Adult Books 4 Teens: May 2011
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Fiction BRADLEY, Alan. A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel. 399p. Delacorte. 2011. Tr $23. ISBN 978-0-385-34232-2. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Readers will be thrilled with Bradley’s beautifully crafted latest “Flavia de Luce” novel that is both suspenseful and laugh-out loud funny. Though this book can stand alone, it is a treat to learn more about Flavia and the eccentric cast of characters that appeared in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009) and The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (2010, both Delacorte). Flavia and her trusty bike, Gladys, travel the countryside in search of answers to the long-ago “disappearance” of a village child, the bludgeoning of a traveling gypsy, the murder of a local thug, the identity of a ring of sinister thieves, and the mystery of a suppressed religious sect. Her courage and determination in the face of great danger are extraordinary. She is also dealing with her father’s economic woes and the “sad splendor of the de Luce ancestral home,” along with the fact that her sisters’ wicked treatment of Flavia have ramped up a notch. Also woven through the story is Flavia’s longing for her mother and her loneliness: “whenever I’m with other people, part of me shrinks a little.” Teens will cheer for Flavia’s bravery, her brilliant knowledge of chemistry, and her compassion. A tender ending will stay with readers long after the last page is turned. Bravo for Flavia and bravo for Bradley.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA DEWOSKIN, Rachel. Big Girl Small. 292p. Farrar. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-0-374-11257-8. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Something terrible has happened to 16-year-old Judy Lohden. She’s holed up at the Motel Manor, hiding from her loving family and friends because what has happened is so awful that she is certain she’s ruined their lives. Judy proceeds to tell her story, beginning with the moment her father’s sperm joined her mother’s egg and produced Judy, a Little Person. A dwarf. She has always battled the world because of her differentness, but never before had to live in shame. Life changed suddenly several months earlier when she began her junior year at D’Arts, a performing arts school. For one thing, her dazzling singing voice earned her the rare honor of placement in the prestigious Senior Voice class. For another, she fell madly in love with beautiful yet enigmatic Jeff. Deep down Judy knew that losing her virginity to a guy who spoke to her at school was a bad idea, especially when that guy was constantly recording everything with his video camera. DeWoskin gives Judy the biting honesty of a person who is regarded by mainstream society as an oddity, combined with the heart-wrenching naiveté of a sheltered teen. She relates her story in a rush of caustic observations, wishful interpretations, and belated realizations, sweeping readers toward the final revelations, which, of course, readers have suspected all along. Once teens dive into the swift-moving flow of Judy’s narration, they will be caught until the final resolution.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Library, FL ELWORK, Paul. The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead. 320p. Einhorn. 2011. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-0-399-15717-2. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Thirteen year-old Emily discovers that she has the remarkable ability to produce a cracking sound by moving the inner bones of her foot. She practices this maneuver until she is able to make a range of sounds without visibly moving. Naturally, she demonstrates this talent to her twin brother, Michael, by trying to frighten him with unexplained knockings in the dark. Soon Emily is playing at spirit communication with groups of children, then adults, and finally a man obsessed with his deceased son. The story begins in 1925, when the twins are living with their mysterious mother in an old family mansion. The family has generations of secrets and tragedies that are incrementally revealed through chapters set in the past, as well as through eavesdropped conversations and a bit of snooping on Emily’s part. There are quite a few tantalizingly scandalous subplots. Fans of Gothic mysteries will enjoy unraveling the strands of story through time, although some astute readers might find a few loose ends still dangling at the novel’s conclusion. Recommend to readers who enjoy psychological ghost stories such as those by Lois Duncan and Margaret Peterson Haddix.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Library, FL FRIEDRICH, Karl. Wings: A Novel of World War II Flygirls. 291p. McBooks. 2011. Tr $23.95. ISBN 978-1-59013-570-9. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Armed only with her grit, tenacity, and a talent for flying, Sally Ketchum takes the U.S. Army up on its offer to join in with other young women fliers to train on military aircraft as part of the new–and experimental–WASP program. Desperate to escape her brutal, alcoholic father, and after the loss of her mentor, flight instructor, and lover, she is determined to carve out a new life for herself as a pilot. While in training, she meets the incompetent flight instructor Beau Bayard, who irritates and angers her, but who nevertheless forces her to open her heart and create a future for herself. But as the new “flygirls” train, there are those who would see these young women fail, and one of them, a highly placed Washington lawyer, targets Sally in particular, determined to see her crash, figuratively if not literally. Despite the hardships of training, the determination of those who would have the girls grounded, and the despair of lost love, Sally perseveres to find the life she wants to have–the life she knows that she deserves. This compelling novel will appeal to teens who like a good love story with a historical context. The United States of the 1940s is well represented, and the history of the “flygirls” is a subject that many students today know little about. The lack of choices available to women of the day is clearly shown in this charming story, and it invites more investigation on the subject. –Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA HANNAH, Kristin. Night Road. 385p. St. Martin’s. 2011. Tr $27.99. ISBN 978-0-312-36442-7. LC 2010041204. Adult/High School–Lexi found her mother dead of an overdose, and lived in and out of foster care. Now she is 14 and her great-aunt Eva has agreed to take her in. Lexi moves to Port George, Washington to live with Eva in a small, but neat, trailer. Although poor, for the first time the teen has an adult in her life who cares about her. On the first day of high school, she meets twins Mia and Zach. During her first class she is rescued by Zach, the golden boy, and they feel instant chemistry. At lunch she encounters Mia, and they immediately become best friends. Mia is shy and fragile, deeply wounded by a former best friend only posing in order to interest Zach. For years, Lexi and Zach remain just friends for Mia’s sake. Jude, the twins’ overprotective, loving mother, takes Lexi under her wing, and their lavish waterfront house becomes her second home. Then, at the end of senior year, a drunk-driving incident destroys everything Jude had built and maintained so carefully, and the relationships among Lexi, Zachk, and Mia. Teens who enjoy multiple points of view, and the agony of Jodi Picoult-like scenarios, will feel right at home here. Lexi is a character to root for, resilient enough to overcome incredible hardship, determined to do the right thing. Most important, the teenagers here act like teenagers. Even those with the best intentions are swept up in partying with their peers, with heartbreaking results.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart. New York City HILTON, David E.. Kings of Colorado. 273p. S & S. 2011. Tr $24. ISBN 978-1-4391-8382-3. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–William Sheppard is 13 when he stabs his father. The man does not die, and his mother is not protected by the act or aftermath: Will is bused off to Swope Ranch Boy’s Reformatory in the wilds of Colorado for two years. Those two years are described in horrific detail in short chapters packed with brutal and realistic action. Will finds himself in the company of mostly innocent and definitely vulnerable boys, boys in impossible situations who tried to protect a mother or a sibling, or who simply got into basic everyday trouble. But at least two of them are seriously sociopathic, and along with the abusive prison guards and warden, Will and his friends are wrenchingly shattered, forever defined by the almost-constant yet always-surprising assaults. As Will’s friend Mickey says, “We’ve gotten used to this place. Become comfortable. … along the way we’ve made friends....And then, when we aren’t expecting it, this place rakes us right back into reality…Rips our heart out just for fun.” Gorgeously written, evocative, profound, and downright powerful, this is a perfect book for teens. The adult Will takes up less than 30 pages of the entire book, the premise being that the narrative is his written experiences and memories. Set in the ‘60’s with a focus on breaking horses, the psychological insight crashes through any and all barriers of time and place. As Will says about his desperately scribbled pages: “Terrible and cathartic.”–Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, CA HOFFMAN, Cara. So Much Pretty. 304p. S & S. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-1-4516-1675-0. LC 2010027852. Adult/High School–Puzzle drama has been a very successful formula for television shows like Lost and Fringe, which depend on discretely embedded clues to make sense of confusing narratives that are often entangled with multiple perspectives. Readers familiar with such shows will be comfortable with the obscure and seemingly disjointed revelations in So Much Pretty, which begins simply enough with a missing person. Although 15-year-old Alice Piper is missing, she is not the brutally murdered young woman whose body is found at the outskirts of her upstate New York hometown. Stacy Flynn, an investigative reporter who has moved to Haeden from Cleveland applies her big-city sensibility to clues she hopes will solve the murder that locals seem too ready to blame on a drifter. But that is not the murder she clears up. There is another horrific crime that shocks Haeden, and Flynn learns who is responsible. First-time author Hoffman arrays several voices from across decades to form a kaleidoscope of clues and insights that eventually, but barely, reveal the mystery behind the murders. They also hint at a greater mystery–how each of us is blinded by self-delusion and denial to a degree that inevitably, and sometimes horribly, corrupts with righteousness our best attempt to make moral choices. As haunting and disturbing as Alice Sebold’s Lovely Bones (Little Brown, 2002), So Much Pretty will be equally provocative and unforgettable for teen readers, especially those who love solving a good puzzle.–John Sexton, formerly at Westchester Library System, Tarrytown, NY MCEUEN, Paul. Spiral: A Novel. 312p. Dial. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-0-385-34211-7. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Generations ago, the cutting edge of science in warfare focused on who had the larger weapon, tank, or arsenal. As brilliantly depicted in Spiral, gaining the upper hand today is all about how small you can get–the combination of nanotechnology and the most devastating of biological weapons is almost impossible to defend against. Cornell science icon Liam Connor is found dead in a suspicious suicide. At first, his physicist colleague Jake Sterling is confused as to why someone would steal the MicroCrawlers–robotic miniature spiders–that he loaned to Liam for cultivating his thousands of fungi specimens. Then a madly wailing student dumped in the middle of Times Square is found with a top-secret strain of a deadly fungal infection in his bloodstream. The demand is simple: release an old World War II war criminal or the MicroCrawlers will be programmed to spread the deadly bioagent, creating an unstoppable chain reaction that will infect all humankind. Jake enlists Maggie, Liam’s granddaughter, to help him discover Liam’s connection to this biological weapon and find a way to counter it. What raises this above other suspense novels is the effortless infusion of science. The heavier stuff of biology and physics permeate the story without being condescending or overwhelming. Some blood and violence, a pitch-perfect narrative style, and plot complications that seem impossible to resolve without tragedy make for an extremely entertaining and blood-chilling thriller. McEuan’s gripping storyline and realistic characters are impossible to forget. Give this to science-oriented teens or suspense fans, and book talk it as a fictional, more modern companion to Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone (Anchor, 1994).–Priscille Dando, Robert E. Lee High School, Fairfax County, VA MASLAKOVIC, Neve. Regarding Ducks and Universes. 331p. AmazonEncore. 2011. Tr $13.95. ISBN 978-1935597346. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Reminiscent of Douglas Adams’s work, this story concerns San Francisco citizen Felix Sayers. Actually, it concerns San Francisco A citizen Felix A, since when he was six months old, the universe was “copied,” and Felix is off to San Francisco B to find his alter, Felix B. Not only is making contact with one’s alter forbidden, but two competing factions are also following Felix A, as they believe something he did as a baby made him the “universe maker.” The story unfolds at a sprightly pace, while bringing in quantum theory, chaos theory, and especially the butterfly effect–that one small action can set off a chain of events lasting for hundreds of years. One of the more clever successes of the book is the creation of the competing San Franciscos–as opposed to one being “San Francisco as we know it” and another being strange, each version of the city has both familiar and unfamiliar attributes. In places, the science might not hold together perfectly, but the ride is so much fun that readers can quickly suspend disbelief. Finally, why is Felix searching for his alter anyway? He’s writing a mystery novel and wants to be sure Felix B hasn’t beaten him to it. The author pays homage to Felix’s inspiration, Agatha Christie, by assembling a wacky cast of suspects. This clever combination of mystery, science fiction and humor gives this title broad appeal.–Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, MD PITTARD, Hannah. The Fates Will Find Their Way. 256p. Ecco. 2011. Tr $22.99. ISBN 978-0-06-199605-4. LC 2010009129. Adult/High School–When she is 16, Nora Lindell vanishes. There is no body found, nor clues of an abduction, or any indication that she ran away. The boys in her class, to whom she was alluring and beautiful yet always distant and unattainable, boast unreliably about being the last to see her. They speculate endlessly about her fate. Across the following years, these small-town friends absentmindedly create their futures while they obsessively continue to fabricate scenarios that might have doomed Nora or liberated her; sent her on improbable journeys or cursed her to a lonely life. The boys collectively narrate the story in a first-person plural voice that is amusing and effective when they are in high school but goes wistfully off-key when they grow older and with nostalgia wonder about Nora even as they observe their wives and put their children to bed. They become adults but, haunted by Nora’s disappearance, they never seem to mature. Teens who appreciate the craftsmanship of a short-story writer will appreciate how adeptly Pittard has created a complex novel with such lean composition. They may be challenged by the collective narrative and the absence of an emotionally engaging main character, but they will enjoy the way the author has looked through the eyes of a group of boys to create a different approach to the high school experience.–John Sexton, formerly at Westchester Library System, Tarrytown, NY ROTHFUSS, Patrick. The Wise Man’s Fear. 994p. (Kingkiller Chronicles: Day 2). DAW. 2011. Tr $29.95. ISBN 978-0-7564-0473-4. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–This may be epic fantasy, but it’s also an intensely personal, sometimes painful coming-of-age for a boy both wiser and stupider than anyone else. The second day of Kvothe’s self-narrated life story chronicles a journey (from humor-filled days at the University surrounded by friends to intrigue in a Vintas court into life as a lowly barbarian in a martial school in the wilds of Adem and back again to the University) that is less circle than spiral. Slowly, he is being refined into a hero and a legend, but the price is steep and the few scenes set in Kvothe’s present show him broken in heart and body. As in The Name of the Wind (DAW, 2007), the plot moves deliberately if not rapidly. The adventures are bigger: Kvothe fights a drug-addled dragon, beds a fae creature made of desire and survives to tell the tale (and vaunt his newfound prowess), wipes out a nest of bandits, and learns to call the wind. But despite the successes, Kvothe is a boy searching for the fearful Chandrian, for the woman he loves, and for a place to belong, so that happy moments are undercut by a plangent sense of what is missing, and further tempered by the increasingly dark revelations from Kvothe’s present. There is not enough great fantasy out there, and nothing else manages this blend of genuine adolescent voice; sophisticated, beautiful writing; and heart-wrenching, pulse-pounding action. This spectacular follow-up to Rothfuss’s Alex Award-winning first book is another winner.–Karyn N. Silverman, Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York City SCHOENEWALDT, Pamela. When We Were Strangers. 336p. Harper. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-06-200399-7. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Irma is plain, but hard-working and talented at embroidery. In the late 1870s, she is only a teenager when it becomes clear that her best option is to leave her tiny mountain village of Opi for Naples and passage to America. Her brother Carlo has already left for Cleveland, and even though no one has heard from him since, Irma is determined to follow him there. In many ways, this is an old-fashioned coming-to-America story. It stands out for its vivid descriptions of living conditions, putting readers right there in steerage, wishing for a glimpse of the ocean or the night sky. Arriving on Ellis Island desperate to pass the medical inspection and find a seat on the right train. Struggling through long days in a workhouse, making collars, paid by the piece. Working in a fancy dressmaker’s shop in Chicago, enjoying the lake shore on the rare day off. There is tragedy and violence, but there are also good fortune and loyal friends. Irma’s life takes a turn when she meets a doctor who serves the poor and begins assisting her in the evenings. Teens will be fascinated by life at the beginning of industrialized America as we know it. Irma tells her story in an authentic voice, and she is a character about whom readers will care deeply. An engrossing recommendation, especially for students studying the immigrant experience.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart. New York City
SHAPIRO, Elena Mauli. 13, rue Thérèse. 288p. Little, Brown. 2011. Tr $23.99. ISBN 978-0-316-08328-7. LC 2010006269. Adult/High School–Shapiro based 13 rue Therésè on the real-life experience of receiving a box of ephemera belonging to Louise Brunet, who had occupied the apartment above hers at that address. Shapiro weaves a tale of mystery and love around the objects found inside. Set in both present-day and 1920-1940s Paris, the story follows Trevor Stanton, a visiting professor “gifted” with the box by Josianne, the departmental secretary, as he uncovers the various contents and constructs the story behind them. Louise’s life, loves, and passions intrigue Trevor, and he is drawn into her world in mysterious and compulsive ways. While at first he is rather dispassionate about his discoveries, as the book progresses he is increasingly obsessed, ultimately finding snippets of musical scores and other items that were not part of the original contents. His letters to a mysterious “Sir” regarding the box and Louise’s history become more and more fevered, and by the end of the story he has entered Louise’s world... or has he? Is he truly uncovering her life, or is he imagining the story and subtext? Readers will enjoy puzzling over the objects, many of which are reproduced on the pages of the novel itself. This book will appeal to teens who enjoyed Nick Bantock’s “Griffin and Sabine” books (Chronicle), the movie Amélie, Josten Gaarder’s Sophie’s World (Farrar, 1994) or Jennifer Donnelly’s Revolution (Delacorte, 2010).–Laura Pearle, Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY
TANNER, Ron. Kiss Me, Stranger. 171p. Ig. 2011. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-935439-14-2. LC 2010048616. Adult/High School–Tanner’s debut novel opens with such a bizarre mixture of absurdity, revulsion, and humor–a mother, Penelope, feeds her 13 starving children sawdust and socks--that readers might be forgiven for believing that they have stumbled into a Roald Dahl novel (there are even sketchy line drawings reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s work). Penelope, though, is no Dahl-ian villain–she is struggling for her family’s survival through a rebellion in which her husband and eldest son are fighting on opposite sides. The author delicately balances the deathly serious nature of these events with his satirical vision of war. On the one hand, though almost half the novel comprises the stories of Penelope’s husband and son, readers are heartbreakingly aware that these stories are only Penelope’s dreams of events about which she may never learn the truth. On the other is Tanner’s biting version of dystopia–a society not much different from ours that has been slowly crushed by the excesses of a corporatized pleasure principle, recalling such works as Nancy Farmer’s The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (Orchard, 1994) and Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens (Scholastic, 2011). This vision of society is embodied by the unnamed country’s tyrant, called only “The Man,” who idolizes trashy pop culture, his countless dogs, and Gregory Peck. Tanner’s prose is dense and sometimes challenging, but the power of his vision is undeniable, and as the comparisons to Dahl, Bray, and Farmer should make clear, this novel has plenty of potential for cynical teens everywhere.–Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA Graphic Novel TRAN, GB. Vietnamerica. 281p. Villard. 2011. Tr $30. ISBN 978-0-345-50872-0. LC 2010032224. Adult/High School–In Tran’s memoir of his parents’ life in Vietnam–and his own discovery of that story–theme, narrative, and art work together to create a deeply compelling graphic novel. Tran meditates on war, loss, and memory, but the overriding theme is the complexity, hardship, and reward of family life, a theme that finds full life in the author’s multi-layered narrative. Chapters narrated by Tran’s mother proceed chronologically from her own and her future husband’s childhoods under the Japanese and French occupations to their escape from Vietnam in 1975. In alternating chapters, narrated by Tran himself, the narrative travels in roughly reverse chronology, from his most recent trip to Vietnam in 2006 to his decision sometime in the 1990s to make his first trip. These chapters are interspersed with increasing layers of flashbacks by various relatives, which eventually overtake Tran’s narration entirely. This intricate structuring creates suspense and mystery, but its more important function is to highlight the way in which family history is constructed: layered, repetitive, nonlinear, contradictory, collaborative, and ultimately productive of both family and self-identity. Tran’s color scheme is equally complex, switching between black and white, desaturated, natural, and oversaturated color depending on the tone, narrator, and time period. His artwork–richly detailed but never overcrowded, realistic while allowing for abstraction, and expertly composed–wrings meaning out of the smallest detail. This novel could easily find a place in the classroom but its broad set of issues and graphic format should also appeal to a wide variety of teens. – Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA Nonfiction ADZ, King. Street Knowledge. 320p. Overlook. 2011. Tr $35. ISBN 978-1-59020477-1. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–King Adz, a British expert in all things street culture, has compiled a slice of street life spanning the globe and more than 25 years. As the author alerts readers right from the start, the book is in no way exhaustive, but reflects just a sampling of the artists, musicians, cities, people, and fashion that he has experienced and that continue to influence what is known as “street culture.” Visually this may seem to include what is commonly known as graffiti (think Banksy, who is included), but the brief encyclopedic entries attempt to show so much more. Each entry includes beautiful full-color photographs, making the book fabulous for browsing. However, this isn’t just a boring A-to-Z encyclopedia. There are hyperlinks on nearly every page to related websites–in fact, this book begs to be read with web access nearby. And although its primary organization strategy is alphabetical, there is also a chronological path through the book as well. Sometimes the author’s point of view is almost too strong (some of his assumptions about New York are questionable), but the intended audience of artists and culture buffs is going to spend more time with the photographs and the jump-off links than analyzing the text.–Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, MD ASLAN, Reza, ed. Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East. 657p. Norton. 2010. Tr $35. ISBN 978-0-393-06585-5. LC 2010032679. Adult/High School–Literature from the modern Middle East is presented in an anthology divided into three time periods: from 1910 to 1950, 1950 to 1980, and 1980 to 2010. Within each time frame, literature from Arabic-language countries from Persia to Turkey to Pakistan are introduced. With translations from so many different cultures, the book is long for most readers. Teens will want to start with the short informative essays introducing each section and then select poems, essays, and stories to enjoy. Many of the poems are beautifully simple, such as “I Am Listening to Istanbul” by Orhan Velikanik: “I am listening to Istanbul with my eyes closed/First a breeze is blowing/ and leaves swaying/Slowly on the trees;/ Far, far away the bells of the/Water carriers ringing,/I am listening to Istanbul with my eyes closed.” In the third section, current problems of the Middle East are described by poets and essayists in an insightful way. Persian poets write eloquently of Iran and events since the revolution. This is a Words without Borders anthology, a nonprofit organization founded to translate and publish international literature. Hebrew and Israeli literature are not included in this volume. Works by Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and Urdu writers are not seen very often and are most welcome here.–Karlan Sick, formerly at New York Public Library LEMMON, Gayle Tzemach. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe. 288p. HarperCollins. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-06-173237-9. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Recognizing that stories about war most often center on men, Lemmon made her first of many trips to Afghanistan in 2005 to investigate what war was like for the women left behind. There the former journalist met the remarkable Kamela Sediqi. She received her teaching certificate at about the same time as the Taliban took control of the country and as a result of the Taliban’s beliefs that women stay at home, not work, and not be educated or educate, she was precluded from pursuing her dream of teaching. Knowing that she had to do something to support her large family after her parents and eldest brother fled the city, she turned to sewing. Her religion taught that she had a duty to support as many people as possible, and her business quickly grew. Lemmon chronicles the growth of the business, the many women involved, and the great risks Sediqi took to keep the business thriving. The stories of the women who came together to keep their families from starving are compelling. The final pages cover the fall of the Taliban after September 11 and the terrifying offensive the Afghanis then had to face. Lemmon does an outstanding job of conveying the powerful sisterhood of Sediqi’s team as well as the women’s incredible passion for work in the midst of unspeakable brutality and danger. Understanding that Sediqi has known nothing but war her entire life, this inspiring and powerful story of hope and resiliency will make a lasting impression on the reader.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA OLSON, Robin L.. The Cookie Party Cookbook. 344p. St. Martin’s/Griffin. 2010. pap. $18.99. ISBN 978-0-312-60727-2. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–An everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know book about cookie exchange parties. Olson has been hosting these events for more than two decades and believes that there are “as many ways and reasons to host a cookie exchange party as there are people who give them.” She includes a bit of history and offers advice on how to host a party and how to do the actual exchange. What follows are more than 170 cookie and treat recipes from all parts of the globe, including the author’s favorites. Skill levels are included for each recipe. The last third of the book is filled with more advice including party themes, decorating ideas, 25 menu ideas, party activities and games, and ice-breakers. Also helpful are conversion charts for measurements and a list of resources for special ingredients. There are 22 photos of various cookies, which seems light for the number of recipes. Teens could readily embrace the idea of having a cookie party, and this book will provide every possible piece of information imaginable.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA SAVAGE, Dan & Terry Miller, eds. It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living. 338p. Dutton. 2011. Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-0-525-95233-6. LC number unavailable. Adult/High School–Adolescence can be a harsh and lonely journey for anyone, but the alienation and torment directed toward GBLTQ teens can be particularly soul crushing. Although the publicity surrounding the suicides of gay teens brings momentary attention to the issue, the dominant religious/political mores of current society make it very difficult to offer personal guidance and support to gay teens. Savage was particularly frustrated by this impasse until he came upon the idea of using YouTube to address teens directly. With his husband, Terry Miller, Savage posted a video clip with a simple message: “Hang in there, it gets better.” Less than a year later, the It Gets Better Project (www.itgetsbetter.org) has burst into a ringing chorus of affirmation, with video clips by President Barack Obama, openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, Ellen DeGeneres, and countless famous and not-so-famous voices speaking out. The book is addictive, filled with many unique viewpoints, all recollecting the dark days of adolescence that preceded their adult transformations. Don’t listen when they tell you that homosexuality is wicked and unnatural, these voices say. Don’t believe it when they tell you that you will never have a family or friends. And certainly don’t allow yourself to think that your life is so bleak that you would be better off dead, because there is so much happiness ahead that you won’t want to miss. This book is a must-have for middle and high school libraries. In fact, the It Gets Better Project is encouraging people to buy a copy to donate to their local schools, so many librarians may find themselves gifted with this inspirational volume.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Library, FL YOUNG, Kevin. Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels. 272p. Knopf. 2011. Tr $27.95. ISBN 978-0-307-26764-1. LC 2010030007. Adult/High School–Most teens know the basic story of the revolt on the slave ship Amistad, and a quick review is provided in the preface. This collection of poetry is not presented in a chronological sequence from capture to revolt to imprisonment to repatriation. Instead, the voices of different characters speak in turn in the section titled “Buzzard,” telling of the rebellion and attempt to sail to Africa that ended in New Haven. In “Correspondence,” the captives use their newly acquired English to write to influential men such as John Quincy Adams for help. In “Speech” a supplicant pleads, “having English now/ I hope to tell you/ what it meant to hear your/ words it was a river/ slowly icing over it was/ rain falling into water/ was the night following/ rain into water a father/ crocodile waking early/ to eat his children.” The longest section, “Witness: a Libretto,” is narrated by Cinque, a leader of the rebels. Young’s work should be set to music. He mixes lessons from the primers used by abolitionists to teach the prisoners and parts of familiar old hymns learned in jail into Cinque’s account of the New Haven trial. The final short section concerns the return to Africa where a mission was established. Most of the victims departed quickly to look for their families, who were often missing. The title fits the impassioned poems that tell this most horrific story.–Karlan Sick, formerly at New York Public Library
