Category: Young Adult

If you look up author Gordon Korman on your digital library site, you’ll discover two things. Thing 1: He’s written a lot of books. Thing 2: All of his books are checked out. Now I know why.

Because I loved Restart! I just heard about it yesterday, found the audio on Hoopla, bought the Kindle version for four dollars, and am now a huge fan.

Chase Ambrose is a thirteen year old alpha male at Hiawasee Middle School. Captain of the football team, world-class bully, proud delinquent, and king of the cafeteria, Chase has got game. Or he had game. Because now Chase is suffering from amnesia, the result of falling off of his roof and landing on his stupid head. Memories of his family, friends, sports accomplishments, and a laundry list of intimidating others–all gone. Yeah…his mother left out the last part when she dropped him off at school for the first time after the accident.

Now Chase is learning things all over again. He still knows how to walk, talk, and feed himself. But he doesn’t understand why kids scatter in the hallways when they see him coming or why they pick up their lunch trays and move to a new table. His buddies, Aaron and Bear, assure him that it’s all in a day’s work as the hulking pranksters of the school.

Meanwhile, past victims of the terrible trio are skeptical and confused. Their leader is different. He’s helpful. Polite. Kind, even. What is going on? Does he know what he’s doing? Does he know what he did? Does he understand the fear he’s instilled to the point that parents have even taken their kids out of the school? And then what? Is everyone supposed to pretend like nothing happened? Chase might have amnesia, but nobody else does.

And so, throughout the school, a ripple effect begins. Everyone has decisions to make. Forgive? Forget? Embrace the new guy trapped in the body of the old guy? The guy that would shove you, humiliate you, or make you wear your mac and cheese?

Yes, it’s funny and there were plenty of times when I laughed out loud. But Restart is also about being the bigger person. Not the bigger bully, but the person who takes the high road, the person who looks in the mirror and realizes that we all have our less-than-stellar moments, the person who is wise enough to know that it takes just one good example for everything to change. To be better than it was before.

This is a story for young people and adults. It is a story for young people and adults to read together and discuss. Never heavy-handed and brimming over with humor, this book makes us realize that everyone can erase their past mistakes even if we remember them. We just need a little pause and a little humility to Restart.

9.5/10 Stars

Twenty days! It’s been twenty days since my last review. I guess I lost my mojo for a few weeks, despite reading some great books. I knew it would take one very special story to get the words flowing again, and this is it.

Letters to the Lost, by Brigid Kemmerer. I’m still experiencing a book hangover, having finished reading it at 6:30am. It is marketed as a YA (Young Adult) book, but the underlining theme is for everyone.

Incorrect assumptions.

We’ve all done it. I can think of some very specific times when I assumed something about someone based on their weight, or education level, or tattoos, or job, or just a less-than-put-together appearance.

And guess what? I was wrong. Very wrong. Extremely wrong.

And did I learn my lesson? Nope. It’s part of being human. Part of being flawed humans. Which brings me to this magnificent book that anyone reading this review should find and devour.

Some “trigger warnings.” (I really hate that phrase.) It does deal with losing a parent, losing a sibling, divorce, suicidal tendencies, and child abuse. But it is so redemptive and all of those subjects are handled with such tender care that I still say, no matter what your personal history may be–read it.

Our two main characters: Juliet Young is mourning her mother, Zoe, a famous war photographer. Her grief is all-consuming. She stops by the cemetery every morning on the way to school. Her mother was gone a lot on assignment, leaving Juliet to idealize her and get into the habit of writing her letters. She still does this, leaving letters behind on her mother’s grave. They are her last link. She’s lost interest in everything else.

Declan Murphy is mourning his entire life. Everything he knew is gone and, while it was far from perfect, it was a lot better than the way things are now. So much so that, in a moment of despair he downed some Jack Daniels, got into his dad’s truck, and plowed it into a building. Now he’s performing community service by mowing grass at the local cemetery…where, on a newer grave, he finds a letter from a girl to her mother.

I will say no more about the plot except to entreat you once again, to read this book. Symbolically, the idea of photography and snapshots figure prominently in the theme of assumptions we make. Are we defined by a moment? Do we do that to others? Do we do it to ourselves?

Like any great story, Letters to the Lost has many layers. As many layers as the reader is willing to uncover. I hope you do.

10/10 Stars

Some libraries use an alternate book cover, so it could look like this. Don’t make assumptions about this design. (See what I did there?) This book is a treasure.

I know. File this under “duh,” right? But, once again, two Young Adult novels absolutely nailed it, tackling difficult subjects with humor, pathos, and realism.

Subject #1: “Aging out” of the foster care system.

Subject #2: Dealing with the symptoms and stigma of schizophrenia.

Both intense topics, which makes me suggest that these novels are meant for the older teen–no younger than a mature sixteen year old. Plus they include the language you would expect from the general population at that age and observations about sex, religion, parents, school, and the future.

Interestingly, despite having different gendered narrators who are dealing with different challenges, they reminded me a lot of each other. In fact, in a world easier manipulated, I would love to see Muiriel (What I Carry) and Adam (Words On Bathroom Walls) meet and share a few pages together.

WHAT I CARRY, by Jennifer Longo: Muiriel has been in foster care her entire life. Left at a hospital as an infant, she is unique in that there is no biological family to miss or with whom to reunite. But now she is nearing adulthood. While other teens look forward to turning eighteen, Muiriel dreads it. She will be thrust out on her own by her legal parent–the state of Washington. But she does have skills, like living an absolute minimalist lifestyle, acclimating quickly to new places, and always being polite–twenty homes in seventeen years will teach you things. She’s also distanced and highly suspicious of any person or situation that remotely resembles love, comfort, and stability. Can you blame her? All she needs is the right combination of people to change her mind.

I loved this book. I wish there was a sanitized version of it (regarding some of the language) so I could recommend it for younger teens because it shows a slice of life that most of us will never know. Muiriel is intelligent, witty, sensitive, and profound. You root for her all the way. 9.5/10 Stars

WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS, by Julia Walton makes us privy to the patient-doctor diaries of sixteen year old Adam. After a scary outburst at his old high school that resulted in a schizophrenia diagnosis, Adam is starting anew. New meds, new school, new friends, and new secrets. No one can know that he carries an imaginary entourage of hallucinations around with him. No one can know about the voices. No one can know that he doubts everything he sees and hears until there is concrete proof that they’re real. No one, that is, except his mom and stepdad, who are loving and supportive, but still treat him like he’s made of glass.

Adam writes these diary entries to his doctor because he refuses to talk to him. Lucky us, because we can feel his sadness and sarcasm, the two most prevalent and conflicting feelings. His condition has no cure, so the only choices are to laugh or cry. When those fail, there is always the ridiculousness of the world in general. 9/10 Stars

As much as I cringe at some of the things young people are exposed to these days I must admit, there are some excellent Young Adult novels out there. “Young Adult,” or “YA,” meaning aimed at ages 13-18, where the main characters are navigating high school, first loves, decisions about the future, and parents. Yes, parents, because it is around that age that you come to terms with the fact that parents are not perfect, not using any sort of a rule book, and many of them are pretty messed up. I appreciate stories that show young people whose parents are divorced or suffering from addictions and mental illness, where the child is forced into an adult role at an unfair age. It happens all too frequently in real life, and young readers need characters with whom they can identify.

IF I FIX YOU, by Abigail Johnson tells the story of sixteen year old Jill Whitaker. She lives with her dad in the heat of Arizona, spending all her free time at his car repair garage. Her mother is gone, with only a sticky note as a goodbye. As often happens, we don’t realize how good or bad we have it until there is a viable comparison. This comes in the form of Daniel, the new next door neighbor, who is dealing with a volatile mother and some serious scars, inside and out. As Jill tries to assemble the pieces of her life, she also finds herself wanting to make things better for her new friend.

Overall I liked the book a lot. Jill and Daniel’s friendship is very sweet as they confide in each other, sitting up on the roof at night swapping words of support and advice. Her father is wonderful, a great contrast from her narcissistic mother. My only criticism is part of the ending, which did not follow the path I would’ve chosen. But that’s my own personal feeling. Jill is a good character who is dealing with a lot and still manages to keep her feet on the ground. 9/10 Stars

THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS, by Laura Taylor Namey gives us a glimpse into the life of Darcy Wells. Darcy Jane Wells–bibliophile, introvert, and super student with a near photographic memory. She can recite Shakespeare and knows children’s books from start to finish. Her afternoons are spent at the Yellow Feather, a used book store owned by a cranky boss who shares the building with his ex-wife. Not ideal, but Darcy loves it. It is better than being home, where her compulsive-shopper mother has filled their depressing apartment with everything under the sun. Only Darcy’s room remains untouched by her mother’s illness. Fortunately, there are some bright spots in Darcy’s life. Her best friend is the brightest. And there’s someone new, a quiet boy named Asher Fleet.

I really loved this book. It was a “couldn’t-put-it-down” 24 hour read. Poor Darcy, only seventeen years old, dealing with her mother’s compulsion, her father’s absence, bills that need to be paid, and decisions about college. But good things happen to good people, and the conclusion was extremely satisfying. 9.5/10 Stars

“Don’t you ever do anything to make somebody feel like their life is no account to you, hear?”…”Yes ma’am…” “It’s the worst thing you can do to a person.”…”Worse than killing them?”…”It’s a kind of killing,” Ma says. “A killing of the soul. Don’t you do it.”

Summer 1968. The Vietnam War is raging. Sons are going off to fight and not coming home. The thought of losing his big brother, Pete, is more than 13 year old Jack Elliot can bear. His plan? Make Pete famous before he turns eighteen at the end of summer. Famous boys don’t get drafted, right? And, if they do, they get cushy assignments until the fighting is over.

Jack is our narrator and he, along with Pete, 16 year old Will, and their visiting cousin, Frankie, turn their weeks together into a summer to remember. They test the limits of each other, the elements, and their ever-patient parents. They react to the chaos of the late Sixties, conforming or rebelling as you would expect from growing teenage boys. Even in their rural Pennsylvania town, the reality of things escalating is inescapable.

Through it all, plus run ins with bullies, neighbors, and cute girls, the four boys stick together, supporting each other through thick and thin while experiencing their own growth.

This is a fantastic novel, appropriate for everyone, with special significance to those affected by that time in history. Every character is deep and multi-faceted, with his own inner turmoil and moral compass. I highly recommend it and look forward to others by this author. (Available free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.)

9.5/10 Stars

It’s always unexpected to find a book that speaks to you on a very personal level, but that is how I felt while reading A Quiet Kind of Thunder, by Sara Barnard. And, although it is a Young Adult novel that explores much of the angst all teens experience, it is so much more.

Our narrator is Steffi Brons, age sixteen. Steffi has crippling social anxiety. Crippling to the point that she is a selective mute, which makes her an interesting choice as narrator. Steffi taught me a lot. For one thing, the word “selective” does not mean that the person selects when they do or don’t talk. On the contrary, she wants to talk, especially when the alternative is getting stared at and bullied. It’s her anxiety level that chooses when she speaks. Anxiety is not rational, but she’s usually OK with her family, best friend, and boss. But parties? Shops? And, Heaven forbid, school? Big N-O.

Steffi is fortunate to have some anchors in her life. Her dad is patient and kind. Her friend, Tem (September,) is her advocate and cheerleader. Her mom? Not so much. Speaking as someone who has anxiety (to a much lesser degree but still very real,) little victories are to be celebrated and pushing usually has the opposite effect. “C’mon, Steffi…just try harder…” Well meaning but definitely not helpful.

As a child, Steffi’s uncle suggested that she learn BSL (British Sign Language) as a way to compensate for those times when communication was necessary but speech was not forthcoming. This skill makes her the prime candidate to be paired up with Rhys Gold, a new student who is deaf. Rhys is friendly, outgoing, and fairly adorable.

Yes, you can guess correctly that Steffi and Rhys go from classmates to friends to more. But that does not make the story predictable. At the heart of everything is communication, its variations, its inclusiveness, and its means as a tool to validate people. Whether it’s speaking, signing, gesturing, writing, etc.–it connects us with others. And, in some cases, it isolates. The story is also about Steffi’s growth, her wavering confidence, the kind of support she gets, and its importance.

I loved this book. It has the language and sexual experimentation that you would expect from a contemporary Young Adult novel about teenagers and first love, but the explanation of anxiety is SO on point. I rooted for these two and appreciated the fact that there was no ridiculous drama, just the normal ups/downs/questions that we have at that age. A wonderful discovery that touched my heart.

9/10 Stars