What's (Not) Hot?

In the spirit of this week's stroll down memory lane, I am going to highlight three of my favorite books from my childhood, all of which are part of a series, and are more middle grade than young adult:

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. (1955). Garden City, NY: Nelson Doubleday, Inc. (reprint edition).

While Little Women is not a "timeless" classic, in that it is a product of the 19th-century when it was written, time has not dimmed its appeal for me and for generations of other readers. Alcott's house, in Concord, MA, remains a heavily-visited historic site due to her perennial popularity. The story of tomboyish Jo and her three sisters, it makes being a nonconformist not only acceptable but also the whole fun of the book. While it does get preachy and sentimental at times, it is also a classic, in the best sense of the word.

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. (2008). New York, NY: Modern Library Classics (reprint edition).

Another book that celebrates a bright, cerebral, different girl who does not fit into a stereotypical mold. Anne is a red-headed orphan who despises her hair and whose imagination often runs away with her. Yet she is loved by her friends and her readers for always and unapologetically being herself. Prince Edward Island is another significant character in the books about Anne, and every year almost one million people visit--a good number of those because of that irresistible "Anne-girl."

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods. (2004). New York, NY: HarperCollins (reprint edition).

This is the first book of the semi-autobiographical Little House series, perhaps the most successful of the three I have named here. They remain popular even among my 2nd- through 4th-grade readers, and I often hear anecdotes of families watching together episodes of Little House on the Prairie, the TV series based on the books. Further indication of the continued popularity of Laura Ingalls Wilder is the runaway success of a newly annotated version of her autobiography, Pioneer Girl, when it was released last year.

Delicious and Nutritious

Perhaps these "nutritious" books are not delicious--in fact, they may feature dark and disturbing subject matter--but it makes for wonderful alliteration, nonetheless.

When searching my library for quality young adult nonfiction, some the first titles to come up are:

Fleming, Candace. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia. (2014). New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books.

This book's cover is decorated with a sticker identifying the book as a nominee for the 2015 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award. Its ravingly positive reviews indicate that the nomination was justified. While the title explains what the book is about, it does not fully illuminate how compelling the story of the Romanovs truly is. I cannot wait to have a chance to read further.

Then there's:

Rodriguez, Gaby. The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir. (2012). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Rodriguez made headlines several years ago with her fake pregnancy project, when she convinced everyone around her that she was pregnant, and recorded their reactions to her life change. Coming from a long line of teen mothers, she sought to see how she would be treated by "living down" to their expectations of her. The first chapter alone is a fascinating read--I am hooked!

Barton, Chris. Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities. (2011). New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

This is a series of entertaining profiles of famous cons who have assumed fake identities. It is geared toward younger teens, with language and graphics a little on the simpler side, but is a fun examination of these characters and the contexts in which they lived. A quick read, the book is written in the second person, which takes some adjustment but seems to work overall.

Scary can mean many things!

Growing up (and perhaps still!), I was afraid of anything imaginary. "Real" problems? Less so. Here's what I think might be scary, or at least spooky and disturbing:

Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. (2013). Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

The cover alone tells you this is going to be a creepy book: a girl in historic garb, levitating off the ground, an expression of serenity on her face. This has been on my TBR list for years, but I haven't yet gotten past the first couple of chapters, intriguing as they are. A teen describes his grandfather's tall tales about odd children he knew when he was a child himself. Or are they tall tales? Zoltar says no.

Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. (2009). New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

This one's a little bit of a cheat. I haven't read it, but I saw this last year when it came out as a movie, not realizing it was a book. I included it because it has (for me) some strong elements of fear. The story is set in an mysterious enclosed glade, into which a bunch of boys have been sent from an elevator shaft. None of them have any memories but their names. To escape their pastoral prison, they have to find their way through an ever-changing maze, but no one has ever lived through an escape attempt. The Grievers, cyborg creatures that inhabit the maze, come out at night and consume anyone remaining in the maze. I won't spoil the ending, but it is dystopian, and disturbing.

Poblacki, Dan. The Ghost of Graylock. (2012). New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Ugh. There is a reason I never pick up Dan Poblacki's books. The covers alone are enough to freeze my blood. This one is about a kid named Neil who is new to town, and cannot resist exploring the ruins of a mental health hospital. It's a classic setup for a horror novel, and one that's been done to death--no pun intended. While the book received very positive reviews, and the writing in the first chapter is solid, this won't be making it onto my reading list.

Geeky Books--Says Who?

I went to a magnet high school for communication arts, so "geeky" was a relative term, and then discovered in college how to truly embrace my inner geek. That being said, I pretty much always read fantasy. In my youngest years that included C.S. Lewis and E. B. White. As I got older, I got to know and love Susan Cooper and Anne McCaffrey, Robin McKinley and Ursula K. LeGuin, Lloyd Alexander and Madeline L'Engle--all still some of my favorites of all time.

But I was curious to explore some newer authors, so I went in blind to the Young Adult section to my local library, and started pulling books that had fantasy-sounding titles. Here's what I came up with:

Chima, Cinda Williams. The Warrior Heir. (2006). New York, NY: Hyperion Publishers.

This is the story of Jack, a sixteen-year-old who throughout his life has taken a special medicine for what he's been told is a heart problem. After forgetting one day to take it, he has outsized strength and confidence, and learns that he is a warrior of a magical society that lives among regular people. Though this plot device is overdone (teen finds out he/she has magical powers), I read the first several chapters and found it surprisingly well-written and intriguing. I also liked that it was from a boy's POV, as I often read books with girl main characters, so this was a refreshing change.

Bujor, Flavia. The Prophecy of the Stones. (2004). New York, NY: Hyperion Publishers.

In a similar plot device, three fourteen-year-old girls find out their unique destiny: to use three stones to help save a world called Fairytale. The outcome of their efforts also affects the life of a Parisian girl who is sick and dreaming of a world called Fairytale. I only realized after making this selection that it was written by a thirteen-year-old French sensation named Flavia Bujor. After reading the first few chapters, I was disappointed by the book. It read flat and uninspiring to me, either because of the translation or perhaps just the original writing was problematic. I won't try reading further.

Bell, Hilari. Fall of a Kingdom. (2003). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books For Children.

Yet another three teens are trying to save the mythical kingdom of Farsala in this book. Just reading the jacket copy and then the first two chapters left me so confused, I cannot tell more about what is happening in this book. Unfortunately, this book has many of the issues non-fantasy-lovers dislike about fantasy: confusing plot and unfamiliar character and place names that make it difficult to get into the story. I won't try reading this one further, either.

Sexy books--what everyone (not just teens) like

There is a reason romance novels sell so well. Many (not all, but many) people enjoy stories of love and lust, especially when there's a happily ever after (a.k.a. HEA), or a happily for now (a.k.a HFN).

In that vein, I had a hard time not dropping all of my holiday weekend plans to read all of the romance/sexy YA books I selected. I couldn't resist the first, which I got from my local library:

Perkins, S. Anna and the French Kiss. (2010). New York, NY: Dutton Books. Sweet, sexy, real.

Anna is spending her senior year of high school at an exclusive Parisian boarding school. She has a crush on her new BFF, who happens to be a gorgeous French/British/American boy with a volatile girlfriend. Fighting their feelings and the urge to act upon them is a carefully choreographed dance which plays out beautifully. Loved it!

I have wanted to read this for awhile, and grabbed it off the library shelf too:

Revis, B. Across the Universe. (2011). New York, NY: Penguin Group.

I have not heard any details about Across the Universe, other than that it is amazing. Reading the jacket copy reveals that it is about a girl who is to be cryogenically frozen for 300 years but is thawed fifty years too early and wakes up on a spaceship. She is not sure whether or not she can trust the boy who seems to be helping her. The cover shows the two of them face to face, suggesting a strong romantic thread. The first chapter is riveting as it describes the process of first her parents, and then her, being frozen. So far, I have resisted reading further.

Lastly, I cannot resist including one of my favorite YA romances. Yes, it is cliched. I do not care:

Meyer, S. Twilight. (2005). New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company.

Twilight was a tour-de-force when it was published ten years ago, and remains one of the most popular paranormal romances this century--perhaps of all time. It is the story of Bella, a young woman who falls in love with a "good" vampire, one who hunts animals instead of humans. While the story is far-fetched and the writing excessively verbose, I cannot think of a series that I found more engrossing. And I have read a lot.

Funny YA books--a rare find

It was surprisingly difficult for me to track down humorous YA books for this week.

In the "Accelerated Reader" section of my own library, I found:

Patterson, J. and Grabenstein, C. I Funny: A Middle School Story. (2012). New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

The title says it all. Although I haven't read this James Patterson upper-MG book, I did read some of his others, and they are definitely amusing, if not laugh-out-loud funny. This one is about Jamie, who is in a wheelchair, and uses humor (including a lot of one-liners) to deflect his discomfort about being different.

From the YA section of our local public library, I got:

Schmidt, G. Okay for Now. (2011). New York, NY: Clarion Books.

This book is not a funny book, per se, but has a strong thread of humor throughout. Doug is a thug-in-training who moves to a new town and gets a new outlook on life, thanks in part to his intense response to the paintings from Audubon's Birds of America that he finds in his local library. It was a lovely story, and I could not put it down.

And missing from our local public library was this book, billed as "A funny and smart comedy about getting the guy . . . and finding yourself." The librarian was horrified and searched the whole library for the copy, but I was not able to physically get my hands on it:

Schrier, A.V. How (Not) to Find a Boyfriend. (2013). New York, NY: Philomel Books.

It looked like it could be either funny or sexist (perhaps both), as it is about a smart girl who dumbs herself down to become a popular cheerleader, but then wants to prove to a boy she's met that she really is intelligent. I am still interested in reading this, though the reviews are mixed.

First post!

I am looking forward to reading and reviewing MG/YA books for the second half of the LBS803 course.