YA Lit Week Four: What Would Emma Do? - Eileen Cook - 2008

Read for YA Lit week four.

Course Theme for the Week: Integrity: Making Moral Choices (2-16-2011)

Title: What Would Emma Do?

Author: Eileen Cook

Year: 2008

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Date Read: 2-14-2011 (reread)

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Thou Shalt Not Kiss Thy Best Friend’s Boyfriend...again...

There is no greater sin than kissing your best friend’s boyfriend. So when Emma breaks that golden rule, she knows she’s messed up big-time...especially since she lives in the smallest town ever, where everyone knows everything about everyone else...and especially since she maybe kinda wants to do it again. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster. This is so not the way senior year was supposed to go.

Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

My Review: When I first read this book, I did so because the blurb sounded similar to The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott and I was curious if it really was similar. It ended up being very different, and actually very different from a lot of YA books that I've read. I liked that Cook wasn't afraid to include religion in this novel. Even though I am not religious like Emma or the people in her town, it didn't take away from the story and I actually really enjoyed her thoughts about God at the beginning of each chapter.

I really liked that Emma was there to stick up for her friend at the end of the story and that she broke her silence about the truth. Even though Joann hadn't been much of a friend to her lately, Emma knew that speaking up would save Joann from being blamed like Darci intended to. I think it's really important for adolescents to learn that sticking up for friends and being honest will always be the best option out there. The easiest way to learn how to be a good person is to start by being a good friend.

To Purchase: Amazon

Other Books By This Author: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (2010), The Education of Hailey Kendrick (2011) (my review here), Unpredictable (2008)

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

Books Read in 2011: 21

YA Lit Week Four: Breathless - Jessica Warman - 2009

Read for week four of YA Lit course.

Course Theme for the Week: Integrity: Making Moral Choices (2-16-2011)

Title: Breathless

Author: Jessica Warman

Year: 2009

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Date Read: 2-14-2011 (reread)

Overall: * * * 1/2 (3.5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: When Katie Kitrell is shipped off to boarding school, it doesn't take her long to become part of the It Crowd. She's smart, she's cute, and she's a swimming prodigy. What her new friends, roommate, and boyfriend don't know is that Katie has kept a secret about her past—that her schizophrenic older brother, Will, is quickly descending deeper into insanity. As her lie constantly threatens to reveal itself, it's all Katie can do to keep her head above water.

My Review: When I think about this book, I am undecided about how much I liked it. I enjoyed reading it, and there were a few characters that I really liked. But the book as a whole didn't really leave its mark on me. I always hope that there will be something about each book that will distinguish it from all other books, so that I can remember each one. What I most remember about Breathless both times I've read it, is Katie's friend Mazzie. At times it felt like small subplots were introduced and then they trailed off without really developing.

I like Katie's confusion about her life and especially her brother. I understood that it would easier for her to pretend he no longer existed than to accept and explain what he was really like. I haven't read many books recently that really go into the problems siblings can have with each other and the love that siblings share, which can be a really interesting topic.

I'm not sure what age group I would recommend this book to. I don't know if younger teens would be able to understand the complexity of Katie's relationships with the people around her, even her layered friendship with Mazzie. I think older teens might enjoy this story, but I might recommend Warman's other book, Where The Truth Lies, before I would recommend Breathless.

To Purchase: Amazon

Other Books By This Author: Where the Truth Lies (201)

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

Books Read in 2011: 21

YA Lit Week Four: Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson - 1999

Read for week four of Young Adult Lit course

Course Theme for the Week: Integrity: Making Moral Choices

Title: Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Year: 1999

Publisher: Puffin

Date Read: 2-13-2011

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

My Review: I think this was the third time I've read Speak. The first time I read this book was in high school, and I was probably a freshman or sophomore. I remember instantly relating to Melinda, not because of the specific problems she faces, but because of how she handles them and how she curls up into herself. I felt like spending a day in her head would be eerily similar to spending a day in my own head.

This isn't exactly and easy book to read. It's harsh and depressing at times, but ultimately Melinda grows stronger by the end of the book and she finally lets the truth come out about her attack. Throughout the book I just wanted to have Melinda yell at somebody about what had happened, but she does know that she has to tell her former friend (Rachel, I think) when she begins to date the boy who hurt her.

In relation to this week's theme in the list course, integrity, I would say that Melinda had strong morals. She knew right from wrong, even though she couldn't admit what had happened to anyone. However, when a former friend gets involved, she knew she had to tell the truth because she didn't want her friend to get hurt the way that she did. It took a lot of strength for Melinda to break her silence, and her friend shunned her for it anyways. Although it works out in the end of the story, it was still hard for Melinda to do the right thing and try to protect someone who had ignored her all year.

I think this is a good book for high school students to read because it is honest and exposes that situations like those that Melinda face do happen to people all the time, and sometimes it is really hard for the victims of such violence to take a stand and let the truth out.

To Purchase: Amazon

Other Books By This Author: Wintergirls (2009), Twisted (2007), Catalyst (2002)

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

Books Read in 2011: 21

Audio Book Challenge Review: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - 2009

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 3 (of 6)

Title: Catching Fire (Hunger Games # 2)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Year: 2009

Read By: Carolyn McCormick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date Read: 2-13-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5) (based on audio book version)

GoodReads Blurb: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol. Catching Fire maintains the adrenaline rush of Suzanne Collins's series launch.

My Review: I really like the audio book versions of the Hunger Games books now. Though I kept having weird sound problems with this book, not sure if it was the mp3, the ipod, or my headphones. Sometimes it sounded like there was a crazy echo and that Carolyn McCormick was part robot. Weird.

I still love this story, and I love Peeta more and more as the books go on and as I reread them. I think I've said before that when I first read The Hunger Games (book 1) I really didn't like Peeta. I thought he was cocky and a jerk. Then when I read Catching Fire for the first time, I fell in love with Peeta. Now when I reread them, I don't have that hatred for Peeta in the first book, I guess because now I understand where he is coming from a lot better than when I first read it.

Listening to these books feels a bit more depressing than reading them though, because the full effect of hearing someone describe everything that happens in the arena is just more intense, in my opinion. I am excited to start listening to Mockingjay soon, but I want to make sure I have a few good big chunks of time so it doesn't take me as long as the first two books did.

To Purchase: Print version | Audio Book version

Currently Reading: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Ten Miles Past Normal (ARC) by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Warning: A large number of book reviews will be posted later today and tomorrow.

I listened to this book as part of the 2011 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner.

Books Read in 2011: 21

Audio Book Challenge Review: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - 2008

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 2 (of 6)

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Year: 2008

Read By: Carolyn McCormick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date Read: 2-4-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5, based on audio book)

GoodReads Blurb: Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Review: I really enjoyed listening to this book. I love The Hunger Games trilogy in print format, and I've been wanting to reread all 3, so I figured I could incorporate that into the audio book challenge I am participating in. At first, I was turned off by the reader's voice, because she sounds a lot older than Katniss, but after a few chapters I was used to it and her voice was actually very soothing.

There were many times that tears came to my eyes while listening to this book, because some of the sad or shocking parts seem even more real when they are read out loud. I wish the reader had given some more emphasis to Katniss's sarcastic inner voice, because I always found Katniss to be very funny, and I felt like McCormick didn't get that tone of voice the way I had wanted it to be.

A downfall of listening to this story was that I would have to stop listening when I parked my car and sometimes that would be in the middle of a suspenseful or action-packed part of the story, which made listening kind of a choppy experience. I am glad that the same woman does the other books in trilogy, because now that I am used to her voice, I really like it and I wouldn't want to have to get used to another voice.

To Purchase: Print version or Audio Book version

Currently Reading: Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Currently Listening To: Catching Fire (Hunger Games # 2) by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 17

I listened to this audio book as part of the 2011 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

YA Lit Week Three: Shift - Jennifer Bradbury - 2008

Part of YA Lit course, week three.

Course Theme for the Week: Independence: The Journey (2-9-2011)

Title: Shift

Author: Jennifer Bradbury

Year: 2008

Publisher: Atheneum

Date Read: 2-3-2011

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Imagine you and your best friend head off on a cross-country bike trek.

Imagine that you get into a fight — the cheap s.o.b. won't kick in any cash.

Imagine you stop riding together.

Imagine you reach Seattle then come home alone, still p.o-ed.

Imagine the FBI is now at your college dorm.

Imagine finding out that your former best friend never made it home.

And imagine that he had actually been carrying over $20,000 in cash with him.

Imagine your world shifting....

A tour-de-force about biking, friendship, and the depths of loyalty by a debut novelist who has in fact biked cross country.

My Review: I hadn't planned on reading this book for week three of school, but my library didn't have True Confessions of a Heartless Girl when I was checking out books last week. I had mixed feelings when I started reading Shift, but I ended up really enjoying it. Sometimes I find a hard time getting into stories with male protagonists, but I liked that the chapters switched back and forth from Chris and Win's time on the road and present time. Also, I am always surprised at how well female writers can write strong, likable male characters.

I liked the parallels that were made between Chris and Win's journey on their bikes and their journeys within themselves. The further the two got from home, and then from each other, the more they grew into the people they are going to be for the rest of their lives. It felt like their friendship had to break in order for them to become new people and then they could reform their friendship as people they both liked and respected.

I think an important message this books sends is that it is ok to not do what you're "supposed to" in regards to your future. College isn't always the right decision, sometimes some time away is needed, and your own happiness is far more important than anyone else's sometimes. I liked that Chris and Win knew they would be friends forever, and that Win knew Chris wouldn't let him down and would find him in the end. I liked the mystery of it all, that Chris really didn't know where Win was until he thought hard about it and got some clues. The FBI agent was a great addition to the plot too. By the end, you could tell that he no longer wanted to what Coggans wanted, that he felt inside that it was the right thing to do to leave Win alone and let him be.

To Purchase: Amazon

Currently Reading: Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Currently Listening To: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 16

YA Lit Week Three: Hope Was Here - Joan Bauer - 2000

This book was read for the third week of the YA Lit course.

Course Theme for the Week: Independence: The Journey (2-9-2011)

Title: Hope Was Here

Author: Joan Bauer

Year: 2000 (republished 2005)

Publisher: Speak

Date Read: 2-2-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

Amazon Blurb: One new life, coming right up. Hope's used to thinking on her feet - she hasn't become a terrific waitress by accident. But when she and her aunt move from New York City to a small town in Wisconsin to run the local diner, she isn't sure she'll fit in. Luckily, she doesn't have much time to brood. G.T., the owner, has decided to run for mayor, an no one in town knows what to think. After all, G.T. has leukemia. And his opponent is the unscrupulous current mayor, who will do or say anything to win the election. Hope knows that G.T. is up against the odds=but his visiton of the future is so vivid and good that she can't help but join the campaign. Because, after all, everyone could use a little hope to get through the touch times. Even Hope herself.

My Review: As I was reading this book, I got the feeling I'd read it before, probably when I was a freshman in high school, back when I did nothing to keep track of the books I read. I really enjoyed the story though, it really is filled with hope. Hope, the character, was wonderfully strong and courageous, it felt like I was right there with her, rooting for the truth. The side characters were special too, G.T. and Addie, Braverman, Lou Ellen... they were all so well-written and had such great and individual personalities. I've said it before, but I really enjoy when you can't tell that each character was written by the same person.

I think there were a few important lessons that readers of this book can pick up on. First, somewhat obviously, is hope. That Hope chose the word for her name, and that there had to be so much of it in the lives of the patrons of the Welcome Stairways diner. Second, is that teenagers, and town members of any age, can work together to make a difference in things that matter, as long as they believe in what they're doing. Third, is that there are so many different types of family. Hope was holding out for her real father, when what she found was a very real father who just didn't happen to be here biological father. Addie, her aunt, was very much a mother to her, because her biological mother had no idea how or any desire to be a mother to her.

I think this book is great for middle school ages and up. Advanced elementary school children might enjoy it as well. I think the food analogies and the bits of warmth and humor will really pull in readers of all ages, because it's such a sweet story.

To Purchase: Amazon

Currently Reading: Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

Currently Listening To: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 15

YA Lit Week Two: Forever - Judy Blume - 1975

This book was read for the second week of the YA Lit course.

Course Theme for the Week: History of Young Adults and Young Adult Literature (2-2-2011)

Title: Forever...

Author: Judy Blume

Year: 1975

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Date Read: 2-1-2011

Overall: * * * * *

GoodReads Blurb: Katherine and Michael meet at a New Year's Eve party. They're attracted to each other, they grow to love each other. And once they've decided their love is forever, they make love. It's the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine's parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart..."Forever" is written for an older age group than Judy Blume's other novels for children. It caused a storm of controversy when it was first published because of its explicit sexual content. It was a book ahead of its time - and remains, after thirty years in print, a teenage best-seller. America's No. 1 children's author has written some of the best books of our time about real-life issues - family stress and pressures, what happens when your parents divorce, the problems of growing up and sexual awakening, bereavement - with insight, sensitivity and honesty. The response of readers all around the world continues to make her one of the best-loved writers ever published.

My Review: This book was also a reread for me. I actually read this for the first time about a year ago. I felt like I was the only 20-something girl who hadn't read Forever yet, so I made it my mission last year. Even as I reread it, I was still struck with how honest and open Katherine is. She is so open and blunt and just very real, so very unlike many of the "woe is me, I need a man, help I am clumsy!" type girls who exist literature now.

I still love how the lesson in the book isn't about pregnancy, it isn't about HIV, it isn't about abusive first boyfriends... it's about love, and how it can feel like it will last forever at times and then that same love can change. It is such an important message for people, of any age, to know. When I was a teenager in love it felt like it would never end, that it could last forever and that I wanted it to last forever. But it didn't, and it's very realistic for people to change, and for feelings and relationships to change, even though so many "first loves" feel never-ending.

I do love that those other messages are still included in the story. Sybil experiences a pregnancy and gives the baby up for adoption, Artie experiences psychological problems, and Katherine visits Planned Parenthood to go on the pill and to get information about being safe. This book pretty much covers all the important bases when it comes to young love and young sex.

To Purchase: Amazon

Currently Reading: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris, and Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Currently Listening To: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 14

YA Lit Week Two: Weetzie Bat - Francesca Lia Block - 1989

This book was read for the second week of the YA Lit course.

Course Theme for the Week: History of Young Adults and Young Adult Literature (2-2-2011)

Title: Weetzie Bat

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Year: 1989

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date Read: 2-1-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

Amazon Blurb: Weetzie Bat lived in a fairy-tale land of glitter, glitz, and coolness. She had a bleachd-blonde flat-top and pink sunglasses, and cruised around town with her best friend Dirk and her Slinkster Dog pooch in a '55 Pontiac named Jerry.

Weetzie loved L.A., with its plastic palm tree wallets and tomahawks, its cheap cheese and bean burritos, and its surfer dudes. But still, something was missing. So Weetzie made three wishes, and they all came true...

My Review: This was a reread for me. Though, the last time I read it I think I was about 14 years old. I really didn't remember much about it. Weetzie is such a lovely character, she just wants love and happiness for herself and her friends. She wants to live in a glittering fairy land with rose petals and sparkles all around. She just wants goodness.

There are actually a lot of deep messages in this story. About children who have rough childhoods, and how they just want love in their loves and to care for someone else. Weetzie's best friend Dirk is gay, and he finds love in Duck. Duck brings up good points about HIV, though it is not directly stated. But it sounds like it when he says that loving someone shouldn't kill them.

This story is just really beautifully written, as are all of Block's stories. This makes me want to reread Echo, which I remember adoring in high school.

I think younger teenagers would love this book. It is so fantastical and magical, that even though Weetzie and her friends could be real people, they just seem to shimmer and live these wonderful lives full of love and happiness. I don't know if teens would find all of the hidden messages in the story, but I think it would be easy to get the messages about love and caring. I would be interested in hearing other peoples' opinions on the story and in hearing teenagers opinions on it.

To Purchase: Amazon

Currently Reading: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Currently Listening To: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 14

Review of Forever... by Judy Blume will be posted later tonight