I crave books

The audio version of this was recommended by a friend, and I was enjoying it so much that I pulled the book off the shelf to finish it.

This a young adult novel focusing on the family secrets of 17-year-old Odella. Mistik Lake is where her mother grew up and where her family has a summer cabin. This is a novel of family secrets, sisterhood and falling in love. It’s a typical YA problem novel, and packs in pretty much every issue imaginable, but it’s handled well and is believable. The narration shifts from Odella, to her great aunt and to her love interest Jimmy. Normally I don’t like this switching of perspectives, but this was done quite well.

This is a sparse lyrical story. The audio book was well done - the narrator had excellent skills in differentiating the various character voices.

Wow. What a great, short, ya novel.

18 year old Michael Kerrigan is ready for the spring of his senior year. This is his spring to go all the way in track and field. And then it’s off to college and out of Scranton. He’s working at the Scranton Observer in order to get experience before he writes his great American novel. But then during a weekend raid, four joints are found in his locker. And he’s faced with a choice - expulsion from high school or ratting out his childhood friend.

A quick read, great tight prose, and an interesting dilemma. Also a great example of how we can be knocked down but how to get back up. This is also about telling the truth - your truth, not what people sometimes make up as the truth. All in all an excellent novel.

Kate and her mother recently moved to Maine so her mom can help run her great aunt’s bed and breakfast. Kate uses this fresh start to join the cross country team and visit a non-denominational Christian Church instead of the Church of the Holy Divine, which has influenced every aspect of her life.

This YA novel covers a lot of ground including religion, friendship, sexual orientation and first love; however it’s quite realistic and believable as Kate discovers her own way in the world.

I enjoyed Kate’s character and her development from finding a friend to learning what she believes about religion. After her mom removes all of her books (due to religious beliefs) Kate memorizes passages and they’re interspersed in the second part of the narrative which is pretty cool.

Also, at the end there’s an author’s note saying that the Church of the Holy Divine is based on her experiences with a restrictive church, so that made the book more credible to me.

Sixteen year old Audrey decides to break up with her boyfriend, who happens to be the lead singer in a local band. The last thing she hears as she leaves his house is him calling, “Audrey, wait.” The next week at a local club, the band debuts its new song, “Audrey, Wait!” about their break-up. It’s a catchy pop tune and soon the local college station is playing and then it gets picked up nationally. And Audrey’s life is turned upside down by the media attention she gets. This is “her” side of the story. And it’s written in a fun breezy voice, and for anyone who enjoys music - they’ll enjoy Audrey.

Another fun thing is the song lyrics that begin each chapter. And the ending is awesome. Audrey is smart, sarcastic and very likable.

So don’t wait - read “Audrey, wait!”

A great quick YA read. Told from multiple perspectives, Holdup details a robbery at Burger Heaven in four parts. First you read about the Saturday shift workers, second the planning by the robbers, then the robbery and finally a follow up one year later.

It’s a fascinating little book and would be great for discussion. Despite the nine different main characters, each character is complete and complex.

At 163 pages it’s a perfect read for a summer day, as the action moves steadily along and you want to find out what happens to each character.

Finally a YA novel! I know it’s been awhile.

18 year old Indigo works as a waitress in a downtown Seattle diner and lives with her mom, brother and sister. She’s a free soul who doesn’t want to attend college and is happier tooling around in her boyfriend’s renovated Mustang, Bob Weaver. Then Indigo receives a $2.5 million tip. Will the money change her?

I was thoroughly charmed by Indigo. The one silly thing was her absolute revulsion at cigarettes, which I thought odd at first, but then turned into a major plot device.

Also this paragraph stuck with me: “He put his arms around me. . .Because that’s what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you’re not so lovable. And right there I learn something very simple and fundamental about love. That it is there or it is not there. That some of biggest troubles probably come when we try to convince ourselves it is there when it isn’t, or that it isn’t there when it is.” (pg. 292)

This was my YA read for the week. I’ve been traveling for work so not much time for reading lately. I picked this slim book to keep me occupied, and was actually quite disappointed. This was billed as a mystery. Set in Britain. Immediately after 16 year old Scarlett’s first kiss, the object of her affection, Dan, mysteriously falls to the floor and dies. Scarlett must transfer out of her posh girls school, to the school her grandmother runs. A mysterious note (which I found implausible) spurs Scarlett to investigate Dan’s death. And right when she discovers an important clue, the novel ends (at 260 pages). Did the publisher forget the last 40 pages? Or is Ms. Henderson writing a series and wants to keep readers riveted? Either way I was incredibly disappointed with this novel. I wasn’t vested enough in Scarlett, (although I was interested in a secondary character and wanted to know more) and I found the mystery element to be completely lacking and not engaging or plausible.

So it’s been awhile since I read a dud. I guess it was time. Perhaps now I need to create a not recommended category?

A short little YA novel this week. Only 150 pages - done in 2 hours! (of course that was from 11pm to 1 am - so not the best time and another night spent up late with books).

Alice is a sophomore and her best friend is Jewel. Both Jewel and Alice are artistic, and he is king of the art crowd. Then (out of the blue to Alice) Simon starts hanging out with Alice and quickly they’re boyfriend and girlfriend and there’s not room for both Jewel & Simon in Alice’s life.

This was a great story of love and friendship, especially first love. I totally related to Alice and her desire to no longer be invisible and have friends. I thought the characters were well drawn and realistic. Just a fun little tale.  A fun little subplot involves Alice learning glassblowing. Very cool stuff.

I’ve been on a Sarah Dessen kick, since I read That Summer last week. And last weekend How to Deal, which is based on That Summer and Someone Like You was on Lifetime, so I watched it. I must say I liked this book better than That Summer, which isn’t too surprising, as That Summer was her first novel. This book reminds me more of Just Listen and her other great books.

Plot summary: Halley and Scarlett are best friends. Halley is the quiet one, and Scarlett is the brave one. Then, Scarlett’s boyfriend is killed at the beginning of their junior year, leaving behind a pregnant Scarlett, and for the first time ever Scarlett really needs Halley. There’s two interesting secondary plots revolving around Halley’s relationship with her mother and Halley’s relationship with bad boy Macon.

This was a great read. I appreciated Halley’s struggle as the “good girl” who wants to skip school and do things with bad boy Macon, and the relationship she has with her mother is an excellent portrayal of the difficulty mothers and daughters face in the teen-age years. The friendship between Halley and Scarlett is also accurate. All in all another winner from Sarah Dessen.

Here’s my YA book of the week. 17 year old Sugar Magnolia Dempsey, “Maggie,” is tired of leaving friends behind every time her hippie parents decide to move, but her plans to be unpopular at her new Austin, TX high school backfires when other students join her on the path to supreme dorkdom.

This was an ok book, a bit on the long side (337 pages), but I did enjoy the “anti-popularity” tips which began each chapter. Maggie spends too much time obsessing about the boyfriend she left behind (who dumps her), and how her life isn’t fair. That bit gets old by page 150, when Maggie is meeting some fun and really interesting people (dorks, though).

My favorite part comes on page 121, at the first meeting of the “Helping Hands Club” which Maggie joins, hoping to associate with dorks and also get a good letter of recommendation for college. Here’s the scene I love: ‘Frank thinks you look like Galadriel, only with darker hair.’ ’Oh. . .’ I smile vaguely, unable to place the name, although it does sound familiar. The twins notice my confusion. ‘You know,’ Frank prompts. ‘Lady Galadriel? Ruler of the Elves?’”

Since Galadriel is my middle name, I got a huge kick out of this. Some of the other, dare I say, dorkier references to Star Trek and other fantasy/sci-fi things went over my head.

Anyway, after spending 300 pages watching Maggie screw up you only get 30 pages in which she magically solves her problems and gets the happy ending. So that was a bit disappointing. I guess I’m just feeling lukewarm about this novel.