Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

As is typical of author Ellen Hopkins, there are quite a few emotional punches packed into the poetic words of her latest novel in verse. For anyone who read her adult novel Triangles, you will recognize these teen characters; for the rest of you, prepare yourselves to meet some interconnected individuals with a lot on their plates. Though you do get a sense of their home lives from reading Tilt, those of you who read Triangles know that these kids belong to parents who - in the best cases - are very distracted from their children's lives.

Mikayla is completely in love with boyfriend Dylan, and he would do anything for her - except stick around to see her through her pregnancy. Shane is finally coming to terms with his homosexuality and has a wonderful new boyfriend, but his family is falling apart at the seams largely because of the inevitable death of his four-year-old sister. Harley has gotten well over her head in order to gain acceptance and to feel good about herself, and nobody but her best friend seems to notice - until pictures of her start to get spread around, anyway. We get to know these and other characters through their relationships with each other, and there really is no easy way out of many of the situations they create for themselves.

Ellen Hopkins is always a very powerful writer, choosing her words delicately and forcing the reader to feel the emotions of her characters. In addition to Tilt and others, I have loved Crank, Burned, and Identical. If you haven't yet, definitely give this author a try!

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton

Chanda is a sixteen-year-old girl living in southern Africa, firmly caught in an AIDS pandemic. Millions of individuals living in this part of the world are infected with HIV/AIDS; this is not a work of historical fiction. In a life where money is scarce, good doctors even more so, and where ignorance and fear are roadblocks in the path to sexual safety, illness and disease are rampant. Chanda is living with her mother and her younger brother and sister, and her story begins immediately following the death of her youngest sister, baby Sara. Marking Chanda's mother as cursed and the reason for the death, Sara's father walks out on the family. Without money or work, life is difficult, especially for Chanda who is trying to make her way through school to get a scholarship. When her mother leaves to visit her family in her hometown, Chanda expects that she will return, and after a few weeks Chanda goes out to find her, determined to bring her home -- even if she is only bringing her back home to die.

Chanda's Secrets is a powerful story of poverty, and of the ignorance and fear about HIV/AIDS and the treatment of AIDS sufferers. It is about a young woman strong enough to stand up for the people she loves, whether it's her best friend who has to whore for money to bring her family back together, or a stepfather who she doesn't like but respects as a human being. It's about a difficult life and individuals fighting for survival every day. It's also about hope -- that through acknowledgement of the disease and education about safety, maybe one day AIDS will cease to exist.

*Great study/discussion/activity guide: http://www.allanstratton.com/secretsteachingguide.pdf

*The movie "Life, Above All" is based on this story.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.