The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel

by YS Lee

This is a review copy from the publisher, but I didn’t realize it’s the third in the series. I like the general idea of a mystery/historical/romance book for teens, and I’ve read over half of it. I’m just having trouble getting attached to the characters, since they’ve already been developed in the other books.

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood

I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK BY JANUARY 31st! It’s on my required reading list for January and I will not let it defeat me. In my defense, I’m reading it as an audio book and my mind is just other places entirely when I’ve been in the car this week. It’s starting to finally get good and stick in my brain. I’m about 1/3 of the way into the novel.

The Fault in our Stars

by John Green

I hang my head in terrible shame. I was so tickled to get this book pre-ordered, but then I had to wait so long for it. Other things got in the way, and I’m not in the right mental place to read it. I want a long, uninterrupted chunk of time to just sit and devour the novel all at once. So it remains unread.

Going Bovine

by Libba Bray

I think I’m going to have to legitimately just give up on it. I got through four CD’s out of twelve, and I’m just not loving it. This is terribly disappointing, since it’s the 2010 Printz winner. I want to love it. Maybe I’ll come back to it later, but this copy has to go back to the library. I give up.

Do you ever hit reading roadblocks? Are you in one right now? Should I take a break from reading entirely for a week or two?

Okay, now the bubble from the first book makes much more sense. I see where we're going with this.

Crossed
by Ally Condie
Dutton
Public Library E-Book from Overdrive
[#11 in my 75 book challenge]

Crossed is the second book in the Matched series, and I like Matched very much. If you’ve never heard of the series, you might want to start with my review of Matched to see what it’s about. In short, Crossed is the story of Cassia and Ky as they leave The Society and search for The Rising.

I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to like it. But it bored the daylights out of me. I waited 300 pages for something to actually happen. The last bit of the story was okay, but I felt like I had to sit through far too many pages of people literally wandering aimlessly around the desert to get to any real action. In addition, the shifting point of view between Cassia and Ky was really confusing. I could never tell whose story I was reading because they sound like the same person. Yes, the chapters were labeled, but I’d forget which narrator I was reading by the time I turned the page. Rather confusing.

This book sort of represents why I hate trilogies. When I read Matched, I wrote in my review that I wanted to throw it against a wall because it had no conclusion. I wanted to throw Crossed against the wall because it was far too obviously a middle story. Don’t get me wrong, I know the middle is important. Condie is telling a story, and the journey Cassia and Ky takes is important to that story. But reading that journey as a stand-alone story was dull. This trilogy is less three books in a series and more three volumes of a book.

I also couldn’t get a grip on these characters. In Matched, I wanted so desperately for Cassia and Ky to kiss. But in this book they just annoyed me. They are so dramatic about everything. Ky bothered me because he was selfishly hiding things from Cassia. And part of me just really wants Cassia to end up with her original Society match, Xander, which makes me view all Cassia/Ky interactions with a huge bias. Condie does get some props, though, for having Ky recognize that Cassia is an independent human being who has inner strength in her own right. This quote caught my eye in the middle of a long, yawn-worthy stretch of reading:

“I don’t fool myself that I hold her together- she does that on her own- but holding her keeps me from flying apart.”

The true verdict for this trilogy will come from reading the third book. Yes, I will be reading it. I didn’t push through those 360 pages for nothing! Condie better pack a big punch in the final novel and wrap this story up in a worthwhile way. Somehow I believe that she will.

Final Grade:   D   Reading this book was like doing homework. Would I buy it for my media center? Absolutely. The kids enjoyed Matched and I don’t want to deny anyone the ability to read the sequel and pass their own judgements on the series. The romance is emotional and respectful, but not explicit, so it is perfect for middle-school romance readers who can sit through the slow pacing. I imagine it will be more sellable when the trilogy is complete.

Ohmygoodness. Top Ten Tuesday this week is a FREEBIE week, which means I get to pick the topic. As always, the meme is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers all post their lists to share. You should check it out. This week should be particularly interesting, since there will be so many different lists for this FREEBIE topic.

I picked this topic because I doubt it will ever be an actual TTT topic. So I’m going to introduce y’all to some great books in a category that is near and dear to my little heart:

Top Ten YA Books With Great LGBT Characters

[Books with positive or realistic gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered characters]

Five Books I’ve Read (summaries are my own)

1.) Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden

This was one of the first YA lesbian books I read, and it is iconic in the canon. Published in 1982, this is the story of two girls (Annie and Liza) who meet at a New York museum and realize that they are more than friends. Though they struggle to hide their relationship, they also wish to stay true to each other despite the possible consequences.

2.) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Though not a LGBT book specifically, the inclusion of lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered girls as main characters in the story were amazing. Libba Bray wrote some amazing LGBT girls into this quite feminist novel.

3.) Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

**2011 Stonewall Honor Book** “Tiny Cooper is not the world’s gayest person, and he is not the world’s largest person, but I believe he may be the world’s largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.” Tiny Cooper is amazing. The gay Will Grayson is realistically flawed. And this is a wonderful, hilarious story about love and friendship in high school.

4.) Keeping You A Secret by Julie Anne Peters

Holland is a high school student, involved in clubs, dating a guy, and getting ready for college. One day she meets Cece, a girl who plans to start a Lesbigay club at the high school, and everything changes. Holland’s story isn’t always a happy or ideal one, but it reflect the realities and fears of students as they come out to themselves, their friends, and their families.

5.) The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

A verse novel depicting the voices of several high school students and the complicated web of relationships between them. Everyone can relate to at least one of the characters, and I loved that the relationships were so complex, unexpected, and interconnected. Secret crushes, secret fears, and secrets about identity are expressed in each point of view. 

And Five I Want To Read (summaries from Goodreads)

6.) Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

Nicola Lancaster is spending eight weeks at the Siegel Institute Summer Program for Gifted Youth, a hothouse of smart, articulate, intense teenagers. She soon falls in with Katrina (Manic Computer Chick), Isaac (Nice-Guy-Despite-Himself), Kevin (Inarticulate Composer) . . . and Battle. Battle Hall Davies is a beautiful blonde dancer, and everything Nic isn’t. The two become friends-and then, startlingly, more than friends. What do you do when you think you’re attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart?

7.) Shine by Lauren Myracle

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. 

8.) Luna by Julie Anne Peters

**A 2004 NBAYPL Finalist** For years, Regan’s brother Liam has been nursing a secret. By day, he is Liam, a passably typical boy of his age; at night, he transforms himself into Luna, his true, female self. Regan loves and supports her brother and she keeps his Liam/Luna secret. Things change, though, when Luna decides to emerge from her cocoon. She begins dressing like a girl in public; first at the mall; then at school; then at home. Regan worries that her brother’s transgender identity is threatening her own slippery hold on normalcy.

9.) Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright

**Winner of the 2012 Stonewall Award!!** Carlos Duarte knows that he’s fabulous. He’s got a better sense of style than half the fashionistas in New York City, and he can definitely apply makeup like nobody’s business. He may only be in high school, but when he lands the job of his dreams–makeup artist at the FeatureFace counter in Macy’s–he’s sure that he’s finally on his way to great things.But the makeup artist world is competitive and cutthroat, and for Carlos to reach his dreams, he’ll have to believe in himself more than ever.

10.) Ash by Malinda Lo

**Winner of the 201o William Morris Award** In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

BONUS: Anything by Alex Sanchez, who writes fun books featuring gay male characters in high school. I’ve always wanted to read one of his books.

GOOD AUTHORS TO CHECK OUT FOR GLBT LIT: ME Kerr, Jacqueline Woodson, Lauren Myracle, James Howe, Julie Anne Peters, and David Levithan

Thanks goodness for those folks! I was in staff development all morning, so I couldn’t even watch the results online. I did, however, call some attention to myself as I gasped at the various results on my phone. If you want to check out the full results for all the award (there are a lot), you can see them over at ALA. Here are the final results for the two awards I’ve been watching the closest, the Printz and Newbery, as well as the awards given to some of my favorite books of the year. Links have been added to all books I’ve read and reviewed.

The Michael L. Printz Award

(for excellence in literature for young adults)

Winner

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Honors

Why We Broke Up Daniel Handler

The Returning by Christine Hinwood

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

John Newbery Medal

(for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature)

Winner

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Honors

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Now I’m really peeved at myself for giving up on Dead End in Norvelt a couple of weeks ago! I just couldn’t get in to the story. While I offer the greatest of congratulations to the winners of these awards, I was sad about the absence of some of my favorites on the list. I was very, very surprised to see that Okay for Now didn’t even win a Newbery honor. I guess the ending was very problematic. I was particularly surprised to see that A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness was not on any of the lists. None. I’m guessing this is because it was ruled ineligible, but I’m not sure. And after all the buzz I saw over Amelia Lost, it also failed to appear on any lists (even the non-fiction awards). Sometimes I wish I could be a fly on the wall during the committee meetings to see exactly how those discussions go down. It must be a fascinating process!

I don’t have time to make picture collages for all of the awards, but here are the others that featured favorite books of mine or categories that I pay special attention to (like the Stonewall Award). What did you think of the awards? Joys? Surprises? Disappointments?

William C. Morris Award 

(for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens)

Winner

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Honors

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Schneider Family Book Award 

(for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience)

Middle School Award

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

close to famous by Joan Bauer

Odyssey Award 

(for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults)

Winner

Rotters by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Heyborne

Honors

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri, narrated by JD Jackson

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, narrated by Lincoln Hoppe

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Steve Westand Fiona Hardingham

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt, narrated by Wendy Carter

Stonewall Book Award -Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award

(children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience)

Winner 

Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright

Honors

a + e 4ever drawn and written by Ilike Merey

Money Boy by Paul Yee

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

with or without you by Brian Farrey

Here are my final hopefuls for the awards. In all likelihood, I’m waaaaaaay off base. But predicting is so much fun that I can’t help myself:

Newbery (in the order that I liked them)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

…or one of these titles that I didn’t actually read yet:

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

The Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

Printz (in the order that I liked them)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

…or any of these that I haven’t read yet:

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Everybody Sees the Ants by AS King

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Which titles are you pulling for in tomorrow’s announcement?

This cover looks like Gossip Girl. This book is definitely not like Gossip Girl.

Paper Covers Rock
by Jenny Hubbard
Delacorte
Purchased on my Nook
[#10 in my 75 book challenge]

This is one of those books that presents the reader with a terrible situation, and swirls around the truth of that situation for the entire novel until the truth is revealed at the end.

Plus there are lots of Moby Dick references and some INTENSE sexual tension (with a teacher, no less).

Alex and his friends, Thomas and Glenn, were drinking vodka in the woods near their all-male boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina (hey, another local book!). Each of the boys jumped off a large rock into the French Broad river, but only two came up alive. Thomas died when he didn’t clear the jump, leaving Alex and Glenn to make sense of exactly what happened that day on the river.

So yeah. There are secrets. LOTS of secrets. The secrets are what kept me reading and what kept me glued to the book, finishing it in one sitting.

The story is told almost like a series of essays. It’s definitely a cohesive story, but each sub-section reads like a high school English essay. Some of the sections actually are Alex’s high school English essays and poems. Alex is supposedly writing the story in a journal, which he is hiding on the shelves of the library, so they essay thing kind of makes sense. The writing does feel a bit pretentious and faux-literary at times, but what would you expect from a high school junior at an all-boys boarding school? I guess, in that sense, it worked and the style was realistic. But sometimes it drove me nuts with too much literary allusion.

Final Grade:   B   It was better than average, and I had a superb reading experience. Any book that keeps me gripped the way this one did deserves a good grade! It did have some pitfalls in terms of being a little too literary and trying a little bit too hard. I liked it, though, and I might even re-read it one day. There might be more layers than I could get at on the first go-round.

As for my recommendations as a media specialist — I think this one belongs in a high school library, but not a middle school. I don’t say that often. The content is fine, no more sexual or dark than other books we own, but the writing style would be beyond 99% of my students. There are better, more age-appropriate books I could buy with my funds.

I want to get a sassy Amelia Earhart haircut. Yes indeed.

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
by Candace Fleming
Random House
Checked out from the public library
[#9 in my 75 book challenge]

Dear public library — why do you not shelve your YA biographies in the 921′s? It took me at least fifteen minutes to hunt this sucker down, but I wanted to read it because it’s on the Mock Newbery shortlist over at School Library Journal’s Heavy Medal blog. Nina has this in her top three, so I couldn’t pass it over.

This one reminded me of The Watch That Ends The Night because they were very similar in structure. Both take the narrative of the event (the voyage of the Titanic and the life of Amelia Earhart) and frame each chapter with passages about the aftermath of the event. In the case of Amelia Earhart, the story begins with Amelia not showing up for her scheduled refueling stop at tiny Howland Island. The next chapters begin with Amelia’s birth and tell her life story, but each opens with the continued questions and search attempts surrounding her disappearance.

Though the book is short (only 128 pages), it is very thorough. I learned more about Amelia Earhart than I expected. By the end I realized that I didn’t really like her. Sure, she did some interesting things to convince women to pursue their dreams and she was an inspiration to girls for generations. However, I got the sense from the story that she was a bit self-absorbed, reckless, and actively created her own media limelight. I was surprised to learn that she was married, though it appeared that Mr. Putnam loved her a bit more than she loved him. Amelia’s one love was flying, and she died doing what she loved. Before reading this book I don’t think I realized quite how dangerous flying was in the 1920′s and 30′s. If nothing else, Amelia was a very brave woman.

Do not look for this book to answer any questions about what MIGHT have happened to Earhart. This is not a book of speculations — it’s just the facts, ma’am. There is great bibliographical information in the back, as well as an introduction by Fleming that reminds readers, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell fact from fiction.” Amelia’s story is part legend and myth and part truth, but sometimes separating the two is difficult. This same principal applies to her disappearance, as much as I would LOVE to know what actually happened to her.

Final Grade:   C   It was okay. Non-fiction is sort of hit-or-miss, and it’s highly subjective. In this case, the subject just didn’t interest me — even though it ended up being more interesting than I thought. I will admit that my expertise in non-fiction is limited, so I can’t quite say if it it well-written enough to win the Newbery. Everyone else seems to think it is, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Do look for it to pick up at least an honor medal next week when the results are announced.

My students would possibly pick this up because of the mystery surrounding Earhart (they love stuff like that), but I would probably have to put it on a display or a list. I doubt they’d wander over to the 921′s and just pick it. Our seventh graders are about to start a biography project, so I’m sure they’ll show it some love for that.

All of the covers from :01 First Second have a similar feel.

Anya’s Ghost
by Vera Brosgol
:01 First Second
Library book from Junior Library Guild
[#8 in my 75 book challenge]

I used to say that I wasn’t a reader of graphic novels, but I think that has changed. I’ve tried really hard to read as many as I can over the past year because my students are so in love with them. One thing I’ve learned is that I think I love First Second publishers. The graphic novels that come from this publisher have depth and appeal to teens that want a stand-alone YA graphic novel. If you are interested in their catalog of books, you can view it here (they published American Born Chinese, Level Up, Friends With Boys, and Americus).

So what is Anya’s Ghost about? Anya is a Russian girl trying to fit in to American culture. She’s been fairly successful at losing her accent and being “American,” but she’s also bitter, angsty, and totally in love with a dreamboat jock. When Anya falls into an old well, she meets the ghost of a girl who had died there a hundred years before — and takes the ghost home with her. Anya and the ghost, Emily, become friends and partners in crime…until Anya tries to solve the mystery of Emily’s murder and realizes that something isn’t right.

I loved Anya. She’s a curvy girl and she had a great character transformation throughout the novel. The story itself was actually downright creepy at moments (thanks for that, Vera). Like American Born Chinese, it really speaks to the teenage need to fit in, and this theme can extend beyond differences of culture to all differences that teens struggle with in high school. Anya’s voice in the novel is snarky, which will also appeal to teens. Consider these quotes from Anya’s snarky daydream about her jock-tastic crush boy:

“Oh, Anya! Let’s have an intense spiritual relationship for no believable reason!”

“I could lose myself forever in that dark hair and those sweet love handles”

The book fell short for me in terms of consistency and the ending. Near the end, the story took a sudden jump from the direction it was going and become a horror novel, but only for a few pages. This jump left some of the characters and sub-plots in the dust, not giving them a satisfying ending. Perhaps that’s just life, there’s always a loose end, but in this novel it forced me to bump it down a grade.

Final Grade:   C   I enjoyed it, I really did. It’s average because I enjoy most of the books I read (I wouldn’t finish them if I didn’t like them, right?). Of course this book definitely belongs in my library because my students will like it. They won’t care about the loose ends. It’s worth a read, and it’s a quick one at that. I have seen Anya’s Ghost on some Printz-hopeful lists this year, but I don’t think it will hold up in the intense discussions that the committee has behind those closed doors. Maybe an honor medal? In my mind it just doesn’t compare to American Born Chinese, which won the Printz 2007 and was delightfully complex.