The New Normal

The New Normal

Ashley Little

Orca, 2013

$12.95, Softcover

978-1459800748

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age: 14+

Description: Tamar Robinson doesn’t know what to do with her life. Her younger twin sisters were killed in a car accident and her parents can’t get over their grief. They can’t even be bothered to remember they have another child. So Tamar is in a sea of loneliness. It also doesn’t help that, for some unknown reason, she has gradually been losing all the hair on her body. She decides instead of whining about it she’ll try to do something. She lands a job at a chicken fast food restaurant, she stands up to her mother and demands that her parents pay attention to her and fork over the money for a real wig of human hair so she can stop wearing scarves all the time, she joins the school chess club, she earns a part in her school play, and somehow gets invited to prom by not one, not two, but three guys (granted one is gay but still—three guys!). Along the way Tamar makes some mistakes (going with the wrong guy to prom, getting in a fight with the Queen Bee of school, and more) but overall she uses wisecracking humor to try to turn her life into something normal.

Opinion: This was a quick read—I devoured it in one day. I love the cover because it is simple yet interesting at the same time. I like how it is kind of cartoony. Tamar is an awesome fighter. I’m glad that the author portrayed the sad fact that when a child dies sometimes the parents are so distraught that they do seem to forget or not care about the fact that they have other children still alive that are grieving too. This is a simple realistic story that, while not action-packed, lets readers in on the life of Tamar. I think the only thing that really bugged me was that the reason for her losing her hair was never explained (was it just stress?). I highly recommend this quick read to teens who like realistic stories.

Here’s what one of my teens had to say about it:

Sarah, 15, says, “Tamar has had an okay life. She is the oldest child and had two 15-year-old twin sisters who were always doing crazy things. One day those crazy things lead to them getting involved in a car accident which killed them. With her parents forgetting they have another daughter, life is stressful for Tamar and gets worse when she suddenly begins to lose the hair all over her body and the doctor’s don’t know why. How is Tamar’s life ever going to get better? I really liked the cover with the eyelashes. It was plain but eye-catching (haha!). I also liked how the words were arranged on the cover. I believe it did reflect the contents as Tamar wears fake eyelashes and they also kind of represent her hair loss. I thought this book had a really well-written realistic plot. The author did a good job describing the things in Tamar’s world. I really found myself able to visualize Tamar, her house, and everything else around her. I think it was a heartwarming story and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes reading realistic fiction.”

*Thanks to Leslie Bottle for providing an ARC of this title for the YA Galley Group project!*

Allegra

Allegra

Shelley Hrdlitschka

Orca, 2013

$12.95, Softcover

978-1459801974

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age: 14+

Description: Allegra is the daughter of a mother in an orchestra and a father who is a guitarist in a super popular band. Allegra, while she likes music, much prefers dancing. In a deal with her mother (since her father is always on the road touring) she spent many years studying piano and other forms of music in order to determine if dance was what she truly wanted to do and it is. She has no interest in following her parents’ footsteps. She is transferred to a performing arts school where her whole curriculum can focus on various types of dance from ballet to jazz to hip hop. However, she isn’t happy to find out on the first day of school that she has been placed in a music theory class. She has already taken music theory classes and feels that her time would be better spent on more dance classes. When the teacher, new, young Mr. Rochelli, refuses to let her out of the course she finds herself making a compromise with him. She tests out of the course and instead is given the challenge of taking one small piece of music Rochelli has composed and writing a whole orchestra performance from scratch. He wants her to see how music is important and will make her a better dancer because without music there is nothing to dance too. Unfortunately, Allegra has some troubles making friends and she is shocked to learn that her mother appears to be having an affair and that her parents are going to break up. She somehow channels all her feelings and emotions into her working relationship with Mr. Rochelli. Does he have the same feelings for her or is she misunderstanding his signals?

Opinion: Allegra is a quick read (I read it in a day) but is a very typical girl falls in love with young, hot, male teacher. While it was fast paced and kept my attention it wasn’t a spectacular read. It was good though. Of course, Allegra misinterprets the teacher’s feelings and gets him in major trouble. The nice thing about this portrayal was that Allegra is shown (after confessing her feelings) to realize what a mistake it was and that she’s just lonely and she really does try to prove Mr. Rochelli’s innocence and that he didn’t do anything wrong. The biggest problem that I had with the book though was that Allegra comes off as a stuck up gifted student. She thinks she is so above everyone else. She doesn’t need to take music theory, she mocks the beginning talents of the other students in her class, she has trouble making friends and when she does she’s awkward about it and ends up alienating them. She was a very hard character to find sympathy for as she preferred being by herself, doing nothing but dancing, and thinking she is better than everyone else. Overall, it was an alright read. As this is a YA Galley Group project title, I can’t wait to see the opinions of my teens when they read it.

*Thanks to Leslie Bottle for providing an ARC of this title for the YA Galley Group project!*

Earth Girl

Earth Girl

Janet Edwards

Pyr, 2013

$17.95, Hardcover

978-1616147655

Genre: Science Fiction

Age: 14+

Description: It is 2788 and the future is much different from the world as we know it. For years people have been colonizing and “portaling” to other worlds in the solar system. Unfortunately, for 18-year-old Jarra, she lives in a different world. A world full of prejudice and disadvantages. See, Jarra was one of the unfortunate babies born in every 1,000 births to have an immune system that can only survive on the backwards planet of Earth. Born on another planet she was portalled to Earth just minutes after being born and has been abandoned by her parents. She has grown up hearing all the jokes about the people who live on Earth—they are “apes” and the “throwbacks” of human evolution. However, Jarra is tired of the stereotypes and longs to show other people that she is human too. So, upon graduation, she devices a brilliant plan. She wants to be an archeologist and has already spent years on student digs through the United States. She applies for college at University Asgard—one of the best in the solar system—which just so happens to begin its studies in pre-civilization with digs in the old abandoned New York City. She plans to infiltrate the class and show them that she is smarter than all of them combined and once she has wormed her way into their lives and won their trust she will expose that they’ve been working with an “ape girl” and they’ll be humiliated. She has to put up with a lot of challenges though—an advisor who knows her true status and uses everyone opportunity he has to get her to make a mistake in her fake “Jarra, military daughter” persona, a possible relationship with Fian, a “norm” boy, a daring and risky rescue of a trapped survey team, and the threat of a solar storm of the century that is forcing the crews of orbiting solar arrays to escape to the Earth below. The only problem? No type of spacecraft has ever landed in more than 600 years and the main ship is about to crash into their school.

Opinion: Earth Girl is brilliant. It is pure science fiction for teens which is a great thing because there really aren’t that many science fiction books for teens today. I can think of ones like 172 Hours on the Moon and Losers in Space which are pure sci-fi but others that get more readers and more attention, like the Sky Chasers series by Amy Kathleen Ryan and Across the Universe by Beth Revis, are essentially love triangles that take place aboard a ship in space. This book is well-written and immediately draws the reader into the world Jarra lives in. Edwards easily explains the rules of this new future without making the world building seem like didactic teaching of what’s been happening on Earth since 2013. In fact, readers get little hints here and there about why other planets needed to be colonized and how the people of other worlds treat each other. Jarra is a strong character. She isn’t going to sit back and let other people think that those who are handicapped and forced to live on Earth are any less intelligent and capable as the norms. She has proven herself as a great leader during her student digs and when her advisor tries to get her to trip up on her invented back story she fights back and puts him in her place. So much so eventually he begins to respect her and stops trying to trick her. I read one review where the reader said that Jarra was annoying because she judges the norms more than they judge her. The thing here is that they aren’t judging her personally because they all think she is a norm. Yes, there is some talk here and there and some bad jokes about the “ape” people but they aren’t directed at Jarra because everyone thinks she is a norm. Jarra does judge people but everyone judges everyone. Most of her class is judgmental of two teens from a certain planet known for its open sexuality that the other teens don’t understand because they all grew up in societies where personal privacy is supremely important until one is married. Even Jarra holds stereotypes about these two teens. However, when it is revealed that they have an ulterior motive to joining the program just as Jarra does (they are in fact married and in their early 20s and enrolled in the program to have an excuse to be on Earth where they are hiding their newborn daughter—an Ape child—whose existence, if found out, would cause them both to be expelled from their planet) Jarra begins to see the errors in her ways. Norms judge her people because they don’t understandthem  and Jarra holds just as many stereotypes herself of the norms. The thing that the other reader didn’t comment on is what makes Jarra a moving character and a realistic one—she sees the error in her ways and she grows for it and eventually fears what will happen when her friends find out she is not who she appears to be. I also love the archeology and history aspect of the plot—it’s nice to see a book for teens showcasing the importance of history and that history can be fun! There is also a lot of science talk, such as detailed descriptions of how to put on the protective suits the surveyors have to wear when outside, but it is all done in an interesting way that adds more depth to the world and doesn’t bog down the narrative. Give this book to teens wanting some science fiction (without the main focus being romance) and use it in book clubs (for the ethical discussions that will come up). While guys will like it to you might have to hand sell it to them since the cover features a girl. Just tell them Jarra is like Katniss in space but way awesomer.

There is also a HUGE plot twist half way through that will make you go, “WHAT?!?!?!” So good!

Here’s what some of my teens had to say:

Sarah, 15, says, “In the future, there is a girl who happens to not be able to travel to other planets because of a genetic disadvantage. So instead of accepting her fate as being stuck on Earth for the rest of her life and going to an Earth University, she defies all odds and applies to an off-world university for an archeology program that happens to begin with digs on Earth. How will she convince the other students that she is normal? How will she survive when a catastrophe occurs and her class is left with no choice but to evacuate the planet? I really liked this book. It was like nothing I read before in a good way. I really liked the characters and the world the author built. The author should know she did a good job and deserves a pat on the back. I really enjoyed the book and the author made one teen really happy. I want to own a copy and I will definitely talk it up to other teens.”

Haley, 17, says, “This is an awesome book about an outcast and how she works to fit in to a society that doesn’t value her. Action-packed and an all out good science fiction read.  I liked how the girl on the main cover represented Jarra, the main character. I liked how she was chained to the Earth, which represented her struggle being stuck on the planet unable to travel the solar system like most people.  The world building, especially how Jarra had a genetic problem that caused her to be stuck on Earth while everyone else can travel to other planets, was one of my favorite parts. I am very excited to hear there will be a sequel! While the first book wrapped up nicely, I didn’t really want Jarra’s story to end." 

Also – Janet Edwards quoted us on her website! My teens were so excited to see that! : )

http://janetedwards.com/reviews/


*Thanks to Lisa Michalski at Pyr for including this ARC in the YA Galley Project!*

Twelve-Fingered Boy (Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy #1)

Twelve-Fingered Boy (Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy #1)

John Honor Jacobs

Carolrhoda, 2013

$17.95, Hardcover

978-0761390077

Genre: Action

Age: 12+

Description: Shreveport “Shreve” Cannon is the biggest candy dealer in the Casimir Pulaski Juvenile Detention Center where we was sent after he compulsively decided to take a joyride in a neighbor’s truck and then was actually shot by said neighbor who thought someone was trying to steal the truck. Instead of getting some sympathy, Shreve is sent to a tough as nails juvie where he spends most of his days annoying the warden who has no proof of his candy dealing business and dreams of getting out so he can go take care of his brother who is stuck in the trailer park with an alcoholic and absentee mother. So Shreve’s day looks up when he gets a new cellmate, Jack Graves. Jack is super quiet and shy so when a mysterious man named Mr. Quincrux arrives to ask Jack questions, Shreve decides to protect Jack like he does his little brother. What he isn’t prepared for it to learn that Jack has twelve fingers and twelve toes and his extra extremities somehow seem to be linked to some very odd supernatural powers that caused the unexplainable accident that got Jack stuck in juvie. Jack, scared and not wanting to go with Quincrux, ends up breaking out of Casimir Pulaski and they go on the run where they find that Jack isn’t the only one with powers. Will they be able to figure out just what the heck is going on?

Opinion: I had been waiting for this book for some months when I had first heard about this trilogy. I was super excited to receive it as an ARC for our YA Galley Group and my teens were happy to get a few copies since supplies where limited. Sarah, who is quoted below, read it and was texting me the minute she finished telling me, “OMG, you have to read this book so I have someone to talk to about it!” We both definitely agree that it is a great start to a series that will appeal to guys and possibly those reluctant readers. Sarah was distraught at the end because while there isn’t necessarily a cliffhanger (we both agreed that it ended alright if there wasn’t a second book coming) there are a lot of unanswered questions. The premise of these teens have some kind of supernatural superpower is intriguing. However, there is a lot left in the dark. What is the purpose of these powers? Where exactly does Quincrux want to take Jake (I envision it as kind of a villainous X-Men like school)? What happened in Maryland that makes that state (and anyone from it) a weakness of Quincrux’s? The world is interesting and I would like to learn more about it. While I enjoyed the book overall, I did find myself at times struggling with keeping interest. I do recommend it and will read the rest of the books.

Here’s what some of my teens had to say:

Sarah, 15, says, “Is Quincrux a good guy or a bad guy? He seems pretty sketchy to me. I hope that Jack gets away from him if he is purely evil. I wonder because it seems that Quincrux might have good intentions (maybe helping Jack with his powers) but goes about it all wrong—if he is good why would he shoot an innocent person and why bring a woman who seems to have a taste for eating people into the picture? That just ain’t right. I like the world it set up but I am interested in knowing more about it like what is up with people getting bloody noses after someone has taken over their mind? What does Quincrux want Jack for? So many questions! I can’t wait for the sequel.”

Haley, 17, says, “An epic book about a boy who is unusual and for very weird reasons and his friendship with another boy when he enters, and escapes from, juvie. The cover kind of reflected the contents. I like the coloring of the extra fingers on the hands. The most compelling aspect of the book is the friendship that the two boys share. I also like that it is clear from the beginning that Jack has X-men like superpowers and, while on the run, Shreve realizes he just might have powers too.”

*Thanks to Katie O'Neel at Carolrhoda Lab for including this ARC in the YA Galley Project!*

Nobody

Nobody

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Egmont, 2013

$17.99, Hardcover

978-1606843215

Genre: Action

Age: 12+

Description: Nix has known nothing of life except for what he’s been told at the Institute. The people running the Institute give homes to the “Nobodies” of the world—people who live their lives without drawing attention to themselves. People who the “normals” don’t see or take notice of. This special “skill” makes these Nobodies the perfect assassins. And Nix is one of the best. He’s killed many an evil person (called “nulls”—people who have absolutely no moral sense) and now has been sent after his new target—Claire—who he is shocked to learn is a seemingly innocent 16-year-old girl. The moment he lays eyes on her and has her in the sight of his gun he finds that he can’t pull the trigger. Why? Because for the first time in his life someone has actually looked directly at him and seen him. Is Claire different? If she isn’t a null why does the Institute want her dead? Can Nix believe anything he’s been raised to believe? Soon he and Claire are on the run for their lives.

Opinion: I was super excited to read this book when my group, The TABbler, received an ARC as part of our participation as a YA Galley Group with YALSA. My teens themselves were clamoring to read it too and we’ve had some lively discussion about it. I have read Barnes’s Raised by Wolves series and loved the books. They feature a young girl named Bryn who was raised by a pack of shape shifting werewolves. The great thing that I loved about that trilogy was that the focus wasn’t a human girl torn between two supernatural love interests. Instead it was a story about a strong female character that could hold her own with supernatural baddies and what little romance there was was more about mutual respect. When I read the plot description for Nobody I was hoping it would be another great story. However, while the writing is great like I’ve come to expect from Barnes, the book quickly falls into the trap of an impossible love that can never be—in this case a budding romance between Claire and her assassin Nix. While the book was a bit of a letdown in terms of comparing it to her previous works, it was still action-packed and quickly paced. There were some shocking twists and I still would highly recommend it for any teen collection.

Here’s what some of my teens had to say:

Becca, 13, says, “This book is all about the struggle of two teens trying to find themselves. It is filled with adrenaline. It was a good book overall and I enjoyed it. For a pretty long book, however, I felt it moved too fast at times and the author could have slowed the pace down a bit.”

Elliot, 13, says, “I liked the eyeball on the cover because it made the book look appealing. It lied! I was sad with this book because it had such promise and ended up being another clichéd teen romance. So many books start with two people that fall in love and have some sort of issue that prevents their love. Barnes’s issue here was a little more unique because she added the element of younger siblings in danger to it. The random fights between Clair and Nix got boring after a while as they seemed to be about the same things. Instead of complaining they should have done something about it. I feel maybe the story would have been better if it hadn’t have been so long. I’m hoping it was long because it isn’t the fist in a new trilogy (as most ends were tied up neatly) because I really don’t want to see a sequel.”

Haley, 17, says, “Nix, a skilled assassin, is a conflicted boy when he meets the one he is supposed to kill. Claire has never been noticed until Nix entered her life. Now these two are hooked in a complicated relationship as they try to heal each other and find out why someone wants Claire dead. The plot is thick and never-ending. The most compelling aspect was the complicated relationship between Nix and Claire.”

Kayla, 13, says, “Nobody was an exhilarating, futuristic read that added a new perspective on how ‘Nobodys,’ or unnoticed people, feel in a crowd or at school. ‘Less than shadow, less than air . . .’ Honestly, that feeling isn’t new—it’s something everyone can relate to. My favorite parts were the end and the epilogue. It had me in tears. Tears of joy, sadness, and all the other feels [feelings]. However, I was actually very upset with this book more than 10 times but it wasn’t because the book was bad in any way. It was because of the random plot twists that made me go, ‘Uggghhh!’ I had to put it down about halfway through but then I told Lindsey (our advisor) that I had to pick it up and finish it because I just needed to know what was going to happen!”

Isaac, 15, says, “Would you want to be an assassin who could be invisible? Nix is and everything is fine until the day he is assigned to kill Claire. When he is ‘in the fade’ ready to point a gun at her she does the unthinkable—she can actually see him. I thought the cover was pretty cool. My favorite moment was when Nix realized he was being manipulated and being told what to do. I was not disappointed.”

 

*Thanks to the people of Egmont for including this ARC in the YA Galley Group.*