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A Librarian Reads The Fault In Our Stars

Monday, February 6th, 2012

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Hazel has terminal cancer, except the terminal part has been put on hiatus due to an experimental drug. Now her body and her cancer have created a status quo where Hazel is continuously sick but won’t die immediately. Her cancer is in her lungs so she carries an oxygen tank with her and wears that plastic tubing that goes up her nose. Not being able to fully breathe she must stop every so often when walking to catch her breath. Also, her lungs collect fluid which sometimes needs to be drained. Her biggest goal in life is to somehow minimize the grief that she will leave her family once she dies.

But one day she meets Augustus at a cancer support group. He has lost a leg to his cancer and is in remission. He only attended to support his friend Isaac who is about to lose another eye to cancer and so will soon be blind.

Augustus and Hazel hit it off and begin a whirlwind romance, or as much as one that two products of cancer can manage. Hazel quickly gets Augustus hooked on her favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction, which is the lone novel written by an aloof author who has secluded himself away from the public. In between consoling Isaac after losing her vision, Augustus and Hazel jump from one life affirming and romantic moment to the next until it culminates into fulfilling Hazel’s dream of meeting the author of An Imperial Affliction.

And this is where reality sets in for the couple. The things with which you have the highest expectations for often let you down and life never turns out the way you hope. Life still has a few curve balls for Hazel. And this is where life really begins to start for Augustus and Hazel; on that downward slope after a peak, leading to an inevitable end.

The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful book about life, death, cancer, grief, and romance. The only fault in the book is that sometimes Augustus and Hazel suffer from Green’s hyperrealistic narrative style. Everything is infused with emotion and the teens are both extremely intelligent and incredibly witty. Dialog between the two characters is a joy to read yet falls within that uncanny valley where the characters become unrealistic because they strive to be too realistic. Despite this nitpicking this is an extremely enjoyable book. I highly recommended it for all readers ages 14 and up.

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The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills: A Review by Erica

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson

3 Stars

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I went into it expecting a typical teen drama, but the author took what could have been cliché and gave it a fresh and amusing twist.

We follow our protagonist, Janice Wills, as she navigates the tricky waters of high school social life in her small town. Rather nerdy and introverted, she has chosen to avoid the pitfalls of cliques by observing her classmates with the detachment of an anthropologist. Her comments are somewhat sarcastic and amusing, and are not without the tint of disdain despite Janice’s attempts to be objective. She describes her interactions with the “mean girls” as encounters with “the enemy tribe” and the text is peppered with deviations from the plot as anthropological factoids about the residents of Melva.

Janice’s life is going along swimmingly, between her fervor for anthropology and two close, supportive friends, but then life throws a couple curveballs. Her mother is wild for her to take part in the “Miss Livermush Pageant”, the local beauty pageant that everyone who is anyone competes in. And the “Hot Theater Guy” begins paying attention to her. Janice just might have to interact with life rather than simply observe.

The author does an excellent job of affirming, subverting, and playfully mocking high school stereotypes. Janice even comments that the “mean girls” of the school seem to have taken their behavior and fashion sense from a cliché high school movie. Yet Janice, her friends, and many others are shown to be far more than what one sees on the surface, and it is this that makes Janice herself such a likable, if eccentric, protagonist.

This was an enjoyable and quick read with a good if somewhat obvious point about truly living life. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different sort of “high school” book.

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A Librarian Reads Forbidden

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Lochan and Maya are eldest of five siblings. Lochan is seventeen and is close to graduating high school. Maya is a year behind him. When they were young their father abandoned their family and ever since then their mother has relied more and more on alcohol. Lochan has tried to be the man of the house and look after his three younger siblings. He relies heavily on Maya for help and as a team they are pretty successful. Unfortunately their mother has started a dating a new guy and she is drinking and partying now more than ever. Their mother would usually only be gone for a night or two, but has now ceased coming home at all. Lochan and Maya are thrust into the roles of parents for their younger siblings now more than ever.

Lochan and Maya are suffering from many symptoms of abandonment and child abuse: guilt, depression, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility; that they can keep their family together through sheer force of will. They also suffer from one more symptom: the need for a escape, a place where their hopes and dreams of a better life can run wild. Unfortunately they have no time for themselves. On top of their own schoolwork they need to help the younger siblings with theirs. They need to cook, to clean, buy groceries, and get the kids to bed on time.

All the realities of parenthood weigh heavily on their shoulders. At least they have each other as best friends to see them through. But recently there has been lingering glances, and the holding of hands. If Lochan and Maya are acting like the family’s parents, why can’t they be the parents? They begin to feel their only release from the pressures of life is each other and soon they believe they are falling in love with one another. They know that incest is a taboo and illegal, but their hormones and life situation seem to be forcing them into each others’ arms. They also know that their love won’t end well and that there won’t be a happy ending, but their love is the only escape from their lives they have.

As readers we know that Lochan and Maya are doomed from the start, but sometimes people have to learn the hard way that you cannot do everything by yourself, and that by clinging to the pieces of a broken home you only make things worse. Through all of the troubles Lochan and Maya face as they try to stay afloat in life you know they have the best of intentions. But in the world good intentions are not always enough and sometimes they can have disastrous results. Lochan and Maya start down a road of tragedy, forbidden by their responsibilities and depression to find any other way out.

Forbidden is a very well written book that is about the effects of children being left to fend on their own. Within that context it also deals with the taboo of incest, but is mostly used as a plot twist to depict how out of hand life becomes for their family.Readers who come from rough home lives may identify with Lochan and Maya’s feelings of guilt and responsibility. The book does have frequent swearing and a few depictions of physical intimacy. It is appropriate for mature readers 16 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Frankie Landau-Banks

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie is a sophomore at an elite boarding school called Alabaster. Her father went to Alabaster and is still friends with his high school companions to this very day. They help each other get jobs, promotions, and most of all money. Frankie’s father claims that Alabaster is where she will learn how the world works. But all Frankie can see is that Alabaster is where young white men with money become old white men with even more money. How does she as a female fit into that world?

One example of the male centric attitude at Alabaster is a secret society that Frankie’s father used to belong to: The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. It’s a male only club that pulls pranks, but also is made up of the most influential male upperclassmen of Alabaster. These are the future businessmen, lawyers, and politicians; those who could most impact the world.

But Frankie can’t join because she is a woman. What is worse is that the Order wouldn’t even conceive of letting women be a part of it. It just so happens that  Frankie’s new boyfriend is the leader of the current Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. But what is better is that she discovers that the order has lost the Order’s journal that details its notorious history.

Frankie decides then what she will do. She will find the Order’s journal, and then covertly take over the Order through an anonymous email address. Then with the Order’s help she hopes to pull off the best school prank that Alabaster has seen in decades. Then she can prove that she is just as good as any man.

Except Frankie gets carried away with proving herself. What is she really after? And once the pranks start piling up who will take the blame? Is Frankie willing to betray her friends, boyfriend, and the school just to make a point? Does Frankie even know what point she is making? Or has she just fallen to the basest of motivations: revenge?

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is an amazingly entertaining and thought provoking book. It is highly recommended and appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads The Mermaid’s Mirror

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

The Mermaid’s Mirror by L.K. Madigan

Lena just turned sixteen, has a boyfriend, and is in love with the ocean; everything a Pacific Coast girl could want. But something is changing within her. Lena finds herself sleepwalking to the beach in the middle of the night. When she looks at waves she gets lost in their hypnotic rhythm. She may even be hearing voices whispering her name.

Lena thinks she is going crazy. She even stats looking for more ways to spend time in the ocean, such as learning to surf. Her father has always forbidden her to surf because of an old accident he had years ago. He is so scared of the ocean he won’t even go near the beach. By defying her father’s wishes Lena  will not only learn to surf but discover a secret about her biological mother who died when Lena was still young.

Once the secret is out Lena must choose who she is and where she belongs, because under the tide there is a song that calls to her. If she is brave enough, Lena will discover what she would sacrifice for those she loves. But will she be able to live her life afterwards?

The Mermaid’s Mirror is a wonderful story about family and growing up. It is highly recommended and appropriate for all ages.

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