Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin July 17, 2007

The last thing Naomi Porter remembers is the sixth grade. This is a rude awakening to say the least when she realizes that she’s definitely not 12 anymore. Naomi has lost memories of the last four years of her life. She doesn’t remember she has a boyfriend named Ace, she doesn’t remember that her parents are divorced, she doesn’t remember her best friend. Naomi is clueless when it comes to her own teenage life. She tries to cope with all this “new” old information as she learns it. To say the least, losing the last four years of her life has been quite traumatic. In a way it’s like she’s reliving the four years that she’s lost all over again. Naomi’s feeling hurt, lost and down right confused. She finds out that she’s not speaking to her mother, her mother had an affair, her mother now lives in New York city-and is remarried and has a child. Everything is a bit overwhelming for Naomi as she tries to ease back into her life. Naomi doesn’t know who she is. 

Naomi finds herself attracted to the guy who found her unconscious. James is a new student at her school and nobody knows much about him except for rumors that they’ve heard. There’s rumors that James stalked an ex-girlfriend, that he tried to kill himself, and that he was institutionalized in a mental hospital. Naomi does not act on her attraction and instead continues to go out with Ace trying to figure out what their connection was and if indeed she was in love with him.    

As she eases back into her life at school, Naomi tries to be as normal as she can, but she doesn’t know her former self. At first she finds it easy to slip into the role of Ace’s girlfriend. Ace is a jock and hangs out with the popular kids. Naomi finds out that she was a tennis player and that’s how she met Ace. She’s also a co-editor of yearbook with her best-friend Will. Apparently her former self was quite accomplished and busy. Along with trying to figure out who she was/is, the former Naomi’s schedule is a bit hectic for the amnesiac Naomi. Naomi finds herself overwhelmed by her former life and starts to withdraw.

Will Naomi regain her memory? Will she stay committed to her school and social obligations? Will she ever talk to her mother again? Will she continue to go out with Ace or will she fall for James? To find out read Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin.

*****

I’m in awe of the complexity of Gabrielle Zevin’s plot.  This story could have confused a reader easily and I am impressed that Zevin told the story effectively.    

To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker July 15, 2007

It’s 1720, and Annalisa and her father are sailing to a small Caribbean island where her father will be governor when their ship is overtaken by pirates. One of the pirates, James Sterling, steals a kiss from Annalisa, but his comrades take something more valuable: a chest of gold coins to be spent building a fort. Upon reaching land, Annalisa’s father is jailed, suspected of being in league with the pirates. Determined to prove her father’s innocence, Annalisa forges a letter of marque to hunt down the man she considers the key to her quest.

James Sterling was a pirate when he and Annalisa first met. Now he’s a wanted man. Annalisa is determined to use him to track down the notorious Crimson Kelly, captain of the pirate ship that stole the gold chest. But the more Annalisa learns of Sterling, the more she starts to fall for him.

Ultimately, To Catch a Pirate is a wallpaper romance. If not for a few references to Queen Anne’s War and the fact that we’re told the story is set in 1720, I wouldn’t have known when the story takes place. For that matter, I wouldn’t have known where the story is set, either. Yes, much of the action takes place on board ships, but ship life doesn’t come alive the way it does in Bloody Jack or Star-Crossed. When the characters are on land, the Caribbean islands are generic and bland. Since we’re talking about pirates here, Pirates! by Celia Rees and The Pirate’s Son by Geraldine McCaughren do a much better job of bringing the historical setting and the ruthlessness of piracy to life, even if the romance is not as overt. With the popularity of pirates these days, no doubt the title will attract the attention of teen girls, and some may very well enjoy it. But if you want something with a little more depth and character, try one of the other books mentioned.

Don’t be surprised if some of your adult patrons pick up this book thinking it’s an adult romance. The cover wouldn’t look out of place on a Candice Hern or Liz Carlyle book of a few years back. It is, however, very much a YA romance. In other words, no sex, just kisses, with a sort of naive, innocent aspect to the non-relationship parts.

Wow. Congratulations to Caridad Ferrer July 14, 2007

for Adiós to My Old Life winning the Rita for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance.

As I haven’t read any of the nominees in this category (here’s the list at Amazon.com, since for some reason I can’t access the RWA site), no comment on if this deserved to win or if another book wuz robbed. But congrats to Caridad and all the other winners. You can’t please ‘em all.

Linky linky July 12, 2007

Marc Aronson on why informational reading is fun.

The Guardian blog asks “Why don’t teenagers think reading is fun?” (via ACHOCKABLOG)

I wanted to go to the Teen Reads program at ALA, but it coincided with Maintaining Teen Graphic Novel Collections. Here’s a summary at the AASL blog.

And I mentioned why I skipped Wiking the Blog and Walking the Dog. PLA blog to the rescue!

OMG! The last Princess Diaries book comes out next year! (The exclamation marks are not sarcastic.) Meg Cabot interviewed at All About Romance. And make sure you read her response to the Hollywood question. “Deer Meg…” Hilarious. But best of all, thank god there’s at least one author who won’t be writing vampire romances.

And speaking of Meg Cabot, Justine Larbalestier on sex in YA books.

Tell the authors the 4th edition of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries what you would like to see via a short survey (only ten questions).

The Posion Apples by Lily Archer July 12, 2007

Q: What do Alice Bingley-Beckerman from New York, New York, Reena Paruchuri from Beverly Hills, California, and Molly Miller from North Forest, Massachusetts have in common?

A: They all have evil stepmothers.

What they have in common is nothing to sneeze at. Alice’s stepmother R. has single handedly taken away her father and forced her to attend boarding school in the course of 3 months. Reena’s stepmother Shanti Shruti is a 25 year old blonde as blonde, white as white, yoga instructor who’s got some major identity issues. Reena and her brother Pradeep think she’s a little off the deep end with her maniacal love of Western influenced-Indian aesthetics. (Think here for you Hawaii kids fake tikis, ugly Aloha shirts, and coconut bras as being “Hawaiian.”) What’s worse is she’s enslaved a poor penguin in a million dollar terrarium, because she saw that movie documentary, while Reena’s mother has resorted to pawning her possessions to get by. Molly’s stepmother Candy Lamb has single handedly turned Molly’s whole family against her. She’s given the rest of the family and probably the rest of the town the impression that Molly thinks she’s better than all of them because she attends an elite boarding school nearby. Candy has even turned Molly’s younger sister Spencer against her. What’s worse is Molly’s real mother has checked herself into a mental institution after her divorce from Molly’s dad. Yes folks, these are indeed evil stepmothers as in the variety that you see in fairytales but, they are even more horrific because they are the type that you see in everyday life and the ones you have to interact with.

Trisha and I both got a big kick out of this book. I especially like Reena’s storyline when she describes her Indian wannabe stepmother who’s trying to be more Indian than the whole family. Here’s a little taste:

It’s hard to describe what we encountered in the foyer of what used to be our normal, all-American home. I guess it was the twenty-foot-tall wooden statue of Vishnu that caught my attention first. And I only found out it was Vishnu because I gasped and said: “What is that?” “Vishnu,” Shanti said, gliding out of the kitchen and smiling at us. “Don’t you recognize Vishnu? He’s one of the most famous Hindu gods.” I shook my head. “I don’t know any Hindu gods.”

“Wow,” I said to Dad and Shanti. “It’s very…” “Different!” she said cheerfully. I nodded. “Also…Indian. It’s very Indian.” Dad shot me a warning glance. “Yep,” Pradeep piped up. “It’s, like, more Indian than it was when four Indian people were living here.”

Reena is definitely the least tragic of all the characters and I adore her coolness and goofiness. There definitely seems to be sequel potential for this book and dare I say it might be even as big as the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. My only wish is that there’s a spin off book solely on Reena’s story.

Good As Lily by Derek Kirk Kim & Jesse Hamm July 11, 2007

Remember how we had our laundry list of things for Asian American books? Well Derek Kirk Kim has successfully fulfilled 4 out of 5 of my requests in Good As Lily.  To refresh our collective memory of what I was asking for here it is, again

Gayle would like a protagonist:

1. Who uses cultural references without qualifying them;

2. Who feels comfortable in his/her skin, hair, eyes;

3. Who is not ashamed of his/her parents;

4. Has real character flaws and not only those of stereotypes;

5. Is a librarian or aspires to be a librarian.

Granted #5 is probably a long shot, I’m impressed that DKK has effectively written a story that fulfills the rest of my wish list.  Props to Jesse Hamm for the great artwork too.  I’m going to have to lift my self imposed ban on DC to purchase Good As Lily for the library when it comes out in August.

The basic storyline follows our protagonist Grace Kwon as she celebrates her pivotal 18th birthday.  She buys a pinata from a mysterious ice cream vendor at the park and is disappointed to find out that the pinata has no candy inside of it.   She goes home only to realize that she has forgotten one of her birthday presents at the park.  Grace goes back to the park and finds more than what she is looking for.  She finds a 6 year old, a 29 year old, and a 80 year old all who go by the name Grace Kwon.  The Graces all come to the realization that they are one and the same person.  This cosmic sick joke plays itself out as the Graces make peace with their past experiences and regrets.  Why is this graphic novel entitled Good As Lily instead of Revenge of the Grace Kwons?  Read it to find out!

I’m passing the ARC to Jolene so she can weigh in on my review.

The Good Ghoul’s Guide to Getting Even by Julie Kenner July 11, 2007

Trying out for the drill team was supposed to be the icing on her college applications. Beth Frasier may have been at the top of her high school class, but would AP classes, independent study, and editing the school paper be enough to get into the college of her dreams? To Beth, the answer is an obvious “No,” hence trying out for the drill team to “round out” her extracurricular activities. Beth is so caught up with making the drill team that she makes what even she would call dumb mistakes, ending up undead.

Fortunately for Beth, she is a good girl with a scientist father—meaning he thinks nothing of her late night phone call for bags of blood (for a science project, of course). As Beth learns how to navigate life as a member of the undead, she must also figure out a way to defeat the vampire responsible for her undead state, an act that would make her mortal again.

What’s most appealing about Julie Kenner’s book is Beth’s scientific disposition. Unlike most other vampire books I’ve read, Beth actually wants to figure out, scientifically, what makes vampires different from regular human beings. I also liked that the storyline is not of the “My love interest is a vampire” variety. This is light, paranormal fun, along the lines of Prom Dates from Hell. The Good Ghoul’s Guide to Getting Even won’t grab readers the way the way Twilight has, but those looking for something different than the rest of the vampire books out there will enjoy it. It looks like it’s the start of a series, since there’s an excerpt of the next Beth Frasier book, Good Ghouls Do, coming out September 4.

Also reviewed at Dear Author.

Oh, look what came in the mail yesterday July 11, 2007

No, it wasn’t one of the boxes I shipped from ALA. I’m still waiting for the boxes I sent on the first and third days of the conference, since the one from the second day arrived last week.

Instead, it was a postcard. “Don’t miss Nick Hornby at ALA June 2007!” Ah, the joys of third class postage.

Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi July 7, 2007

It’s the championship game of the Rucker Park basketball tournament. Mackey and J.R. have dreamed of winning it since they were kids. But now Mackey is the only one with a shot at winning the legendary event, because a few weeks ago, J.R. was stabbed and killed on the Rucker Park basketball court. The very court the championship game is being played on.

The entire story of Rucker Park Setup is told during the championship game, with actions scenes of the game intercut with flashbacks and recollections of earlier events. It’s a clever device, and a successful one. Does the game have anything to do with J.R.’s death? Why does Mackey feel guilty?

If you’re looking for good contemporary realistic fiction, look no further. Rucker Park Setup is a fast-paced story with enough twists to keep the reader guessing (and turning the pages). As soon as I finished the book, I immediately wanted to reread it, looking for clues I had overlooked or fallen for the first time around. This would also be a great book to booktalk and recommend to reluctant readers. Mackey’s voice is conversational and very readable, and at only 149 pages, it’s definitely on the short side for YA fiction. It has basketball, friendship, and murder to hook readers from the very first page, and compelling plotting and writing to keep them reading.

The setting is the streets of New York City. So it is only to be expected that some of the characters and language are occasionally obscene, too. It adds to the realism of the book, but it’s also enough for some people not to give the book a try. Their loss.

I hesitate to say more, because I don’t want to give anything away. But, as in Black and White and Rooftop, Paul Volponi has written a thought-provoking (in a good way) story in which there are no easy answers, only mistakes too easily made.

Woohoo! July 7, 2007

So one of the book rate boxes of ALA goodies arrived. I’ll never understand how the Postal Service works, since it’s the second box I sent, but whatever. I’m just so excited to have more ARCs.

Here’s the list:

• Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (I guess that’s James something’s real name. James Sturm.)
• Sight by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
• Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub
• The Garden of Eve by K. L. Going
• The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy
• Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint
• Revenge of the Cheerleaders by Janette Rallison
• Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White
• Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
• Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern
• Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell
• Bunker 10 by J. A. Henderson
• The Opposite of Love by Helen Benedict
• Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb by Kirsten Miller
• Clubbing by Andi Watson and Josh Howard
• Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm
• The Monster Hunter’s Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Saving Mankind from Vampires, Zombies, Hellhounds, and Other Mythical Beasts by Ibrahim S. Amin