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Pointe by Brandy Colbert

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Theo, an elite ballerina, walks late into dance class only to see the usual accompanist has been replaced by Hosea — the guy she kind of  knows from school, who is dating a girl she kind of knows. But what she really knows is Hosea is one of the big suppliers of the pot she and her friends are able to score when they need it.

As much Pointe by Brandy Colbert is a story about a relationship that develops between Theo and Hosea, it’s also not a story about their relationship.

This is a story about what happens when Donovan, Theo’s neighbor and best friend, suddenly comes back home four years after being kidnapped. When he won’t talk to anyone.

When Donovan won’t talk to anyone.

Because this book is complex and encompasses a lot of story within it — and successfully so — this review is full of spoilers. There’s a lot I want to talk about, and avoiding the big issues in the sake of avoiding talking about a big plot issue won’t work for me. Proceed at your own caution.

Colbert’s debut novel tackles a huge array of topics within it, but it does so by carefully braiding together threads of Theo’s past with the reality and immediacy of the present. There are balls in the air for her, including the return of Donovan, the future of gaining admission to another level of ballet that would set her on the track to big stages and a career in the art, and the budding romance with Hosea. Theo’s juggling time with her close friends, as well: she’s a girl who is social and who would never be seen as a wallflower nor the kind of person who would stay home at night, rather than go to the school dance or a party. Though it might be in her better interests not to.

In the midst of juggling the responsibilities of now, particularly the emerging romance between her and Hosea, flashbacks to life four years ago begin popping up. Slowly, Theo remembers the relationship she had with an older boy named Trent. He loved to have sex with her, and sometimes she liked it, while other times, she felt like she was being used. But Trent being eighteen and she being much younger, she went along with it. That relationship — secret to her friends and her family — made her feel good and wanted. It made her feel powerful. An older boy who physically showed her he was interested in her.

That relationship with Trent, though, wasn’t entirely a secret to Donovan. Theo met Trent when she was hanging out with Donovan. He knew they had something going on, though the extent to which he knew remains in the air.

Backpedalling a bit, though: what about those four interim years between the time Donovan disappeared and when he returned? That’s where things become really interesting, and the memories that bubble up from Theo serve as a means of giving us as readers a true sense of not just who she was, but who she’s become now. We know she’s a dancer. We know she has a future ahead of her. But we also know losing her best friend and losing the first boyfriend of her life and the stress of being a dancer couldn’t be easy. Theo spent many of those interim years struggling with an eating disorder, one she held secret until she blacked out at the mall with one of her friends. The eating disorder was her means of holding control over something completely on her own. It ultimately got her institutionalized, and it’s something from which she never quite recovered. Donovan’s return home also retriggers the eating disorder. But not because of his presence; it’s because of what his return brings up in Theo’s past.

When Theo learns that the name of the man who kidnapped Donovan is Chris, things unhinge. When Theo puts the pieces together and realizes her Trent was never the person he said he was. He was never eighteen. He was in his twenties. And his name wasn’t Trent.

It was Chris. The same Chris who pled not guilty to kidnapping Donovan and the same Chris against whom Theo will have to testify in order to seek justice for Donovan.

The same Chris who raped Theo. Who took advantage of her being underage and naive. The same Chris who raped Theo no one knows about until that very trial.

Colbert weaves in an array of “issues” within Pointe, and while it could have become easily overwhelming, Theo’s amazing development as a character keeps them all together smoothly. Theo is a tough girl who doesn’t take crap from anyone, but she’s also a character who doesn’t quite know how to trust that instinct about her. She’s tentative internally as much as she appears steadfast and confident externally. Much of it is probably due to her being a ballerina and needing to exude that confidence on stage and shove down anything that might take away from the part she’s playing while performing. But part of it comes from being a black girl in a mostly-white suburb outside Chicago, as well as being a black girl in a mostly-white artistic/athletic sphere.

Within the story, Theo’s race plays a role in the experiences she has in and out of the classroom in ways that are painful to read but which also give immense insight into what that experience of being a minority might feel like. I can’t ever know personally, but through Theo’s actions and reactions, through the way she talks through these experiences internally, it was easy to understand where some of the external face she puts on comes from. She has to be strong, she has to be brave, and she has to stand up and fight harder than an average person would simply because of the color of her skin. It’s unfair, and that unfairness shines through.

Though it looked and felt like a good thing in the moment, Theo’s relationship with Hosea turns out to be a disaster. She and he are both aware that he’s dating someone, but it doesn’t stop either one of them from reciprocating the physical and emotional (at least her emotional) actions toward one another. Part of their relationship happens because Theo needs someone to be with her, now that the memories she’d tamped down are coming back up again with Donovan’s return. She wants to feel that physical closeness. She wants to be wanted. But when Hosea and Theo are close to having sex in the science classroom and his girlfriend sees what happens, things end. Fortunately for Theo, the only thing Hosea ever got out of her was physical. He wasn’t privy to her experiences with Chris nor how they related to Donovan.

In fact, the only person who ever knew what happened in Theo’s past was a female friend of hers, and it came out almost by accident. That friend revealed something about her own life, and Theo reciprocated by talking about how she’d dated an older guy. And then revealed more and more, until the friend managed to convince Theo what had happened was rape. It was in this moment that Pointe went from being good to being really good — not because Theo was forced to reconsider what happened, but because that reconsideration came through talking it out with another girlfriend. Not with Hosea. Not with a counselor. Not with anyone except a female friend. There is no one who saves Theo in the story except Theo herself. The boy who looked like he would be the hero falters, and it’s she who gets to walk away, knowing that it was a mistake but a mistake from which she can learn.

But it got even better when, seated to testify at the trial, Theo reveals the rape to the courtroom. When she finally owns what happened to her those years ago. When she releases Donovan, too, because her testimony ultimately sends Chris to jail for kidnapping and a slew of other charges.

That reveal wasn’t the only one she made. Theo also admits to her parents she isn’t over her eating disorder. That she’s not “okay.” That she needs help. And with that, she chooses to check herself into the same clinic she attended before but didn’t find helpful. This time, the story feels more promising, especially as she severs ties she really needs to and works to strengthen others. Going away means putting the ballet dreams on hold — but she knows, too, they’ll be there waiting for her when she’s ready  and healthy enough to visit them again.

Theo is one of my favorite characters in a long time. She makes a lot of dumb mistakes, and she’s unwilling to trust herself, even when her gut instincts tell her what she’s thinking or feeling are right. She’s not weak, but she’s also not “strong.” She’s imperfect and rough and misguided but ultimately, she wants to do what’s right. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to do that without continuing to hurt herself in the process — which she does anyway, but in recognizing that, she grows. Theo learns about trusting herself, as well as trusting others in the process.

At the end of Pointe, nothing is perfect. Theo will still make dumb mistakes. That she’ll still stumble and fall. She’ll still likely go out and party when it might be smarter not to. But we also know she’s figured out that she has the capability to own her story and work with it, rather than always work against it. To recognize that being a human being means being imperfect, and that the best relationships are the ones that take work. Especially the relationship one has with herself.

Pass Brandy Colbert’s Pointe to readers who love Sara Zarr or Siobhan Vivian. Those readers who love a complex female character and a book that’s tightly written with an authentic and memorable voice will find much to love here. Readers who want a story that features a character passionate about her art — dancers especially — will enjoy Theo’s dedication and Colbert’s ability to write about it with authority. Although there is a lot of plot, ultimately Pointe is a character-driven novel, and one that will resonate with readers who are eager for solid, memorable, smart, damn good contemporary YA fiction. Colbert creates real teen characters in situations that allow them to be teenagers without offering judgment for the choices that they do and do not make, regardless of how smart those choices may or may not be.

Pointe will be available April 10. Review copy received from the publisher. Tomorrow, we’ll have an interview with Colbert, along with a giveaway. 

Get Genrefied: Realistic Teens on the Big Screen

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Last week, Vanity Fair published a piece that got many people riled up. No, the problem isn’t the excitement building over John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars getting closer to being on the silver screen. It’s not that his book Paper Towns is in the works, with Green being executive producer. It’s that the piece suggests Green is leading a teen-movie renaissance, wherein Green’s film for teens is the only one that “lacks a supernatural or post-apocalyptic bent” in recent times.  It goes on to say that his books on screen will lead a revolution in filmmaking, reviving realistic teens on screen.

The problem is there have been plenty of realistic teen stories put on film in recent years. While Green’s will undoubtedly be popular, he’s not alone here, nor should he be credited for a revolution. Vanity Fair offered up a second piece about 10 movies that could fuel a realistic teens on screen comeback, but it, too, discredits the wealth of realistic teen flicks that have been made — or are coming out soon.

We thought for this month’s installment of Get Genrefied, we’d talk about the realistic teens who have had their stories move from print to the big screen. This isn’t a revolution of any sort; it’s a spike in popularity due to a well-known and recognizable name (to teens and adults) at the helm.

Options

If you read about book news on the internet at all, chances are you’ve read about books being “optioned.” It happens a lot, much more frequently than movies actually being made from books. I (Kimberly) have learned over the years not to get too excited about a favorite book being optioned, since it doesn’t guarantee a film. An option is basically someone renting the exclusive right to make a film (or tv movie or tv series) for a certain period of time. After that period of time expires, the option becomes available for someone else. While that first someone holds the option, no one else can try to make a film out of the book.

All sorts of things can happen (or not happen, as is more often the case) during this option period. If your favorite book was optioned but you never end up seeing it at your theater, it’s possible that the filmmakers couldn’t secure funding, the script wasn’t up to snuff, they couldn’t get the actors they wanted, or they just didn’t actually like it all that much after all, but wanted to keep it available in case they changed their minds. I’m no insider; this is information I’ve gleaned from reading a lot on the web and asking a lot of questions of people who do know things. Writers Digest has a very clear and more detailed explanation of what an option entails and the next steps that bring a book to the screen.

We’re addressing this in our genre guide because news of YA books being optioned can sometimes skew perceptions and make it seem like we’re awash in YA adaptations and Hunger Games ripoffs. Often the information that a book has been optioned is used as a marketing tool for the book. Take the information for what it is. Just because the book has been optioned doesn’t mean you’ll ever see it. It’s the first step, but it’s far from a green light. 
 

What Would You Like to See?

It’s fun to dream about seeing our favorite books on the big (or even the small) screen. We’ve rounded up a few lists of YA books that readers would love to see made into films. A lot of the titles mentioned actually have been optioned – but as mentioned above, that’s no guarantee. It’s a little hope for the dreamers, at least. Which books do you wish would be adapted?

Realistic Teen Novels Made Into Movies

Here’s a roundup of the realistic (mostly — we could debate titles like The Princess Diaries but we’re including it) YA novels that have been made into movies. These are older and newer titles, all of which you can seek out and watch. Books like Caroline B. Cooney’s The Face on the Milk Carton have been left off because, while it was made into a movie, it was made for TV and isn’t as easy to track down and enjoy. We’ve included the movie images, linked to IMDB descriptions, and we included the source titles for the movie, since it’s not always obvious. After this list, we’ll dive into move movies that feature realistic teen characters and stories but which had source materials from adult books.

Worth noting: not all of the movies based on YA books are made for the teen audience. Some skew a bit younger and others skew a bit older. It’s worth checking ratings in the event you want to show one or these in a classroom or library — Fat Kid Rules the World, for example, is rated R, despite the fact the book is a YA novel. Same with The Spectacular Now.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story based on Ned Vizzini’s book of the same title.

Speak based on Laurie Halse Anderson’s book of the same title.

The Outsiders based on S. E. Hinton’s book of the same title.

Fat Kid Rules the World based on K. L. Going’s book of the same title.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower based on Stephen Chbosky’s book of the same title.

Tiger Eyes based on Judy Blume’s book of the same title.

How to Deal based on two books by Sarah Dessen, That Summer and Someone Like You.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist based on the book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan of the same title.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants based on Ann Brashares’ novel of the same title.

Flipped based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s novel of the same name.

Geography Club based on Brent Hartinger’s novel of the same name.

Now is Good based on Jenny Downham’s novel Before I Die.

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging based on Louise Rennison’s Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging.


The Chocolate War based on Robert Cormier’s novel of the same title.

The Spectacular Now based on Tim Tharp’s novel of the same title.

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen based on Dyan Sheldon’s book of the same title.

That Was Then, This is Now based on S. E. Hinton’s novel of the same title.

Whip It based on Shauna Cross’s novel Derby Girl.

Drive Me Crazy based on the Todd Strasser book Girl Gives Birth to Own Prom Date.

Lemonade Mouth based on Mark Peter Hughes’s novel of the same name. Technically, this is a made-for-TV movie, but it should be easy enough to track down and watch, as it came out in 2011.

Paranoid Park based on the Blake Nelson book with the same title.

Hoot based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen with the same title. This likely skews more middle grade, but we’re including it anyway.

The Princess Diaries based on Meg Cabot’s book with the same title.

Rumble Fish based on S. E. Hinton’s book with the same title.

If I Stay based on the novel by Gayle Forman will be in theaters August 22, 2014.

The Fault in Our Stars based on the novel by John Green will be in theaters June 6, 2014.

Realistic Teen-Driven Films Based on Books That Aren’t YA


Here’s a roundup of teen-driven, realistic movies that are based on books that weren’t published YA. These are adult fiction and nonfiction titles, as well as graphic novels, but they have good appeal to teen viewers (if that’s not the movie’s primary target audience). Note the ratings and note, too, not all of these are right for all teen viewers. But we included some titles, like The Virgin Suicides, because we know it can be a teen cult favorite.

Ten Things I Hate About You is loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shew.

I Love You, Beth Cooper is based on Larry Doyle’s novel of the same title. We couldn’t decide if this was a YA book or an adult book, since it seems to be all over the place, so we’re putting it here.

Mean Girls is loosely based on Rosalind Wiseman’s non-fictional work Queen Bees and Wannabes.

Election is based on Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name.

Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel of the same name.

The Virgin Suicides is based on Jeffrey Eugenides novel of the same name.

Girl, Interrupted based on Susanna Kaysen’s book with the same title.

“O” based loosely on Shakespeare’s Othello.

Hardcover to Paperback: YA Redesigns to Consider

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In this installment of YA books getting new looks in paperback, I’ve included not only standalone titles getting new looks, but I’ve included a series getting a new look, too. As usual, some of these redesigns are great and some of them I am not entirely sure I understand nor think have improved upon original ideas. Likewise, some of the cover redesigns have been clearly inspired by new trends, and whether that’s a positive or a negative for that particular book is up for debate.

All original covers are on the left, with their new looks on the right.

Beta by Rachel Cohn came out back in October 2012 and honestly, I kind of forgot about this book and the fact it’s the first in a series. I think some of it has to do with the fact the hardcover isn’t memorable. In fact, I think this cover looks like many other covers that came out at the same time — it’s a single girl’s face and that face isn’t necessarily memorable. Sure, she’s got a floral design on her skin, but that’s not enough to make this cover stand out from the crowd. When a book has a cover like this one, while it might be on trend, it’s also remarkably boring and forgettable. What is this book about vs what other books featuring a big face are about? I’m not sure. I have no idea what genre this book is, and even the blurb on the cover from Melissa de la Cruz doesn’t offer a whole lot. It’s a riveting novel about what? What the cover does have going for it is the title and font, which suggest this is perhaps science fiction of some flavor.

The paperback redesign of Beta came out last summer; like I said, this is a book I kind of forgot about because while it may have made a splash initially, it didn’t get on my radar nor have I read a lot about it. The redesign is much better than the hardcover, though I don’t know if I love it, either. Rather than make use of de la Cruz’s blurb, the redesign uses a tag line that . . . also doesn’t tell you a whole lot about the book, other than there will be romance (which can be the hook for a lot of readers, regardless of genre). I do like the color scheme going on, and I like the feel of the cover, since it’s clearly set in a warm, tropical, and likely exotic place. I like that the original font from the title carried over, as I do think between that and the image itself, there’s a little bit better genre placement. It’s still not perfectly clear, but it’s better.

But can someone explain to me what’s going on with that model’s foot? Why does it look bent in the wrong direction? She looks exceptionally uncomfortable like that.

For me, the paperback edition of Beta wins for better cover, and I think it’s fitting with the second book in the series, Emergent. When you look at that cover, the cover for Beta makes a little more sense, as the people look more robotic than they do human.

Speaking of Rachel Cohn, three books she co-authored with David Levithan are getting recovered for the fall.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares

Naomi & Ely’s No-Kiss List

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist 


There’s nothing particularly remarkable about any of these cover makeovers. They’re all pretty nice, though I’m not sure how much up to date they are compared to the original looks. One of the reasons it was noted that these books were getting redesigned was to play off the popularity of contemporary YA in the vein of John Green and Rainbow Rowell (of course). I don’t know so much that I see the influence of either of those authors’ books on these covers, especially since the original covers were themselves pretty iconic — maybe if I see it at all, I see a little of Will Grayson in the Nick and Norah cover. What I do like on all of the redesigns, though, is that the font is the driving force for the cover, and I think that good fonts are at play here. I also do like that both authors — who are each known for being pretty prolific — have had the size of the font for their names made bigger.

Interesting tag line of sorts, though, on Nick & Norah that I’m not sure I entirely understand: “The He-said/She-told New York Times Bestseller.” What’s the difference between he-said and she-told? I have read the book and saw the movie but I’m not sure I get that.

All of these Rachel Cohn and David Levithan paperback redesigns will be available September 23, 2014.

The Art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar is getting a redesign that I don’t think is better nor worse than the original. I think that they’re maybe missing the right audience for this book all together, as the hardcover reads really young and the paperback reads much more adult. Neither sort of hit that middle ground of young adult. I kind of like both covers, but I like them in context of one for younger readers and one for adult readers.

The original hardcover on the left has a tag line to it that, when you read it and look at the cover, doesn’t add or mean much: “He can grant all her wishes. But only she can save his life.” It looks to me like those are two girls laying on that bed, but I suppose it could be a guy on the lefthand side there laying beside a girl. If that’s the case, maybe the tagline makes a little more sense. I do love the font and placement for the title quite a bit.

On the paperback, the tag line is gone, but now there is a prominent blurb beneath the title. What stands out is how big and loud Tamora Pierce’s name is on the cover — it’s more obvious to me than the author’s name, which sort of fades into the background because the font is so thin and it’s hidden on the bottom (at least with the hardcover, her name is dark and easily pops out). The font choice for the title here confuses me a bit because there’s almost too much going on. For four words, there are three different fonts, including one that uses a mixture of capital and lowercase letters. As for the image, it’s clearer now that it’s a male and a female on the cover than it may be on the hardcover (I still think it’s two girls) but their stance is much more defensive than it is inviting to readers. Are they angry? I can’t say I am a huge fan of the red dots along the right-hand side, nor am I particularly keen on the faded effect. Is that snow on the ground or just how the image looks? I’m not entirely sure.

I don’t think either cover is great, and I don’t think either is terrible. Both are sort of middle ground. The paperback for The Art of Wishing will be available June 12, 2014, and the second book in the series, The Fourth Wish, will retain the style of the redesign (and, I think, looks much better than the paperback redesign).

Like with The Art of Wishing, I have a lot of neutral mixed feelings about both the hardcover and the paperback redesign of Alex London’s Proxy. On one hand, the hardcover is pretty distinctive, even if it’s not the most visually appealing. It’s distinctive because it’s jarring and because it forces you to pause and try to make sense of it. It makes use of a mirrored effect, but it’s not a perfect mirror image. The font is, but if you look at the two faces on the cover, they’re much different — and that is, in many ways, really eerie to see. I’m not a huge fan of the bars running on either side of the split, but again, I think that’s what makes this cover pretty distinctive and memorable. I can see a teen asking for this book by asking for the book with elements of this cover (i.e., it’s red and white, kind of like it’s a reflected image and there are a lot of black lines). I dig how the tag line, “Some debts cannot be repaid,” is right in the middle of the cover, splitting it in two. I also think it’s just a nice tag line, even if it’s not particularly memorable nor telling of the story inside. It’s catchy.

The paperback, on the other hand, looks like a dystopian novel and that is one of the big things that works both in its favor and against it. This book looks like a lot of other books out there, and for teens who love that genre, this will be what they’re looking for. The redesign also features a blurb quite prominently, and that blurb from Marie Lu is pretty smart — readers who like Lu’s books will likely want to try London’s series. I think it was smart to carry over the same color palette to the new design, though the use of a cityscape for the driving image here isn’t particularly memorable (a teen comes to the reference desk asking for the book with a city on the cover is going to yield too many results). I find the placement of the tag line and how it’s in two different sized fonts to be a little unsettling and I think it overwhelms the cover. For some reason, the period there bothers me a lot. It’s not there in the hardcover, and it looks out of place. Why is “some debts” so much bigger than “cannot be repaid?” I’ll also say that the font for the title isn’t my favorite. The lack of a center for the P, the R, and O makes it feel uneven.

Again, neither cover is terrible but neither knocks it out of the park. Proxy will be available in paperback on May 1, 2014. The second book in London’s series, Guardian, will follow in line with the design in the paperback makeover.

Here is a series for younger teen readers that’s getting an entire facelift:

Last Shot 

Vanishing Act 

The Cover-Up

The Rivalry 

Change-Up


If ever a series needed a redesign — one that would bring unity and cohesion to the series itself — it’s John Feinstein’s sports mystery series. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not even sure I’ve collected the original cover images on the left. I know I have in some cases, but I feel like I’ve seen other covers for these books, too. For readers who might not be familiar with this series, it’s a really good choice for those who like sports books or mysteries, and it’s a good choice for readers (or parents) who are concerned about content. It’s not written down and because it’s a series, it’s a way to get readers who might be a little more reluctant to get hooked and keep reading. The catalog calls this a series for readers 10 and older, but in every library I’ve worked in, it’s been shelved in YA. It’s fine for younger readers, but I think the prime audience is that 12-16 or so range.

I’m a huge fan of the redesign, as I think it nicely unifies all of the books in the series while also making it clear they’re about different sports. While we get that from the other designs, what we don’t know from the other covers is that these books all go together and that they’re a series. There’s not anything unifying them in their looks. The new covers are very clean and crisp, with just a minimal amount of coloring. What’s interesting, too, and what I think is maybe smart is that because the players on the new covers aren’t easily identifiable, they look ageless, if not older than teens themselves. That can be a big factor of appeal for a lot of readers, who may feel like they’re reading much older books.

This series redesign/rebranding is a big win in my book. John Feinstein’s books will be available in their new looks on August 5, 2014. If you’ve had this series languishing on your shelves, I would consider springing for the series again with their new look. I bet it’ll spark new interest — plus, it just looks really good.

Let’s round out this post on a cover redesign I’m not entirely sold on because I’m not sure it nails it in the way that the hardcover does. David Iserson’s Firecracker came out last year, and it’s one of those books I keep meaning to read but haven’t picked up yet. It’s supposed to be a funny story about a girl who is told by her parents she’s being moved from her boarding school to public school. The reviews I’ve read have suggested it’s quirky without being “quirky,” and it’s a fun read. The hardcover nails that feel. I love the fact we don’t see a whole girl, but I do love the fact we see a girl on the cover, and she’s
wearing a bright, fun, and yet really wild collection of clothes. The rocket in her hand is representative of a big element in the story, which is that the main character lives in a rocket ship in her parents backyard. The way the title is angled across the lower half of the cover, along with the somewhat billboard-esque font choice is fun and eye-catching, and Iserson’s name also stands out because it’s angled and done in a contrasting font. Everything This is a bright, fun cover that is super eye catching because it’s so different and yet, it’s really not that different at all. The slighter things — her clothes, the rocket ship, the font and layout — are what make it stand out.

The paperback for Firecracker is boring. It lacks the life and verve that the hardcover has, and I think it’s because it’s sort of a lifeless pink, with a lifeless — and faceless — girl in the middle. It feels like they were going for a design that mirrored the hot and trendy illustration wave, but in doing so, they removed the fun from the cover. Even the title placement and the font used is dull. If anything, this book will have a much better appeal to adult readers than to teens, which might be the point since, like with the paperback, it’s noted that Iserson’s a writer for New Girl and SNL (both are shows I think that appeal to the 20-something audience more than the teen audience). This cover makes me miss the spunky girl on the original quite a bit, since this girl…she’s got a loose tie and no face and thus, no expression whatsoever.

Hardcover wins this round without question, and in fact, every time I see that hardcover I’m reminded how much I want to pick up and read this book. Firecracker will be available in paperback June 12, 2014.

What do you think? Which cover redesigns here are winners and which ones aren’t going to be making the most memorable list?

Girls Across Borders: Reviews from the Outstanding Books for the College Bound List

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To round out women’s history month and continue talking about some of the amazing titles on this year’s Outstanding Books for the College Bound list (OBCB), I thought I’d dive into the books on the list that talk about girls across borders. This is a longer roundup of titles, as there were a number of really great titles that would fall under this umbrella. Some of the borders these girls move across are physical, some are mental, and some are socially-constructed boundaries. I’ve pulled the titles from across the five categories of the OBCB list, so there’s a little literature, a little social science, and a little bit of arts and humanities covered here.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

This isn’t a new title, and it’s not one that hasn’t gone unnoticed or not earned accolades. That’s for good reason. This is a powerful novel in verse about human trafficking and prostitution.

Thirteen year old Lakshmi lives in Nepal, and when a devastating
monsoon destroys her family’s crops, her step-father informs her that her duty is to help the family recover from this tragedy. While she’s under the impression that she’s being sent to do work a a maid, the truth is, she’s being sold into prostitution in India.

It’s a harsh, cruel, and brutal world, but Lakshmi does what she can to endure. She’s able to at least try to foster friendships with the other girls in the brothel.

Sold is horrifying and heart-wrenching, and it’s not necessarily the kind of story with a happy ending to it. What’s left unsaid because of the verse style of the novel is as painful as those things which are said and described. Likewise, despite being a fictional novel, it’s clear that McCormick has done her research on the truth behind stories like Lakshmi’s, and she’s unflinching in what she presents as the truth of her experiences as a child sold into prostitution.

Though not a personal favorite read of mine, it’s one that I am still thinking about months later. It’s powerful, and it’s the kind of story any reader curious about the ongoings in other parts of the world should read. But, of course, they shouldn’t read it for just that. Because as much as we want to believe this is an issue “in other places,” it still happens in the places with which we have great familiarity.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

So what can be done about oppression and the horrific abuses women suffer around the world? Kristof and WuDunn delve into what we can do and how we can do it in their work.

I should note before diving into this a bit more than this book didn’t work for me. It’s really brutal, even more so than Sold, and I had a problem more specifically with how these women’s stories of being hurt and broken and abused were coaxed out of them in a way that I felt took the power away from the victim and instead gave it to Kristof and WuDunn. But I note that this was my personal bias in the reading and it came up because this book is PACKED with these sorts of stories — it’s not an easy read nor is it a gentle one and it’s not meant to be either of those things.

That said, this is the kind of book any reader interested in social justice, particularly on a global scale, should pick up. It gives a broad perspective of practical things that can be done to help make the world a little bit of a safer place for women who endure brutality. It puts a real face and story to the ones told by McCormick in Sold. I should be fair in stating, too, that alongside the really tough reads are stories about how many women recovered from their positions and situations. Those are, of course, meant to be a call to action.

Factory Girls: Voices from the Heart of Modern China by Leslie T. Chang

When you think of China, what do you think? What about those stickers littering your clothes or on toys that proclaim “made in China?”

Chang enters into migrant China and follows two girls through their “careers” in the factory/migrant world. Min and Chunming represent the girls who leave their village homes and seek work in the cities inside factories that run them dry, pay them little, and “own” them. But what’s most fascinating is how Chang doesn’t necessarily look at this as a negative thing in and of itself; these girls see these jobs as upward mobility in China. This exploration of China’s social situations and work/personal lives is fascinating, heartbreaking, and — surprisingly — somewhat hopeful. Although I found Chang’s personal history in here boring (I skimmed those few chapters), I see how they relate and tie into the greater story. 
A great book for considering not just the social world of China, but how China’s changed and evolved in the last few decades, how the population has adapted to this, what promise and hope look like for young women who aren’t attending colleges/universities, and it’s also a means of reflecting upon our own choices in what we purchase and use product-wise in America. We consume the goods these girls take part in making; how does and should this impact us here, knowing what those jobs there might mean?

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Going back to fiction and back to the US momentarily, Kwok’s novel focuses on the double life which immigrants to this country can sometimes lead.

Kimberly Chang and her mother arrived in Brooklyn from Hong Kong poor but eager to get away from their home country. They’re set up in an apartment of squalor. During the day, Kimberly is an immensely talented and eager school girl. From that, it would appear she’s living the American Dream, but it’s far from that.

At night, Kimberly works in the factories and hopes to help supplement the income her mother has in order for them to stay afloat in their new home. She’s obligated to help, and in the process of this work, Kimberly comes to a number of realizations about how much responsibility falls on her to help make life in this country possible. There is a romance that emerges in the story, as well, and it’s in these scenes where readers get a real sense of the challenges faced — no matter which decision or opportunities Kimberly pursues, she’s going to have to work hard and make significant sacrifices.

What happens, too, when someone finds out about your real home life and it doesn’t match the face you present in the classroom?

Girl in Translation makes for a really interesting read against Factory Girls. While they’re set in entirely different worlds, what these girls do and don’t do reflect the realities of their worlds in ways that make them almost more similar than they make them different. 

Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow by Faiza Guene

If I had to pick a single book I read over the course of OBCB work that stood out to me the most, it would be Guene’s novel. I’d put it off for quite a while because I had no idea what it was about (the title and the cover didn’t attract me) but when I picked it up, I read it in a single sitting.

What a little gem of a book. This was published adult but has mega YA appeal, as it’s about a 15-year-old Doria growing up in the projects about half an hour from Paris. While we have our romantic notions of what Paris is like, that notion is best left to what Paris is — not the suburban landscape. 

Doria’s dealing with her father ditching her and her mother, who is illiterate, as he heads back to Morocco in order to attempt marrying a woman who can sire him a son (that’s all that matters in his culture). It deals with urban issues in a way that’s cross-cultural, about the challenges of growing up between cultures, and what it means to figure out who you are and what you do when your world’s been blown apart. It looks at what happens when the people you’ve come to know and rely on for certain things — their always being there, their always NOT being there — change and mold into their own lives and new paths, too. 

Doria’s voice is amazing: it’s funny, but also deeply hurting and that hurt comes in those really funny moments, making them even more searing. Doria’s not one of those girls who is a miracle, and I think that’s what made it resonate so much. She’s NOT good at school and she doesn’t care. But it doesn’t at all make her worthless or driftless. She’s 15 and only trying to figure it out as best she can. Even when the school reassigns her to a trade she doesn’t care about, Doria’s actions and reactions are real and authentic to who she was. 

The reason this particular novel was one we talked about and thought was worthwhile for including on OBCB was not just the voice, but that it showcased a girl whose cultural identity is one we don’t often see. She’s poor, she’s part French and part Moroccan, and she lives on the outskirts of one of the most romanticized, lauded cities in the world. 

Three other female-lead and female-centric titles that fit within this idea of girls across borders include the following:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

There’s not much I need to say about why this book fits not only on the OBCB list (it’s in the literature and languages category) nor about why it fits within this post about girls across borders. Frankie’s a girl who takes charge, gets things done, and does so despite what stands in her way. While fictional and the stakes that exist in the real-life stories discussed above aren’t as high, this is the type of book that fits into the conversation, if it’s not a gateway to the larger conversation about social constructs, gender, and about girls breaking down borders.


Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America by Karen Blumenthal

Blumenthal’s non-fiction title, which skews much younger than the other titles on this list, is a carry over from the 2009 list. It’s an excellent look at how Title IX came to be and how women earned their rightful place in sports and athletic history. Here is how girls spoke up and out, despite the challenges standing before them. What keeps this book particularly interesting is how well the photos and sidebars are used and placed throughout.

Rookie Yearbook One edited by Tavi Gevinson

I nominated this title not having read it and wondering if maybe I’d nominated something that had no chance or place on our list. But I was wrong. This book, which is on the arts and humanities list, is such a fantastic guide to pop culture, to counter pop culture, to fashion, and to music. More than that — and I think why this is such a perfect fit for the OBCB list, as well as for this roundup of titles in particular — is that it explores “big issues” that teen girls face. It tackles figuring out what you want to do with your life, how to begin and end friendships, as well as sexuality, dating, and more. Tavi and her fellow writers have their fingers on the pulse of being a teen girl, and while things like makeup tips or fashion photo shoots won’t capture the interest of all girls who pick up this title, there are powerful pieces in here that will speak to them. This isn’t a book you sit and read cover to cover; it’s more a book you pick up and read when you feel like you need to talk to someone who will get you and offer you some really worthwhile advice or food for thought on life stuff. A big thumbs up, too, for this book featuring models of many colors and more than one shape.

Earlier title roundups of books on the Outstanding Books for the College Bound list I’ve talked include titles tackling music and musicality, football and football culture, and religion and spirituality.

March Debut YA Novels

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It’s that time again to roundup the debut novels out this month. As we get into the new few months, prepare your to-be-read piles to explode, as more debuts will be popping up over the next three or four months. I define debut as I have in the past: the author has not published another novel before, so this YA title is their first across any category or genre. 

I’m pretty sure I’ll miss something, so feel free to let me know of other traditionally published debut novels out in March in the comments. All descriptions come from WorldCat.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano: A math-whiz from a trailer park discovers she’s the only student capable of unravelling complex clues left by a serial killer who’s systematically getting rid of her classmates. 

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy: Alice is ready to go out in a blaze of glory, but then she discovers she’s in remission from cancer and she must deal with all of the mistakes she’s made and the people she’s hurt. 

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton: Born with bird wings, Ava Lavender is well aware that love has long made fools of her family. When pious Nathaniel Sorrows mistakes her bird wings for angel wings, 16-year-old Ava faces the man’s growing obsession, which comes to a head with the rain and feathers that fly through the air during a nighttime summer solstice celebration.

ACID by Emma Pass: 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember. The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago. 

Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington: Soon after an art scholarship gets Liv a place at prestigious Wickham Hall, she becomes the latest victim of a dark conspiracy spanning 150 years, but her ghost, aided by friend Gabe and boyfriend Malcolm, tries to put a stop to the killing.

Nil by Lynne Matson: Transported through a “gate” to the mysterious island of Nil, seventeen-year-old Charley has 365 days to escape–or she will die.

A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier: When the Spanish influenza epidemic reaches Portland, Oregon, in 1918, seventeen-year-old Cleo leaves behind the comfort of her boarding school to work for the Red Cross.

Half Bad by Sally Green:In modern-day England, where witches live alongside humans, Nathan, son of a White witch and the most powerful Black witch, must escape captivity before his seventeenth birthday and receive the gifts that will determine his future.

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston: In an alternate world where industrialization has caused many species of carbon-eating dragons to thrive, Owen, a slayer being trained by his famous father and aunt, and Siobahn, his bard, face a dragon infestation near their small town in Canada.

The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M. G. Buehrlen: For as long as Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Vivid visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for America, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair. It isn’t until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth; her visions aren’t really visions. Alex is a Descender — capable of traveling back in time to her past lives. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Alex to travel again. And they will stop at nothing to make this life, her fifty-seventh, her last.

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas: Instead of a “No Drama Prom-a” with a group of friends, seventeen-year-old Heart LaCoeur must choose between two boys with good reasons for asking her, but a flip of a coin leads not to one date but two complete–and very different–prom nights.

Gilded by Christina Farley: Sixteen-year-old Jae Hwa Lee is a Korean-American girl with a black belt, a deadly proclivity with steel-tipped arrows, and a chip on her shoulder the size of Korea itself. When her widowed dad uproots her to Seoul from her home in L.A., Jae thinks her biggest challenges will be fitting into a new school and dealing with her dismissive Korean grandfather. Then she discovers that a Korean demi-god, Haemosu, has been stealing the soul of the oldest daughter of each generation in her family for centuries. And she’s next.

The Other Way Around by Sashi Kaufman: To escape his offbeat family at Thanksgiving, Andrew West accepts a ride from a band of street performers who get their food and clothing from dumpsters, but as he learns more about these “Freegans” he sees that one cannot outrun the past.

The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu: M.T. is a high-achieving high school student, who hiding the fact that she’s an undocumented immigrant in the United States.

The Violet Hour by Whitney A. Miller: Seventeen-year-old Harlow Wintergreen, plagued by mental voices and visions while traveling through Asia, must confront the evil sources of them when the hallucinations start bleeding into reality.