I’m loving the font on this cover!

Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Saenz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: 2012
Length: 359 page; 7 hours and 29 minutes
Series?: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: Audiobook
Source: Review copy from publisher

I would have never picked this book up on its own. It never would have made its way to my radar without winning a 2013 Printz Honor medal AND a Stonewall Book Award (AND a Belpre!) this January. Oh, a Stonewall award, you say? Hm.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a coming-of-age book about two awkward Mexican teenage boys growing up in the 1980s. Aristotle (Ari) is closed off from everyone, even himself. Dante, though also awkward, is brilliant and surprisingly confident. The two meet at the swimming pool one summer and become fast, intense friends. Ari needs Dante’s blunt questions, and Dante needs a loyal, non-judgemental friend. But life gets complicated. Emotions get complicated. Ari must learn who he is.

This is a quiet novel. It’s beautiful, lyrical, and emotional. Remember when I raved over the incredible feelings I experienced in The Sea of Tranquility? I would say Aristotle and Dante gave me a similar experience. I feel in love with both of these boys, felt the tension, and wanted to give everyone around me hugs. I HAVE JUST READ THIS INCREDIBLE BOOK AND I WANT TO HUG EVERYONE. Yeah, it was like that.

The desert setting (El Paso, Texas) was an interesting feature of the story. Ari and Dante spend a lot of time driving out to the desert to look at the stars, often with varying combinations of friends or girlfriends. It essentially reminded me of every single Counting Crows album I own. Sometimes books have soundtracks in my head, but this connection was so obvious that I can’t help myself! In particular, the song “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” was fitting. It’s one of my favorite songs, but I can’t embed the video from Germany (you can check it out on YouTube if you’re interested). Anyways, it’s this stanza from the song that sums up the novel:

“We drove out to the desert just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars
We stare up at the Palace like it’s the last of the great Pioneertown bars
We shout out these songs against the clang of electric guitars
You can see a million miles tonight
But you can’t get very far”

Since the book won a Stonewall, it obviously gets the LGBT tag. But I can’t really say why, because that would be spoiler-tastic. Let’s just say it’s more coming-of-age than LGBT, which is exactly what I’m looking for. Being LGBT does not define a character or a person, is one aspect of a greater life lived. That being said, this is far and away the best YA LGBT book I have read to date. So kudos, Benjamin Alire Saenz — you deserve every single award sticker on the front of your book.

FINAL GRADE:  A  Read it. It is a little slow at the beginning — Ari is a hard narrator to connect with, but that is by design (he can’t even connect with himself!). Honestly, I should just read every Printz novel because they are always stellar. This isn’t an action-packed, surprise-twist kind of novel. It’s not a romance or a trilogy, and there are no kick-ass female protagonists to be found. But it’s good. It gets the Tara stamp of approval.

Required Reading: Required for anyone interested in Mexican authors, books set in Texas, coming-of-age novels, literary fiction, fans of The Sea of Tranquility, and, of course, readers of LGBT fiction.

Library Recommendation: Put it in a high school library. As always, I would put it in my middle school library, but I’m a rebel. There are references to drinking, drinking and driving, sex, sexual feelings, and drug use. However, the parents presented in the novel are excellent representations of involved, realistic parents. I think all of the above issues are discussed by the parents with their children at various points in the novel.

Thoughts on the book? What was your favorite 2013 award-winning novel?

I’ve now been in Munich for almost two weeks. Here’s what I’ve been up to for the past seven days:

Munich, I Think I Like You

I’ve done a lot of sightseeing and meeting people from the University. I’ve visited the Bravarian Alps, including Ludwig II’s Schloss Linderhof and the cute town of Garmisch. I’ve visited the Deutsches Museum (all about German technology — it’s huge!) and spent four hours listening to music in German at Der Lange Nacht Der Musik.

I’ve taken a few classes, including my German class, and I’ve started to get a real feel for the city. Of course, you also can’t get a real feel for a city until a filling falls out of your tooth and you have to venture into the world of foreign dentistry. Note: German dentists are SUPERB. She put a post in my tooth and did a build up without any pain killers in 20 minutes. Fast, efficient, and effective.

Not knowing German is such a bizarre experience. There are times when I’m just totally lost. The grocery store, for instance. Did I just buy laundry detergent? I hope so. But who knows…it could be bleach. Fabric softener. DISHWASHER DETERGENT. It’s hard to tell, there’s only soap bubbles on the bottle. Using the washing machine to do laundry was also an experience. I’ve perfected the “wait and see how someone else does it first” approach to many tasks, including how on earth one opens the washing machine door and figuring out which compartment the detergent goes in. And I hope 30 degrees Celsius is the right temperature for my clothes, because that’s how they’re getting washed!

So you can see how this has become an adventure. Why is my wine 6 euros when the sign says 4? There’s a 2 euro deposit on the glass! Is this conditioner or shampoo? It’s conditioner…for people with blond hair! Why does this mouthwash taste so terrible? Because it just DOES. Why is this train not going where it said it was going?! Oh, because the U-3 mysteriously changes, mid-route, to the U-2 during peak times! You get the idea. It’s all about flexibility and going with the flow. And sometimes changing trains across town and using terrible mouthwash.

Getting Down To Business

So in between all of the general chaos is the work I’m doing while I’m here. I’ve learned more about the program I’m participating in, which is a master’s of psychology in learning sciences cohort. This is a degree 100% in English, made up of students from all over the world. They told me yesterday that they take nine different two-hour classes each semester, or about two classes a day.

However, these classes are quite different from ours in the US. As I mentioned in last week’s post, they do less reading, but more in depth. The students really analyze information presented to them and critique the research. I’ve also observed a lot of time given in class for assignments we typically might do outside of class. One class is given three whole class periods (out of fourteen total!) to work on the final projects: a concept map. The other class was entirely centered on presenting progress on research they are working on with professors. So while they have eighteen hours of class each week instead of nine, they spend far less time outside of class doing assignments.

In fact, grades don’t seem to be a big thing. At all. And guess what? The students still come to class prepared and ready to learn. Definitely something to think about when pondering how I want to structure my future classes.

I’ve really enjoyed meeting these students, and they have be extremely kind and accommodating. When I explained to them why I’m visiting their classes, one girl told me, “We need more people like you. Studying how different countries do things and taking the best of each.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way. My excitement is still over being in a foreign country for the summer and being funded to do so. But I do have the very real possibility of impacting positive changes. Maybe not this year. Maybe not in the first few years of my career, even. But eventually. So that feels pretty good, and I’m excited for my next five weeks in Munich (and the following three in Porto!).

What personal experience has greatly influenced your career?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the bloggers over at the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers from all around create lists based on the chosen topics, and post links to the host blog to share our love of books. This week we are looking at books on tough topics. As a librarian, I felt these were important to helping students learn empathy and even actual useful information about important issues. It also breaks my heart that many of my students were seeing reflections of themselves in the stories they read. Here are some of my favorite picks:

Top Ten Books About Tough Topics

[this is not an after school special.]

All links go to my full review if you want to know more.

1.) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher  – Suicide.

2.) By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters – Suicide.

3.) The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin – Living with an abusive parent.

4.) Before I Die by Jenny Downham  – Teen cancer.

5.) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness  – Death of a parent.

6.) Hate List by Jennifer Brown – School shootings and bullying.

7.) The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney – Rape/date rape.

8.) Forever by Judy Blume – Teens having sex…and not dying/getting pregnant/regretting it/getting an STD.

9.) Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard – Witnessing the death of a friend.

10.) The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams – Escaping a polygamist cult.

What books about tough topics would you recommend?

Title: City of Ember, People of Sparks, Prophet of Yonwood, Diamond of Darkhold
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Publisher/Year: Dell Yearling, 2003/2004/2006/2008
Pages: ~ 290
Series?: Series
Genre: YA Dystopia
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed from library
Date Read: Between 2008-2009

Retro Review

Instead of reviewing these books individually, I thought I’d review the series. Reviewing a series is difficult without giving away the ending of the first book, but I’ll try to do this as spoiler-reduced as possible. I cannot promise spoiler free! This review is probably best for anyone who has read City of Ember already.

City of Ember is the story of Lina and Doon and a town that is loosing its lights. The society is dystopian, and Lena and Doon have recently been sorted into their jobs as full members of the society. But the lights keep flickering, and everyone worries that the electricity will go out forever. Lena and Doon soon realize that there is more to their society than they originally imagined, and that secrets are being kept from the people that could actually save them all from destruction!

People of Sparks continues the story of Lina and Doon as the people of Ember must learn to live and work with the people of Sparks. The two societies have difficulty working together and sharing resources. The Prophet of Yonwood is a sort of prequel to the the series, explaining (sort of) how Ember came to be. And The Diamond of Darkhold brings it all together, continuing the story of Lina and Doon while bringing in elements of Yonwood.

Honestly, City of Ember is the best of these books. I would suggest reading City of Ember and The People of Sparks and then stopping. DuPrau loses her way in the later two books. I don’t feel like either made much sense or did what I wanted it to do. There was so much potential in The Prophet of Yonwood to explain the creation of a rigid society, but it was more of an afterthought. We always see these crazy, rule-filled societies after they are created and are about to fall apart, it would have been fascinating to see the logistics of setting one up.

FINAL GRADE:  B  At the time, I rated City of Ember a B, and the rating still holds. I failed to rate the others, but I would give People of Sparks a B- and the others a C-. These are dystopian books for middle schoolers, so they are definitely on the lighter side of the genre. In my experience, my students who were big readers loved the series (upper elementary kids seemed to love them, too). My other kids often liked City of Ember, but had no interest in diving deeper into the story. The “twist” (/surprise reveal) in City of Ember is one that does stand out, though. Worth checking out.

What are your thoughts on this series?

It’s about a giant-ass woodpecker.

Title: Where Things Come Back
Author: John Corey Whaley
Publisher/Year: Atheneum, 2011
Length: 228 pages
Series?: Standalone
Genre: YA literary fiction
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased from Amazon
Winner of the 2012 Printz Award

A giant woodpecker. A missing brother. An African missionary. Where Things Come Back is the story of each of these. All of these. It’s one of those stories where three seemingly different tales weave together to create one narrative.

First, the woodpecker. Lily, Arkansas is an in a tizzy because one man, a Mr. John Barker, has sighted an extinct woodpecker. The Lazarus woodpecker, to be exact. Everyone in town, especially the media, is a buzz with talk of the woodpecker and hopes for confirmation. The local motel, a cheeseburger, and even a hairstyle are all named after the woodpecker.

Second, the missing brother. One day, Gabriel Witter disappears. His brother, Cullen Witter (our protagonist) is left to deal with the situation and search for meaning in what has happened. Cullen’s also trying to date and manage his friendships in small-town America. He’s also a little skeptical of the whole woodpecker business. Basically, he’s searching for answers.

And finally, the African missionary. Benton. He’s a got a crappy home life, and his mission isn’t quite helping him find the answers he’s searching for. He’s in a crisis of faith.

I’ll admit, it took me some time to get into this novel. In fact, I think it took me a couple of months and a couple of tries to keep going. The main conflict wasn’t apparent and I couldn’t tell where the story was going. Maybe the woodpecker thing just didn’t intrigue me. I don’t know. But once I got about 1/3 of the way in, I had to admit that John Corely Whaley knows what he’s doing. It’s a coming of age novel set in front of a mystery. It’s Cullen’s story, but it’s also Benton’s story. It’s biblical allusion out the wazzu.

If YA fiction has a “literary fiction” genre (which I would argue that it does), this novel would be among the small number of novels in that group. That’s why it won the Printz. For me, the book gave me a “WOW” moment at about the 80% mark, when I really didn’t know what was going to happen. For the first time in the novel, I felt fear. The quiet, crafted story entered the arena of suspense, and I was hooked. I dropped everything and read to the end.  It all made sense and it all came together and I barely even saw it coming. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Whaley, for that.

FINAL GRADE:  A  Well written and memorable. Unpredictable. Solid, steady, and beautiful. I give books As for different reasons: the thrill ride that was Divergent, the slow-burn romance of The Sea of Tranquility, and the thought provoking/edgy Every Day. When I think of those books, I know Where Things Come Back must be among them. Excellent writing, multi-dimensional characters, phenomenal plot, and a killer ending. This novel may be short and it may be a little difficult to get started, but trust me: it’s worth it.
Required Reading: Required for anyone who doesn’t typically like YA, high school teachers, and fans of contemporary novels.  Stay away if you need vampires or intense action to enjoy a book.
Library Recommendation: Strongly recommended for high school. I would skip it for my middle school library (I just don’t think it would interest them).

What do you think of Printz novels or the category of “literary fiction” in YA? 

Greetings from Munich! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am researching abroad from Germany this summer. I arrived on Friday, and it has been a very busy week so far! We get set up in our flat, visited sites, ate LOTS of food, enjoyed beer gardens, and registered at Ludwig-Maximilian Universitat. Our first German class was on Monday night, and I started my courses in the Psychology department yesterday.

What I’m Doing Here

My research here is focused on experience of global education through a combination of participating in higher education classes and site visits to local institutions (schools and libraries). The goal is to open up the dialogue between European education and US education by connecting between University faculty and advanced degree students. In seven weeks, I will head to Porto, Portugal for a 2.5 week institute where all of the students in the program will listen to lectures and share ideas in small groups. At the end, we will be expected to write a paper for publication with a participant from a different country.

This is a far more independent experience than an undergraduate semester studying abroad. I’m really just sitting in on classes (all start and end several weeks beyond my stay) to experience German higher education first-hand.

My Thoughts So Far

So far, I’m really enjoying Munich. I have never been to Germany, but it is incredible! The German pace is exactly my style. This country is so efficient, but the people also know how to spend hours at cafes and beer gardens. Work hard, relax hard. They don’t even bring their laptops to coffee shops, just a magazine or a friend. Or they just sit and look out the window. I feel like in American we glorify the cult of busy, the idea that we must always be busy.

In my first college class, I attended a master’s seminar in learning sciences/psychology. I never thought I’d be taking master’s psych classes in Germany! But I was surprised by both the laid back attitude of the teacher and students AND the level of participation of all. The class read a journal article and had a really good discussion about the findings. Instead of reading a lot of stuff and barely talking about it (as we sometimes do in my American classes), they really deconstructed a single piece for ninety minutes. I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to more classes.

Traveling abroad is a different experience every time. And I will have different experiences in every city! I’m hoping I can share some of those with you along the way!

Did you ever study abroad? What did you think of the experience?

I wish I could find the old cover of the version I read in 1996.

Title: The Time Machine
Author: HG Wells
Publisher: Trout Lake Media
First Published: 1895
Length: 4 hours, 10 minutes
Series?: Standalone
Genre: Classic
Format: Audiobbook
Source: Audible

The Time Machine is a sci-fi novel from 1895. It’s the story of the Time Traveller describing his trip to the future. He travels to the year 802,701AD, where he meets two group of creatures: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are small creatures who live above ground in crumbling buildings. They are kind of lazy and dumb, but happy. He befriends a particular Eloi female named Weena. However, after learning that his time machine has been stolen, he discovers another group, the Morlocks. These creatures live below ground in tunnels and they are definitely sinister. The Time Traveller must get his machine back so he take Weena back home with him, but they end up getting attacked by Morlocks.

I first read this book in the sixth grade. While I could certainly map the plot and compare/contrast the Eloi and the Morlocks, I don’t think I really “got” the story. For example, I didn’t realize that this story essentially coined the word “time machine” and the idea of time travel using an object as a vehicle. I also had no concept of how the Eloi/Morlock creatures represented class struggle. The delicate, yet useless, class of creatures living above ground and the underground creatures who run the machinery beneath the surface. Now it’s a little more obvious what Wells was trying to say. My sixth grade brain had no context for that information. I just remember the Worlocks being really scary.

And is it just me, or is the “story within a story” conceit big in the these older books? My most recent classic was Frankenstein, which was a story within a story within a story. Here the narrator is just a dude listening to the time traveller recount his time spent in the future. However, at the end it totally makes sense why Wells did this. In fact, I found the ending the most oddly creepy part of the whole novel. I did not remember it at all.

FINAL GRADE: C  Maybe it’s because I’d read the book before, but I found it lacking. It was only four hours long as an audiobook, and it took a long time before the Time Traveller even started telling his story. The actual time traveling, Eloi/Morlock part of the novel was relative short. I wanted more adventure, more action. But I recognize that this is a trail-blazing story, and my thirst for those elements comes from all the subsequent works that added them. It’s definitely worth a read as key work of science fiction, if nothing else.

Assigned Reading: Assigned to all fans of science fiction, Doctor Who, and anyone looking for a quick classic.

Library Recommendation: Put it in a middle or high school library. You can probably find a relatively cheap edition. It’s not for every kid, but it’s a classic and it should be there. Also consider buying one of the graphic novel adaptations of the story, as I’m sure that format would appeal to kids.

What was the first time travel book you ever read?

Nerdtastic.

Title: Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong
Author: Prudence Shen and Faith Ellen Hicks
Publisher: FirstSecond
Release Date: 5/7/2013
Pages: 288
Series?: Standalone
Genre: YA contemporary
Format: Graphic novel
Source: ARC from NetGalley

Cheerleaders, a robotics team, and a school election? Oh. Do tell me more.

Nate and Charlie have been best friends since grade school, even though they are social opposites. Nate is the geeky president of the robotics team, while Charlie is the captain of the basketball team. When Nate hatches a plan to run for school president to ensure funding for the robotics team, he expects Charlie to be on his side — not to run against him! The cheerleaders have forced Charlie to run so the extra money will go toward new cheerleading uniforms. A prank-tastic battle ensues. Eventually, all forces (including the super organized, but bitchy, cheerleaders) must put their faith in a robot battle competition with a hefty cash prize. Sprinkle in some family and relationship drama, and you’ve got Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, FirstSecond’s latest YA contemporary graphic novel.

There are not a lot of good YA contemporary novels that feature a strong male friendship, so this graphic novel was refreshing. The story is sensitive to jocks and nerds, so it has wide appeal. The story is short, and some of the plots underdeveloped, but the characters are strong. My one criticism would be that the cheerleaders bordered on stereotypical. I kind of expected the novel to surprise me with the cheerleader characters, but they were fairly flat and definitely played the antagonistic role for the first half of the story. Overall, though, the story made me laugh and taught some lessons along the way. Teens will appreciate it, and that’s what matters.

FINAL GRADE:  B  FirstSecond, you have impressed me again. Your graphic novels always deliver. I’d recommend this for middle and high school libraries, and it will be a hit with both nerds and reluctant readers. Fans of other FirstSecond titles will enjoy this novel, as would fans of YA contemporary. This novel, or any of the other books from this publisher, would make great “gateway” graphic novels for any teachers or librarians looking for an introduction to the genre or titles for the classroom. I know I sound like I work for the publisher (I definitely don’t!), but there just isn’t anyone else out there offering what they offer.

Other 01FirstSecond titles of interest that I have read and reviewed:

• Anya’s Ghost
• Friends With Boys
• Hades
• Level Up
• And I loved the Printz-winning American Born Chinese, but read it before I started this blog!