Giraffes

I loved this story. I loved Jane and her innocent and confused and grief-stricken voice. I loved the clumsy father. I loved the crazy rose lady who helped Jane express herself through photography. And I loved the fact that this is not a book about eating disorders, but about the sister left behind. She's the forgotten sister and the one who suffers in silence.

AND, there is a cameo by my favorite giraffe! He lived in the Santa Barbara Zoo and had a kink in his neck. I used to visit him all the time when I was a kid. He died recently. :(

Sick and Reading

I read FOUR books this weekend. I was sick and trying to stay as still as possible and so I channeled Ms. Alissa and sat my ass down and read. :)



First, I read Fat Cat by Robin Brande. I loved Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature, but this one was a little off the mark for me. I liked the general idea of looking at body image and health through the lens of science, but in the end, I thought the message got swallowed by the inevitable romance. Why can't fat girls decide that they don't need boys to be happy?!? Anyway, it's a fun read for someone who likes high school drama romances.






Then, because I was on the body image theme, I picked up Purge. I haven't read many teen novels specifically about bulimia. It seems like authors stick to anorexia... or am I missing something?

Anyway, I thought this was a pretty good portrayal of a complex eating disorder. Because it takes place in a hospital, the author is able to brake down some stereotypes about eating disorders and gender, etc. I especially liked the fact that the parents had breakthroughs of their own. While it wasn't as beautifully written as Winter Girls, it was still a decent novel about an important topic.






After all that girl drama, I picked up Ostrich Boys. I LOVED this story. How often do we get to look into the murky world of grieving boys? Never. This is a great exploration of the confusion and guilt and anger that goes along with the grief of losing a best friend. The end is neither neat nor sappy, but it definitely does the job. I suspect that a lot of boys will pick this one up because it's a great adventure story about 3 goofy 15 year olds on a haphazard roadtrip. But the deeper messages about friendship will get through.






Ok, so this one is short... and that's the best thing I can say about it. I know it will appeal to reluctant readers because it's about teen pregnancy and it can be read in an afternoon. But, I found the tone to be lacking. This story is written in verse like Ellen Hopkins wildly popular novels. While Hopkins really delves into the angst and pain of these tough issues, I felt like this one just grazed the surface. It almost glorified teen pregnancy which did NOT make me happy.

I mean, it's nice to see a story about a kid who ends up having the baby and being ok with it, but I really wanted to see more.

definitely skippable.

Almost Perfect

So I have to admit that I stayed up WAY too late last night to finish this book. It was totally worth it. I loved it! Of course, I sobbed through the last 20 pages, but still. This is an incredibly realistic and heartfelt story.

Oh, teen lit, how you love to make me cry

I'm on a roll here with the depressing books. So I figured it might be cathartic to display it all here for you

After was stunning. Amazing. Painful. Horrifying. How can you love a book like this? I have no idea, but I did.

And then I was depressed for an entire day..

Next I picked up By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead. I mean, what did I expect from that title?

Julie Anne Peters has, once again, outdone herself. How do you make a suicide book suspenseful? She did. I *hate* the cover but the inside look at the camaraderie on suicide chatboards was stunning and haunting. The one thing I'm not sure about was the end. I mean, I loved it, but it was so open. Did I assume she died just because I'm a cynical adult? Is there another way to see it? I need to talk to some kids about it.

Then I picked up an ARC of Carol Williams Lynch's new book Glimmer. HOLY CRAP. That book ate me up. I'm not usually a fan of blank verse books, but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It was really horrifying and suspenseful and even though I kind of knew what was happening, I couldn't tear myself away. It was a really touching portrait of sisters and the guilt of survival.

My latest depressing read was actually not that depressing.

I heart Jordan Sonnenblick. Seriously. Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie was one of the funniest, most heart-breaking and wonderful books I've ever read. Well, his continuation of that story in After Ever After is even better. WOW. I loved reading the next chapter of Jeffrey's life. Once he goes into remission, what next? He's a teenager and he has to figure himself out... side effects of treatment and all. I'm still sniffling. A MUST read.

When You Reach Me

Ok, someone has to help me out here.  I didn't see the appeal of this one.  At all.  I know there's serious Newbery buzz about it and I just fail to see the greatness of this book.  Other than the Madeline L'Engle references I thought it was kind of lame.  Plus, it just didn't seem young enough for Newbery.  Meh.  I just want to know what people see in this one.

Going Bovine

Ok, so I finally finished this one and I just have one thing to say...

Libba Bray is on some serious drugs.  

Whoa.

Where does that woman come up with this stuff?!

2009 Top Ten Lists

Everybody and their uncle has a 2009 Best Teen Books list right now, and occasionally there’s a list for the decade. Which makes it our turn, right? But with the possible exception of Alissa, I’m guessing none of us limited our reading to only things published in 2009, so instead I’ll ask: what were your favorite reads this year, regardless of when they were published?

Mine, in no particular order:

• Paper Towns, John Green
• Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan
• When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead (I smell Newbery on this one)
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta
• Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson

A second question: what books were you most looking forward to in 2009, and did they meet your expectations? Catching Fire was everything I wanted and more, but I’ve been working on Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan for two weeks and I’m barely 100 pages in—it reads so much younger than I’d expected it to, and the world setting he’s created doesn’t feel as true as the world of Uglies, or even his Midnighters series. The characters aren't grabbing me and the plot (so far) isn't radically original.

So: what were your favorites this year? What disappointed? What are you really really really excited for for 2010?