Magic and Misery
Posted by: blogando on: September 19, 2009
- In: 2009
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Marino, Peter. Magic and Misery. Holiday House, 2009. 978-0-8234-6. $17.95. Grades 8-12.
James transferred into Mungers Mills High School during his junior year and ate by himself in the cafeteria until Toni Jo–TJ–got up the gumption to introduce herself one day when she found out that it was both of their birthdays. She describes her feelings for her stunningly beautiful and incredibly pithy new friend as being “fago” a Pacific Islander word that means ” the feeling of both affection and worry for someone at the same time.” From their very first lunch together, TJ and James become great friends. An example of the humor in this book is that after James comes out during their science class he adopts the nickname, Pan, which is short for Pansy. After coming out, two bullies from the football team attack Pan physically and verbally, but he adamantly refuses to report the incidents to any of the adults in their lives. TJ worries about Pan, especially after a softer-spoken, more thoughtful and less stereotypical member of the school’s football team, Casper, asks her out and they start a relationship that excludes Pan from her life. Magic and Misery deals with a number of teen issues, including the jealousy that arises when one’s best friend gets a boyfriend or a girlfriend. The gay character in this book is portrayed in a very positive light, although it was troubling to me that he never reported the bullying that he was experiencing to the school or to the police. His response to the most violent and humilating attack was to take matters into his own hands and beat the bullies with his tennis racket, causing him to be expelled from school and being transferred to another school. The family dynamics are diverse and realistically portrayed. Even though the situations are often tense, the humor really shines through making it easy to care about what happens to the characters.
–Arla Jones
Lawrence, Kansas
Losers
Posted by: blogando on: September 1, 2009
- In: 2009
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Roth, Matthue. Losers. Scholastic Push, 2008. 9780545068932. $8.99. Grades 8 -10.
Jupiter Glazer is a loser for too many reasons to list all of them here, but to summarize: he’s from another country, he has only one friend who’s a science geek, and he lives in a factory with his family in the warehouse district of Philadelphia. He gets the opportunity to attend a fancy prep school, but he’s woefully lost. On the very first day of school, a big, scary guy named Hayes, beats the crap out of him. Hayes continues to bully him right up until the day he begs Jupiter to take him downtown to meet guys he can date. This short and sweet exploration of how kids who are different from the norm struggle through adolescence until they figure out who they are and how they fit into the universe. Jupiter’s experiences as a Russian immigrant help him to understand what his bully/friend Hayes is going through trying to find “his people.” The author, Matthue Roth, also published a memoir entitled Yom Kippur-a-go-go, which I can’t wait to read now! –Arla Jones
Tricks
Posted by: John on: August 30, 2009
- In: 2009
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Hopkins, Ellen, Tricks. Margaret K. McElderry, 2009. 9781416950073. $18.99. Grades 8 to 12.
Ellen Hopkins delivers another well-spun tale in verse with Tricks, the story of five teens led to prostitution through a series of internal and external factors. The characters are distinct and represent a broad sample of American family life. Some have struggled with poverty or bad parenting, while others have seemingly everything going for them. As much as these characters don’t have in common, they all end up in Las Vegas, selling their bodies to varying degrees and trying to reclaim their self worth. Whether they have ended up where they are out of a desparate need to escape or just a few too many bad decisions, all of them weave important lessons and deeper meaning through their verses. -John Andrews
Angry Management
Posted by: John on: August 11, 2009
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Crutcher, Chris, Angry Management. Greenwillow, 2009. 9780060502478. $16.99. Grades 7 to 11.
In this collection of three stories, assorted characters from an early morning counseling group in Eastern Washington come face to face with anger and rage. Sometimes it’s their own, as in the case of Montana West, the rebellious goth girl who channels the rage she feels toward the foster-care system and her adopted father into a fight for free expression. Sometimes it’s the rage of others, as in the story of Marcus James, the black, openly-gay genius swimmer who comes up against the bigotry of his small town on a daily basis. Featuring a broad cast of teen characters, including the extremely overweight guy with two sets of gay parents, the born-again Christian jock, and the reclusive smart girl with severe burns, Chris Crutcher delivers powerful stories with direct relevance to the lives of modern teens. -John Andrews
In Mike We Trust
Posted by: John on: August 7, 2009
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Ryan, P. E. In Mike We Trust. HarperTeen, 2009. 978-0-06-085813-1. $16.99. Grades 7 to 10.
Garth is scrawny, short, and closeted. Out only to his mother (who prefers he keep it that way) and his best friend Lisa, Garth is excited when his unconventional Uncle Mike comes for a visit. It quickly becomes apparent to Garth that his late father’s identical twin couldn’t be more different from his dad. Mike helps Garth to discover his strength, to go on his first date, and to help his mother come to terms with who her son is. Along the way, Mike also entwines Garth in a less-than-honest moneymaking scheme, and Garth must learn that family, trust, and honesty don’t always mean the same thing to different people. -John Andrews
In Your Room
Posted by: John on: August 7, 2009
- In: 2009
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Fraiberg, Jordanna, In Your Room. Razorbill, October 2008. 978-1-59514-193-4. $8.99. Grades 7 to 9.
The last thing Molly wants to do is spend the summer on her mother’s honeymoon in Boulder and Charlie could care less about Los Angeles. But, a fateful summer spent occupying each others’ rooms during their families’ house-swap brings the two closer than either had allowed themselves to become previously. Seen from both teens’ perspectives, their relationship unfolds through emails and IMs as they open up to each other about their lives and fears: Charlie’s relationships with women are shaped by sharing a home with two moms and two sisters, and Molly struggles to accept her mother’s remarriage after the death of her father. -John Andrews
Deflowered
Posted by: Laurie on: July 26, 2009
- In: 2009
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Ginoli, Jon. Deflowered. 2009 (March). 300p. Cleis Press, $16.95. (978-1-57344-343-2). Gr. 12.
Ginoli helps fill the yawning void on the history of gay rock and roll with his unfailing honest and entertaining memoir as a founding member of the Pansy Division, the first out punk band to make it on the national scene. From his childhood in Illinois to a travelogue of tour dates, Ginoli shares his experience of coming out, the homophobic music industry, and the fans that helped the Pansy Division find a voice. Musicians have a propensity for intensity and Deflowered references sex, drugs, and plenty of political activism. Whether a musician or an air guitar enthusiast, Deflowered is timely…Anyone else follow “American Idol” this season? –Laurie Spurling
King of the Screwups
Posted by: blogando on: July 26, 2009
Going, K.L. King of the Screwups. Harcourt, 2009. 978-0-15-206258-3. $17.00. Grades 8 to 12.
K.L. Going’s latest novel is a study in stereotypes, and how they really don’t necessarily apply to everyone. Liam is an extremely popular high school senior with a extremely successful executive dad and former supermodel for a mom. Liam is more like his mom–good taste in clothing exquisite social skills, and straight. Liam screws up one too many times, so after a night of binge drinking with a pretty girl, he is exiled to living in a trailer with his uncle in a tiny town in upstate New York. Fortunately for Liam, and the reader, things are not what they seem. Liam’s gay uncle is an aging glam rocker who is messy and has no fashion sense, but he does have a heart of gold. His uncle’s friends and the cute girl living next door help Liam find himself and learn to deal with his over-bearing father. You’ll find yourself cheering for Liam to work things out with his family and to realize that he’s not a screw-up, just trying to be something he’s not, which is to be like his dad.
Boy Minus Girl
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
Uhlig, Richard. Boy Minus Girl. 2008 (December). 246p. Knopf, $15.99. (978-0-375-83968-9). Gr. 8-10.
Fourteen-year-old Lester’s sole goal in life is to be successful with girls, but even the tips he reads in The Seductive Man can’t help him with his friend Charity, who reveals that she is a lesbian, and Regina, who uses him to get her boyfriend back. The mix of characters—seemingly strait-laced parents, swinger Uncle Ray, Ray’s pregnant stripper girlfriend, and the town bully—adds to the rich setting of a conservative South during the 1980s. With Lester, the reader learns that nothing is as it seems, as everyone grapples, sometimes unsuccessfully, with their own issues. Charity’s acceptance of her lesbianism is refreshing, and the protagonist gives this book a wide readership. -Nel Ward
Hunting with Barracudas
Posted by: blogando on: July 16, 2009
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Snyder, Chris. Hunting with Barracudas: My Life in Hollywood with the Legendary Iris Burton. 2009. 314p. Herman Graf Book/Skyhorse Publishing, $22.95. (978-1-60239-662-3). Gr. 11-12.
What happens when a young gay guy moves from a small upstate New York town to the glitzy world of a children’s talent agency? Snyder traces over a decade of personal angst in a cutthroat world of fame-obsessed wannabe actors and an unyielding, control-freak boss. The author openly discusses not only his struggles with clients, including River Phoenix, but also his attempt to personally deal with his gay sexuality and his difficulty in finding intimacy beyond sexual experiences. Throughout the book runs a common theme expressed by one of his statements: “I didn’t even accept me so how could I expect anyone else to accept me?” His entertaining experiences in both Hollywood and in Greece, where he operates a bed & breakfast on an isolated island for a few months, are shown in a frank and frequently humorous manner. -Nel Ward