While looking up the US cover for 172 Hours on the Moon for my Midwinter post earlier this week, I came across the UK cover and immediately knew I had seen it before.
If you’re a long-time reader of STACKED (and I hope you are!), you’ve seen it before too…not once, but twice.
After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr and The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here by Felicia C. Sullivan, which Kelly wrote about back in 2009.
That’s certainly a popular image.
I mentioned in yesterday’s wrap-up that I was feeling tremendous guilt post-awards ceremony, but it was something that crept up far before the ceremony began and far before listening in on the Best Fiction for Young Adults session. I should be fair and say that actually, my initial feelings on the subject were of frustration and anger and disappointment. But those are ultimately unfair emotions for what amounts to guilt.
See, one of my favorite books of 2011 — and one of the most well-written, engaging, exciting, and fresh books of the year for young adults — was one I had hopes could earn a little Printz sticker. I thought early on it had good potential, as so many of the reviews were positive, and there was a lot of excitement about how daring the book was. The book earned 4 starred reviews, and it showed up on numerous Mock Printz contender lists. Without doubt, this book had something to it that made it stand out.
But this isn’t a post about why Imaginary Girls didn’t garner a Printz nod.
Every year, the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) selects books not only for prestigious awards like the Printz, Morris, Excellence in Non-Fiction, Alex, and Odyssey, but the numerous, hard-working committees also develop a number of “best of” recognition lists, including Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, Fabulous Films, Great Graphic Novels, Popular Paperbacks, Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, and Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA). These lists serve a number of purposes, including assisting librarians and other youth advocates in collection development and reader’s advisory.
The last list I linked to — BFYA — is especially important because it helps whittle down what can be an overwhelming number of books published over the course of a 16-month period (September 1 of the previous calendar year through December 31 of the current calendar year, so for this year’s BFYA, titles were published between September 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011). This list recognizes the best of that huge number of books.
So how do these list and award committees get their pool of potentials? It’s kind of straight forward: those who serve on the committees work hard all year round to keep on top of the materials being published (or that have been published). Committee members do receive copies from publishers to consider, but the bulk of responsibility falls upon them to keep an eye out for other eligible titles, then they read or watch or listen to the materials and discuss them at length. For a long time, I was under the impression all of the work falls upon the committee; many of the committees even posted their current pool of contenders for everyone else to check out. It felt like one of those worlds those who weren’t serving on committees were sort of removed from all together. I’m not sure why I thought that, but it’s not true.
All of the linked-to awards and selection lists above also allow for field nominations.
Did you read that?
Anyone — teachers, librarians, authors, publishers, you, me, a teenager, any average reader — can field nominate a title for consideration to any of the above lists. As long as you’re not the author of that particular book or the publisher of that book, it’s fair game. Each of the awards and lists has a link to a form to complete, and once it’s filled out completely and correctly, it’s sent on to the committee for consideration. Of course, the field nomination needs to actually be eligible for consideration for that particular award or list, and the eligibility information is also available on the individual award/list websites.
While each and every award and selection list committee works differently, the rules are generally about the same. Here’s what the rules are about titles being considered for the Printz Award:
Field nominations are encouraged. To be eligible, they must be submitted on the official nomination form. All field nominations must then be seconded by a committee member, and periodically the chair will send a list of field nominations to committee members for this purpose. If, within thirty days, no second is forthcoming, the title will be dropped from consideration. Only those titles that have been nominated (and seconded if field nominations) may be discussed at Midwinter and Annual Conference meetings. Furthermore, all nominated titles must be discussed. Publishers, authors, or editors may not nominate their own titles.
Rules for the Excellence in Non-Fiction Award are similar:
Field suggestions are encouraged. To be eligible, they must be submitted on the official suggestion form. The form will allow for both a rationale and summary of nominated titles. Committee members will be notified of all field suggestions, which are eligible to be considered for nomination by members. Nominated titles must also have a second from a committee member. Only those titles that have been nominated will be discussed at Midwinter and Annual Conference meetings, as well as phone meetings, though a committee member may request that a suggested title be moved to the discussion list and thus treated as a nominated title. Furthermore, all nominated titles must be discussed. To prevent a conflict of interest, publishers, authors, or editors may not nominate titles in which they have a vested interest.
For both of these awards, field nominations are encouraged. As long as the book’s eligible, it will be moved to discussion, and if a committee member feels it’s worthy of consideration, it moves on.
Now, field nominations for the Best Fiction for Young Adults isn’t much different. Again, it’s encouraged, and like the awards above, titles nominated from the populous require a committee second:
Field nominations, which are nominations that come from someone who is not a member of the committee, require a second from a BFYA committee member. The chair informs the committee of field nominations, which remain active until all nominations are closed. If no committee member seconds the field nomination, the title is dropped from consideration.
As long as books are properly nominated from the field — the form’s filled out correctly and submitted correctly and the title is eligible per listed requirements — the books will be considered by the committee. There’s not a wall up that separates the committee’s considerations from those at large. Rather, the field nominations help populate the pool of contenders for awards and lists. When a field nomination comes in, the committee receives an email. If someone has read it, they’ll either second it or discuss why it shouldn’t be considered. There are legitimate reasons a book might not be seconded, and once a book is seconded, every member of the committee must read it, as with any nominated title. But thoughtful, smart nominations are always welcome.
There’s a caveat to this, but it’s one that I’ve laid out here and that’s laid out in the rules. The field nominations need to be thoughtful. The forms that read simply “this is the best book ever” as reason why it should be considered are meaningless. A good nomination will give concrete reasons for why a book should be considered for the list. Talking about the book’s appeal and what makes it better than average are important, as is discussing why and how it fits in the context of the award or list. Likewise, the books need to be within the appropriate eligibility time frame.
Now, going back to my very original comments on this post. I feel extremely guilty this year. Even though I fell in love with Imaginary Girls, even though I thought it was one of the most thought-provoking and enjoyable YA reads this year, I didn’t nominate it for anything. It didn’t occur to me to do it. I thought to myself, surely someone will nominate this book because how could they not?
And yet, when I saw the final list of BFYA titles under consideration, guess which book was not on that list?
As I mentioned earlier, my first reaction to not seeing it on the list was shock and a bit of outrage. There’s no way it didn’t meet the criteria. But when I left the auditorium after the announcements of the Youth Media Awards, I felt nothing but guilt. I read that book and I loved that book. But I didn’t do anything about putting it into the minds of those serving on the BFYA committee. I assumed someone else had this book on their radar already.
But now, it’s too late.
The reason I wanted to write this post was because I wanted to encourage everyone who reads something they like this year to take the time to nominate it if it’s eligible for a particular YALSA award or list. These hard-working committees can miss something simply because of how overwhelming their tasks are. They can miss something because they miss something. Human error happens. But anyone who reads can pitch in and do their part, too, so books like Imaginary Girls don’t unfairly slip between the cracks.
As of today, nomination forms for the 2013 awards and lists aren’t yet open, but they will be starting in February, and I will write up a post when they come out. I’ve made it a personal goal to spend an hour or two once a month going through every book I’ve read that has merit and writing up the nomination forms, even if it’s for a title that seems obvious it’d be considered. The worst that happens is my field nomination is read and considered a duplicate. The best that happens is a book like Imaginary Girls doesn’t miss its chance at consideration for something like the BFYA. I encourage you to do this too — even if it’s not at the same time frame I’ve made for myself, do take the time to fill out a nomination form for a book you love and that fits the criteria. For the five minutes it takes to complete the form, you are doing your part.
Remember — anyone can do this.
* A huge thank you to my experts Liz Burns, Sophie Brookover, and Karyn Silverman for their help in the research and fact-checking in this post.
Last year, I talked about how I thought that that ALA Midwinter was my favorite conference, but I’m pretty sure this year’s ALA Midwinter might top last year’s. I’ve got another post planned for the weekend to talk about some of the books I picked up (which, to be honest, is much smaller than in year’s past since I’ve really come to be selective in what I decide to take). For now, a glimpse at what went down in Dallas.
Friday
I got into town late on Thursday and headed to my room, where I was staying with Liz, Stacy, and Sophie. Since all three ladies had committee assignments, they went to bed shortly after I got in. I, however, stayed up quite late instead and had a very long (but fun) Friday.
I hopped down to the convention center in the early afternoon to pick up all the registration stuff, and then went back to the hotel to read for a while before meeting up with a bunch of my favorite librarians for a late lunch. We got a recommendation for a little diner about half a mile from the convention center, so we walked over there and proceeded to not only enjoy delicious sandwiches, but we had an excellent conversation about recent blogging drama, what we’ve been up to, and more importantly, book talk. We had lengthy chats about recent favorites and not-so-favorites, as well as talked about what we hoped would be seeing new seals on the covers come Monday. As much as we all talk online, it’s never quite the same as when we get together in person because in person, the passion is so much greater. Likewise, it’s easier to have maybe more pointed and honest discussions.
Following lunch, we went back to a hotel and chatted even further at length about recent book releases 
and what we’re looking forward to reading over the next few months. We talked about the titles we’re excited about not only for ourselves, but that we’re excited to sell to other readers.
Then we headed over to the convention center, where the exhibits were about to open. As you can see to the left, we had a second to even snap a picture before chaos ensued (not our chaos, but other chaos). We split up when exhibits opened, and I spent most of the time catching up with Janssen. One of the best things about the opening night was running into Siobhan Vivian. Siobhan is one of my buddies, as I brought her out to my library to do a program for the teens this summer. When she said she’d be at Midwinter promoting The List (which I will review closer to pub date in April), we said we’d meet up and sure enough, we literally ran into one another.
After maybe an hour or so wandering the floor, Janssen and I decided we were more interested in relaxing for a while before our big Friday night event, so we went back to my hotel and read for a bit. I like to think that good friends can do that, just spend quiet time together reading. As I’ve really come to learn over the last few conferences, I feel best when I’m not on the go the entire time; taking breaks is essential to not burning out.
We made our way back to the convention center at 8 for YALSA’s first annual trivia night. Liz and I had been scheming for a while about this, and we managed to put together a team of ten ladies to dominate the program. After asking Twitter what we should call ourselves, we ended up becoming Judy and the Blooms (thanks to my college friend Becky, also a librarian). And because my team apparently loved me so much, they designated me as the captain. Not a small thing, mind you, because it meant not only did I have to write down the answers to the questions but in the event of a tie, I would have to answer the tie-breaking question. THE PRESSURE!
We went five rounds, and each of the rounds included questions about YALSA and the YALSA awards — some were dates, some were books themselves, and some were straight up history of the association. Given we had a pretty rock star team, a lot of the answers could be figured out because someone knew from either having served on a committee or because we had enough reading variety on the team to succeed. After a few rounds of offering nothing to my team except my terrible handwriting skills, I was pleased with myself that the one right answer I did contribute was about Lucy Christopher’s book Stolen.
Judy and the Blooms fought the good fight, and we made a nice ruckus
at the event. In the end, we tied for second place, missing the coveted first spot by only two points. But, we walked away with audiobooks as prizes (I chose a copy of Blythe Woolston’s The Freak Observer) and our team walked away with a new tradition: the Paul Zindel fist bump. See, one of the rounds of trivia was visual (and actually, I lied, I was pretty good at this round, seeing covers are one of my things) and we were having a hard time figuring out who the guy in the top row was. After much brain power, we guessed Paul Zindel and when we were right….the PZ fist bump emerged. Because why not?
After trivia, I did a room switcheroo and ended up going a bit away from downtown and stayed with Janssen and my lovely co-blogger Kimberly. The three of us went to UT together, and it was really nice to spend time just with each other since we haven’t been all together for a while. It was an early night (for them) and another late one for me because I have this horrible thing about being unable to sleep in new places. On the bright side of it, I got in more reading time.
Saturday
We were up bright and early on Saturday because we were attending Little, Brown’s librarian preview breakfast. First, I thought I’d show off the feast. On the left you’ll see my plate, and I want you to see it because as far as I can remember this is one of the few meals I remembered to eat at the conference. It’s easy to forget things like this. Also, I mostly wanted to say it was delicious!
What a blast the program was, too — rather than only talk about the books coming out this season, we got a chance to see the boo
ks coming out through the end of the year, including the new Libba Bray and the new AS King. That also means we got to see the covers of those books before anyone else did.
At the end of the preview portion, there was a surprise for us. It was Peter Brown, who talked to us about the process of putting together his picture books. It was fascinating to hear about the behind the scenes stuff, and Peter himself was a really fun and funny speaker.
After the breakfast, I head
ed back to the exhibits with Kimberly and Janssen, where we roamed for a little while before heading to a buzz session. Almost every publisher and imprint did one of these 45 minute programs where they talked about a handful of their books coming out in the next six or so months. We saw one for Sterling and St Martin’s Press, and they billed it as a battle of the books. The two publicists who did the program were really entertaining, and I added a ton of books to my must-read pile afterward. The photo on the left is a shot of one of the screens with a few of the St Martin’s books they buzzed. I love these sessions because they put a lot of things on my radar I may have overlooked and because it helps me think about collection development in the longer-term.
Months ago, Kimberly and I were invited out to lunch with an editor who had been reading our blog, and so after the buzz session, we headed out with her. We had a lovely conversation about both sides of the table — from hers about editing and about what she loves to read and us about blogging and what we love to read. It was really cool to talk to someone in another part of the book industry; so often, we forget the role an editor plays in the entire process. It was a really nice long lunch, and when Kim and I headed back to the convention
center, we only had a few minutes to ourselves before heading to another event — this time, the Scholastic preview.
The Scholastic preview was way different from any of the previews I’ve been to before. Rather than have the editors or publicists get up and talk about the books, they had the authors there to do reader’s theater with them. They selected a scene from their forthcoming books and read them as though they were performances, so each author took shots reading some role from one another’s books. We got to hear from Jordan Sonnenblick, Francisco X Stork, and Siobhan Vivian, among others.
When the Scholastic event wrapped up, Janssen took off to head back home, and Kim and I went back to our hotel for the evening. And in due fashion, she managed to go to sleep that night and I couldn’t. But in the mean time, I finished a book — one which already made my favorites of 2012 list and I’ll blog about closer to pub date. The suspense will surely kill you.
Sunday
We took our time this morning, and we got to the convention center a while after the exhibits opened. Picked up a few books, but really not all that much. An hour or so later, we went to another publisher’s preview, this time for Random House. Rather than the buzz session which was a quick overview of titles, this preview was longer and went into more depth about spring releases. Lots of exciting titles coming from them, and I’ll talk about that when I post about the books I picked up.
I was about ready to crash at this point, so Kim and I went back to the hotel and relaxed, before shuffling back to the convention center to catch the teen feedback session portion of the Best Fiction for Young Adults panel. For anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s when local teens come and talk about the books being considered for the BFYA list and they talk about what they think about the books. It runs for two hours, and as someone said, it’s probably the only time teens get 2 hours of undivided adult attention like that (adults aren’t allowed to talk at all — this is only for the teens). The room was packed with teens — I’d guess 60 or 70 local teens — and adults — easily in the hundreds. For me, this is the most interesting conversation to hear. It gives such truth to the idea different books are meant for different readers. One teen will talk about hating a book and the next will talk about the love for it. After having read an immense number of the books on the BFYA consideration list, it was interesting to see what points the teens would make that either I hadn’t considered.
Many books I wanted to hear them talk about they did and many more they didn’t. But what stood out was how articulate these teenagers are about their books. Some of the comments that I noted were about things I felt, too — many teens don’t want romance in a book just to have it there. One girl commented about a book she was loving because of its strong female lead but said she hated the book at the end because the strong girl gives it all up for a boy. These things matter to teens, and they’re passionate about them.
Following BFYA, Kim went home. I was so sad to say goodbye because, as much as we talk to one another and as much as we work together blogging, we never get to see each other (and for anyone who didn’t know already, neither Kim nor I have met Jen in person!). When Kim left, I went back to my hotel to decompress before making the somewhat terrifying walk over to The Iron Cactus for our YA Blogger meet up. One of the things about the meeting in Dallas that surprised me was how deserted the downtown area was at any given time. A little eerie, to say the least.
It’s been so fun putting these blogger meet ups together because each one has had a completely different tone to it. The first one, at last year’s Midwinter, was much bigger than I expected and it was the first time I got to meet a lot of the people I consider my go-tos when I need something professionally. Then in June when we did it at Annual, our turn out was spectacular, thanks to the help of YA Highway. I got to meet many of the ladies behind that blog, who work their butts off putting together what I think is one of the most valuable and insightful ones around (that’s your cue to read it if you’re not already). This time, we had a much smaller turn out, but the intimacy was awesome. Rather than hang out at the bar, we actually sat down and did a more formal/informal dinner. I had the chance to meet a lot of people who were new to me, and we had the chance to talk about books we love and books we were hoping to see earn some sort of award on Monday.
I got along real well with the bartender, apparently; I note this since I guess it doesn’t surprise anyone but myself this kind of thing happens. After he made me the spectacular margarita pictured above (an Elder, with 1800 Silver Tequila, Patron Cinronge, and St Germaine with pineapple and cinnamon), he made me another drink and didn’t charge me for it. The food, drinks, and company were wonderful, and I’m always glad these things have allowed me to meet so many new bloggers and book lovers. I had the chance to talk with one of the wonderful publicity/marketing folks about blogging and about good pitches (because she writes some of the best) and then we got to have a long chat about how much we both love the Jersey Shore. Judge all you want.
The event went longer than I thought, which was a good thing. Great conversation and food was consumed (I cannot get good hatch chiles anywhere but Texas). I ended up going back to the hotel after and, as will be a certain surprise, spent most of the night not sleeping.
Monday
Getting up early was surprisingly easy when I hadn’t really slept and when I was anticipating attending my first Youth Media Awards ceremony. I’ve tuned in before via the live web cast, but never have I been able to go. And man, what an experience!
The energy in the room was amazing from start to finish, and if anything, it felt like it grew from the beginning until the end. Getting to be there in the theater with thousands of other people who are as excited and passionate about books as you are is such a neat experience. The picture on the left doesn’t do justice to what it was like sitting in the room, which was literally filled from top to bottom. If I had to guess, I’d say there were maybe 2,000 or more folks in the theater.
There’s really nothing like it. Being surrounded by some of my favorite people — the same ones who I’d been making predictions with about potential winners all weekend — only made it better, as did having an entire back channel via Twitter.
The cheers when books were named — the cheers especially when John Corey Whaley took not only the Morris but then the Printz — were unlike anything I’d expected. The silences when books that were long-thought front runners didn’t make the list were just as powerful.
When all was said and done, it was interesting to not only think about the titles that did and didn’t make it, but also about the tremendous amount of work that goes into making these selections. It’s so easy to criticize, but the awards process is much more complicated than anyone knows. I haven’t served on a committee, but it was interesting to listen to my roommates who were talk about the process a bit. These folks deserve so much credit for their work.
I did one last walk through the exhibits before heading back to my room on Monday. I debated making it to the Morris/Non-Fiction reception, but I couldn’t do it. In retrospect I regret that a little, but I’m eager to see Corey speak at the Printz reception in Anaheim this June. So instead of the reception, I spent most of the day in my hotel room and most of it in the afternoon with the lovely Liz, catching up. Despite rooming together, we probably saw one another a total of ten minutes or so.
All in all, this was a fun and potentially life/career-changing conference. Like last year’s ALA and Kid Lit Con, I got so much out of it because it was so much about talking with other people. I have had some really amazing opportunities come out of this conference — definitely things that were entirely unexpected — and I’m walking away feeling really re-energized about books and my passion for reading and talking about them.
I’m wrapping up with this as sort of a teaser to a post I have planned for Friday about something that’s been bothering me (and something over which I have guilt and angst). I had a really neat reading experience at the same time as this conference, and it all reminded me of the fact books and reading are important. They need to continue being talked about and advocated for. As much as we continue to push for technology, we can’t forget the value and power found in reading a book, regardless of format. Words and stories matter immensely.
I’ve blown through a huge number of books in the last couple of weeks, in part due to being able to read anything I want to and part because I’m trying to clear my shelves before the deluge of spring titles come back with me from ALA. A lot of people suffer a mid-winter reading slump, but I’m maybe having the exact opposite right now. As much as I love writing lengthy reviews, it’s impossible to do them for every book I read, and I don’t want to overlook some of the things worth writing about. Thus, a pile of short(er) reviews — I’m going to quit calling these things Twitter-style reviews unless they’re legitimately 140 characters, which these aren’t.
Last year, I read and reviewed Cat Clarke’s debut Entangled, so I was really excited to see she had a sophomore novel out at the end of 2011. Torn, much like Entangled, isn’t a cut and dry narrative and it features characters you can never be too sure about. This story follows Alice and her classmates as they spend a holiday in the Scottish wilderness. What could have been fun (reluctant fun, that is), turns tragic as Tara — who we’re led to believe is the stereotypical mean girl — dies after a prank gone terribly wrong. But was it a prank? Alice might have seen what happened and might have buried away the secret truth of why Tara died. Because the thing is, if Alice speaks up, she’s only going to get herself in trouble.
Things get trickier, though, as Alice begins a relationship with Tara’s brother who is dealing with the heavy grief of losing his sister. As their romance grows, the guilt gnaws away at Alice, and she’s left wondering whether speaking up is the right thing or the wrong thing.
Clarke’s storytelling left me paranoid for all the right reasons. As much as I got to see what happened, I was also left out of the true intentions behind the prank that killed Tara. Even though Alice told the blow-by-blow of WHAT happened, I knew there was something much more sinister lurking beneath. Moreover, as Alice grew closer to Tara’s brother, I couldn’t help but rethink my own feelings toward her, too. She made me angry, then guilty, then frustrated, then angry again, then almost sympathetic.
This book features a cast of unlikable female characters, the kind that make you want the worst for them. Interestingly, I found the male characters in this one to be likable and I felt sorry for how they’d become accessories in the girls’ game. Clarke’s writing skills lie in developing full characters who elicit reaction. I couldn’t make my decision about what I wanted Alice to do until the very end of the book, and I think the ability to make me question my own ethical and moral ideas of right and wrong is a skill. It’s a well-woven story. My only real criticism for this one was I felt at times the narrative went a little lengthy, but for the most part, these moments were necessary to developing that sense of reader paranoia and character motivation. Fans of Courtney Summers will love this one, as will fans of books like Blake Nelson’s Paranoid Park (the comparison of paranoia I felt reading Torn reminded me much of the paranoia I felt reading that one, except in Clarke’s case, I never quite felt fully sympathetic for Alice).
Torn isn’t available in the US and unfortunately, you can’t purchase the paperback via Book Depository, either. But if you’re an ebook reader, you CAN buy this one for under $7 via the Book Depository.
Brian James’s Life is But a Dream is an exploration into the debilitating mental illness of schizophrenia. From the onset, I was impressed with James’s ability to not conflate schizophrenia with dissociative identity disorder (multiple personalities). This story follows Sabrina as she becomes sicker and sicker, to the point her parents choose to institutionalize her for treatment. Prior to institutionalization, Sabrina’s life was full of color and fantasy, and she lived in what basically amounted to a dream world. Her experiences in the real world paralleled what most people experience in deep sleep. While it doesn’t necessarily sound scary, the effects of such distance from reality isn’t pretty and it causes Sabrina to act in ways that put her in danger.
While being treated, Sabrina meets Alec, a boy who convinces her the folks in the institution are working against her. Taking the drugs they’re giving her is only harming her, he says, and she begins to believe him. She doesn’t want to become brain dead, and she becomes convinced her life will be better if she doesn’t go along for the treatment. So she and Alex make an escape plan. To save themselves.
This part is spoiler, so feel free to skip down to the following paragraph. As a reader who knows a bit about schizophrenia (and about Sabrina’s experiences with it), I was never quite sure whether Alec actually existed or if he was one of those dreams concocted in Sabrina’s mind. The evidence to support either argument is in the book — he could be real or he could be a figment of her dream world telling her to act a certain way. Even in the end, when Sabrina makes a run for it, it’s uncertain either way.
The uncertainty, though, might be the greatest strength in the book. I found the writing to be distancing, and while it works for Sabrina’s world and her own voice, it kept me far away from her, too. I couldn’t connect with her in any way, and because I wanted to, I became frustrated. It makes sense because that’s how these illnesses work, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it works for readers. It’s a dream world.
Moreover, I found it a little disappointing that the person who’d save Sabrina would be a boy, as I find that a trend that won’t stop coming. Even if what I said in the previous paragraph were true, it still doesn’t settle too well for me. I’d not come to see Sabrina as much of a romantic or one who’d love a relationship with Alec, but it’s something I could have bought had Sabrina’s voice been stronger and she let me in. Fans of stories about mental illness will want to read this one, especially those who are interested in schizophrenia because James nails it (I’d say textbook nails it, but textbooks can leave out the emotional side of the illness, and James offers that quite well). Life is But a Dream will be available in March.
Girl by Blake Nelson is a classic story, and finally, Nelson’s written and published the follow up, answering the question of what happened to Andrea Marr. Dream School follows the infamous, snarky, and intelligent Andrea as she departs her beloved city of Portland to attend Wellington College in Connecticut — it’s a prestigious school, and she’s eager for the east coast college experience. She’s got idealized notions of what this lifestyle will be, many borne out of things she’s seen on tv and read in books and magazines. Except, of course, things aren’t as pristine or great as she imagined, and it’s challenging for her to come to terms with the truth that what she thought she’d be getting at Wellington and what she really gets are Wellington are two entirely different things.
As much as I loved Andrea in Girl, I think I loved her even more here because she’s really developed a great sense of self. Although her voice is still similar, her thinking is much clearer, and it’s obvious from the writing alone how much she’s grown. Andrea puts herself into foreign experiences at Wellington, many of which she dreamed about and many of which were unexpected. She’s meeting new people, taking classes that interest and challenge her, making films, and — the one thing that’s wholly her own — she’s writing. She wants to break into the world, though, even if it kills her. But the thing is, she’s not doing all that great at school and fitting in is hard. The more she tries, the more she feels like she’s failing. Instead of blaming herself, though, she embraces the fact she is simply different and the things she thought she’d become because of a place aren’t the things she’ll become. She’ll evolve more into herself, rather than an idea of herself.
Dream School takes place in 1994, but I can’t say I felt like I was reading a story set in the 90s. It felt contemporary because everything Andrea faces is what teens and early 20-somethings face today. Being at college, she’s met with sex and drugs in a way that’s shocking to her but it’s handled realistically and bluntly (as it would be in the situation). Despite her participation in some of these activities, she doesn’t condone them or consider them. She’s honest about depicting a lot of these acts as status symbols, rather than enjoyable activities. This all comes to a head, of course, when Andrea and her friend turn to their film making skills. What seems like an inconsequential activity, though, determines the rest of her future at Wellington, and I like to think it impacts her life in a much greater way.
Even though the characters are older than traditional YA book characters, I’d shelve this one beside Girl in the young adult section. There are very visual depictions of drug use, but it’s nothing teen readers haven’t already seen on television and frankly, Andrea does a good job of giving us her feelings on it. This is a book that is heavy on voice and character development and one I think many readers preparing to go to college will dig. You can read this without having read Girl, but I think the impact would be weaker.
Following on the heels of other ballet books like Sophie Fleck’s Bunheads and Stasia Ward Kehoe’s Audition, debut author Martha Schabas takes us into the competitive world of ballet school in Various Positions, set in Toronto. Georgia’s made the cut to the elite ballet school in the city, and at the same time, her family is falling apart. Falling to shambles, even, and the truths that Georgia learns about how her mother and father came together are hard on her. Ballet is a great distraction, and she’s been lucky enough to make friends, despite the air of competition. Then, as Georgia becomes receiving more one-on-one attention Roderick, from one of the harshest (and most talked about) teachers in the academy, she finds herself spiraling into a very sexually-charged world. Her body isn’t just for dance.
This was a longer read, and I don’t necessarily think the length was a strength, either. Georgia’s age is hard to buy into and part of the reason is that her voice sounds mature but her actions are quite immature. The book begins with Georgia trying out for the academy in grade 8, and by the end, she’s trying out for grade 10. While reading, I was unable to gauge passage of time because there weren’t enough moments invested in performance or practice. What should have been a grounding force in the story — a goal to read vis a vis the ballet story thread — instead falls apart early in the book and becomes entangled in a sex scandal.
Georgia’s discovered her body is a sexual tool, and she learns via the internet how to use it as such. It’s sort of her way to work through the anger and resentment she has toward her parents, but it’s also become a way for her to gain the attention of Roderick, who she is convinced has a major crush on her. As a reader, I never got that out of what she told me, nor through Roderick’s actions. And seeing how mature Georgia’s voice read, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around her perceiving what he was doing professionally as coming on to her.
The most challenging part of this storyline was that I want to blame Georgia for what happened between her and Roderick because the truth is, she manipulated him. She knows this, too. But Roderick did reciprocate amid the pressure, so the fault is not entirely hers. However, I think many readers will feel the same way I did, which was that Georgia didn’t really garner any sympathy for her actions. A few pages after this incident which rattles the entire academy, Georgia is then thrust into another position involving sex and a boy, and while I think it was meant to build our feelings for her, it was too late. Not only was it too late, but I thought the message emerging from this book was an uncomfortable one about how males only look at females as sexual objects. It’s a theme that emerged not only in the actual encounters themselves, but also in how obsessed Georgia became in keeping her fellow academy members on top of their own bodies and weight issues. I found the flaws outweighed the potential payoff in the story, particularly in the end. Had the broken family story line played heavier into the plot, and the ballet line hadn’t become secondary to the sex scandal, this could have been a much stronger book. Likewise, pulling back the focus to those themes would have made the writing tighter and the story more strongly paced. It’d have likely helped solve the passage of time challenge, as well. Too many things were packed into this one to make any of them succeed in the way they could have.
Various Positions is obviously a double entendre, and readers should know the story is more about sexuality and less about ballet. I don’t think it will turn off readers who want ballet in their stories, but this isn’t going to strike the same chords as either Fleck or Kehoe’s recent titles. Various Positions will publish on February 14.
Review copies of each of the titles were provided by the publisher, except for Torn, which I purchased myself.
