If you remember my top picks of 2009, Natalie Standiford’s How to Say Goodbye in Robot made the cut. When I heard she had a new book coming out — this time dealing with a strange rich family — I went in prepared for a little quirkiness and a few laughs. I was not disappointed.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters begins when Almighty, the matriarch of the Sullivan family, declares to her descendants that one of them has done something so terrible that she doesn’t think she can keep the family in her will any longer. When shock ripples through the Sullivans, the Almighty suggests a solution: if the trouble maker comes forth and comes clean about her poor choices, then perhaps the money can be reinstated.

Standiford’s book is broken into 5 sections. The first and last are from the Almighty’s perspective, but the three in the middle are told from the three Sullivan sisters perspectives. They’re admitting to the horrible things that they have done causing shame to the family in hopes of being put back into the will.

Norrie makes her admission first, which revolves around a cotillion ball and her lack of interest in the man with whom she was set up for the ball. Jane takes stage next, admitting to running a blog that exploits the crazy in her family for a readership — it’s through her stories we learn just how crazy the Almighty really is. And finally, we have Sassy who admits to killing her grandfather (the Almighty’s most recent husband). After reading these three stories, it seemed obvious why the Almighty was embarrassed by her grandchildren. But oh, the excellent twist at the end left me in stitches laughing.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters is set up smartly. As a reader, I didn’t want to put the book down until I made my way through the entirety of one sister’s confession. Likewise, while the stories intertwined (as you’d expect), they stand alone, as well. Norrie’s story is the lengthiest, but it is her story that helps give the “horror” behind Jane’s make sense, and it also gives context to why Sassy is responsible for the death of her grandfather.

Each of the girls’ stories are well developed and each has their own distinct voices. They’re also downright hilarious: this is one crazy family, and Standiford pulls out all the stops to make these girls absolutely ridiculous. Of course, that’s all in context to the Almighty, the ringleader of the crazy circus going on.

This is a well-paced and plotted story, thanks in part to being set up in three distinct parts. The bookends give the story its context, but the three stories could be read alone and still make sense. Throughout the stories, I kept wondering how they would have amounted to the Almighty’s utter disappointment; in the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that what I had thought to be the truth was incorrect. I got a complete surprise, and I felt like the sisters themselves. Quite frankly, this change of pace fit with the story and the characters much better, and I think readers familiar with Standiford’s style or readers who pick up on the quirky factor here will dig the end a lot.

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, this is a book to hand to readers who like humor, quirkiness, and a little irony in their books. Fans of Standiford’s first novel will love this, as will readers who dislike books about being rich and privileged: this goes against everything those books offer, despite being a story about a rich family. Throughout the book there are a number of literary allusions and plays upon classic tales (including Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale and King Lear and the story of Joan of Arc) that will please many readers, and I think fans of Libba Bray’s signature humor will find a lot to enjoy here, though Standiford’s style is a little more grounded.

* Review copy received from the publisher. Thanks!

A few months back, I reviewed Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere and while it wasn’t my favorite read, it’s one that has really stuck with me. I find myself thinking about Lennie quite a bit and I think about the way that Nelson weaved the different poetic elements into the book.

Fortunately, fans of Nelson’s book will find a heck of a lot to enjoy in Conrad Wesselhoeft’s forthcoming debut Adios, Nirvana, which could be easily seen as sort of the male side of loss.

Ever since Jonathan’s twin brother Telly (short for Telemachus, which isn’t his real name) died, he’s been a wreck. He can’t get himself together, and everything for which he once had passion he has forgotten about. Jonathan was last year’s Best Young Poet in Washington, but this year he hardly shows up to class, let alone write poetry or perform music on his guitar. He’s on a fast track to repeating his junior year of high school until the principal offers him an ultimatum: write the life story of a local World War II vet, David, who lives in a local hospice. Obviously, Jonathan’s thrilled with this idea, especially given the fact he’ll have to deal with more death than he’d like to, but as he embarks on this trip with David, he comes to really better understand himself and better understand the importance of loss and tragedy in developing a sense of self.

Adios, Nirvana is raw. Jonathan is a foul mouthed teen boy but one who you absolutely cannot help but love throughout the story. He is a poet and a song writer, and throughout the book, we are greeted with some of his poetry and the vast knowledge he has of writers and literature. Jonathan’s been working on his own version of what could be considered a combination of Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” Ezra Pound’s “Cantos,” and Jack Kerouac’s “Choruses”: he call is a Chaos. Through these chaoses, we get a deeper look into the way the loss of his brother has really influenced his behavior and how he sees himself as an artist.

Wesselhoeft’s debut is well-paced, but it begs to be read slowly. The use of poetry throughout helps make this happen, as we are forced in particular to listen to the words David shares with us about his experience in the war. And despite Jonathan’s reluctance and downright refusal to partake in such a depressing project, deep down, he loves it. David is an utter inspiration to him, and as we progress through the story, he becomes what Jonathan maybe hopes to become. I won’t go further in explaining how something that David says ends up being what helps guide his apprentice through the end of his junior year.

This book will have wide appeal, particularly to male readers. Fans of Nelson’s story will find a lot to love here, as this is another story of loss and deep grief. However, this story contains stronger language, as well as many instances of drugs and alcohol, so if those are of concern, this might not be the best readalike for The Sky is Everywhere. However, fans of realistic fiction and of strong and smart male characters and of stories with a strong basis in writing or in music will have a lot to enjoy here, and quite frankly, Jonathan’s going to be one of those characters like Lennie for me: I’ll be spending a long time thinking about what happened to him in the future and what he’d be up to now.

* Review copy picked up at BEA and available on netgalley.com

At one point in my life, I was a bit of a math genius. Although it’d be hard to call me that now, I still am a total geek when it comes to statistics and about percentages (I love figuring out tipping since it’s much simpler than people give it credit for). But Lily of The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff is much better at math than I am, and fortunately, this isn’t a story about math. Well, maybe it is.

Lily, Noah, and Simon have been good friends for a long time, and all of their lives are defined by some sort of tragedy. Simon’s dealing with a family member’s illness; Noah’s got an abusive parent; and Lily’s folks are not going to be keeping their marriage together for anything. Oh, and both Noah and Simon have the hots for Lily, even though she only has eyes for one of them.

Brezenoff’s story sounds exceedingly simple: it’s the tale of three teens who have a rough life. It’s told through each of their perspectives, beginning with Lily and ending with Simon. However, this is far from a simple story. Lily, Noah, and Simon are complex characters living within fluid and rapidly changing family situations, and it is through the tragedy and turbulence that these three characters find themselves and they figure out how they can relate to one another.

Bookending the stories of these three characters is Suzanne’s story: she’s Simon’s sister, and she plays a major part in Simon’s story. The book begins and ends in the same scene, molding the moments between that play out among the other three characters. Although the idea of teens coming from rough backgrounds is nothing new or earth shattering, especially in teen lit today, I thought that Brezenoff’s take was unique — I really liked and was fascinated by the stories underlying each teen’s life. I wanted to know what drove them to do what they did, and I wanted to know why Lily fell so hard for Noah while Simon fell so hard for Lily. Noah, who we know the least about going into the story, we continue knowing the least about because he offers us the least insight. It works, though, as Simon acts as a bit of the glue holding them all together.

While reading The Absolute Value of -1, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this is a book with serious award potential, either that of the National Book Award or the ALA Morris Award. There was something real and believable about the story, as it was about the kids you always seem to forget about in school. They aren’t necessarily losers or stoners or jocks or bullies. They participate in what interests them, but they aren’t super stars. This is a slice-of-life readers are interested in but aren’t often indulged with enough. Moreover, Brezenoff’s writing is believable and paced well. The book moves quickly, as readers are engaged with the characters who they want to get to know better and better. And by beginning the story with a real cliffhanger, we are immediately drawn into the who and the what, which won’t be truly resolved until the last page. It reminded me a lot of Rita Williams-Garcia’s Jumped, and I think fans of that style will eat this one up, as well.

Brezenoff’s story is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of angst and tragedy, as well as a lot of terse and unforgiving language. But the story pulses and moves, and the characters will not be easily forgotten. Simon earned a lot of respect from me as a reader quickly, and I found him to be such a refreshing male compared to a lot of other males lauded in teen lit today. Sure, he’s got it rough, but he also chose to make the best of the situation. If only Lily would open her eyes.

We are left knowing an end to a part of Simon’s story, but the book itself doesn’t resolve many issues. This tactic works, and it does not leave the door open for sequels. Perhaps the word I’m looking for is authentic — we know this story is just that, and readers will come away feeling that way, too. Hand this off to your fans of character-driven novels and fans of grittier lit, as well as fans of Gail Giles or Split by Swati Avasti. I think this book, in the right hands, will really open the doors of reading to many. This is the sort of book that will leave readers identifying heavily with someone or better understanding someone else.

* Review copy read and available at netgalley.com

Natalie would never be the girl to give up her obligations. She’s been working hard to become the class president since the day she began high school. She’s got goals of going to a top college, graduating at the top of her college class, and taking over the world. She’s not going to ruin her life by getting involved with boys in high school, and she’s made it a personal mission to make sure that other girls don’t ruin their future, too. Her best friend Autumn had gotten into a hot-and-heavy relationship with an older guy her freshman year and it didn’t end well. Let’s just say Autumn’s earned the nickname of fish sticks, and it won’t be leaving her.

When Natalie sees a freshman girl digging in her locker and exposing her backside, she decides to tell the girl kindly in hopes of helping steer the girl away from a life of being an easy girl into a Ross Academy rising star. Little did Natalie know that this freshman — her former babysittee Spencer — will instead go the opposite route and take to boys like Natalie repels them. Oh, and Spencer will make sure to be around Natalie all the time, whether because she adores her, loves the feeling that comes with being friends with the student body president, or maybe to teach Natalie a thing or two about having fun and letting loose.

Not That Kind of Girl is a fast-paced book that looks at the whole spectrum of high school: the college-bound driven girl, the party girl, the best friend, and the boys. The boys are collective, sharing the traits of being cute, taunting girls, and having athletic prowess. Natalie, for me, was one of the best written characters I’ve read in a while, and I couldn’t decide throughout the entire book whether I liked her or utterly hated her. She was extremely full of herself, and she was always interested in pushing her beliefs and morals on those around her (and issue that will be brought up and discussed when it comes to both Autumn and Spencer near the end of the book). Natalie has a hero complex which becomes more and more difficult to deal with as the story goes on. She needs to be the protector of everyone, and she believes she’s the only reason why her best friend Autumn hasn’t just offed herself yet. She holds this over Autumn’s head, just as she holds the fact that she’s saved Spencer’s reputation and behavior from trouble time and time again. However, this will come to a head and I think it does so quite well.

On the other hand, Natalie was driven and self-confident: traits that many high school girls in her position seek to be. She knows what she wants and seeks it out. She doesn’t necessarily step on people to get these things, either. Ms. Bee, a history teacher at the school, becomes her role model, and it is refreshing to see a character who truly admires an adult. Not to mention the respect and care she has for her parents, as well. Natalie’s both easy and hard to love.

Enter Conner.

After Natalie’s insistence that boys are worthless and not to be fussed with in high school, Conner comes through for her again and again. When she decides to have a bonfire as one of her first projects as student body president, guess who shows up on time with free wood (courtesy of the family business)? When she needs food for the Thanksgiving baskets for the less fortunate, guess who shows up with food from the family business? Oh, and guess who utterly adores Natalie, despite her hard shell? Conner.

I found Conner to be a fantastically real male character, despite some of the shortcomings I found with the other males in the book (this is not the fault of Vivian’s writing but instead a fault of Natalie, our main character). He will be the person who ultimately helps Natalie think about the way she’s been acting and behaving, and I think that he is quite a stand up guy. He never feels the need to dominate Natalie, nor does he make a display of conquoering her “Taming of the Shrew” style. Instead, he truly cares about her, despite the way she’s acted a number of times and how different they are. Natalie is downright mean to him when he tells her he won’t be going to college and instead will take over the family business. He doesn’t care. He still wants to be with her.

Vivian’s writing is fast-paced and her characters are well developed, leaving me as a reader much more satisfied with this read than I thought I would be. Not That Kind of Girl is a story about being a strong girl and despite the fact that Natalie changes her tune a bit when she becomes involved with a guy, it is NOT the guy who changes her. Rather, it is Natalie herself who wakes up, and it is through the insights by Autumn and Spencer she figures out what is really important in her life. This coming-of-age story has romance and will appeal to a wide range of primarily female readers. Fans of Melissa Walker, Kody Keplinger’s The DUFF, Sarah Dessen, Sarah Ockler, and others will find a lot to enjoy here. Although not the most memorable story, Natalie is a memorable character, as she elicits a lot of emotion from the reader.

*Review copy received from the publisher.