VVMBookBlog

This is one of my favorite kinds of books–teen main characters trying to make sense of their world and who they are, parents who seem to be clueless, possibilities of hope laced in the story, and enough action and conflict to keep me reading to the end!

17-year-old Liam is the son of a former fashion model and a straight-arrow, no-nonsense father who doesn’t approve of anything Liam does.  Too much bad behavior finally gets Liam kicked out of the house and he goes to live with his father’s brother, “Aunt Pete,” a DJ, glam rocker, who is gay, lives in a trailer and has his own issues with Liam’s father and grandparents.  It seems like Liam couldn’t find many more ways to get in trouble, even after moving in with Aunt Pete.  But working with Liam to figure out why he is such a “screwup” is what keeps us reading to the end of this very satisfying story.

Go Liam!

As this story begins, DeShawn is 12 and living a large city housing project with his grandmother and older sister–his mother was killed earlier in the crossfire of neighborhood  gang warfare.  Even at 12, DeShawn has seen much evidence of gang violence and knows many friends and relatives who are now dead or in jail because of gang activities.  He’s smart enough to know that he wants and needs to stay away from gangs, and a couple of his teachers try to help him get enrolled in a special school that would improve his hopes for the future.  Unfortunately, life for him, his family and friends depends so much on the activities of the rival gangs in his neighborhood that trying to escape it is nearly impossible.

The book is divided into sections based on DeShawn’s age until he reaches 18, and his life becomes more and more complex and challenging.  I had to keep reading to see what would happen to DeShawn, all while feeling the hopelessness of his living situation, which was the author’s purpose in writing this book.  I think students who enjoy reading our “street lit” books will like this one, even though the dialogue and language didn’t seem very authentic–”school-safe” maybe but not authentic.

The author says we as a country need to do something soon about the problems of inner-city youth and families, and gives information and data to support his message. It’s a hard topic to read about and harder still to experience.

Cecelia is 14 years old and has always known the secret that she was the true princess of the kingdom of Suala.  By day she is the poor peasant girl orphan living in a remote village but by night she is being tutored in palace life by Sir Stephen, a knight from the kingdom.  When she senses that her identity has been revealed and she is in danger, she and her friend, Harper, leave their homes and make their way to the palace, only to find out that there are eleven other girls there with the same story!  Now who is the true princess?

If you’ve read and liked Just Ella by the same author or similar “Cinderella”-type stories, you’ll enjoy the twists and turns faced by Cecelia and her friends as they try to figure out this princess mystery.

14-year-old Arnold “Junior” Spirit is a Spokane Indian who has lived on the “rez” all his life.  He has an older sister whom he admires very much and a mother and father who love him, even though his father is a chronic alcoholic. Arnold has several disabilities due to his hydrocephaly or water on the brain, and has some physical conditions that make him a target for bullying.  And he has a talent for cartooning.

Arnold has always attended the school on the reservation but a classroom incident in the first days of his 9th grade year prompts one of his teachers to recommend that he leave the rez school for a better school–the nearest public school 22 miles away.  Now branded as a traitor to his reservation family, Arnold faces the many challenges to being a reservation Indian in a very white school.  He doesn’t back down from any challenge and doors open for him in every situation.

In spite of some tough social and living conditions in Arnold’s life, this book is funny, fun to read and hopeful.  It’s definitely for more mature readers who can read beyond just the words to the amazingly courageous person that is Arnold.

Remember how good Among the Hidden was?  Well, this is by the same author with the same possibilities for LOTS of sequels in the future!

Jonah is 13, knows he is adopted and has a younger sister–not adopted–named Katherine.  His friend who lives across the street, Chip, is also 13 and just finds out NOW that he is adopted.  And the other thing they have in common is that they are both receiving mysterious letters in the mail with a one-line message saying, “You are one of the missing.”  The second message that says “they” are coming back to get them–Jonah and Chip–is even more disturbing.  They start asking questions about the adoption agency that placed them and getting very little information. All their questions led Jonah and his parents–and sister–to a meeting with an FBI agent and then things REALLY got crazy–people and documents appearing and disappearing, mysterious meetings with people, and why were their names on a list of “survivors.”  What did they survive?

I can’t say any more about the story but get ready to stretch your mind and your understanding of time and all the possibilities of moving through time that we can’t even imagine.