"Freakboy" by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

I have read so many good books already this year so I know that choosing my Top 10 in December is going to be very difficult. Freakboy is probably going to make that list. Brendan is everything a teenage boy could want to be; a jock, popular, he has a wonderful girlfriend. And yet, something is missing though he's not quite sure what that is. Vanessa (the girlfriend) isn't a typical girl. Sure she does the normal girl stuff, but she's also on her school's wrestling team. She loves Brendan, but at times struggles with the fact that he is often distant. And then there's Angel. Angel is a girl that works at a local LGBTQ center. She meets Brendan quite by accident and slowly becomes an important figure in his life. And one other thing- she's transgender. It takes some time, but Brendan begins to realize that the reason he's not really happy with himself is that the person he is isn't who he wants to be, but instead, he would rather be a girl.

This book was fantastic. Clark has tackled a very difficult topic but does so without judgement or criticism. I have very little about transgender teens and know that it is not a situation that is easy to face. I am so glad that this book exists. There were times where it was a little difficult to read because some of the emotions are so intense, but every moment of this book felt extremely real. I could visual these characters and it was very easy to imagine that they could really exist. I think that Clark has hit the ball out of the park with this book and can't express how important I think that it be read by teens. Those going through similar situations or trying to help friends with their transitions can get much insight out of this book. Fans of Ellen Hopkins will likely adore this book as well (notice her quote on the front cover). Seriously, if you haven't read this book yet, you must!

More insight into this novel:

5 Things Kristin Elizabeth Clark Learned While Writing FREAKBOY

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse

Title: Out of the Dust

Author: Karen Hesse

Have I Read it Before: No

Since I am doing the Newbery challenge, I don't always read the description of the winners before reading- I'm at the point where I get the book off the shelf and start reading. Because of this, the plot is a surprise. I knew absolutely nothing about Out of the Dust, though a part of me did assume it was about the dust bowl. Billie Jo lives with her mother and father and soon-to-be sibling in the middle of the horrid dust storms that took place during the Great Depression. Her life is extremely difficult, but she finds some solace in her piano playing. Despite trying to find ways to be happy, her life becomes harder and harder (not wanting to spoil with specific details), and though she faces seemingly impossible situations, she will become a stronger person.

I thought this book was a very interesting look at history. I personally know very little about this area of history as the Dust Bowl was not really covered in the history classes I have taken (odd as I live relatively close to the area in which they took place). Seeing it through Billie Jo's eyes was quite an eye opener. I have read a decent amount about the Great Depression but to have go through the Depression and the Dust Bowl is almost impossible for me to comprehend. Hesse's has a created a character with incredible strength and perseverance and I can't help admire Billie Jo. While I'm not sure that verse was the best option for this novel (I think it would have worked a little better as a journal), I do this this work is very strong and is certainly a worthwhile read. As usual, I think it would be excellent paired with some non-fiction books about this era as well. This book has inspired me to seek out more novels about this era and hope to do so in the near future.

Happy Reading!
-Melly 

"Chasing Brooklyn" by Lisa Schroeder

Both Brooklyn and Nico are trying to recover from the death of Lucca. Lucca was Brooklyn's boyfriend and Nico's brother. Almost a year to the day after Lucca's death, his best friend Gabe dies too. Brooklyn and Nico are both being haunted, Brooklyn by Gabe and Nico by Lucca. The two begin a friendship that will help them battle their demons and reclaim their place among the living.

I liked this book just fine, but felt like it didn't need to be written in verse. The poems weren't very memorable in terms of their structure and it almost seemed like a device to have shorter "chapters." Each poem alternates between the point of view of the two characters, so each character only gets a few pages at a time. Despite this, I did enjoy the plot of this novel. It is a very touching and poignant novel and Lisa Schroeder does an excellent job at capturing the lives of those affected by a great loss. I also liked that the ghost element of the story doesn't completely overwhelm the plot so it's still a story about two teenagers dealing with the changes in their lives and not two teenagers dealing with their haunted bedrooms. I have now read several books by Schroeder and have found that I prefer her books for younger readers, but either way, Chasing Brooklyn is still worth a read.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Smoke" by Ellen Hopkins

*Do NOT read this if you have not read Burned.  Trust me.  Your life will be better for it*
*And don't read this review either, unless you have read Burned*

We've been waiting for this one for awhile.  I am not one to beg for sequels.  There is little that annoys me more than a sequel that doesn't begin to do justice to the original novel/series.  Because of this, I really didn't expect Ellen Hopkins to write a follow-up to Burned, but oh am I glad that she did.  Burned ended on a pretty major cliffhanger.  I had a pretty good idea what decision Pattyn would make and so in my head, that's where her life would go.  So I wasn't too surprised by the opening of Smoke.  Told from the perspectives of Pattyn and her sister Jackie, Smoke tells the aftermath of their father's death.  Pattyn is on the run, still coping with the death of Ethan and their baby.  She finds work by pretending to be an immigrant and starts working as a nanny.  Jackie is still at home, her life in shambles now that Pattyn is gone and their father is dead.  Though things get better for their family (new house, no threat of abuse) things spiral downward as her mother forms a friendly relationship with the father of a boy Jackie knows (yes, very vague, this would be a MAJOR spoiler, but trust me, this is a huge issue for Jackie).  She is completely alone.

I tackled this book in one sitting.  I didn't like it as much a Burned but I think that is partly because I wasn't as interested in Pattyn's story this time around.  While her story this time around was interesting, it just wasn't as engaging as Jackie's.  As I was reading, I really missed Aunt J's character.  She is briefly in this book but I think that she brought so much to the first novel.  Overall, this is a great book.  While I don't think it is quite to Hopkins' usual standard, it is a definite read.  And again, read Burned before reading Smoke.




Happy Reading!
-Melly

"The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus" by Sonya Sones

I love Sones' work for teens so I was pretty excited to give this book a read.  It reminded me quite a bit of Ellen Hopkins' Triangles, both in content and writing style (Makes sense, both write in verse and both of these novel center around woman entering middle age- and learning how to deal with it, and both have characters named Holly...).  Holly is about to turn fifty, has a daughter about to go off to college, isn't sure where her relationship with her husband is going and is worried about her mom's health.  On top of that, her publisher is constantly reminding me that the deadline for her new book is coming up fast.  How can she possible handle everything in her life?

Okay, so I am a twenty-something and can't really relate to Holly.  But that doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate this novel.  I thought Sones did an excellent job of capturing the characters in The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus and the emotions they would be going through.  I felt like I could really see through Holly's eyes and though her experiences are not ones I have necessarily encountered, I could imagine how it would feel to go through these scenarios.  I certainly would like to see more with these characters. This is the kind of novel that I think would work to see a sequel written from the point of view of one of the other characters (I think it could be the most interesting to see a novel from Holly's mother's viewpoint- though that would likely be the most challenging perspective to write from).  I hope that Sones follows this novel up with another book soon!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Love & Leftovers" by Sarah Tregay

I'm glad to see more and more novels in verse.  I just love them!  Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay is a kinda what you'd expect teenage story.  Marcie and her mother take off on "vacation" when Marcie's father comes out of the closet.  This vacation consists mainly of Marcie entertaining herself while her mother attempts to recover from the shock.  The two do not return to Idaho and Marcie starts at a new school.  There she meets a new love interest (but never breaks off her relationship back home.  Which of course becomes a problem later in the novel).  The two become crazy close, despite Marcie's mother's wishes and soon Marcie is sent back home to live with her father and his new boyfriend.  Marcie finds herself once again surrounded by the "leftovers' (her friends in Idaho) and has to figure out how to go back to her old life even though she had gone through many changes.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit.  It's a fast read, but I think that many novels in verse are.  The plots are usually so well thought out, that it usually doesn't take a lot of extra wording to get the story out.  I certainly look forward to reading more by this author and hopes she puts out some more versework soon!



Tregay has all sorts of cool L&L stuff on here website!

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Tilt" by Ellen Hopkins

This is likely a very biased review as it is no secret whats-so-ever that I am totally in love with just about everything Ellen Hopkins writes.  But I'm going to review it anyway.

Tilit is the companion to Triangles.  It follows Mikayla (Holly's daughter) and her relationship (and sometimes lack-thereof) with Dylan and the complications brought on by an unplanned pregnancy, Shane (Marissa's son) and his relationship with Alex who is HIV-positive, and Harley (Andrea's daughter) and her desire to have a relationship with just about anyone that will have her. This book takes place during the same time as the events in Triangles.  Told from the perspective of the teens, we get to see why they do the things they do and how they react to their parents actions.  Though you don't need to read one to read the other, I do recommend the two novels one right after the other.  I didn't and my memory of the first book was a little fuzzy.  Something else that I liked about this book was that I could see it being perfect for a mother-daughter book discussion.  I like that we see the adult and the teen perspective and think it would be really interesting to discuss these books with someone (sadly I haven't caused a total Hopkins-craze in my community...yet...).  As always, the poetry in this novel is superb.  Something that caught my eye as I was reading was that each characters section always ended on the same side of the novel and was followed by a poem from the perspective of a (mostly) minor character.  The kind of planning it must have taken to always have the right number of papers per character astounds me.  Hopkins has got to be the most brilliant writer of my generation and I look forward to all of her future work.

Happy Reading! 
-Melly 

"What My Mother Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones

I've loved this book for a long time now.  I first read it when I was in high school and my copy is covered with underlined and highlighted passages.  As I re-read it this time it was interesting to see the different colored ink marks and to know what I was thinking each time I had read it way-back-when.  I'm glad to say that I loved reading Sonya Sones' What My Mother Doesn't Know as much now as I did then.

Sophie is a very average teenager.  She's dating a rather hot guy, hangs out with her best friends, and has great artistic ability.  Like many teens in YA lit, her home life isn't so great.  Her parents clearly aren't in love anymore- her dad travels a lot on business and her mother does little more than watch television.  Sophie is set apart because she is pretty much the only one at her school that doesn't make fun of the outcast student, Murphy.  Told in verse, this novel perfectly captures the emotions of a teenage girl.  I can easily believe that Sophie is a real person.  She isn't perfect.  She has flaws just like any teenager would.  Her feelings toward her boyfriend Dylan begin to waver.  She realizes that she doesn't know everything about life.  She also adapts to the obstacles life throws at her, even giving herself a "staycation" when her family doesn't go out of town for the holidays.  

I just have to rave about this book.  I have read all of Sones' Young Adult writing and just love her style.  She has the great ability to take what it is like to be a teenager in a not so great situation and place it beautifully onto a piece of paper.  I am so glad that we get to revisit Sophie and Murphy in the sequel What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know.  It's been awhile since Sones has put out another YA book so it looks like I'm going to have to make some time to read her novel, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus while I wait for more.   

Happy Reading!

-Melly