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Justina Ireland’s Top Five Contemporaries You Aren’t Reading (But Should Be)

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Today’s guest post is by someone I got to know last year through Cybils and whose opinions about YA lit I highly respect: Justina Ireland. Justina blogs Wednesdays at the YA-5 and occasionally at her own blog, Teh Awe-Some Sauce. Her first YA book, about a girl possessed by the Furies, is due out from Simon and Schuster in late 2012.

I read a lot of YA across all genres, and although I love my paranormals and dystopian, contemporaries have always had a special place in my heart. Too often it feels like contemporary books are overshadowed by the tsunami wave of books getting released, the bigger books all dealing with a corrupt future society or a girl and her not-so-human love. I also think contemporaries have gotten the bad rap of being either “issue books” (a book that addresses an issue like rape or teenage drinking or drug use or abusive relationships, etc.) or mindless romances.

But that’s not true, and there are a ton of contemporaries out there that defy this simplistic breakdown, some of them not getting as much attention as I think they should. So here’s my list of the Top Five Contemporaries You Aren’t Reading But Should Be*:

1. Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

Synopsis: Kara hasn’t been back to Oak Park since the end of junior year, when a heroin overdose nearly killed her and sirens heralded her exit. Four years later, she returns to face the music. Her life changed forever back in high school: her family disintegrated, she ran around with a whole new crowd of friends, she partied a little too hard, and she fell in love with gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park….

Amid the music, the booze, the drugs, and the drama, her friends filled a notebook with heartbreakingly honest confessions of the moments that defined and shattered their young lives. Now, finally, Kara is ready to write her own.

Why You Should Read It: Kara’s storytelling is pitch perfect, and so authentic that you’ll actually feel like you’re living in Oak Park (a suburb of Chicago) in the 1990s. This book is so addictive that I read it in a single sitting. So pick a comfy spot before you get started.

2. How Not to Be Popular by Jennifer Zeigler

Synopsis: Maggie Dempsey is tired of moving all over the country. Her parents are second-generation hippies who uproot her every year or so to move to a new city. When Maggie was younger, she thought it was fun and adventurous. Now that she’s a teenager, she hates it. When she moved after her freshman year, she left behind good friends, a great school, and a real feeling of belonging. When she moved her sophomore year, she left behind a boyfriend, too. Now that they’ve moved to Austin, she knows better. She’s not going to make friends. She’s not going to fit in. Anything to prevent her from liking this new place and them from liking her. Only . . .things don’t go exactly as planned.

Why You Should Read It: This was one of those books that I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt the next day. Maggie has a great voice, and it’s hard to find a truly hilarious contemporary.

I’m not sure when funny became unpopular, but this book reminds me why I love a good lighthearted read.

3. Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Synopsis: Five months ago, Valerie Leftman’s boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

Why You Should Read It: Okay, this may not be a lesser known contemp, but the tension of Val returning to a school where her boyfriend killed people, especially when she still loves him, is so well done you won’t want to miss this.

4. Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

Synopsis: Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren’t just from the wrong side of the tracks — they’re from the wrong side of everything. Except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher, no one at their high school takes them seriously. Haberman calls them “gentlemen,” but everyone else ignores them–or, in Bones’s case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman.

Gritty, fast-paced, and brutally real, this debut takes an unflinching look at what binds friends together–and what can tear them apart.

Why You Should Read It: Thrillers make up a large portion of the adult market, and I think they could be poised to really take over the YA market as well. There are more thrillers coming out each year, and this one is not only gripping but very well done. It takes the standard fare of an “issue book” and turns it into something more, which is always a pleasure to read.

5. Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe

Synopsis: Maya’s life has always been chaotic. Living with a con-man dad, she’s spent half her life on the run. Whenever her father’s schemes go wrong, Maya finds a scientific way to fix it.

But when her dad ends up in prison and foster care fails, Maya grasps at her last possible hope of a home: a long-lost aunt, who may not even exist.

So Maya formulates a plan, and with her wits, two unlikely allies, and twenty dollars in her pocket, she sets off in search of this aunt, navigating the unpredictable four hundred miles from Reno to Boise. Life on the streets, though, becomes a struggle for survival—those scientific laws Maya has relied on her whole life just don’t apply. And with each passing day, Maya’s definitions of right and wrong are turned upside down when she’s confronted with the realities and dangers of life as a runaway. She can’t help but wonder if trying to find her aunt—and some semblance of stability—is worth the harrowing journey or if she should compromise and find a way to survive on her own.

Why You Should Read It: Ayarbe’s depiction of life as a runaway is unflinching, even if you do get the feeling that as the narrator Maya shies away from describing the truly unsavory parts of her life. Still, there is enough left to make this a gritty and absorbing road trip story.

So, obviously there are a lot of books I haven’t listed here. That’s where you come in. What contemporaries do you think people should read if they haven’t, and why?

*How did I come up with this list? A very scientific combination of books with low Amazon rankings, books that always seem to be on the shelf at my local library, and books no one seems to have read during “ohmigod you have to read this book” conversations. So, as you can see, very scientific.

Kelly’s Pick List: Contemporary YA to Read

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Need a place to start? Here’s a list of some of my favorites that combine great writing with reader appeal. This list isn’t scientific and lots of things will be left off; this is meant to be a bit of a cheat sheet and a way to dive in quickly. As a preface, I should say I lean toward the edgier, heavier topics, but I’m going to make the effort to toss in some lighter contemporary, as well. I also make no promises on not spoiling the plot on some of these.

Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles

This isn’t the first book by Knowles I read, but it’s the one that impacted me the most. This is a story of a sick, twisted, unhealthy friendship and the consequences that arise from such a relationship. I didn’t like this book, and I hated both the main characters. But you know, that’s what made the book work and that’s part of why it’s so powerful. Lessons from a Dead Girl is less a story than it is a character study, so the plot isn’t necessarily over the top nor flashy. It doesn’t need to be because the key is the dynamic between these two girls that causes one to end up dead.


High Dive by Tammar Stein
This seems to be one of those books that’s always on the shelf and always overlooked. Arden, the main character, is heading to Sardinia to see her family’s vacation home for the last time. After her father’s sudden death and her mother’s deployment to Iraq, they’re selling the home. But rather than wallow in the pity she has for her situation, Arden takes a chance to explore Europe with a group of girls who are otherwise strangers to her before saying goodbye. Arden is a fantastically developed character, and the choices she makes in this journey really highlight this weird place she’s in, where she must say goodbye to her past and embrace the fact that her future will never be the same. Add to that the backdrop of her mother being in Iraq, and you have a powerful read.


Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt

I’ve reviewed this title in depth, so I won’t talk too much about the plot. I’ve read a couple of Reinhardt’s books, and this was the one that really knocked me out, really impacted me in a way I wasn’t expecting, and I think it’s one of those supremely underrated books. This is a story of brothers, of family, and of the power war has to change everything that once was. I’ve talked this title at the high school, and it’s gone out. It’s one you have to sell to your readers, since it’s a quiet looking book. And as much as it feels like it could be depressing — and trust me, there are depressing parts — it’s ultimately got a touch of the positive to it, too. A tear jerker on both ends of the spectrum.


Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg
This might be one of the most underrated books that I’ve read (and loved). What happens when the guy who is a killer football player and well respected for his game skills happens to be gay? How does he cope with this internally and externally? Konigsberg builds an incredibly well-fleshed main character, and the backdrop of football and jock culture is well tackled. Bobby has a supportive and strong family, and really, this is one of those books that’s really good because there aren’t any big issues in the book. Bobby doesn’t have to dodge drugs or sex or an abusive household. Instead, he needs to confront his true feelings and do so in a way that respects his teammates, his family, and his future as a football player and public figure.


The Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (series)

I’ve expressed my love for this series before. Murdock’s crafted a dynamic character in DJ, a farm girl in Wisconsin who has strong (though challenged) family pull, an interest in sports, and one hell of a head on her shoulders. This clean read is sweet but touches on heavy issues without coming across heavy handed or uncharacteristic. There’s romance, a host of life choices DJ must confront, and a family that’s about as real as they come. I think of any book I’ve read, this one’s setting is truly a part of the story, and Murdock gets it right. DJ’s voice is spot on, and the final book in this series was another teary read for me.


Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
I could have picked either of her other two books, which were on my list of favorite reads of 2010, but it’s her debut novel that should make the list of “must read” contemporary ya (as determined by yours truly). I was lucky enough to be a part of the judging committee that awarded this book the 2009 Cybils award, otherwise I may have never picked up this story about a girl who removes herself from everything she once loved. Parker’s dropped out of cheerleading, her grades are slipping, and her parents are convinced she’s going to kill herself. While reading this, I hated Parker, yet I couldn’t stop myself from reading the book and finding out why it was I hated her or whether or not I really did hate her. It’s an addicting read, and one that we know, since it’s a story we know. We know people who fall through the cracks like this, who have something that’s deeply bothering them but which they pack away and don’t release. This is an unexpected and satisfying read, and a book that begs me to revisit, to see if I still feel the way I did about Parker when I first read it.

Split by Swati Avasthi
Speaking of both Cybils and debut novels, this is another deeply affecting novel. It’s a story of abuse and survival, one that will haunt you while you’re reading and haunt long after. The writing is strong, and the voice is spot-on male. I think in my initial review, I was a little short-sighted in calling it an “issues” novel, given that this is a story that’s beyond single issue. Despite Cybils accolades, I still think this book is highly underrated and underread, despite the fact it has wide appeal for teen (and adult) readers. I’ve talked this one at the high school, and I’ve had no problem seeing it circulate. My book club kids have identified it as one they’d love to read and talk about, as well, and I think it’s actually quite a strong novel to use in a book discussion.


I Know It’s Over by C. K. Kelly Martin
When Nick’s prepared himself to dump his girlfriend Sasha, he realizes it won’t be as painless as he hoped when he learns Sasha’s pregnant. Nick’s an incredibly fleshed character, dynamic and emotional without treading away from feeling like a realistic male character, as could easily happen with a story like this. I bought every one of his emotions, felt all of the pain he felt, and believed in what he was doing. Martin’s book treads into territory that’s apparently taboo and not talked about, which is abortion.

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
Another book I’ve raved about before. But here’s something I haven’t told you before: it took me two times to get through this book. But that second time was absolutely worth it. I was reluctant. I didn’t want to buy it. But I was wrong.
I’ve used this book in my book club, and I have rabid fans of it. Amber Appleton is the epitome of a fantastic, optimistic, kick ass character, and she is one despite all of the horrible things stacked against her. This is a quieter book, but one that deserves a huge response. And a tissue or two.

I could double the size of this list, maybe even triple or quadruple it. But I’m leaving it at nine titles, four featuring male voices and five featuring female voices. Most have been published in the last year, but there are a handful of older titles. It can be overwhelming to dive into a new genre or reading area when there’s so much to choose from, but starting small and then moving forward is the only way to do it. I’ve tried to offer a wide swath of style and topic and offer exposure to some of the names popping up in the contemporary ya world that are worthy of following.

If you’ve read any of these, weigh in! And if you know of other must-read recent titles that should be on everyone’s radar or in their back pocket for recommendation, leave a comment.

Why Contemporary?

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Welcome to a week of posts on contemporary ya here at STACKED. After a passionate post by Lisa Schroeder about getting the word out about contemporary ya, we decided to put together some posts highlighting groundbreaking ya, as well as personal favorites. We’ve got two guest posts this week, as well: one from one of those groundbreaking ya authors and one from a friend of mine who’ll highlight a handful of contemporary titles that you need to read. And as a bonus, we’ve got a post about contemporary middle grade titles you should be aware of, too.

First, let’s define contemporary ya lit. It sounds simple, really, but it’s quite complex in my mind. Contemporary is a setting — the now — but it’s also a grounding in reality. Contemporary ya lit transcends just being a story set in today’s world; it’s lit that has something to it that’s actually timeless. Good contemporary stories get to the heart of any challenge, any story, and that heart is something that reads honestly whether the story itself was published yesterday or ten years ago. It’s more than being an “issue” driven lit, and it always has been (despite the fact that it was “issue”-driven lit that began the growth of contemporary lit in the first place). Contemporary lit is truth driven. Some of the best contemporary ya lit out there actually delves little into “issues,” but instead, it delves into a slice of life and shares that story, that moment, the things that happen then. As you’ll see this week, there are books that were published many years ago and prior to the huge rise in ya lit over the last 5-7 years, that still resonate as important today because these slices of life speak to readers today.

To the meat of why this matters: contemporary ya is some of the most important stuff being published, as well as the most overlooked. These are the books, as Schroeder mentions, that need to be purchased and need to be talked about. These are the books that don’t score 6-figure publicity campaigns and are often the ones denigrated by big-named newspapers as smut, as harmful, and as the stuff that ruins teenagers. These are the books that publishers suggest are hard sells, and that those who don’t read it completely misunderstand.

Here’s the thing — in my experience as a librarian who serves young adults — contemporary fiction is what my teens want to read. These are the books they seek out. Sometimes, they’re reading them to relate; sometimes they’re going through tough stuff at home or at school and they want to relate to someone else. Sometimes, they’re reading them to better understand the world around them: they want to fall into a world unfamiliar to them and experience the challenges others experience for a few hours. For many, this is a first experience engaging in places utterly unfamiliar to them. My kids are always asking me for recommendations, especially for contemporary books, because they love these stories that make them think. Books that make them question things, reevaluate things, and consider their own answers to the challenges. These are the books they’re eager to talk about, too. While big-buck books certainly conjure discussion and consideration of the what ifs, it’s those books that are grounded in real life that stay with them forever.

The sad reality is that not enough librarians, educators, or other gatekeepers (a label I loathe but one that is utterly honest to what adults who work with teens are) keep up to date on what’s being published in the contemporary market. It’s important to stay ahead of trends and be familiar with what those big books are so you can make sure you have it/know it/can engage in conversation with kids about it. But part of why contemporary ya is overlooked is because it doesn’t get that sort of marketing or publicity, and adults can become lazy about keeping on top of those books. I said it: lazy.

True advocates for their kids read as much as they can, as widely as they can. Sometimes this means foregoing the biggest, shiniest titles for the midlist titles (those publicity dollars mean your kids already know about the latest, greatest, biggest new thing). Sometimes it means reading a book you hate, disagree with, or find difficult to read. It might be that book that impacts a kid in a tremendous way. Staying on top of everything is impossible, but building familiarity with new things is not. True advocates of teens know spend their non-salaries hours reading, engaging, and building awareness of what’s out there, and it’s my hope that our week of posts helps just a little.

For me, this work is worth it. Putting the word out there about the books authors bleed over to write and connecting it with the right readers is why I got into the profession and it is what gives me incredible joy in my job. Walking a teen around the teen section, listening to him/her tell me what she likes to read or what authors she’s liked in the past, and being able to offer up 7-10 titles they may have missed otherwise is what makes my job worthwhile.

Back to the point: it’s the contemporary ya lit that matters. That’s the stuff kids come back to talk to me about, and it’s the stuff that they’re thrilled I know and want to talk to them about. They relate to this stuff (whether they want to or not sometimes). There are very dark stories of loss, self-injury, sexuality, and there are light tales of romance, of friendship, of discovery. Reading these stories is important; it can be life changing, even. It begs teens to think critically, to engage, to emote.

Isn’t that what books are about?

The only people afraid of these books are the adults who don’t read them or who aren’t familiar with what life as a teenager today is like. Our teens are living stories every day that we won’t let them read about (I know this is a quote someone much smarter than me once said, so if you have an attribute, let me know). Teens are smarter than we give them credit for, and they will self-censor like crazy. If a story isn’t for them, if it’s too dark or scary or uncomfortable, they will stop. But those same stories that are dark, scary, uncomfortable, sickening? Those are the stories that speak to some readers on levels we as adults can never understand. And we need them to have these stories.

I beg you to jump in this week, offering up other titles that might fit a theme, and I hope you are able to tell us about some of the books that make an impact. This week, we’re advocating the underdog of teen lit, contemporary, and we’re going to do our best to advocate those titles that are overlooked much more than they should be.

Dual Review: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

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We’re back with a pair review of Imaginary Girls, a creepy genre-bending novel from Nova Ren Suma, whom we’ll be twitter-viewing tomorrow. Two of the three of us read it and liked it a lot, so we thought we’d offer up our takes on what makes this book one you should read.

Kim Says…

Imaginary Girls is a deceptive book. At first read, it seems so very different from the usual teen fare. When attempting to describe the plot to others, however, it’s difficult for me to explain how it’s different, since many of the plot elements are just like other currently-hot YA novels.

Chloe, our protagonist, is a teenager living in New York. Her older sister Ruby, a by turns threatening and loving presence throughout the novel, dares Chloe to swim across a reservoir one night while her friends watch. Ruby has told everyone a story of a city named Olive that exists beneath the reservoir, and she wants Chloe to bring back a souvenir from the city. While swimming across the reservoir, Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate floating in a boat in the middle of the body of water. Before the classmate’s body can be explained, Chloe is sent away from her sister and the reservoir to live with her father.

But Ruby misses Chloe and comes to claim her one day. Chloe goes back to New York and the reservoir with her sister, and it’s at this point in the book that we become truly aware of Ruby’s power. It’s a power she has not only over Chloe, but over the entire town in which she resides. She draws men to her easily – and discards them just as easily when she grows tired of them. She’s able to get anyone to do anything for her, by any means she chooses. One day, Ruby decides to give directives via balloon – she writes messages inside helium balloons and sends them up for anyone and everyone to discover. Sure enough, all of her directives are followed by whoever finds the balloons.

Suma writes this aspect of Ruby in such a way that it doesn’t come across as malicious on Ruby’s part, or even really that manipulative. We even grow to love Ruby a little, since we see her through Chloe’s eyes, and Chloe loves her dearly. It’s also clear that Ruby loves Chloe dearly, but it’s a complicated relationship made more complicated by the truth about the city named Olive and the dead classmate in the reservoir.

What ultimately sets this book apart is its writing. Nova Ren Suma has created a deliciously creepy book full of odd happenings all seen through a sort of haze. It’s difficult to get a handle on what’s really going on, because Chloe herself isn’t always sure. That aspect gives the book a feeling of magical realism rather than straight up fantasy or paranormal. And even though Imaginary Girls has elements of the paranormal, which can be found in so many current YA books, you’ll come away from it knowing you’ve really never read anything like it.

Imaginary Girls is being marketed as a book about sisterhood, and that relationship between Chloe and Ruby is the element that drives the story. Ruby has a few secrets that are revealed slowly over the course of the novel, and they impact in a big way how Chloe relates to her. It was refreshing to read a book completely devoid of romance – this book is an exploration of sisterhood and Suma ensures our attention is focused completely on that relationship and no other.

It’s not a fast-paced book. It’s meant to be read slowly, so you can savor the language and let the mood pull you in. That also means it’s not going to be a book for everyone, but for readers looking for something a bit different, this definitely fits the bill.

Kelly says…

I’m going to pick up on something Kim talks about: the language. Suma’s book is meant to be savored. It’s a slow build, but it’s an immediate draw, too — this is a literary work, one with lush descriptions that beg to be appreciated for their use as language and for what they do for the setting and story as a whole. In this, we’re tossed into a world that is at once completely familiar to us and one that’s also completely foreign. And it’s by being put into this position through little more than the language and writing itself that we know something strange is amiss. Ruby’s built in this world, and she’s further fleshed through the adoration Chloe has for her.

One element that Kim didn’t talk too much about and the one that really sort of encompassed the entire story for me was London. That’s the girl whose body was pulled from the reservoir. London becomes a symbol for the relationship between Chloe and Ruby, and I think this is where I got a lot of the chills in reading this book. She’s a representation of their relationship, as well as representation for Chloe’s belief in Ruby. This fits in with the legend of Olive, too, another element of the story to which I latched as a reader.

It was very refreshing to read a story that undulates between realistic and fantastic. I think these stories are important and are far too rare; isn’t it true that readers want to have something to grasp (the realistic) and yet want somewhere to escape to, too (the fantastic, the magical, the otherworldly)? This helps develop this creepy world. It’s just real enough but not pushed far enough in the fantastical to be written off as unbelievable.

The relationship building in this story is strong and memorable. I’ve not read many stories that do explore the idea of sisterhood, and certainly nothing that explores it on this kind of level. I’ve never been a sister, though I’ve had sister-like figures in my life, and it’s easy to buy and understand Chloe’s fascination and her desire to do what Ruby says. Ruby’s magnetic. If I were Chloe, it would be hard for me not to want to do what she says, what she asks. I’d want her approval. The relationship here was a little reminiscent — and I emphasize a little — of the one between Grace and Mandarin in Kirsten Hubbard’s Like Mandarin. As a reader, you’re drawn in entirely, and you’re forced to buy into the mindset of the character telling the story. Falling into Chloe’s mind is easy, especially because she builds up this mythically-real person in Ruby. As I was talking to Kim about what exactly it is that makes Imaginary Girls so creepy, I think that this might be part of it. We buy 100% into the devotion Chloe has for Ruby and we’re buying everything Ruby sells to us, even if it seems absurd, strange, surreal. We want to buy in because she’s magical. She makes things happen and not happen and we’re along for the ride right there with Chloe. This, in conjunction with the real-yet-not-real setting and story, conjures chills for me, even thinking about it months after reading the book.

When I finished the book, I couldn’t help but recall the experience I had reading one of my favorite books for the first time, Aimee Bender’s The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. The moments of magic, the moments of sheer insight into the story and character, and the prose that begs to be read aloud really came together. Fans of Bender, who writes for adults, will find this book one they need to pick up (doesn’t hurt she also blurbs it!). I won’t ruin tomorrow’s Twitterview, where we get a little more insight into the story and inspiration, but this book definitely recalled some of the moments I had in reading Laura Kasischke’s Feathered a few years ago. Fans of contemporary lit will definitely appreciate this story, and those who want a story with a little magic or a little horror will find a lot to like in Suma’s book. There is easy crossover appeal for adults with this book, too.

To the totally superficial, totally unrelated to what Suma herself brings to the book: the cover. When I first saw it, I was attracted, but it was after reading the book and picking up on the purpose of each element in the cover made it a hundred times more powerful. Each of the items — the dress, the girl with the red hair, the ribbon — plays a role in the story, and this cover really sells the book aesthetically, but then it also gives readers an opportunity to put together the pieces.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this will be one of my Printz potential picks this year. It’s different enough with enough appeal for teens to be readable and commercial, but the language and style are so strong, they lift this book to a more literary level, as well. It had a lot of early buzz and press, and it’s my hope that excitement for this title sustains through the year, since it’s one worthy of attention.

Review copies received at ALA and TLA. Imaginary Girls will be released by Penguin Dutton on June 14.

Displacement by Thalia Chaltas

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More than two years ago, I reviewed a little book by then debut author Thalia Chaltas titled Because I am Furniture. It’s one of those books I still think about and one which I still recommend easily to those looking for a read alike to Ellen Hopkins. So when I discovered Chaltas would be releasing her sophomore effort, Displacement, this summer, I was excited to snag a copy at ALA Midwinter and dive in.

Something terrible happened in Vera’s life. There’s been a tragedy, and her family has been completely non-supportive of her life choices. She’s at the end of high school and ready to change, ready to get away. No, make that, she knows she needs to get away from it all and figure out who she is and figure out where to go. The only way to get out from rock bottom is to look up.

So she leaves. She hitch hikes and ends up in the middle of a small desert town where she knows no one and no one knows her. She takes to talking to people in town, takes up residence in an abandoned home, and begins to unravel the secrets lurking beneath this desolate place. But the real question is will Vera ever find herself here? Can she be happy here? Or does her happiness reside where she doesn’t believe it ever could?

Displacement, like Chaltas’s first novel, is told in sparse verse form, though I don’t believe this novel is quite as edgy as Because I am Furniture. It’s a steady paced novel, and the verse form helps speed up the pacing a bit in some of the spots where there is little or no action at all. For me, the verse works fine, but that’s because I found this book, on the whole, to be a little hard to connect with.

Vera, for me, has no voice of her own in this story. We know as readers going on that something has happened, and she drops hints at a loss she’s recently experienced. But it never feels quite convincing. There’s not enough of a back story and not enough investment on behalf of the reader to buy into Vera’s running away from the onset to give her a real voice. Instead, she undulates much like the girl on the cover, and it’s difficult to know whether we feel sorry for her or we don’t (the girl is living in a house that doesn’t belong to her in the sake of “finding herself,” for one thing).

I didn’t find myself engaged with Vera’s struggle, and in fact, there were times I felt she wanted to push me the reader away. As a plot device to show how Vera feels, this works, but to the reader, it’s off putting; if Vera doesn’t give some hint of interest in letting us in, then the story can’t go anywhere. Since this book is so driven by character, not finding a reason to care about Vera made it hard to be invested in her outcome. It also had me questioning whether verse really was as effective here as prose would have been. For me, voice is key for buying into a story — especially one that begins by a girl deciding to drop into a desert town to begin a new life — and the flatness of voice here made it weak.

The desert landscape and desolation, though, are palpable. Chaltas does a great job building place in this story, even if I didn’t necessarily buy Vera’s connection to it. The locals are believable, and I thought that they really added to the greater picture of this small desert town. There’s a bit of dialect, but it works fine, and heightens the place building.

Overall, this book didn’t impress me as much as Chaltas’s first title, nor does it necessarily stand out among much of the stronger contemporary YA fiction out there. That said, those who read her first title will want to check this one out, and I think Ellen Hopkins fans may still find quite a bit to like here, especially when it comes to style and structure (and to a lesser extent, content, since there is edgy stuff included, of course). I wanted more of the plot, and I feel had this book given a little more at the beginning of the story, the ending would have been more powerful and Vera’s voice could have been easier to parse from the story.

Displacement will be available June 7. Book picked up at ALA.