Posted by: John on: October 25, 2009
Sanchez, Alex. Bait. Simon & Schuster. 2009. $16.99 (9-781416-937722). Gr 7-12. How boring it would be if books were perfect; they’d leave nothing for the reader to discuss and debate. Fortunately Sanchez’ latest – about a teenage boy who has been sexually abused by his stepfather — is not perfect and, accordingly, it invites a […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Carter, Timothy, Evil? 2009. 256 p. Flux, $9.95, (9780738715391). Gr. 9-12. Stuart is a gay teen in a small, conservative Canadian town, but that’s not a problem. He summons a demon in his spare time to learn the real deal about God, but that’s not a problem either. But, when his brother discovers Stuart committing […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Katcher, Brian. Almost Perfect. 2009. 360 p. Delacorte. $17.99 (9780385736640) Gr. 10-12 When outgoing and cute Sage moves to his small Missouri town, high school senior Logan is intrigued and surprised. Still reeling from the end of his three-year relationship, he finds himself attracted to Sage even as he becomes troubled and curious about her […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Silag, Lucy. Beautiful Americans. 2009. 308 p. Razorbill, $16.99. (9781595142221). Gr. 10-12. Beautiful Americans, the first novel in a planned trilogy, offers up a slice of Americana, teen soap opera style: drama, a spoiled rich girl, parties, drama, the happy-go-lucky gay guy, drama, a mysterious girl with a scandalous past, parties, drinking, and plenty of […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Lo, Melinda. Ash. 2009. 264p. Little Brown, $16.99. (9780316040099). Gr. 8-12. Aisling, better known as Ash, is a haunting and engaging Cinderella in Malinda Lo’s new spin on the fairy tale set in a medieval realm in the twilight of its magical past. Ash spends her days acting as servant to her family while finding […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Frazer, Megan. Secrets of Truth & Beauty. 2009. 347p. Hyperion, $15.99. (978-142311711-7). Gr. 9-12. At age seven, Dara was a darling pageant winner; at 17, she has gained too much weight and anger, a fact that leads her to find the sister who ran away from home 17 years earlier on a commune that includes […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Visible: A Femmethology. 2v. Ed. Jennifer Clare Burke. 2009. 181p/171p. Homofactus Press, $19.95 ea. (9780978597344/978-0-9785973-5-1). Gr. 11-12. Through their diverse experiences, 57 contributors—female, male, and trans–challenge conventional ideas of how disability, class, nationality, race, aesthetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, body type, and age intersect with notions of femmedom to celebrate its diversity. The narratives about […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Van de Vendel, Edward & Martijn van der Linden. For You and No One Else. 2009. unp. Lemniscaat/Boyds Mills Press, $16.95. (978-1-59078-658-1). Gr. K-2. Buck is crushed when his friend, Sparklehart, uses the special gift presented to him by Buck to woo all the does but cheers up when he finds an even better gift […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Urrea, Luis Alberto. Into the Beautiful North. 2009. 342p. Little, $24.99. (978-0-316-02527-0). Gr. 10-12. One night the people in a small coastal Mexican town watch Yul Brenner; the next day, three teenage girls and a gay man plan to sneak into the United States to find seven brave men who will save their village from […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Rickards, Lynne. Pink! Il. Margaret Chamberlain. 2009. unp. Chicken House/Scholastic, $16.99. (978-0-545-08608-0). Gr. K-2. What’s a bright pink penguin to do? Well, after doctor who tells Patrick that there is nothing she can do, his father suggests he live with the pink flamingos. He can’t fit in with them because he cannot catch fish the […]