STACKED

books

Childhood faves, grown-up disappointments

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I’m always a little trepidatious when I decide to re-read a book I loved as a kid. Will the magic still be there for adult me, or will it have disappeared with my childhood? Fortunately, most of them have held up for me: The Giver, Wizard of Oz, The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, On Fortune’s Wheel… Every once in a while, though, I re-read a childhood favorite and it just doesn’t hold up. Not only does adult me not love the book, sometimes I don’t even like it anymore.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
This is the strongest example I have of this phenomenon. How I wish I loved this book as an adult as much as I did when I was a kid. I re-read it as an assignment while an undergraduate, and it didn’t even feel like the book I remembered. The story in my memory was much less piecemeal (the book now feels like more of a short story collection than a novel) and much less didactic. Alcott’s narrative voice intruded so much it pretty much ruined the experience for me. As an adult, I felt like I was being taught lesson after lesson. None of that came through to me as a child, and I wonder just how oblivious I was at the age I first read it. It seems so overbearing to me now.
Forever by Judy Blume
I think almost all women who were teens after 1975 have fond memories of covertly reading this book. Perhaps it was hidden under your bed, or passed around at slumber party, or shared at the lunch table amid many giggles (in my case). A friend brought it to school and had dog-eared the interesting bits (one word: Ralph). The next natural step was to hunt down the book at the public library, which had it in the adult section at the time. (I looked it up in the library’s catalog today, expecting to see that it had been moved to YA, but both copies are still in adult.) Honestly, it’s not that racy, but it was certainly the raciest thing I had read so far. On re-read, I mostly just found the book a little dull. As an adult, I’m not into teen romances, and there wasn’t much to hold my interest here. Plus, since I had read plenty of adult romances by the time I re-read it, the interesting bits weren’t so interesting anymore.
These are my two most prominent examples. Other books I’ve re-read have been disappointing, but my opinion on them hasn’t been reversed quite so strongly. And in both Little Women‘s and Forever‘s defense, I can remember why child/teen Kimberly liked them so much, and I can understand why they are important books.
Do you have any childhood favorites that failed to live up to your memories of them upon re-read?

White Cat by Holly Black

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I think one of the best things about participating as a judge in the Cybils this year is that I’ve read some good books I would otherwise not have picked up on my own. White Cat is one of those (its sequel, Red Glove, is a Cybils finalist). 
Cassel Sharpe lives in a world where certain people have the ability to perform curses – death workers can kill people, memory workers can erase or modify memories, emotion workers can create false emotions in others, and so on. Curse working is illegal, which has led to the formation of a mafia made up of curse workers. Not all curse workers are bad people, but this mafia certainly does bad things, much like our own world’s magic-free mafia does.
Cassel is the only member of his family who isn’t a curse worker, and he’s of two minds about it. He’d really like to distance himself from his family, almost all of whom work for the Zacharov crime family, but at the same time, he wants to be accepted by them, which he’s sure will never happen.
Cassel’s lack of ability isn’t his biggest problem, though. No, that would be Lila Zacharov, Cassel’s best friend and the daughter of the crime boss. The problem with Lila is that Cassel killed her – on accident, of course. His two older brothers covered for him, but as you can imagine, Cassel is more than a little torn up about it.
So that’s the background, and I feel like you get the gist of what the story is like if you know at least that much, plus the fact that this is, at heart, a story about con artists and their cons. I’ve always loved stories about con jobs and heists and other trickery where the reader roots for the lawbreaker. More than anything else, they are just plain fun, and sometimes that’s just what I need in a book. (Ally Carter’s Heist Society books are great for this.) The characters are untrustworthy, the cons are creative and clever, and the story is fast paced. All three of these things put together means that there’s always a surprise lurking behind the next page.
Combining a con story with magic works well in White Cat. It’s one of those stories where I didn’t feel like the magic was a cheat to get the characters out of scrapes. In many cases, the magic could actually make things worse. One of the most important aspects of curse-working is the blowback:a curse-worker performs a curse, and a part of that power rebounds back at the caster. Magic backlash is certainly not a new concept, but I like how Black implemented it here, particularly with the death workers. (Cassel’s grandfather, a death worker, is missing fingers.)
It reminded me a little bit of All These Things I’ve Done – fictional mafia, a hint of the fantastic, and the teen caught up in it – but White Cat is more overtly a fantasy. The stakes also seem a bit higher in White Cat. Obviously I can’t say too much without giving things away, but I can say that Black is not afraid to let her good characters do bad things, and this includes Cassel. (Her bad characters and her neutral characters do bad things too, naturally.)
I wouldn’t call the writing outstanding, but it does the job of telling the story and gives Cassel a good voice – I believed him as a teenager in that position, and I appreciated his self-deprecating, gallows-esque sense of humor.
There’s a pretty big worldbuilding hole that another reader pointed out to me after I had read the book. I can’t share it without spoiling a major plot point, but I will say I was completely oblivious to it until I was told about it. Which is not to say it’s unimportant; worldbuilding is always important in a fantasy novel. But it certainly doesn’t ruin the enjoyment.

Boy21 by Matthew Quick

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Finley loves playing basketball, and he’s pretty good at it because when he practices and plays, he is in it 100%. There’s no deviating from focus for him. He’s best friends with Erin, who, too, loves basketball. And though they aren’t officially “a couple,” they do like to kiss and spend time together and maybe it’s true that they’ll end up getting married down the road because they do care about each other that much. Except during basketball season, when Finley tells Erin they cannot be together because his focus can only be in that one place.

Things change though the day that Finley’s coach shows up at his door and tells him they need to talk. There’s going to be a new kid at school, Russell, and coach believes Finley should help her adjust to the new school. Russell — who prefers to be called Boy21 — was a top recruit for college basketball teams, but when his parents died tragically, his life was shaken. He’s been taken out of his home and sent to live with his grandparents in this neighborhood. Coach knows Finley would be the right person to help Boy21 adjust.

This isn’t a story about Boy21 adjusting to the new neighborhood, though. It’s a story about Finley learning what happened to himself.

Quick won my heart with his novel Sorta Like a Rockstar and it took only two chapters to realize I was going to be reduced to a mess by the end of Boy21, too. From the start, we get to know Finley and we realize he is a good kid. He’s honest, dedicated, and despite being treated terribly at school, he soldiers on with an optimism and determination that’s admirable. See, Finley is one of the few white kids at his school, and he’s earned nicknames because of this. Bellmont, his town, is home to the Irish mob, racial fights, drugs, and violence. As readers, we know this right away, and when we meet Finley, we see a kid defying his own situation. It’s the moment when his coach asks him to help support Boy21, who has been through tragedy personally, we start to see that things aren’t going to be any easier for Finley.

Boy21 is weird, at least in Finley’s opinion. He’s obsessed with the sky and he believes his parents will return to him in a space ship some day. He talks about the constellations as though they’re personal friends. But more than that, Boy21 doesn’t want to play basketball. No matter how hard Finley tries to coax him into it, knowing he’s a good player, he won’t do it.

Until the time he does.

When Finley realizes that Boy21’s performance means he might lose out on playing time, he’s understandably upset, but because he’s such a good kid, he also realizes this is an asset to the team. And being a team player, he’s surprisingly okay with it, too. It’s just when something terrible happens that things suddenly change, and Finley believes he’s made a mistake in funneling so much of himself into basketball.

Boy21 is the kind of book I have to stop talking plot at about this point because anything after this is spoiler. It’s a powerful look at race and rivalry from here on out, and not necessarily as you’d expect. As a reader, I’ve been so inside Finley’s head, I’ve grown to love and believe him as a character, and I have internalized what everyone’s said to him about being a good kid. He is a good kid. But the thing is, so much of that talk is in place because of what happened to him when he was younger. He’s living in a place where he really has no future, and it’s not at all by his own choice. When Finley has this ah ha moment, it’s painful not only for him but for everyone around him. Luckily, he’s paid his dues, and he has an amazing support network — including Boy21 and his off-beat star gazing obsession — to help.

Aside from impeccably drawn characters and a setting that’s going to test them all, this book features a thread through it that really hit me. One of the boys on the basketball team escapes from his life by reading, and others on the team bother him about it. During one of these teasing sessions, a book is torn from his hands, and it’s Harry Potter. The teasing becomes relentless, but it actually motivates Finley to read the book. The ways the story of Harry and Hogwarts weave into the plot were smart and savvy readers will appreciate them. It was the last reference to Harry Potter from Finley, though, that reduced me to a sobbing mess at the end of the book. It’s pitch perfect and captures the entire essence of Finley and why he’s such a damn good character.

Boy21 is a book that will appeal to fans of Quick’s first YA novel, as it will appeal to readers who
love a story about a good character in a rough environment. It’s a unique exploration of racial tensions, and it’ll hit home with readers who have ever felt like an outsider, regardless of their background. Quick is smart and subtle in offering us a white kid dealing with what so many could associate with urban problems and a black kid challenged with what has become almost a suburban stereotype. It’s an emotional read, and not one that’s necessarily easy, but it’s one that’ll leave a lasting impression. Much as I love a character I can hate, Quick offers me characters I can’t help but want to reach out to and tell them how good they are. No doubt this one will appeal to boys, too. The voices are authentic and relatable.

This book will be available for purchase March 1, but you can win a copy here starting tomorrow (when you’ll get to read one of my favorite Twitterviews to date!)

Review copy received from the publisher months ago. I put it off though because of how much I loved Sorta Like a Rockstar and didn’t know how it could be followed up. Well, this is how. Boy21 is available March 1 — put it on your radar now.

Catch & Release by Blythe Woolston

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Polly had her life planned out. She had been dating Bridger for a long time, and she was eager to marry him when they finished high school. She’d go to college, get a good job, then she’d settle into having kids. Sounds pretty cut and dry, but it was a life she was happy to prepare for. It was safe and it made her comfortable.

Of course, there’s a wrench in the plan, and that wrench went by the name of MRSA — the flesh-eating infection which somehow, Polly came in contact with. As did many other people in her community. A few people died. But Polly was lucky because she was able to live and she walked away with just a disfigured face.

While being treated for MRSA, Polly meets Odd, one of the football players from her school. She didn’t know him before they ended up in the same facility being treated for the same infection. But now that they’ve had some time to bond, they’ve grown close. Two people from opposite sides of high school, together, because they’re both now trying to figure out where they fit into the world which has turned them both into physical outcasts.

Catch & Release is one part story of survival and one part road trip, sprinkled with a healthy dose of science, an unlikely friendship, and fishing. Woolston’s sophomore release, following on the heels of her Morris Award winning The Freak Observer proves she’s one to keep an eye on in the young adult world.

Polly and Odd are a strange pair, but they need one another to survive. Sure, they weathered MRSA and came out on the other side with scars to prove they’ve made it, but the truth is, their real survival story begins where their hospital stay ends. Everything either of them knew about their lives and everything they planned for changed. Bridger and Polly broke up — even though Bridger claimed he wouldn’t do something like that to Polly, he did — and Odd’s got no chance of being back on the football team. Except, for Odd, it’s much less about the football team and more about the fact his family is falling apart, and he desperately wants to keep them together as best he can. His grandmother’s become more and more mentally unstable, and Odd isn’t comfortable with how his parents have brushed her life off as more or less done and gone. When MRSA enters the picture for both Polly and Odd, it’s not only representative of dealing with disease; it’s about dealing with the fact something out of human control can ravage everything. It causes both not only physical changes that turn them into disfigured outcasts, but it also causes them larger life changes.

Polly and Odd are life’s cast offs now, and they don’t shy away from expressing that they feel this way. That’s part of why they decide to take a trip together. The other part of why they decide to take this trip to Portland is because that’s where Bridger’s gone. Polly wants desperately to know why he left her, and Odd, who is protective of Polly, wants to have a talk with him too (probably not a talk with nice words). They set off, and along the way, they really connect not only with one another, but with nature. Woolston weaves a smart metaphor within the story about fishing. Polly loves to fish, but she’s of the “catch and release” mindset, while Odd believes in catching and taking. Even though we already know how different the two of them are, this metaphor plays big into the final ending of the story and it plays big into how both Polly and Odd come to understand themselves in their post-MRSA lives. Not only that, though, fishing reminds Polly and Odd of who they are on the outside, too: none of the fish they’re after are the pretty ones.

Woolston’s story is strong, but the writing itself stands out. It’s literary and not afraid to be so. Woolston’s got a knack for offering what feel like disparate pieces of story and tangents that, when read initially, don’t make much sense. As the story progresses, each of these moments comes together into something bigger and maybe even more bizarre. But the beauty is this bizarre quality makes sense; it may make even more sense than books which come together smoothly and flawlessly. I don’t want to say the writing is ugly, because it’s not, but there’s something unique and disturbing in the writing that just works. There is a lot of science in this book, not to be confused with science fiction. One of the things I loved about the writing is I feel I not only got a great story, but I learned something (maybe even too much) about the world. Woolston sinks nature into the plot, and she offers moments of scientific wonder that we get to experience right along with the characters. It’s a short book, and it reads a bit jarring, but it couldn’t be any other way. The challenge becomes a pay off. The writing captures and reflects Polly and Odd’s experiences — these aren’t the smart kids nor the pretty kids. These are real kids, and their dialog, their experiences, and their conclusions are honest and ring true to who they are.

My favorite part of this book was one of the most subtle. There’s a subplot about the idea of life and conception, and about how things coming to be is itself a scientific marvel. This ties into a story about antelope and about Polly and her existence. She wasn’t born of her parents traditionally, but rather, she was artificially conceived. Woolston is clever in delivering what ends up being one of the most profound moments in the entire story (to both the reader and the characters).

Catch & Release is a story about how life throws curve balls, and there are a million ways to handle them. It’s not a quick paced story, despite the length, nor is it one that’s necessarily easy to read. It’s a challenge, with a pay off that’s entirely worth it. Polly and Odd will stick with readers long after finishing the book. Hand this book off to fans of books that are a little bit different, to fans of stories that incorporate science right into the plot line, and to those who love fully-fleshed characters (though I make no promises on how literal that is for either Polly nor Odd). This story will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outcast. Without doubt, Woolston is one of the freshest and most startling voices in young adult fiction today with appeal not only to teens, but to adults as well.

Review copy received from the publisher. Catch & Release is available tomorrow (Feb 1).

Midwinter 2012

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Kelly convinced me to go to Midwinter this year, and I’m so glad she did – it was by far the most enjoyable conference I’ve been to. Highlights included seeing Kelly and Janssen, who I had not seen in person since BEA in May of 2011, YALSA trivia (where I contributed nothing, but I’m OK with that), chatting with a very cool editor about books over lunch, a fantastic Little Brown preview breakfast (bacon…and books), a terrific Scholastic preview full of reader’s theater and genuine syllabub, and meeting a bunch of librarians who I had previously only known through Twitter. (Spoiler: none of them tried to kill me.)
I’m going to leave the more in-depth conference review to Kelly and just discuss a few of the books I picked up. I’ve learned to be more selective in my choices. The first conference I went to I was just so gobsmacked by the “free books” that I was more than a little grabby. I’ve learned better, and I’m glad I have. The stack I brought home is made up entirely of books I am excited to read. Links lead to Goodreads.

The List by Siobhan Vivian
The only contemporary on my list! I’m very picky about the contemporary books I read. I need a very strong hook, and this one has it: each year, a list with the “prettiest” and “ugliest” girls in each grade is put up at a high school. Plus, Kelly thinks it’s terrific and the author is just so nice. (Yes, I know niceness does not indicate talent, but it does make me feel more favorable about the book anyway.)
Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
I’ve become a huge fan of Candlewick lately. I think their selections are almost universally examples of good writing, even if the subject matter is not really up my alley. This one, of course, is perfect for me: an Asian re-telling of Cinderella with a different kind of magic. I like Marriott’s blurb on the back: “I never liked Cinderella as a little girl. She seemed like the worst kind of wimp to me, and I hated the fact that she needed someone else to rescue her.” Fairy tale re-tellings never go out of style – I would say they are “story templates” and almost all literature owes a debt to them.
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
This is supposed to be “Dexter for teens.” It’s also my first Barry Lyga. I don’t know how I feel about Dexter for teens, but I do like thrillers and murder mysteries, and I certainly like the fact this is in third person past tense.
There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
God is a teenage boy named Bob. “Every time he falls in love, Earth erupts in natural disasters.” Sounds pretty funny to me.
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Three teens are sent by NASA on a voyage to the moon. Terrifying things ensue. I’ve heard that this one is scary enough to keep readers up at night. Teen horror novels usually have just the right amount of creepiness for me. Adult horror novels? Too much.
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Another creepy title, this time from Candlewick. In case you’re unaware, this is where the book gets its title. 
 
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
A thriller about a girl who sets out to prove her boyfriend is not a murderer. Her quest takes her to Prague and gets her involved with a secret society and conspiracies and lots of other fun stuff. This has been billed as similar to The Da Vinci code, but it seems much darker.
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
A fantasy about a kingdom that needs a prince and the boy who auditions to impersonate the king’s long-lost son. This sounds like a really fun middle grade.
Winning Team by Dominique Moceanu
Self-explanatory. Regretfully, I could not find an image of this cover online.