Diane Colson

YA FictionYA

Something special at the Paradise

Review by Diane Colson

Creek View is a blink town—as in, if you blink when driving down California Highway 99, you miss it. Skylar cannot wait to leave it behind. Just three more months, and she’ll be at school in San Francisco. In the meantime, Skylar will continue working at the quirky, rundown Paradise Motel and struggling to get her unemployed mother back on her feet.

As summer begins, former Paradise co-worker Josh Mitchell returns from Afghanistan. Josh proves to be a huge distraction for Sky, although she isn’t sure if it’s because she pities him or because she gets lost in his beautiful eyes. Their romance is tentative, and readers learn from brief but powerful interjecting chapters that Josh is suffering deeply from his war experiences. He is wracked with shame, guilt and a curious longing to return to battle, where life at least made sense. Skylar interprets Josh’s skittishness as rejection; why would he want to be with the inexperienced girl living in a sad trailer with her mess of a mother?

Author Heather Demetrios creates two realistic characters poised at turning points in their lives. By overcoming the disappointments and betrayals of past experience and learning to trust again, they find the resilience they need to move on. As in her earlier realistic fiction novel, Something Real, Demetrios tackles headline issues through individual stories rich with characterization. Like Trish Doller’s Something Like Normal, this book is a study of young people redefining their place in the world.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Creek View is a blink town—as in, if you blink when driving down California Highway 99, you miss it. Skylar cannot wait to leave it behind. Just three more months, and she’ll be at school in San Francisco. In the meantime, Skylar will continue working at the quirky, rundown Paradise Motel and struggling to get her unemployed mother back on her feet.

YA FictionYA

At the heart of an uprising

Review by Diane Colson

BookPage Teen Top Pick, January 2015

Rural Russia is not a kind place for Jews in the early 20th century. Miserable, powerless peasants make their Jewish neighbors the scapegoats for everything that goes wrong—and things go wrong all the time. For teenager Clara, the repression tightens as she watches her father and brothers spend their days studying the Torah, while she sweeps floors and prepares meals. As a girl, Clara is forbidden to learn how to read, write or speak Russian—but secretly, she does all three.

When violence explodes against the Jewish villagers, Clara’s family immigrates to New York City. There, Clara feels trapped by the same Jewish traditions that bound her in Russia. While the men continue to read and study, Clara works 10-hour days in a sweatshop. But she will not be caged, not by tradition or injustice. Learning about the formation of unions to protect workers, Clara risks her life to join the crusade.

Based on the true story of Clara Lemlich, Audacity throbs with the emotions of this exceptional young woman who fought for equal rights and improved labor standards in factories. Melanie Crowder’s verses spit out Clara’s rage, cradle her longing and soar like the birds that are her constant companions. Pair with Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Uprising or Elizabeth Winthrop’s Counting on Grace to get a full picture of early labor conditions for young immigrants.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

This article was originally published in the January 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Rural Russia is not a kind place for Jews in the early 20th century. Miserable, powerless peasants make their Jewish neighbors the scapegoats for everything that goes wrong—and things go wrong all the time. For teenager Clara, the repression tightens as she watches her father and brothers spend their days studying the Torah, while she sweeps floors and prepares meals. As a girl, Clara is forbidden to learn how to read, write or speak Russian—but secretly, she does all three.
YA FictionYA

The stars align

Review by Diane Colson

The 12 constellations that form the houses of the Zodiac are the backdrop for this intriguing debut novel. Cancrian Rho is attending school when she begins to have a recurring vision of a dark mass entering the universe beyond Pisces, the 12th House. Like everyone else, Rho has heard rumors of a mysterious 13th House, ruled by an evil renegade named Orphiuchus, and she suspects this might be his return to the Zodiac.

The mass seems to be stretching the fabric of the solar system and will cause disasters throughout all of the 12 houses. No one of importance credits Rho’s vision, however. But after she accurately predicts the collision of Cancer’s four moons, Rho becomes the new Guardian of her sign—a big responsibility for a 16-year-old girl. Fortunately, Rho has help from two young men vying for her affection.

Science-fiction fans will appreciate the complexity of the Zodiac universe, from the inventive ephemeral technology to the detailed creation of life in each of the 12 houses. Rho’s Cancer, for example, is a blue planet covered with water, beloved by home-loving Cancrians. Some readers may find the 12 houses to be similar in purpose to the factions and districts in other YA dystopias, complete with love interests from opposing camps. Like Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series, Zodiac blends elements of myth, futuristic technology and space adventure. The book’s end offers a satisfying tease for the next installment.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

The 12 constellations that form the houses of the Zodiac are the backdrop for this intriguing debut novel. Cancrian Rho is attending school when she begins to have a recurring vision of a dark mass entering the universe beyond Pisces, the 12th House. Like everyone else, Rho has heard rumors of a mysterious 13th House, ruled by an evil renegade named Orphiuchus, and she suspects this might be his return to the Zodiac.

YA FictionYAFantasy

The dragon age

Review by Diane Colson

Ember is a dragon. Her life has been spent at an isolated training school run by Talon, the organization that governs all dragons. To fulfill the next stage of training—assimilation into human society—Ember and her brother, Dante, must assume human form. The assignment lands them in a small beach town in California, where they befriend a group of surfer teens. But Ember’s enthusiasm is tempered when she spots a dangerous rogue dragon in the guise of a gorgeous biker boy. At the same time, a dragon-slayer affiliated with the Order of St. George—a legendary society that once hunted dragons nearly to extinction—arrives in the seaside town. Ember is attracted to both the chivalrous slayer and the mysterious rogue dragon, but she cannot distinguish between friend and foe.

Kagawa’s fine storytelling elevates this novel within the crowded field of fantasy romance. The first in a new series, Talon leaves readers perfectly balanced between satisfaction and anticipation.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

This article was originally published in the November 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Ember is a dragon. Her life has been spent at an isolated training school run by Talon, the organization that governs all dragons. To fulfill the next stage of training—assimilation into human society—Ember and her brother, Dante, must assume human form.
YA FictionYA

Larger-than-life Florida hero

Review by Diane Colson

Richard’s first sign that something is amiss in the turtle’s nest is the sound of wet, whistling breathing coming from within. As he pushes aside the protective straw, an old man wearing a shower cap bursts out, gagging and rolling his weird eyes in opposite directions. Richard, meet Skink, aka Clint Tyree, former governor of Florida. In the years since his presumed death, Skink lives way off the grid, waging ecological warfare against those who drain swamps to build theme parks, dump refuse in wildlife preserves, and steal turtle eggs from nests.

When Skink calmly announces that he is off to find Richard’s missing cousin, Malley, Richard hops in the car and heads off on the adventure of his life. Skink is as hilarious as he is impassioned, enthusiastically cooking up roadkill and wreaking havoc on litterbugs. As he and Richard catch up with feisty Malley and her low-life kidnapper, Richard begins to understand why Skink is the greatest hero that Florida will never know.

Skink—No Surrender is geared toward a slightly older audience than Hiaasen’s earlier YA books, while reintroducing characters that romp throughout his bawdier adult novels. Budding environmentalists and Hiaasen fans will find much to enjoy.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Richard’s first sign that something is amiss in the turtle’s nest is the sound of wet, whistling breathing coming from within. As he pushes aside the protective straw, an old man wearing a shower cap bursts out, gagging and rolling his weird eyes in opposite directions. Richard, meet Skink, aka Clint Tyree, former governor of Florida.

YA FictionYA

The wedge of sibling rivalry

Review by Diane Colson

Thirteen-year-old twins Noah and Jude are so close, they “smush,” pushing themselves together, shoulder to shoulder, exactly as they did in utero. Noah is dreamy and artistic, while his sister Jude is fearless and popular. When their mother announces that both twins should attend CSA, a nearby fine arts high school, Noah is elated, but Jude is less than enthusiastic, as she fears that Noah’s talent far outweighs her own. Three years later, Jude is now attending CSA, but Noah was not accepted. The once-fierce love between the twins has morphed into fierce hatred.

The narration alternates between the perspectives of 13-year-old Noah and 16-year-old Jude, and the twins unwittingly move in tandem despite their estrangement. They both do something unforgivable. They both fall in love. Nelson provides just enough pieces of past and future but withholds some delightful twists for the end. This is a beautifully written story.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Thirteen-year-old twins Noah and Jude are so close, they “smush,” pushing themselves together, shoulder to shoulder, exactly as they did in utero. Noah is dreamy and artistic, while his sister Jude is fearless and popular. When their mother announces that both twins should attend CSA, a nearby fine arts high school, Noah is elated, but Jude is less than enthusiastic, as she fears that Noah’s talent far outweighs her own. Three years later, Jude is now attending CSA, but Noah was not accepted. The once-fierce love between the twins has morphed into fierce hatred.
YA FictionYAScience Fiction

When Hawaiian paradise is lost

Review by Diane Colson

The siren screaming through Hilo, 16-year-old Leilani’s hometown on Hawaii’s Big Island, is her first warning of coming catastrophe. But she and her father stick to their planned trip from Hilo to Honolulu, where she is to undergo tests for her epilepsy. They fly to the island of Oahu, and that’s when the world veers off course: The president appears on television in a frightened state. Satellite and electrical networks collapse. Commercial airline flights cease. At the same time, Leilani is having epileptic episodes filled with visions of ancient Hawaiian gods.

When the military begins to corral people into makeshift camps, Leilani and her father realize that they must find their way back to Hilo on their own. Thus begins their desperate, horrifying struggle to return home, island by island.

Recommended for fans of Graham Salisbury’s evocative Hawaiian historical thrillers, Austin Aslan’s debut novel, the first in a series, is an action-packed adventure, rich with details about Hawaii’s geological diversity, cultural hostilities and ecological crises.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The siren screaming through Hilo, 16-year-old Leilani’s hometown on Hawaii’s Big Island, is her first warning of coming catastrophe. But she and her father stick to their planned trip from Hilo to Honolulu, where she is to undergo tests for her epilepsy. They fly to the island of Oahu, and that’s when the world veers off course: The president appears on television in a frightened state. Satellite and electrical networks collapse. Commercial airline flights cease. At the same time, Leilani is having epileptic episodes filled with visions of ancient Hawaiian gods.
YA FictionYA

A friendship blooms from past mistakes

Review by Diane Colson

Hannah loves the game of seduction. She dresses to tease and unabashedly enjoys the pleasure of sex. Her one unassailable prohibition is no sex without a condom. So Hannah is shocked when she discovers that she’s pregnant, not only because of the impending scandal, but because the only person who could be the father is the one person Hannah cannot name. More than one guy at Hannah’s high school is sweating things out when Aaron Tyler, new transfer student, announces that Hannah’s baby belongs to him.

Investigative busybodies at school have no trouble figuring out that Aaron arrived in town too late to have fathered the child. So who is Hannah protecting? And why would Aaron needlessly accept such a huge responsibility? Debut novelist Pratt slips in well-placed hints that allow readers to gradually discover answers to these questions. The very British narration alternates between Hannah and Aaron, and from Aaron’s earliest words readers find him awash in grief and remorse. It becomes clear that Aaron believes that he must atone for his past, and that helping Hannah would be that “meaningful” redemption he craves. For Hannah, the pregnancy brings her own family’s dysfunction to the forefront.

The pacing may feel slow to some readers, as Pratt allows plenty of room for her characters to grow and change. The result is a moving story about friendship and responsibility, comparable in tone to the works of Laurie Halse Anderson.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Hannah loves the game of seduction. She dresses to tease and unabashedly enjoys the pleasure of sex. Her one unassailable prohibition is no sex without a condom. So Hannah is shocked when she discovers that she’s pregnant, not only because of the impending scandal, but because the only person who could be the father is the one person Hannah cannot name. More than one guy at Hannah’s high school is sweating things out when Aaron Tyler, new transfer student, announces that Hannah’s baby belongs to him.

YA FictionYA

An adopted Chinese girl’s search for identity

Review by Diane Colson

In 1951, adopted teenager Lily’s Chinese features attract the wrong kind of attention from classmates at her Kansas City high school. The United States is at war, defending South Korea from the invasion of Chinese Communists via North Korea. Propaganda designed to gain American support for the war features evil, slanted-eyed Commies eager to destroy any nation that blocks its path to supremacy, including the U.S. Lily wonders why her Chinese birth mother, whom she now thinks of as “Gone Mom,” could have abandoned her daughter to this fate of ethnic isolation.

In today’s world, Chinese daughters thrive all over the U.S. But in Lily’s time, the rules of segregation reign. Mr. Howard, a black man who works as a janitor at Lily’s school, witnesses her anguish and steps in as a mentor, helping her cope with prejudice. Author Barbara Stuber captures Lily’s isolation beautifully: “I am a Chinese character without a plot.” Lily’s white parents seem shallow, concerned only with appearances, but her half-brother Ralph, with his jug ears and stinking feet, comes alive as Lily’s one true ally. A subplot involving a potential romance with an artist named Elliot pales in comparison to Ralph’s exuberant love for his sister.

Girl in Reverse is a worthy follow-up to Stuber’s 2010 debut, Crossing the Tracks, a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award. There are many pieces that must come together to reveal Lily’s past: a box in the attic containing things left by Gone Mom; Elliot’s perceptive artwork; the owners of a Chinese restaurant; and the recollections of Sister Evangeline from the orphanage. The integration of all these pieces strains the story’s pace and requires near-magical coincidences, but it is in keeping with Sister Evangeline’s comment, “A complicated past is best understood a bit at a time.”

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

This article was originally published in the May 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In 1951, adopted teenager Lily’s Chinese features attract the wrong kind of attention from classmates at her Kansas City high school. The United States is at war, defending South Korea from the invasion of Chinese Communists via North Korea. Propaganda designed to gain American support for the war features evil, slanted-eyed Commies eager to destroy any nation that blocks its path to supremacy, including the U.S. Lily wonders why her Chinese birth mother, whom she now thinks of as “Gone Mom,” could have abandoned her daughter to this fate of ethnic isolation.

Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Life’s ineffable lessons

Review by Diane Colson

Best friends Hannah and Zoe understand each other, “like we’re some kind of Siamese twins connected at the soul.” Zoe is there when Hannah’s abusive father sends her out in a bikini to sell hot dogs, ostensibly to raise money for college. Hannah is there when Zoe bounces between moods of elation and despair, and makes sure Zoe stays properly clothed and relatively safe.

While Hannah is root-bound and comfortable living near the lake in their New Jersey town and crushing on Danny, the kid who drives the ice cream truck, Zoe is ready to fly. But after her father steals her hot dog money, Hannah reacts with uncharacteristic haste and agrees to take off on a road trip with Zoe.

The plot has a deliberately outlandish feel as Zoe sets out to teach practical Hannah about intangible qualities such as insouciance (by sleeping in an IKEA store) and audacity (by releasing the Kermit balloon before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.) But realism isn’t the point of The Museum of Intangible Things. It’s the steady flow of offbeat humor as well as Hannah and Zoe’s genuine bond that keeps readers fully invested in their story.

Secondary characters, such as Danny, Zoe’s younger brother; Noah, who has an “Asbergery thing”; and Hannah’s awful father are loosely sketched around the central drama of Zoe’s bipolar disorder. As the girls make their way west, Zoe burns as bright as the title character from John Green’s Looking for Alaska, and her exploits spin further from credulity. Hannah meets up with Danny at a gas station in Wyoming where their long-awaited romance ignites, leaving Zoe with enough freedom to complete her mad scheme. Quirky and bittersweet, this story will appeal to readers who have shared their lives with a best friend.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Best friends Hannah and Zoe understand each other, “like we’re some kind of Siamese twins connected at the soul.” Zoe is there when Hannah’s abusive father sends her out in a bikini to sell hot dogs, ostensibly to raise money for college. Hannah is there when Zoe bounces between moods of elation and despair, and makes sure Zoe stays properly clothed and relatively safe.

Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Tensions run high in a town on lockdown

Review by Diane Colson

Mia is famous because she fell into a well at the age of 4. Now she’s nearly 17 and attends Westbrook, an elite boarding school, and people still call her “Baby Mia.” Westbrook happens to be located in Mia’s hometown of Fenton, which gives her “townie” status and keeps her close to her widowed father. Not that she sees him very often. He’s obsessed with his secret work at the Cave, which Mia believes has something to do with microchips and the government. Mia is wrong.

In a horrific turn of events, the students of Westbrook are suddenly in lockdown, guarded by soldiers in HAZMAT suits. A terrible virus that rapidly ages its victims is tearing through the faculty and is now infecting students. And Mia keeps remembering her last desperate phone call to her father, when he said, “Mia, all of this has to do with me.” Tension ratchets up as Mia and her friends stage a daring escape from the school to reach the Cave.

Between the carnage that she witnesses and the betrayals that she fears, Mia is desperate for answers. Unfortunately for both Mia and the reader, the answers are slow in coming. Too many conversations end with some version of, “I’ll explain later.” When the truth is finally revealed, author Seth Fishman switches the narrative point of view from Mia to her father as a young man, which allows the backstory to be revealed with a youthful voice. At times, the characters veer too close to nebulous stereotypes like computer geek, football player or best friend. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of adventure and a satisfyingly creative resolution. This is a good recommendation for fans of James Patterson’s teen series.

 

Diane Colson works at the Nashville Public Library. She has long been active in the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), serving on selection committees such as the Morris Award, the Alex Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award.

Mia is famous because she fell into a well at the age of 4. Now she’s nearly 17 and attends Westbrook, an elite boarding school, and people still call her “Baby Mia.” Westbrook happens to be located in Mia’s hometown of Fenton, which gives her “townie” status and keeps her close to her widowed father. Not that she sees him very often. He’s obsessed with his secret work at the Cave, which Mia believes has something to do with microchips and the government. Mia is wrong.

Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Murder in Friendship

Review by Diane Colson

Ruth Fried’s mutilated body is found hanging from a willow tree in the middle of a cornfield. The small town of Friendship, Wisconsin, handles this horrific crime like it handles everything else: It politely tidies things up and moves on.

With Ruth’s death, Kippy Bushman has lost the one person who could see past the superficial politeness endemic to Friendship. When Kippy receives Ruth’s nearly illegible diary, she learns some shocking secrets about her best friend. But the sheriff, who commands a fleet of police cars emblazoned with smiley faces, is pointedly uninterested in Kippy’s revelations. He has pinned the murder on Ruth’s hell-raiser boyfriend, Colt. Case closed.

Friendship is rich with oddballs, both charming and otherwise. Kippy’s father has raised her alone since her mother died, guiding her with a loving stream of psychobabble. Ruth’s older brother, Davey, has returned from military service overseas and is inflamed with PTSD.

Page-turning tension and cynical humor fuse as Kippy teams up with Davey to find Ruth’s killer. The vivid Wisconsin setting, serving as a stanchion of ordinary life, is continually violated by Kippy’s offhand revelations of unresolved violence, including her own bizarre past. Author Kathleen Hale’s first novel combines Hitchcockian eeriness, the quirky humor of Carl Hiaasen and the bruising romance of a “True Blood” episode.

Ruth Fried’s mutilated body is found hanging from a willow tree in the middle of a cornfield. The small town of Friendship, Wisconsin, handles this horrific crime like it handles everything else: It politely tidies things up and moves on.

With Ruth’s death, Kippy Bushman…

Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Serious consequences for a sister

Review by Diane Colson

First of all, 17-year-old Sadie didn’t even want to go to that party with her older sister, Carla. She knew from past experiences that Carla, notorious for her reckless behavior, was oblivious to responsibility. And, sure enough, as soon as the sisters arrive at the party, Carla is chugging drinks and clinging to a guy whom Sadie nicknames “Scuzzy.” Completely out of her element, Sadie passes time playing beer pong with Scuzzy’s friend, “Dreadlocks.” When a near-comatose Carla finally reappears, Scuzzy and Dreadlocks ask for a ride to get more beer. Don’t do it, says a small voice in Sadie’s head.

When she drives them to the 7-Eleven, the guys ask her to park in the back. Weird, thinks Sadie. Scuzzy and Dreadlocks then disappear. Unbeknownst to Sadie, a backpack full of weed sits in the back seat next to Carla. Minutes later, the girls are arrested by an undercover cop.

Carla is legally an adult with two priors and a 3-year-old daughter. As Sadie is a minor, a good student and a gifted basketball player who might receive comparably light punishment, Sadie’s family asks her to take the fall. She does, landing a six-month sentence in a juvenile detention center.

Sadie is shocked by the way inmates are dehumanized in juvie. Small infractions bring harsh punishment. Some of the girls in her unit are deeply disturbed, guilty of terrible crimes. Still, Sadie finds it challenging to suppress her caring instinct. But she begins to realize that good will must be tempered by caution and that she is responsible for the consequences of her actions, even if she sublimates the motive. This is an important concept for many teens, who may greatly underestimate their own complicity when passively supporting risky behavior.

First of all, 17-year-old Sadie didn’t even want to go to that party with her older sister, Carla. She knew from past experiences that Carla, notorious for her reckless behavior, was oblivious to responsibility. And, sure enough, as soon as the sisters arrive at the…

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