Teen Web
Los Angeles Public Library
2007
http://www.lapl.org/ya/index.html
Age Range: 12+
Format: Website
Rating: 5/5

A FABULOUS website, Teen Web is interactive, pretty, user-friendly, cool and informative. This is everything that teen library sites should be! The main page has a great design; users can move elements of the page, choose from teen-friendly categories and view photos from teen events. The main theme of the site is centered around a teen school binder, complete with doodles and tabs for different "subjects." The subjects are all relevant, and include links to general stuff (like comic books and sports), teen library resources, homework help links, information for life (health, family, etc.), events at the library, the teen reading club, a library game (that I coulnd't seem to make work), and the opportunity to give opinions and feedback! The sections are all different than the ones offered through the main Los Angeles Public Libray website, and are all directly appropriate for young adults. The links are all stable, and take the user to reputable, enjoyable and interactive sites with good information. There is no "kiddish" feel to the site; it's cool and playful and pretty hip (although, it's debatable whether a non-teen can make this statement).

If I was to create a teen library website, I think that I would use Teen Web as a template! It's THAT good!

The Zone: Teens @ Burlington Public Library
Burlington Public Library
2007
http://www.bpl.on.ca/bplteens/thezone.htm
Age Range: 12+
Format: Website
Rating: 4/5

The Zone, from the Burlington Public Library in Ontario is a very informative, clean, and semi-cool teen library site. Great links to relevant and reputable sites, The Zone offers teens an opportunity to see what's new, to get homework help, check out teen reads, get information on writing contests, links for general subjects and to ask a librarian. The graphics are simple, yet eye-catching, and the page gives information separate from the library's main site. Teens can also provide content for the site: specifically book reviews and submissions for the writing contest.

Although perhaps not the prettiest teen library site, The Zone definitely does the job, and offers appropriate information for users. Especially impressive are the extensive links provided, and the emphasis on the activities of the library's Teen Advisory Board.

Shojo Beat
November 2006
Viz Media
Age Range: 12+
Format: Magazine
Genre: Manga
Rating: 4/5


A great magazine for the manga lover in all of us (well, us girls anyway). Shojo Beat is concerned with manga dealing with themes of emotions, relationships, love, identity and the like. It has vastly different content than Shonen Jump (the action-packed boy's manga magazine), but very similar format. The bulk of the magazine is monthly installments of various manga titles, along with a preview of a new manga soon to hit stores. This month's issue previewed Punch, a story about Elle, the daughter of a wrestling champion and a boxer and granddaugther of a Muay Thai champion, who can't seem to hold a boyfriend because her fighter friends keep such good tabs on her. She's bound by a promise her grandfather made eons ago, and is therefore engaged to a guy she considers a brother. Wild circumstance ensues.

Aside from the actual manga supplements, this issue of Shojo Beat also includes suggestions on how to dress like your favourite manga character, includes new manga titles, gives the history of Japanese school uniforms, shows you how to draw manga, showcases reader artwork and offers tips on "how to get a guy the Shojo Beat way." These tips are actually dreadfully funny, and include dating a robot to make other guys jealous, pretending you're a male samurai, getting transported to a mystical world, and transferring to an upscale private school even though you're poor in order for guys to fall for your "goofy-yet-honest common ways." Brilliant!

Although a little on the girly side, Shojo Beat is a delightfully positive way for girls to engage in their reading, be creative and keep on top of the latest manga. If you have little to no money for comics/manga in your library, subscribing to Shojo Beat (and Shonen Jump for the boys) will at least keep the wolves at bay until you can scrape up enough cash to buy the popular paperbacks.

Konvicted
Akon
2006
Umvd Labels
Age Range:
Format: Audio Recording, Music
Genre: Hip Hop, R&B
Rating: 3.5/5



So... I'm gonna admit it right now:

I.
Actually.
Like.
This.

And now that that's out of the way...

Akon is well-timed, not a bad singer, has a cool tone to his voice, knows who to make friends with, and is strangely witty. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are, but it's true. I've got a bop to the head, I wanna dance (and maybe even stop frontin'), and I actually want to hear this CD again.

Oh, and I'm a sucker for Snoop, so it's always a plus if you've got the D-O-Double G on your album!

Akon's got a pretty solid career for himself, I'm willing to bet, and deservedly so. He's good at what he does, and I can understand the huge wave of popularity. It's catchy, it's fun, it's not too-too in your face with the womanizing/misogynistic/glam stuff.

Well.. maybe it is pretty in your face with it. Snoop and Akon sing about "winding and grinding" and have a delightful video of beautiful women stradling chairs in pantyhose. At least they're curvy, though!

And.. what does "you know my pedigree" mean? Good God, do girls think like dog breeders? D-O-Double G breeders? Please someone let me know!

Hole in My Life
Gantos, J.
2004
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Biography, Printz Honor Book, Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
Rating: 4.5/5



A really poor choice in late adolescence ripples through the rest of Jack Gantos' life; his decision to transport drugs for $10 000 in 1971 turns into a six year prison sentence that changes, well, everything.

Raw, candid, passionate, direct, funny and true in the way that only certain humans can be, Gantos writes of his past with none of the sickly sweet metaphors or annoying slap-you-in-the-face themes you'd expect from a memoir about drug trafficking and the ramifications of such activities. A book more about the function and beauty of writing, about finding your way in life, about screwing up and living to talk about how much it sucked and about how important the screw ups actually are to the development of your humanity. Gantos is stripped down, and writes beautifully about life, love, and most importantly, about writing. He talks about that feeling of having thoughts too big for your head, how strange it is to write in the same places his favourite writers once wrote, the importance of feeling your life, and how the path that leads you is sometimes misguided.

Make no mistake, this is a really good book. And has so much potential - not only for emphasizing multicultural materials, but also for encouraging teens to read biographies of people who aren't basketball stars, but who had to go through a whole lot of crap to get to where they are. And for a real-life, no-shit account of how the stuff that seems OK can really, really go bad. A lot of kids need to see this side of the story; not the glamorized drug lifestyle, and not the hard-hitting family living class textbook. But the stories of folks like Jack Gantos, who made wrong choices, paid for their mistakes, actually did come out learning a lesson, and have talent enough to write about it. No apologies, no crap, just you and Jack. It seriously feels like sitting down and talking to this guy. This guy who knows more than you, and who wants you to take whatever you will from his experiences. This guy who I would love to meet and talk with about Kerouac and Hemingway's house and, well, everything!

Step Up

2006

Fletcher, A. (Director)
USA

Touchstone Pictures

Age Range: 12+

Format: Video, Movie

Genre: Drama, Music, Dance

Rating: 2/5

Tyler, a hip-hop-bad-boy, Vanilla-Ice-wannabe from "the wrong side of the tracks" beats the shit out of a rich-kid arts school, so has to do community service as janitor amongst the pretty dancers and singers. And of course, falls for Nora, the prettiest and bestest of them all. They are thrown together out of happenstance to practice for Nora's final project (no one else can do it but the janitor??), and dramatic, frolicking romance ensues.

Yes.

I swear. It does indeed ensue.

Complete with loads and loads of dancing.

Although, somewhat enjoyable, in that "oh God, it hurts" kind of way. A movie for the S&M freak in all of us!

But, really.. what you want to hear is the real dirt! I figured I'd do something a little different this time 'round, and make J. (boyfriend extraordinaire/scathing critic) help me out a little. For what follows, I cannot be held accountable.

_________________________________________________

How Jamie Saw It:

In a toss up for worst movie in the entire universe, it’s a neck-in-neck race between Step Up and the movie I made in my grade 11 comp. tech. class (it was mostly just a film of our janitor, Mel, sweeping around the urinals).

I’m proud to say that I officially made the second worst movie in the universe.

It’s the age old tale of the poor guy from the wrong side of the tracks who through a twist of fate (and some sweet dance moves), meets and bags the rich girl from the right side of the tracks. Too bad the bloody train didn’t hit them.

I’ve actually ruined the plot for you though… well, not ruined, per say; it wasn’t really that much to begin with. Actually, I don’t even think it had a plot. It had characters, I know that. And they could dance, I know that too. And it had Brenda Chenowith from Six Feet Under, that part I recall. As an aside, she has ginormous boobies.

Sadly, this is how I will remember Step Up.

Rating: 0.5/5 (half-points for boobies)

Whole New Thing
2005
Buchbinder, A. (Director)
Canada
Acuity Pictures Production
Filmed in Nova Scotia
Age Range: 14+
Format: Video, Movie
Genre: Independent Film, Drama/Comedy
Rating: 3.5/5



Emerson, an androgynous, home-schooled thirteen year old is forced to attend junior high in the small-town school. Eloquent, intelligent and insightful, yet unskilled in young adult social graces, Emerson is, unsurprisingly, somewhat of an outsider. He falls in love with his English teacher, Mr. Grant, a man on the outside of the small town himself when he sees a kindred soul in the man. Through odd circumstance, Emerson, his parents and Mr. Grant all find peace within themselves and grow together in this odd coming-of-age story.

So, picture it: my boyfriend and I are at the movie store. I'm looking for "young adult" movies to rent to blog about, and I've been cautioned that only one dancing movie is acceptable under our newly fashioned relationship rules (in the car on the way). This does not give me many options. I somehow end up in the independent film section, and remember that, yeah, I used to watch weird little movies in high school - why not! So I choose Whole New Thing based solely on the fact that there's a young adult in it. I'm going to admit that I hardly even read the back. Shame on me.

But you know what? Delightfully surprised! This is one weird movie! But in such good ways! And as a bonus, it was filmed right here in good ol' Nova Scotia, and it's an award winner not only in Atlantic Canada, but also Internationally. I know that I would have probably enjoyed this film as a young adult, but I'm really doubting the mass-marketability of it to teens. I was, well.. weird. I liked weird music and weird books and weird movies and not in the "I hate everything that's mainstream" kind of way, just in the "God, she's dorky, eh?" kind of way. I adore Emerson's character; he's weird and ballsy and has his heart on his sleeve and doesn't really know how else to be. He's my kind of weird. There were scenes that made me a tad uncomfortable: Emerson tricks his teacher-crush into joining him in the sauna (although nothing happens), and Emerson is propositioned by none other than Ken from Street Cents (my childhood! OK.. it's just the guy that played him.. not really Ken), and it's a very intense, emotional and uncomfortable scene. But it's supposed to be.

A movie about small-town life, unhappiness, love, despair, poetry, sex, Shakespeare, inspiration and family, Whole New Thing was definitely worth the late charges!

The Black Parade
My Chemical Romance
2006
Reprise Records
Age Range: 12+
Format: Audio Recording, Music
Genre: Emo, Rock
Rating: 3/5


Derivative emo, complete with whining and make-up and tight t-shirts! Which the band apparently denies to the death? But, hell.. it's definitely better than about 90% of what's going on right now in accessible mainstream music for young adults. I can completely tell that they loved Cursive's Ugly Organ and took off from there (and really, who didn't LOVE Ugly Organ?), and that they were obsessed with Iron Maiden in Junior High. Again.. nothing wrong there! Right? Right.

The dudes can sing, it's loud and there are some messed-up time signatures, so it's at least interesting at parts. It flows pretty well as an album, and I only felt like turning three of the songs off within the first 30 seconds ("I Don't Love You," "Cancer" and "Disenchanted"). It also makes me bop my head, and kind of reminds me of Undergrad (debatable whether that's good!).

All in all, not a bad listen. I can definitely see why they're the big thing right now; if I was 14, I'd be all over these guys! I'd probably even think they were cute (especially Gerard).

Seven Deadly Sins (Series)
Lust (2005)
Envy (2006)
Wrath (2006)
Wasserman, R.
New York: Simon Pulse
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Series
Rating: 3/5

Welcome to Melrose Place for teens. Only it's in back-water California where nothing exciting ever really happens. So the kids gotta make it for themselves!

Meet the cast:

• Harper: the bitch
• Kane: the slut
• Adam: the all-American boy
• Beth: Adam's goody-goody girlfriend
• Miranda: Harper's second in command
• Kaia: the new rich snot from New York

Okay. This plot line is going to take some brain power, so stay alert. Think Days of Our Lives meets Gossip Girls. But who can tell, really? Ready? Let's go! Harper wants Adam, who has been her best friend since diapers. Miranda wants Kane, but she's too average to get the hot guy. Kaia wants the new french teacher who just happens to be British and have a Jude Lawishness to him. Kane wants Beth because she's unattainable. Adam wants to be the all-American boy, but he gets sucked in by Kaia's willingness to jump him in shitty motels. Beth wants to get into a good college and keep her knees together. And no one ever gets what they want. Well.. almost. A plan is hatched to break up Adam and Beth so Harper and Kane can swoop in. This plan doesn't particularly account for Miranda's feelings, or anyone else's for that matter, and all hell breaks loose eventually, as it always does in these soap-opera situations.

And it lasts for SEVEN BOOKS.

Sweet honorable God.

Right. Well.. as bad as it all is, with the gratuitous sex and the coolness of smoking and the underage drinking and the HAVING SEX WITH A TEACHER, it ain't half bad. It's terrible, no doubt. But in the same way that Marlena being possessed by the devil was terrible. Or the clan of 90210 all being 35 while the show aired. In other words, the kind of terrible that makes you keep on getting suckered into it.

It's popular and brainless and not terribly written, so it's going to have to be on the shelves. And this is something we've alllllllllll got to deal with! So let's embrace the soul-less series for teenage girls and remember that sometimes, girls just a-wanna have fun, Etc., Etc..

American Born Chinese
Yang, G.L.
2006
New York: First Second
Age Range: 12+
Genre: Award Winning Fiction
Format: Graphic Novel
Rating: 4.5/5



In this impressive telling of three interrelated stories, Yang truly captures the experience of being an outsider. The life of Jin Wang, the only Chinese-American student at his new school, mixes inexplicably with the ancient Chinese fable of the Monkey King through the tale of Chin-kee, THE Chinese stereotype who ruins his cousin Danny's reputation at his American high school.

Exciting, well-drawn, action-filled, telling, emotional, uncomfortable and just plain good, American Born Chinese says the things that people aren't supposed to say, and says them so that you really see the horror that language can create. The reader's comfort level goes out the window with the introduction of Chin-kee, and as we see the stereotypes meld and the realizations form, we are as transformed as Jin Wang by his personal revelations.

A recommended read!

Alice on the Outside
Naylor, P.R.
1999
New York: Simon & Schuster
Age Range: 11 - 14
Genre: Controversial Books, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3/5



Alice: almost 14, blunt, motherless, inquisitive, creative, and feeling a little outside of her life as she knows it. While the rest of the grade eights are worrying about what dress to wear at the prom, Alice is asking the real questions: what's it really like to have sex? Why won't her brother hold a steady girl? Will her dad win her teacher's love? What's it like to be gay? Is there prejudice in her school? Should she dump her boyfriend for the school photographer? You know, the usual!

Reading a little like a progressive sex-ed text over-layed with a predictable plot, Alice on the Outside isn't exactly earth-shattering. But it's not terrible, either. Although deemed controversial for direct language dealing with sexuality, the only controversial aspects I experienced were accidental: use of "a gay," for instance, when talking about a guy in Alice's brother's university. Eeep. The more standard controversy material was just fine. A little dry, perhaps, but offering perfectly OK information to questioning teenagers. I did feel that the emphasis on Catholicism was a tad extreme. Sister Madeline tells girls to keep their feet on the floor. Groping is touching anything that should be covered by a bathing suit. Keep your knees together, girls. It's really unnecessary! Especially the constant comment of marriage as the only respectable template for sex. Alice and her friends need to know what sex feels like so they won't be in the dark on their wedding night. Umm...... I'm not sure about you, but.. antiquated much?

Realism is, obviously, completely out the window, even though the whole point is the book is to give a "realistic" portrayal of questioning teenage girls. I think it falls flat on many outcomes, but is overall an entertaining book that does seek to answer some of the burning questions. I would like to read an equivalent book for a young male audience; are there any?? Recommendations?

CosmoGIRL
December 2006/January 2007
Hearst Communications, Inc.

Age Range: 14+
Format: Magazine
Rating: 1/5

Although naming Satan as a contributor may be a tad extreme, Mr. Maxwell does indeed hold a certain truthfulness in his commentary on this magazine. CosmoGIRL is, well.. watered down Cosmo. What were we really expecting, right? Far be it for me to condemn a good trashy mag - there's a time and a place for everything. Cosmo and associates are built for grocery-shop lines, doctor's office waiting rooms, and long airplane rides. When trifle is necessary. When one needs to know 99 ways to tantalize "your man."

Or, you know... maybe Lucas was right.

Reading CosmoGIRL is kind of a roller-coaster of ethical decision-making. I hate it. I want my ass to look like that. I hate it. That make-up could really make my eyes do that? I hate it. I love reading people's embarrassing moments. I hate it. It's just too much to bear. I dislike the emphasis on body perfection, on make-up, on clothes, on boys, on everything stereotypically "teenage girl." And, I suppose, that's why it's so popular.

Strangely enough, in this issue, CosmoGIRL did attempt to exhibit an ethical standard. They offered up a handful of women that won their "Born To Lead" award for 2006. On this list are real-life young women who are making a difference in the world: feeding hungry, clothing needy, etc. And then, balancing out the good... the abomination of abominations: Christina Aguliera as the top leading woman of 2006. CHRISTINA. AGULIERA. Christina "Drrty" Aguliera. Born to lead. Lead who, you may ask? Lead them where, I reply?

*Sigh*

At least I did learn some things:

• High School Musical is cool, and I am super lame because I have no idea what it is.
• Cameron Diaz drives a Prius and wants everyone to be environmentally friendly.
• Hilary Swank is passionate about brushing her teeth.
• Justin Timberlake is a burping master.
• You OBVIOUSLY do not have to be a teenage girl to be IN CosmoGIRL, as is quite evident by the above-mentioned folk.
• Dancing is the new singing.
• My winter coat is actually in fashion.
• I *might* be depressed (but I doubt it)!
• There are at least 20 items that I could buy at $15 USD to be HOT HOT HOT.
• 1980s style is cool. Sweet Honourable God.

So, really.. CosmoGIRL is trashy. It gives complexes to chubby, pimpled smart girls. It's all about beauty tips and embarrassing stories and perfume ads and terrible photo shoots of too-thin girls in skinny jeans and ankle boots. It's brainless and useless and promotes horrible self-concepts. But.. it's popular. It's therefore necessary to have in a public library.

We MUST change the world in order to make this UNPOPULAR. Our mission as librarians: eradicate Cosmo.

Give It Up! And Other Short Stories
Kafka, F.
Illustrated by: Kuper, P.
1995
New York: ComicsLit
Age Range: 16+
Genre: Comics; Graphic Novel
Rating: 4/5



Award-winning artist Peter Kuper interprets nine of Kafka's short stories in bold, rich and beautiful black and white graphics. Kafka's wit, cynicism, sarcasm and insight into human nature are cleverly depicted in snapshot form. Not everything is said, not everything is known, but everything fits together perfectly.

A collection for the young adult literary critic, the introspect, the "thinker;" this is perhaps not a drastically popular title for adolescents, but the quality of the work makes this a great choice.

For merging Kafka with stark black and white art, and more importantly for doing it well, Kuper gets my nod. Kafka has a decidedly young adult perspective of the world, and the marriage of his words with amazing art makes this comic accessible, effective and downright cool for young adults to read!

Twilight
Meyer, S.
2005
New York: Little, Brown and Company
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Rating: 3/5



When Bella moves to dreary Forks, Washington to live with her father, she must get used to a new school, the lack of vitamin D, and the change of pace from her old life in Phoenix. To make the transition a little more palatable, Bella finds herself falling for an exceptionally beautiful but strange "boy" in her class, Edward. Through the jigs and the reels, Bella figures out that Edward is a mere century old and is, in fact, a vampire. Of course, things don't end there! A harrowing close encounter with carnivorous vampires (Ed and his "family" are vegetarians.. they feed on animals instead of humans) leaves Bella even more in love with her precious Edward, and begs him to make her a vampire so they can live together.. FOREVER!

Well, well, well. If it isn't a vampire romance. Didn't get enough of this with Anne Rice, apparently, so I had to try again. And, well.. was mildly intrigued, definitely entertained. There's a sequel that I probably won't read, so not that intrigued, but it was no Dumb Love! Half-decently written, with semi-engaging characters, Twilight was, you know.. OK.

Strangely enough, Bella and Edward abstained from "consummating" their relationship (Eddie-Boy was afraid he'd hurt the mere mortal Bella.. hurumph!), and good thing, I say. She's 17, he's 100 and some odd. I think that constitutes as something illegal? Unethical at the very least. Assuredly, in the next book (or the third, etc.), Bella does convince Edward to turn her immortal, then they can get down to some true vampire dirt.

So, yeah.. an OK pulpy vampirey romancey romp that would definitely be popular with the kiddies (if Buffy was/is, I guess the thrill is in there somewhere!).

Dumb Love
Johnson, K. J.
2005
New Milford, CT: Roaring Book Press
Age Range: 12 - 16
Genre: Romance
Rating: 1/5


Carlotta, a full-bodied 16 year old gal looking for love, is in the midst of writing a romance novel, keeping her father-of-heart sober, winning the boy of her dreams, and getting her mom to quit being, well, dumb in love. Quirky circumstances ensue, rife with friends who started out as enemies, strawberry ice cream, multiple crushes, and a whole lotta Jesus-will-keep-you-safe-even-though-we're-making-fun-of-religion humor.

Egads.

Dumb Love = Dumb Book. Plain and simple. Plot: lacking. Humor: attempting to be Brit Chick Lit, but failing miserably. Character development: minimal. Overall: bad.

Although, I did brush up on some slang to make me all the more hip with the kids. Ready for it?

VV = very virgin
True Romance Breasts = big and BIG
Total Dead Zone = romance that's over even before it began
Fatso = blessed flesh (in Italian)
Behemoth = appropriate name for a full-bodied gal in this high school, apparently

I repeat: egads.

And, as a final thought (á la Jerry Springer), in light of recent press over the usage of "scrotum" [insert gasps of horror here], I leave you with an excerpt:

The setting: writing class.
"Rosie [main character in Carlotta's murder-mystery romance novel] might be incorporeal but she could rip your balls right off your stupid dick."
"Class!"
"Try it," Walker laughed.
"Balls aren't part of the dick," Andrea announced, leaning in so Walker could get a close-up of her petite, sweater-clad breasts. "While attached, they're a separate entity."

The Magic Circle
Napoli, D.J.
1993
New York: Dutton
Age Range: 12 - 16
Genre: Reworked Fairy Tale, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5



In this well-written, poetic and emotional retelling of the Hansel and Gretel tale, Napoli takes the character of the old witch and brings her story to life. Given a complete background for the woman, and offered reasons behind her actions, the reader empathizes with the Ugly Witch and sympathizes with her position.

A quick, enjoyable read that offers a new take on an old classic, Napoli's The Magic Circle has much possibility for programming in the library and for encouraging young adults to continue their childhood love of fairy tales in a mature and exciting way.

Wonder When You'll Miss Me
Davis, A.
2004
New York: HarperCollins.
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Alex Award, Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3/5



Faith is a sixteen year old on the edge of her small town world, her sanity, and at times reality. With a gang rape, a suicide attempt, a stint in a home for the mentally ill and the loss of 60 pounds dotting the past year, Faith is reasonably sure that her world will never be the same. She disassociates to deal with the pain of her violation, and this manifests itself in the Fat Girl that follows her around, a haunting, angry shadow of her past. An odd turn of events forces Faith to leave town and join the circus, and her new life as Annabelle allows her what her history as Faith could not - a distinct feeling of belonging and of being loved.

Well-written but somehow lacking, Wonder When You'll Miss Me felt like Fight Club without the surprise ending. And the brilliant dialogue. And the greatness. OK.. it wasn't much like Fight Club at all except for the dissociative bit, but it was enough to warrant the comment! Faith/Annabelle is a well-developed character, and the reader does become engrossed in her life. The internal battle of Faith and the Fat Girl was at times compelling, and at other times incredibly annoying. As the novel progresses, their relationship twists and fragments interestingly, yet you never forget that they are the same character. Davis is a careful, defined writer and some passages were quite impressive, but to tell you the truth, I think it was the circus part that did me in. I just wasn't all that interested, and therefore the book lagged for me at the point when Faith joins with the travelling performers (approximately halfway through).

Although it does show a character moving past negative and horrific experiences to become a new person, Wonder When You'll Miss Me was, ultimately, disappointing. Faith runs away from her problems (and, yes.. I know they're BIG problems), shovels elephant shit instead of finishing her education, doesn't tell anyone about the rape and therefore internalizes and fragments her personality, and altogether makes terrible decisions. And, well.. nothing ever comes from it. I know she's a kid and the whole point is that she learns about herself and banishes her demons, etc. etc. But nothing bad happens to her as Skinny Faith. Fat Faith was raped. Fat Faith attempted suicide. Skinny Faith gets revenge, runs away, sleeps on dirty tattoo artists' couches, joins the circus, finds her place and belongs (sorry for ruining the plot line). It just seemed a little hollow to me. But maybe it was the circus! Or maybe it's the cross-over book phenomenon. Because this is an adult book that YAs have enjoyed, the themes are a little different, and there is no ending on a "I love you, Mom" kind of note.

I think I just wanted more from this novel. Perhaps I'm too greedy!

Girl, 15: Charming but Insane
Limb, S.
2004
London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Age Range: 12 - 16
Genre: Romance, ChickLit
Rating: 3.5/5



Jess is a witty 15 year old with a disproportionate bum, a granola-hippy librarian mom, a dad that text-messages her instead of visits, an astoundingly beautiful/smart/fabulous best friend, and a hell of a lot of circumstantial humor (for a high-school kid). Her big chance to impress her crush, Ben Jones, one-up her perfect best friend, Flora, and get revenge on her good mate, Fred (even though she's not quite sure what they're fighting) is to do a stand-up routine at the school talent show. She's charming, she's funny, she's unstoppable! She's insane.

I'll be first to admit that this whole ChickLit thing is, well... a bit of an enigma to me. Wait! I read Bridget Jones' Diary an age ago.. does that count? It's not where I head in the bookshop or library, so I really haven't read much. All that aside, I do think that Girl, 15 is a good read. Not a great read, not a challenging read, not a read that will change your life. But a good, funny, enjoyable use of a few hours of your time. Jess is a fairly good representative of the odd, spiteful, charming and altogether strange time that age 15 actually is. And I really did want her to get the guy (the right one, that is). Particularly enjoyable about this book is the dialogue between Jess and her mate, Fred - it's witty and flambouyant and at times completely unnecessary, and I like that about language! Also, the text-messaged 'horror'scopes that Jess' father sends her every day are sometimes almost laugh-out-loud funny.

So, overall, the novel is goodish. A quick, dirty read that will lighten your day and probably never really be a part of your conscious memory. But, sometimes fluff is perfectly OK!

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Moore, C.

2002

New York: HarperCollins

Age Range: 14+

Genre: Cross-Over Books, Historical Fiction

Rating: 4.5/5

A delightfully funny fictionalized history of one of the most famous people EVER. Told through the eyes of Joshua's (Jesus') best friend, Biff, this story is full of humor, sex, violence, miracles, food, soul-searching, blissful redemption, friendship, loyalty and human heartache. All-in-all, a great book!

Biff is hilarious, Josh is pure and decidedly human, and the folks they meet along their journey to truth and salvation are cruel, amazing, fabulous and just plain funny. This is the book disgruntled Catholic kids everywhere have been searching for! It's funny without being blasphemous, edgy without being sacrilegious, and offers older young adults the opportunity to read a mature book with mature themes, but in a fully accessible format.

The opportunities for YA library discussion and programming associated with this book are vast: all it takes is a little imagination, some great non-fiction books on world religions, and maybe even some "come dressed as Jesus" party tips from Jenifesto! A great book, a great message and a damn funny portrayal of the big J!

The House of the Scorpion
Farmer, N.
2002
New York: Simon Pulse
Age Range: 12+
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5


Matteo Alacrán (Matt) is the clone of El Patrón, drug lord supreme of Opium - a new country on the borders of the United States and what was once Mexico. Matt grows up not really understanding who or what he is, but at the age of 6 he realizes that things aren't exactly right in his world. Although his caregiver Celia tries to protect him, he eventually comes to know how people in Opium treat clones by personal experience. Matt must fight against all he knows to save himself and to prove to those he loves that he is more than just a photograph of a person.

Matt is as human a character as any I've read; he is smart, witty, cruel, powerful, caring and complex. Farmer creates a wonderful juxtaposition between Matt as a clone who is not supposed to be human, and El Patrón's family, who are "human," but vastly inhumane. Throughout the hardships that Matt must face, we ultimately see him become a strong and moral person based on the decisions he makes.

The House of the Scorpion is a wonderful commentary on our society's adoration of scientific development, on the importance we place on social politics, and especially on the ethical limitations that we may one day cross. But it is much more than that - it's a really, really, really great book! The character development is precise, the plot is totally engaging, the themes are deep and disturbing, and Farmer doesn't let the reader down at any point, even the ending (which, let's be honest, is often the weakest spot).

A fabulous read for adults and young adults alike, House of the Scorpion gets FULL marks from this librarian-in-training!

Sticks and Stones
Goobie, B.
2002
Victoria, BC: Orca Books
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Hi/Lo, Realistic Fiction, Canadian Author
Rating: 4/5


Rumors become the centre of Jujube's life at school when she gets inaccurately marked as a "slut." To combat the damaging words, her and her friend Carlos create a project about the communication tool of graffiti and it's impact on people's lives.

A quick and compelling read, Sticks and Stones doesn't waste time getting into the meat of the story, and offers characters that are vivid even in their brevity. A great book to start discussions about the importance of words and the impact of rumor and gossip, Sticks and Stones does exactly what it sets out to do: offer an interesting, relevant story in a highly accessible format.

Rooster
Trembath, D.
2005
Victoria, BC: Orca Books
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Hi/Lo, Realistic Fiction, Canadian Author
Rating: 3/5


As a last ditch effort to help Rooster Cobb get out of high school (even though he doesn't particularly seem to deserve it), the administration at Winston High creates a community cooperation project with the local home for adults with disabilities. Although Rooster is vehemently opposed, his task is to help the bowling team, the Strikers, become part of the Special Olympics Bowling League. Along the way he realizes that that his relationship with the Strikers is important, as is his future.

A book trying too hard to be something it is not, Rooster takes too much time getting into the story, not enough effort developing the central characters and offers much too much back-story on minor characters. By the time I actually cared enough about Rooster to bother musing about his future, I was on the second last chapter of the novel. Attempting a kind of emotional depth that just didn't work, Trembath took too long to get to the point, and spent way too little time while he was there.

As my first foray into the hi/lo genre, I am semi-disappointed. It wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't good either. I can definitely see how, designed for the older male reader without much affection for reading, it could work. I have to read more of the hi/lo book in order to truly determine the level to which Rooster is successful; more to come!

The Truth About Forever
Dessen, S.
2004
New York: Penguin
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

Macy Queen is stuck without her boyfriend and with a dry job at (gasp) the public library for the summer, but she finds much better ways to fulfill her emotional and social needs when she meets raw, exciting folks associated with a peanut-gallery-esque catering company. With the help of her new friends, Macy learns how to deal not only with her own social anxieties and perfection complex, but also with the pain of her father's recent death.

The Truth About Forever was a difficult book for me to read; I lost my father at 18 and even though time has passed, Dessen's tone and direct, descriptive writing hit a very deep nerve for me. This is a stunning book about loss, about buried pain and self-flagellation, about sometimes sticking with people only because they're familiar, about being scared to meet new people, about that terror you feel when you're outside yourself, and ultimately about becoming who you really are. I can even forgive the negative stereotyping of the library as dust-dull, and for me, that takes effort!

A good, quick, emotional read that kept me interested until the very end!

Keeping You a Secret
Peters, J.A.
2003
New York: Little, Brown and Company
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction
Rating: 3.75/5

Chronicling the first real love affair of Holland Jaeger's life, Keeping You a Secret describes the intense highs and crushing blows that love can offer. Holland's life up until this point has been pretty white-bread: good grades, handsome boyfriend, stable family, great social life. But as soon as she recognizes her feelings for Cece, the new girl at school, Holland must deal with issues that reach far beyond the reality of regular teenage love pangs.

A decently written account of the threatening nature of LGBTQ life in high school, Keeping You a Secret kept me interested, but didn't quite make it's way into the "really good book" category. I found the drippy, cutsey love talk a little too, well, teenage! And although I understand that the characters are adolescents (YA literature, right!), I still thought it was a little overdone. The description of Holland's journey towards self-disclosure and self-acceptance was well crafted and felt genuine as I was reading, but it could not make up for what I felt was forced love-dovey melodrama at certain points.


Luna
Peters, J.A.
2006
New York: Little Brown and Company
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5


After reading Peters' Luna, a novel from the perspective of Regan, the sister of a transexual adolescent dealing with the pressure of being the only person who knows about her brother's real personality, I just can't help comparing! Luna is much better written, with fuller characters and complicated, beautiful familial relationships. I felt much, much more for Regan and Luna (Liam) than I could for Holland and Cece, and that connection made this a great book!

Looking for Alaska
Green, J.
2005
New York: Penguin
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Realistic Fiction; Printz Award Winner
Rating: 4.5/5


Embarking on a boarding school journey to experience the "Great Perhaps" or something at least a little like it, Miles is completely and utterly changed by this new, frantic existence. The epitome of adolescent self-consciousness, Miles becomes a character that is not only familiar to us, but actually may be us. As circumstances reveal themselves, Miles must deal with the really big things in life, and does so with a beautiful, awkward grace.

I'll admit that Printz Award winners or honour books are pretty much sure-fire goodness for me. And this was no let-down. Intense, funny, well-written, filled with true situations and real adolescent fears, Looking for Alaska is a genuinely good book. Miles and his friends are rich characters with much unrevealed depth, and the relationships that Green creates are complicated and real and cruel and sad and ultimately beautiful.

I'll also admit that I cried. Don't tell anyone!

Catalyst
Anderson, L. H.
2002.
New York: Viking
Age Range: 14+
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5


Intensity tangibly flows from this novel. The stress of being "Good Kate," the girl who gets straight As, acts as mother-nursemaid-housekeeper-glue for her preacher father and asthmatic brother, is the perfect girlfriend to her Harvard-bound boy, and otherwise exhibits superhuman powers is becoming much too much for Kate Malone to bear. She doesn't sleep, runs until her chest aches and her achilles tendon is about to snap, and irons her father's shirts until they could preach themselves. Her dream, to attend MIT just like her mother is quickly crashing down around her ears; her father is a much better religious zealot than parent; and to top it all off, her arch-nemesis Teri moves in after her home is damaged by fire. It's enough to make anyone snap! Although the Teri situation is bleak, Kate quickly becomes attached to Teri's little brother Mickey and his bright personality, finding reprieve in the simplicity of the little boy's life. When an accident occurs at the re-build site for Teri and Mickey's home, the implications are great. Kate must learn to deal with her own feelings as well as forge a connection with Teri, and understand that there can be many catalysts for one reaction.

An amazing, insightful and intense novel. I was placed directly in the mind of this brilliant but exceptionally fragile protaganist - feeling Kate's fears, frustrations, joys and pains. Anderson is a masterful writer who easily captures the stress, heartache, expectations and terror that adolescence can bring. A great novel that shows the interconnectedness of life and the beauty that can come from loss.

Welcome

Welcome to the Young Adult Library!

Used as a review/reading log of young adult literature, this blog will cover a range of resources and offer one librarian-in-training's view of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers,
A.