Bone Gap - Laura Ruby

Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap. New York: Balzer+Bray, 2015.

What a lovely book, a bit magical and fantastical with lovely characters who are nothing but real. I have no recollection why I added this book to my order; it is SUCH a long journey from choosing to ordering to arriving, but I am truly glad that I did. This story of the missing Roza and Finn who witnessed her departure - of his brother Sean who loved her will sneak into your heart and demand your attention.  The suspense builds slowly. We meet bullies, and Priscilla who prefers to be called Petey. We get to know the friends and neighbors who populate the small, rural town of Bone Gap. And we get short, bone chilling glimpses the the man who’s stolen Roza away. A difficult book for me to summarize simply, but well worth the read.

I love Finn. He surely struggles with a community who thinks he is just not all quite there. He is bullied and initially seems to even invite the physical pain to distract him from his emotional pain. He is drawn to Petey, a young, complex keeper of bees. He wishes his brother would forgive him for letting Roza go, but doesn’t fully understand why Sean doesn’t search for her.  He embraces the magical horse that appears in his barn, and his fully absorbed in the magical rides the horse gives him. I felt a quiet joy in watching him grow and change throughout the course of his story.  The love story between Finn and Petey is a slow burn, but beautifully rendered.

This novel is a lovely choice for talented readers and aspiring writers.  The language here is phenomenal. I could just as easily turn this into a learning activity for my AP students: imagery, figurative language, diction. I have already had the privilege of talking about it with one of my best readers. She agrees with my assessment that the read is an excellent one. She, too, enjoyed the relationships in the novel. She was a bit more frustrated than I with the blurring between fantasy and reality.   She just wanted a few more answers.  But I like that she was passionate and intrigued enough to want them. I believe she will help me share this out with some more readers. The kids are my best took in talking books.

As an aside, I think a great deal about how we classify and label books.  This title has been reviewed as a YA one, and certainly I'll be using it in my 7-12 library. But, when I talk to my adult friends who love to read, I will surely be recommending this one. 


first & then - Emma Mills

Mills, Emma. first & then. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015.

 

Jane Austen and Devon Tennyson, a very modern YA lady.  Could be the perfect storm of a book for this Literature teaching librarian. (And yes, I did mean to capitalize “literature.” If E.D. can do it…)

Devon is a sassy girl, and it’s probably a good thing that she is. Her cousin has come to live with her family after being abandoned by his own mom.  Devon is used to being an only child, and Foster is uniquely individual, making his presence in her life a challenge at home and at school.  Her best friend, her secret crush, really seems to be crushing on someone else.  And Ezra, the very quiet, somewhat taciturn star football player is becoming intertwined in her life in ways that are unexpected, and perhaps unwelcome? But Devon channels her inner Jane Austen and her own brand of sass and takes on her world anyway.

At first, I wasn’t sure about this book, and Mills just lured me in.  I thought it was going to be one dimensional.  I remember being eager to purchase this because of the allusions to Austen, and then as I started I was a bit lukewarm, but the layers.  Foster is just the coolest kid.  He belongs in the canon of cool kids in YA literature who are dealing with some level of the autism or asperger’s spectrum.  He brings out the best in the folks around him, and just insists on being himself in a way that most young (& old) readers can learn from.  I enjoyed getting to know Ezra along with Devon.  How can you ultimately not love a young man who will read both Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice in an effort to get the girl.

So, my kids will like that this book is edgy and real.  They will like that Devon is real and struggles and doesn’t always do the right thing or even know what the right thing is. They will like the reality of teenage relationships and parties and relationships.  They will relate to the struggle of family, the desire to please and the desire to stretch wings.  I will like that they will be learning to accept, enjoy, even admire the differences among people.  I will like that they are being reminded to look beyond the surface and get to know reality.  And I will surely hope that one or maybe event two or three will pick up some Jane Austen to see what Devon what talking about.

I will be focusing on my older girls for this as it seems more suited for them.  I can talk about other classic mashups, which I haven’t done a whole lot of before. I have both Jane and Catherine by April Lindner that are retellings, and I know that I can stretch my brain to find some more protagonists who admire a classic novelist...why I love, just love my job!

And while you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I do love this cover...look at it!

Oribiting Jupiter - Gary Schmidt

Schmidt, Gary. Orbiting Jupiter. New York: Clarion Books, 2015.

Beautiful and heartbreaking, this book.  When I finally got to start it, I couldn’t put it down. The story of Joseph and Jack, their friendship cannot be summarized easily.  Joseph comes to live with Jack and his family as a foster child.  At 14, he has seen more of the world than most.  He is the victim of an abusive father; he has spent a painful time in juvenile detention. But for an all too brief of time, Joseph knew love.  He and Maddie experienced love beyond their years.  The result tragic, but for a beautiful baby girl.  Joseph’s goal? To be a father to that little girl. This expectation is largely unreal, but the farm and the family where he is staying gives him proof that love his real and that hope is an option. He loves the cows who soften his pain, the parents who are infinitely patient, and the foster brother who has his back.

Much about this story will break the heart. The bullies are painfully real.  Some of the adults are needlessly cruel. The system is in many respects broken. While I am a young adult librarian, I would consider this a must read for many adults.  The book functions as a call to change - a call to better nurture and protect our kids.

The hope is beautiful.  The teachers who work together to help him realize his potential are beautifully rendered.  As a teacher, I love meeting them. A compassionate librarian. The smile count...the ice skating...the walking to school...the bond between brothers. These are real boys

Gary Schmidt does not make it easy.  He challenges my kids-always-to think. I love to introduce him to them, and I can’t wait to talk Orbiting Jupiter.  So many students are drawn to kids who struggle, in both fiction and nonfiction.  Dave Pelzer books circulate like crazy and often disappear. I know this title will resonate with these kids. I can talk about this new book in this light.  Schmidt’s own Okay For Now made me both laugh and cry, and I can certainly just place this new title with his other work.  I just love smart authors who write smart books for smart kids.  

 

Things We Know By Heart - Jessi Kirby

Kirby, Jessi. Things We Know By Heart. New York: Harper Teen, 2015.

Oh my girls will love this love story.  They are drawn to heartbreak, and Quinn’s heart is definitely broken when the novel begins. She has lost her boyfriend Trent in a stunning car accident, and after years with him, she is having trouble beginning again. She finds some comfort in knowing that because Trent was an organ donor, he has changed a series of lives for the better. And if she can meet these folks, she does.

Trent’s heart though. She hasn’t made the kind of contact that she needs with the heart recipient. So she reads and researches and tracks down Colton via his sister’s blog, Violating all the rules of organ donorship, she finds him, meets him, and...falls in love. And surely my girls will be drawn to this love story.  Gentle and precious, set against the backdrop of sun and surf.

And for the girls who are in love with love, they will also see a broken heart come to term with its grief.  a family who loves and supports, and the risks and chances associated with coming of age.

I love for my girls to see strength and growth, and couched in the kind of romance they are drawn to, this will be an easy sell.  Quinn is rendered as real as my students.  Her strengths and weaknesses are explored honestly but with compassion. Colton sets a fine example of overcoming adversity and embracing life as well. That he keeps his own secrets and is, perhaps, a bit careless of his newfound life make him a believable teenage boy.

This will work well in several areas in terms of book talks.  Summer reads we have done, and this fits there. I have already Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel which explores organ donation.  I feel like my girls who already love McDaniel will love this title.  I also like to group some books about graduates in the spring to inspire my older girls. I look forward to getting this circulating in the new year!