The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin

Tamika Sykes is a high school student who hates to wear her hearing aids, loves the rhythm of a guitar, works hard in class, and draws pictures void of people.  Fatima is a refugee living in NYC all alone, with dreams of visiting the Statue of Liberty, and has a passion for finding beauty in everything and everyone.  Jimmi Sixes is a 19-year-old war veteran, stuck on drugs and poetry, and wise beyond his years.  When Jimmi introduces Mika and Fatima, he somehow manages to teach them how to look beyond the streets, beyond the skies, and into the world.  Tragedy is unavoidable in the worlds of these three young people -- far older in experience than they are in years -- but their struggles to survive and thrive are inspiring.  The author writes with a fluidity and subtle rhythm that allows readers to find comfort even in the darkest corners and most horrific scenes.  

Recommended to all.  This authentic story is both short and long-lasting.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

I Am an Emotional Creature : The Secret Life of Girls around the World by Eve Ensler

Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, offers incredible words aimed at the hearts of teenage girls everywhere.  This collection is virtually an emotional appeal to young women to be content and happy with who and what they are, and to not listen to anyone who suggests that they be less than satisfied simply because they are girls.  This book can serve as a quick silent read from cover to cover, or as a selection of monologues and poetry women and girls can choose to voice aloud to an appreciative audience.  Either way, the words are true and beautiful.

*My only less-than-positive thought about this collection is the extraordinary lack of balance between heterosexual and homosexual love and relationships.  This is a celebration of girls, but doesn't necessarily acknowledge the beauty of difference, choice, acceptance found in lesbian and "traditional" relationships.

Recommended to all girl readers from all walks of life!

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Julia Jarmond is an American journalist living in Paris with her French husband and their eleven-year-old daughter, Zoe.  Throughout her research for a journalistic piece about the 60th anniversary of the roundups of Jews by the French police during World War II, Julia discovers the story of Sarah Starzinski.  Sarah was 10 years old in 1942, at a time when the yellow star on her chest didn't hold much meaning to her until she and her family were forced into camps outside of Paris because of it.  As Sarah's story unfolds, Julia becomes entrenched in its many folds, and discovers more connections between Sarah's life and her own than she ever expected.  Sarah changes Julia's life tremendously, and Julia ensures that Sarah's story will never be forgotten.

I'd recommend this story for older high school and adult readers, along side Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly.  While each story has it's own unique appeal, matched by different atmospheres, character attitudes, and foundation for the events that  make up the world of the two books, they each have some similar traits.  In particular, both novels are told from dual perspectives: one is the voice of an American transplant now staying in contemporary Paris; the other a young girl living in Paris during a tumultuous period in history.  And both stories are told beautifully through audio.  *I still think I like Revolution better than Sarah's Key, and I was only intrigued enough to read Sarah's Key after seeing the interesting movie previews, but I'm glad that I allowed myself the opportunity to share in in both Andi's and Julia's worlds -- both for their similarities and their differences.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Out of respect for the author and her characters, all I can say is that Micah is a compulsive liar and this is her story as she tells it.  There are twists and turns and misconceptions and mixed up perceptions; though there is a beginning and an end, there is no clear pathway leading to or from either.  Her story is both captivating and off-putting, depending on whether or not you can stomach the incredulity of the whole thing, and depending on what pieces of the story you choose to believe.  Do you take Micah's story at face value, or how far can you stretch the lines in order to read between then?

Recommended to high school readers, particularly those looking for something different than what is already in the "to be read" pile.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Shadoweyes by Ross Campbell

Have you ever wished that you could be a superhero?  That you could wipe out all the bad in the world?  That you could make other people happy and be happy?  That you could be the answer to pain and loneliness?  Unfortunately, we've learned from many of our traditional superheros that in order to relieve pain in others, pain often needs to be absorbed elsewhere.  Taking on the burdens of others can sacrifice the superhero himself.  Or herself.

Scout is NORMAL.  She's seventeen, she's part of the Neighborhood Crimewatch, she likes kittens (at least she wants to save battered ones), she loves her mom, and she's not always as tough as she thinks she is.  When she finds that she has the ability to transform into Shadoweyes, she takes on her mission to eliminate suffering diligently and seriously.  But when this ability actually traps her inside her new form, she must learn to figure out how to balance being a community superhero (with a shady reputation) with keeping her mother and her friends safe and coming to terms with never being a "normal" girl ever again.  (The sequel, Shadoweyes in Love, is available July 2011.)

Bold black-and-white images serve to enhance the dramatic adventure as well as to intensify the learning and growing that take place inside Scout as she battles with herself and her world.  Recommended to most comic book readers, especially those who secretly wish for a bit of a superhero inside of themselves . . .

Call number: YA GRAPHIC CAMPBELL (Teen Room)

Reviewed by kate the librarian.