Looking for Alaska by John Green

BookTalk

Miles “Pudge” Halter’s claim to fame is memorizing famous last words. Take Henrik Ibsen, the playwright. Well, he’d been sick for a while and his nurse said to him ‘You seem to be feeling better this morning’ and Ibsen looked at her and said, ‘On the contrary.’ and then he died. Or Civil war General Albert Sidney Johnston, who when asked if he was injured answered, “Yes, and I fear seriously” and then he died. Finally, we have poet Francois Rebelais. Who’s last words of: “I go to seek a Great Perhaps” spur Pudge into a life changing decision.

Previously a slightly friendless Florida high school-er, Pudge transfers schools his junior year choosing his father’s Alma Mater of Culver Creek Boarding School. Here he will make friends with The Colonel, named such for his gift of planning pranks, Lara the cute Romanian, Takumi the rapping chinaman, and Alaska, the sexiest, moodiest, most exciting, self-destructive, reading, smoking, master-pranker Pudge has ever met. Like all good stories this tale hinges on a single event…Before it was all fun, games, and adventure….After nothing will ever be the same…

Review

To be honest when this novel started I thought it was going to go in a different direction. Something not so ambivalent. I thought it was going to have something to do with a prank gone wrong. Maybe a sudden disaster or accident. What eventually happens is unsettling. Not so much because the turning point is a dramatic scene. It’s the swiftness, the unexpected and yet quietly shown change that is so challenging.

I’ll admit that I don’t often look to my covers for book inspiration. While I love a good cover as much as the next person rarely do I rely on the image to portray an actual person/theme/feeling that exists in the book. But that image of the candle just blown out…That is the perfect image for the novel. That is exactly what happens. And that is exactly why dealing with the major plot point of the novel is so hard. There is no reason, no one to blame. Not even clear 20/20 hindsight with which to deal with your emotions. If it’s this hard as a reader imagine the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters.

This is the shortest review ever…Looking for Alaska is a YA classic for a reason. Perfect for the high school reader. I won’t go any further because if you’ve read it…you know what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t, I’m not going to ruin a classic.

Rating: 4.5/5 Just short of perfect on my personal scale…ambivalent ending got me… 

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

BookTalk

I want you to meet Charlie. Charlie is a little odd. A little different. We all know a Charlie…Well, we don’t know our Charlies, but we see them. The quiet kids, the filler kids, the Wallflowers. I guess we always think that these people are just quiet, maybe a little weird…Heck, to be honest with you all, we don’t ever really think much about these kids. Our thoughts and eyes just skip over them. Not even a blip on our radar.

But Charlie has found you. You are now not just a blip on Charlie’s radar, you’re going to become his closest confidant. Charlie is going to write you letters.

Charlie is just beginning his first year of High School. And he’s a Wallflower that’s decided to put some effort into participating. As he slowly begins to take a step away from the proverbial wall you’ll get to see his most intimate thoughts, his confessions, his fears, and the truths he hides for others. Charlie is weird and a genius and deeply confused and naive and able to see what others miss and incredibly unable to see what everybody else sees. This is a book about a journey. It’s about the life of a person you and I skip over in life. This is a book that will change how you see your world.

Review

This is the first book in a long time I’ve read cover to cover. It’s 12:15 am and all I can say is Wow. This is what good YA is. It was a journey and smart and quirky and really quiet at times. And because it’s 12 am I’m just jumping in…try to keep up, lol.

Ahh, the scene where all of Charlie’s friends sit around and stare after he gives his Christmas gifts, spot on. Seriously, it was like for the first time these people looked up and saw this Wallflower as a person. Someone who was watching so intently he was able to give the perfect gift to each friend. Charlie is someone so quiet they never really noticed him.

I loved the characters of Sam and Patrick. What perfect people. I never wanted their friendship to end. The innate understanding these two people had for Charlie was amazing. Through them Charlie began to enter the world. The world at large is place where Charlie had never fully “participated”. In the end by being Charlie’s friend they created a really great friend for themselves as well. It makes you want to look at every, ‘slightly off’ acquaintance in your midst and hold out a hand, lend an ear, give that attention that is like water and plant food for the Wallflower.

It isn’t until later in the book you see what an impact Bill, the teacher, is truly having on Charlie. Because the Charlie’s letters are stream of consciousness you know that Charlie must be kinda weird…but normal enough to function and do fairly well in school. It ends up being the barely sketched Bill who in the final section gives an adult viewpoint we can trust because of its sudden fullness of explanation.

And while Charlie’s own ending is slightly predictable I think that by the time you reach the climactic plot point you’ll have realized that it was never the point of the book. For all the issues held within its 200 odd pages (everything from date rape, to homosexuality, to drugs) Charlie’s journey is the whole point. If there were unique circumstances, not all good, that gave such a fresh take on the world, then I can only bless the broken road that this character travels. Because it was a journey that, strangely, gives you hope for having taken.

Rating: 5/5 It’s a YA Classic for a reason people…Just read it!

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Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Beach Week Book 2

I loved this book. The beach setting is so well done you’ll taste the salty air. A perfect read surrounded by sun and sand or your couch…’cause you’ll feel like you’re there…

BookTalk

“I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now I’ve thought maybe my mother drowned in both.” (9, ePub)

Anna and her father are moving back to Crystal Cove State Park. Under the guise of a promotion for her father this family of two are really moving back so they can move on with their lives. Nine years after the death of Anna’s mother Anna is returning to the beach-side town where she was born and where her parents fell in love. She’ll learn to see her past in a different light, and finally face the aftermath of her mother’s “accident”. With the help of her perky friend Ashley, running buddy Jillian, poetry quoting Joy, and the beach crawler Joseph, Anna will find her way through emotions she’s been running from for years. Now, if only the cute lifegaurd could just hurry up and kiss her already, life wouldn’t be so bad.

Review

This book was so refreshing, so simple and honest after all of the if not paranormal, then weird stuff I’ve been reading lately. This book is really like slipping into a beach chair and staring at the ocean. It’s calm and turbulent, and the emotion comes in waves. Kirby does a great job with setting, her writing takes the  reader to the beautiful beach Anna and her father live at. That’s what makes this book such a great beach read. Even if you’re stuck on your couch this summer you can experience ocean life through Anna and her lifeguard-ing father and boyfriend.

Another thing that I loved about this book was that the romance was not the center of this story. Sure, Anna has a love interest in Tyler but the whole relationship is so realistic. There is no insta-love and Tyler even waits an exorbitant amout of time casually firting with Anna before he even trys a move. This is how I remember high school relationships starting. Lots of wondering and attempts at giving the guy an opening. It’s a really endearing relationship…one that develops naturally.

But that’s what’s great about Anna as a character. She’s so normal. Yes, she has issues with her mother’s suicide but beyond that…just a great girl. No body issues, normal amount of confidence, some great friends that make for enjoyable supporting characters. This is a book to sink into and enjoy. It doesn’t have any cliff-hangers, it’s not a series, and no one has found a soul mate at age 16. Instead it’s a great novel where plot threads and character actions weave together so effortlessly you’ll just ride a wave to the beautiful moments where tears do come…in the best possible way.

Pick this one up immediatly it was one of the smoothest, well written books I’ve done in a long time.

Rating: 10/10

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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

BookTalk

Clay Jensen comes home from school and finds a package waiting for him…He’s excited…Nothing like an unexpected package – with no return addresss – to make your day. What Clay finds inside is a shoebox full of cassette tapes. What he hears when he inserts the first tape is the voice of Hannah Baker. Hannah, the girl he’d had a crush on, went to school with, and worked with at the movie theater. The girl who had changed, drastically, in the past few months.

Hannah Baker, the girl who committed suicide.

Clay soon realizes that these tapes aren’t just a suicide note, instead, these are thirteen reasons — thirteen people, to be exact — who created a snowball-effect of events that led Hannah to believe that suicide was her only option. But why is Clay on that list? How could he possibly be one of the reasons that she killed herself? You’ll learn along with Clay that it’s impossible to stop the future or rewind the past…

Review

The single saddest thing about this book is its cover! It catches female teen eyes like an Anthropologie display, but boys ignore it as soon as they see it. And it’s a travisty, really. This book is told from Clay Jensen’s point of view. True, you get a female voice through Hannah’s tapes but the action plays out based on a male perspecive. The book could have major crossover appeal if only guys weren’t so visual.

That aside, this is a great novel. What makes it so strong is that nothing too tragic happens to Hannah. The events and people she outlines as having led her to her final decision of suicide are seemingly normal teenage slights. The problem being…teenagers can be cruel. It’s violations caused by friends and the rumors based in untruths piling up over the course of years that become Hannah’s crushing weight. It’s enough to make anyone look back over their high school experience and wonder if they ever saw people clearly…not just through the lens of accepted gossip.

Another thing I love about this book is that it’s interactive. Readers can go to Asher’s site (http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com) and listen to Hannah’s Tapes or even visit her Blog. If you think it’s a creepy/devastating prospect to read about Clay uncovering the reasons in the tapes…try listening to a real voice reading them. It adds an extra layer of realism that will not only drive the emotion of the story home, but remind readers that this story could be true. This book is timely in it’s subject given the recent press of teenage suicides caused by all too common bullying. The artistry of the book is that Hannah’s bullying is not extreme. She wasn’t ostracized or humiliated in a public place. Asher manages to restrain himself from employing all too common YA theatrics and drama. Instead, in real time with Clay the reader will learn how all of our actions and even our inaction can privately wound another person.

My one problem with the book was the addition of Clay becoming worried about another potential suicide risk within his school. I don’t think the book needed such a literal example of the lesson Clay learns from Hannah. It was a little after-school-special for my taste…but didn’t diminish my love of this book in the slightest. It’s a must read.

Rating: 9/10

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before i fall by Lauren Oliver

I’ll admit, I didn’t like this book in the beginning. Samantha and her friends are complete and total mean girls. Not the Tina Fey, funny, socially satirical, Mean Girls. No, Oliver’s mean girls are realistically annoying; examples of pure teenage self-centeredness. After watching a day of their narcissism, bullying, and general lack of empathy for other humans…let’s just say I was not so sad to see that drunken car careen off the wet road into a tree…I mean really, the final straw was letting the seventeen-year-old who claimed to “not feel drunk” after a bottle of vodka drive the car…I could have stopped the book right there…

But then Samantha wakes up. It’s the same day, same dialogue, same chain of events…but she knows what happens at the end of the day. It’s a day she’ll live again and again. Readers will watch as Samantha goes through stages of grief: Disbelief, Anger, Sadness and finally Understanding. Oliver gives her character the unique experience of learning her place in the world. Samantha will become painfully aware that every action causes an effect in others lives. The book centers around the themes of The Butterfly effect (though the Ashton Kutcher movie is never referenced, odd given the amount of cultural references Oliver manages to drop within the pages) as well as the idea that what we leave behind in this world after our death is only our memories. Again, after the first 50 pages you’ll know why this is of such concern to Samantha…her memories will not be good.

No spoilers here, there are many ways this story could have ended. As a reader you’ll probably narrow it down to a strong 2 or 3 variations. But, by the time you and Samantha reach the end of her final day, you’ll both understand why this was the right way to go. This book is a little slow to start, but in the end it has a strong message and a smart, poignant finish.

BookTalk

Samantha Kingston is popular. She has it all…The best of best friends, the hottest boyfriend in the school, total and complete power over the student body. Freshman quake in their shoes during a mere conversation with her. It’s easy to see in a single day that popularity pays off…who cares if to get the best parking spot you had to smash that other girl’s bumper?…Why not send that loser a fake rose message, she knows she’s a psycho right? Flirt with the hot young teacher, hike up your skirt a little more, blow off your family, find a dark room with your boyfriend, drink the vodka, and party hard…To look at this one single day you’d have to admit popularity has a certain delicious flavor. But what if this day was your last? How would you feel about the memories you leave?

This single day is Samantha’s last day on earth. One she’ll live again and again, revealing hard truths about herself and untangling the mysteries surrounding her life, and her death. If This is the end, the question is: Will she finally discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing?

Grades: 9-11

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