Rebecca Coleman confronts the controversial, uncomfortable subject of an affair between a student and teacher in her debut novel.
Among nearly 200 debuts listed by Library Journal’s “First Novels: Fall Fundamentals” by Barbara Hoffert and Meaghan Curran, this is one of only 17 honored with a star. The original LJ review recommended The Kingdom of Childhood to “fans of Jodi Picoult’s realistic, ethic-driven novels.” Many teens are certainly among them.
Curious about Waldorf schools? Check out their website, Why Waldorf Works.
COLEMAN, Rebecca. The Kingdom of Childhood. 352p. Mira. 2011. pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7783-1278-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Zach is the new kid at school, bursting with false bravado and hoping to catch the eye of that blonde girl, Fairen. He certainly doesn’t anticipate locking lips with the kindergarten teacher, Judy McFarland. For her part, Judy has loved her job as a Waldorf teacher for almost 20 years. But as the school year commences, her husband is engrossed in writing his doctoral dissertation, her two kids have rejected the New Agey-ness of their Waldorf upbringing, and her long-time friend and colleague has died of cancer. She is needy, and Zach becomes exactly what she needs. The novel follows the trajectory of an adolescent fantasy scenario: What happens if you actually do have sex with a teacher? While much of the story is told from Judy’s viewpoint, laced with forewarnings of the tragedy ahead, Zach’s agony over the increasingly horrific affair is sure to resonate with teens. Readers who attended Waldorf schools, or unconventional schools of any type, will appreciate the clash between childhood wonder and adolescent cynicism experienced by Zach and his friends as they discover a world that contradicts their upbringing. The title is borrowed from a series of lectures by Waldorf founder, Rudolph Steiner, and aptly summarizes the inner conflict that torments both Judy and Zach. While the walls of the kingdom provide comfort and protection in childhood, they become but a fragile shelter from the reality of adulthood.–Diane Colson, formerly at New Port Richey Library, FL
Teen animal-lovers will flock to share Diana Reiss’s passion for dolphins. Show them the Dolphin and the Mirror Experiment on YouTube, and watch the dolphins realize that they are looking at a reflection of themselves.
Reiss is currently the director of Dolphin Research at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and was an adviser on the 2009 film The Cove. For more about Reiss and her research, take a look at this New York Times article, “Studying the Big-Brained Dolphin“.
REISS, Diana. The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives. 288p. index. notes. Houghton Harcourt. 2011. Tr $27. ISBN 978-0-547-44572-4. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Reiss illustrates how dolphins have long captured human interest and imagination, featured prominently in mythology as well as in popular media. Her interest in cetacean intelligence was sparked by a New York Times article on the killing of whales and dolphins. This book chronicles her behavioral research with numerous dolphins, mostly in captivity, beginning in the late 1970s. She writes engagingly about the subjects to which she became emotionally attached, a point she argues made her a better, more in-tune researcher. Now director of dolphin research at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Reiss describes the process of developing a hypothesis, devising a method for testing it, and following through in repeated trials. Early work showed communication via an underwater keyboard for requesting desired toys, while later research proved self-awareness using submerged mirrors. Teens with an interest in animal behavior will find themselves caught up in her fascinating findings and anecdotes. Readers will be intrigued by Circe, who issued a “time out” to Dr. Reiss when her fish hadn’t been properly de-finned, and Stormy, who perfected the art of blowing bubble rings for her own amusement. The book ends on a somber note, as the author details fishing practices that endanger the species. She implores readers to become activists and take a stand against dolphin drives in Japan, which result in the inhumane deaths of thousands of animals each year. After reading this book, teens may be motivated to lend their voices to the cause.–Paula J. Gallagher, Baltimore County Public Library, MD
from graphic novel guest blogger Francisca Goldsmith:
Adolescent development entails huge leaps in how the nervous system and brain are able to process and work with input. Depth perception improves, abstract thinking skills become increasingly refined, and maturing teens are able to consider how facts and circumstances influence each other. If ever there were a gem of an adult book for teens discovering and reveling in these powers of “meta,” that would be Art Spiegelman’s considered and glib-free thought on the comic book that gave him unanticipated fame and caused a platoon of uninitiated comics critics to pause and reconsider how mice, comics, and the genocide many equate with World War II’s righteousness as a war could be presented engagingly and accessibly, without distracting from truth.
Metamaus isn’t Maus for Dummies or “why I wrote this book.” It is neither apologia nor advertisement. It is truly what the title says: the meta, or in fuller pursuit of the meaningfulness of Maus.
Metamaus is an unusual apotheosis: a perfect example of how the particular and personal can, indeed, convey the universally accessible. Why the Holocaust? Because it was there [in Spieigelman’s experience of life itself]. Why mice? Why comics? That’s a goodly part of the book. It’s not an easy read; but it’s an essential one…if you have care for meta-thinking.
SPIEGELMAN, Art. MetaMaus. illus. by author. 301p. diags. maps. photos. reprods. chron. index. Pantheon. 2011. Tr $35. ISBN 978-0-375-42394-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Twenty-five years after the publication of the book-length sequential art history of Spiegelman interpreting his father’s memories of the Holocaust, this lush volume offers myriad approaches to that work, an explanation of Spiegelman’s project, and introductions to the muses who sat with him across the decade of its making. Comprising three long and instructive “interviews” that examine his choice of subject, his selection of metaphors, and his medium of sequential art, this work offers a deep and unique examination appropriate to readers with interests in art, ethnics, and political history, Spiegelman’s specific story, and post-modern literature more generally. Deconstructing the how and why of particular pages in Maus (Pantheon 1986, 1992) is not a workmanlike project but one that gives even more buoyancy to the work that made Spiegelman’s name synonymous with nonfiction comics, incisive sequential art critique, and even accessible Holocaust material. The full-color images lining these pages include draft illustrations, final productions, family snapshots, and archival material on which Spiegelman relied for insightful inspiration. A DVD provides page-by-page links to resource material as well as recordings of the interviews he made with his father. An essential addition to all school and public libraries. –Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
Stephen Wetta’s quirky debut novel is a natural for teens. Jack is such a fish-out-of-water in his small Virginia town, wishing his father and brother would stop living up to every bad thing ever said about them, yearning for the lovely Myra Joyner. Even the fact that the story is told by an adult Jack looking back on 1967 doesn’t work to distance it for modern teens. If it weren’t for references to long-haired hippies, Vietnam, and the Ben Franklin store, this story could as easily have been set today.
Jack’s eternal optimism that Myra will return his love is what gives his story life. Despite the feud between their families, despite the fact that she is entirely out of his league, Jack is convinced that he will overcome all obstacles.
I have to share my favorite thing about this book. Jack actually uses the expression “spit and image” — as in, “Her father was a model of square-jawed integrity, her mother the spit and image of Betty Crocker on the packages.” I don’t remember ever seeing that expression in print before. The language here is wonderful.
WETTA, Stephen. If Jack’s in Love. 358p. Amy Einhorn. 2011. Tr $25.95. ISBN 978-0-399-15752-3. LC 2011013746.
Adult/High School–Jack is going on 13 the summer his older brother Stan threatens to kill golden boy Gaylord Joyner. A smart, sensitive boy, Jack is nevertheless an outcast, unable to overcome the small-town prejudices against his family. The Witchers live in the house that is ruining the neighborhood, with “trash” painted as a prank across the front and the yard piled high with junk. Jack’s father is unemployed; his brother a pot-smoking hippie with a violent streak. Neglected by his kind but frazzled, over-worked mother and increasingly afraid of his erratic brother, Jack turns to Mr. Gladstein, the local jeweler, for advice on his love life. For Jack has fallen in love with classmate Myra Joyner, an ill-fated love, especially once Gaylord disappears and everyone suspects Stan of his murder. Jack honestly doesn’t know if his brother did it, but he does have a secret about his brother’s whereabouts the night Gaylord disappeared. Despite the fact that “Witchers ain’t snitchers,” that secret quickly becomes too much for him. Set in late 1960s rural Virginia, Jack tells his story from the safe distance of adulthood. While his educated, adult language could have come off as pretentious (“My father was irregular in his employment, although there were times when he made genuine efforts to thwart the luckless demons that attended him”), it is instead affecting, and at times downright funny. The adults and kids of the town act within the confines of the roles to which their prejudices relegate them. Teens, particularly those sensitive to socio-economic status, will understand completely.– Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Jonathan Maberry, author of popular YA novels Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay (both Simon & Schuster, 2010 & 2011 respectively), is out with a new adult zombie novel this week. Maberry debuted Dead of Night as a special guest at ZomBcom 2011 this weekend.
You may also know Maberry for his Joe Ledger novels, beginning with Patient Zero (St. Martins, 2009), which address zombies in a sort of bioterrorism techno-thriller.
In preparing this post, I went straight to http://jonathanmaberry.com/ where I got distracted by a virtual panel discussion titled “What Makes YA Fiction So Hot” featuring librarians from across the country. Highly recommended!
MABERRY, Jonathan. Dead of Night: A Zombie Novel. 368p. St. Martin’s. Nov. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-312-55219-0. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–At first, they are not zombies. They are neighbors and acquaintances living in the small town of Stebbins, PA. But through governmental mishap, the infected body of a serial killer is sent to the Stebbins funeral home, where it rises out of the body bag and attacks the mortician. “Attacks,” in this case, means chewing the man’s throat out, but not killing him. Thus begins the invasion of the “hollow men,” people with the full consciousness of their human selves but trapped in a body that craves the taste of human flesh. It falls to a pair of police officers–voluptuous, hardened Dez Fox and her infinitely patient partner J.T.–to protect the people of Stebbins from the incomprehensible danger. At the same time, handsome journalist Billy Trout, Dez’s on-again, now off-again lover, is tracking down the evil genius behind the zombie epidemic. All of the requisite thriller elements come together as the zombies overtake the small community. There is government conspiracy, scientific malfeasance, unrequited sexual attraction, and, most importantly, plenty of gore. Faces are eaten off, limbs are severed, and body fluids leak in vivid detail. Short chapters keep the action moving. Maberry is an accomplished horror writer who keeps an intelligent sensibility running beneath the sensational action of his novel, and he has published a YA zombie series that begins with Rot & Ruin (S & S, 2010). Dead of Night is a definite teen magnet.–Diane Colson, formerly of New Port Richey Library, FL
You know you’ve discovered Adult-Books-4-Teens gold when an author takes the time to assure readers that he has not written a YA novel. Lev AC Rosen posted the following note on his website homepage:
“Note from the author: A lot of people who have approached me or emailed me about the book seem to be working from the assumption that it is a Young Adult book, and I feel I should state, for the record, that it is not intended as YA. Certainly, there is some crossover appeal, and yes, the protagonist is 17 and in college, but there’s more than a fair amount of bad language, and some sexual content as well. My publicist says that in her opinion it’s for High School and up, and I’m inclined to agree, in general. Obviously, some kids aren’t going to be mature enough for this in high school, and some might be mature enough before. And of course, I think anyone who wants to read it and feels they are mature enough should do so, but I feel it needs to be emphasized: this is not intended as YA.”
Interesting. I think the issue is likely the cover art — it does look quite young. He is probably concerned that an unsuspecting 7th or 8th grader is going to get more than he or she bargained for. He is certainly correct to say that there is crossover appeal — this is exactly the sort of adult book that teen readers enjoy. Accessible writing, imaginative plot, charming characters, a hint of conspiracy. It’s all here.
Rosen’s site offers a preview (the first two chapters), as well as a definition of steampunk for the uninitiated. His bio reveals that he has already written the sequel.
ROSEN, Lev AC. All Men of Genius. 462p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2794-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–The Importance of Being Earnest meets Twelfth Night in this steampunk fantasy. Violet Adams obsessed with science and inventions, but in Victorian England, there aren’t many doors open to young women. Certainly not the doors to Illyria, the science college. What else is a girl genius to do? She swaps identity with her twin brother, Ashton–a fabulously gay blade who is witty and sharp as a tack–and heads off to Illyria, immersing herself in the life of a young male college student while trying to dodge the innocent advances of Cecily, the Duke of Illyria’s ward, herself a smart young inventor. The problem, of course, is that Violet is falling for the duke, who is worried that his attraction to her is not acceptable, or “inverted.” This tale of cross dressing, science, romance, and rampaging automatons, complete with a host of quirky professors who might remind readers of those in the “Harry Potter” series, will delight teens, as will the rough and tumble descriptions of college life, with the young men’s focus on sex and drinking. Rosen’s wonderfully inventive vision of Victorian-era London has just enough staples of steampunk–automatons, super-light airships, and analog computers (the inventor of the first computer, Ada Lovelace, is a wonderful character here). The romance will appeal to fans of Gail Carriger’s “Parasol Protectorate” series (Orbit). The villain, the blackmailing Malcolm Volio, is a bit underdeveloped and so his comeuppance feels a little less than satisfactory. Otherwise, a brilliantly fun novel.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
I had the chance to meet Laura Lippman briefly at ALA last summer, and she spoke about the fact that this is the first book she has set in Dickeyville, the part of Baltimore that she knows best, the corner of the city in which she grew up. As a child, she and her friends played in Leakin Park, which in the 70’s was legend for being the place where dead bodies were disposed of. During that time, it was rare that groups of kids out playing were supervised by adults.
All of this comes to play in The Most Dangerous Thing, a mystery that focuses on how the adolescent actions of five childhood friends impact their adult lives. Adolescents who spend their time in and around Dickeyville and Leakin Park.
To hear Lippman talk about this time, and her training as a journalist, (eventually as a reporter with the Baltimore Sun), tune into her interview on the Diane Reams show.
Lippman is known for her Tess Monaghan series and equally celebrated stand-alone novels (What the Dead Know, Life Sentences, I’d Know You Anywhere, etc.). Her homepage provides clear lists of which books are which. Lippman has won virtually every major U.S. crime writing award, including the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Agatha Award, Nero Wolfe Award, Shamus Award, and the Quill Award.
LIPPMAN, Laura. The Most Dangerous Thing. 342p. HarperCollins. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-06-172651-6. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Secrets change lives, and Lippman’s new stand-alone novel features two secrets among different groups–childhood friends and their parents. The three Halloran brothers didn’t know how to handle pretty Gwen and tomboy Mickey when they crashed their kickball game, but soon the five of them are an exclusive group. In the days when seeing lightening bugs meant it was time to head home, the friends find themselves exploring the woods, daring each other to forge deeper. They discover a broken down cabin and a possibly deranged man they name Chicken George. For the rest of the summer they escape to the cabin whenever they can, loving the thrill of doing what their parents would surely forbid. Romantic feelings blossom among the group and jealousy simmers below the surface until one night something horrible happens. They band together to tell an altered story to their parents, and Chicken George ends up dead. Decades later the friends have split apart, but all have kept the secret, until Go-Go, the youngest, dies in a way that suggests suicide. It seems the parents kept their own secret, and now there’s no stopping the consequences. Lippman takes a common set-up–the secret pact to conceal a tragedy–and freshens it up with complex characters. The narrative flashbacks and varying points of view include significant time on middle-aged characters, and may be challenging to follow for some readers, but the sinister undertones and theme of sexual tensions keep the pages turning.–Priscille Dando, Robert E. Lee High School, Fairfax County, VA
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
Marjane Satrapi’s memoir depicting her girlhood in a changing Iran, during the 1970’s, is already a sequential art classic: relevant to readers who have and haven’t shared the kinds of emotional hardships and wonders of which she speaks, accessible across generations, and providing a story that has that magic power to compel its audience to accompany the main character through her explorations and revelations. Newcomer (to American readers) Marzena Sowa recounts her different—and yet arguably equally universal—experience of girlhood in Marzi.
The differences stand out readily enough: countries (Iran vs Poland), cultures (Muslim vs Catholic), class (middle vs working), and decade (the 1970’s vs the 1980’s). But the similarities—shared strengths really—are acute: the vivid depictions of family interactions, the willingness to reveal one’s own childhood faults, the experiences of political unrest and change as witnessed by children who attempt to interpret adult reports and opinions in order to try to make sense of events they see and do not understand.
Marzi is already of recognized character in Western Europe, her author’s home since leaving Poland. American teens, especially those whose families are similar to the character’s childhood one—factory worker father, mysteriously richer neighbors—may be surprised, but certainly positively impressed, to find that they can identify with an author from Poland. Although younger than a teen, Marzi’s dawning awarenesses in these vignettes are well suited to older youth. Often we look for slightly older characters with whom young readers can feel the thrill of aspiration. Marzi’s strength, on the other hand, like Satrapi’s alter-ego, is giving youth space to recall their own moments of growing into knowing from childhood’s ignorance.
SOWA, Marzena. Marzi: A Memoir. tr. by Anjali Singh. illus. by Sylvain Savoia. 240p. Vertigo. 2011. pap. $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4012-2959-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Sowa, who was born in 1979 and spent her childhood in Poland at the end of its era behind the Iron Curtain, recalls episodes from family, school, and her social life as a child. Her storytelling is nicely arced, with each one- to 10-page recollection exploring how those around her either aided or impeded her developing understanding of both her private and public worlds. Savoia’s bouncy art depicts a little Marzi who is as skinny as she says she was, bright but far from nerdy, and cute as can be, her large eyes often winking in concentration or incredulity as she overhears snippets of adult conversations about money and rations, relatives and neighbors, and the dramatic changes coming in the state. Her father’s warmth and her mother’s sternness place readers right in Marzi’s shoes as she faces the emptied market bin without the fruit she longed to acquire, suffers in a tight-necked First Communion dress, and navigates the perils of a three-way (and thus unstable) best friendship. Snippets of Polish remain in the dialogue and signage, but context allows ready understanding by English-speaking audiences. A hit in Europe in an ongoing series of comics, Marzi shows Americans what it was like to live through a time of political upheaval as well as universal childhood dramas.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
No, not the Young People’s Literature category. Many, many others have done a great job of writing about those unfortunate events. I would like to take a brief look at the NBA Fiction finalists.
I was happy to see three titles among the five nominees with genuine appeal for teen readers. Click on the links to see our AB4T reviews.
In my library, the most popular of the three is The Buddha in the Attic. Not only was it one of the first two books checked out this fall when we returned to school, it was placed on hold the very next day by a student who talked to me about her love for Otsuka’s first novel, When the Emperor was Divine.
Speaking of the best of the year, all of us who review for this blog are right now embroiled in choosing the Best Adult Books 4 Teens, 2011. We are narrowing our year’s reading down to the 15 to 20 best. It’s a challenge. What are we really looking for? As one reviewer, Mark Flowers, wrote in an e-mail today, are we looking for “great books with teen appeal, books with great teen appeal, or great books with great teen appeal?”
Ideally the latter, but it’s hard not to be swayed by a truly great novel that might only appeal to a certain segment of teens, or that popular genre thriller that has appeal in spades and less literary panache. I speak in suppositions, of course!
So, tell us. What were the best adult books (fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, poetry, you name it) with teen appeal that you read this year? What adult books did the teens you know enjoy?
Certainly one of the most buzzed-about books of the fall, Chad Harbach’s debut is a generous old-fashioned novel of baseball and literature at a small Wisconsin college. Diane’s review really says it all as far as teen appeal goes, so I will leave it to her.
Variety reports that The Art of Fielding has been optioned by HBO for a series.
For more, take a look at this WSJ Speakeasy interview with the author.
HARBACH, Chad. The Art of Fielding. 512p. Little, Brown. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12669-4. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–When Henry Skrimshander plays shortstop, it’s like watching fine ballet. His mystical ability attracts the attention of Mike Schwartz, a baseball player from tiny Westish College, who acts as the de facto recruiter for the team. So Henry arrives at Westish to begin his freshperson year, armed with his trusty baseball glove, Zero, and his battered copy of The Art of Fielding, written by Henry’s idol, Aparicio Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a legendary shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, holds the record for consecutive errorless games, which Henry may break. If he doesn’t choke, that is. Choking is something of a theme in this wonderful novel. Westish President Affenlight is choking back his love for Henry’s roommate, Owen, a Zenlike boy who is affectionately dubbed “Buddah.” Affenlight’s daughter, Pella, is choking on the challenge of finding her own path after she flees her stifling marriage. And Henry does choke, on the field and in life, as his magical baseball abilities seem to disappear. Teens who like baseball, or any sport, will appreciate the rough camaraderie of the team and the pressure on an athlete to perform perfectly. There is plenty of romance as well. The book is filled with literary allusions, particularly to the works of Melville, but it is also funny, bittersweet, and peppered with kooky plot twists that keep readers entranced. This is a great introduction to modern writers who blend the everyday with the philosophical, such as Jonathan Franzen or Tom Perrotta.–Diane Colson, formerly of New Port Richey Library, FL
Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian and an Upper School Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Angela served on the Alex Awards committee for four years, chairing the 2008 committee, and chaired the first YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adult committee in 2009. Recently, she edited Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Titles and Programs for a New Generation (ALA Editions, 2011). Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.
