Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira

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Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours. Read by Monica Gomez-Hira. HarperTeen/ HarperAudio, March, 2021. 9780063061415. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira. The only thing standing between Carmen Aguilar and her high school diploma is an internship. She didn't complete it during senior year due to the harassment she suffered from her project supervisor. The only internship she could find on such short notice was as a party princess. The last thing she wants to do is dress up as Belle and sing "Beauty and the Beast" for a bunch of five-year-olds, but that's what she needs to do. Her situation goes from bad to worse when she learns that her "Beast" partner is none other than Mauro, an ex who also had something to do with her estrangement from her cousin and the cancelling of her own quinceañera three years earlier.

Carmen is a wisecracking firecracker who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Yet, there is still chemistry between her and Mauro. The family dynamics are dramatic and sometimes hilarious. There is definitely a soap opera feel to all the angst. There's also foul language, underage drinking and other risky behavior in the story. Mature eighth grade readers who enjoy romance and know or want to learn about quinceañeras will be entertained. 

The lively narration kept things interesting.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

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Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. Unabridged e-audiobook. 16.5 hours. Read by Natalie Naudus. HarperAudio/ HarperTeen/ HarperCollins Publishers, May, 2021. 9780063087668.

Teen Tuesday features Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. This is the beginning of a wholly new fantasy series by the author of The Red Queen series.

The realm of Allward is protected from evil and "He who waits" by spindles, which are in turn, protected by humans descended from the Cor bloodline. They are the only ones who can wield a spindleblade. Taristan, bitter at being denied his heritage, has been opening spindles with the help of a wizard. Twelve Companions of the Realm, including Cortael, Taristan's twin meet in a bloody battle in the opening pages of this sweeping fantasy. When Taristan viciously murders his twin, Andry, a squire manages to spirit Cortael's spindleblade away from the battlefield and escapes the massacre. 

Meanwhile, Corayne an-Amarat, daughter of a fierce and feared pirate, wishes for adventures on the sea of her own. She's bitterly disappointed when her mother leaves her behind. It seems that she is the last of the Cor bloodline and learns who her father was from an immortal elder named Dom, who is determined to recover Cortael's spindleblade and train Corayne to closed the spindles her uncle is opening. 

Dom's band of realm defenders is small and ragtag, comprised of a dangerous assassin, Landry, the haunted squire, Corayne, and eventually a sorceress, a forger with a price on his head and a bounty hunter with a grudge.

The world building was a bit vague and multiple points of view occasionally cause confusion. The plot was frequently interrupted by flashbacks that sometimes distracted. Still, the cast of characters were intriguing as were the political machinations. There's banter and occasional humor amidst the suspense of the action with close calls and impossible escapes. 

Sign me up for book two! New-to-me narrator, Natalie Naudus turned in a well-paced performance with voices that were unique. 

Teen Tuesday: What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

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What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. Unabridged e-audiobook. ~9 hours, 48 minutes. Read by Noah Galvin and Froy Guitierez. HarperTeen, October, 2018. 9780062855091. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. This dual narrative is told from the POV of Arthur, an Atlantan with Ivy-league aspirations who is in NYC for an internship in a high-powered law firm and Ben, a native New Yorker who lives with his working-class parents in Alphabet City and is stuck in summer school with his ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend. The two meet cute at the post office where Ben is trying to mail a box of his ex's belongings back to him. Unfortunately, they go their separate ways without exchanging contact info. But neither of them can stop thinking about the other. With the help of some internet savvy friends, the two finally reconnect. Their first date is a disaster, but they decide on a do-over - twice before wondering if the universe is toying with them. 

This rom-com is laugh-out-loud funny and sweet, but also explores issues that can get in the way of romance. Arthur and Ben are surrounded by smart and supportive friends (OMG, Dylan!) and family and the NYC setting is vibrant and hip. 

The performances were perfectly paced and added to the appeal of the book. I was definitely late to the party with this, but sure am glad I finally got here. Fun, breezy, angsty, and endearing. 

Teen Tuesday and Arc Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.424 p. HarperTeen/ HarperCollins Publishers, May 5, 2020. 9780062882783. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher, ALAMW.) 

Elizabeth Acevedo returns to verse form for her third novel and it's intense! Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and sees her beloved father only during the summers. Yahaira Rios lives in New York City and misses her father terribly when he leaves each summer to visit the DR. Camino arrives at the airport to greet her dad to find crying people at the airport. Her father's plane crashed. Yahaira is called out of class and told by her mother that her father died in a plane crash. Two girls, two countries, one father. A secret exposed.

This dual narrative switches between Camino and Yahaira as they grieve and eventually learn of the other's existence. While Camino's dad sends enough money to provide tuition to a private school and some comforts for her and her Tia, she still lives in a poor neighborhood where girls often become prey to sexual predators. Her father has been paying off El Cero to leave her alone. Now that he's gone, not only are her hopes to attend Columbia as a pre-med gone, but she's not sure she can escape El Cero's plans for her.

Yahaira's situation is more stable with two working parents. Her life in Morningside Heights is comfortable. She has a girlfriend and was a rising star in the chess community until she abruptly quit a year earlier after discovering part of her father's secret. 

Don't let the page count intimidate you. Both girls' voices grab from the beginning. This is an intense read with a lot of heartbreak along the way to healing and hope. If you have Acevedo fans among your students, this is an absolute must read. If you haven't yet read anything by her, certainly start here. 

#tbt: Good Enough by Paula Yoo

Good Enough by Paula Yoo. 336p. HarperTeen/ HarperCollins Publishers, February, 2008. 9780060790899. (Own.)

Patty's parents expect only one thing from her - to be a PKD, or Perfect Korean Daughter. In order to become a PKD, Patty must ace the SAT, get into either Harvard, Yale or Princeton, preferably all three, and she shouldn't talk to boys. Scoring less than a 2300 on the SAT and not earning first chair in the All-State Orchestra is simply not good enough for Patty's parents. Patty's feeling the stress but pretty much on board until she realizes that she won't win first chair and "Cute Trumpet Boy" moves to town and joins the orchestra. Hanging out with him is kind of fun even if he just wants friendship. And, maybe Patty would rather go to Juilliard instead of Harvard, Yale or Princeton. Patty's humor helps her cope and makes her an endearing narrator as readers root for her to follow her heart.

Teen Tuesday: Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens. 340 p. HarperTeen/ HarperCollins Publishers, August, 2017. 9780062398512. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher (AASL17). 


Our Teen Tuesday book is Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens and features a winning narrator with a circle of friends she calls the hexagon. Elizabeth McCaffrey prefers to be called Billie. She's a creative, free spirit who definitely does not fit the preacher kid mode in her small Kentucky town. Still, she loves her small town and her religion and, unlike her best friend, Janie Lee, who is counting the days until she can legally flee, Billie wants to stay. But she wants to be her true self and wishes her father and the townsfolk would understand and accept her. At turns hilarious and poignant, Dress Codes for Small Towns is an engaging story of identity.