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In the Woods by Tana French Once I started this, I didn't want to put it down. The beginning is terrifying and definitely gets your attention. The writing style is really beautiful, the characters more developed than in most mysteries. Although French spent a fair amount of time wrapping up her story, I felt there could have been more answers. I'm looking forward to hearing what other people think of it. I will definitely read The Likeness because I want to know more about Cassie. |
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Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos When I learned Love Walked In had a sequel, I knew I would devour it. Marisa de los Santos continues the story of Cornelia, Clare, and Teo. The newly introduced characters who enter their lives add depth and widen the audience who will enjoy this book. Piper, Cornelia's next door neighbor, is a controlling socialite who surprises herself with her need for unusual friendships. Lake, the free-spirited mom, is new to town with (sometimes disastrous) decisions made all for her son Devin. Finally, Lake's son is the character I most enjoyed, an intellectual muser who learns how falling in love can actually ground a person. The poetic style of Love Walked In carried over to this work too. The main character Cornelia (speaking from the writer's heart?) admits her mind is always making metaphors, connections through which to see the world. It is this figurative style at work that makes Marisa de los Santos' work so appealing, helping the reader belong precisely to her characters' feelings at each crucial moment. |
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Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris This really WAS fantastic, holding my attention the whole way through. I enjoyed the narrative "we" and why Ferris uses it, as he explains in the conversation with him at the end of the book. The climax was both frightening and funny; the conclusion was completely satisfying. I cared about his characters though there were a few too many to keep track of. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and definitely will pass it along! |
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The Girls by Lori Lansens The story of Rose and Ruby Darlen IS unforgettable, as one of the cover reviews suggests. At first, my interest in the girls was just a curiosity about what life would be like as a conjoined twin: learning how they move, how they manage to see each other. But Lansens does such a fine job drawing Rose's character, as she writes her own story, that soon the characters (Aunt Lovey, Uncle Stash, Ruby, the Merkels) become like familiar friends whose world you just want to explore. At one point in the book, Rose has asked Ruby how she sees her life, as a series of stories or just one story with suspense, and Ruby really doesn't know how to answer. The Girls is a series of vignettes with vivid detail and heartfelt nuances of character that at times caused me to laugh out loud and at one point in particular, wipe away a tear. As this is on the ALHSBA list for 2009, I will recommend it, but only to the more advanced readers (probably girls) in high school who won't mind the pace that doesn't race but rather unfolds. |
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Run by Ann Patchett I just love Ann Patchett's books, and this one was no exception. I liked the role that stories (and perception) played in this book, what we tell each other vs. what is really true. I liked how the narrator let on more than the characters themselves did, making me realize there is SO much we don't know about people around us. The characters were really well drawn too. |
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Crank by Ellen Hopkins Her books have been wildly popular with high school students, but I dismissed their pleas to read them until Crank landed on the ALHSBA list for 2009. And I loved it. I was addicted to this book, just as Kristina/Bree finds herself addicted to drugs, boys, and general recklessness. Making up any excuse to read, I found myself finishing this in just a couple days. I loved the choice and placement of words on each page, in some cases concrete poetry, and in others, two voices to move the story forward. I will definitely recommend this book to interested high school students. They will be eager to read thesequel: Glass. |
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Looking for Alaska by John Green Miles "Pudge" Halter, lover of last words, chooses to leave his lonely life to attend his father's alma mater, a boarding school where he hopes to find "the great perhaps." He quickly befriends pranksters Chip and Alaska who teach him how to life life large and dangerously. Through romance, pranks, and tragedy, Miles learns how he will navigate through the "labyrinth of suffering." Although on the surface, this story may sound like a typical boy-finds-himself-at-boarding-school-story, it was anything but. The characters are uniquely imagined and well developed, the dialogue is quirky yet authenthic, and the story smartly builds through humor and sadness to a dramatic climax. The audio book is fantastic, and the last pages brought tears to my eyes - these characters will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended!! |
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Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte This small book packed in a lot controversy! I didn't realize how much until I started describing it to the football coach where I work. Steroids, hazing, pressure from parents, girls, teammates, coaches, and a dream to make it in this world beyond high school made this book's hero have to make some tough choices. The characters felt very real to me. Highly recommended for high school athletes. |
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Paper Towns by John Green John Green has quickly become one of my favorite YA authors - I loved Looking for Alaska and was really eager to read his latest, Paper Towns. Although I didn't Love this as much as Alaska, I couldn't put it down. Green pulls the reader in when Margo and Quentin rekindle their childhood relationship on a scary (to Quentin) night of creative pranks a few weeks before high school graduation. Then Margo abruptly disappears, leaving Quentin with several cryptic clues as to her whereabouts. Did she run away? Is she coming back? Or did she kill herself? Using Margo's highlighted lines from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and a Wikipedia-like website his friend obsessively edits, Quentin learns more about the girl he thought he knew and more about himself, while growing beyond what he thought capable. Green concludes Quentin's story with a last 24 hour mad dash of laughter, danger, revelation, and heartache. |
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The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins In this dystopian future where food and communication between districts is scarce, 14-year-old Katniss protects her family with her archery skills. When Katniss becomes her district's contender in the annual Hunger Games, she considers it a death sentence for herself and those she loves. Michael Cart raved about The Hunger Games for its biting commentary on our society's love affair with reality TV. Indeed, there are many parallels to the fabricated worlds we tune into weekly. However, while adult and older teens may appreciate this aspect of the story, younger readers will love it for the intense survival instincts of Katniss and the other gladiators. Collins spends just enough time in the beginning with character background to help readers empathize with Katniss before throwing us suddenly into the fighting arena. The ending is satisfying with few loose ends, though a short announcement, "End of Book One," illicits an immediate desire for the story to continue. Write fast, Suzanne Collins! I'm looking forward to the next installment. |
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