Adult Books 4 Teens: August 2011
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Fiction BEARD, Jo Ann. In Zanesville. 287p. Little, Brown. 2011. Tr $23.99. ISBN 978-0-316-08447-5. LC number unavailable. BIRCH, Carol. Jamrach's Menagerie. 295p. Doubleday. 2011. Tr $26.95. ISBN 978-0-385-53440-6. LC number unavailable. CAMPBELL, Bonnie Jo. Once Upon a River. 320p. Norton. 2011. Tr $25.95. ISBN 978-0-393-07989-0. LC number unavailable. DATLOW, Ellen, ed. Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy. 560p. St. Martin's/Griffin. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-60431-8; pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-0-312-38524-8. LC number unavailable. DE LA CRUZ, Melissa. Witches of East End. 323p. Hyperion. 2011. Tr $23.99. ISBN 9781401323905. LC number unavailable. DONNELLY, Gabrielle. The Little Women Letters. 368p. S & S. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-1-4516-1718-4. LC number unavailable. GIRARD, Philippe. Killing Velazquez. tr. from French by Kerryann Cochrane. 215p. Conundrum. 2011. Tr $20. ISBN 978-1-894994-54-5. LC C2011-901238-3. GOLDSTEIN, Lisa. The Uncertain Places. 240p. Tachyon. 2011. pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-61696-014-8. LC number unavailable. GOULD, Steven. 7th Sigma. 384p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-312-87715-6. LC number unavailable. GRANT, Helen. The Glass Demon: A Novel. 320p. Bantam. 2011. pap. $0. ISBN 978-0-385-34420-3. LC number unavailable. HENDERSON, Eleanor. Ten Thousand Saints. 400p. HarperCollins. 2011. Tr $26.99. ISBN 978-0-06-202102-1. LC 2011011810. NAIR, Kamala. The Girl in the Garden: A Novel. 305p. Grand Central. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-446-57268-2. LC 2010016492. ROTHMAN, Claire Holden. The Heart Specialist: A Novel. 352p. Soho. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-1-56947-945-2. LC number unavailable. WATSON, Christie. Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away. 438p. Other. 2011. pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-159051-466-5. LC 2010054187. WOODING, Chris. The Black Lung Captain. 560p. (Tales of the Ketty Jay). ISBN 978-0-345-52250-4. Nonfiction BEAL, Susan. World of Geekcraft: Step-by-Step Instructions for 25 Super-Cool Craft Projects. 155p. Chronicle. 2011. pap. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-8118-7461-8. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School-Step right into the inner life of a 14-year-old girl growing up during the 1970s in the small town of Zanesville, Illinois. Readers only learn that her name is Jo through an oblique reference to the sisters in Little Women. Jo and her best friend, Felecia, are stuck with the dreadful label late bloomers. Over the course of the novel, however, each one begins blooming as they experience the babysitting job from hell, tentative boy interests, and a brush with the popular girls' clique. Large and small concerns collide for Jo as she ponders her universe. For example, on the same day that she is trying to persuade her mother to let her go to a school football game, Jo is also worried sick that her alcoholic father has shot himself in the basement. Teens who enjoy slice-of-life stories that are submerged in a particular time and place will enjoy Jo's quirky and perceptive narration. Like Frankie in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding, Jo is both naïve and wise beyond her years. Readers may note that the narrator has the same name as the author; indeed, Jo Ann Beard has also published an autobiography composed of vignettes from her life, The Boys of My Youth (Little, Brown, 1998). The tone of these two books is similar, encouraging teens who have enjoyed one to read the other.-Diane Colson, New Port Richey Library, FL
Adult/High School-Jaffy Brown is poor and uneducated, and he has little chance for a life beyond the dirty squalor of the streets of 19th-century London until he survives a bite from the tiger in Jamrach's menagerie. Impressed, Jamrach hires him to take care of the animals. It's there that Jaffy meets Tim and his sister Ishbel, beginning a lifelong friendship that takes Jaffy and Tim to the wilds of Pacific Islands aboard a whaling ship in search of a mythical-yet far too real-dragon. In spite of the brutal life of a sailor, Jaffy and Tim thrive on the adventure and camaraderie. But all this takes a hard turn after they bring the dragon on board and must fight for their lives against the relentlessness of the sea. Vivid descriptions put readers in the loud streets of London with the mad scrabble of hungry kids and the tired anger of lovers and whores. Later, they will roll with the swell and puke over the edge of the ship alongside Jaffy and his shipmates, or climb aloft to search for the land where the dragon is sure to be. Later still, readers are with the survivors as they cling to life and humanity against all odds. Birch writes from Jaffy's point of view so the language is the rough accent of the London poor. Teens may find themselves re-reading some details to get the picture at first, but once in the words flow and the images make themselves. Jaffy's voice is true to his spirit and rich in detail and thought. Recommend this enormously satisfying novel of friendship, survival, and redemption to adept readers who enjoy being involved with their characters.-Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Adult/High School-In 16-year-old Margo, Campbell has created a unique literary character, one sure to provoke discussion. Growing up along Michigan's Stark River, Margo spent every possible moment near the water, swimming and fishing with her cousins. Now, abandoned by her mother, raped by her uncle, and inadvertently the cause of her father's death, Margo takes off alone, rowing up the river in the precious teak boat that had been her grandfather's, The River Rose. She takes only what she needs to survive, along with her mother's last known address and Little Sure Shot, a biography of Annie Oakley that she uses as a guide to life. She encounters a series of characters, mostly men, loners with whom she lives for short periods, grateful for the shelter they provide while she tracks down her mother. Margo studies them and their lives for clues on how to live her own. In turn, they are intrigued by her strange beauty, near silence, and skill with a gun. Margo works methodically toward figuring out a life that does not compromise her independence and satisfies her need to live along the river. She often misjudges the consequences of her choices, endangering herself again and again, and lacks a clear sense of right and wrong. Teens will marvel at her resolve and unique set of priorities. Campbell has created a mesmerizing world, where nature and self-preservation are primary. While Margo herself is emotionally detached, readers will be anything but in response to her journey.-Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Adult/High School-Urban fantasy is a hybrid genre, bringing magic, mystical creatures and other fantasy elements into edgy urban settings. Some of this genre's most popular writers are represented in these original stories, including Holly Black and Patricia Briggs. A highlight is Jim Butcher's "Curses," which features Harry Dresden of the "Dresden Files" series (Roc). Harry is a classic noir private investigator and a wizard. In it, readers learn the truth behind the Billy Goat Curse that has plagued the Chicago Cubs baseball team since 1945. In Richard Bowes's "On the Slide," readers meet people who imitate the styles and attitudes of different time periods so well that they disappear into them. In Jeffrey Ford's "Daddy Longlegs of the Evening," a spider crawls into a young boy's ear. After setting up a nest in the brain, it uses its webmaking skills to create new neural pathways and a much different life for itself. Teen fantasy enthusiasts will be drawn to this collection by the variety of settings and time frames. Also, having the stories grounded in familiar urban settings make it a good introduction to the genre for teens who may not think of themselves as fantasy readers. Each story is prefaced with information about the writer's other works, useful for those who are interested in reading more.-Carla Riemer, Berkeley High School, CA
Adult/High School-De la Cruz, author of "The Au Pairs" series (set in the Hamptons) and "Blue Bloods" (featuring rich New York vampires) has written her first novel for adults, one that has hints of both of these popular YA series. In fictional North Hampton, witches Joanna, Ingrid, and Freya make their home without magic, as they were forbidden to use their powers by the council thousands of years ago. All of them begin to break the "rule" slowly, Freya by making love-potion cocktails at the pub where she bartends, Ingrid by making her infertile coworker able to bear a child, and Joanna by entertaining the young son of her housekeeper with parlor tricks. But the illegal magic isn't the worst of their problems. There seems to be some type of poison loose in North Hampton that shows itself to the magical three as a silver presence. Romance enters the picture as Ingrid denies her attraction to the local police detective, and Freya tries to decide between two brothers and has steamy sexual encounters with both. The novel has many of the traits of paranormal romance, including the ability to see people's thoughts and desires. There is even a crossover with "Blue Bloods," as vampire Mimi Frost comes to consult with Ingrid (and her storyline remains unresolved, so she may pop up later in the series). A shocking cliffhanger will propel readers to the next book. Fans of teen paranormal stories will find a lot to like in the spellcasting and secret identities, even with older, more sophisticated characters.–Jamie Watson. Baltimore County Public Library, MD
Adult/High School- This tender homage to Alcott's enduring classic is the perfect summer read for teenage fans of the original. This story presupposes that Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, as well as Marmee and Mr. March, are not fictional characters but actual ancestors of Emma, Lulu, and Sophie Atwater and their American mother, Fee, who now all live in London. There is sensible, organized Emma, about to be married to her dependable boyfriend, Matthew (readers will see plenty of Meg in Emma). Then there is the odd duck, Lulu, struggling to find her place in the family and in the world, and readers are sure to find more than a bit of Jo in her. Aspiring actress Sophie, the scatterbrained, self-centered youngest daughter, will bring to mind a young Amy March as she matures from the girl who sleeps with a clothespin on her nose to the caring, beautiful artist who marries Laurie at the end of Little Women. Jo March is the great-great-grandmother of the Atwaters, and when Lulu is sent up into the family's attic to look for a long-lost recipe book that one of her great aunts wrote, she finds boxes of letters written by Jo and her sisters, including letters Jo has written to Beth, even after Beth's death. The juxtaposition of Lulu and her sisters' present struggles to cope with life as young, independent women in modern-day London with the problems and concerns that Jo and her sisters share in their correspondence works well here. The story is a bit predictable, but comforting, and certainly a step up from most chick lit. The only thing that detracts is the final letter of the book, which feels very out of place and takes the quality of the story down just a small notch.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Adult/High School-Sixteen years after his own confrontation with a child molester, the author is faced with both the opportunity and threat of discussing the event as part of his journalism job's coverage of a news event. In clear, flat black and white cartoons, Girard walks readers through the original traumatic events as well as his confrontation with memory as an adult. Intercutting the narrative of remembered and current events, he folds in snatches of an adventure story that helped him by offering solace in his loneliness as a new kid in town and courage and direction when he was accosted by the molester. An end note includes the author's original desire to show the importance of books by including these snatches of adventure fiction in his memoir; he is fully successful in fulfilling that desire. While some of the details of young Philippe's experiences are shared in other memoir and realistic fiction works, as well as news stories, his great gift to readers here is to move past the trepidation and disgust of coping with a priest abusing the power of his office to molest young boys to the valedictory both of telling on the priest, as a youth, and deciding to out himself, as an adult, as one of the priest's intended victims. Frontal nudity of both adult and juvenile males appears, but teens will not find anything salacious here. Rather, they'll find reassurance that reporting abuse can have a good outcome.-Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
Adult/High School-Goldstein's inventive take on magical realism plunges readers into late 1960s Berkeley where college students Ben and Will become romantically involved with the two oldest Feierabend sisters, Maddie and Livvy. The boys are drawn inexplicably to the mysterious siblings; to their detached, absent-minded mother; and to the younger sister, Rose, the family historian. They find themselves visiting the Feierabends' vineyard in Napa again and again, but each trip raises questions in Will's mind about strange and mysterious events in the house. Unable to ignore the strange men he finds cleaning in the middle of the night, Will starts asking questions. The family explains that the clean house, the thriving vineyard that seems to happen without anyone working at it, and Maddie's acting success are all part of a birthright passed down for hundreds of years. All of that luck comes at a cost-in each generation, a bondmaid must be given over to the faeries for seven years. When Will's love, Livvy, is plunged into a sleep from which she cannot wake, Will makes his own bargains with the faeries to bring her back. For teens who liked Lev Grossman's The Magicians (Viking, 2009) or Helen Grant's The Vanishing of Katharina Linden (Delacorte, 2010), The Uncertain Places will be a perfect fit, though teens may be a bit frustrated by the end of the novel, which sums up events too quickly. The final question that Will poses makes the wrap up worth it, "If I had known that all this would happen, would I have chosen differently?" It's a compelling question that will have teens asking the same question.-Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Adult/High School-When the American southwest was infested by lethal metal-eating bugs, most citizens left the Territory for safer climes. A hardy few stayed on. Thirteen-year-old Kimble counted himself lucky when his abusive father was forced to leave for medical treatment. He's been hiding from the authorities and happily living by his wits, homeless in Nuevo Santa Fe, ever since. One day a newcomer happens to observe his quick reflexes. Ruth persuades Kimble to help her establish a dojo south of the city, where she plans to teach aikido. He becomes her uchideski, her student, and together they build a household. Living in the Territory is like frontier days in the Old West, also echoed in the importance of water, which bugs cannot tolerate. When Ruth suffers from severe asthma, Kimble travels to retrieve medication and encounters Captain Bentham of the territorial Rangers. Bentham recognizes him as a runaway, but instead of returning him to his father, he recruits Kimble as a spy for the Territory, the youngest ever. So begins a series of adventures during which Kimble outsmarts criminals from drug dealers to weapons smugglers. He rarely follows directions; he has his own audacious ideas of how to accomplish each job. 7th Sigma wears its science-fiction mantle lightly, mostly via substitute technologies for metal and a lack of modern transportation, tools, weapons, and amenities. Readers may be disappointed that the origin of the bugs is never investigated; neither are the other mysterious creatures that seem to collaborate with them. But add a sense of humor, genuine affection among engaging characters, and a grumpy mule sidekick for an adventure that is a natural for teen readers.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Adult/High School-Grant's follow-up to The Vanishing of Katharina Linden (Delacorte, 2010.) is a similarly engrossing tale. Lin Fox finds herself in a falling-down castle deep in the woods of Germany while her father attempts to resuscitate his academic career. For generations, the village has lived with the legend of the Allerheiligen Glass-medieval stained glass windows that are said to have been cursed by a demon, bringing death to those who gaze upon them. Like the quest for the Holy Grail, the question of the Glass's existence has split academia, and Lin's father is obsessed with determining the truth. On Lin's first day, she meets Michel, a mysterious boy who eventually becomes her only ally. It's soon clear that the villagers want the Foxes gone. What's unclear is if the escalating threats to her family and mounting village deaths are the result of Michel's mad father, or the Glass Demon himself. Combined with the mystery is the story of Lin's everyday teenage concerns: fitting in at school, pining over a crush, and worrying about family dynamics. Grant is a master of style, creating a foreboding, gothic mood with clever cliffhangers ending each chapter and grisly descriptions within the action. Teens will root for Lin and Michel as they find themselves in a heart-pounding struggle with evil. The brilliant combination of horror, fairy tales, mystery, and romance equals a can't-put-it-down experience. Highly recommended for its literary quality and boundless appeal to teens.–Priscille Dando, Robert E. Lee High School, Fairfax County, VA
Adult/High School-Crackling with the same precision and power she brought to her short stories, especially "The Kissing Disease" (2007), the first two chapters of Henderson's debut novel chronicle the drug-fueled last day in the life of 15-year-old Teddy McNicholas, a confused but strangely magnetic young man. The rest of the novel spirals outward from Teddy, tracking first those closest to him-his friend Jude, his brother Johnny, and Eliza, the young woman carrying his child; then their motley mix of parental figures; and finally various friends and hangers-on to Johnny and Jude as they become fixtures in the late 1980s Straight Edge scene in which much of the novel is set. This narrative structure is quickly validated by the overwhelming strength of Henderson's characterizations, most impressively that of Teddy, who Henderson makes readers care for in 50 brief pages of narrative and miss almost as much as his friends and family do. Every character, though, is carefully delineated, full of mixed motivations and personal demons, often simultaneously sympathetic and infuriating. Henderson's depiction of late 1980s New York is no less impressive-from her grasp of the strange mix of purity and violence that was the Straight Edge scene, to her sensitive portrayal of the gay community's grappling with HIV. With the lurid early drug scenes-worthy of an Ellen Hopkins novel-and Henderson's profound respect for the perspective and maturity of teenagers, this novel is perfect for teens.–Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
Adult/High School-Rakhee Singh is 10 when she journeys from Minnesota for a summer visit to her mother's family in a remote area of India. A shy but curious child, Rakhee hardly feels welcome when her cousins taunt her about the darkness of her skin and her aunts deride her weak eyesight, both of which she inherited from her father. She knows little of the provincial customs and caste structures and even less about the secrets that compel her extended family to behave so mysteriously and rudely around her. When Rakhee sneaks into the forbidden forest behind the family home, she discovers an exquisite walled-in garden where a girl has grown up completely isolated from the world. Rakhee befriends the mysterious girl, but her covert visits set in motion events that will tragically alter her family. It is not until many years later when Rakhee abandons her betrothed and returns to India that she finally confronts the complex relationships and entangled loves that seem to be her family heritage. Wanting her boyfriend to know the reason she has abandoned him, she leaves behind a manuscript telling the story of that long-ago summer. That manuscript becomes Nair's first novel. It is an engaging family drama of unspoken secrets that will satisfy teens who enjoy stories teeming with mysterious characters and set in exotic locales where wandering white peacocks, girls imprisoned in gardens, and doomed love all seem completely at home.-John Sexton, formerly at Westchester Library System
Adult/High School-When Agnes White's grandmother discovers her knee deep in the blood of an autopsy she is performing on a squirrel, it is only with the intervention and guidance of her enlightened governess that she is allowed to continue her studies to become a doctor. It's not easy being a smart, inquisitive woman in late 1800's Canada but Agnes is determined to follow in her missing father's footsteps and to seek out the truth of his life. Her father's colleagues, the specimens he saved-especially the "Howlett Heart"-and the laboratory she manages are all clues to understanding him; and while her single-minded attention to matters of the heart remain scientific, she ultimately ignores the matters that really count. Loosely based on the real life story of Dr. Maud Elizabeth Seymour Abbott, a pioneering Canadian doctor, this book captures the tone and setting of its time. The frustration of wanting to attend medical school and being told that it is impossible is clearly shown. The book will show teens the hardships that women faced as they attempted to make their way into professions dominated by men. Agnes's determination and perseverance will draw in readers, who will root for her all the way.-Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Adult/High School-Blessing is 12 when her mother takes her and her 14-year-old brother, Ezekiel, away from their cheating father and their comfortable apartment in Lagos. They move in with Mama's parents, Alhaji and Grandma, who live in a rural compound with no running water or electricity. Blessing is appalled by their change in circumstance, but at least Mama insists that they continue to attend school. Ezekiel is determined to be a doctor. The countryside is in political upheaval thanks to the foreign oil companies and the government-sponsored "Kill and Go" squads that regularly destroy villages and kidnap oil executives for ransom. The compound scrapes by on Grandma's earnings as a midwife, Mama's wages working in an oil-company club and, later, gifts from her white boyfriend, Dan. When Alhaji uses their fees for yet another unlikely money-making scheme, Ezekiel and Blessing stop going to school. Ezekiel loses hope and turns to other disaffected youth, while Blessing finds her calling as Grandma's apprentice birth attendant. Blessing's involving story brings home issues of cutting (female circumcision), polygamy, environmental degradation and its effects on the health of the poor, the causes of poverty in rural Nigeria, and the contrast between traditional and new ways of life. Only after surviving a terrible tragedy does Blessing learn that her childish perceptions of family were an illusion. She finds a better life, connected to her country, her extended family, and her own destiny. Teens will especially appreciate the struggles and joys of the sibling relationship, and the lyrical, yet clear, writing style.-Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
----. Retribution Falls. 480p. ISBN 978-0-345-52251-1.
ea vol: Spectra. 2011. pap. $16. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School-Airships, anti-heroes, and hijinks, oh my. Captain Darian Frey loves the Ketty Jay, his airship, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep flying, even when what it takes is illegal. He and his crew of not-quite-lovable misfits (an inhuman navigator, a drunken doctor, a daemonist on the run, a former slave from an enemy nation, a golem, and two socially inept pilots, along with womanizing, slightly drug addicted Frey) have a talent for falling into bad business and tangling with the fearsome Trinica Dracken, the scariest air captain around and Frey's onetime fiancé. In Retribution Falls, adventure trumps character development, but what an adventure: after a job gone horribly awry, the crew find themselves taking on a conspiracy and maybe saving the day. Black Lung Captain has more heart: Frey found that he likes it when his crew is, well, a crew, and this time they willingly enter into the adventure, delivering lots of satisfying backstory along the way. The series is strongly reminiscent of the TV series Firefly and its feature-film companion "Serenity"-indeed, the opening scene of Retribution Falls walks a fine line between plagiarism and homage-but teens who have seen those will enjoy the funhouse mirror similarities (more swearing, less niceness) while others will enjoy the books for the same reasons the show keeps finding new viewers. The books are perfect read-nexts for those who came of age with Kenneth Oppel's Airborn (HarperCollins, 2004) or Philip Reeve's "Hungry City Chronicles" (HarperTeen), and are exactly on target for the teen boy inside all of us.–Karyn N. Silverman, LREI (Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School), New York City
Adult/High School-Beal's introduction declares, "We've come a long way since 'geek' meant a carnival sideshow freak," which sets the playful tone of this book. To celebrate the geek in all of us, the author has pulled together 25 projects from a variety of crafters organized by difficulty starting with "Not a Jedi Yet" (easy) to "Warp Speed" (advanced). Each contributor includes a "best geeky memory" that often highlights a video game, Star Wars or Star Trek, or an early computer memory. Each project lists the necessary items and includes clear, detailed instructions. Accompanying photos add to the fun. Many techniques are used in the projects, including beading, appliqué, and felting. An extensive list of books, resources, and websites along with easily copied templates are included. Teens may be interested in using this book to make gifts, including a pendant made of watch parts (intermediate) or the "Secret Message Quilt", which has Morse Code hidden in the block layout (advanced). It could also provide the impetus for a geek crafting party. Just geeky enough for plenty of smiles.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
