skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Since her mom and dad decided to split up and then get back together for her sake, Evelyn's entire existence has changed. She hates spending time in the "Silent House," with parents who divide their time between her, each having assigned evenings to eat dinner with their daughter, each having different roles of designated separate responsibility in her life. Evelyn isn't even really a piece in her family's whole anymore. So, Evelyn becomes "Bad Evelyn," because she can do whatever she wants without caring.
The first things she does is start drinking and having sex with her steady non-boyfriend guy. And, whoops, Bad Evelyn and Good Evelyn both are pregnant.
Unlike some stereotypical teen novels, this story is not seeped in drama, but rather it follows the emotional and psychological journey of Evelyn as she struggles to figure out the "right thing" to do. She struggles with what is right for her, right for the baby, and right for her family, while also trying to figure out where she stands with the baby's father, with her closest friend, and with her new extended family of aunts and cousins who are stepping up with support, guidance, and love -- even when they are not wanted.
This story is recommended to everyone, though high school girls (and parents of) will probably get the most out of it. Evelyn has a pretty incredible internal voice, and the story is full of the reality of the gray areas of life.
Rafe is a pretty average gay high school kid. He doesn't get bullied, he doesn't get beaten up, and his friends and family accept him just the way he is. The problem is that what he IS seems to equal the fact that he's GAY, and that's all anyone sees. He's Rafe, the gay kid. So he decides to go off to the faraway east coast to an all-boys prep school, un-gay. He's not straight all of a sudden, but he decides that he's not going to "be" gay either.
Unfortunately, Rafe falls in love with one of his new friends, a guy that quickly becomes one of the best friends he's ever had in his whole life. And when their relationship starts to get, um, intense, Rafe know he needs to come clean. But he also knows that telling the truth could cost him his happiness. Or is it the lies that have cost him everything?
Recommended to anyone - there is enough humor here to balance out the harshness of the situation, and everyone is forced to answer the question of self-acceptance.
This novel opens up with a quote from Death Cab for Cutie: Love is watching someone die. But while you should probably prepare yourself for a tearjerker, there are also a number of layers to this story that might surprise you.
Taylor Edwards and her family used to always spend summers at the lake in Pennsylvania, at least until after the summer she was twelve. The summer of the botched romance, the fallout with her best friend, and the inability to confront any of her fears. But this year, they are going back to spend one last season all together at their summerhouse. With the news of late stage cancer, this will likely be her dad's last summer ever.
There are certainly a lot of "issues" packed into this thick novel, but the story manages to be touching and frustrating at all the right times, and even if it doesn't resonate with every reader, there is value in the message that lives are meant to be lived, not avoided. Morgan Matson also wrote the beloved Amy & Roger's Epic Detour.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Everyone loves Abby's sister Tess. Tess is smart and beautiful and happy, and she is always the sister that everyone wants to be around . . . even now that Tess is in a coma. Abby is left constantly responding to friends and neighbors asking after Tess, or saying how much they miss her and how wonderful she was. Abby refuses to talk about Tess in past tense, and spends virtually every second willing Tess to wake up and get back to her life. As long as Tess stays in a coma, Abby will forever be in her shadow.
Unfortunately, there's nothing new here, and readers will always be a few steps ahead of Abby, willing her to just catch up already. Elizabeth Scott has done some really great work; consider trying Love You Hate You Miss You or The Unwritten Rule instead. Mature readers who can handle intense topics should also pick up the beautifully written story of very painful experiences of a young girl, Living Dead Girl.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Liz defines much of her life by two things: she's a photographer and she's Kate's forever-best friend. Sure, she's got her sights on college and she enjoys her boyfriend Brian, but viewing life through a camera lens and sharing everything with Kate are really the things that shape how she sees the world and who she is.
Following a lame fight during their monthly sleepover ritual, Liz doesn't understand why Kate is still avoiding her . . . until Kate tells Liz about the rape. Liz's brother denies it, saying that "it was only sex." Liz is torn between wanting what's best for Kate and for her brother, and eventually even for herself.
While there isn't much new to find in this novel in terms of content and characters, first-time author, Kimberly Marcus, wins the reader over with her poetic, endearing, and captivating storytelling.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Daphne is the daughter of Lucifer. Yup, that Lucifer.
Life in Hell isn't truly as bad as it might seem, but Daphne's brother Obie has fallen in love with a human girl on earth and decides that he cannot stay in Hell, even if living on earth full-time is absolutely forbidden. When he leaves Hell - for good - Daphne knows that his life is in danger and vows to go to (and stay in) earth until she can make sure he's safe. But she doesn't know exactly where he is, and her only clue is a young man named Truman Flynn.
Since his mother's death, Truman has been desolate, depressed, and self-destructive. It was Daphne's brother who saved his life, despite his own efforts to end it. But it is for Daphne, not her brother, that Truman ultimately agrees to help find Obie. Perhaps because of, rather than in spite of, the twists and turns of the demon world, both Daphne and Truman begin to wonder if love can overpower cruelty, and if hope can exist in a world full of pain and sadness.
Recommended to all readers, though the topics of suicide, sacrifices, and torture might limit to readers who can reflect maturely about both life and death.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
When you move around a lot and don't really want anyone to ask you questions about your life "before," or get to know you too well before you up and leave again, it could be a challenge or an opportunity. Mclean Sweet is determined to take advantage of her semi-nomadic life with her dad and create new opportunities in every down, including new names, new wardrobes, and new personalities along with new schools and new friends.
But in Lakeview, it all starts when Mclean just won't stay hidden. Usually she easily transforms into Beth or Eliza Sweet, but this time she's Mclean. And then there are these friends that are basically finding her, rather than the other way around. And Dave, with whom she discovers she can actually have honest conversations -- and maybe even an honest relationship?
Also, try Dessen's Along for the Ride for your cravings of not-quite-fluffy chick lit.
The absolute last thing that Reese wants to do is go on this family boating trip that his father is super enthusiastic about. Reese insists that he's responsible enough to stay home alone, and his father insists that this is a FAMILY activity.
So, they embark on the boat trip only to be shipwrecked on an abandoned island. When creepy things start to happen, Reese, his parents, and his little sister must figure out where they are and how to survive long enough in order to get back home. In a Lost-esque atmosphere, there is certainly a lot to learn about the island itself, as well as it's dangerous creatures who seem to be out to get them. But Reese and his family figure out a way to defeat the bad that seems to be part of the island's very groundwork?
Recommended to middle grade boys, with maybe a few exceptions
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Posts
