Kittenpie Reads KidLit

by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy Vance

What starts out as a sort of social experiment to test the fairness of cheerleading tryouts leads geek girls Bethany and Moni into entirely new territory when they find themselves members of the squad.

There are crushes on popular boys that seem to be coming to fruition, some acceptance among the popular clique girls, but also clashes with the worst of them, an ex-friend who resents not only the new status of these two rising stars, but also the attention they are getting from those most crushable boys.

Add in that Moni seems determined never to go back, going over so far into the world of the clique that it comes between the two girls, and Bethany is not too sure how this will ever end well.

Things work out, mostly, of course - this is, after all, a nice light read, but it also raises a few issues along the way, and I quite like Bethany, the main character. I'd recommend it as a somewhat meater bit of chicklit, definitely.

Labels: 2009, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, love story, teen

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

by Bryan Lee O'Malley

This set of graphic novels set in Toronto follow Scott Pilgrim in his pursuit of becoming the boyfriend of Ramona Flowers and, as required, defeat her evil ex-boyfriends, all seven of them. Sounds strange? Well, yes, but it makes more sense when you realize that it is set up much like a video game, with each book as a level, and the defeat of each boyfriend an objective that earns Scott points toward his final goal. Better?

That framework also helps explain the crazy fight scene between Ramona and Knives Chau, who Scott first dates briefly, that is held, of all wonderful things, in the Toronto Reference Library. Seriously. It is a delight to Toronto readers that the city figures so prominently and recognizably, but it doesn't limit the readership, either. It's a bit nonsensical, a little rambling, and a whole lot of crazy, mixed-up fun with characters you mostly like, even in their douchey moments, and they do have them.

I like the drawing style, a fairly comic style that keeps the fight scenes jokey and the characters seeming fun even when they have their moments. Having read the series, I can see that Michael Cera might just be the most inspired choice to play Scott Pilgrim, as he was cast - it's sitting on my shelf waiting for a viewing now.

Labels: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, Canadian, friendship, graphic novel, love story, music theme, slightly weird stuff, teen

by Jerry Spinelli

Like many high schools, things are pretty typical in Leo's high school. So when a strange hippie chick in a range of weird costumes shows up and starts singing to people in the cafeteria, cheering for the other team, and generally acting like all the unspoken norms and rules don't apply to her.

For a while, people aren't sure what to make of her. Eventually, they embrace her, and a wave of individualism sweeps through the school. Leo optimistically daydreams of a new dawn, until the tide begins to turn. When their sports team begins to win for the first time ever, people suddenly start to care that Stargirl, as she calls herself, cheers for the other players as much as she does for their own, and start to view her as a traitor. The shunning is complete and Leo, her boyfriend, gradually notices it and finds himself swayed, as well, beginning to be embarrassed by the very things that he once admired.

This book doesn't go for the happy ending, as a movie or an episode of Glee would, with everyone discovering her wonderful heart again at the end, though there is a glimmer of hope. Instead, it goes deeper, and Leo finds himself talking with a wise old friend of his about the nature of her and him and the stuff of stars and stargirls. There are lessons here, to be sure, but they are imparted with a sort of longing and a mystical feel that keeps them from being earnest or preachy. In the end, Leo looks back wistfully, and still full of more questions than answers.

Note: there is a followup as well, Love, Stargirl, that I will be adding to my to-read pile, as I am curious how a sequel to this would unfold.

Labels: 2000, friendship, good stuff, growing up, teen

by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Amal is a pretty average girl living in Australia, though she is pretty new at her snooty prep school, and it's a bit strange after being at a school that was rooted in the Muslim community for years. Despite wanting to blend in at McLean, she decides over the holidays to start wearing the hijab as a step farther into living her faith as a fuller part of her life. This is not met without resistance, let's just say...

Her parents, to begin with, are concerned about the opposition they fear she will encounter, and worry that it may hold her back because of how she will be perceived by others. Their worries aren't unfounded, and she does indeed encounter some nasty moments along the way. Her principal is not on board, to begin with, though her parents convince her to allow the addition to the school uniform.

Her own biggest worries come with her return to school and the dog-eat-dog social world of high school. For one thing, she is already a target of mean girl Tia and her friends. For another, she has a major crush on school cutie Adam. She has some rock-solid friends, but they do have some issues of their own that they are wrestling with, making Amal's struggles to fit in as an identifiably Muslim girl in a very white school only one of the issues that this book covers.

Amal is smart and sassy, and determined not to be defined or limited by people's perceptions. She sets out to inform the people who make clueless comments about the differences and similarities between Islam and other major religions, and to point out stereotypes and assumptions where they rear their ugly heads. She wins some people over this way - including Adam, who suddenly presents a new problem, when she realizes that what part of her wants, another part does not, for she is level-headed enough to remember that her religious beliefs about intimacy are more important to her than what her heart is telling her she wants with him.

In the end, the book sets out to expose and correct a lot of ignorant beliefs and assumptions, and does a fine job of it. The characters are likeable, and have the reader with them the whole way. And best of all, the author manages to make several good points, and make them strongly, without sacrificing any of the fun in this moving book about growing up Muslim in Australia to her message.

Labels: 2005, family, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, issues, set abroad, teen

by Jennifer Donnelly

This is one of those books I had heard about for years, from many people whose opinions I respect immensely, but never seemed to get to, until just now. It's a period piece, which is not always my style, and it's a weighty read, which for a slower reader like myself can be off-putting when my reading pile is so very tall, but I"m glad I finally took the time to delve into it.

The book opens with Mattie Gokey working at a summer holiday spot in upstate New York, where a body has just been pulled from the lake. The victim had given Mattie some letters to destroy before she went out on the fatal boat ride, and now Mattie has some choices to make as she uncovers some truths in those letters. This story unfolds in chapters that alternate with the chapters about how Mattie came to work there, despite the wishes of her stern father and an engagement that should have seen her home.

Mattie, we learn, is a bright girl who should, in the opinion of her teacher and best friend, be bound for a scholarship she has won at Barnard College with the assistance of her inspiring (but, it turns out, scandalous) teacher. She wants it so badly she can taste it, yet the money to get there seems impossible and worse, her father won't give her permission to go and leave him and her younger sisters behind. She is already torn between wishes and responsibility when Royal gets in the mix, asking her to marry him, and she is pulled in yet another direction by his handsome, solid self. Add to this the trials of her dearest friend, who sees the dreams he longs for fiercely go up in smoke, and in the end, she learns a few hard truths about men and women, about love and duty and destiny.

Mattie is one of those great girl characters, the ones full of spunk and longing and fight, the ones who we root for the whole way, whose frustrations are our frustrations, and she is the core of what makes this book great. There's a lot here, though. A lot about girls and position, a lot about what we want and why, a lot about living in another time, when you were defined by what you looked like and were told not to fight it.

All this, the experience, the realness of it, and the depth of the characters make for a read that pulls you in and stays with you well after you've closed the cover. Highly recommended, and a Printz Honor Book, to boot.

Labels: 2003, family, friendship, growing up, historical fiction, issues, loved it, teen

Punk is a catchall title that covers subgenres widely ranging from Ramonescore to Grindcore to Queercore, and is hotly debated by its listeners, whether or not they live one "punk" lifestyle or another - and again, there are many. With punk being so hard to pin down, it should come as no surprise that while these two teen books both caught my eye for their otensible punk theme, they are wildly different.

So Punk Rock
by Micol Ostow
Flux
ISBN: 9780738714714

Ari is a serious music lover, and also in dire need of some cool points, especially since his best friend Jonas is one of those effortlessly charismatic types who overshadows him at every turn. In pursuit of rock stardom, they drag in a few other classmates along the way, act like jerks to each other at times, and of course, learn a few valuable lessons by the end - but not too much of the lesson stuff.

Ari also attends a Jewish day school with his friends, and references to their shared culture abound, from co-opting the term "kosher" to mean cool to mentions of bar mitzvahs, bagels, bubelehs, and the like. It's great fun, and makes the character come to life even as he pokes fun at his own stereotypical family and school settings.

The short graphic interludes and notebook drawings add another dimension to the novel and the character, and introduce David Ostow's art, as well. A great pick for a reluctant reader or a teen who wants some funny in a light, music-themed read.

Mosh Pit
by Kristyn Dunnion
Red Deer Press
ISBN: 9780889952928

Simone, a young lesbian punk is at the centre of this rough, raw story of living on the edge. She has a lingering loyalty to Cherry, her self-destructive, addicted best friend who she is in love with, despite her manipulation and recent alliance with a nasty, violent dealer. She is at the same time falling for Carol, a streetsmart tranny with a heart of gold, who also happens to be wise enough to know that Simone has a long way to go to be ready for a real relationship with her.

Simone does has a circle of tight friends like Hardcore Hank, Velvetine, and Diesel, who all help her at the worst times, including after she is badly beaten by a cop, and want the best for her. In the end, they save her and help her find a way back to okay after a horrific run-in with Cherry and her psycho boyfriend that nearly has her and her friend's little niece killed in a park. Seriously.

This is most emphatically not a book for the faint of heart, but a reader looking for a gritty read about offbeat characters that you can root for will find plenty of friendship and violence in equal measure here.

Labels: friendship, growing up, issues, music theme, teen

by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker

I've always kind of loved Emily the Strange... but until not that long ago, she was mostly a vague character to me. The new series of half-graph novels/diaries are delving further into the world and mind of Emily, and giving me a whole new appreciation. Being based on an already-successful character, these didn't have to be great to sell - but they are pretty darn good, to be honest. Way better than they have to be, which is a real treat to find!

This second installment is not quite as great as the first (my review of The Lost Days here), but still interesting and as amusingly twisted as you could hope for. This time, Emily successfully duplicates herself, only to find her mother initially unreceptive to this new twin, and soon enough, she isn't feeling so keen on the idea anymore either, as she discovers that this twin is more EvilMe than Emily, and has not only stolen her dark side, but her skating skills! She seeks help from her neighbour, a former spy trainer, and eventually hatches a plan to get rid of the twin and regain what she's lost...

As with The Lost Days, the book is funny, and Emily has unexpected cool little quirks that make her even more awesome. Definitely a worthwhile read, even for those who are not hardcore fans of the Strange!

Labels: 2010, family, friendship, siblings, slightly weird stuff, teen

by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Namoi and Ely. Ely and Naomi. They were like ham and eggs. Or at least they were until the ham kissed the eggs' boyfriend and the eggs thought that was the last straw in a series of small petty annoyances and decided to draw a line in the home fried... so to speak.

What made me really excited for this book was that it's written by the same dynamic duo that brought us Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist which has to be one of my favourites, still. Different characters, but still, the chemistry! The problem is that while some of the same ups and downs and near misses are at work here, at its heart, this is the story of a breakup, while Nick & Nora was a love story, and that? Is so much more satisfying.

The writing is still tight, and the voices arch and interesting, but I must admit that I didn't love either character - neither is really someone you'd like, even if they are charismatic, and I wasn't really rooting for them the way I was for - well, you know, the other couple. So while I wouldn't say I really liked this, I would also have to say in fairness, that it was not what I was looking for either, which made me more disappointed than anything else about it.

Labels: 2007, family, friendship, lukewarm, teen

by Mark Haddon

(A foreword to this book notes that it is a rewrite of a long-ago-published book by the former title of Gridzbi Spudvetch!.)

This title by the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is full of action and silliness in equal measure right from the get-go, when Jimbo overhears his teachers exchanging words in another language and starts to snoop.

When it becomes clear that his teachers are not normal humans and are onto he and his friend, Charlie, the stakes climb, and things get dangerous, but when his friend disappears, he knows no adults will believe his story. He's on his own - except for a surprise last-minute addition to the mission.

What follows is funny and fast-paced, and reminds me a bit of a Daniel Pinkwater, or even a slightly (and I mean slightly) toned-down Douglas Adams written for kids. Totally enjoyable, and a great read across the board, though it does have the benefit of great boy appeal.

Labels: 2010, action/adventure, family, friendship, loved it, middle grades, Publisher Reviews, sci fi

by Candace Fleming

This collection of stories takes place throughout the school year at Aesop Elementary, a most unusual institution filled with punnily-named teachers and occasionally very strange occurrances, particularly in the grade 4 classroom, with its new teacher...

Each of these tales is a way of retelling one of Aesop's famous fables, or telling a story that while set in a modern school, winds up at the same moral as one from an ancient fable. The moral is spelled out at the end of the chapter, but this doesn't feel preachy because of it, and it doesn't seem that it would turn kids off. Instead, they might find themselves trying to guess what the lesson will be.

The stories, with their often strange and sometimes supernatural elements combined with the school setting made me think of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School series, or maybe even the Bailey School books.

Fun, a little silly, and light-hearted, but not without its little life lessons, either.

Labels: 2007, friendship, humour, middle grades, slightly weird stuff

Maybelle in the Soup
Maybelle Goes to Tea

by Katie Speck

Maybelle is a cockroach. She lives in the apartment of a couple who like everything Just So - no dust, no mess, and no bugs. There are rules that help keep a cockroach alive in this kind of situation, and she knows them, but, well, she really, really wants to taste food that isn't a leftover crumb, you see, and that ambition tempts her into some dangerous situations, along with her friend, the flea who occasionally hops onto the cat for his own snacks.


Whenever Maybelle's wishes overtake her good sense, the two find themselves off on an adventures of some sort, precipitated by an urgent need to flee (heh, heh) when they are noticed by a human and must hide in a hurry and find safe shelter while the humans try to make sure there can be no bugs left in their apartment.

These predicaments are fast-paced, funny, and easy to read, making these books a great pick for an early chapter reader.

Labels: 2007, 2008, action/adventure, animal story, early chapters, friendship, good stuff, humour

Dodsworth in New York
Dodsworth in Paris

by Tim Egan

This pair of cute, quirky books about Dodsworth and his friend's duck and their travels is a great addition to the Beginning to Read level of short, simpler books.

Start with New York - order matters here, as they set out on their adventures and we see that the duck is along for the trip because a) he stows away in Dodsworth's luggage and b) Dodsworth feels responsible for getting his friend's duck back home safely to him. Which means that his time in New York is mostly spent chasing the crazy fowl around the city and seeing sites incidentally along the way.


Which is also sort of how he gets to Paris - he and the duck were about to get on a train back home (having let his friend know they were okay), when he spots the duck boarding a boat, follows him, and finds the boat pulling away, Paris-bound.

In Paris, though, he and the duck make their peace, and manage to have a good trip together, even though the duck can't seem to help but get into trouble. By the end, all is right again, and they board a hot air balloon - which seems to be headed for England. I smell another installment!

These are great fun, a little offbeat, and especially suited for a kid who is curious about the world or likes a little adventure. They're going on the reading pile here, without question.

Labels: 2007, 2008, action/adventure, early chapters, friendship, good stuff, set abroad

by Christine Brodien-Jones

As this novel starts, it is not clear how much the world is like ours and how much is set in another, very different reality. I'm not much a reader of fantasies or dystopian literature, and liked how this left some of that misty at first, and slowly revealed how much the world had changed in this story. There is an interesting blend of old stories, of folklore nearly lost, and a darkness to the main character's world that add to the moodiness.

You see, he is told that he is allergic to sunlight, and kept hidden away indoors, so that he only roams at all in the dark of night. he receives injections regularly from a doctor, and has a guardian who looks after him, for his parents are working nearly always, and he seldom sees them at all.

As we start to learn about silver owls that had once been revered but were now considered enemies to be destroyed, he also meets a strange girl who appears to live just as far outside of the bounds of normalcy as he does, and they form an instant bond. He is attracted to her fearless fierceness, and they start to explore and question, making some horrifying discoveries about the world and the plans that are soon to be completed. They decide that they are the only ones who understand what is coming, and that they must act, even if their mission is nearly hopeless, and based on half-remembered mythology. They set out on a quest, as it were, fending off dangers human and not on the way, and find surprising resolution and renewal.

This book is very much in the tradition of quest tales, but is told beautifully, with a dreamy quality that mutes the more horrifying parts just enough, and keeps the sense of mystery nicely. There is some lovely bits of poetry tucked in, and a warming feeling of love for this boy, even among terrible, dark times, that makes this especially lovely.

Even though I am not generally a fan of this genre, I really loved this book.

Labels: friendship, good stuff, growing up, middle grades, Publisher Reviews, sci fi

by Ned Vizzini

Craig is suffering from clinical depression, and feeling the tiredness, the inability to eat, the insomnia, and the disheartened emotional state that go with it. Like being a teenager isn't sucky enough, especially when your best (and maybe only) friend is with the girl you're in love with and you have to watch them together all the time.

Then one night, it just all seems too much, and he seriously contemplates suicide. The suicide hotline tells him to go to the nearest emergency room, where he then goes to an adult psychiatric wing and stays for several days. While there he talks to other patients and to doctors, and learns some things about himself, his medications, his friends and that girl, and other people's problems. He starts to feel connected again, more like himself, and feel like here are some changes he has to make to keep the positive momentum going. By the time he gets out, he's ready to try the world again, ending on a positive, or at least cautiously optimistic, note.

At the end of the book it notes that Vizzini spent five days in a psychiatric hospital as a young man, and started writing this book one week later. That did not come as a complete surprise, as everything about life on a psych ward rang true in this book - something I know from visiting a close relative there on more than one occasion.

It all adds up to a really great teen novel - one with parts about finding yourself, about growing up, about stuff that teen boys think about, and that throws in a real experience, though hopefully one not too many teens will have to live themselves.

Labels: 2006, family, friendship, good stuff, growing up, issues, teen

by Rebecca Stead

This first caught my attention because it is last year's Newbery winner, and I try to make sure I hit those big titles amidst my reading. The jacket blurb sounded decidedly strange, leaving more questions than anything, and it seemed like this was one you'd have to read to get, as if it was defying attempts to describe it.

It didn't grab me on the first few pages, to be honest. But once I started further in, and started to care about the characters and be curious about where the story was going, it became a series of events that were a little strange, full of hints, and weaving their way slowly towards a fascinating conclusion.

It's definitely a book for older children - it contains some minor violence, some abstract concepts, and a horrible accident, and would just fly over the heads of younger children. But for the child who can follow it and stick with it through the first little bit as it gets going, it holds rich rewards. It's a book that has stuck with me after I closed it, a sure sign of a worthwhile read.

Labels: 2009, family, friendship, good stuff, growing up, middle grades, Publisher Reviews, slightly weird stuff

by Gene Luen Yang

This teen graphic novel was recommended to me by a bookstore clerk, who saw that I had picked it up and told me it was good stuff. He wasn't wrong.

The book features three stories that seem separate, yet address the same theme of fitting in and knowing who you are. The first story is from the Chinese legends of the Monkey King, the second is about a young boy who is growing up as a Chinese-American, and the third is about a white American boy whose annoying, over-the-top stereotype of a Chinese cousin is visiting and ruining his life at school.

The blend of fantasy and reality here works well, though it did have me for a while wondering why we had these three separate stories and where we were going. It resolves nicely, though, and at the end, the three stories suddenly entwine in an interesting and unforeseen way to drive the point home, without becoming all message-y.

Being a graphic, this is a quick read, and it's fun, but it's a solid book, too, with things to say about racism, accepting yourself, and growing up. While it's about a boy from Chinese heritage, it's applicable to a huge number of kids growing up in North America right now from different places, and I bet a lot of them would identify with parts of it. To me, that makes it a great thing to have on the shelf, so people get a better sense of what they or someone else might be facing.

and of course you can't talk graphic novel without talking about the drawing style. it's cartoon-y, of course, but a more conventionally western style of comics, not manga-style. it's got bold lines, yet manages a good amount of detail. To be honest, while I'm not a big graphic novel reader, I really liked the look and the way this novel worked.
-loved the style

Labels: 2006, friendship, good stuff, graphic novel, growing up, issues, slightly weird stuff, teen

by Sara Pennypacker
ill. Marla Frazee

There are a certain group of young girls who star in early chapter books. Some of them, I find overly precocious, even obnoxious. Some I find not all that well-written. But when they are hit just right - think Ramona Quimby - they are fantastic. Clementine is like that.

Clementine is not precocious or convinced of her own specialness. The world does not need to revolve around her. She does not sound bratty. Rather, she is a girl who struggles a little to contain herself. In this third book in the series, she has started to find some strategies, and find out a little more about what she needs to succeed. She and her teacher have worked out a system, and she is doing better than ever in school.

And then... her teacher gets nominated for a year abroad, and she has to contend with a supply teacher while she also deals with her feelings about her teacher's possible departure. Part of this, too, is that the children are asked to write letters about why their teacher should be selected for the trip - the trip she really doesn't want him to go on.

So with a blend of humour and heart that is characteristic of her, Clementine muddles her way through, making mistakes, getting frustrated, but coming out on top in the end. I can't help but love this kid, and while I have to laugh at her escapades, I am always cheering for her and love seeing how her good intentions pull her through after all.

If you know a young girl, I highly recommend putting these books in her hands.

Labels: 2008, early chapters, friendship, growing up, humour, loved it

His dad is in a panic, and no one seems to be making any progress, so knowing that they have solved puzzles together before, his dad asks Tommy and Petra to come and help figure out what could have happened, along with an older neighbour who had played a key part in an earlier mystery.

There is a little less puzzle-solving and a little more on-foot discovery here, but the relationships between the kids are still really well-drawn, and the emphasis on how inspiring art and ideas can be is as strong as ever, even leading each of the trio to start seeing patterns in words and numbers the way the others do. I love that about these books, that these kids are smart and quirky without being painted as hopeless geeks, and that their interests are not only useful tools, but also fun ways to look at what is around them.

Labels: 2008, friendship, good stuff, middle grades, set abroad, suspense

This is a book about death and coping with grief that somehow manages not to be teribly sad, though it makes you feel bad for Annie. Mostly, it rings true, and introduces a young girl wrestling with something huge and winning, through her own spirit and the help of a wise friend. Beautifully written, with heart and humour as well as empathy, it's not only a wonderful read, but could be a great choice for someone who knows this struggle more intimately.

If you'd like to read a little for yourself to get a feel for this book and character, check out an excerpt, here.

Labels: 2009, family, friendship, growing up, issues, loved it, middle grades, Publisher Reviews, siblings

by Natale Ghent

Sue Sioux Smith is your basic teenage nihilist, stumbling through high school and verging on trouble, when she stumbles right into something - someone, really, who makes her open her eyes.

An old woman gets her out of a jam in a case of mistaken identity, but when she runs into her again, it seems that the woman really is confused about who she is. She is not interested in getting involved, but she is a good kid at heart, a kind person, and feels herself compelled to help this woman once she sees how she lives and how vulnerable she is.

She hides what she's doing - it seems a little weird, it's not cool, and she doesn't think people will really understand - until it seems that her new person - friend? project? - needs more help than she can give on her own.

In the end, without being a cheesy happy ending, she finds she's been put in touch with parts of herself that she had pushed aside, and she sees things in a new light. There is no real moral, even the so-called resolution is problematic, but it rings truer than a tidier ending, because what Sioux finds is that life is not so neat, but it's still worth diving in. Helping, too, doesn't always work out like you hoped, but still feels good, and totally worthwhile.

I mean, she even changes her term project from death to helping. Woah.

Labels: 2009, Canadian, friendship, good stuff, growing up, issues, teen