Friday, October 28, 2011
The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading
by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy VanceWhat 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
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Scott Pilgrim
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
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Publisher Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
by Louise Rennison.
And here it is. The tenth and final book in the confessions of Georgia Nicholson series.
The one where she finally figures out her boy situation, though not until the very, very, VERY end, after you, as a reader, have very nearly had a nervy b.
The one where she and her friends start to show mysterious signs of maybe edging towards the direction of maturing just a touch. (But not that much, don't be scared.)
My very favourite wait-for-the-next-one series for girly teens, the one that makes me laugh like a drain, as Georgia would put it.
I am, for all that I did indeed giggle and cackle my way through it and thoroughly enjoy it, unreasonably sad. Now where will I turn when I need to be wholeheartedly amused until it hurts? I may have to re-read these, and if you haven't read them at least once, I recommend you get started. You won't regret it a bit - only that it ends.
Meanwhile - Ms. Rennison? I do hope you are starting a new series?
(Check out some of this last book online if you don't believe it could be so funny - then come back and tell me I'm right.)
And here it is. The tenth and final book in the confessions of Georgia Nicholson series.
The one where she finally figures out her boy situation, though not until the very, very, VERY end, after you, as a reader, have very nearly had a nervy b.
The one where she and her friends start to show mysterious signs of maybe edging towards the direction of maturing just a touch. (But not that much, don't be scared.)
My very favourite wait-for-the-next-one series for girly teens, the one that makes me laugh like a drain, as Georgia would put it.
I am, for all that I did indeed giggle and cackle my way through it and thoroughly enjoy it, unreasonably sad. Now where will I turn when I need to be wholeheartedly amused until it hurts? I may have to re-read these, and if you haven't read them at least once, I recommend you get started. You won't regret it a bit - only that it ends.
Meanwhile - Ms. Rennison? I do hope you are starting a new series?
(Check out some of this last book online if you don't believe it could be so funny - then come back and tell me I'm right.)
Labels: 2009, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, humour, love story, loved it, Publisher Reviews, teen
Stop, In the Name of Pants!
by Louise Rennison.
With this book, the series of the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" is at, to my delight, book #9. And while I was, around the end of book #8 (Love Is A Many Trousered Thing
) (my review here), starting to get a twist in my nicknacks about why she couldn't just get on with it and figure out that she and Dave the Laugh were perfect together, I have to admit that this one came back so funny that although I still wanted it to happen, I was enjoying the ride too much to have the hump about it, as Gee would say.
This time, things are heating up between her and Masimo, but she keeps finding Dave the Laugh hanging around in her brain for some reason, and she can tell it's getting to Masimo - at one point, she stops an almost-fight with the line in the title. (Nice work, kittykat.)
It's not resolved quite yet, all of this agony of luuuurve, but along the way, Rennison serves up more of Georgia's usual madness and hilarious self-absorption, as well as her equally berserk family and friends. (and cats, for that matter)
These remain the only books that I cannot allow myself to read in public, for fear of looking like a complete twit when I laugh to the point of hysterics - I nearly choked myself giggling over this at home one night. (My husband may be calling a psychiatrist for me behind my back.)
Now on to #10, just arrived...
(want a little taste of the mad, mad world of Georgia before you dive right in? Go check out this book here!)
With this book, the series of the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" is at, to my delight, book #9. And while I was, around the end of book #8 (Love Is A Many Trousered Thing
) (my review here), starting to get a twist in my nicknacks about why she couldn't just get on with it and figure out that she and Dave the Laugh were perfect together, I have to admit that this one came back so funny that although I still wanted it to happen, I was enjoying the ride too much to have the hump about it, as Gee would say.This time, things are heating up between her and Masimo, but she keeps finding Dave the Laugh hanging around in her brain for some reason, and she can tell it's getting to Masimo - at one point, she stops an almost-fight with the line in the title. (Nice work, kittykat.)
It's not resolved quite yet, all of this agony of luuuurve, but along the way, Rennison serves up more of Georgia's usual madness and hilarious self-absorption, as well as her equally berserk family and friends. (and cats, for that matter)
These remain the only books that I cannot allow myself to read in public, for fear of looking like a complete twit when I laugh to the point of hysterics - I nearly choked myself giggling over this at home one night. (My husband may be calling a psychiatrist for me behind my back.)
Now on to #10, just arrived...
(want a little taste of the mad, mad world of Georgia before you dive right in? Go check out this book here!)
Labels: 2008, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, humour, love story, loved it, teen
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Author Review: Anatomy of a Boyfriend
by Daria Snadowsky. To be released in paperback in September.
Gotta love it when an author takes to the net to promote her own book, as this lady did, offering me a review copy of her teen novel of first love and loss. I'm glad, too, because for all that I love the cover (yeah, yeah, you do it, too), I may have passed it over as another fluffy teen chicklit book, which I've read lots of and find that while some are quite good, there are plenty that are, well, not so good. This book, while it does track the course of a romance, is not the same old formula, by any stretch.
What I most like about this is its straight take on the whole affair. Dominique wants to be a doctor, and has always been far too engrossed in studies and intellectual interests to notice boys all that much. She's a serious girl, unlike her friend, who is all about the fun with boys. Because of this curious, pragmatic personality, the fact that her voice is often frank and unflinching works really well to convey information about her sexual explorations as well as being able to discuss her emotions clearly.
Dominique, to be honest, is much like me as a teen, so I found her very relatable as a teen who is not a silly girl, but finds herself sometimes having to hold back to keep things going along at a pace that is is comfortable with, unwilling to completely give herself over to the rush of it, but unable to resist completely. She goes in with her eyes open and thinks about what she wants, which I like, but she isn't perfect and impervious to temptation, either. Neither a saint nor a slut, she treads a middle ground that I think will be familiar to teens and eye-opening but not alarming to parents.
I also really liked the writing of the sex and makeout scenes. It is free from cheesy euphemisms and other romance cliches, yet doesn't come across as clinicla, either. It is straight up, but perfectly evocative of how Danielle feels both physically and emotionally. I think it would actually be a really good book for a teen to read before they were involved in a relationship or considering any degree of physical exploration, as it really tells it like it is for an average teen.
I would highly recommend this for any teen.
Gotta love it when an author takes to the net to promote her own book, as this lady did, offering me a review copy of her teen novel of first love and loss. I'm glad, too, because for all that I love the cover (yeah, yeah, you do it, too), I may have passed it over as another fluffy teen chicklit book, which I've read lots of and find that while some are quite good, there are plenty that are, well, not so good. This book, while it does track the course of a romance, is not the same old formula, by any stretch.
What I most like about this is its straight take on the whole affair. Dominique wants to be a doctor, and has always been far too engrossed in studies and intellectual interests to notice boys all that much. She's a serious girl, unlike her friend, who is all about the fun with boys. Because of this curious, pragmatic personality, the fact that her voice is often frank and unflinching works really well to convey information about her sexual explorations as well as being able to discuss her emotions clearly.
Dominique, to be honest, is much like me as a teen, so I found her very relatable as a teen who is not a silly girl, but finds herself sometimes having to hold back to keep things going along at a pace that is is comfortable with, unwilling to completely give herself over to the rush of it, but unable to resist completely. She goes in with her eyes open and thinks about what she wants, which I like, but she isn't perfect and impervious to temptation, either. Neither a saint nor a slut, she treads a middle ground that I think will be familiar to teens and eye-opening but not alarming to parents.
I also really liked the writing of the sex and makeout scenes. It is free from cheesy euphemisms and other romance cliches, yet doesn't come across as clinicla, either. It is straight up, but perfectly evocative of how Danielle feels both physically and emotionally. I think it would actually be a really good book for a teen to read before they were involved in a relationship or considering any degree of physical exploration, as it really tells it like it is for an average teen.
I would highly recommend this for any teen.
Labels: 2007, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, love story, Publisher Reviews, teen
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Publisher Review: Confessions of a Serial Kisser
by Wendelin van Draanen. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Find more information about the title at the publisher's website, here.
Evangeline is looking for something, and she's not sure what until she trips on a romance novel of her mother's, and reads about crimson kisses. That is it, she thinks, she needs that passion. Reading a self-help book on living your dream makes her convinced that she should just go for it, and she does.
Add to that the fact that her mother seems to be willing to take back her father after a separation, while Evangeline is holding onto her anger, but feels like she can't talk to anyone about that. And the fact that her grades are slipping as she becomes preoccupied by everyone except school. It's beginning to get desparate, when she gets some help and support from a few directions, has an epiphany of her own, and begins to get things back on track. Somehow, the crimson kiss seems less important, and she finds herself looking for something more realisitc, but just as exciting in the end.
(First, a word about publisher reviews.)
Evangeline is looking for something, and she's not sure what until she trips on a romance novel of her mother's, and reads about crimson kisses. That is it, she thinks, she needs that passion. Reading a self-help book on living your dream makes her convinced that she should just go for it, and she does. She's not necessarily finding what she's after, though, and instead of finding passion and romance, finds herself in a mess. Her reputation is taking a hit, her best friend gets angry with her, and more than one of the guys she's tried out as a kisser is unthrilled with the aftermath. Now she has to try to figure out a way to clean up this mess, not to mention figure out what went wrong in the first place.
Add to that the fact that her mother seems to be willing to take back her father after a separation, while Evangeline is holding onto her anger, but feels like she can't talk to anyone about that. And the fact that her grades are slipping as she becomes preoccupied by everyone except school. It's beginning to get desparate, when she gets some help and support from a few directions, has an epiphany of her own, and begins to get things back on track. Somehow, the crimson kiss seems less important, and she finds herself looking for something more realisitc, but just as exciting in the end.
I was curious to see how van Draanen would do teen chicklit - I have enjoyed her middle grade Sammy Keyes mysteries and the novel Flipped, and thought she could do a character with a little more substance than the too-typical fluff-dwellers. She didn't disappoint - Evangeline has a strong base, even if she loses it for a while, and comes back to her senses in the end. She also has her own interests - van Draanen sprinkles the book liberally with references to blues rock, including bands and songs that she listens to, for she is a serious music lover. All of which make for a nice solid character and a message about being grounded and true to yourself that resonates without ever hammering to bring it home.
I really quite liked this one, both as a fun read and a fine example of the kind of girl you'd like other girls to see - fun, but sensible, cool, but smart. Good stuff, indeed.
Labels: 2008, family, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, love story, teen
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
by Gabrielle Zevin.
Right off the bat, I was amused by the contradiction in the title. And the flap was intriguing.
So we have Naomi, who lost a coin toss, went back into the school to grab a camera and lock up, and on the way out, lands at the bottom of the school steps with a head injury and amnesia going back some four years. Meaning she has forgotten a lot - all of high school, some major family and life events, much about her relationships with others in the school. She's sort of starting over, and starting over knowing she's a bit of a curiosity in the school. In high school. Ouch.
It's a tough book to talk about without giving some of the twists and turns and discoveries away, and I think they are worth leaving for you to discover, so I will instead, just note that as she learns things and navigates her way forward through that and her re-entry into school, she finds herself interested in some different things and people, learns more than she initially might expect, and does some real growing up along the way.
By the end, she is in some ways where she started, and in other, important ways, in a very different place. I like the ending, it does wind up how I would hope, and i think the person she ends up as is a much more likeable person, all told.
I really liked this one, and kept wanting to know what came next, always a good sign. I'm not telling you a lot, here, but I will tell you I think it's a great read.
Right off the bat, I was amused by the contradiction in the title. And the flap was intriguing.
So we have Naomi, who lost a coin toss, went back into the school to grab a camera and lock up, and on the way out, lands at the bottom of the school steps with a head injury and amnesia going back some four years. Meaning she has forgotten a lot - all of high school, some major family and life events, much about her relationships with others in the school. She's sort of starting over, and starting over knowing she's a bit of a curiosity in the school. In high school. Ouch.
It's a tough book to talk about without giving some of the twists and turns and discoveries away, and I think they are worth leaving for you to discover, so I will instead, just note that as she learns things and navigates her way forward through that and her re-entry into school, she finds herself interested in some different things and people, learns more than she initially might expect, and does some real growing up along the way.
By the end, she is in some ways where she started, and in other, important ways, in a very different place. I like the ending, it does wind up how I would hope, and i think the person she ends up as is a much more likeable person, all told.
I really liked this one, and kept wanting to know what came next, always a good sign. I'm not telling you a lot, here, but I will tell you I think it's a great read.
Labels: 2007, family, friendship, growing up, issues, love story, loved it, teen
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Love Is A Many-Trousered Thing
by Louise Rennison. Book #8 in the Georgia Nicolson series.
Oh my giddygodspajamas (as Georgia might say), how I love these. Truly, I can't read them in public because I tend to gigle, snort, and ocasionally howl, they are so damn funny. This last is no less ridiculous, with family madness continuing, a class camping trip looming, and not one but two potential boys to figure out?
How to choose between a Luuurve God who has said he is free for you and a Sex God who has returned from afar without notice or known reason? Ack! Yes, our girl Gee is stumped, and as such, acts like a crazy loon. As you do. (If you're Georgia.) And there's Dave the Laugh. Why does he keep popping up in her thoughts? He's just a mate. Right?
So yes, still funny after all these years, though I must admit - the bouncing back and forth between and not noticing Dave is starting to wear thin. I had figured this would be the book where she pulled him into the mix of her boy confusion, but no, it is more of the same, and she still has not figured that one out by the end. So while I continue to love them... She'd better at least add him to the list by next book, or I may just give up entirely.
Oh my giddygodspajamas (as Georgia might say), how I love these. Truly, I can't read them in public because I tend to gigle, snort, and ocasionally howl, they are so damn funny. This last is no less ridiculous, with family madness continuing, a class camping trip looming, and not one but two potential boys to figure out?
How to choose between a Luuurve God who has said he is free for you and a Sex God who has returned from afar without notice or known reason? Ack! Yes, our girl Gee is stumped, and as such, acts like a crazy loon. As you do. (If you're Georgia.) And there's Dave the Laugh. Why does he keep popping up in her thoughts? He's just a mate. Right?
So yes, still funny after all these years, though I must admit - the bouncing back and forth between and not noticing Dave is starting to wear thin. I had figured this would be the book where she pulled him into the mix of her boy confusion, but no, it is more of the same, and she still has not figured that one out by the end. So while I continue to love them... She'd better at least add him to the list by next book, or I may just give up entirely.
Labels: 2007, fluff, girly, good stuff, humour, love story, teen
Publisher Review: Running the Bases
by Paul Kropp. Reviewed for Random House. See more info on this title here.
(a word on publisher reviews at kittenpie reads)
This book is subtitled Definitely not a book about baseball. Well, yes, most definitely not. I can see how that subtitle could be necessary, I suppose, given the title and the fact that the author is a man, and people could easily jump to the conclusion that this one is about sports, not about dating, as it actually is.
This book is also definitely fluffy, and a teen read, focussing entirely on Al's project to get himself a girl. The twist is that when he tries and gets shot down by one of the less popular but very smart girls in his class, she offers to hire out as a consultant and guide to the world of dating and what girls want. A dating coach.
They sign a contract, and the fun begins. He tries and practices and stumbles a good few times, and she points out where he went wrong, prepares him for the next steps, and basically grooms him to treat a girl properly. In the end, she discovers that he has made good headway based entirely on a lie, and quits, just in time for him to get dumped anyhow. She sets him up on one last blind date, though, giving the book a "twist ending" once she thinks he is fully prepared.
I say a "twist ending" in quotations because, well, it was predictable. As were the ways in which he messes up - you see them coming well down the road as he builds towards them. Still, it was an easy read on a topic of high interest to teens, and because of the main character being male and all, this could appeal to boys as much as girls already familiar with the dating genre. The thing I particularly liek about that is that the advice is, in fact, pretty solid, and Al's friend who tries to give him advice and pass himself off as a well-seasoned ladies' man is exposed as a total fraud, his opinions rendered as useless as they really are. So if boys would read this? They might actually improve their own chances by acting like the boy a girl really does want to date, and wouldn't that be a boon to both sexes?
(a word on publisher reviews at kittenpie reads)
This book is subtitled Definitely not a book about baseball. Well, yes, most definitely not. I can see how that subtitle could be necessary, I suppose, given the title and the fact that the author is a man, and people could easily jump to the conclusion that this one is about sports, not about dating, as it actually is.This book is also definitely fluffy, and a teen read, focussing entirely on Al's project to get himself a girl. The twist is that when he tries and gets shot down by one of the less popular but very smart girls in his class, she offers to hire out as a consultant and guide to the world of dating and what girls want. A dating coach.
They sign a contract, and the fun begins. He tries and practices and stumbles a good few times, and she points out where he went wrong, prepares him for the next steps, and basically grooms him to treat a girl properly. In the end, she discovers that he has made good headway based entirely on a lie, and quits, just in time for him to get dumped anyhow. She sets him up on one last blind date, though, giving the book a "twist ending" once she thinks he is fully prepared.
I say a "twist ending" in quotations because, well, it was predictable. As were the ways in which he messes up - you see them coming well down the road as he builds towards them. Still, it was an easy read on a topic of high interest to teens, and because of the main character being male and all, this could appeal to boys as much as girls already familiar with the dating genre. The thing I particularly liek about that is that the advice is, in fact, pretty solid, and Al's friend who tries to give him advice and pass himself off as a well-seasoned ladies' man is exposed as a total fraud, his opinions rendered as useless as they really are. So if boys would read this? They might actually improve their own chances by acting like the boy a girl really does want to date, and wouldn't that be a boon to both sexes?
Labels: 2005, Canadian, fluff, love story, Publisher Reviews, teen
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Publisher Review: What I Was
by Meg Rosoff. Reviewed for Doubleday/Random House. Here is their info on the title.
(a note about publisher reviews and kittenpie reads)
This was one of those much-hyped titles this last fall/winter season, so I was curious, because it sounded interesting, with the vague descriptions I heard, and because I've never read anything by this author before. It was an interesting book - a looking back, a sort of reverie of a time in the narrator's life that changed and stuck with him.
(a note about publisher reviews and kittenpie reads)
This was one of those much-hyped titles this last fall/winter season, so I was curious, because it sounded interesting, with the vague descriptions I heard, and because I've never read anything by this author before. It was an interesting book - a looking back, a sort of reverie of a time in the narrator's life that changed and stuck with him.He is not a boy with ambition, not a boy suited to the boarding school life that has been chosen for him, not a tough boy, but one who has learned to survive in that setting. Still, he has been failed out of or expelled from more than one school already, and is at what is pretty much his last chance school. He is going through the motions, when he sees something that changes everything. On a forced class run, he sees a beach shack and a smallish boy beside it, and decides to make his acquaintance. He is fascinated by him - his physical grace and beauty, his independence, his strength and capability, and the fantasy of living without adult supervision. Indeed, he sort of falls in love, though he seems unsure of what kind of love it is, whether it's about the boy, or the fantasy, or about a wish to be like him.
In the end, though, his occasional playing at keeping house with his friend doesn't add up to knowing what to do when his friend seems really and truly sick, and he puts his friend's position in jeopardy to get the help he doesn't know how to give any other way. (Yes, I am being vague here, but there is a surprise twist at the end that is worth keeping a surprise!) The book closes with the boy now an old man, returning to the scene, now long slid under the sea, where the beach house once stood, remembering.
The book is written in lovely, lyrical language and has the feel of a dream state through most of it, which really works, and kept me captive. My only real quibble is whether most boys would read this or enjoy it. It doesn't have much action, it has a questionable sexual subtext that might make less secure boys uncomfortable, and the dreaminess of it may be offputting to some. I would certainly recommend this to girls, but I think it would take a particularly sensitive, dreamy boy or one secure in himself and with a genuine interest in literature to appreciate this, even with a boy protagonist.
Labels: 2008, friendship, good stuff, growing up, love story, Publisher Reviews, teen
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Hello, Groin
by Beth Goobie.
Somehow, I had not read any of Goobie's other acclaimed teen novels, but this one had so much buzz, I couldn't miss it. And the buzz? Was not unwarranted. Goobie is one powerful writer, and she brings Dylan Kowolski's inner struggles to life so vividly, brings the reader into the story so deeply, that I found myself crying at Dylan's turning point, both for the pain it was causing her and for pride in her for facing it at last.
You see, Dylan is dating one of the school stars. A jock without the jock mentality, Cam is a great guy, and she loves him with her whole heart and her whole mind. The problem is, her body doesn't seem to agree. It keeps just turning off, and he's been waiting patiently for it to be right for her, long past the typical waiting period for couples in their school. It frustrates her, the fact that her groin and head can't match up, but slowly she lets herself realize in a deep, hidden place that it's because her body wants a girl, no matter how much she cares for Cam. and once that starts to bubble up, there's no stopping the secret for long. Within a couple of months, she finds herself unable to carry on the lie, facing suspicion at school, slight pressure from Cam, and the growing needs of her own body. So in one wrenching weekend, both awful and relieving, she faces the truth, and tells Cam, her parents, and the best friend she loves in every way - including the way she can't love Cam.
Cam, being the wonderful, thoughtful, mature guy her is, backs off, but ultimately deals and helps her, too. He may hang with jocks, but he's no meathead himself. Her best friend Joc, fortunately, has been read right, and the two move towards something deeper. The parents are okay, though Joc's brother is not so cool - her mother, though, lets him know that he'd better step up. The only problem left is a girl that has been semi-stalking Dylan since the single kiss they shared weeks ago. Feeling braver now, she calls her to talk, too, and wraps up the ends before she starts moving forward with what is now her new life.
The book is wonderfully written, and the struggle between what Dylan thinks she wants and what her body is telling her sounds like it could be written by someone who knows. Her confusion, her fear, her longing are palpable, and leap off the page. My only complaint is a minor one - there are parts of the language that feel repetitive, which I find slightly distracting. Still, I can see how it can happen that you have a turn of phrase that you feel works well for something, and it's hard to move past it, feels false to grope for something else. Overall, this is one hell of a stellar book, and one that I would recommend for anyone growing up. Because even if it's not the sexuality thing, most teens have something in themselves they are wrestling with that wants to come out, and should be able to identify with this on some level. And this story? Ends on the sort of lovely, hopeful note you hope these stories always could.
Somehow, I had not read any of Goobie's other acclaimed teen novels, but this one had so much buzz, I couldn't miss it. And the buzz? Was not unwarranted. Goobie is one powerful writer, and she brings Dylan Kowolski's inner struggles to life so vividly, brings the reader into the story so deeply, that I found myself crying at Dylan's turning point, both for the pain it was causing her and for pride in her for facing it at last.
You see, Dylan is dating one of the school stars. A jock without the jock mentality, Cam is a great guy, and she loves him with her whole heart and her whole mind. The problem is, her body doesn't seem to agree. It keeps just turning off, and he's been waiting patiently for it to be right for her, long past the typical waiting period for couples in their school. It frustrates her, the fact that her groin and head can't match up, but slowly she lets herself realize in a deep, hidden place that it's because her body wants a girl, no matter how much she cares for Cam. and once that starts to bubble up, there's no stopping the secret for long. Within a couple of months, she finds herself unable to carry on the lie, facing suspicion at school, slight pressure from Cam, and the growing needs of her own body. So in one wrenching weekend, both awful and relieving, she faces the truth, and tells Cam, her parents, and the best friend she loves in every way - including the way she can't love Cam.
Cam, being the wonderful, thoughtful, mature guy her is, backs off, but ultimately deals and helps her, too. He may hang with jocks, but he's no meathead himself. Her best friend Joc, fortunately, has been read right, and the two move towards something deeper. The parents are okay, though Joc's brother is not so cool - her mother, though, lets him know that he'd better step up. The only problem left is a girl that has been semi-stalking Dylan since the single kiss they shared weeks ago. Feeling braver now, she calls her to talk, too, and wraps up the ends before she starts moving forward with what is now her new life.
The book is wonderfully written, and the struggle between what Dylan thinks she wants and what her body is telling her sounds like it could be written by someone who knows. Her confusion, her fear, her longing are palpable, and leap off the page. My only complaint is a minor one - there are parts of the language that feel repetitive, which I find slightly distracting. Still, I can see how it can happen that you have a turn of phrase that you feel works well for something, and it's hard to move past it, feels false to grope for something else. Overall, this is one hell of a stellar book, and one that I would recommend for anyone growing up. Because even if it's not the sexuality thing, most teens have something in themselves they are wrestling with that wants to come out, and should be able to identify with this on some level. And this story? Ends on the sort of lovely, hopeful note you hope these stories always could.
Labels: 2006, Canadian, growing up, issues, love story, loved it, teen
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Boy Meets Boy
by David Levithan
Levithan is one of the big bright lights in teen lit these days, and I loved his parts of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, so I wanted to try seomthing of his own. plus, the cover is cute, and I haven't read a lot of teen gay lit - seriously, it's like chicklit for boys who like boys.
The story was cute, the writing wonderful, the emotions exactly the kind of gut-wrenching up-and-down-ness of new maybe-love. My only real issue was the fact that the whole town and school and setting was obviously SO fictional. A town where the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen? Where there are no issues with being gay in any corner, it seems? Where the main character has never had a tough time because of it? He has one friend from a neighbouring town who has religious parents who have trouble with his sexuality, but otherwise, everything is tickety-boo. Hmm. It's like the most idealized, hazy-focused vision of what life could be like if no one had problems with any form of sexuality or its expression. Which is lovely and all, but still sadly far from realistic, and I think most gay teens would know that pretty well already. Still, I suppose, if you are going to lose yourself in sweet fiction, why not escape all the way?
Levithan is one of the big bright lights in teen lit these days, and I loved his parts of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, so I wanted to try seomthing of his own. plus, the cover is cute, and I haven't read a lot of teen gay lit - seriously, it's like chicklit for boys who like boys.
The story was cute, the writing wonderful, the emotions exactly the kind of gut-wrenching up-and-down-ness of new maybe-love. My only real issue was the fact that the whole town and school and setting was obviously SO fictional. A town where the star quarterback is also the homecoming queen? Where there are no issues with being gay in any corner, it seems? Where the main character has never had a tough time because of it? He has one friend from a neighbouring town who has religious parents who have trouble with his sexuality, but otherwise, everything is tickety-boo. Hmm. It's like the most idealized, hazy-focused vision of what life could be like if no one had problems with any form of sexuality or its expression. Which is lovely and all, but still sadly far from realistic, and I think most gay teens would know that pretty well already. Still, I suppose, if you are going to lose yourself in sweet fiction, why not escape all the way?
Labels: 2003, fluff, good stuff, love story, teen
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Teen Idol
by Meg Cabot.
Yup, it's another chicklit book by Meg. In the same voice as her Princess books and pretty much all of her teen chick books. But you know what? I like the voice. Maybe it's because I can relate to it - and everygirl voice, the voice of someone who feels kind of awkward, but isn't that badly off, the voice of someone who is neither popular nor unpopular. A voice I bet thousand of young girls can totally understand, because they hear it in their own heads, too. Sometimes it's nice to have company.
Anyhow, Jenny Greenley is the Girl Next Door. The Nice Girl. The Smoother Over of Problems. And she is entrusted with not only the anonymous school advice column, but also being the student guide for the undercover visit of movie star Luke Striker. Things go awry, but before he takes off, he tells her he thinks she could be more. Be less passive, and use her position as everybody's friend to make high school less vicious. In the end, it turns out he's at least as astute as she is, and shows her some things about herself. And of course, since this is chicklit and all, there's a boy and a happy ending for everybody. The end.
Yup, it's another chicklit book by Meg. In the same voice as her Princess books and pretty much all of her teen chick books. But you know what? I like the voice. Maybe it's because I can relate to it - and everygirl voice, the voice of someone who feels kind of awkward, but isn't that badly off, the voice of someone who is neither popular nor unpopular. A voice I bet thousand of young girls can totally understand, because they hear it in their own heads, too. Sometimes it's nice to have company.
Anyhow, Jenny Greenley is the Girl Next Door. The Nice Girl. The Smoother Over of Problems. And she is entrusted with not only the anonymous school advice column, but also being the student guide for the undercover visit of movie star Luke Striker. Things go awry, but before he takes off, he tells her he thinks she could be more. Be less passive, and use her position as everybody's friend to make high school less vicious. In the end, it turns out he's at least as astute as she is, and shows her some things about herself. And of course, since this is chicklit and all, there's a boy and a happy ending for everybody. The end.
Labels: 2004, fluff, girly, good stuff, love story, teen
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Rock My World
by Liza Conrad.
A fun story about a rock god's daughter going on tour with him for the summer, getting the writing gig of a lifetime for a rock magazine covering the tour (hello, Cameron Crowe!) , and discovering a lot about her family and herself. I loved this. This story has layers, too, though it seems totally fluffy.
She's got her Coming of Age thing going on, learning that her "rules" don't always apply, learning to view her parents differently, learning to help solve a decades-long rift in her father's band.
She proves herself a good writer capable of writing for a major publication, capable of getting a good story, not just the surface fluff. She proves herself to have a good head on her shoulders, not getting swept away by the glam and possibilities of the lifestyle available to the celebrity. She proves herself to her mother. The girl is everything you want in a good teen character.
And, just for full effect, a love story in which she again shows herself to have a good sense of self, but grows up, too.
Good stuff.
A fun story about a rock god's daughter going on tour with him for the summer, getting the writing gig of a lifetime for a rock magazine covering the tour (hello, Cameron Crowe!) , and discovering a lot about her family and herself. I loved this. This story has layers, too, though it seems totally fluffy.
She's got her Coming of Age thing going on, learning that her "rules" don't always apply, learning to view her parents differently, learning to help solve a decades-long rift in her father's band.
She proves herself a good writer capable of writing for a major publication, capable of getting a good story, not just the surface fluff. She proves herself to have a good head on her shoulders, not getting swept away by the glam and possibilities of the lifestyle available to the celebrity. She proves herself to her mother. The girl is everything you want in a good teen character.
And, just for full effect, a love story in which she again shows herself to have a good sense of self, but grows up, too.
Good stuff.
Labels: 2005, love story, loved it, music theme, teen
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
This title was much-touted as one of the headlining titles from this past fall, one that no one should fail to recommend to teens with an interest in music. It has some good author cred, to be sure, co-written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the former being a pretty hot newish name and the latter being an established Big Name in teen lit. The premise sounded like it had potential: teens meet in club, Nick asking Norah to pose as his girlfriend for five minutes to throw off his ex, and they end of spending a whole amazing night together.
And I started reading. Turns out that the authors each wrote one voice, and they alternate chapters, often overlapping moments at the ends, so that the story is a shared one, told from both viewpoints. Okay, I've enjoyed that device before, like when Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin teamed up for P.S. Longer Letter Later and Snail Mail No More.
The thing that makes this a real standout, though, is the voices. Wow. Sometimes in teen lit, it just doesn't ring true, doesn't sound like who it's supposed to be, but this first-person narrative was pitch-perfect. It's clear that the authors have at least passing familiarity with the punk scene they are using as background, throwing terms with the ease and correct usage of someone who knows what the hell they are talking about. (I seriously hate when grownups try to use slang and get it wrong. Talk about making yourself look out of touch and trying too hard. That gets respect from exactly nobody. Blech.) Being sort of interior monologues mixed with dialogue, I also like how the voices used really capture the emotional ups and downs that the characters ride as the night goes on. When it's all a big exciting swirling jumble of a moment, like when they are dancing or kissing, the words come in a rush all crushed together because oh-my-god, just-can't-think. It really works, and it drags you into feeling how they are without being manipulative, and it is so well done.
I didn't quite get what the jacket flap meant, to be honest, when it talked about them "falling in and out" of love during the night, but again, those ups and downs and stops and starts really pace the book nicely. Each has some ex baggage to deal with, Norah has some sexuality concerns (she's been called frigid before and wonders), and as they like each other more and more, neither wants to mess it up. Occasionally other people intervene, breaking up some tense moments, and it all makes for a nice suspenseful method of pulling you along. I kept not wanting to put the book down, because I wanted to see what came next, if they'd recover from this one, if they'd screw it up, if they'd end up together. And you're rooting for them, because you're getting to know them too and you see it's right and it's all such an urgent crush because it's this one night to see something start to happen or not. So yes, while it's crazily romantic in many ways, it keeps getting grounded again with real emotion, and it feels authentic, like you really are inside their hearts and minds.
It's all just captured so well, I am on the brink of writing a big gushy fan letter to the authors, I loved this so much. Seriously, rarely is there a book that I love so much I just eat it up with a spoon and can't put it down and am left seriously on the horns of a dilemma: Do I want more, or do I want them to just leave a good thing the hell alone for once? Argh, the agony!
And I started reading. Turns out that the authors each wrote one voice, and they alternate chapters, often overlapping moments at the ends, so that the story is a shared one, told from both viewpoints. Okay, I've enjoyed that device before, like when Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin teamed up for P.S. Longer Letter Later and Snail Mail No More.
The thing that makes this a real standout, though, is the voices. Wow. Sometimes in teen lit, it just doesn't ring true, doesn't sound like who it's supposed to be, but this first-person narrative was pitch-perfect. It's clear that the authors have at least passing familiarity with the punk scene they are using as background, throwing terms with the ease and correct usage of someone who knows what the hell they are talking about. (I seriously hate when grownups try to use slang and get it wrong. Talk about making yourself look out of touch and trying too hard. That gets respect from exactly nobody. Blech.) Being sort of interior monologues mixed with dialogue, I also like how the voices used really capture the emotional ups and downs that the characters ride as the night goes on. When it's all a big exciting swirling jumble of a moment, like when they are dancing or kissing, the words come in a rush all crushed together because oh-my-god, just-can't-think. It really works, and it drags you into feeling how they are without being manipulative, and it is so well done.
I didn't quite get what the jacket flap meant, to be honest, when it talked about them "falling in and out" of love during the night, but again, those ups and downs and stops and starts really pace the book nicely. Each has some ex baggage to deal with, Norah has some sexuality concerns (she's been called frigid before and wonders), and as they like each other more and more, neither wants to mess it up. Occasionally other people intervene, breaking up some tense moments, and it all makes for a nice suspenseful method of pulling you along. I kept not wanting to put the book down, because I wanted to see what came next, if they'd recover from this one, if they'd screw it up, if they'd end up together. And you're rooting for them, because you're getting to know them too and you see it's right and it's all such an urgent crush because it's this one night to see something start to happen or not. So yes, while it's crazily romantic in many ways, it keeps getting grounded again with real emotion, and it feels authentic, like you really are inside their hearts and minds.
It's all just captured so well, I am on the brink of writing a big gushy fan letter to the authors, I loved this so much. Seriously, rarely is there a book that I love so much I just eat it up with a spoon and can't put it down and am left seriously on the horns of a dilemma: Do I want more, or do I want them to just leave a good thing the hell alone for once? Argh, the agony!
Labels: 2006, love story, loved it, music theme, teen
