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books

After the Moment, Garret Freymann-Weyr

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It’s difficult to be a young male in our culture — there really are only a few acceptable stereotypes within which you can fall: the alpha male, the gay male, the sensitive mommy’s boy, the nerd, or the creepy guy. Although we know males are much more than a stereotype, sometimes in growing up, it seems those are a boy’s options for how to live and behave.

In Garret Freymann-Weyr’s After The Moment, we meet Leigh: a guy in his early 20s reflecting back on his last years in high school and considering how he has come of age. Although the story is not about becoming a man in the traditional sense, Freymann-Weyr (a woman, by the way) delineates what it means to grow up and understand pivotal moments in one’s development, particularly where it relates to love.

Leigh is a high school junior, living in New York City with his mother, a romance novelist, when his father Clayton calls to break the news that his new wife Janet’s former husband Seth has died in a terrible accident. This news has not yet been broken to Millie, Janet’s young teenage biological daughter and Leigh’s beloved step sister. It will be Leigh’s job to come down to Maryland and break the news to her, since she adores and admires him more than anyone else in the world.

While he is in town to help Millie come to grips with the news, he meets Millie’s good friend — also a junior — Maia Morland. As you’d expect, Leigh’s got an incredibly attractive girlfriend at home, but he becomes quite entranced with Maia and not for the reasons he adores his girlfriend Aster. Rather, there is something about Maia that speaks to him at a much deeper level. When Millie is beginning to feel more at ease with the loss of her biological father, Leigh returns him only to be asked by Millie and Clayton to consider relocating to Maryland for his senior year to continue helping Millie cope with her loss. After surprisingly little consideration, he jumps at the opportunity.

After The Moment explores the huge amounts of growth and change that happen to Leigh as he begins a relationship with Maia; it’s not a sheerly romantic relationship, but rather a relationship that is about growth, change, and uncertainty. Leigh wrestles with many excruciating decisions during this year, including Maia’s mental health, his role as a protector, and his role as a male living a fear-free life (Leigh spends many pages in this story reflecting upon the Iraq war and the young men his age both fighting in the war and dying and those trying to avoid the war and dying as civilians). As is likely clear as well, Leigh’s also fighting the demons that come with a difficult family structure, a girlfriend in New York and girlfriend of a different sense in Maryland, the values and ethics of love and sex, and plotting a post-high school life.

Throughout the book, I was very impressed with some of the situations that Freymann-Weyr depicted, particularly through the eyes and mindset of a 17 year old male. There was a true depth to this character and he was utterly relatable and sympathetic. As a reader, I felt entirely on his side and began really thinking about how tough it is to be a guy. This same story told through the perspective of a woman wouldn’t be as powerful or thought provoking, even if it was well-written. This is a story of growing up that both males and females will relate to, and it will definitely open up the eyes of females while garnering a sense of understanding from males.

After The Moment was paced well, and the descriptions and scenarios were quite believable, though at times I found some situations contrived or unnecessary — I thought, actually, there were too many uninteresting and inconsequential characters cluttering the story lines that were brought in immediately and then left to sort of fend for themselves in the end. While many readers might find the fact that not one single family was a “healthy, normal” one (everyone had been divorced, remarried, or multiple iterations of either), I think that might be a point of comfort for some. I become quite obsessed with familial structures when reading, and while I initially got mad that there could be no role models of normality in the story, I thought that actually heightened the ability of Leigh to grow as a male. This becomes crystal clear in a final conversation between Leigh and his father.

I found Maia to be a frustrating character throughout the book; the girl had a lot of problems that I felt she could solve for herself. But then I stepped back for a moment and realized that she is the perfect metaphor for what Leigh is dealing with as a male on a daily basis — she needs help and love, and while many could easily dismiss and ignore her and her problems, he found her absolutely worthwhile. Quite a way to parallel the ideas about the Iraq war and the future!

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Freymann-Weyr’s After The Moment and believe that it is the perfect book for the older set of teens. The story is set up as a flashback, with Leigh and Maia in their early 20s reflecting on their 17 and 18 year old lives. Although the book will be marketed for those 14 and over, I think that the real audience will be those between 16 and 26. There is a real sense of connection from both ends.

This is not your typical romance book, so while girls who like romances may swoon for Leigh and this one, I think that this could be sold to guys. I think it should be sold to guys, actually. After The Moment breaks stereotypes and bends the artificial rules in such a manner that males may find themselves feeling more confident about how they act and think. I think Leigh will be relatable — he loves soccer, he has a tough family life, and he doesn’t deny enjoying sex — but he’s much more complex than that. I think there is still a bit of a lag in the young adult literature that bulks guys up as much more than just their personal interests. This one is a definite in that arena. I am eager to see what the reception is for both males and females.

After The Moment will be available from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt press May 17. I was able to pick up a copy at a conference, and I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to read it. Keep your eyes peeled for a GIVEAWAY of this book from us very soon.

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin

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Double Helix, by Nancy Werlin, is a mystery-thriller about modern-day scientific advancement and the ethical price humanity pays when trying to play God. While it’s a page-turner with an engaging protagonist, the ground it treads is a bit too familiar.

Eli Samuels is about to graduate from high school. Despite his father’s protestations, he refuses to think about college. It’s not because Eli doesn’t think he’s smart enough (he’s the smartest kid in his year), or because he doesn’t like to learn. His mother has Huntington’s Disease, and caring for her has eaten up all of the family’s money. Eli knows his father can’t afford to send him to college, so why bother with the charade of filling out applications?

On the night that Eli’s father finally realizes his son hasn’t applied anywhere, Eli has a bit too much to drink, sends off an email to none other than Dr. Quincy Wyatt, geneticist and head of Wyatt Transgenics, and asks him for a job. To Eli’s embarrassment, Dr. Wyatt does not simply delete the email, and instead asks to see him. Unbelievably, he hires Eli as a lab assistant, a job that normally goes to someone with a college degree. Eli’s excited to be working with a man who is regarded as a genius in the biogenetic field, a man who seems intent on mentoring him, a man with whom he doesn’t have to hold back when discussing scientific matters. Eli has always felt his brain is a handicap, and it’s refreshing to talk with someone whose intellect not only matches his, but surpasses it. Moreover, the work Dr. Wyatt is doing with DNA – the work Eli himself would be doing – could change the world.

Eli’s father does not share his excitement. Barely on speaking terms with his son, he begs Eli in a letter not to take the job. He can’t tell Eli why, he just asks that Eli trust him. Bit by bit, Eli finds out just why his father is so adamant about avoiding Dr. Wyatt and what Dr. Wyatt’s research has to do with his family. He also discovers something shocking about himself.

Double Helix reminds me a lot of Mary Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox. However, I thought Adoration was more tightly written with a more surprising plot and a more satisfying payoff. I was never surprised or shocked by the events of Double Helix; I expected the final revelation and was disappointed there wasn’t more to it. The payoff at the end is what makes or breaks these bioethics mystery-thrillers. Double Helix‘s just didn’t pack enough punch.

Werlin has created a very three-dimensional character in Eli. His actions are a mixture of frustrating, disappointing, and laudatory, just as a teenager’s actions generally are. Even when I wanted to shake him for his treatment of those he loved, I could understand. By the end of the book, he had grown considerably. Werlin is able to pull off an authentic teenage male voice, something I’ve seen female young adult authors struggle with sometimes. That said, I still don’t feel the characterization was as strong in Eli as it was in Jenna. In all fairness, this may be because Jenna’s situation demanded more character growth. I loved Adoration so much that it seems unfair to constantly compare Double Helix to it. Werlin’s book was still a great read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Double Helix to teens interested in reading a good mystery or thriller. It’s quick, exciting, well-written, and the science behind the plot is spelled out in plain English so most teens won’t have a hard time understanding it. The ethical questions it raises are important and timely, even if they have been raised by numerous other authors before. (It’s worth mentioning that Werlin does have firm answers to the questions her book asks, and many readers may not agree with them. But then what is the point of reading if we are only fed what we already believe?) For readers who haven’t read many books about this topic, it’s a great starting place. It might spur them on to finding more of this subgenre. For someone such as myself who devours stories like these, it seemed a bit “been there, done that.” There are more inventive books out there.

Double take

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With inspirational credit to the Alea Pop Culture blog, I thought it would be interesting to look at cover art that appears on multiple books, making them eerily similar. In a sea of fiction, how does one navigate when there are so many similar looking books (admit it, you DO judge a book by its cover, at least initially!).

While perusing some of the new titles for 2009, both those that have been released already and those to be published soon, I ran across this cover double. Published first:

Andrew O’Keeffe’s The Boss to be published by Greenleaf April 30 uses a tie to stand in place of the “o.” The Boss is a humorous and all-too-realistic story about working beneath a number of bosses making absurd demands, stealing ideas, and squelching main character Lauren’s creativity. This book’s geared for an adult audience.

Coming out literally days after The Boss is this book geared for the young adult audience:

Initiation by Susan Fine is set for release in May by Flux publishers. Rather than use the image of the tie with the same stripped design (though in different colors) as part of the title, it’s meant to stand alone as the background image. Initiation is a story a middle class Latino boy trying to survive — forget fitting in at! — an elite private school in Manhattan.

So, which cover did it better? Personally, I think the design is pretty interesting, period, which is the only reason I even noticed it. I had put Initiation on my to-be-read list last night and found The Boss this evening. I’m curious if this will cause any confusion given their similar publishing time frames, albeit different topics and target audiences.

Do you know of any other covers that look similar? Share with us in the comments!

Geo-reading

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Something I think a lot about when I’m reading a novel is place — I love reading the setting details and getting a real sense of where I am. I do not care if it’s real or imagined, as a good setting will resonate long after I close the book. Throughout the blog, something I hope to continually offer our readers is what I like to call geo-reading: a visual map of places and the books set in or near them.

My parameters are quite simple. If a book takes place in or depicts the setting well enough, I’ll map it with a short synopsis. I’ve got a load of plans for future iterations of this type of geo-reading, but for now, here are 6 America-based stories, their reviews, and their mapping.

Click the link below the map to see a full-screen version of the map and review. Or, if you want, you can just click the link to “continue reading” and see the reviews alone.


View Geo-reading #1 in a larger map

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Tessa was born with a port-wine stain on her cheek, a flaw which she both rejects and embraces. Told through a series of cartographic references, North of Beautiful is a sweet story about friendship, family, romance, and about accepting oneself. The acceptance issues range from relationship acceptance, place acceptance, cultural acceptance, and acceptance of ones self. The bulk of the story is set in and focuses on life in Corville, Washington, though much of the second half of this book takes place in China.

North of Beautiful is an ideal read for those wanting something light, enjoyable, but with a good message and strong writing. Some of the characters and situations are clunky or improbable in the greater context, but the story certainly will appeal to those interested in realistic, sweet fiction.

Though marketed for teens, this book will appeal to those 14 and older, including adults.

Need by Carrie Jones

Although compared over and over to the likes of Twilight and Wicked Lovely, Need stands out among the throngs of new fiction about zombies, fairies, vampires, were creatures, and pixies. Need follows Zara as she is sent from her native Charleston, SC to the middle of no where in Maine to live with her grandmother, following the death of her father (technically, her stepfather and technically, her stepgrandmother).

As she’s on the tarmac in flight, a mysterious man appears to be following her. A series of encounters with the strange man in Maine, as well as a trail of gold dust, convince her that she is being summoned by the pixie.

Where there is ample opportunity for Need to stumble down the path of trite or overworked, Jones does a great job of developing strong and smart characters, as well as beautiful writing and scene setting. The story is clean, with little violence and little coarse language.

Of course, what story would be complete without a budding romance, a little family drama, and a bunch of high school eclectics? Need will appeal to the Twilight crowd, but it will also appeal to those who have not otherwise been sold on the concept of make-believe built into real world situations. The writing will draw you in, and the characters will leave you needing more.

Honolulu by Alan Brennert

Brennert’s real magic in writing is his ability to carefully follow the life of an individual living through history — the ups, the downs, the exciting, and the mundane. In Honolulu, Brennert depicts the life of Jin, who leaves her life and traditional family structure in Korea to become a picture bride in Hawaii, which she and her fellow picture brides believe is a place covered in golden streets and magic.

Honolulu is a lot like a large flower. You peel away each petal and watch as Jin grows and learns through her choices and her environmental changes (both decided for and decided by her). Beside the historical moments she experiences, we watch as she navigates the terrain of remaining loyal to her heritage and discovering what it means to be American. This is a book of layers.

Brennert did incredible research for the book, and it shows. He captures detail amazingly well and is able to delineate definitive historical moments without making them trite or overwritten. His timing in this novel is a bit off, though, because of this. He wants to move on to new ideas and new issues but sometimes leaves older ones too quickly. Within a couple of lines, years may go by without any in between action. In Moloka’i, his first novel, this was better and the time transitions were smoother and more fluid.

Parts of the book dragged and others I could not read fast enough, and that’s the entire point. It’s a story of a person, through and through.

Fans of Moloka’i would like this one, as would anyone with an interest in American historical fiction in the early 20th century, identity, culture, and those who love good writing. The prose is undeniably solid and beautiful.

Though marketed for adults, this book will appeal to older teens who are interested in historical fiction, Korean or Hawaiian culture, particularly during the World War era.

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Out of the Pocket is targeted at high schoolers but is much farther reaching. Think Geography Club but with a bit of a more accepting attitude of one’s sexuality. A complete review of the book can be read at my personal blog here. This has been one of my favorite reads this year which is surprising, as it covers all of the topics that some how make me nervous when an author touches: football, getting into college, and coming out.

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

In the 1940s in the back of the yards neighborhood, there aren’t a lot of work options for women, particularly the teens who are forced to work to keep their families afloat.

Ten Cents a Dance follows 15-year-old Ruby Jacinski as she quits her job in the stockyards for a job as a taxi dancer. Of course, Ruby doesn’t tell her mother how she’s making all of her extra money nor does her mother have a clue the situations that Ruby puts herself into.

This historical fiction is paced well, with incredible detailing, and a fascinating main character. I think that Fletcher did a great job showing rather than telling what the impending background in history is throughout the book, and rather than drag the story down in the fact this was WWII, she does a brilliant job telling the reader about life in the back of the yards.

Ten Cents a Dance is marketed for the teen audience, but this is a book that has proven appeal to adults, as well. Particularly for those with an interest in history, world war II, Chicago, or the underground world of taxi dancers, this novel will be a hit. It is a quick read but it is also a read that leaves you wanting more, more, more.

My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow

The book follows Louise and her mother, who is a cheerleader against desegregation in 9th ward New Orleans during the time of Ruby Bridges. The story moved quick and I think the characters were done relatively well. The historical and place settings were done realistically and with enchantment and with a bit of a dark cloud of impending trouble.

I think, though, Sharenow — who is a writer and producer for A&E — misses an opportunity here. He picked an interesting time, place, and perspective, but he seems to not delve deeply enough. I don’t think we get enough of the story. We get the icing and no cake, when there is prime opportunity to deliver both without getting in any way preachy. I think this’ll just be a missed opportunity, though it is certainly not a lost cause entirely.

I think this could be an interesting companion book to the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Taught well or read by the right person, it’ll strike a chord and perhaps spur a real interest in Ruby Bridges, the historical south, and issues of segregation — both from the side of the segregee and segregator.

My Faves, or, Three Books That Changed My Life

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Hello readers! As Kelly mentioned, the idea behind our inaugural posts is to give visitors a taste of each of our reading personalities. Without further ado:

Kimberly

My Favorites

When I read a book, it takes several years and multiple re-readings to become a favorite of mine. I think the hallmark of a great book is that it keeps you thinking about it long after you turn the last page, and the three books I’ve listed below all share that quality. Additionally, they are all books that have impacted my life in a big way. I wouldn’t be who I am now if I hadn’t read them. Unlike Kelly, mine are listed in order.

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

On the surface, Pullman’s trilogy is about a girl named Lyra who discovers a way to reach parallel universes. Underneath, the books explore notions of heaven and hell, love, maturity, and the nature of the human soul. I wrote my college admission essay on these books. (I hope I was admitted because of the essay, not in spite of it.) It’s impossible to describe just why the trilogy matters so much to me without getting too personal, but it’s enough to say that it changed my life.

I keep coming back to these books because they truly have the literature trifecta: elegant and powerfully written prose, a fascinating plot, and an important ideology that merits serious thought.

Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling

If this list is to be honest at all, I have to confess that Harry Potter belongs on it. I grew up on Harry Potter, and it is impossible to separate my childhood from him. Every year or so, I had a new book to look forward to. I waited in lines at midnight for them. I taught myself basic HTML in high school by creating a fan page for the series (now mercifully located in Internet no man’s land). I learned how to make cockroach clusters and turned a green t-shirt into a Slytherin quidditch jersey. When the seventh book came out, I helped organize a release party and stayed up until the wee hours to read it. After I finished it, I joined a facebook group called “Finishing Harry Potter 7 is like destroying the 7th horcrux of my childhood.” If I ever feel blue, I pop in one of the books on CD and Jim Dale’s voice immediately makes me smile. Harry Potter is more than a guaranteed pick me up; it’s part of what defines me.

I’ve had conversations with family and friends about the life expectancy of the series’ popularity. One person thinks the books will become classics like Alice in Wonderland. Another believes they would have already been forgotten if the movie machinery weren’t still carrying them long past their expiration date. I’m sure you can tell with which person I agree. The books are such a part of me that it is impossible to take the necessary step back and evaluate them objectively. I don’t see that as a bad thing at all. It’s what great books are meant to do – grab you and never let you go.

Biting the Sun, by Tanith Lee

Probably the least well-known book of the three on my list, Biting the Sun is a dystopia set in a future world where consequences do not exist. You can jump off a building if you want to see what it feels like, and your consciousness/soul/life force will be salvaged from your wrecked body and placed into a new body of your own design. With no limits on what humans can do, things get pretty bizarre. Genders are interchanged, people routinely walk around with antennae or leopard spots, and thinking up creative ways to kill yourself is considered a fun hobby. For awhile, it’s all well and good for the unnamed protagonist, a member of the Jang (similar to our own teenagers, except being Jang lasts several decades instead of a few years). Then she begins to realize that she feels empty, and she notices the same symptoms in her fellow Jang. So she does something radical, and suddenly, the word “consequences” has meaning again.

It’s one of the more unique dystopias I’ve read. Lee has created her own set of slang that is quite fun to pick up on. What has really made this book stick with me for so long, however, is the ending. It’s daring and new for its sub-genre, but also completely honest and satisfying.

On My Bookshelf

Considering my top three books are all fantasies, I hope these next three selections will give you a greater idea of my range. I do love to read all kinds.

The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog, by Elizabeth Peters

This is the seventh book in a mystery series featuring 19th century Egyptologist Amelia Peabody and her irascible husband Emerson. I’m listening to this one as an audio mp3 download. I’ve never actually read one of Peters’ in print, because the narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, is such a joy to listen to. What I like about these books is the strong female protagonist, the interesting historical and archaeological tidbits, and the humor. Told in first-person by Amelia herself, these books are funny. I laugh out loud while listening to them on the bus and startle the people around me. The entire series is of a consistently high quality.

To D-Day and Back, by Bob Bearden

I bought this book from Bearden at a bluebonnet festival about a year ago and am just getting around to reading it now. It’s a World War II memoir about Bearden’s experiences as a paratrooper and as a German prisoner of war after being captured on D-Day Plus 2. This is usually how I like to read my historical nonfiction, from the pen of a person who lived it. More than just being enjoyable, I also think books like these are important.

The Explosionist, by Jenny Davidson

Davidson’s debut novel explores what the world may have looked like in the 1930s if Napoleon had defeated Wellington at Waterloo. I’m always fascinated by the concept of alternate history books but have been generally disappointed by the ones I have picked up. I’m about fifty pages into this one and am still interested. Sophie, the teenage protagonist, lives in a world where seances are considered legitimate, young women join a mysterious group called IRLYNS after they graduate high school, and Scotland – part of the New Hanseatic League – is on the brink of war with Europe. Interesting stuff.