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The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter

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The premise sounded perfect to me: a blue-collar town with a working class family struggling with a lot of tough issues. There’s romance, there’s drama, and what promised to be an intriguing road trip to turn things around. Your classic teen coming-of-age novel with a character you know will resonate with a lot of teens, The Snowball Effect is Holly Nicole Hoxter’s debut novel. But as much as 18-year-old Lainey Pike will be the person teens are drawn to, the situations in which she finds herself may ask a lot of your teen readers who are growing up reading the characters and situations of Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Scott, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti.

Lainey’s mother has killed herself, and Lainey now finds herself with her adoptive special needs brother Collin and a lot of hurt and anger. While it’s true she’s angry at her mother for what she did, she’s more angry that this is not the first thing she’s done to disappoint: Lainey’s mom had been irresponsible forever and had caused a lot of mental anguish for her teen daughter…and the daughter who has essentially left the family to find herself in other parts of the country. But it’s that death that ends up bringing Vallery back to the family.

In the midst of this, Lainey begins to feel distanced from her long time boyfriend and mega hottie Riley. Actually, never once is he referred to as mega hottie, but for all intents and purposes, that’s how I see him. He’s into cars and sports, so let’s go with it. When she’s feeling this distance, Lainey runs into a guy by accident — Eric — and as you will probably guess, they begin to find themselves liking each other a lot. There’s a metaphor in the book about different flavored snowballs that speaks to the issues within the book, but I mostly found myself really angry that Lainey was so into herself and situation to think that snowballs only existed in the Baltimore area. Actually, they began in New Orleans and are alive and well in Texas. I digress.

Hoxter’s story focuses on the importance of cultivating relationships and letting past transgressions live in the past. I think a lot of what she says in her story is important and I think it’s done in a way that will not be like hitting a reader over the head. Rather, it settles at the end of the story.

That said, I did not find myself liking any of the characters. Although I read a number of reviews that Lainey is actually a great representation of people who have dealt with a lot of tragedy in their young lives, I felt like the other characters needed a lot more development. Vallery, who was supposed to be the older, wiser, and “motherly” sister in the situation, ends up getting very childish in the story, and not just because of the situational issues. Instead, I found she was written much more like Lainey’s friend than sister, and it never worked. And Collin’s role in the story just irritated me: I wanted him to disappear since he was clutter. While this works in the context for understanding what makes Lainey’s life tough perfectly, I felt like Lainey was developed strongly enough on her own that it was really unnecessary.

Riley and Eric were kind of one and the same to me, but this is not anything totally different from most books of this ilk. Riley does sweet things to win Lainey back at the end, and I did remember what his life’s interests were, so maybe he was a little stronger than Eric, who sold magazines and ate slurpees (or snowballs, but don’t get me started).

But here’s the kicker: I felt the entire last 1/3 of the book was not well developed or as coherent as the first 2/3. I thought the beginning slogged along a bit as we got to learn Lainey’s life situation, but this pacing was very important to the story. When we get to the road trip — another point of Vallery’s status as friend rather than caretaker/older, wiser person (which she states she is when she relocates to be with Lainey) — it just felt sloppy. Collin was kind of a prop here, and it was all too convenient that the road trip was to Orlando, where Lainey could conveniently meet up with her relatives. I just wish this were longer or were done differently. I think a lot of readers will find it to be too convenient a way to wrap up the story that is so clearly about difficulty.

The Snowball Effect may not have been my favorite read, but it was done well and was one of the stronger debuts I’ve read this year. I think that Hoxter may have found an interesting niche, too, by focusing on the working class lifestyle. Think about your standard realistic fiction fare: they’re almost all middle class or wealthier characters who never have to worry about a next pay check. Sure, the family lives are unstable and that is something to take with consideration, but I can’t remember the last time I read a story where the socioeconomics were so different. Most of the time it’s actually not even brought up, so to have it come up is refreshing. I work in an very blue collar area, and I believe these are the sorts of stories my kids could really, really relate to (and what do I know – the moments I felt were moments I needed to suspend my belief may be completely real to this audience). Again, the readalikes are easy to suggest. Call it the mega hottie effect.

Field Notes: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

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Two teens, both named Will Grayson, meet in a porn store. One’s a loner and one has a big gay best friend named Tiny. What could possibly happen?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the first collaborative effort from John Green and David Levithan. It is a humorous story about finding yourself and finding love.

This is going to get me some hate mail, but, neither author is among my favorites. But I can say I’m glad to see John Green has ventured away from his same story line of geek boy seeking the mysterious girl, though I thought his Will Grayson was much less dynamic and interesting than Levithan’s. But his Tiny? Hilarious. I didn’t know he had that in him and I’m glad he let him out.

WG, WG will appeal to fans of either author, though it will certainly not be a great starter book for those who haven’t read either Green or Levithan. The book’s appeal with be with those who like humor and those looking for something totally different for their reading palate. I don’t like stereotyping people, but I think big-time theater geeks who proudly label themselves as such will get a real kick out of this book.

This will not appeal to readers who don’t like reading the, well, ridiculous. Both Wills are developed characters, as are the ancillary characters, but the story itself is something out of this world. Be prepared for overuse of particular expletives and for very frank discussion of sexual acts (within a context of teenage humor!).

Just remember: you never know what can happen when you meet someone with your same name and you never know how that can impact your best friend or your love interest.

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas

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It’s not too often you come across a book that you read and wonder why no one has ever broached the topic before. For me, Donna Freitas (author of the fantastic Possibilities of Sainthood) has done that in her forthcoming title This Gorgeous Game.

Olivia is a good girl, who attends Catholic school. She and her family are devout, and they have deep respect for Father Mark, one of the most well-known and admired members of their church/school community. Father Mark is quite well known as a writer, and it’s through his first annual student writing contest that Olivia has the opportunity to be mentored by him and take one of his much sought-after college writing courses. For Olivia, it’s initially a dream come true.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as it should. Instead, Father Mark has begun to ask a lot of Olivia. He wants her to meet him at a bar to talk about writing, and he begins to call her, text her, and show up in the places she’s known to frequent. Olivia keeps being told she needs to give up her friendships and hobbies if she wants to be taken seriously as a writer and scholar, but what is truly terrifying to Olivia is the lengths Father Mark goes to get her alone with him.

This Gorgeous Game refers to the title of a manuscript that Father Mark has written. The story? It’s the story of an older man falling madly in love with a younger girl. This is when Olivia knows she needs to do something.

Freitas weaves a fantastic story of power abuse, both in the sense of an older man taking advantage of a younger girl and in the sense of a man of power within the church using that status to behave inappropriately. This book never once steps into sexual abuse, which is perhaps what makes it most terrifying and realistic. Instead, Olivia is constantly at war with what to do because she has no hard and fast evidence of Father Mark’s creepo habits. In the moments that she tries to talk to her mother and her sister Greenie, she’s brushed off because they are of the belief Olivia has an incredible opportunity to work with such a revered man, and since she is young, she doesn’t quite gasp that honor yet.

A very sweet romance emerges in this story between Olivia and a boy her age, too, and it is him who ultimately helps her speak out. There’s a bit of obvious symbolism within this itself, but it never once felt overworked. Rather, I think it is quite a service because it will give some readers of this book so much more to dig into. Although this book is not one I’d label Christian or Spiritual fiction by any means, the clean story, the symbolism, and the important messages are going to resonate with readers of those genres. Readers of realistic fiction or coming-of-age stories will find this a worthwhile and memorable read.

Quite frankly, this is a story I will not forget for a long time. I’ve read a lot lately that won’t stick with me, but This Gorgeous Game will: the story line, the characters, and the issues at stake here are all done expertly and without being overworked. Freitas keeps the story short and does not venture into a wham-bam ending. It’s a quite ending perfectly suited to the story.

This Gorgeous Game will appeal to fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu, and Nancy Werlin’s Rules of Survival. This is a book that would work well in a book club, both at the teen and the adult level. It will tug at your emotions, as Olivia is a very sympathetic and utterly innocent character. As soon as I finished this title, I wanted to talk to someone about it; it begs to be discussed.

Donna Freitas, without question, has skyrocketed to the top of my favorite authors list. Her writing is fluid and lucid, meticulous and well-plotted. The adults, aside from Father Mark, are not bad people in the story either. Instead, it is another adult within the Catholic school that becomes Olivia’s confidant. I read other reviews suggesting that characters like Olivia’s mother were unrealistic, but I disagree wholeheartedly. I believe her mother and her sister are “star struck” in a manner that is all-too-common, and that the situation as a whole is terrifyingly realistic….and timely.

This Gorgeous Game will publish May 25 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

*Review copy acquired at PLA.

Dystopia Double Take

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Here’s an interesting double take. Both of the books are dystopias, and their covers are very, very similar to each other.The first book is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Never Let Me Go is a dystopia for adults, a book I read for an undergraduate class and fell in love with. It’s set in the 90s in an English school called Hailsham, but of course, the school isn’t your normal school, and the students have a purpose very different from learning writing and math. I think the cover is spectacular. It’s a close-up of a young woman’s face, her eyes gazing somewhere in the distance. While the book was marketed to adults, it’s a book young adults would also enjoy, and it won an Alex award in 2006.

The second book is The Unidentified by Rae Mariz, a dystopia for teens to be published in October. (Apologies for the size, I couldn’t find a larger photo.) This book is also set in a school that is more than what it seems. Despite this parallel with Never Let Me Go and the book’s eerily similar cover, The Unidentified seems to much more closely resemble MT Anderson’s Feed, so much so that I couldn’t help but compare Mariz’s book with Anderson’s as I read the first two chapters of The Unidentified. (Judging from the first two chapters that I have read, I have a feeling Feed will win this battle handily.)

There are probably other covers out there that resemble these two. Do you know of any? Which of the two covers above is more effective? I have not yet finished The Unidentified, but I like the cover for Never Let Me Go better. Despite the flat affect apparent on the woman’s face (which is integral to the book), her eyes are focused on something in the distance and seem to indicate some emotion or depth. The eyes of the cover model are clearly intended to be the focal point for the reader. The cover model’s eyes in The Unidentified are partially obscured by the title text and it’s more distracting than it is arresting. Still, the cover is what led me to pick the book up.

The Daughters by Joanna Philbin

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The wonderful people at Little Brown send great books to review. They made me paranoid this week, though, as two days after posting my comments about the publicity for Joanna Philbin’s The Daughters, I not only received it for review, but I received the sequel for review, as well.

The Daughters is a debut by Joanna Philbin, daughter of Regis Philbin and the book itself seems written from some experience — this story follows three girls, Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson, who are all themselves daughters of famous celebrities. In particular, we get the story from Lizzie’s perspective as she deals with growing up with a world-famously beautiful model of a mother, Katia.

The girls are 14 and attend an elite high school, where all attendees are someone or are related to someone. When the school year begins, Lizzie runs into Todd — a boy she had befriended many years before he moved to England with his family — and he has moved back to New York City and will be attending school. Of course, romance blooms and fades, and we watch as Lizzie chases the boy and he chases her back. Will they end up together?

But this is more than a boy-and-girl-love-story. Lizzie has an opportunity to become famous herself through “ugly modeling,” since she has none of the looks of her mother. She forges permission from her mother, and her career begins skyrocketing before she can blink. It’s not what she imagined, and when she has to lie and cheat to maintain the lifestyle, she knows that it isn’t going to be good. That, and the fact that the world famous designer who wants to use her criticizes her for not being a size 2 or size 4.

The Daughters is incredibly clean: I don’t remember a single moment of swearing, and I believe that maybe there was a kiss discussed in the book. There are mean girls, a la books like The Clique, which makes me believe this will be a good sell to fans of that series.

What really bothered me throughout the book was that these girls were way too mature for 14-year-olds. Quite frankly, they were written as 17-year-olds and a lot of what happened required suspending a lot of disbelief — at one point, Lizzie leaves school in the middle of the day because her mom sent her a text message that she was in trouble and needed to be scolded and then she just returns to class. Weird. This required me suspending my reality quite a bit to let the stretches work. I didn’t want to give up the characters, either, so I let a lot slide by my reality radar.

But let me back up here a second, too. That will be the total appeal factor for the intended audience here. This book is perfect for the 12-13-14-year-olds. They are at the age they believe they are a lot older and more mature than they are, and I believe Lizzie and her crew are actually really good role models. They act too old, too, but there are consequences for their actions. This is sort of the realistic-fantasy that the age group likes to read about, and so I can see this working really well. Likewise, it’s the sort of book I wouldn’t have problems recommending since it is clean, the girls are mostly likeable despite their flaws, and parents won’t have a problem with what goes on. Sure, there are a lot of parties, but never once is there alcohol or any bad behavior at the parties; in fact, I don’t believe we ever hear what happens at them except that they happen.

Since there is at least one sequel, this is also appealing because fans will have more than one story to enjoy. And let’s be honest: the writer, daughter of a respected celebrity, is parent-friendly, too.

On a totally superficial level, another huge draw for this title will be the cover. It is so reminiscent of older books like The Nanny Diaries and will again appeal to the fantasy 12-14-year-old-girls will love. The New York setting, the technology-saturated worlds, and even the dialog will fulfill their fantasies without giving them wrong ideas.

Ms. Philbin, thank you. This was not MY favorite book nor the strongest written, but this will fill a nice niche. I suspect many parents will also be thanking you soon enough, not to mention the girls who will thank you for a positive story that combines clique aspects, body-positive aspects, technology, and the lure/drawbacks of fame and fortune. Here’s hoping that the second book meets these same high expectations.

*Review copy from publisher.