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YA FictionYA

Good friends will always catch you

Review by Lori K. Joyce

With grace and humor, author Marcella Pixley’s Ready to Fall captures the intricacies of a teenage boy with crippling grief and an illness he believes is all too real.

Max has a problem, and it’s in his head. When his mother dies of cancer, he invites her brain tumor into his head in a misguided attempt to stay close to her. Max is now convinced the tumor lives in his head, and it’s a really bad tenant. He imagines that it throws parties and bangs around at all hours of the day and night, belching and shouting. As a result, Max finds it impossible to think, feel or do much of anything.

Max’s concerned guardians send him to an artsy new school with hopes that a fresh start will get him involved in life again. Their plan begins to work as Max joins the cast of the school’s production of Hamlet. To bond, the cast participates in trust falls (hence the title of the book), and even though he’s unable to complete the trust fall, Max does begin to feel comfortable with his new friends, even to the point of sometimes forgetting about his raucous tumor. However, family complications—such as seeing his father kiss an attractive single mother from his school—threaten to shatter any tenuous emergence from his darkness.

Readers will ache for Max, but they will also revel in his effervescent teen spirit.

With grace and humor, author Marcella Pixley’s Ready to Fall captures the intricacies of a teenage boy with crippling grief and an illness he believes is all too real.

RomanceYA FictionYA

Is young love worthwhile?

Review by Annie Metcalf

When Claudia accidentally overhears the breakup fight involving her high school’s hottest couple—Paige and Iris—she’s mortified and terrified. Iris, who discovers Claudia “spying,” tells her to keep her mouth shut or else. Iris is known for being cold and mean, so getting on her bad side is an unfortunate way to start senior year. To make matters worse, when Claudia and Iris are paired on a class project and do poorly, they must audition for the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for extra credit.

Cautious by nature, Claudia has held herself apart from her private school classmates for the past three years, preferring the company of her childhood best friend, Zoe. Iris has been dumped by most of her girlfriends, who obviously favored kind and enthusiastic Paige. But working together brings Claudia and Iris closer, and also brings Claudia into the orbit of the ridiculously charming Gideon Prewitt. With the help of her old friends, new friends and Gideon, will Claudia be able to learn that starting something new—even if it might end someday—is worth it?

Emma Mills’ Foolish Hearts boasts a strikingly large array of named characters, but this constellation of interconnected classmates, friends and family members is what makes Claudia’s universe so realistic. Mills skillfully portrays the tentative joy found in sharing a passion with a new friend, as well as the profound comfort of routines with old friends and family. With the themes of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream woven subtly throughout, Foolish Hearts is a detailed, convincing high school story about opening your heart to all kinds of love, and how to fight to preserve it.

With the themes of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream woven subtly throughout, Foolish Hearts is a detailed, convincing high-school story about opening your heart to love of all kinds, and how to fight to preserve that love.

YA FictionYA

An unrepentant Scrooge

Review by Anita Lock

Cynthia Hand’s newest novel is a modern-day retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a clever, otherworldly twist.

Holly Chase hates Christmas. The last thing the 17-year-old snooty fashion junkie expects is to be visited by three actual ghosts on Christmas Eve. But she refuses to change her horrible ways, making her a failed Scrooge. Then Holly dies, and now she’s a ghost (or more like a quasi-zombie) who works for a secretive New York-based company called Project Scrooge. As their new Ghost of Christmas Past, she hasn’t been fazed by much in her afterlife until she’s assigned to rich teen Ethan Winters, Scrooge number 173. When she starts researching him for the job, she discovers that they have similar backgrounds. But things get out of hand when she decides to meet him in real life.

Hand has produced an unforgettable behind-the-scenes tale with a clever cast of characters pulled from many of Dickens’ works. As with Dickens’ beloved 1843 Christmas novella, The Afterlife of Holly Chase incorporates themes of life, death, self-improvement and, of course, a little bit of romance.

Hilarious yet poignant while supplying a delightful blend of clichéd and unexpected moments, Hand’s latest novel is earmarked to be a new Christmas favorite.

Cynthia Hand’s newest novel is a modern-day retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with a clever, otherworldly twist.

YA FictionYAHistorical Fiction

The enduring power of books to calm and comfort

Review by Jennifer Kitchel

Antonio Iturbe’s prize-winning third novel, The Librarian of Auschwitz, translated by Lilit Thwaites, is a haunting lyrical tale in the vein of Elie Wiesel’s Night and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.

Iturbe interviewed real-life Auschwitz prisoner and survivor Dita Kraus in preparation for writing this fictionalized account of her life. Moving back and forth in time, Iturbe shows us Dita’s journey—from her middle-class family home in Prague to the Jewish ghetto known as Terezín, and finally to the family camp at Auschwitz. At 14, Dita is too old for the horrifying “lessons” being taught to the other imprisoned children, but she is entrusted to collect and distribute the few books snuck into the camp. Over the course of a year, the reader walks with Dita as she experiences the dehumanizing terror of life in a concentration camp.

The daily horrors of imprisonment are palpable, but Iturbe blends in moments of joy, love and mystery—each all the more poignant for their rarity. An essential addition to any reading list focused on the Holocaust, The Librarian of Auschwitz is best suited for an older teen audience due to some language and violence.

 

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a Pre-K through 8th level Catholic school.

Antonio Iturbe’s prize-winning third novel, The Librarian of Auschwitz, translated by Lilit Thwaites, is a haunting lyrical tale in the vein of Elie Wiesel’s Night and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.

YA FictionYAComing of Age

Adolescent life during the in-between years

Review by Anita Lock

Liara Tamani’s debut novel, Calling My Name, captures the experience of an African-American preteen growing up in Houston, Texas, during the late 1980s and early ’90s.

Taja Brown is on the cusp of blossoming—emotionally, physically, spiritually. While waiting for her flat chest to transform and wishing for other changes in her physical features (like losing the gap between her front teeth), Taja pushes the boundaries of her strict Baptist upbringing. First, she tries lying. Her momentary empowerment after she successfully gets away with a fib quickly morphs into guilt as she utters silent apologies to God. Although she is a good student, maintaining high grades is not the only thing on her mind. Kissing is definitely another, but it doesn’t amount to much during middle school. But everything changes in high school when she begins dating Andre. What Taja doesn’t know is that her guilt level will hit an all-time high when her parents present the young couple with Purity Rings.

A collection of 53 first-person vignettes, Tamani’s numberless chapters make Calling My Name resemble a journal. Grouped into eight sections—and sprinkled with moving quotes from notable black writers like Zadie Smith, Gwendolyn Brooks and Toni Morrison—these vignettes serve as poignant snapshots of pivotal moments in Tamani’s life. Although she jumps from one event to the next, Tamani manages to seamlessly tie Taja's story together in this witty and thought-provoking coming-of-age novel told from an African-American perspective.

Liara Tamani’s debut novel, Calling My Name, captures the experience of an African American preteen growing up in Houston, Texas, during the late 1980s and early ’90s.

YA FictionYA

A heartbreaking, necessary read for teens

Review by Sharon Verbeten

Seventeen-year-old Hadley appears to have everything—a wealthy dad who donates to the school, a mother who is president of the PTA, a beautiful home and a promising college future. But the secret of her life-shattering abuse is well kept. As she believes, “We’re a rich white family. No one is going to believe me.”

Hadley continues to take her father’s tyrannical physical and mental abuse—and endure her mother’s drinking—in order to protect her younger sister Lila, who still can't quite grasp what's wrong. But when Hadley begins to see Charlie—even though dating is strictly against her father’s edicts—her life begins to change in many ways. Her father’s rage escalates, her future (and Lila’s) looks more uncertain, and eventually, Charlie discovers her secret and calls Child Protective Services.

Things quickly spiral out of control. Afraid to admit the abuse, Hadley dreams up a solution in her head—one that leads to the book’s shocking climax.

Told in alternating chapters titled “Then” and “Now,” Hadley’s chilling present and uncertain future come together by the end of this heartbreaking, powerful debut novel. Author Amy Giles’ honest and vivid portrayals of abuse, a suicide attempt and alcoholism are balanced by Hadley’s protective love for her sister and her longing to be loved. A painful, powerful and necessary read that is tinged with hope.

Seventeen-year-old Hadley appears to have everything—a wealthy dad who donates to the school, a mother who is president of the PTA, a beautiful home and a promising college future. But the secret of her life-shattering abuse is well kept. As she believes, “We’re a rich white family. No one is going to believe me.”

YA FictionYA

Awakening to the resistance

Review by Lori K. Joyce

Julie Mayhew’s The Big Lie takes place in 2014—but in a world very different from our recent 2014. In this alternative history, the Nazis won World War II and are the harsh ruling party. Free thoughts, freedom of expression and any orientation other than heterosexual are crimes against this state.

Jessika Keller is a patriotic schoolgirl, a talented ice skater and a citizen of the Greater German Reich in England. Jessika’s next-door neighbor and best friend says things about governmental leaders that make Jessika uncomfortable and confused. Whenever she has dinner at her friend’s house, the dinner conversation evolves into politics, with her friend’s parents speaking out against the current regime. At first, she is shocked, but gradually she begins to question aspects of her life and society that she never thought about before these conversations.

Also confusing Jessika are her mixed feelings towards two peers: one a member of her own sex and one of the opposite sex. She knows that romantic feelings towards girls are in direct opposition to her father’s beliefs, but can she deny this part of herself? In this coming-of-age story, Jessika must grapple with several very real and scary ideas, ultimately deciding what she stands for and what she’s willing to risk, whether it affects her family, her friends or her country. Mayhew includes helpful historical notes and English translations of the German used in this fast-paced, imaginative story.

Julie Mayhew’s The Big Lie takes place in 2014—but in a world very different from our recent 2014. In this alternative history, the Nazis won World War II and are the harsh ruling party. Free thoughts, freedom of expression and any orientation other than heterosexual are crimes against this state.

Science Fiction & FantasyYA FictionYAScience Fiction

A dark yet humorous dystopia for our tech-obsessed world

Review by Jon Little

Take an experimental technology that allows comatose hospital patients to walk and talk again. Merge that with a virtual reality video game so life-like and addictive that grown men would rather wet themselves than log off. Throw in the most powerful corporation in the world. Have it manufacture an epidemic of “accidents” that creates a large population of unconscious patients to test the new technology upon. Add two teenagers and a blossoming love into the mix, and what do you have? Otherworld, the YA debut from the writing team of New York Times bestselling author Kristen Miller and actor, screenwriter, songwriter and author Jason Segel, perhaps best know for his acting in the acclaimed TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and “How I Met Your Mother.”

Mimicking the hybrid contours of our lives, which are increasingly lived online, Otherworld toggles between the world of social media, subdivisions and tech billionaires and the Otherworld, a virtual realm where our darkest desires rule—and murder and mayhem are just part of the game. Though this story provides ample thought candy for die-hard science and speculative fiction fans, Otherworld’s appeal is more than cerebral. Like the best dystopian fiction, the human element remains firmly enthroned at the center of the story, driving its action and adding depth and resonance to the questions it raises.

With its intriguing take on our tech-saturated world, its engaging love story and plenty of comic asides, Otherworld is a smart and thoroughly enjoyable novel.

Mimicking the hybrid contours of our lives, which are increasingly lived online, Otherworld toggles between the world of social media, subdivisions and tech billionaires and the <Otherworld, a virtual realm where our darkest desires rule—and murder and mayhem are just part of the game.

RomanceYA FictionYA

A tender, surprising story of young love in France

Review by Diane Colson

Pronouns are confusing for Martin. So when the narrative of Hilary Reyl’s debut, Kids Like Us, begins in the second person, the reader immediately experiences some of the same disorientation that plagues Martin daily. As a teen with autism, Martin is deeply connected with his inner world. He’s currently attending a summer school while his mother directs a movie in the French countryside. Martin speaks French fluently—in part because his father is French, and also because Martin is obsessed with Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. This fixation leads Martin to imbue his life in France with an exhilarating level of meaning. At school, Martin believes that he has met his own Gilberte, and gradually Martin develops a genuine relationship with the girl despite her neurotypical limitations.

Martin’s voice is original and completely immersive. Living in France intensifies his affinity for Proust, as everything—the madeleines, the hawthorn bushes, the French language itself—is laden with importance. It is here, far removed from the routine of his life back in Los Angeles, that he makes tremendous strides in recognizing the distinction between his internal absorption and the independent emotional experiences of the people around him. Reyl makes it clear that Martin’s motivation for change is his own quest for broader emotional understanding rather than a need to “fix” his autism.

Kids Like Us is a beautiful and insightful debut novel that’s reminiscent of the work of Francisco X. Stork.

 

Diane Colson is the Library Director at City College in Gainesville, Florida.

Pronouns are confusing for Martin. So when the narrative of Hilary Reyl’s debut, Kids Like Us, begins in the second person, the reader immediately experiences some of the same disorientation that plagues Martin daily.

Mystery & SuspenseYA FictionYAMystery

The complicated boundaries of friendship

Review by Jill Ratzan

Jessica Wong and Angie Redmond are always together . . . until Margot and Ryan, students at the local boarding school, walk into the ice cream parlor where Angie works. Margot and Angie hit it off and start to date, but Jess hates Margot immediately. In part, it’s because of Margot’s actions, but it’s also simply because of her presence: Margot and Angie’s relationship forces Jess to articulate her own longstanding romantic attraction to Angie.

Eventually, the four girls confront one another at a party that ends in tragedy—and confusion. A body is later found in the woods, and the girls’ intersecting loyalties may have something to do with it. What does each girl know? How do their various accounts fit with evidence discovered by investigating detectives? Who is lying, and why?

As the main tale unfolds, so does a parallel internal one: Jess, a talented cartoonist, is searching for an origin story for her anime character Kestrel. Do Kestrel’s feelings parallel Jess’ own?

Author Malinda Lo’s A Line in the Dark is filled with mystery, suspense, romance and an exploration of friendship’s boundaries (or its lack thereof). Known for writing complex and diverse characters, Lo tells her new story in a combination of flashbacks, Jess’ first-person voice, transcripts of interviews and a spooky, omniscient third-person narrator. Each time readers think the truth is about to be revealed, another twist awaits. The denouement will have readers scrambling back through the book’s pages, looking for clues they missed on the first read.

Jessica Wong and Angie Redmond are always together . . . until Margot and Ryan, students at the local boarding school, walk into the ice cream parlor where Angie works. Margot and Angie hit it off and start to date, but Jess hates Margot immediately. In part, it’s because of Margot’s actions, but it’s also simply because of her presence: Margot and Angie’s relationship forces Jess to articulate her own longstanding romantic attraction to Angie.

Mystery & SuspenseYA FictionYAMystery

Secrets of the dead

Review by Kimberly Giarratano

“His mother asked me to do this, because she said it wasn’t something a mother should ever have to do.” And so 17-year-old Jessa Whitworth finds herself packing up the belongings of her dead ex-boyfriend, Caleb. She was the last person he spoke to before his car was swept away in a flash flood. Each token she finds, be it a photograph or a dog-eared copy of The Grapes of Wrath, conjures haunting memories of their relationship. But as Jessa digs further into Caleb’s life, she unearths facts about a person she may not have truly known at all.

Told in three parts, Megan Miranda’s new novel transitions from Jessa’s grief to her frantic search for answers. Interspersed throughout are snippets of her relationship with Caleb, allowing readers to piece together the clues that lead to an edge-of-your-seat denouement. Skillfully crafted, Fragments of the Lost is a suspenseful, heart-in-your-throat read.

 

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

This article was originally published in the November 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

“His mother asked me to do this, because she said it wasn’t something a mother should ever have to do.” And so 17-year-old Jessa Whitworth finds herself packing up the belongings of her dead ex-boyfriend, Caleb.

YA NonfictionYATrue Crime

American crime story

Review by Jon Little

In this true story of two teenagers from different sides of Oakland, California, and the bus ride that leaves one of them severely burned and the other facing criminal charges, award-winning journalist and author Dashka Slater chips away at the binaries that frame our understanding of the world.

No simple morality tale and far more than a legal thriller, The 57 Bus is a genre-bending book that reveals the tangled complexities of gender, race, crime and justice in modern-day America.

Sasha, a white genderqueer high school student, was wearing a skirt on the bus when Richard, a black student from a struggling neighborhood, set Sasha’s skirt on fire. The genre-bending story that follows is no simple morality tale, as it reveals the tangled complexities of gender, race, crime, justice and hope in America. Bird’s-eye views of Oakland and official statistics are spliced together with instant messages, social media posts and other primary sources. Emphasizing the interconnected nature of humanity, Slater reveals her characters and their web of relationships with deftness and fluidity.

The 57 Bus will be on year-end lists, but not for its technical accomplishments alone. It will be there because it does what all great books do—reveals our world to us anew.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Dashka Slater about The 57 Bus.

This article was originally published in the November 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In this true story of two teenagers from different sides of Oakland, California, and the bus ride that leaves one of them severely burned and the other facing criminal charges, award-winning journalist and author Dashka Slater chips away at the binaries that frame our understanding of the world.

Science Fiction & FantasyYA FictionYAScience Fiction

We could be heroes

Review by Sarah Welch

Years ago, when society was overrun by bands of anarchists and supervillains, the Renegades—a group of prodigies with superhuman abilities—emerged to reclaim peace and justice. But by then, their broken promises had cost Nova her family, and she’s spent her entire life training to exact revenge. But when Nova gets to know her enemies (in particular, Adrian, a Renegade boy her own age), she begins to suspect that justice isn’t as black and white as it once seemed.

Marissa Meyer, bestselling author of the fairy tale-inspired Lunar Chronicles series, is sure to please both her die-hard fans and newcomers alike with Renegades. Borrowing heavily from established superhero lore, Meyer has created a society that is utterly reliant on the Renegades to keep them safe from harm—of the everyday and prodigious varieties. Though some of her supporting characters feel a bit derivative, Meyer has done a remarkable job flipping the hero-versus-villain trope on its head and blurring the lines between good and evil. Nova and Adrian should be mortal enemies, but through their seamlessly alternating points of view, Meyer lets readers watch as they form an unlikely friendship and begin to question everything they’ve grown up believing.

The twists and turns in this supercharged story will keep readers on their toes as they try to untangle the complex lines between hero and villain, friend and foe, right and wrong.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Marissa Meyer, bestselling author of the fairy tale-inspired Lunar Chronicles series, is sure to please both her die-hard fans and newcomers alike with Renegades.

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