A blah collection of anecdotes mostly centering on high school experiences. A few are funny, but they mostly fall into two categories: "dear self, stoA blah collection of anecdotes mostly centering on high school experiences. A few are funny, but they mostly fall into two categories: "dear self, stop with the self-abuse" or "dear self, that boy really does like you."
a couple of good entries, and a few that I might be able to use with my seventh-graders, but not something I'd rush to include in a collection....more
Avery has never been the family favorite, born as she was from scandal. there are long odds against her in her wealthy grandmother's inheritance game:Avery has never been the family favorite, born as she was from scandal. there are long odds against her in her wealthy grandmother's inheritance game: eight challenges related to their ancestors' virtues, with the winner taking control of the family business and fortunes.
Westing Game crossed with Amazing Race or one of those reality shows. a fun read if not particularly tightly written, from either a plot or linguistic point of view. would recomnend to high school readers, maybe upper middle school....more
A 19-year-old girl, tired of her safe, boring life, befriends a rougher group. her new friends deal drugs, shoplift big-ticket items, rough up those wA 19-year-old girl, tired of her safe, boring life, befriends a rougher group. her new friends deal drugs, shoplift big-ticket items, rough up those who need it, and more. she wants to know everything they do, but finding out is more than she wants to see.
not my favorite of Hartnett's books. the plot didn't grab me and tge characters were bland, including the head of their criminal enterprise. Hartnett can do far better....more
Glory isn't sure why she drank the bat, but what's done is done--and now she's getting transmissions when she looks at people. Visions of their pasts,Glory isn't sure why she drank the bat, but what's done is done--and now she's getting transmissions when she looks at people. Visions of their pasts, their ancestors, their descendants. Visions of a war being fought, a war sparked by the exploitation of a loophole in the Fair Pay Act: no need to pay women the same as men if we make it illegal for them to work. Visions of women hiding in tunnels and living in trees. Between these visions, Glory is reading through her late Mom's photography journals and experimenting in her darkroom, trying to make sense of her own emotions.
It's hard to call a book "typical AS King" when her books are so different from each other, but this is another wonderful story of a teen coming to terms with past traumas and weird circumstances that might be magic and might be hallucinations. This isn't the visceral experience of Reality Boy, but is nonetheless a wonderful, weird book.
Love the art ad was interested but not enraptured by the story. Two tween girls (12-ish) rekindle their friendship at the lake, where their families sLove the art ad was interested but not enraptured by the story. Two tween girls (12-ish) rekindle their friendship at the lake, where their families spend a chunk of each summer. While Alice and Windy are growing up, others around them are growing, too: Alice's parents have been fighting a lot and her mom's been depressed over something; Alice's summer crush (the guy who works at the local store and rents scary movies to her) is coping with some big scary news.
There's a narrative arc, of course, but is more of a vignette of the summer than a full story with a climax and resolution for our protagonist. While this is being hailed as a great YA title, the tone is more adult looking back on a teenage experience. That's not a bad thing, but nor is it what I was expecting it to be....more
Some great, inspirational ideas of everything libraries can be, and should be, but it's not aimed at me--that(Audio via the Circulating Ideas podcast)
Some great, inspirational ideas of everything libraries can be, and should be, but it's not aimed at me--that is, front-line library workers. This almost aims at the layperson, but requires a little more insider-library knowledge. Maybe trustees, board members, even administration? Not really sure.
Worth a listen, but not something I'm going to remember a lot of, unfortunately....more
Montana's been looking forward to this summer--the one just before her senior year of high school, with her sister, Arizona, and their BFF, Roxanne, bMontana's been looking forward to this summer--the one just before her senior year of high school, with her sister, Arizona, and their BFF, Roxanne, back home in NYC from college. Things are changing quickly, though: Arizona and Roxanne have obviously been talking a lot without Montana, and Montana has been hanging out with her new friend Karissa. Karissa is 23, cool, fascinating, alluring--and dating Montana's 4-times-divorced dad. Montana and Arizona hate the idea of having Karissa as their next stepmom and try to convince both sides to break it off. Montana's loyalties are split among Arizona, their dad, Karissa, former-stepmom Natasha, and new boyfriend Bernardo, with whom Montana has rapidly fallen head-over-heels in love. Bernardo is everything Montana has ever wanted, and she loses herself into this all-consuming relationship, the one place in her life in which everything goes right.
Teens may be drawn to the melodramatic romance and family struggles, but Montana's eventual epiphany comes too late in the story to pack much punch. The plot covers only a short amount of time (less than a summer) but the pacing is such that it's difficult to nail down just how much time is passing. Some sex and foul language mark this book as being for older teens, but the larger issue is the high percentage of the time Montana and her friends spend drinking, drunk, or hung over....more
I love Copper, and have since it was being posted online with occasional updates. It's both hopeful and melancholic, and beautifully illustrated and cI love Copper, and have since it was being posted online with occasional updates. It's both hopeful and melancholic, and beautifully illustrated and colored. There are dream-sequences and fantasies and realistic, every-day scenarios. It's for adults and totally fine for kids. It's wonderful and I love it and you should read it too....more
Amber has been in the Aurora Hills Correctional Facility for a long time, and will likely be there for a long time more. She recounts her days there, Amber has been in the Aurora Hills Correctional Facility for a long time, and will likely be there for a long time more. She recounts her days there, the weird day that the power went out and all the locks opened, the day she saw a stranger inside the building, when she saw the building in decay. When Ori came--Ori, the "Bloody Ballerina," convicted of killing two other dancers--Amber could see there was something different about her, an innocence, maybe.
Contrasted with this story is Violet's story: Violet is only days away from heading to Julliard, having risen to the top of her dance corps after they lost three ballerinas a few years back. Violet convinces some friends to take a road trip to the abandoned prison and explore where Ori spent that brief time before the inmates were poisoned and Aurora Hills shuttered.
We never hear Ori's voice, but piece together her story through both Violet's and Amber's perspectives. The questions are not easy to answer; nor are they easy to identify. It's a creepy story, but not necessarily because of the ghosts, but because it's difficult to tease out what really happened and whose voices can be trusted, and how far.
A series of short stories, written by a man (not the author; this is the frame narrative) wondering what hIn a word: lovely.
In another: heartbreaking.
A series of short stories, written by a man (not the author; this is the frame narrative) wondering what has become of his daughter, who disappeared when she was seven years old. Some of the stories are realistic, imagining what happened that day or how the townspeople reacted or the adult Celia might have grown up to be.
It's how a father struggles to hold on while a mother struggles to move past. It's different ways to deal with grief. It's the hopeful thoughts and dreams, no matter how realistic. And it's all wonderful....more
Read a little better than half of this but don't really care how it ends. Anna is a chatty teen struggling with depression and panic attacks, recoveriRead a little better than half of this but don't really care how it ends. Anna is a chatty teen struggling with depression and panic attacks, recovering from suicidal inclinations in a psychiatric hospital staffed by some of the meanest and least-compassionate people available. I can't tell if this is meant as caricature or how Halpern saw the staff in her own experiences (filtered through teen eyes).
But really, I wasn't all that interested in how it turned out. for better portrayals of teens dealing with depression in psychiatric facilities, pick up Girl, Interrupted or It's Kind of a Funny Story....more
The once-grand Bellweather Hotel is hosting its 30th Statewide High School Music Festival--band members, orchestra members, and chorus members swarm tThe once-grand Bellweather Hotel is hosting its 30th Statewide High School Music Festival--band members, orchestra members, and chorus members swarm the hotel, accompanied by their chaperones. On the first night, Alice Hatmaker leaves her room for five minutes and returns to find her roommate hanging from a pipe. When Alice returns with help, the roommate is gone--and by morning, the rumors are flying. This is not the first time this has happened in the hotel--in that very room. Meanwhile, Alice's twin brother Rabbit has stood up to the crazy orchestra conductor, their chaperone has some history with the new festival director, and several feet of snow will trap everyone in the dilapidated hotel.
The book is described as "The Shining meets Glee" and it's not wrong, but it's not quite right, either. Those elements are certainly there, but there are deeper notes (ha! see what I did there) of finding oneself at any age, of your roles that are defined by other people and by yourself, and breaking out of both sets of roles. It's a complicated story without being a complex story. Crossover appeal to upper-high-school teens and adults....more
Made it halfway through this one and giving up on it because I'm totally bored and I don't care what happens to these people.
Also, FYI: this is not a Made it halfway through this one and giving up on it because I'm totally bored and I don't care what happens to these people.
Also, FYI: this is not a teen book. This is an adult book, with all the adult-ness of adult family dramas: loveless marriages, alcoholism, infidelity, and boring sex that is written in such a way as to be clear that nobody is enjoying it because everyone involved is a terrible person using the other person and you don't care about either of them in the slightest.
There's a dead patriarch (who nobody liked) and his ex-wife, two mostly-grown kids, and a granddaughter are cleaning out the house, unaware of the two ghosts and maybe a third ghost but I don't care enough to find out who that third one is.
Accessible to any age, though a bit melancholic for the youngest readers. The art is gorgeous and the stories are wonderful, not that I would have expAccessible to any age, though a bit melancholic for the youngest readers. The art is gorgeous and the stories are wonderful, not that I would have expected anything less of Tan. I want him to make prints out of every illustration he does, and then give me those prints to paper my whole room in....more
As usual with metaphrog books, this sort of makes sense, if you sort of tilt your head and squint... it's a very pretty, surreal sort of story, this oAs usual with metaphrog books, this sort of makes sense, if you sort of tilt your head and squint... it's a very pretty, surreal sort of story, this one about Louis trying to find something to heal his (mechanical) pet bird. But there are a couple of ... spies? chasing after him on the long journey, in which Louis may or may not have ever left his backyard.
Yeah, it's weird. I have never figured out the overarching plot in this series. The creators are from Scotland (one originally from France), so I suspect there's a bit of European Art influence at work here. It's really good, fun to read and to look at, just ... a little shakey to understand....more
Ben has always had George with him. He couldn't be without George if he wanted to--because George is the little man who lives inside him, offering advBen has always had George with him. He couldn't be without George if he wanted to--because George is the little man who lives inside him, offering advice and commentary quietly inside Ben's head. The only other person who knows about George is Ben's brother--but when George starts talking out loud, the secret is out. Ben's stepmother is concerned that he's "crazy" and "schizo" (her words; this was written in the 70s, after all) and sets him up with a psychiatrist, who diagnoses him as having a split personality. (view spoiler)[ Eventually people consider him cured, as they don't hear George's voice anymore, but Ben reveals that it's only that his own voice has deepened so that it's indistinguishable. (hide spoiler)]
I really liked this when I first read it ages ago (in college, maybe?), but now, it's just.. painful. Not only to see how little was understood about mental health issues, but how even the well-meaning parents will still completely ignorant of how to deal with this kind of mental illness. And the writing is a bit clunky and stilted, something I didn't notice about Konigsburg when I was younger but sure as hell do now....more
Aislyn is cripplingly shy: she's very smart and could have won the state science fair with her research on gene therapies, if only she'd been able to Aislyn is cripplingly shy: she's very smart and could have won the state science fair with her research on gene therapies, if only she'd been able to bring herself to talk to the judges about it. She'd love to talk to people and advocate for gene therapies as a treatment for various illnesses, like her brother's cystic fibrosis, but she freezes up and can't get words out. So when a researcher offers her a chance to overcome her social anxieties with an experimental gene therapy, Aislyn jumps at the chance. Her new gregarious self isn't afraid to talk to the boy she's been crushing on, or go to parties, or be a normal teenager. But some other teens have been given the treatment, too, and some of them have collapsed. Then the symptoms start appearing in people who haven't had the therapy. Charisma may not be the answer Aislyn was hoping for.
In its way, Charisma isn't a far step from Ned Vizzini's Be More Chill, though with a more current, realistic medical technology. The science is explained well enough for non-scientist readers to understand, and gives teens much to think about regarding medical ethics and experimentation. Aislyn's relationship with her boyfriend is chaste by necessity (so she doesn't spread the virus), but there are some mild suggestions of more. Not an essential purchase, but not a bad choice for medium to larger collections....more
I tried to write a synopsis here, but I don't have it in me. The writing was poetic but it just kept going. I was curious about the Big Reveal (thoughI tried to write a synopsis here, but I don't have it in me. The writing was poetic but it just kept going. I was curious about the Big Reveal (though I had some guesses, one of which was right) so I kept reading, but really I lost interest before I was halfway through.
Granted I have a chunk of stone where my heart should be....more