Tough Stuff: After by Amy Efaw

There are hard hitting topics that never get mentioned or talked about. There are terrible things that teenagers do that adults don't know how to respond to. In this series of posts I'll be mentioning books geared towards teenagers that deal with "tough stuff": suicide, abortion, eating disorders, gang violence, and rape. We can't pretend that this kind of stuff goes over teens' heads. These books approach the issues and give understanding and show preventative measures.

After

Devon is an athlete with Olympic dreams. She is a straight A student and known for being a responsible member of her community. Despite being raised by a single mother who constantly seemed to have priorities other than raising her daughter, Devon is a model student. That is until the day her world is changed. Devon stays home sick from school and is on the couch disoriented when her mother comes home. Cops knock on the door informing Devon's mother that they found a baby in a dumpster nearby and asks if they could have a look around the apartment.

Devon has done the unthinkable and the question this book answers, what happens After? She is in a detention center and going through a court trial for attempted murder. How does her defense make a case? Why did she do it? At what lengths does she go to deny it all... even to herself?

This is an incredible read. It is absolutely riveting, you can't stop turning the pages. I have to say that it is a gut-wrenching topic but it is SO fascinating to see Efaw's take on it. We get to see what lead Devon to this even if it is heartbreaking you begin to understand her and even relate to how she felt. Brilliantly written!! It is a dark book with a dark subject but ultimately a worthwhile read.

That's all for now!

Signing Off,

Reader Girl

Sci-Fi Books We Love: Ally Condie's Matched

Back from a five day hiatus and ready to talk about a delightful book I reread over the weekend. I was in Illinois and spent an evening reading my book. Also I just found out today that I will be teaching eighth grade next year and could not be happier about it! Now onto our next bout of Dystopian Fiction!

Book I: Matched

Cassia lives in a world where society finds your optimal "match" and starting at age 17 you have the possibility of being matched. Cassia knows the probability of being matched on your birthday is miniscule. So you can imagine Cassia's surprise when she is summoned right after her birthday to go into town with her mother and father to be matched. Cassia finds relief in the fact that her best friend Xander has also been summoned, the matching ceremony generally finds the matchees a bundle of nerves. When it is Cassia's turn to be matched she goes to the stage and waits for the screen to light up with her match because chances are he lives in another community and has to be shown on a screen by satellite, and the screen turns black. It turns black because her match is in the room. When they call Xander's name Cassia can hardly believe her luck. She goes home to look at Xander's match card and when she opens it... it is not Xander's face she sees but another boy from her community, Ky. An official comes to tell her that the officials made a mistake and give her Xander's card. According to the official and Cassia all is remedied. However, she begins to notice Ky and it seems for the first time he also begins to notice her too. It seems the community can match everyone with unparalleled accuracy however when they make a "mistake" what does that really mean for Cassia, Ky, and Xander? Do you have choices or is everything chosen for you?

I can't wait to see what happens next in Condie's next

installment coming out November 2011!

Book II: Crossed

That's all for now!

Signing off,

Reader Girl

Sci-Fi Books We Love: Scott Westerfeld Uglies

About three years ago I was sitting in one of my education classes in college and talking about books with some of the people around me. It was a teaching Reading through Literature class and we had a habit of talking about the books we really liked. The girl behind me said she had just read this series that had blown her mind.

The series was called "Uglies". It's a series of four books its another book of what has come to be known in the YA World as Dystopic Fiction or Dystopian Fiction. The librarian at a local middle school and I noticed the overflowing bounty of books like this and we took a minute to think "why would these books be so popular now"?

Its a question I will answer in my next blog but for now.... The books!

Book I: Uglies

The book opens and we meet Tally, a young girl desperate to join her friend Peris in New Pretty Town. However Tally is only fifteen and thereby, an ugly. She will receive surgery to be turned pretty when she reaches sixteen. When you are sixteen you are given an operation in which doctors decide what your face will look like, they make you symmetrical, thin, and they give a show stopping beauty. She longs for that day and spends time making up what her new face would look like. Tally longs for the days when she and Peris would turn tricks together. Uglies have a habit of playing all sorts of pranks and tricks that are very "bubbly". However when she meets Shay, another Ugly with the same birthday as Tally, everything changes. Shay also like to play tricks that are very "bubbly" however hers consist of going to something called the "Rusty Ruins" and meeting a very mysterious boy named David. Shay has an entirely new adventure in store for Tally that she isn't exactly ready for because Shay wants something Tally has never even considered. Shay doesn't want to turn pretty. Shay thinks she is fine just the way she is... the question is, can she convince Tally that there is a choice? What in fact is the real cost of beauty?

Book II: Pretties

Again we find ourselves in the company of Tally, Shay, Peris and a few new friends including the strikingly handsome and unique looking Zane. Tally finds herself in New Pretty Town. She is happy all the time and loves going to the latest parties in the coolest outfits. However she also has a desperate desire to join Shay's Pretty Town clique, The Crims. Crim is short for criminal and they are of the few pretties who still play tricks and have adventures so that they can feel "Bubbly". She finds herself left with Zane a lot and comes to see him as an ally of sorts. He is the one person who understands her internal conflict sometimes. He understands that sometimes its like you think more clearly when you have a certain rush of adrenaline and he wonders what it would be like to feel that way all the time. He and Tally set out on a mission to find a way to feel the "clarity" that being bubbly brings them. It is then that they meet some old friends who can tell them all about the clarity they have been missing.

There are two more books in the series "Specials" and "Extras" neither of which I can really talk about without giving too much away about the first two!

They are exciting books that really take a look at the importance of finding beauty in what is real and natural.

Thats all for now!

Signing off,

Reader Girl

Books of Summer: Sarah Dessen

So as I shared before I love Sarah Dessen novels! I find they are like a good wine and get better with age. It seems the first ones I read by her are my favorites but I think its only because I have read them so many times. So here they are my top two! Tomorrow I will post my next to favorites by Sarah Dessen and then we'll change it up with another favorite YA author of mine.

This Lullaby

Basically about a girl who doesn't believe in love and has a bunch of rules as to how relationships work. Then this girl meets a guy who turns her world upside down. Now you might be thinking.... haven't I read this book? Haven't I seen this movie? Here is the thing... you may have heard the story but you've never seen anything like these CHARACTERS. Remi the main character is kick butt. She is gutsy and a little bit crazy but very sarcastic and witty. As a foil for her we have Dexter. Dexter is described as "all angles", he is charismatic, and has a way of getting under Remi's skin that just MAKES YOU LAUGH.

The Truth About Forever

For starters you should know this book will make you "Sa-Woon!". Macy is a girl who has spent the better part of the last couple years trying to be perfect. It should come as no surprise though that just when she thinks she has it all figured out, the ball drops, and she walks herself into a job catering at "Wish". While catering at Wish she forms a friendship with Kristy, Monique, Bert, and... pause for it.. Wes. **Sigh** Wes is essentially a dream. Macy describes him as "The boy all the girls want to rebel with, plus the whole tortured artist bit". Wes will woo you with his sweet humility and his irresistible charm. Wes is my favorite of all the Sarah Dessen leading men.

That is all for now!

Signing off,

Reader Girl