Story of a Girl

Zarr, Sara. Story of a Girl: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: Story of a Girl is a coming of age story of Deanna Lambert.  Since losing her virginity in the back of Tommy Webber's Buick in eighth grade and her dad finding her with him in the act, her reputation has been shot.  Her father no longer trusts her or even looks at her, boys at school label her as being easy and make horrible comments and she constantly looks at her life in a manner of "if I was a different kind of girl."  The only bright spots in her life is her brother Darren, his girlfriend Stacy, their daughter April, and her two friends Jason and Lee.  The story follows Deanna's life as she eventually grows into being the kind of girl she always wanted to be but wouldn't allow herself to become. 

At points I found myself wanting to yell at Deanna for being so childish and seeming to blame others for her situation in life.  No, it is not fair for boys to grab at you in the mall, but because they have this opinion of you does not mean you need to have it herself.  I was happy at the end of the story how Deanna stopped saying how she would act if she was a certain kind of girl and instead started acting like it.  This was a great coming of age story, one I think any young girls may be able to relate with (even those who were not labeled as being easy).  

Author Facts: Sara Zarr was born in 1970 in Cleveland, OH.  She reads all mail she is sent and even writes back (something not many authors have time to do).  In 2010 she was a judge for the National Book Award. 

Author Website: http://www.sarazarr.com/

My True Love Gave To Me

Perkins, Stephanie, ed. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories. New York, New York: St Martin's Griffin, 2014. Print.

Genre: Short Stories (realistic fiction and some fantasy)

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction: I read this book alongside several others over the last week, taking in bits and pieces at a time to help prepare myself for the holiday season, finishing it on Thanksgiving.  There were stories taking place everywhere possible.  My favorite was in the North Pole with Natty, adopted by Santa, who has a crush on Flynn one of the elves written by Jenny Han.  Another featured Hanukkah, and a misfit student in college finding home over the Simpsons and latkes on the last day of Hanukkah.  Still others took place on New Years, giving hope and new starts to live.  

Each of these stories has a perfect fit in the collection as they all seem to have that feeling of hope-filled anticipation the holidays often bring.  Amid the longer novels I have been reading for this class and other homework that has been gracing itself with my time it was nice to have a reason for short breaks that I would not get hooked into reading for hours on end.  

Author (Editor) Facts: Stephanie Perkins is an author of teen fiction novels who lives in Ashville, North Carolina.  She counts as both editor and author for this book, as one of the short stories was by her, but she did the editing as well.  She and her husband live in a house that is nearly a hundred years old with many different colored rooms.  They have a cat named Mr. Tumnus. She used to be a librarian before becoming an author and believes stories should always have more kissing.  

Author (Editor) Website: http://www.stephanieperkins.com/books.html

A Little Something Different

Hall, S. (2014). A little something different: Fourteen viewpoints, one love story. New York, New York: Swoon Reads.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 13 and older

Personal Reaction: This book was so good!  As the title states, it was written in fourteen viewpoints, including a bench, a squirrell, a bus driver, Starbucks barista and even a waitress at a local diner.  This is a cute, innocent love story between Gabe and Lea students in a creative writing class together.  There are the typical misunderstandings and similarities of personality that makes this novel hilarious at times. 

Author Facts: Sandy Hall is a teen librarian in New Jersey.  She has her MLS from Rutgers University and a BA in Communication.  One of her favorite books is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

Author Website:  http://www.swoonreads.com/a/Sandy.Hall/Je8wSv

The Chocolate War

Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war: A novel. New York: Pantheon Books.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction: Jerry is seen as a trouble maker by many of the teachers in his school as well as the mob, the Vigils.  He finds himself beaten up, threatened, picked on by many students because he refuses to sell chocolate bars for the school's fundraiser.  As the story unfolds it is easy to feel strongly for Jerry, hoping he will not give in to social pressure.  

This was a difficult book to get into.  I found it hard to devour, though once I was over halfway through I wanted to know what happened.  The corruption in the school system was hard to believe in some ways, though in others-I know it does happen.  I am happy to have finally read The Chocolate War though don't see myself running out to purchase all of Cormier's books.  

Author Facts: Robert Cormier was born in 1925 in Leominster, Massaschutes.  He had seven siblings and while his family moved often they never left their hometown. In seventh grade he realized his desire to be a writer while attending St Cecilia's Parochial School. 

Author Website: Robert Cormier does not have a website, but there is a wikipedia page for him here.

The Fault in Our Stars

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York, New York: Dutton Childrens, 2012. Print.

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: The Fault in Our Stars is the story of Hazel Grace and Augustus.  They both have terminal cancer and meet in cancer support group in a local church.  In time they fall in love and become best friends.  The story follows their courtship and their trek to visit Van Houten, Hazel's favorite author.  

This is one of those bitter sweet books where you love to see the romance blossom between Hazel and Augustus.  However, in the end Augustus dies a slow and painful death and readers have the loss of a favorite character to wrestle with.  John Green wrote another amazing novel, filled with hope and heartache, friendship and grief.  

Author Facts: John Green was born in 1977.  He graduated from high school in Alabama and got a BA from Kenyon college.  He recommends trusting critics and telling friends stories when they get bored in order to become a better author. 

Author Website: http://johngreenbooks.com/

Forever

Blume, Judy. Forever ...: A Novel. Scarsdale, N.Y.: Bradbury, 1975. 

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: Forever is the story of Katherine and Michael and of first love.  They meet, fall in love and become obsessed with one another in the way only star-crossed teenagers can.  The controversial part many parents seem to be concerned with is have sex, the first time for Katherine, the second for Michael.  

The story was good, but lacked the depth some other teen fiction stories seem to have-although this may be because while reading it I was searching for reasons I would censor this novel for my class.  I would definitely recommend it to teenagers, though would probably be sure they would not be in trouble if they read it, prior to being the one to give it to them.  All in all, this was a good novel. 

Author Facts: Judy Blume grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey creating stories in her head, now writing them and having them published.  Blume founded and The Kids Fund, an educational foundation.  She now lives on islands up and down the east coast.  

Author Website: http://www.judyblume.com/

An Abundance of Katherines

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. New York, NY: Dutton, 2006. 

Intended Audience: Ages 13 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: I read An Abundance of Katherines shortly after reading The Fault in Our Stars and while I loved the story, it did not elicit the emotional turmoil of the Hazel Grace and Augustus.  Colin, a child prodigy, has his heart broken by the nineteenth girl named Katherine, not Catherine, not Katharine, but Katherine.  While he hadn't intentionally dated nineteen girls of the same name, somehow he did and after having his heart broken so many times his best friend Hassan decides to take him on a road trip to get over his breakup. 

On their trip Colin attempts to create an equation to predict relationships and their chance of success.  Both he and Hassan find themselves in the middle of Gunshot, Tennessee and get jobs working to document the lives of residents.  They make friends with Lindsay, Katrina and the other Colin (TOC) and reinvent themselves along the way.  

Author Facts: John Green has a brother named Hank he began communicating with with via videoblogs on YouTube in 2007.  This started a group of nerdfighters who seek to fight for intellectualism and decrease worldwide suck, as well as raising money to help fight poverty.  In school Green was often nerdy and wished to be popular, though never managed to succeed at.  Instead he read a lot, spend a lot of time alone and listened to people's conversations.  

Author Website: http://johngreenbooks.com/

Just Listen

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen: A Novel. New York: Viking Children's, 2006.

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: Since my first Sarah Dessen book, she has become one of my favorite authors.  In turn, Just Listen has become one of my favorite novels, one I will be sure to give to every teenager possible. This is the story of Anabel, how she began to find herself after losing her friends and learned the importance of music, honesty and friendship.  

Anabel starts the school year without any friends.  She had a falling out with Sophie over the summer and now everyone hates her, in part because she doesn't want to tell the truth about what happened.  Anabel becomes friends with Owen and together they become the weird kids who spend so much time listening to music, telling the truth and eating at a diner that smells like bacon.  She learns the importance of telling the truth and being honest, even when she doesn't know how.  

Author Facts: Sarah Dessen grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and has been writing for as long as she can remember.  She wrote her first book after college while working at the Flying Burrito, instead of getting a "real job," probably for the best since it means she is now a best-selling author.  Dessen makes a mean bean salad and loves to play in her garden, though she doesn't always manage to keep her plants alive.  

Author Website: http://sarahdessen.com/

The Sea of Tranquility

Millay, Katja. The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel. New York, New York: Atria Paperback, 2013. 

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction: The Sea of Tranquility was one of those books you have a hard time letting go of after reading it.  The first time I read it I had a book hangover for two weeks and had to reread it before I could go on.  The book is beautifully written, the language is full of such beautiful descriptions and dialogue I couldn't put it down.

This is the story of Nastya, formerly known as the Brighton Piano Girl, a teenager who will not speak and whose hand will no longer allow her to play piano.  It is also the story of Josh Bennett, a young man whose family is gone, one who loves building furniture in his garage and excels at woodworking.  These two, and others, learn to love, to trust and the importance of family.  They find who they are, but also how they fit in society and fit in the world, despite their brokenness

Author Facts: When Katja Millay began writing The Sea of Tranquility, she didn't plan on it necessarily becoming a book, she simply had a story in her head she needed to write down on scraps of paper.  This is Millay's first book and was originally self published.  In 2013 her novel was published in paperback by Simon/Schuster/Atria Paperback.  

Author Website:  Katja Millay does not have a specific website but her twitter can be found here, her goodreads blog can be seen here, and her facebook is available here.  

Sunrise Over Fallujah

Myers, Walter Dean. Sunrise Over Fallujah. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.

Intended Audience: Ages 14 and older

Genre: Historical Fiction

Personal Reaction: Sunrise Over Fallujah was an extremely difficult, but good, read.  In it the life of Birdie is followed through his time spent serving his country.  The story takes place in Iraq, Fallujah, and Baghdad at the time when Saddam Hussein fell.  The title comes from when Birdie killed the first time, knowing for sure it was his bullet that did the damage.  

Since I vividly remember watching on the news the day Saddam Hussein fell and fearing friends would be drafted if the war became bigger than it was, this story was close to my heart.  I have friends and family who have seen combat, and several who are currently serving in our armed forces who are not currently in combat zones.  It helped me appreciate what our service men and women do to protect our country, and gave understanding to what many must deal with upon returning home.  

Author Facts: Walter Dean Myers lived 76 years, passing from this world in July of 2014.  He wrote more than 100 books in his 45 years writing.  He was born in West Virginia but eventually settled in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

Author Website: http://walterdeanmyers.net/

Under the Mesquite

McCall, G. (2011). Under the mesquite. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Intended Audience: 12+

Genre: Poetry: Realistic Fiction

Personal Reaction:  Under the Mesquite was a beautifully written story of a young girl named Lupita.  She was the oldest of many children and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  Throughout the story we learn how she copes with the news and helps her parents care for her siblings.  Lupita uses drama to help express her emotions and finds she has a gift for poetry and writing in addition to acting.

This was a touching novel that was so easy to read.  I could feel the ache of Lupita and annoyance as her mother grew sicker and her siblings lacked maturity.  When her mother died we could feel the brokenness she felt.  Mccall wrote this novel in verse, allowing her to focus on the emotions and plot much more than dialogue and irrelevant setting. 

Author Facts: Guadalupe Garcia Mccall is known as Loop by her friends.  She loves the outdoors, which one may guess after reading her books which beautifully paint pictures of what happens outside.  She loves to think about life and growing up when she writes, trying to give meaning to these experiences.  

Author Website: http://www.guadalupegarciamccall.com/

Wintergirls

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. New York: Viking, 2009.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 13 and older

Personal Reaction: Wintergirls was a book I both loved and hated.  In it, we learn the story of Lia, a teenager whose friend Cassie just died from bulimia. Lia deals with her own eating disorder and is haunted by Cassie throughout the story.  Her family life is difficult, partly because of her problems and partly because her parents are divorced and don't always pay the best attention to her.

This book was depressing and had very little hope or happiness until the last chapter.  In that sense, it was a difficult read and I am not sure I would have finished it, had it not been required for class.  However, the writing style was wonderful, Anderson showed the number of calories Lia was consuming by putting the numbers in parentheses.  She had words crossed out when Lia thought one thing but attempted to not and at one point had two entire blank pages to emphasize what was happening in the story.  While I would not necessarily hand this book to someone to read, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about mental and eating disorders.

Author Facts: Laurie Halse Anderson hates it when people pronounce her last name incorrectly (Halse rhymes with waltz).  She married her childhood sweetheart and they live in Northern New York with their four children and dog.  Anderson leaves a charmed life, running, gardening and writing in a cottage her husband built for her to write in.

Author Website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Vizzini, Ned. It's Kind of a Funny Story. New York: Baker and Taylor, 2006.


Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 15 and older

Personal Reaction to the book:  I wanted to love this book.  I really did.  I enjoyed the writing, I enjoyed the plot, I even loved some of the lines enough to share them with others, but it was a difficult book for me to want to get back to reading.  The plot was enjoyable, Craig finds he is depressed and wants to kill himself, he checks himself into the hospital for suicide watch after calling the suicide hotline.  Craig makes friends while there and realizes that life is worth living, ending the book with the line “So now life for real, Craig. Live. Live. Live. Live. Live(Vizinni, 444).” 

The most lasting part of this book was how Vizzini shows whether you live with depression or not sometimes life is about managing, not being cured of our ailments.  All people have problems and part of living is learning how to deal with them.  In the book Craig says to a friend “Everybody has problems.  Some people just hide their crap better than others (Vizzini, 366).  I really appreciate that line because this is one so many people need to hear and one Craig eventually needed to believe in order to decide to live.  

Author Facts: Ned Vizzini was born in 1981 in New York.  In his twenties he spent five days in a psychiatric hospital in 2004 and during the following days wrote this book.  Vizzini struggled with depression for his 32 years and in the end took his life, unable to conquer the thing he wrote about.  

Author Website: Vizinni’s website used to be found at http://www.nedvizzini.com/ but appears to have since been removed.  Information about him can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Vizzini .

 

Sweethearts

Zarr, S. (2008). Sweethearts. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction: I suspect this will be a book that stays with me for a long time.  The language was beautiful and the words well chosen.  Jennifer Harris meets up with Cameron Quick after eight years of thinking he was dead.  His arrival changes her life, it brings back memories from their childhood, of abuse she had attempted to suppress and how she was bullied as a child.  Jennifer had grown up, lost weight, changed her name to Jenna Vaughn, had a step-father added to her family and now had friends.

I was encouraged to read a story that had supportive parental roles.  Jennifer/Jenna's mother and step-father were a part of her life and the concerns that arose were rather believable.  They listened to their daughter, they helped her and also took care of Cameron when needed.  While the ending was not perfect, it did leave readers feeling and longing for the characters.

Author Facts: Sara Zarr is a busy woman.  She lives in Salt Lake City, UT with her husband.  In addition to writing novels for young adults Zarr hosts a podcast called This Creative Life and teaches creative writing at Lesley University for their Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. Her next novel is expected to release in fall of 2015.

Author Website: http://www.sarazarr.com/

The Pigman

Zindel, Paul.  The Pigman. New York: Harper Collins, 1987.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction to the book: Lorainne and John become friends with Mr. Pignati when Lorainne calls him as a prank and goes to his home to collect money he was giving for charity.  From the very beginning of the book we realize Mr. Pignati would eventually die, but I was unsure of what to expect otherwise. As with many teen novels the parents of Lorainne and John were a very small part of the story.  The friendship between them and Pigman begins and ends in a zoo with Bobo a mean baboon.

I found this book to be quite hope filled, despite the death of Pigman and the trust that was lost between him and Lorainne and John.  It seems as though despite the loss of his wife, Mr. Pignati worked to make the best of every opportunity in his life.  Mr. Pignati offered to give ten dollars to a charity and befriended two young kids, he rode rollerblades through his home, he ate chocolate covered ants.

Author Facts: Paul Zindel was born on Staten Island and later majored in Chemistry while still living on Staten Island.  Zindel taught high school chemistry and physics for ten years and later decided to write full time.  At the age of 66 Zindel died of cancer, after writing numerous plays and books.

Author Website: http://www.paulzindel.com/bio/nytimesobit.htm

The Outsiders

Hinton, S. (1967). The Outsiders. New York: Dell Publishing.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 12 and older

Personal Reaction: While I am not sure I would say I would recommend The Outsiders to the entire world, I found myself quite impressed with it.  Perhaps it is my rural upbringing, but having the "greasers" and "Socs" was never a problem in my high school.

The beginning of this novel was difficult to lose myself in, it seemed to start in the middle of the story, which needed more attention.  However, before long I found myself caring about what happened to Ponyboy and Johnny and unable to put it down.  It was hard to watch Johnny having killing Bob, not really meaning to, and having to live with the consequences.

Overall the greatest part I took away from The Outsiders is how much can happen in the span of a week.  Ponyboy and his brothers had a stronger relationship, he and Johnny ran away from the law, two of his friends died and he began writing his story.  While it may seem extreme how quickly events occurred in this novel, when you are only fourteen life does change in such a short span of time.

Author Facts: S.E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders when she was only sixteen years old.  After writing The Outsiders she had a three year writing block and her boyfriend made her write two pages a day which later became That Was Then, This Is Now.  Hinton now has a dog and a horse, she loves horseback riding.

Author's Website: http://www.sehinton.com/

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack

Kerr, M.E. (1972). Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack. New York: HarperTempest.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Intended Audience: Ages 13 and older

Personal Reaction of the Book: Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack begins with a cat in need of adoption and the friendship that blossoms because of Nader, the cat.  Tucker puts up a sign for Nader to be adopted and Dinky answers, the two become friends as Tucker goes to the Hocker residence for visitation.  While there are several references younger readers may not catch (such as politicians and other public figures) I found this to be an enjoyable coming of age story. 

The tone of the novel was light, though many serious issues were discussed.  The friends encounter problems of drug use, obesity, mental heath, job loss and politics, realizing the importance of each.  It is easy to see why this book won the many awards. 

Author Facts: M.E. Kerr is the pen name for Marijane Meaker during her writing of novels for young adults.  While she has written many young adult novels, Dinky Hocker was her first.  During her school years, Meaker begged her mother to allow her to attend Stuart Hall School, a boarding school in Staunton, VA.

Author’s Website: http://balkinbuddies.com/kerr/index.html

Say What You Will

McGovern, C. (2014). Say what you will. New York: HarperTeen.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Intended Audience: ages 14 and older

Personal reaction of the book: This is the first of Cammie McGovern’s books I have read and I found it to be quite an emotional ride.  Amy and Matthew become friends when Amy’s mother decides to pay students to help her with her senior year of high school instead of the adult aides she had for years prior.  Amy wants to learn how to make friends and as the book opens we find her trying to convince Matthew to be one of her peer helpers. 

I found myself surprised at the twists the story took, and in many ways I found it reminiscent of Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.  The book covered many serious issues while remaining hopeful and serious.  

Author Facts: Cammie McGovern is married with three children, her oldest son has autism.  She helped start Whole Children, a grassroots organization offering opportunities for special needs kids and teens to have enrichment programs and fill other gaps the school system often fails to do.  In her spare time she began working elections. 

Website: http://www.cammiemcgovern.com/