I have to admit that I spent much of the first half of Amber Dermont’s debut novel wondering if I was really going to review it for this blog. Was it wishful thinking? Did I just WANT it to have teen appeal? I knew it appealed to me right away. At first, that was because I went to boarding school in the mid-80s. I recognized these boys and their world, the time period, right off the bat.
But the more time I spent reading, the less my own experience mattered. The characters! The setting! The relationships! The descriptions of what it feels like to sail, on the edge and without fear. The joy of being expert at something, of being young and strong. The focus that makes everything else disappear. Being fully in the moment. The joy of speaking shorthand with a sailing partner every bit as talented. Reading the wind and the waves.
The sailing scenes are maybe 2% of the novel, yet they permeate the story. Partly because the sea is right there. Partly because it is never far from Jason’s thoughts. He misses it, even though he refuses to sail for the Bellingham team. Mostly he reminisces about sailing with Cal. Cal. Who is dead at the beginning of the novel, yet manages to be as real as any other character in the book. Because Jason thinks about him. Because in the way Jason tells Aidan about him, we understand even more about their relationship. More than Jason himself understands.
Another character I cannot get out of my head — Chester, the school’s token African-American student. A tennis star who is the one person with whom Jason works to build an honest friendship, almost in spite of himself. (For someone determined to be part of the cool senior crowd, very risky.) In fact, becoming friends with Chester pretty much teaches Jason how to be a true friend. It’s not as sappy or artificial as that sounds. It works.
One trope in YA literature is an absence of adults. As I mention in the review, this is a school of last resort. A place where the rich kids who have been kicked out of the better schools come to finish their high school careers. Jason says, “Aidan had compared Bellingham to the Island of Misfit Toys, a sanctuary for the unwanted. But the problem, as I saw it, was that putting this many defective kids together only created more trouble.” Unfortunately, this is a school that lives up to its reputation. The faculty and the administration basically look the other way. A few teachers make an impression on Jason, but adults are largely absent or ineffectual. All kinds of bad behavior (and very little studying) goes on. Most disturbing is the hazing. Today we call it bullying and we talk about it openly in our attempts to stop it. In the 80’s, it was hazing and it was rarely mentioned. At Bellingham, it is school tradition. Early in the novel, Jason believes “The tedium of boarding school could be broken down into stages of getting hazed and hazing. We took turns hurting one another not because we were mean or violent but because we were bored.” By the end, he is much less blasé.
I’ve seen The Starboard Sea compared to A Separate Peace, The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye. It doesn’t need those comparisons. It flies just fine on its own.
DERMONT, Amber. The Starboard Sea. 320p. St. Martin’s. 2012. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-312-64280-8. LC 2011041100.
Adult/High School–On the day he turns 18, Jason Prosper leaves Upper East Side Manhattan and heads north to Bellingham Academy , a last-chance boarding school for kids expelled from better institutions, caught by the “safety net of parents’ wealth.” That first afternoon he spies what looks like a cormorant wading several yards out to sea, only to realize that it’s a girl about to do herself harm. Aidan only laughs when he plunges in to save her, easily walking to shore. Jason is entranced by this strange creature with a troubled past of her own. Their budding relationship helps him begin to heal from the loss of Cal, his best friend, roommate, and sailing partner. One year earlier, when their relationship moved beyond friendship, Jason’s betrayal precipitated Cal ’s suicide, and Jason likens his loss to losing a limb. Now he kicks around with a group of disaffected, immature fellow seniors, Race, Kriffo, and Tazewell. The 1987 stock market crashplaces the novel in historical context, as does the faculty’s cavalier attitude toward student discipline, particularly the ubiquitous hazing. Otherwise, today’s young adults will recognize the ever-shifting tensions and alliances among teen boys, the agony of losing a friendship, the shame of disappointing a parent, and the exhilaration of being young and talented. Jason is a champion sailor and his descriptions of sailing are exquisite. After the arrival of a hurricane coincides with a student death, he focuses on solving what he comes to believe was a murder by fellow students. Aidan and Jason’s relationship brings to mind Alaska and Miles’s relationship in John Green’s Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005), and this more contemplative novel shares a similar central suspense and tension.– Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
The Sisters falls securely in the category of women’s fiction. When I first saw the cover and read the description, I doubted that it would have teen appeal. Still, it was vacation, I had time, I gave it a try.
The Sisters begins with a bang. It grabs the reader from the first chapter. And that first chapter lays out the misunderstanding between two teen sisters that is the foundation for the remainder of the novel.
Still, that’s hardly enough to guarantee teen appeal for a novel this long. As I kept reading, I noticed that most of the characters were introduced as teens. They and their stories were consistently interesting. There are a couple dry spots, but I can think of only one chapter that had no teen appeal, and it was close to the end. The momentum and emotional weight of the final few chapters will keep teens readers going. And it is a teenager, Bertie’s great granddaughter Taylor, who brings at least one side of the family of women together at the very end.
The first chapter is available on the author’s website.
JENSEN, Nancy. The Sisters. 324p. St. Martin’s. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-312-54270-2. LC 2011025854.
Adult/High School–“Something can happen to change your life so sudden, you can’t get over it fast enough.” For Bertie that “something” takes place on the day of her high school graduation, the day her sister Mabel leaves town with Bertie’s boyfriend, the day their stepfather hangs himself in the barn. Mabel’s betrayal is in fact a horrible misunderstanding–all part of a plan to save Bertie from the abuse Mabel has been tolerating for too long. It shapes the rest of their lives and those of their daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Spanning 1927 to 2007, rural Kentucky to Indiana and Ohio, each chapter focuses on a different character. The Sisters is constructed like a series of connected short stories, but is all the more powerful for the accumulation of back story and family history. Each woman in turn is affected by secrets and misunderstandings. Most are introduced at a young age and experience life-altering moments during their teen years. For Rainey it’s a teen pregnancy, for her daughter it’s losing all contact with her father after a custody battle. Grace is haunted by her mother’s refusal to tell her who her father is, and later falls in love with an older, damaged Vietnam vet. Throughout, the writing is strong and specific, painting a clear picture of each setting and bringing individual female characters and their motivations to life. Husbands and fathers are less well-formed. Recommend this to teens who enjoy intergenerational dramas, or novels of mothers and daughters.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Yangzom Brauen tells the story of three generations of women in her family, beginning with her grandmother’s young adulthood spent as a Buddhist nun in Tibet. The family fled Tibet in 1960 to escape the Chinese, ending up in India, then Switzerland and, eventually, the United States.
Yangzom’s mother, Sonam Dolma Brauen, is now an artist in New York City, whose work can be see on her website.
Recommend this to teens who enjoy refugee stories such as Loung Ung’s First They Killed my Father: a Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins, 2001) or What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng; A Novel by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s, 2006).
BRAUEN, Yangzom. Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom. tr. from German by Katy Derbyshire. 304p. maps. photos. St. Martin’s. Sept. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-60013-6. LC 2011024755.
Adult/High School–Kunsang, the author’s grandmother, had one goal when she was a child–to be a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She spent days in the local nunnery, returning to her father’s house each night to care for him. Her father died when she was 14, allowing her to begin her life as a nun, including fasting, meditation, and chanting the prayer om mani peme hung more than 100 times a day. For years Kunsang lived as a follower of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, begging for food, praying for her neighbors, and living in abject poverty. During this time, she married a monk, Tsering, and had children while still maintaining her religious practices as caretaker of a hermitage at Pang-Ri. Then, in 1960, she and her family fled to India to escape the Chinese invasion. There they lived lives of poverty and back-breaking physical work, which killed Tsering. It was only after a Swiss student working for a charity married Kunsang’s daughter (the author’s mother) and moved the family to Switzerland that their lives became safer and easier. Brauen’s story is much more than family memoir; it provides an in-depth view of the daily life of Tibetan nuns. The author illuminates the lives of refugees, for whom safety in India is coupled with poverty and hard work, as well as on-going efforts to bring the Tibetan cause to the attention of world leaders. This book will appeal to teens interested in Tibetan Buddhism, as well as student activists interested in the Free Tibet movement.–Laura Pearle, Venn Consultants, Carmel, NY
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
Are you claustrophobic? If so, you might think twice about reading the latest from Joseph Finder — or maybe it will thrill you all the more.
Buried Secrets is the second Nick Heller novel, after Vanished (St. Martin’s, 2009). This is Finder’s first attempt at a series, something he avoided for a long time.
For the many, many Jack Reacher/Lee Child fans out there, Amazon includes a fun feature on its Buried Secrets page.
FINDER, Joseph. Buried Secrets. 390p. St. Martin’s. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-37914-8. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Being buried alive is surely one of the most terrifying circumstances imaginable, but teenager Alexa is a severe claustrophobic and no one could have devised a more horrible fate for her. The scenes from her point of view, buried alive in a metal coffin beneath 10 feet of earth in an abandoned field, are effectively chilling–especially her slow and horrible understanding of what has happened to her. Alexa has a will to survive and clings to the knowledge that her multi-billionaire father is good for whatever amount the ransom demand may be. However, as private investigator Nick Heller frantically works to track down Alexa’s location, it becomes clear that mere money is not the only objective and the investigation generates more questions than answers. How is the senator’s daughter involved? Who is the man with eyes tattooed on the back of his head? And was the incident a few years ago when Alexa was kidnapped, driven around for hours, then released without any demands related? The shifting point of view between Alexa in the coffin, Nick’s investigation, and the captor’s mysterious motivation keeps this plot-driven thriller moving. A page-turning plot line that doesn’t demand too much thought combined with a likable hero, a depraved villain, and a steady dose of action makes for an entertaining summer read for thriller-inclined teens.–Priscille Dando, Robert E. Lee High School, Fairfax County,VA
According to Kristin Hannah, Night Road was inspired by her son’s senior year of high school (see her blog for more in her own words). If so, that must have been a year rife with anxiety!
The reader is privy to two primary perspectives, one adult, one teen, leading up to and recovering from a tragic event. For me, the teen perspective, Lexi’s story, was by far the most compelling.
I know many librarians object to pigeon-holing a book by gender preference, but this is women’s fiction and perfect for girls who enjoy a sad story, especially one involving a great love. This would also be a great choice for a mother-daughter bookclub.
My only objection is the piling of tragedy upon tragedy, until the author’s treatment of Lexi feels nearly sadistic. But of course the point is that Lexi make it through everything she encounters, every twist and turn, and truly deserve her happy ending.
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, Zach, 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
It is 1592, and zombies have overtaken London. Who better to stop the undead than Shakespeare?
And oh yes, Shakespeare is himself a vampire because, really, how could anyone write so many great works in one lifetime?
HANDELAND, Lori. Shakespeare Undead. 320p. St. Martin’s/Griffin. 2010. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-0-312-64152-8. LC 2010014437.
Adult/High School–Sure, this is a trashy romance in which William Shakespeare is a vampire and his leading lady is a zombie hunter. It’s also a densely layered piece of postmodern pop art through which Handeland argues for reclaiming Shakespeare as a popular artist, placing the Bard on an artistic continuum with The Wizard of Oz, The Sixth Sense, and Twilight. At the same time she parodies such different sources as Shakespeare in Love, Will in the World, and anti-Stratfordian tracts, showing that thinking that Shakespeare’s poems and plays offer direct access to the poet’s personal life is as ridiculous as believing that Shakespeare was a zombie-hunting vampire. Her own narrative, which manages to offer teens an interesting mystery, a romance that would put Edward and Bella to shame, and a healthy helping of zombie gore, preempts any criticism of its own superfluity by offering up Shakespeare’s plays (specifically Two Gentlemen of Verona) as prototypical examples of potboiler plots teeming with subtextual power. Perhaps most surprisingly, though the attempts at the language are horrendous, Handeland does a creditable enough job of portraying Elizabethan England that the novel would work as curriculum support in a history course as well as it would in an English class. This is a novel likely to be unjustly overlooked, that in fact offers something for just about everyone.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
Breakthrough is an historical medical adventure, made all the more appealing to teens because it was a young girl who participated in the experiment that lead to the discovery of insulin.
Related books that might interest teens?
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside by Katrina Firlik (Random, 2006).
Great for readers interested in the day-to-day life of a surgeon.
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts (St. Martin’s Press, 1987).
A classic about so much more than medicine.
Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance by Peter Stark (Ballantine, 2001).
This book really does take my breath away. It describes in detail how the body and mind react to life-threatening situations, from hypothermia to the bends to being stung by a venomous jellyfish.
I cannot possibly leave out Richard Preston. Both The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story (Random, 1994) and The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story (Random, 2002) require subtitles because they read like thrillers.
And finally, always leave ‘em laughing: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Norton, 2003).
COOPER, Thea & Arthur Ainsberg. Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle. 306p. St. Martin’s. 2010. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-312-64870-1. LC 2010021662.
Adult/High School–Insulin really is a miracle drug, and anyone who doubts it need only read this book and look at the photographs included. One hundred years ago, most people with diabetes simply died within a fairly short time. Those who survived for any length of time literally starved themselves, existing on a few hundred calories a day, with fat, protein, and carbohydrates carefully monitored. Such was the case with 12-year-old Elizabeth Hughes. The authors alternate between the story of Hughes, daughter of President Harding’s Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, and the somewhat wild and wooly account of the temperamental team of scientists and doctors who discovered and manufactured insulin. It’s a gripping tale, made perhaps more dramatic than necessary by the authors’ decision to invent some conversations, incidents, and motives to “illustrate” the facts. These inventions are detailed in the “Notes and Sources” section at the end of the book, but appear in the text as facts. Teens with a personal interest in diabetes and those who like medical adventures will find this book fascinating.–Sarah Flowers, formerly of Santa Clara County Public Library, CA
Yesterday I wrote about memoir. Today, I present the review of a mystery written by Homer Hickam, best known for a memoir, Rocket Boys (Delacorte, 1998), which he expanded into a trilogy with The Coalwood Way (Delacorte, 2000) and Sky of Stone (Delacorte, 2001).
He may not be writing memoir, but he’s still writing what he knows. Hickam is himself an amateur paleontologist, has spent time searching for fossils in Montana, and counts two Tyrannosaurus Rexes among his discoveries.
HICKAM, Homer. The Dinosaur Hunter: A Novel. 311p. St. Martin ’s/Thomas Dunne Bks. 2010. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-38378-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Penned by the author of the memoir Rocket Boys (Delacorte, 1998; made into the movie October Sky), The Dinosaur Hunter brings a larger-than-life cast of characters to the Montana back lands. Mike Wire, a Los Angeles detective turned cowboy, works alongside his hard-as-the-land boss Jeanette, who rules Mike and the Square C ranch with a heart of gold. Enter paleontologist Dr “Pick” Pickford with his assistants, the capable Laura and the beautiful Russian Tanya, who are looking for dinosaur bones. The mayor and her husband want some of the action, and the neighbors up the road aren’t whom they seem to be. Bring in the Russian Mob and a pair of teen lovers, throw in the requisite survivalists–a part of Big Country lore and legend–and you have the makings of a great murder mystery in rural Montana . The unpredictable landscape and the painstaking work of an archeological dig are the backdrops for this story about greed, love, the search for truth–and the discovery of a set of dinosaur bones worth millions of dollars. Mike knows and understands the vagaries of the local weather and applies its lessons to his understanding of human behavior. Ever the detective, he’s ready to investigate when things don’t add up. While this book takes its time in dishing out the mystery, there’s something in here for most teens: ranching kids will identify with the physical and cultural landscape, city kids might be fascinated by how rural kids live, and teens with an interest in archaeology will find the descriptions of the archaeological dig informative and fascinating.–Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
I couldn’t resist this combination, so I am offering two reviews today.
Beginning with our first cooking title, which has a great cover — is there anything teens love more than cupcakes? (Having survived a literary club student bake sale last week, I can confidently say there is not.)
Then continuing with a mysterious and haunting novel about a girl who can taste emotions in food. I added this book to our library collection at the beginning of the school year, and the first student checked it out before I had a chance to recommend it. (It was on display so I assume the cover attracted attention.) Since then word of mouth has kept it moving; at least two different readers passed it directly to friends.
I find this interesting because Lemon Cake is particularly hard to pigeonhole or describe. I re-read it as soon as I finished the first time, and decided that each reader would need to interpret events for him or herself. One student asked to discuss it a couple weeks ago; she wanted me to tell her what happened to Rose’s brother. Eventually we agreed that we couldn’t know exactly (the student had some very interesting ideas of her own), but that we really like the book anyway. How often can you say that??
SANDLER, Lori. The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious! 156p. St. Martin’s. 2010. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-60528-5. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Divvies, a New York bakery, was created as a labor of love for the author’s son who was born with severe food allergies. Hating the idea that her son, or any child, was excluded when it came to eating treats, Sandler experimented for years to come up with baked goods that are peanut, tree-nut, dairy, and egg free. Her approach is cheerful and positive, for as she says, two ingredients can be found in all the recipes–“a pound of patience and a heaping helping of humor.” The book begins with a listing of necessary ingredients for the pantry, the refrigerator, and the freezer. Also included are a list of equipment and some “baking basics.” Recipes are divided into four sections that focus on times when food plays an important role, including “Sweets That Make the Schoolhouse Rock” and “It’s Your Party!” Some ingredients used are dairy-free margarine, soy milk, and silken tofu. The Divvies Famous Chocolate Cupcakes (as seen on the Martha Stewart show) include vinegar, which is an egg substitute and which makes for a moist and tasty cupcake. Recipes are easy to follow. There are only eight pages of photos which seems a bit slight. Purchase where cookbooks are in demand.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
BENDER, Aimee. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. 292p. Doubleday. 2010. Tr $25.95. ISBN 978-0-385-50112-5. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Rose is about to turn nine when she tastes her mother’s feelings in a practice birthday cake, a hollow, lonely, needy unhappiness. From then on, she tastes feelings in everything she eats, and even learns to sift through each ingredient until she can tell where it comes from and whether it is organic. At its heart, this is a coming-of-age story about a girl who must learn to cope with her unusual ability alone, knowing that she will never get any help from her self-absorbed family. The mother is hiding an affair. The father is mostly absent. The brilliant older brother is withdrawn. It’s hardly surprising that she develops a crush on her brother’s best friend, the only one who pays her much attention. The strangeness of the abilities (for Rose is hardly the only one in her family who suffers from one) will keep curious teens invested, but this is not a fast read. The story is intriguing, well plotted, and anchored in Los Angeles, just south of Sunset. Like all good coming of age tales, this one leaves readers hoping that the protagonist will find a way to use her unique talent in a meaningful way. As such, Lemon Cake satisfies, but it leaves a lingering taste of emptiness and nostalgia in its wake. Not all of its questions are answered, and readers will find themselves thinking about the book long after finishing it.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
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.
