and The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John. When I learned of this debut during a Sourcebooks Preview webinar, I just had to request an arc.
It is totally apropos that the book birthday for Don't Get Caught is April Fool's Day. Teens looking for a fast-paced romp narrated by a snarky, smart, wry high school boy will swallow this whole and eagerly await/ hope for a sequel. The laughs come fast and furious. The pages of my arc are dog-eared to mark not only all the hilarious moments, but also moments of pure teenage truth with all its blemishes from the shark-tank social hierarchy through hard-ass teachers through unrequited love. The characters are smart but not in that overly twee way that sometimes dominates popular YA novels. These characters sound real. These characters have depth.
The story twists and turns as the capers unfold prompting quite a few, "Wait! What?" moments where I needed to stop to go back and reread. And that ending? Never saw it coming. Bloody brilliant.
Don't Get Caught might be a tad mature for my crowd. I'll be rereading it to try to make it work. I'm considering the eighth grade only shelf. I highly recommend it for high school and public library collections, as well as LA classroom collections. Teen boys and girls will enjoy this equally; as will reluctant and enthusiastic readers, fans of Andrew Smith and fans of heist movies. Don't miss out.
Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts. 292 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September, 2014. 9780544331648. (Purchased)
At seventeen, apparently Zac is too old for the pediatric cancer floor, so he's admitted to the adult cancer floor (which seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me). When loud music blares from the room next to his, his curiosity is piqued. So far on his cancer treatment journey, Cam, at thirty-two is the closest thing to a peer Zac has met. His neighbor is most definitely female and most definitely angry. Zac has been in isolation due to a bone marrow transplant for several weeks with only his mom to keep him company. He's going a bit stir-crazy. Even if he could meet Mia, he fears she may be way out of his league.
Mia, he learns, is a newbie - newly diagnosed with bone cancer, which is very, very treatable. Zac is an expert on survival odds of all sorts of cancers thanks to midnight sessions on Google. As someone who has relapsed, he knows his odds of five year survival are dwindling. Still, he copes by remaining positive and disarms people with his wicked sense of humor. Mia, whose relationship with her mother wasn't that great to begin with, is red-hot angry. She's surly and defiant and doesn't endear herself to the hospital staff at all.
The point-of-view shifts between Zac and Mia irregularly; a good chunk of the beginning of the book is just Zac's. He is clearly the more sympathetic of the characters and has a great relationship with family but especially his mother.
I liked this one. A lot. There were a couple of things that prevented me from loving it, mostly medical and timeline issues. Minor quibbles from an adult reader with a medical background. This is a well-done cancer book. I look forward to recommending it to my eighth graders who love sad books, cancer books, or, perhaps, The Fault in Our Stars.
As an aside, I think the marketing team did a disservice to the book by likening it to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park. TFIOS has a rather rabid, cult-like following passionate fans. While a majority of teen readers absolutely love this book without question, some despise it. Therefore, both types of fans may have a tendency to judge Zac and Mia harshly.
I get the comparison to TFIOS only in that it features two smart teens facing the unimaginable. For me, Zac and Mia is the better book. And frankly, I don't see the comparison to Eleanor and Park at all.
I don't look at Goodreads reviews or much mainstream publishing reviews until after I've read the book. While there is a good deal of love for this title, I was struck by the venom of some GR reviews. Those who were not trashing it because of the comparison were disliking the book because Mia was so unlikable, so bitchy.
Huh.
That is one of the novels strengths. Who says one has to like a main character for it to be a good book? Isn't it really a great thing to react viscerally to an unlikeable protagonist? Hasn't the author succeeded when that happens? Why not cut the (obnoxious) kid a break and try to understand where she is coming from? Believe me, folks who are undergoing cancer treatment experience a swirling, overwhelming myriad of emotions, including unbridled, utter fury at everything and everybody. They may or may not be heroic or strong or brave. They may eventually get to be heroic and strong and brave, or not. Even Zac scoffs at the idea that he is heroic; at how many FB friends he picked up because he's that kid with cancer; at the well-meaning but dickhead coach who gives him a pity prize at the Sports Award Dinner. Mia is one of the most honest portrayals of a teen with cancer I have ever read. She's right up there with Tessa from Before I Die by Jenny Downham. She makes this a great read. She makes it honest.
Zac and Mia won the Text Prize in Australia in 2012. I had never heard of this oddly named award; so I looked it up. Turns out the full name is The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing and this nifty prize is given to a manuscript! Read more about it and current and past award winners here. Once published, Zac and Mia went onto to win or be shortlisted for several other Australian awards.
Consider adding it to your YA collection and recommending it to your teens.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Unabridged audiobook on 7 compact discs, 8 hours, 15 minutes. Read by Laura Knight Keating. Recorded Books, 2014. 9781490619385. (Borrowed from the public library)
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song Covey is determined to step up once her sister Margot leaves to attend college in Scotland. Ever since their mother died, Margot has organized the family and has been the perfect daughter. Baby sister, Kitty is the spunky one, leaving Lara Jean kind of lost in the middle.
Lara's entire family adores Josh, the boy next door who is also Margot's boyfriend. Lara actually crushed on him first, but stepped aside when Margot started liking him. Ever practical Margot breaks up with Josh days before leaving for Scotland, leaving him crushed. Lara Jean wonders how she, Kitty and Daddy will continue their friendship with him.
To get over her crushes, Lara Jean writes letters, brutally honest letters explaining why she fell in and out of love. She puts the letter in an envelop, addresses it and stores it in a hat box that was a present from her mother. There are five of them and one was addressed to Josh.
The letters are mysteriously mailed, as Lara Jean learns when she is confronted by a seriously confused Josh. She's understandably mortified; but even more so when Alpha male, Peter Kavinsky receives his and confronts her as well. But Peter has a plan. He and his girlfriend recently broke up and Lara Jean doesn't want Josh to think she still likes him. She and Peter decide to pretend that they are going out.
Lara Jean seems way younger than her sixteen years. At first, I found her naiveté kind of charming. Then it became grating and annoying. What sixteen-year-old still refers to her parents as "Daddy or Mommy?" The performance by Laura Knight Keating reflected this very well. Her voice had a playful, young, musical quality to it.
One thing Jenny Han does very well is dialogue and angst. Teens are all about drama. My teens eat up her Summer I Turned Pretty series. Belly drove me absolutely berserk, but then, I'm old as dirt. There was a time, for like, five minutes, in my teens when I lived for this kind of drama. My teens will adore this one too and line up for the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, which is due out May 29th.
Tomboy by Liz Prince. 255 p. Zest Books, September, 2014. 9781936976553. (Finished copy courtesy of the publisher for review.)
I'm afraid that this entry will be less a review and more of a rumination inspired by Liz Prince's YA debut, her graphic novel memoir, Tomboy. She has done something special here in that Tomboy manages to be both evocative and provocative in the best possible ways. I responded to this memoir on several levels - as an ex-tomboy, or perhaps a traitorous one as I do like to wear dresses, as long as they're comfortable (my footwear, even in dresses, is often a pair of Cons); as the mom of four former boys who tried very hard not to reinforce gender expectations; and as a middle school librarian who strives for diversity in collection development.
One afternoon, I happened to be at the public library across the street picking up a book when I spied Tomboy in the new book display. A student immediately sprang to mind so I grabbed it. Later that day, a request for blog tour participants was posted to the YALSA listserv and I had already decided I loved the book and wanted it for my collection. I asked to join.
Sadly, the student I had originally thought would appreciate the book is a very "young" sixth grader and the audience is more grade eight and up. And, it's marketed that way. I'm happy it's here for those readers but I would love a middle grade and picture book to start a similar conversation for younger audiences. The earlier the better, I say. The eighth graders are complete a memoir unit at my school and I think Tomboy would be a great addition to that collection.
Readers will either see themselves or recognize someone as they read Tomboy. Young Liz Prince is a strong person with strong feelings that won't be denied or rerouted and, while these traits might make one prickly, there's something admirable about the courage it takes to go your own way.
I loved how her parents accepted her clothing choices. Her mom, in particular chose not to fight that battle. I also love how Principal Brother George had a conversation with Liz when she violated the dress code on mass day at her school instead of coming down hard on the violation. And I adored how Liz was able to articulate her stand, "Even if nobody teased me, it's still too distracting. It's like I'm wearing a costume." (p.172) We want our students to be self-aware and to advocate for themselves. It's good to remember that doing so can make one stand out and the attention garnered is not always positive.
Growing up is so hard. It was hard back in the prehistoric days when I was young; but I think it's even harder now. We are saturated with media and subjected to a constant onslaught of products and image ideals. While kids could be cruel in my day, cruel kids today have a variety of tools to use to crush the spirit of their victims. Some days, when I am watching students on the playground, or in the hallways, or in the library, I wonder how they can even be present to learn, given all the academic rigor PLUS the interpersonal minefields to be navigated. That's when my compassion reservoir gets refilled. Reading books like Tomboy is also a reminder to be compassionate and open. There is so much in Liz's journey that teens and the adults who care for and about them can relate to.
The art is simple and accessible. The situations and dialogue ring true. Most importantly, there's a great message here that doesn't feel or sound like a message.
Be sure to visit Zest's page for the other stops on this blog tour as there are interviews and give-aways and lots of great reviews to read. Thank you Zest, for the opportunity to read and share Tomboy. Tomboy fills the need for diverse books and is a must-purchase for collections serving teens.
