100 Sideways Miles

100 SIDEWAYS MILES by Andrew Smith. Simon & Schuster, 2014.

Finn, Cade, Julia
Circumstances dictate their
Accidental ties.

Forget Me

FORGET ME by K.A. Harrington. Putnam, August 2014.

Her boyfriend is dead.
Or is he? What is the truth?
Morgan must find out.

Revenge of the Flower Girls

REVENGE OF THE FLOWER GIRLS by Jennifer Ziegler. Scholastic, 2014.

Disrupt a wedding?
Leave that to the triplets and
Determination.

Half a Chance

HALF A CHANCE by Cynthia Lord. Scholastic Press, 2014.

It is another time of change for Lucy as she and her parents have just moved to New Hampshire to a house on a lake. Dad is taking off immediately to go photograph an endangered insect in Arizona. This is a constant in Lucy's life: new home, Dad gone. But somehow, Lucy is determined to find her place in her new world. The lens of her camera helps her see more clearly. This summer brings her closer to Nate, whose family's summer place is next door. Through Nate, Lucy learns about the loons that nest on an island in this lake. Lucy's summer will be a time of change, no doubt. But perhaps that change is a GOOD thing? Pair this with Cynthia Voigt's SOLITARY BLUE and Gary Paulsen's THE ISLAND.

No Small Feat

FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell.

Macmillan, 2013.

Do not ask me how Rainbow Rowell was able to produce TWO incredible books this year (rush out and get ELEANOR AND PARK if you have not read it yet). This second offering is just as stunning as her first. Cath (she does not like to be called Cather) and her twin sister Wren are off to college. For Cath, it is a time of separation anxiety. She worries that her father will be all right with the separation. She is still angry that Wren decided that the two of them should not room together. Cath sinks herself into two things: her fiction writing class where she is the sole freshman, and the world of Simon Snow fanfiction where she is one of the reigning queens. Over the course of a semester with plenty of challenges, Cath learns how to stand up for herself, how to deal with her sometimes conflicting feelings, and most of all, how to find her own voice in her writing. Chapters from Cath's fanfiction and the book from which she is drawing her stories are interspersed in between the chapters and serve to reveal much about Cath along the way.

TWO BOYS KISSING by David Levithan. Knopf 2013.

Craig and Harry are going for the world record for longest kiss. Their friends are helping them, filming, providing water and protection and support. Some family members are there for support; others are noticeably absent. Before long, the news of the Craig and Harry's efforts spreads drawing approval from some and jeers from others. This kiss is set against the backdrop of the lives of other young men who are coming out, coming to terms, and moving on. Levithan combines the stories effortlessly, moving back and forth among the various strands of stories, always focusing on the essential element of acceptance: acceptance of self, acceptance of the other. Lyrical, magical, real: this book is one to be savored a bit at a time, prolonged to ensure appreciation of the incredible voice Levithan brings to the novel.

Reality Check

REALITY BOY by A.S. King. Little Brown, 2013.

Gerald was on a reality TV show when he was barely more than a toddler. It was one of those nanny knows best programs, and Gerald was the star, famous for taking dumps in places other than the bathroom. When the cameras were turned on, Gerald was the center of attention briefly, but once the cameras and audience were gone, Gerald had to deal with his family problems without any help. A mother who ignores what is happening, a father who substitutes work for family, one sister who has fled the house and the country. Now it is just Gerald and his sister, Tasha, who is the cause of so much of Gerald's fame and pain. King has created characters that will make readers look beyond the surface, beyond the veneer, to see the person, the real person who lies beneath. She does this with her usual blend of harsh reality and perhaps a touch or two of magic.

Hello Hattie!

HATTIE AFTER EVER BY Kirby Larson. Delacorte, 2013.

It has been 7 years since we last saw Hattie (HATTIE BIG SKY) and the lovely thing about book characters is that time has not passed as quickly in Hattie's world. The year is 1919 and Hattie is working as a maid in a boarding house. When a troupe of actors stays for a few days, Hattie is enticed by the potential for adventure travel might hold. When the troupe reaches San Francisco, Hattie changes jobs and gets a position as a night maid at a newspaper office. Eventually, she works her way into the newsroom. Hattie understands how the real world can operate; she learns who to trust. The book ends hopefully with Hattie finding her real home and knowing it is not a place but perhaps a person. Larson's sense of place is strong here; it will help readers become immersed in the world of 1919 San Francisco, especially for young women.

Winger

WINGER by Andrew Smith. Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Ryan Dean is 14, sort of scrawny, and a better than average winger (rugby). He lives in Opportunity Hall, the boarding school dorm for kids who have had some "trouble" adjusting to life and to the rules. His best friend, Annie, is someone he would prefer be more than a friend. And his roommate is a bit of a bully. Smith tells readers just enough of Ryan Dean's past as he propels them further into the very comic and sometime tragic present that is Ryan Dean's life. Honest (lots of talk of bodily functions), irreverent (Ryan Dean and his pals know how to manipulate adults fairly well), charming (the budding romance); this is a book that makes you lower your guard and then packs a walloping punch. WINGER is a book that will haunt long after the reading ends.

Here's hoping

ELEANOR AND PARK by Rainboww Rowell. St. Martin's Griffin, 2013.

They are the unlikeliest of friends. When Eleanor boards the school bus that first day and is confronted with hostility, it is Park alone who makes room for her to be seated. He is subtle about the move so as not to call attention to himself and suffer the same sort of peer rejection as befalls Eleanor with her crazy hair and even crazier clothes, clothes that conceal a huge secret in her life. Over the course of a school year, Eleanor and Park move from seatmates to soulmates. Each discovers the secrets of the other; each learns to trust perhaps for the first time. Of course, love never runs smoothly, but Eleanor and Park can hope for a first, right?

That's what it's all about

HOKEY POKEY by Jerry Spinelli. Knopf, 2013.

In a town called Hokey Pokey, life is simple and wonderful for kids. There are bikes to ride, games of catch to play, ice cream to eat. Jack has loved living in Hokey Pokey; his life has been that ideal childhood, the one you never question until something changes. And change is coming. Jack feels it in his bones. His beloved bike, Scramjet, is stolen by a GIRL who paints it bright yellow and adds glitter and streamers to the handlebars. Jack is not sure exactly what is happening, but is sure does not feel good. Is it inevitable?

Spinelli has crafted an incredible coming of age story, an allegory of childhood and the changes one faces that make life change drastically seemingly within one moment. The STORY, the bikes, a baseball mitt, a statue: nothing is here that does not create memories of our own long agos and make us yearn for those carefree days.

First Love

LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS by Laura Buzo. Knopf, 2012.

Amelia is shy of her 15th birthday but already hard at work as a checker in a grocery store. She is the baby here, too young for most of the activities the other employees enjoy on their time off. But she is still old enough to be smitten with Chris, a uni student who shows her the ropes. It takes only la little encouragement from Chris for Amelia to fall in love with him. Told in alternating voices (Amelia and Chris through his notebooks), this story of first love rings true in its emotional depth.

When We Wake

WHEN WE WAKE by Karen Healey. Little Brown, March 2013.

Teegan has been in love for exactly one day before she dies. Teeg and her friends headed off to a political rally never believing that violence might erupt. The last thing Teeg recalls is the sniper shot. Then darkness. Now, she is slowly regaining consciousness. Her eyes are not quite focusing yet, but she knows someone is in her room; it must b a hospital room. As Teeg slowly regains her sight, she knows things have changed. However, she is ill-prepared for the truth of her situation. Teeg has been cryogenically frozen for 100 years. Healey has crafted a wonderfully suspenseful look at science and the future, a future where the environment has paid the price for our excess use of fossil fuels, a future where water is in short supply, where meat is generally unavailable. But the focus of this novel is not the future in which Teeg finds herself, it is about the things that remain nearly constant: the need for friends, for love, for acceptance, for privacy.

Vintage

PERIOD 8 by Chris Crutcher. Greenwillow, April 2013.

A new book by Chris Crutcher is always cause for celebration. Teens will find much to love in his latest offering, PERIOD 8. Meet Paulie. He's basically a good guy. But he has just messed up big time. When Paulie tells his girlfriend Hannah he has cheated on her, he hopes she will at least hear him out. has no intent to hear more from Paulie and storms off. Thankfully, Paulie has someone else to turn to for advice. His teacher Mr. Logsdon (Logs to all) is always there to listen. And then there is Period 8 when the whole class can speak their minds without fear of betrayal. Of course, there is much more to the story than one teen being unfaithful to his girlfriend. Life is more complicated than that, after all. And Crutcher has put this book on steroids (his own words, not mine) as it shines light into some pretty dark places. Mystery, politics, and more play a role in this fast paced thriller, sports story, novel about being friends. What does it mean to be fully human? What is truth? Does anyone know how to tell the unvarnished truth? Should they? Lots of questions. Crutcher leaves the reader to provide the answers. <611>

Opposite of Hallelujah

THE OPPOSITE OF HALLELUJAH by Anna Jarzab. Delacorte, 2012.

Carolina (call her Caro) is facing changes. Her older sister, Hannah, is returning from the convent she entered when Caro was only 8. Carol is breaking up with her boyfriend, and she wants to be sure she is the one in the relationship to bring it to an inevitable end. Things do not go according to plan. Derek dumps her first. Hannah arrives home, and to Caro, a stranger. And so begin the lies. tells friends her sister is back from a stint in the Peace Corps. Jarzab tackles some familiar territory but the terrain is a bit more foreign with the complications of faith and religion, friendship and enmity. Add in science, Escher, a priest who turns confidante, and the possibility of new romance, and you have a book bound to pull readers in. Complex and complicated: just like life. <610>

Panic!

PANIC by Sharon Draper. Atheneum, April 2013.

Dance is everything to Diamond and her friends. The hours spent at the dance studio bring them happiness and a sense of belonging as well. It allows Justin not only an outlet for his creativity but places him in close proximity with Layla, the girl he secretly worships from afar. For Layla, dance means she can forget her trouble with her boyfriend Donovan who is getting way too possessive. Through alternating narrators, Draper reveals what happens when Diamond is abducted by a pedophile at the local mall. How her family and friends react and how the dance studio brings them all together is a powerful metaphor. <574>

miracles can happen

Sixteen year old Cam is wise beyond her years. She has been battling cancer most of her life. Now, it seems, she has run out of options. Her mother, though, a dancer in one of the Disney Polynesian shows, is not daunted. She packs up Cam, her younger sister, and the car and heads off to Promise, Maine, a town so magical that one must find a way into a town that exists almost like Brigadoon (obscure reference for some, but one of my favorite Gene Kelly movies). Cam and her family find Promise, and things appear to be as advertised. There are magnificent scenes all around, a flock of errant flamingos, a possible love interest, and for Cam some respite from her disease. Is this a miracle? THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES by Wendy Wunder (Razorbill 2011) examines what could be dark territory. Wunder shines intense light, a light that brings comfort and sorrow in measured doses. The feelings seem spot on, the humor is dark. It is the character of Cam that remains. <624>

All these things I've done

ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE by Gabrielle Zevin (FSG 2011) is my latest audiobook (Brilliance). About a century from now, the world has changed in some respects. In other respects, not so much has changed. Readers learn the landscape through the eyes of Anya Balanchine whose family has been associated with organized crime for some time. Anya cares for her dying grandmother, her impaired older brother, and her younger sister all in addition to being a "typical" teen of 2083. Chocolate is illegal (and this is the family business) but alcohol is unregulated. Anya falls in love with Win whose father is the district attorney. Here is a futuristic romance that parallels Romeo and Juliet in its romance, conflict between families, and political intrigue. This is the first book in what is to be a series, but it does stand alone and complete on its own. The audio narration is spot on. <579>

Putting makeup on dead people

PUTTING MAKEUP ON DEAD PEOPLE (Hyperion 2011) is certainly a title destined to make browsers pause and give the book a second glance. The cover will make it a good long glance, I'll warrant. Jen Violi gives readers an interesting career choice in the form of Donna, a teen who has seen dying and death up close. She is fascinated rather than repelled by it, and plans to study mortuary science after high school. You can imagine how this decision goes over with her mother and her friends. Issues of faith, family, reverence for the dead, and even romance are blended skilfully in this novel, one that readers who like Sarah Dessen will find of interest. <580>

is there a down side?

OK, I am going to drop all pretense of propriety here because THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING UP by Alan Sitomer (Putnam 2011) is about erections, boners, you know. Seriously, the story focuses on a 13 year old named Bobby who ends up having to see a therapist because of an unfortune incident in math class. Warning: do not drink liquids when reading this scene (or much of the book for that matter) as it will be cause for spewing said liquid painfully through nose and mouth, I suspect. Bobby ends up facing expulsion because of his "behavior" and opts for therapy sessions with one of the most whacked out therapists ever to enter the profession. However, Bobby manages to survive, even maybe to find a girl who is not repulsed by his, ahem, history in class. Sitomer has written a frank and funny look at what it is like to be a normal boy. Along the way he adds some eccentric characters (Gramps in particular) and unusual situations to add to the merriment. while I am far removed from being a 13 year old boy, it does not take super Spidey sense to know this book will be wildly popular with its target audience. <542>