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Greyhound by Steffan Piper

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Whenever I listen to Simon and Garfunkel — which is fairly often — I begin to reminisce about simpler times. I’ve only ever owned their music on CD, and I remember when I purchased their greatest hits album on a road trip to visit Michigan State University my junior year of high school. Reading Steffan Piper’s Greyhound took me back to that memory because of how classic musicians play such a large role in the story. Bonus: the role is through cassette tapes.

Greyhound starts when Sebastien Ranes’s mother drops him off at the Stockton, California, Greyhound station with a ticket to Altoona, Pennsylvania and about $30. She’s getting married to a new guy, and Sebastien’s 11-year-old self is just too much baggage to take on. Besides, the soon-to-be husband doesn’t like him, so it makes sense to ship him off to grandma and grandpa’s. Along with the cash, all she tells him is to sit at the front of the bus, don’t talk to strangers, and don’t miss the bus when it leaves the station. No I love yours or I’ll miss yous for Ms. Ranes.

The year is 1981, and Sebastien is lonely. He’s being sent to live with people he doesn’t know all that well, and while he’s a bit apprehensive about traveling by bus across the US alone with very little money, he’s also going to use this as an opportunity to forget about his crappy home life and his worthless mother. When he boards his first bus in Stockton, he aims right to the back of the bus, where he will soon meet Marcus. Marcus, the African American ex-con, will soon become one of the few people in his life he can trust and rely on, and together they make a heck of a pair as they traverse the country by bus. Along the way, Sebastien will learn about loving life, making friends, how to appreciate music, and even how to appreciate literature. There is a happy splattering of literary and musical references, ranging from Catcher in the Rye to Cat Stevens. We’re steeped deep into 1981, but we’re also steeped into something completely modern and timeless.

Grayhound was a moving book, and it carries a lot more to it than what the description and the cover might suggest. In the story, all of our characters learn important lessons, as well as discover who they are and who others are via the vehicle of a road trip on one of America’s former strongholds of transportation. The Greyhound was the perfect vehicle for this story. We’ll also have highs and lows on the trip, from a hostage attempt to a broke down bus, that couldn’t happen realistically in another vehicle.

Although there are certainly depressing moments in the story, it is ultimately hopeful, and Sebastien is a character who is worth loving. This is a point Marcus will make, as well, but it’s one we as readers figure out far before either Marcus or Sebastien do. Piper’s characters are fully fleshed and dynamic and most importantly, believable. I loved their flaws and their moments of realization and connections to one another. I loved that Sebastien has preferences even down to who is driving the bus.

Piper’s story is well-paced, moving and jerking about in the same manner that the trip experienced by Sebastien does: there are times when it zips along and times when it is slow, methodical, and worth taking notes at. Although this could become gimmicky, I never felt it became that way. It just worked.

Although this title is marketed for adults, it is one that has incredible cross-over appeal to young adult readers. Fans of Stephen Chobsky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower will eat this title up, as, I suspect, will fans of Joe Nemo’s Hairstyles of the Damned and Rob Sheffield’s Love is a Mixtape. Though our main character is 11 and quite younger than the characters in the prior two titles, it’s the music, the culture, and the actual writing that will likely appeal. Oh, and it would, without doubt, appeal to fans of Catcher in the Rye.

Although we may feel our lot is at times crummy, we see the sparks of the good and latch onto those moments. I have a feeling Greyhound will stick with me for quite a long time in the same way some of these other titles have.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

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We’re throwing our hat into the ring for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW).
To steal the language from the BBAW site, here’s what that is:

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.
The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. Book Bloggers are encouraged to register their participation for inclusion in a database of book bloggers. You can read more about it here.

We’re entering the niche category of Best Eclectic Book Blog with these posts:

1. Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook by Martha Hall Foose (Cookbook review!)

2. War Dances by Sherman Alexie (Audiobook, Adult Short Stories review)

3. Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block (Young Adult review)

4. More Cover Talk (Young Adult Review)

5. Stitches by David Small (Graphic Novel review & discussion of book categorization)

We’re also entering for the category of Best Written Blog with these posts:

1. Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook by Martha Hall Foose (Cookbook Review)

2. Where Have All the Fat Girls Gone? (Discussion of lack of fat girls on YA books about how it’s okay to be fat)

3. Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd (Young Adult Audiobook review)

4. YOU by Charles Benoit (Young Adult review)

5. Stormchasers by Jenna Blum (Adult Fiction review)

So here goes nothing! 🙂

A Cover Retrospective: Caroline B. Cooney

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I lived for the Janie series in my teens — you know them — the mystery series about a girl who goes missing but doesn’t really seem to know until she sees herself on a milk carton. I devoured them. Let’s take a walk down memory lane with Ms. Caroline B. Cooney who is still producing quality mystery books for teens and take a look at covers past and present.

The Face on the Milk Carton was published in 1990. I like all of the covers, but I remember the middle one being the one of my childhood. The last one has a cool different (and kind of techno) inspiration, no?

Twenty Pageants Later was published in 1991. I love this cover! Talk about what you expect a prom-esque cover to look like in the early 90s. Take this one against Richard Peck’s forthcoming paranormal one, eh?

Freeze Tag gives us one incomprehensible cover (what is going on on the right?) and a super creepy ice princess on the left. This was published in 1992.

Some of these are just hilarious, especially with the tag lines. “The Sweet Smell . . . of EVIL.” The Perfume was published in 1992.

Driver’s Ed was published in 1994. I sincerely hope the photo of the girl on the left isn’t on her driver’s license. She looks 9! The redesign is much stronger and still holds immense appeal.

Talk about a good creepy title! Night School was published in 1995.

There are a ton of titles dealing with fire and burning from Cooney. Burning Up was published in 1999 and I think I like both covers. The one on the left is eerie from the perspective of it looking innocent. The one on the right is just a blaze which sets a good vibe.

I wish my remote were that simple, don’t you? Tune in Anytime was published in 1999. I think the cover on the left might be more of a throwback to the invention of remotes, since I don’t ever remember having one with that few buttons. The one on the right’s a little more accurate.

Talk about two totally different covers for the same book. Goddess of Yesterday was published in 2002. I think the cover on the left is very boy-appealing (you know, minus the “goddess” part) and the one on the right screams girl appeal. I love the coloring there.

2005 saw the publication of another one that screams “fire” to me — Code Orange. I really dig this cover. It stands out on the shelf.

Perfectly haunting. Diamonds in the Shadow was published in 2007.

Two covers for a newer title, too. Enter Three Witches was published in 2007. The first is drawn and the second is a photo. Interesting to offer one of each.

Three Black Swans was published this year — I just really dig this cover. The black, grey, and red color scheme works well, and the swan positioning is inviting and repelling at the same time.

It cracks me up that almost every one of her covers tauts her as the “Bestselling author of The Face on the Milk Carton.” Did you notice that?

Do you have a favorite? What elements work or don’t work for you on her covers? I have to admit, I’ve only read the Janie series, so I can’t comment on the others.

You by Charles Benoit

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You probably haven’t read a lot of books lately that have stood out. You probably are sick of vampires, of love, of needing to find yourself, of needing to find the one. You probably think that young adult literature is all the same.

You would be wrong. You wouldn’t have thought to wait for Charles Benoit’s debut release, You. You’ve probably heard or read the rave reviews of this forthcoming title, if not from other bloggers or reviews, but also right from the cover. You’ve probably heard it compared to Chris Crutcher or Robert Cormier or even a modern take on John Knowles’s A Separate Peace. But you probably didn’t realize this is also quite a great readalike for Gail Giles or even Courtney Summers with total guy appeal.

You are Kyle Chase. You have a tough shell, and you’re not very smart, mostly because you don’t care about school. You are best friends with Max, mostly out of desperation. You are excited for the start of your sophomore year of high school, only because it gives you something to do with your time (okay, it’s because you have classes with Ashley, who you think that you might finally have a chance with this year). You’re going to date her, you’re going to be with her, and you know it’s finally your time to “shine.” Oh, and you have this scar on your hand. You got it when you fell across a bus seat and put it through a window. Or so that’s what you tell people.

Then you meet Zack. He walks up to you in the library, where you hide out for a number of your classes. He seems like a cool kid, just transferred from one of the best schools in the area into your school, the one where all the dumb kids go. Things go quick with this friendship, and before you know it, you’re hanging out, and he knows about your crush on Ashley. But when you are invited to a party at his house, you start getting a little bit of a different impression. He read someone’s diary and marred her reputation. She’s crying upstairs. He introduces you to another girl, who begins asking you endless questions about people you go to school with, but you don’t know any of them. The party ends, and it’s not long before Zack’s teaching you how to break into the school and do awful things. You pee in Jake the Jock’s locker. You do it because you can.

Then one of the people the girl at the party mentioned to you finds you at school. She’s cute, but you want Ashley. Then she says something about Zack that you just can’t fathom: he wants to get your weak spot. You don’t believe her. And you’ll regret that.

You moves quickly. Benoit wrote you as an action-packed contemporary tale about you, an outsider. There’s mystery. There’s drama. There’s payback. And there’s you. It’s a story about you.

You are much different than most books on the market, making You a standout title. You earned those accolades from well-known writers, and you are daring, edgy, thought-provoking, and memorable. You will stand out from the crowd as perhaps the best debut this year, tapping into an underserved but eager readership.

You need to read You, and you can do so soon. You will published August 24. Until then, you will just need to make sure you know who you are and who your friends are, or you may find out quite harshly that you’re going to get hurt — and not from hitting a bus window (you wish it were that simple).

Round Robin – The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

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We’re back, and we’re here to review for you. Thanks to everyone for your Round Robin Review suggestions. Our lucky winner was The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork.

Kim

Pancho Sanchez, our protagonist, is a teenager with no family: his parents are both dead, and his mentally-challenged older sister, Rosa, has just died in an apparent accident.  Pancho is sent to an orphanage where he’s assigned to be a companion to D.Q., a boy in a wheelchair who is dying of cancer.  D.Q. is writing the “Death Warrior Manifesto,” which outlines rules for life (confusing, I know).  The manifesto is all about living your life well, even if you have limited time.

Underlining the story and providing the impetus for Pancho’s “coming of age” is his suspicion that his sister did not die in an accident and was, in fact, murdered.  Unfortunately, Pancho pulls a Hamlet and does absolutely nothing about it for the vast majority of the book (except act angry).  Will Pancho take vengeance upon the culprit?   Read the book to find out! (It’s not hard to guess.)

This isn’t my kind of book normally, since I tend to stay away from realistic contemporary YA fiction.  I found the characters very hard to relate to, mostly unsympathetic, and largely unrealistic (in particular the wise-beyond-his-years D.Q.).  I couldn’t bring myself to care about D.Q.’s fight for emancipation from his mother, who is trying to force him into a clinical trial for his illness that D.Q. simply does not want to do.  I never understood why the two boys were friends, and none of the ancillary characters were interesting at all.

I listened to this one on audio, which may have been a mistake.  Frankly, the book bored me, and the narrator didn’t help things, since he sounded equally bored.  Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if I read the print version (or maybe I simply would have given up).  For a book with “death warrior” in the title, there’s very little excitement or action, and even when Pancho gets into fights, it’s still boring.

Last Summer of the Death Warriors is so obviously meant to be a coming of age story, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dull or so consumed with making a point.  It does not compare favorably with Bog Child, another clear coming of age novel that I listened to recently which managed to be all about growing up but still engrossing the whole way through.

The writing was OK, but not good enough to make it a worthwhile read.  I think it will have a lot of trouble finding an audience, which Kelly discusses more below.  There were a few flashes of interesting stuff, in particular a few pages at the end when Pancho confronts his sister’s suspected killer, but they were few and far between.  Lots of other people have enjoyed this book immensely – I’m just not one of them.

Kelly

As you may or may not recall, I really did not care for Stork’s previous book, Marcelo in the Real World. Going into this book made me nervous and I think I may have even mentioned dreading it a little bit. I was wrong, though, as I found The Last Summer of the Death Warriors to be quite enjoyable.

Pancho’s assignment to be D. Q.’s assistant shed light into the core of both characters, in that we learn that Pancho isn’t quite the tough kid he pretends to be, nor is D. Q. the weak sick kid he could be. I think one of the things that works is over the course of the book, we see they are different sides of the same coin. I could argue, probably, that Pancho had a bit of D. Q. in him, especially at the end of the book when he finally “comes of age.”

Stork’s writing style is pleasing — I find he’s able to write strong dialog, and his settings are easy to picture. He weaves in excellent literary elements, in a way that will work for strong readers.

However, I have the same problem with this title as I did with Marcelo when it comes to audience: I don’t know how wide a teen appeal Stork has. What he does in his writing is come to a “point” or a moment when there is a true coming-of-age realization, and the way it is done doesn’t come off as authentic to me. It almost feels like it panders a bit to an adult audience, who will find his books worth sharing with teens because it is about growing up and done in a smooth manner, but teens themselves likely won’t pick this up on their own. I liked it as an adult reader, but as a teenage reader, I’d never have touched this one. It makes me curious what would happen were his titles marketed at an older readership — plenty of adult titles feature teenage characters and do well (think Prep or The Lovely Bones or A Separate Peace, etc.).

This is a worthwhile read, and I believe it’s one we’ll be seeing around some more this year. It had an initial loud reception when published, as many were excited to see Stork’s next adventure post-Marcelo, and I think this might be the one that snags him his much-deserved recognition come awards time.

Jen

I actually didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. The cover art was ambiguous, the praise on the back just describes Stork’s previous effort, Marcelo in the Real World, and the description on the inside cover lead me to believe that I was about to embark on a science fiction journey — I mean, who has names like DQ or Pancho? Sounds like someone is casting the next Waterworld installment. Even the title, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, conjured up visions of a post-apocalyptic future where only soldiers of death survived.

Needless to say, I was skeptical. And the awful typeface really didn’t help. I spent the first 25 pages thinking, “Ugh, what is up with this font?” I only picked up the book again when I found myself on an airplane without a functioning entertainment system and a low battery on my iPhone.

I’m thankful that I did. I managed to get over my annoyance with the physical aspects of the book and starting getting emotionally involved with the story. Unlike Kim, I didn’t find the book boring in the slightest. The Last Summer of the Death Warriors concentrates on its characters without becoming treacly or too “after-school special.”

Pancho was obviously angry about the untimely demise of his entire family. He wanted to seek revenge, but Stork places real obstacles in his way — obstacles that make sense for a 17 year old boy. Those limitations include lack of opportunity to escape his “real” life, inability to find adequate transportation, and an inner turmoil over whether or not he could leave behind a burgeoning relationship. Pancho’s hesitation works as more than just a device to allow the plot to proceed; it’s a logical extension of his situation.

DQ offers more of a challenge for the reader. Any character who is presented as wise beyond his years can so easily be more of a caricature than a living entity. DQ, at first glance, is physically fragile and emotionally robust. As the novel continues, we realize that DQ’s faith can be challenged just as much as his body. And DQ’s struggle with his mother makes sense to me. She abandoned him at a young age, so he wants to show her that he can cope with the realities of his cancer without her assistance. All of the kind gestures in the world cannot compensate for the knowledge that she left him. DQ’s realization that he might be able to accept her help makes sense as he comes to term with the chinks in his Death Warrior’s armor.

Plotting isn’t the strongest aspect of this novel. Kelly is right — The Last Summer of the Death Warriors could be a difficult sell to teenagers without a shiny “hook.” But I see a lot of patrons who need a book like this — who need a protoganist who looks like them, acts like them, talks like them. Pancho is a rare figure in YA literature. I think the book works thanks to him.