The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner
I was really blown away by the raw power of this book. Diary of a Teenage Girl is about a young girl named Minnie growing up in 1970’s San Francisco. It is written in a diary format that also includes cartoons, much like a graphic novel, that also tell the story. Minnie comes from a broken home and has no positive role models in her life. Feeling unloved and unwanted she turns to sex and drugs to fill the void in her life. This could easily turn into a cliche, but it is Minnie’s distinctive voice and the incredible artwork that lifts the material so it becomes a truly powerful story. Throughout the story Minnie battles with depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse (by a family member and a friend), and drug abuse.
Because of the subject matter, this book is appropriate for teens that are 16 and older. It should be of interest to anyone who is into alternative and underground comics, coming of age stories, or has a connection to the subject matter. Highly recommended.
September 22nd, 2008
My Summer On Earth by Tom Lombardi
Before I begin my review I would like to let you know that this book has a large amount of foul language, frank discussions of sex, nudity, and crass humor. This book is intended for young adults who are 16 or older and who are not put off by the previously mentioned items. With that out of the way, I really enjoyed the book and found it extremely funny, and think it would be great for reluctant older male readers.
The main character of My Summer On Earth is Clint Eastwood. Well, it’s actually a “human suit” created by a race of incorporeal aliens to resemble a 16 year old Clint Eastwood, and sent down to Earth to be worn by one of their own adolescent beings. Clint’s mission is to find an alien previously sent to earth who has become a world famous movie star. Unfortunately, Clint’s superiors failed to teach him how to use the suit, or anything about human culture. He finds a friend in 15 year old Zoë, who has run away from home and crashes either with friends or on the beach. Clint also befriends Kip, an older homeless man with a heroin addiction. As a self-focused teen Clint quickly becomes sidetracked by the me-first culture of Southern California. There are many things Clint wants to do, other than his mission (his foremost concern is human lovemaking). Once he finds the alien movie star, he is introduced to Hollywood. The gleam of So Cal life soon becomes tarnished, and Clint discovers just how hard it is to be human.
I loved this book. It was very funny and read very quickly. Because of the adult content it is appropriate for older readers (16+). It would work really well for males who are reluctant readers. The sci-fi aspect is just a MacGuffin for a fish out of water story, and to satirize life in the 21st century. It’s also a coming of age tale where a young man, focused solely on his own pleasure, begins to genuinely care for those immediately around him, and then for all people. The book mainly focuses on its humor but the message is definitely there, it just doesn’t hit you in the face.
August 18th, 2008
Puddlejumpers by Mark jean & Christopher C. Carlson
Wow, I really enjoyed this book. This is definitely one of the better books I have read this year. It reminds me a lot of of a really good bedtime story. It does a great job of balancing its fantasy with the thrill of very present danger. The villains are just described enough to be really creepy if you have a good imagination, and are just the right amount of bad, which means entirely bad. The heroes, an orphaned reprobate and a irascible tomboy, are in over their heads, and might not make it out alive as they try to stop the incarnation of evil. It sounds like fun doesn’t it? 
Ernie Banks is an orphan who is constantly getting into trouble. He gets one last reprieve when he is sent to work on a farm instead of being sent to Juvenile Hall. Ernie isn’t a bad kid, just stubborn, fiercely independent, and loathes authority. No wonder he is in constant trouble, right? He has lived his entire life in an orphanage and only has a crystal acorn that he wears around his neck as a mysterious sign of his origin. Unbeknownst to him, Ernie is actually a participant in a war between Puddlejumpers and Troggs. Puddlejumpers are small creatures much like pixies or brownies, who live deep underground, care for mother nature, and can teleport themselves to the Up Above by jumping through puddles. Troggs on the other hand seek destruction, misery, and the enslavement of all puddlejumpers. Fortunately there can be an end in the battle between the two, because Ernie’s birth was actually foretold in Puddlejumper lore as a child who would be destined to journey to the heart of the Most Dark and make it rain. On top of all this Ernie will also face himself, and discover where he came from and where he belongs.
Like I said above, I really enjoyed this book. Another aspect I liked was that the novel deals deals with environmentalism tangentially, and never in a preachy or ham handed way. The environmental message is there (if you look for it) yet the story is never sacrificed to get this issue across. It’s more of a tacit suggestion. The book is appropriate for all ages, and would recommend it for everyone. It’s a great read.
June 23rd, 2008
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This book deserves 4 stars
To Kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful novel about a family living in an old Alabama town in the 1960’s. In To Kill a Mockingbird I was experienced to racism, prejudice, and I was reminded that we are human, too, although we may do things we aren’t proud of in the end. To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book that reveals a lot of life lessons. I would defiantly recommend this book to another person.
June 18th, 2008
Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
This is the first book in the House of Night series which chronicles the adventures of Zoey Redbird as she attends the boarding school for fledging vampires. As the novel opens Zoey is just a young teenage girl. She goes to school, dates the school quarterback, and gossips with her friends. There is a deeper side to her though. Her home life is far from perfect, with a demeaning and controlling step-father. Her one place she can be herself is with her grandmother, who owns a lavender farm and is part Native American. Zoey’s Cherokee heritage plays a big part in the novel and helps her overcome obstacles later on in the book.
Life changes for Zoey when she becomes marked as a fledging vampire. This happens one day after school and instantaneously a quarter moon tattoo appears on her forehead. This has happened before at school and always with ridicule for those who have been marked. But what is worse is that she knows that her step-father, who is extremely conservative, will totally freak out. She eventually makes it to her grandmother’s farm, all while getting increasingly sick. Those who have been marked become allergic to sunlight and will eventually die unless they make lifestyle changes. Zoey doesn’t find her grandmother on the farm, and ends up collapsing on a cliff. In her exhaustion she receives a vision of the vampire goddess, Nyx, who claims Zoey as one of her own and blesses her, and implies great things for Zoey’s future.
Fortunately for Zoey her grandmother finds her and delivers her to the House of Night. Most of the novel is spent introducing Zoey (and us the readers) to a new and different world. She quickly makes friends and gets used to going to classes at night. One major difference between vampire school and regular school is that at any moment a person’s body could reject the vampire mark, which causes them to die. And on top of this she has become enemy number one for the most popular girl in school, Aphrodite, a high priestess in training and leader of the Dark Daughters, an after school club for the most elite fledging vampires. Zoey has to rely on her heritage, her friends, and her faith in order to succeed.
I liked a lot of this book, but I disliked a lot of it too. Overall I thought it was pretty ingenious and a good mash-up of vampires and school drama. On the other hand it was very obvious that this is the first book in a series, as it is fairly light on plot (until the last 60 pages or so), and relies a lot on introducing readers to the life of a young vampire. This novel also wears its YA-ness in its sleeve. Some of the supporting characters intentionally use big words, only to have other characters define them for Zoey and the reader. (Honestly, Zoey is so worldly it surprises me that she has a rather limited vocabulary.) I do like the fact that it isn’t afraid to broach the subjects of sex and drugs, but again it goes out of its way to make sure that readers know that Zoey doesn’t do those sorts of things and in fact frowns upon them. I don’t mind the lesson in morality per se, but rather I dislike the ham handedness of it. The book at times seems to be trying to hard to be relevant to teens, instead of just telling a good story. That being said, this series is quite popular. I would recommend this book for younger girls (eighth grade and up) who have an open mind and are not put off with the frank discussions of sex, drugs, and the occasional swear word and with one caveat: Marked is great when it’s telling its story, but falls flat when it over reaches for relevance.
June 12th, 2008
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
What would you do if a meteor hit the moon and caused an apocalyptic climate change that left billions dead and forced you to survive in the world with no modern conveniences, such as heat, running water, or refrigeration? And did I forget to mention that everyone is out to protect themselves and just may kill you for your can of beans? Or that disease has run rampant and your loved ones may not survive against an onslaught of West Nile virus, and the deadliest flu in a hundred years?
These are the situations that Miranda, the main character who just wanted to enjoy high school, has to face in Life As We Knew It. The novel is written in diary form by Miranda herself. In the beginning she is just enjoying being a teenager, school, and hanging with her friends and wrestling with her feelings about her divorced parents and how her step-mom is expecting a new baby in a few months. Miranda mentions off handedly that a meteor is expected to hit the moon and how everyone is excited to see it occur. After the meteor impact the moon changes (it’s tilted and looms larger in the sky) and so does Miranda’s life. Immediately the ocean tides rage out of control flooding the coastal regions of the world. Volcanoes spring up where none existed before. It could quite possibly be the end of humankind. Fortunately, Miranda’s mother has the foresight to stock up on supplies (food, water, winter clothing). Miranda’s family decide to hole up at their house at the edge of town instead of migrating south like a large majority of people. But with four people in the house and chaotic weather patterns will they have enough to make it through winter? And even if they do, will civilization be waiting there for them? Or will they truly be alone and just forestalling their own extinction?
If you can’t tell I really enjoyed this book. It took me a while to get into the diary format but once I did the story became a real page turner. There is a lot of suspense, and heartfelt drama as this family struggle with surviving and surviving each other. It reminded me a lot of Hollywood disaster movies but better, since this story has real characters and situations that anyone could relate to. The book is appropriate for all ages, but would especially appeal to girls or anyone who is into disaster yarns.
Life As We Knew It has a sequel, The Dead and the Gone, about a boy surviving the same event, but in New York. I really can’t wait to read it and it has a lot to live up to!
May 24th, 2008
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey
Alfred Kropp is a loser with a big head, yet he totally rocks. This book starts with Alfred being sent to live with his uncle when his mother loses the battle against cancer. Alfred is big for his age and doesn’t really excel at anything. He gets bad grades, kids make fun of him at school, and everyone keeps mentioning how huge his noggin is. Life couldn’t get much worse for Alfred, or could it? One night his Uncle comes home with a proposition, help him steal a sword from the office building where he works as a night watchman. His uncle is going to be paid a million dollars for the heist and offers to share it with Alfred in exchange for his help. At first Alfred refuses but his uncle threatens him with putting him into foster care. They eventually get the sword, but only after a sword fight with mysterious hooded monks. Plus the combination of the safe in which the sword was kept was Alfred’s own name. It seems that it’s all too much for Alfred’s big head to handle. But it gets worse. When Alfred and his uncle hand over the sword to the person paying them a million dollars, the dude immediately impales the uncle with the sword, takes the million dollars, and leave Alfred reaping the devastation.
It turns out that the sword is actually Excalibur, as in King Arthur’s Excalibur. And whoever wields the sword can conquer the world. When Alfred hears of this his heart just sinks lower and lower. First he stole a sword, then he gets his uncle killed, and now possibly the world. And this is just the beginning! Alfred tries to make up his failures by going on a quest to retrieve the sword. He encounters more hooded monks, knights of the round table, evil knights, a shadowy spy organization known as OIPEP, and even gets to drive really fast cars and shoot guns. The adventure takes him to Canada, Europe, Stonehenge, and eventually Merlin’s ancient secret lair.
This book has so much action in it. I couldn’t wait for the next chapter. Its a very exciting and humorous adventure yarn/coming of age story. At the end I absolutely adored Alfred and his ginormous head and am eager to read the second book in the series. Highly recommended. Appropriate for anyone 10 an up.
April 19th, 2008
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