Bad Kitty

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe young adult fiction This is NOT "Bad Kitty" by Nick Bruel. True Confessions time: I accidentally checked out this book and its sequel when I thought I was getting on hold for some books by Nick Bruel. Nick Bruel writes silly, illustrated cat books for elementary school readers. I accidentally read book 2 before this book (1). In this book we are introduced to ultra-hip Jasmine, teenage detective, and her crime solving friends. Jaz and family vacation in Las Vegas where she (literally) stumbles onto a mystery. Who is terrorizing a celebrity, her son, and their three legged cat? Can they trust the Russian and the bartender? Wacky fun ensues. This book is full of cultural references, contemporary language, and slang. If someone were to try to read this 50 years from now, they would have a hard time following all the references. Even someone reading it today may not be immersed enough in "teenspeak" to understand all the references. Good thing the author gives us some footnotes on many pages.

Kitty Kitty

Kitty Kitty by Michele Jaffe Young Adult Mystery Jasmine is the coolest, hippest teen around. She is a modern day Nancy Drew, except when she is stuck wearing a squirrel costume in Italy. This is a hilarious, smart-alecky book filled with today's slang, instant messaging, etc. Since I am not a young adult, it took me a while to get some of her put-downs. Did I mention that cats absolutely adore her? This is probably a good book for a reluctant reader as the 17 year old character is full of angst against her father, fashion conscious, and perky.

Croak

Croak 1 by Gina Damico Young Adult Fantasy Fiction Lexington is a disgruntled teenager. Actually, it is worse than that. She has a big chip on her shoulder, but no one can say why. She is sent to live with her biker uncle to straighten her out. It turns out that he is the Grim Reaper! One of the grim reapers, anyway. The reapers' job (of course) is to take the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Lex becomes a reapers' apprentice. This is the job she was meant to do. This is a smart alecky book with a nod to classical mythology. Since the author called it "Croak 1" it is obvious that this is book one in a trilogy or longer.

Going Underground

Going Underground
by
Susan Vaught
young adult contemporary fiction

I might not be the most up to date on what teenagers are up to these days, but Susan Vaught is. I would not have even thought of the plot of this story. A 14 year old and his 13 year old girlfriend are understandably curious about sex. They engage in some petting and they take photographs of themselves naked. They then send the pictures over their cellular telephones to each other - sexting.
Because of a wrinkle in a state law, even though the children are close in age, the boy is charged with rape, and producing and distributing child pornography. He will also be labelled a sex offender for the rest of his life. He is not allowed to socialize with children and a number of other restrictions. Everything about his future seems to be restricted. The only adult that even gives him a chance is a drunken cemetery keeper!
The book certainly brings up a number of ethical questions about the way that well meaning representatives may pass laws that don't work out the way they intended.
I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to a 13 year old, but others might. I recommend that this book be on a college reading list for an ethics or law class. It also could be the subject of an adult book discussion or for a reading circle for parents of teenagers, especially if those parents, like I, have never given the idea of sexting a thought.

Maze

Maze
by
Will Hobbs
book on compact disc
Narrated by Ed Sala
children/young adult adventure fiction

An orphaned boy has troubles with foster parents and the group homes he has been in. He runs away from a detention facility and ends up in the middle of a desert area in the western U. S. There he befriends a biologist who is monitoring and nursing some California condors that have been released into the wild. An unlikely friendship forms. Of course, there have to be some bad guys, so there are two arms smugglers who want to use this desert wasteland as their storage facility and don't want any pesky kids or condors to ruin it for them. There is also some hanggliding.
Overall, it is a good adventure story. Ed Sala's voice lends mature, full narration.

Midnight Palace

Midnight Palace
Palacio de la Medianoche
by
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated by Lucia Graves
Young Adult Horror fiction

This author has had books on the New York Times bestseller list and has one a number of awards, but I found this book to be somewhat disjointed and at least a little confusing. Maybe this is because of the translation, but my guess is that this is not the author's finest work, either.
In 1916 Calcutta, a pair of twins are separated at birth to keep them safe from their father's foe who seeks to murder them. The boy is raised in an orphanage. The girl is raised by their grandmother on the run throughout India. Fast forward to 1932 when circumstances reunite the twins.
The menace still exists and starts to stalk the 16 year olds and the grandmother. As the tale progresses we find out about their father and his brilliant scientific mind and a tragedy that lead to the death of 365 orphans back in 1916. Through a curse, the ghost of their father's foe continues to incinerate parts of Calcutta as he exacts revenge on the family. The author points out that Calcutta is named for Kali, the black one, the goddess of destruction.
Some parts of this book were quite interesting, but it lacked in overall appeal.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
by
Laura Amy Schlitz and a full cast of narrators
children/young adult fiction
audiobook on compact disc

An English village in the middle ages is the setting of this series of vignettes. In the introduction the author explains that she wanted to be able to get across the feel of the time to her students who might not be too fond of history class. Each monologue is a voice from the village. In between the sets are musical interludes and explanations. The book won the Newbery Medal but my guess is that is it even better as an audiobook.
The text, the voices, and the music all come together to form an excellent listening experience. I highly recommend this for middle school, high school, college, and public library collections. I hope that many teachers will discover this teaching tool.

Words in the Dust

Words in the Dust
by
Trent Reedy
YA fiction

Inspired by events that happened to the author when he was stationed in Afghanistan this book is contemporary and highly readable. Zulaikha is an Afghan girl with a birth defect - a cleft lip. This makes eating and talking difficult for her, but most importantly, it affects her marriageability. She is mocked by the village boys and her family is not so sure what her future will hold. The American soldiers notice her one day and come up with a plan to have the American doctors help her. Will her dreams of a normal life come true? Is it too much for a poor girl to dream?

The author ties in all kinds of facts about current life in Afghanistan and references to the past that made the country what it is today. Another theme that runs throughout is the role of women in society, the love of poetry that Afghans have traditionally held, the aftermath of war, the lack of literacy among the young people, and many more discussable topics.

It reminds me of "Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind" but more up to date.

The publisher has included a glossary, which was very helpful. There were many words that the author used that were rather foreign. There is also a discussion with the author, a bibliography of other books about Afghanistan, and a note about the poetry that is referenced in the book.

This book deserves to go on a number of reading lists - books for teenaged girls, books about current events, books about the role of women, books about world culture, etc.

It is touching that the author says that the best person to write this would be an Afghan woman, but the literacy rate among females in that part of Afghanistan is only about 1 %. Heartbreaking! The author is donating money to a charity that supports the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and there is also a link to a group that starts and runs schools for girls in central Asia.

Reading this book reminds me how grateful I need to be that I am an American woman instead of a poor, illiterate Afghani.

Wither: The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Wither: The Chemical Garden Trilogy
by
Lauren DeStefano
young adult/adult science fiction/romance

Sixteen year old Rhine lives in a society after a great catastrophe. Scientists had figured out how to engineer embryos to live long lives and be perfect human beings, but something went dreadfully wrong and now women only live to be 20 and men only live to be 25. In addition, the world's land has been wiped out except for the U.S.A.
Rhine is living a meager existence with her brother when she is kidnapped and forced to marry a rich architect. Will Rhine resign herself to a life of relative luxury, but with a lack of freedom or will she try to escape?
This story is well told and suspenseful, but the science behind it is definitely lacking. There is some kind of mention of a virus causing people to die, but this doesn't make sense. Is it genetic or a virus? Also, it doesn't make sense that the world except the U. S. A. would be underwater. Elevations of land vary greatly across the globe. As far as I know North America is not the highest continent above sea level.
If we suspend the science part, this is a good tragic romance, teen angst tale. I am waiting for the 2nd and 3rd books to come out since a lot of things are left unresolved at the end of book 1.
The cover and interior design are clever - alluding to genetic tables with the headers, footers, and chapter marks.
The title of the series isn't very appealing. Who came up with "Chemical Garden Trilogy"?

Book Thief

Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak
Young Adult/Adult Historical Fiction

I wasn't thrilled to read yet another World War II book (Yawn, aren't there enough of these already)? This was a pretty good book, however.
A girl is in a foster home in Nazi Germany. Her father is unknown and her mother has been accused of being a Communist. Times are tough with food shortages and poverty abounding. Liesel witnesses the deportation of Jews and experiences bombings on her village. She encounters a number of memorable characters as she grows up and becomes part of the Bund Deutscher Mädel, or League of German Girls. Along the way she and her friends take to stealing apples and other things we today take for granted, like books. There are some great book burning scenes, but I won't ruin them for you by telling you too much.
Highly reviewed by many, many sources. Winner of many awards.
It was hard to figure out this book at first and I almost gave up on it a number of times during the first 30 pages, but then it got less confusing. The unusual point of view of the book is first person from the view of a personification of Death. Death tells the story about how Liesel eludes him at many turns where others are taken into his grasp.

Dry Grass of August

Dry Grass of August
by
Anna Jean Mayhew
Young Adult or Adult Historical Fiction

Jubie is a Southern 13 year old in 1954. Her family travels through the South on summer vacation with their "girl" the "mammy", Mary. All kinds of awkward situations arise with segregated hotels, beaches, restaurants, gas stations, etc.
I think the publisher probably saw the popularity of "The Help" and tried to find a book that would appeal to the same population.
I was reading this and a 7 year old girl became fascinated with the cover: It has butterflies coming out of a jar. The cover drew her in and made her ask about it.
Not as substantial as similar books, but the ending gets pretty serious.
Overall it was a pretty good read for teen and adult females.

Incarceron

Incarceron
by
Catherine Fisher
YA/Adult fantasy/science fiction
Times (of London) Children's Book of the Year

This is a full length novel (442 pages) with adult themes (court life, marriage, criminology), so I am surprised to see that it won a children's book award. I suppose it could be enjoyed by 15-18 year olds as well as adults, but if I had not seen that it was in our library's YA section (with the unicorn sticker indicating fantasy) and that it had won a children's book award I would have assumed that the target audience was adults. There is some violence and gore in the book, but it is not overdone or gratuitous. It makes sense in describing the physical conditions under which people are living.
The premise is that society has had enough of the criminal element and the negative influence of technology. It is decreed that people will return to a less complicated, more primitive existence. They re-created a medieval/renaissance world (although everyone knows that people cheat all the time with hidden technology). They banish their criminals to a new land - Incarceron. But the criminals are to be treated kindly and given food and education in a utopian setting. Something goes wrong, however, and the computer program set up to run Incarceron instead punishes the inhabitants of its world and resources become more and more scarce.
The story is told through the eyes of the prison Warden's daughter who is soon to marry the Prince of the outside world. What will she find out about Incarceron and what can she do about it?

Something Like Hope

Something Like Hope
by
Shawn Goodman
YA fiction

Shavonne has had a rough life. Her mother did not adequately care for her. She was essentially on her own by about age 9. Shavonne had a child while in jail. Is there anything like hope for someone like this? A new psychologist in the jail challenges her assumptions about life and gets her to thinking about what she will do once she turns 18. This is a bleak, realistic novel that does not sugar coat the consequences of a teen landing in jail. This book would be a good conversation starter for teens and the adults who care about them (parents, teachers, psychologists, police, etc).

Author Shawn Goodman has worked as a psychologist in a girls' juvenile justice facility and he draws on his experiences to paint a picture of contemporary life.

I recommend this book for public and high school libraries.

Plain Kate

Plain Kate
by
Erin Bow

This book was not what I expected. I received a newsletter saying that it was a good teen fantasy read. It won a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults at the 2011 ALA Midwinter conference. It is published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic.
When I checked the book out, the cover had a unicorn sticker on it and it was in the YA fantasy fiction section. The image on the cover of the book is of a girl and her cat on a roof of some pre-1900 city.

A) I read the book and don't remember her walking on any city roofs.
B) Most of the book is not set in a city, but in small villages and gypsy camps.
C) This is not a cutesy unicorn book.
D) I would not call this a fantasy book but a horror book.

By the time I got 1/3 of the way through the book about an orphaned girl who can carve wonderful figure the book had clearly taken a turn into a horror book. There is black magic with lots of blood letting and nasty ghost/demons and a twisted warlock. The book is pretty well written, but I couldn't get past the wicked parts. I skim/read the last 2/3 of it to find out how it ended. There were some unexpected twists. It is an original work and the talking cat character is great, but it is more for the Twilight vampire crowd than for the "unicorn" reader and I would not recommend it to readers under the age of 16.

Fresh Air

Fresh Air
by
Charlotte Vale Allen

A reclusive website editor needs to break out of her routine. She gets an opportunity when an African American girl moves in next door as part of a summertime Fresh Air program for inner city children. She becomes good friends with the girl and the mother of the host family. In doing so, she faces her past - her childhood as the daughter of a famous actress, growing up without a father, and more. This is a very comfortable, nicely paced book.

Why Does the Coqui Sing?

Why Does the Coqui Sing?
by
Barbara Garland Polikoff
children/YA fiction

I had the privilege of traveling to Puerto Rico this year and I thought that in preparation I would read a book set in P. R. Thirteen year old Luz has grown up in Chicago, but her ancestors are from Puerto Rico and Italy. Her mother remarries a man from Puerto Rico and they move the family "home" to Puerto Rico. Luz is not too keen on moving to this strange land of which she has heard her whole life. She becomes reacquainted with her grandfather and other relatives, but still feels like a fish out of water. Slowly she learns what her family has known about the charm of Puerto Rico and she starts to feel a part of it like the tree frogs and the horses of the land.
This book had been discarded from my local library, so I left it in Puerto Rico for someone else to read. I home they enjoy it as I did.

Private

Private: a Novel
by
Kate Brian
YA Fiction

What will a poor girl on scholarship do to fit in with her preppy peers? Reed couldn't wait to get out of her home where her drunk mother and passive father are. The curriculum and interaction with the girls at Easton school is a dream come true. (By the way, Easton is the name of the school on "The Facts of Life", too).
Then Reed starts to see the downside of the school. To be with the in crowd she must decide if she wants to give up who she is to be someone new or be herself.

The book ends without complete closure, encouraging the reader to continue the series with the next book - "Invitation Only". Don't say I didn't warn you about the ending.

NoMANSland

NoMANSland
by
Lesley Hauge
young adult science fiction

Keller is a young woman who is learning her career. She is a border guard on an island after some kind of horrible disaster. Civilization has collapsed and humankind has ended up deformed and mutated. Somehow an island of strong women was shielded from this genetic catastrophe and has formed a closed society where only women may dwell. Hauge obviously has modeled the society after the mythical Amazons.
Men are not welcome on the island and they do not trade with the outsiders. New girls are added to the society by some kind of bringing of the Seed. We assume this is some kind of frozen sperm.
Not everyone embraces such a strict, conformist society and can the women continue on like this? Are changes in order? They are fearful that their pure society will end up perishing.
This is in the YA section of my library, but some parents may object to their children reading this kind of book. It is violent and cold blooded at times. The main character is rather rigid as she observes the world around her. She and her friends dabble with the forbidden concepts of friendship and femininity, but are largely repulsed by them.

Wednesday Wars

Wednesday Wars
by
Gary Schmidt
(This author has won the Newbery Honor award and the Printz Honor award)
young adult fiction


Holling is growing up in Long Island in 1967. He is a Protestant 7th grader in a class full of Catholics and Jews. On Wednesday afternoons the Jewish and Catholic kids all leave for Wednesday religious classes. Holling is the only one left in Mrs. Baker's English class. She has him takes on assignments reading Shakespeare. He is reluctant, but at first learns to love Shakespeare's curses and uses them under his breath. As time goes by he appreciates more about Shakespeare, even acting in a play.
Since he is in 7th grade, he is learning a lot about himself and who he wants to be. His older sister is a flower child. His father wants Holling to be an architect like he is. Holling doesn't know what he wants, but a girlfriend would be nice!
A colleague of mine recommended this book and said that it should have won the Newbery award instead of getting runner-up status.
This is the kind of book that English teachers and librarians love to recommend, but children don't always want to read. The year 1967 is before today's 7th graders were born, and even before many of their parents were born, so this book may need some "selling" on the part of adults getting students to read it.
Once they do crack this book open, however, they will find that some thinks about 7th grade remain the same - the jokester in class, the awkwardness, the "what-if" of early adolescence, and more. In constrast, some aspects of this book are very 1967 - hippies, atomic bomb drills, and the Vietnam conflict. I can see that an essay would compare and contrast 1967's hippies with today's Goths, atomic bomb drills with today's lockdowns, and the Vietnam conflict with today's Afghanistan and Iraq.

Red Glass

Red Glass
by
Laura Resau
young adult fiction
James Cook Book Award Honorable Book

Teenager Sophie lives a comfortable life with her mother and stepfather and eccentric great aunt. One day, unexpectedly, a Mexican boy whose mother died in border crossing comes into their family. Can Sophie put her neurotic selfishness aside to help Pablo recover from this tragedy? Aunt Dika, a refugee from Bosnia welcomes Pablo and an extended family, not related by blood but by love and circumstances is born.
This book would make for a good YA book discussion selection.