BOOK REVIEW: I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Ruta Sepetys writes superb, gritty, YA historical fiction. My history/historical fiction book club chose I Must Betray You for our next meeting, and I flew through the book.

Cristian Florescu is a 17-year-old high school student in Bucharest, Romania, in 1989. Romania is under the thumb of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena. It was one of the most repressive regimes of the Eastern Bloc. The Ceauşescus lived in obscene luxury while Romanians starved. The currency was so worthless, Kent cigarettes were used for bartering. Obtaining food meant standing in long lines, with no guarantee of there being anything left. It was all the things you hear about failed Communist states, and worse.

The worst was the constant surveillance. Cristian lives in a one bedroom apartment with his parents, sister, and grandfather. His grandfather is outspoken about the loss of liberty and corruption of the regime, but everyone else speaks in whispers. Cristian is inspired by his grandfather’s bravery, and keeps a secret notebook about what life is like.

Cristian is coerced into becoming an informer when a security agent finds a minor crime to hang on him. The agent promises medicine for Cristian’s grandfather, who his dying of leukemia. As Cristian falls deeper into the deceptions he must undertake, he grows increasingly paranoid and distrustful of those around him. The fear and loneliness is palpable. And yet, he holds onto hope.

I Must Betray You is a fascinating look at Romania at the time of the collapse of the Soviet empire, highlighting the terrors of the police state and the bravery of the resisters. It’s hard to believe this was 1989. In some ways, it seems forever ago, and in others, just yesterday. Highly recommended!

BOOK REVIEW: Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a delightful YA pseudo-Arthurian romp set in Camelot generations after King Arthur’s defeat. 

Gwen is the daughter of the struggling King of England. She has been betrothed to the irritating Arthur, son of a troublesome lord, since they were both infants. Now that she is eighteen, and there is rising discontent in the kingdom, it is time for her to marry (and appease Arthur’s father.) So Arthur arrives in Camelot for the summer tournament season and immediately begins plaguing her. He doesn’t want this match any more than she does.

It’s a particularly bad time for Gwen to be forced into marriage. She has a developed a massive crush on a young knight, the only female knight in the land, Bridget Leclair, who is also in town for the tournament.

Gwen’s only ally is her brother, Gabriel, although she hasn’t dared confess her crush to him when she doesn’t quite understand it herself. Besides, Gabriel has enough troubles of his own. Quiet and bookish, he doesn’t want to be the heir to the kingdom, but knows it is not something he can get out of. So he spends all his time studying how to be a perfect king. This includes studying a good deal of Arthuriana, which gives him some understanding of and sympathy for the “cultists,” those English who believe Arthur will one day return. And who, meanwhile, have a pagan-ish style of worship of Morgana and a belief in wizardry. (As opposed to the prevailing Catholics.)

Arthur despises his father. He finds Gwen overbearing. He drinks far too much and has essentially given himself over to hedonistic pursuits. But he’s also nursing a broken heart over a fair-haired young lord who rejected him. 

Things heat up when Gwen spies Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur discovers Gwen’s crush on Bridget. Mutual threats turn into an agreement to cooperate. And Gabriel is inserted into the mix when he and Arthur grow attracted to one another.

The action is quick-paced. The interactions are amusing and often times touching. The young folks take charge as the fate of the kingdom falls into their hands. A very entertaining read!

BOOK REVIEW: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

After reading a couple of YA adventures, I decided to try a YA rom-com and picked Geekerella by Ashley Poston. This is a two-nerds-find-true-love story, a modern retelling of Cinderella, and it’s a lot of fun. 

Elle is the downtrodden stepdaughter of a nightmare of a stepmother, with two evil stepsisters (one worse than the other.) Stepmom is a wedding planner who spends a great deal of their limited family resources on her own image-making. Step-sisters are wannabe beauty influencers who treat Elle horribly. Elle does all the housework and also works full-time at a vegan foodtruck (painted like a large pumpkin!) Her mother died when she was four and her father a few years later. Her memories are full of the love they shared for a sci-fi TV series called Starfinder. Her father was the original organizer of Starfinder-con. Elle blogs about the series which still has a cult following. And now it’s being rebooted as a movie.

Darien is an 18-year-old soap opera star with a huge teen fan-girl base. He has been chosen as the new Commodore, the star of the reboot. He’s also a member of the original Starfinder cult following and possesses an extensive knowledge of Starfinder trivia. This is a dream role for him, but also a terrifying one. He’s worried he’ll screw up.

Both are lonely teens with trust issues and terrible parents. They “meet” via text when Darien is attempting to get out of his celebrity duties at the next convention and locates the number for the original organizer, Elle’s father – she still has his old phone. Completely anonymous to one another, they bond over Starfinder lore. Maybe, each thinks, they might meet at the convention. But would that be wonderful or ruin everything?

This humorous novel is full of nerdy pop-culture references. The characters are sweet and lovable. It’s fast-paced, silly (in a good way) in parts and poignant in others. A very enjoyable read.

BOOK REVIEW: Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews

I just finished another YA adventure based on Greek mythology, Daughter of Sparta, by Claire M. Andrews. 

Daphne (and her two brothers) are outsiders in Sparta, brought up by adoptive parents to be warriors but never quite belonging. During a critical Spartan contest, a race which will determine the success or failure of their yearly harvest, Daphne is lured into the woods where she meets the goddess Artemis. The goddess has a task for her. Daphne must retrieve nine items stolen from Olympus by a traitor to the gods. Without these items, the gods’ powers will wane and the Olympians will fall. 

Daphne is to be aided and guided by Artemis’ brother, the god Apollo. Since Artemis has enslaved Daphne’s favorite brother to ensure cooperation, Daphne hasn’t much choice but to do the gods’ bidding.

She (and Apollo) embark upon a series of dark adventures, encountering a plethora of Greek gods and goddesses, legendary heroes and heroines, and mythological creatures/monsters. The Olympians know who their enemy is, but not which of them has betrayed the family to that enemy. It’s Daphne’s job to find out. Daphne has to decide who to trust and who to fight. 

Trained by the Spartans, she has the speed and strength of a warrior. At first, she puts her faith in her training, but slowly learns her powers are superhuman. Unfortunately, no one will explain to her why. Much of the questing is performed on a need-to-know basis, which helps build suspense even though it doesn’t always seem logical.

The adventures come at the team fast and furious. (In addition to Daphne and Apollo, this team includes a friend/boyfriend of Daphne’s who has been turned into a wolf, and, for a period of time, the Greek hero Theseus.) The pace is fairly quick, though at times it feels like too much is crammed in and threads are left hanging, making it apparent there will have to be at least one more book to complete the tale.

Daphne is an admirable character and her supporting cast is entertaining. It’s a fun book to read and held my attention throughout as each new villain or ally entered the picture. The world-building was intricate and credible. However, it is a typical superhero story in that there was never really any doubt that Daphne would succeed in overcoming the increasingly dangerous difficulties thrown at her. For me, the battles tended to blur after a while. Nevertheless, it was a clever way to tie together many Greek myths.

BOOK REVIEW: Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard

It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA novel, so I decided to dip my toe back in with the YA fantasy adventure Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard. 

Borrowing from Greek mythology and infusing the story with modern twists, the author spins a nuanced tale of good versus evil.

Gen (Genevieve) is the daughter of a Mindworker and a Mazon. Mindworkers are able to empathize with/read the minds of other creatures (even other humans to some extent) by feeding them the blood, hair, or saliva of a Mindworker. Mazons (analogous to Amazons) are women with exceptional strength – at least, they were until their whole race was murdered by a race of giants because of a long-standing feud. Gen survived because she was only half Mazon. Her father was then accused of and jailed for the slaughter of a group of these giants using his mind-controlling talents. Gen is certain he is innocent and is willing to do anything to free him and restore his good name.

Castor is the daughter of the Lord of Storms, ruler of Arcadia. The Arcadians are able to control weather. They are also able to bottle and sell small bursts of this power. They are powerful and exceptionally greedy, giving little thought to the havoc caused by the product they sell. One example of the havoc was the slaughter of the Mazons by the giants, who could not have succeeded without utilizing the Arcadian’s weather vials. Castor wants nothing but to take over Arcadia after her father’s death. Her lust for control of the country’s wealth and power has warped her completely. However, the law of the land is that only a male can inherit. So her father’s heir is her twin brother, Pollux, a kindly musician who uses his storm powers for good and for entertainment. Castor views him as weak. She will do anything to force a change in the law so that she will be her father’s heir.

What can these two young women do?

Their world is ruled by the two-headed empresses, who hold a lottery each year to help consolidate their power. The ten lottery “winners” are invited to submit wishes to them. Rarely, the wishes are refused. Usually they are granted but at a cost.

This year, Gen and Castor win places in the lottery. Each submits their wish. The empresses propose a competition. Ten tasks (a.k.a. the labors of Hercules) are set before them. Whichever of them completes the most tasks will win and that wish will be granted.

Gen utilizes her great strength and her ability to recruit animals to aid her. Castor uses ruthlessness and control of the weather. Gen has something else on her side – Castor’s brother Pollux, who is in love with Gen.

The novel pits the two against one another in a desperate race. It’s a fun adventure tale that also explores themes of loyalty, love, and how far one will go to win when the stakes are desperately high.

BOOK REVIEW: The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

I am a fan of Ruta Sepetys’ work. She writes serious YA historical fiction set in times and places that have not received enough attention. My favorite was her first: Between Shades of Gray.

The most recent novel is The Fountains of Silence, set in post-WWII fascist Spain. Francisco Franco is dictator and the people are living in fear and silence. Franco has begun “opening” up the country to foreign investment, particularly to U.S. oil interests. Although there is a good deal of skepticism about Franco’s supposed reforms, money is money, so U.S. companies are willing to do business with Spain and ignore any signs of oppression.

The novel follows eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, son of a Texas oil tycoon and a Spanish mother, who wants to be a photo-journalist if he can avoid being roped into the family business. On a visit to Madrid with his parents, Daniel meets a young local woman, Ana Torres Moreno, who works as a maid in the “American” hotel. They are attracted to one another. However, Daniel is a wealthy, privileged American. Ana is the daughter of murdered Republicans. She is poor, oppressed, and full of secrets.

There are a slew of other characters as well: Rafa, Ana’s brother and Fuga, his friend. They survived brutal torture as children. Fuga is determined to be a bullfighter and Rafa wants to be his supporter and promoter. Ana’s family also includes a sister and brother-in-law, who are struggling to make ends meet, especially now with a new baby. And she has a cousin, Puri, who works in an orphanage. In the hotel, Daniel meets Nick, the son of a diplomat, Ben, a reporter who is impressed by Daniel’s photographs, and some of the other staff. Everyone has secrets. Even Daniel’s parents. Even Daniel.

Despite being intrigued by the setting, I had a hard time getting into this book. It’s long, at about 475 pages, not including notes, photos, and a glossary. But long isn’t bad in historical novels and 475 pages isn’t terribly long for the genre. It just read very slowly. There were so many characters and bouncing viewpoints that it was difficult to feel close to any of them. And the brooding atmosphere and abundance of secrets made it feel like the plot didn’t go anywhere for quite a long time. Rather than ramping up tension, all the hinting at hiddenness dragged the book down. It wasn’t that it was confusing. The writing is clear. But it wasn’t until nearly page 300 that it felt like the story started to come together. Moreover, there was no solving of any of the problems. Essentially, everyone had to simply lie low until Franco died and enough time passed to move on.

I am glad to have read the book. It did bring to life a hidden time period. The rather depressing atmosphere of the book was appropriate to the subject matter. But I think the story itself would have been a more compelling read if it had been streamlined a bit.

BOOK REVIEW: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Having been so impressed with Jasper Fforde’s Early Riser several months ago, I bought one of his earlier books, The Eyre Affair, which is book one in the A Thursday Next Novel series.

Set in England in an alternative 1985, this young adult novel follows Thursday Next, a thirty-something-year-old special operative in the Literary Detective Division. Generally, her job involves chasing down counterfeiters and plagarists, fighting copyright infringement, etc. Nothing as exciting as her father’s job. He’s in the Chronoguard, watching out for timeslips and rents in the spacetime continuum, things like that.

In this world, England and Russia have been fighting over the Crimea for a hundred years. Thursday (and her brother and her brother’s best friend who was the love of Thursday’s life) were in the military at one point. The battle that they were in was botched, her brother died, and, afterward, Thursday’s relationship died too. Long story.

The plot of this book includes an evil mastermind with strange superpowers, a seemingly all-powerful corporation that pretty much owns England, and an absent-minded but brilliant inventor (who happens to be Thursday’s uncle), as well as a slew of special operatives in Thursday’s division and other more dangerous and secretive divisions. Their lives intersect when one of the uncle’s inventions allows the evil mastermind to kidnap characters from works of fiction. If he can steal the original manuscript and manipulate (or kill) the character, changes ripple through every copy ever made through time. Naturally, as a literary detective, Thursday must prevent him from doing this dastardly thing.

As in Early Riser, the setting  is crazy and takes a while to sort out. There are quirky characters galore and a galloping plot. The protagonist has a snarky, funny voice. However, I didn’t enjoy this novel anywhere near as much as Early Riser. Maybe the style didn’t seem as original this time around. Or maybe the humor seemed too forced and the plot a bit too sloppy. It was a quick, fun read, but I don’t think I’ll be chasing down the next book in the series.

BOOK REVIEW: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

I am a big fan of Ruta Sepetys’ writing. Between Shades of Gray still stays with me as one of the best examples of YA historical fiction I’ve read. Although Out of the Easy was not as memorable for me, it was still an excellent read. Just a different focus. Now Sepetys has returned to the WWII setting in Salt to the Sea. She has a talent for bringing attention to the more obscure atrocities. This time, the novel centers on the evacuation of refugees from East Prussia as the Russians advanced against Germany. The devastation and loss of life among civilians was appalling.

Salt to the Sea is told from four different viewpoints. Joana is a young Lithuanian woman who was repatriated to Germany where she worked as a nurse. Intelligent, stalwart, compassionate, and pretty, she carries a lot of guilt because she has survived where so many, including some close family members, have not. Emilia is a fifteen-year-old, pregnant Polish refugee. She speaks little German but is extraordinarily sensitive and can discern things about people that others do not. Florian is a young German man, an art restorer, who was involved with Hitler’s campaign to steal and warehouse art to put in the private collections of Nazis. Florian was not truly aware of what was going on until it became impossible to ignore. Now, he is on a mission of vengeance. And Alfred is a young Nazi. Cowardly, bullying, perverse, and verging on mentally ill, Alfred is a cog in the Nazi wheel, one of the sailors manning the evacuation boats.

The first three are thrown together in a small group of refugees making their way to Frauenberg, hoping to find a way west, away from the Russian army. There are other misfits in the group: Ingrid, who is blind but fiercely brave; Eva, a bristly older woman; a wise and kindly cobbler who they call "the shoe poet," and an orphaned, six-year-old named Klaus who stumbled upon the group and was named "the wandering boy." Joana is unofficially the leader. She holds them together and champions the weak. Florian, a late arrival, tries to stay detached–his mission pushes him onward, but he needs them even more than they need him.

Short chapters in each of the POVs propels the story onward. The characters’ concern for one another grows along with the readers’ concern as they move toward their goal. Obstacles and dangers are present every step of the way. And even when they reach Frauenberg and have safety within reach, the dangers increase.

This is a heartbreaking novel. It’s painfully realistic and re-emphasizes the horrors and cruelties of war. Sadly, although this is historical fiction, these horrors are not all in the past. Novels like this one are important. News can be numbing. Strangely enough, fiction can sometimes make the human cost more real.

BOOK REVIEW: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I finally had a chance to do a little reading, so I picked a YA fantasy: Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves. This entertaining, suspenseful novel is set in the mid-1800s in an alternative fantasy world of England and Hungary, where the ruling elites maintain their status and power not only through bloodlines and money, but through magic. Years ago, a spell was cast by a small cadre of the nobility to concentrate access to magic in the hands of a few. The "Binding" prevented outsiders who might have magical talent from ever learning how to use it. While the rationale behind the Binding made some sense (it also trapped dangerous magical monsters within the spell so that they couldn’t harm humans), in practice it led to grave abuse of power.

Lady Anna Arden is a young woman from a well-placed magical family destined for high English society. However, at her confirmation she was unable to perform a spell and was declared Barren. Since then, she has been kept from the public eye. However, at her sister’s debut in society, Anna inadvertently breaks her sister’s spell, causing considerable damage and raising alarms throughout "The Circle," the ruling body. Her talent is unique and potentially dangerous. It’s a type of anti-magic that threatens their entire way of life if she can’t be controlled.

Anna’s parents and grandmother whisk her off to Hungary, her grandmother’s home country, in the hopes that the scandal will die down and The Circle will lose interest in her. Instead, Anna becomes embroiled in a plot to break the Binding spell and free access to magic to the masses. This does not go over well with those in control.

This is a well-done fantasy with intricate world building and a quasi-historical setting that Eves brings to life with a bold sympathetic heroine, a strong love interest, and new friends who are fully rounded characters. Newly released, this is billed as Blood Rose Rebellion #1, so I look forward to the next installment!

BOOK REVIEW: A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston is a spellbinding YA fantasy. I love retellings of old classical stories, so this new adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) caught my attention. It’s beautifully done.

The heroine is unnamed. In fact, most of the characters are unnamed except for the king, Lo-Melkhiin. Others are referred to by their relationships to the protagonist or to the king. Names of other important characters have to do with the tasks they perform. It lends an air of other-worldliness to the fantasy. That, and the other first person voice in the story is that of the demon possessing Lo-Melkhiin.

It is the demon who has turned the king into a powerful man, able to rule in a way that keeps the men safe and enriches them. But their prosperity has a price. The king is entitled to a bride, and he has had more than three hundred of them, all of whom died within days to weeks of their marriage. The demon destroys them, sucking power from their fear and from what he has done to the king.

The men in his domain have grown used to the need to sacrifice their daughters. The rule is that he can only choose one wife from each of the villages and can not return for another until he has taken one from every village in the land. The women are not so resigned.

When he comes to the village of the heroine, everyone expects that he will take her sister, a girl of striking beauty. But the protagonist tricks him into taking her instead. This sacrifice is the beginning of her power, because the sister left behind builds an altar to her. As time wears on, the story of her bravery builds, and all the women in the land are sending her power with their prayers.

She needs this strength to resist the demon. Day after day, she lives to see another and her power grows. But so does his.

Although expecting the story to conform to some degree with its model, and that the protagonist will win, preserving her life, there is enough divergence to keep the story compelling. The demon is brutal, remorseless, and strong. If there is a good man left inside Lo-Melkhiin’s body, he is cowed enough by all that has happened that the heroine can expect no help from him.

Magic permeates the story. It’s woven in well enough that the use of it does not come across as a deus ex machina to resolve the crisis. The language is lovely and helps bring the reader into this strange, magical world. A retelling that is original enough to be more than a retelling—fantasy readers should enjoy this charming tale.

BOOK REVIEW: A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is a page-turner of a romantic fantasy for young adults/new adults. A fairy-tale reworking of Beauty and the Beast, the protagonist is the nineteen-year-old human Feyre, who has been forced by poverty and the uselessness of her father and older sisters to become the provider for the family. For this reason she has taught herself to hunt. One day, in desperation, she kills a wolf that is clearly more than a wolf—it’s a fairy. And one of its kind comes to claim retribution.

Feyre is hauled off beyond the wall that separates the fairy world from that of the humans, a tenuous boundary meant for mutual safety. Although the fairy has promised not to kill her, she expects to be enslaved. She doesn’t expect the beautiful castle she finds there or the civilized treatment she receives. The fairy who has captured her is not a beast after all, but a handsome member of the High Fae named Tamlin. At first, she wants nothing more than to go home. It’s the one thing he denies her. But as time passes, and she learns more about the world of the fairies, she discovers that the land is under a curse. Tamlin is doing everything in his power to protect his world and to protect her. It isn’t enough. Feyre steps up her game.

There’s a lot going on in this story: fairy legends, rivalries between courts, ancient rituals, and a growing passion between Tamlin and Feyre. There is also a cynical yet delightful sidekick, Lucien. And there is a handsome, sexy nemesis to challenge Tamlin, one who works for the evil queen who put the land under the curse in the first place. Feyre, human as she is, has to find a way to deal with all these different fairies. Clever, spunky, and determined, she refuses to give up. The odds seem overwhelmingly against her, so it’s a fast-paced, enjoyable read watching her fight.

ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

So, back to historical fiction—young adult historical fiction. I haven’t read a YA historical in a while so it was time. And this was a good one!

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross is an interesting and original look at late 1800's Paris from the point of view of a strong, intelligent young woman named Maude Pichon. Maude, a country girl from Brittany, fled an arranged marriage to a middle-aged butcher to seek the excitement of city life. She wanted to explore what the world had to offer, little understanding the world didn’t offer much to a poor girl except hard labor.

Then she stumbles upon an advertisement from the Durandeau Agency looking for young women for undemanding work. She applies and is offered a job before she knows what she is being hired to do. As soon as she realizes what is expected of her, she is appalled. She is to be a "repoussoir."

Wealthy women who wished to stand out in a crowd would hire foils—companions who were plain to downright ugly. These companions were to accompany them to social events to make them appear more attractive by comparison.

Maude is shocked and hurt to realize she’s unattractive enough to be hired as one of these foils, but she is desperate enough to take the job. She is hired by the cold-hearted Countess Dubern who needs a companion for her daughter, Isabelle.

Isabelle is not so unattractive that she needs a "foil," but Isabelle is headstrong and rebellious and in danger of ruining her own season by insufficient attention to the importance of attracting a husband. Maude is to befriend her, spy on her, and report back to the countess. The countess is paying her. But how far down this path can Maude go?

Paris in the 1880's is a fascinating time, and Maude is in the thick of it. Isabelle, too, is an interesting character with a mind of her own. Maude’s demeaning job and Isabelle’s struggle to lead an independent life despite her mother’s determination to see her appropriately married off demonstrate the difficulties women faced in the nineteenth century. Fiction allows a bit of leeway with the resolutions. You’ll root for these women and their friendship. And it’s Paris.

BOOK REVIEW: Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

Last November, I reviewed a heart-wrenching contemporary YA novel titled Breakable by Aimee L. Salter. The book focuses on the very real and all-too prevalent issue of bullying and the life-long effect it can have on people whose victimization begins in childhood or teen years.

This wonderful novel has been re-released (with some changes) as Every Ugly Word, published by Alloy Entertainment. It’s available today from Amazon.com!

Every Ugly Word follows seventeen-year-old Ashley, who has been bullied for years by a clique of fellow students who used to be her friends. The daily torment escalates when Ashley’s one remaining friend, a handsome and popular boy named Matt, begins to date one of the worst of the bullies, a nasty scheming girl named Karyn. Karyn is able to hide her true personality from Matt, who is blinded by her pretty face and popularity.

Ashley has been quite desperately in love with Matt for a long while. In addition to a friendship that has lasted since they were children, they also share a passion and talent for art. This skill brings them closer and also offers them an outlet for expression as they go through personal crises. (All is not well with Matt, either.)

Things were difficult enough for Ashley when Matt saw her just as a friend, but when he starts going out with Karyn, it’s more than Ashley can take. Karyn and the rest of the crew are all too aware of Ashley’s feelings and use this as additional ammunition against her.

There is one other person in Ashley’s corner. For years, she has been communicating with her future self, "Older Me," whom she can see in mirrors. Ashley wants "Older Me" to guide her through the impending crisis, but as the bullying spirals out of control, she is less sure her older self is able to help. Meanwhile, the voice we see of the older Ashley is growing more desperate and more determined that the course of younger Ashley’s fate must be different from her own, but how?

Every Ugly Word is a fast-paced read with memorable characters. Salter is able to get inside Ashley’s head to show both the emotional frailty and the resilience of a teenager who has been victimized for years but who retains the capacity for a strong and generous love. It’s a heart-wrenching tale of a girl in crisis and a powerful book about the long-lasting effects of bullying. The re-released version is even more readable than the original and I was just as engrossed the second time around.

To learn more, check out Aimee’s website at: Aimee L. Salter- author.

BOOK REVIEW: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

A while back, I was looking for books that YA boys might potentially be interested in and found a recommendation for Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. It’s supposed to be John Green-ish, so I bought the book. I wanted to read it myself and also to have something around as a summer read for my son. That was last year, but my son was heavily into the Game of Thrones books, so this one sat on the shelf. At the bookstore this weekend I noticed that the author has a new book out, Noggin, which looks kind of fun, but I thought I’d better read this one first. Plus, it’s aged on my shelf long enough to count for the TBR pile challenge.

Where Things Come Back is a very thoughtful story of seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter’s awful senior-year-of-high-school summer. Cullen lives in Lily, Arkansas, a small town that he describes as a black hole, sucking people back no matter how hard they try to escape. It’s a place where he, at least, fears he will die of boredom. Cullen works at being a pessimist and a cynic. There isn’t much in his life to make him otherwise–and yet, he’s a little embarrassed by a tendency to nevertheless hope for something better.

This summer, circumstances seem to conspire to beat out the last bit of optimism Cullen might have left. The summer begins with the death by overdose of his cousin. Cullen attempts to slog on with his routine. A stranger to the town reports the sighting of a known-to-be-extinct woodpecker: the Lazarus Woodpecker, which brings a circus type of celebrity to their small town. Cullen feels as though only he, his younger brother Gabriel, and his best friend Lucas see through the hoax. And then, his brother disappears. A massive search fails to locate him and Cullen’s world slowly dissolves.

A second plot revolves around a young missionary whose life is sidetracked after a failed mission to Africa. The one convert he makes, accidentally, is the college roommate he later meets and whose life he influences more than he could possibly envision.

As the jacket blurb states (reassures), these plots do intersect. Loose ends are tied.

This is a poignant story with likeable protagonists. The characters feel true to life, making it a more or less realistic story even if some of the situations are a bit over the top. If you’re looking for contemporary YA focused on male protagonists, a book that can be read in an afternoon, try Where Things Come Back.

BOOK REVIEW: Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

I’ve seen a couple early reviews for Roomies, co-written by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando. I haven’t read a contemporary YA in a while and the idea behind this one grabbed me, so I requested it from the library. I must have been one of the first people on the list, because the book came to me already. It’s a quick paced, read-in-one-sitting kind of book and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Told in alternating chapters from two first person points of view, and partially told by email, Roomies is the interlacing story of Elizabeth and Lauren, two about-to-be college freshmen at UC Berkeley. For each of them, this is the last summer at home. They are preparing themselves for major life changes. They can’t wait. And yet. . .

Elizabeth is a Jersey girl. She is quite desperate to get as far from home as possible. Her relationship with her mother is at a very low point. Her father abandoned them when she was five. He’s gay. Her mother has never really recovered from this. Elizabeth is having a rough summer. She is drifting apart from her friends, breaking up with her boyfriend, fighting with her mother, and starting a new relationship with a perfect boy despite knowing they have only a few weeks to be together.

Lauren’s circumstances are entirely different. She lives in San Francisco. She has an intact family. Too intact. She is the oldest of six children and feels more like a third parent than a sibling. When she isn’t helping take care of the kids, she is working to set aside money for the things she’ll need for college. She has a best friend but never gets to see her. She got a summer job working with a really nice guy, but he never noticed her at school so he’s just a work friend, right?

Early in the summer, they are notified by the Berkeley housing department that they are to be roommates. Lauren is dismayed at first. Crowded all her life, she had really hoped for a single. But Elizabeth (EB)’s email to break the ice starts off a chain of communication between the two that is not only the basis for a future friendship, it IS friendship. And the support they lend each other through the very difficult summer becomes a sort of life line for both of them.

The situations are realistic. (Maybe some are a little too realistic for my old fashioned taste when reading about contemporary teens. I have contemporary teens! This is why I usually read historical fiction. So I can hide my head in the sand.) The characters are well drawn. Their problems are real and they face them with admirable maturity and/or resignation. And they are able to recognize their blessings. This is a sweet book that captures that very awkward transitional time when the future is so exciting and full of promise and the past is falling away so fast it hurts even when you think you want to escape your past.

BOOK REVIEW: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Our next book group book is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It’s been on my I-should-really-read-this list for a long time, but it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to read. I’m glad our book group chose it, because I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

Junior is an Indian growing up on a reservation in Spokane, Washington, where poverty, alcoholism, and violence are the norm. He is further disadvantaged by having been born with hydrocephalus and a seizure disorder, so he refers to his brain as damaged. However, there is no evidence of that. He’s the smartest kid in his school and a good (coordinated) basketball player. Still, he tells us that he stutters and lisps and wears lopsided glasses. Being skinny and awkward in appearance, he’s a natural target.

Despite the many disadvantages of his situation, Junior cannot be kept down. He wants to be a cartoonist (examples included), and he allows himself to dream. When a teacher tells him that there is no hope on the reservation so he has to leave before he is trapped like everyone else, Junior decides to transfer to an all-white school in a neighboring town.

Junior’s adolescent male observations on life, love, alcohol abuse, education, basketball, friendship, and true tragedy make this a touching and painful story, but also a hopeful and, at times, a funny one. Junior has a way of bringing out the good in people–sometimes it takes a while, but if there is good, it’ll work its way out. Unfortunately, while there may be an optimistic end in sight for Junior, the overall picture of the reservation life and the people he must leave behind remains bleak. And because it shows us that picture, too, this is an important book.

BOOK REVIEW: Breakable by Aimee L. Salter

Bullying is certainly not new. However, awareness of the problem has been raised in recent years, particularly as the pervasiveness of social media has made cyber-bullying an increasing threat with the power to devastate young lives. So it is no surprise that YA contemporary fiction is reflecting today’s world with novels centered on teen protagonists who must deal with bullies.

Breakable, a new release by Aimee L. Salter, is a compelling story about seventeen-year-old Stacy, who has been bullied for years by a clique of fellow students who used to be her friends. The daily torment escalates when Stacy’s one remaining friend, a boy named Mark, begins to date one of the worst of the bullies, a nasty scheming girl named Karyn. Karyn is able to hide her true personality from Mark, who is blinded by her pretty face and popularity.

Stacy has been quite desperately in love with Mark for a long while. It’s difficult enough that he just sees her as a friend, but when he starts going out with Karyn, it’s more than Stacy can take. Karyn and the rest of the crew are all too aware of Stacy’s feelings and use this as additional ammunition against her.

There is one more person in Stacy’s corner. For years, Stacy has been communicating with her future self, "Older Me," whom she can see in mirrors. Stacy relies on "Older Me" to guide her through the impending crisis, but as the bullying spirals out of control, even her future self seems to fail her.

Breakable is a fast-paced read with memorable characters. Salter is able to get inside Stacy’s head to show both the emotional frailty and the resilience of a teenager who has been victimized for years but who retains the capacity for a strong and generous love. It’s a heart-wrenching tale of a girl in crisis and a powerful book about the long-lasting effects of bullying.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: Breakable by Aimee L. Salter

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly blogging event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that highlights eagerly anticipated new releases.

Here's the book I'm looking forward to reading--to be released next week!

 



The goodreads blurb is:



When seventeen-year-old Stacy looks in the mirror she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been Stacy's secret support through the ongoing battle with their neurotic mother, relentless bullying at school, and dealing with her hopeless love for her best friend, Mark.

Then Stacy discovers Older Me is a liar.

Still reeling from that betrayal, Stacy is targeted again by her most persistent tormentor. Only this time, he's used her own artwork to humiliate her - and threaten her last chance with Mark.

She’s reached breaking point.

Literally.


 

BOOK REVIEW: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

In Rose Under Fire, Elizabeth Wein stays with a subject she knows well. Following the success of her amazing YA historical, Code Name Verity, Wein gives us Rose Justice’s story. Like the protagonists of her previous novel, Rose is a young female transport pilot in WWII, but this time, Rose is an American, providing a different perspective. The book is told somewhat retrospectively; Rose is writing down what happened to her. This detracts a little from the tension because we know she’s going to survive, but still, the horror of what she is going to have to go through unfolds in a way that never permits the pace to flag.

Rose begins the novel as a naive but strong-willed seventeen-year-old pilot who loves to fly. She’s adventurous and good-natured. The other pilots (including Maddie from Code Name Verity) like her. But she’s coming in at the end of the war. The Germans are in retreat. And Rose doesn’t have a full appreciation of just how bad things have been for the people who have been suffering for so many years. When she hears radio reports of German atrocities committed in concentration camps, her understanding of the camps is murky at best, and she doesn’t quite believe the reports could be true.

As the Germans retreat, Rose is able to fly closer to the front. The border is fluid. On one particular mission, Rose manages to get off track. She is intercepted by German fighters who force her to fly with them into Germany where she is captured. Rose is taken to Ravensbruck. She finds out firsthand that not only were the rumors true, but the camps are worse, much worse, than anything coming out in the reports. Rose’s innocence is stripped away, and she is left raw, desperate to survive.

The bulk of the book deals with Rose’s struggle to cope with what she is confronted with in the concentration camp and how she made it through. She records her friendships and conflicts with the women in her group, which includes some of the "rabbits," women who survived Nazi experimentation.

Like Code Name Verity, the novel is an homage to the women who played such an important part in WWII, resisting the Nazis in different capacities. This book remembers, in particular, women who were the focus of Nazi "medical" experimentation. The details of those experiments make for horrific reading. In an interesting twist, Wein also introduces us to a German woman, who, in the interest of her own survival, took part for a time in the experiments as a technician.

Wein made Rose a poet as well as a pilot. I found Rose’s poems a bit distracting and confess I ended up skipping most of them, which is bad of me, since Rose’s poetry is a big part of what kept her sane in the camp. It could be that I was so caught up in the story I wanted it to keep moving, and felt the poems slowed it down.

Rose Under Fire does not have the Wow!! factor of Code Name Verity. It’s a much more conventional historical novel–and a fairly typical-of-the-genre book about the holocaust, the difference being an American female pilot for a protagonist. But Wein is a talented writer with a gift for characterization, and the book is emotionally gripping. So while it is different in some ways from Code Name Verity, it’s similar in that it is an excellent WWII YA historical!

I'm adding this to the count for the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.

ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow has been a "should read" for me for awhile now. It’s YA historical fiction and it has been receiving great reviews. So every time I hear it mentioned (or see it mentioned) in passing, I think: I should read that. Holding me back has been the pile of books I already have decided to read and, I have to admit, the subject matter. The Berlin Boxing Club focuses on a young Jewish boy growing up in Nazi Germany, who finds strength and inspiration, as long as he is able, from boxing.

Of course, it’s a thrilling setting and an emotionally gripping coming-of-age story addressing multiple issues. But boxing? Meh. Also, in the past couple years I’ve read more WWII-era fiction than I’m accustomed to reading, and it is always difficult to get through the horror of Nazi Germany–the insidious creep of evil and reign of terror. Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada is a must-read that epitomizes this. These books are crucially important and yet so painful to read.

All that aside, I could no longer ignore the fact that I really SHOULD READ The Berlin Boxing Club. So, using the library challenge (hosted by Book Dragon's Lair) for added incentive, I borrowed the book and settled in.

Karl Stern is a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy whose nondescript physical appearance and atheist parents leave him identifying more with his non-Jewish classmates than with the few Jewish boys who have been singled out as targets. When not with his family, Karl can "pass" for non-Jewish, as long as he is not seen by anyone who knows him. He imagines that he is getting away with pretending in school, until the day three older boys, members of a National Socialist club, catch up to him after school and beat him up. From then on, things go downhill for Karl, just as they are going downhill for Jews throughout Berlin.

The one bright light for Karl is boxing. Karl’s father, who owns a fast-failing art gallery, is friends with Max Schmeling, a German (and international) boxing champion. In exchange for a painting Max wants, boxing lessons for Karl are arranged. Karl begins a fitness regimen and then training at the Berlin Boxing Club. This focus for his energy, this ray of hopefulness, becomes a lifeline as the world dissolves around Karl and his family in Hitler’s Berlin.

This is the first book I remember reading that deals specifically with an adolescent boy in Nazi Germany. It is a wonderful book about courage in the face of adversity. It is also a wonderful book about family. Karl’s voice and his journey will keep you hooked throughout the story and the last few chapters in particular race along to the powerful conclusion. It's not just a book for YA boys, but something that all YA and adults can appreciate.

This is my 14th book for the historical fiction challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.