A Bittersweet But Realistic Love Story

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Omaha, 1986. Eleanor is an unwieldy red-head who decorates her sweaters with fishing lure and lives with her mother, four siblings, and an abusive stepdad. Park is a comic book-loving do-gooder whose half-Korean heritage makes him a novelty in this neck of the woods. When Park lets Eleanor, the new girl, share a seat with him on the school bus, they soon find themselves bonding over comic book heroes and exchanging mixed tapes. Soon, they have embarked on an unlikely romance—however, both have personal issues that repeatedly threaten to end the relationship. The author’s admirable refusal to shy away from the painful (and frightening) subject of domestic abuse, as well as the story’s bittersweet but realistic ending, are what make this love story stand out. Recommended for Grades 9 Up for strong language.

A Gripping, Suspenseful Crime Novel

Source: Author Website

With Malice by Eileen Cook (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2016, 320pp.)

When Jill, an American teenager, wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the past two months, she learns several disturbing things. One: while she was on a school trip to Italy, she crashed a rental car and was rushed to a hospital back home. Two: Her best friend, Simone, was killed in the crash. Three: the Italian police say that the crash was a deliberate act of murder/suicide. Now they want her back in Italy to stand trial. Fortunately, she’s given permission to stay in America until she completes rehab, but she has to wonder: why was she driving a car on a school trip? What exactly happened?

Twist and turns abound in this suspenseful novel, which proves gripping to the very end. What makes the novel better than average is the author’s inclusion of police interviews and media transcripts, which allow us to see the story in the broader scheme of things, and thus provides for a more compelling reading experience. Recommended for older teens for language, and discussions of intimate situations.

Positively Squee-Worthy

Source: Author Website

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2015, 528pp.)

Remember much Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy hate each other in the “Harry Potter” series? Imagine if they were forced to be roommates. Imagine if they were forced to work together! Now, imagine that, despite their intense mutual dislike, they’re both secretly crushing on each other! Now: put them into a situation that forces them to both work together, and confront their undeniable attraction. Now change their names from Harry and Draco to Simon and Baz, and you have Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On. That’s essentially what it is: a Harry Potter slash fiction rip-off. But oh, what a magnificent rip-off it is! Here’s the plot in a nutshell:

Simon Snow, an eighth-year student at Britain’s Watford School of Magicks, is the most powerful magician of his generation, and the one prophesied to defeat the Insidious Humdrum. His latest year at school isn’t going so well. His headmaster and mentor, the Mage, normally lets him in on his battle-plans against the Humdrum, but now he’s being all cryptic and leaving him out of the loop—despite the fact that Simon’s been fighting evil since he was eleven! To top that off, he’s losing touch with Agatha, his long-time girlfriend, and his evil roommate, Baz (who constantly plots against him) has mysteriously disappeared. That should be a good thing, right?

Well, maybe. Even with the Mage acting all mysterious, and his love life on the skids, Simon still can’t get Baz out of his head. What is that tosser up to? Is he off plotting with his aristocratic family to unseat the Mage? Preparing for the inevitable final battle for Watford? Or is it possible that Baz himself is in life-threatening peril?

Obviously, Carry On touches on a lot of what you’d find in Harry Potter, though it’s not as fast-paced as its source material. Rowell chooses the slow and steady approach, and manages to bring new meaning to old genre tropes. It’s also got fantastic characters, including Simon, who wrestles with the existential crisis of being “chosen” as much as he does the Insidious Humdrum; Penelope, his fiercely smart best friend; and Baz, an angsty anti-hero with enough snideness and dry wit to make him this year’s teen heartthrob. Carry On may be a rip-off, but it’s also more than that. It’s a funny, moving tribute to the British fantasy saga that made reading cool again. In the words of any fan-girl: it’s positively squee-worthy. Recommended for Ages 16-Up for some language and some suggestive material.

A Well-Meaning But Ineffective Tragedy

Source: Author Website

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (Sourcebooks Fire, 2016, 288pp.)

During a welcome-back assembly at a rural American high school, Ty Browne, a former student, slips inside the auditorium and locks the doors, trapping everyone inside. When the staff and students realize that something is wrong, he pulls out a gun and starts shooting. The ensuing horror is seen through the eyes of four students, each of whom struggles valiantly to live through the next fifty-four minutes. Unfortunately, not all will survive.

Although this is unfortunately going to be a negative review, I have to start off by applauding the author’s effort to mine an incredibly painful topic. She was also very creative with the way she interspersed blog posts, Twitter feeds, and text messages throughout her prose. However, I’m afraid that’s where my praise is going to stop, because overall, I found Nijkamp’s debut novel to be pretty shallow. What else do you call a story where non-descript students and staff are dispatched shortly after being introduced? Where friends still manage to keep up their regular, witty banter while fleeing for their lives? In addition to this, there’s an annoying amount of speech-making that allows the shooter to indulge in a long-winded bad-guy monologue. At another point, one of the protagonists manages to claim the moral high ground by delivering a brief but impassioned speech:

    “You think you’re something, don’t you? […]” [Ty] says. “Are you afraid now? This time, I’m in control, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

    “You’ll kill me. That’s that. So no, I’m not afraid.” I shrug while sweat runs down my back and my arms. “Funny thing, though, that still means I am in control.”

    He pulls the trigger, and I flinch. The bullet buries itself in the wall beside me. Tyler’s gloating makes me want to charge him. But I refuse to give him that pleasure.

    “You’ll kill me on my terms,” I say... (239)

Essentially, This is Where it Ends is a well-meaning, but ineffective tragedy that tries to soften the blows of character loss by leaning on the laws of Hollywood fiction. Recommended for Ages 16-Up.

An Edgy Thriller for Reluctant Readers

Source: Author Website

The Truth by Jeffry W. Johnston (Sourcebooks Fire, 2016, 256pp.)

The last thing Chris Russo remembers is knocking on a girl’s front door to take her to a party. When he wakes up, he’s tied to a chair in someone’s basement. What’s worse, the kidnapper that confronts him is an angry, garden shear-wielding teen named Derek.

He and Derek have met before. A week prior, something happened that ended with Chris shooting a 13-year-old boy to death. Derek, the boy’s older brother, reached out to him for answers. When Chris avoided him, Derek turned to kidnapping. Now, Chris must answer: why is Derek’s brother dead? Over the course of the novel, Chris tries to explain to Derek—and the reader—what led to that fatal encounter.

Although the characters aren’t particularly vibrant, and the storytelling a bit simplistic (with chapters alternating between “Now”—during Chris’s interrogation—and “Then”—before the shooting), Johnston still does a good job at entertaining. Opening with a scene guaranteed to grab any reluctant reader by the throat, the novel ends with a final plot twist that turns the story completely on its head. This title contains mature themes, and includes scenes of threatened torture and use of firearms. Although the violence in this thriller isn’t explicitly graphic, it limits my recommendation to older teens, ages 16-18.

You Don't Have to Be a Brontë Fan to Enjoy This

Source: Author Website

Worlds of Ink and Shadow: A Novel of the Brontës by Lena Coakley (Amulet Books, 2016, 352pp.)

Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell Brontë have a secret: whenever they get tired of their humdrum lives, they can, quite literally, say a few words that will transport them to worlds of their own making. Their favorite invented place is Verdopolis, a shining city home to dashing gentlemen who belong to secret societies, and virtuous ladies who tame devilish rogues into marriage. Unfortunately, their ability to go world-hopping comes at a terrible price, one that might eventually cost them their lives. You don’t have to already be a Brontë fan to appreciate this novel. A unique premise, well-drawn main characters, and a colorful supporting cast make this latest take on the Brontës an engaging read for fans of both contemporary fiction and classic literature. Recommended for Ages 16-18.