Life as I Knew It

Angelina is part of a happy family, not without its problems but happy. Angelina is the adoring daughter of Andrea, the passionate Italian, and slightly estranged from her cold English mother. She is 16 and in love with her best friend Jax who happens to be gay. Growing up in rural Vermont she is just living her life, which is pretty good. Then her father suffers a stroke and everything changes. She feels further isolated from her mother, who is even more devote to Andrea. She struggles to accept her father in this new form. After they learn to cope again they are hit by another blow when Andrea dies suddenly of a heart attack. Angelina learns that dealing with life changing events sometimes means that everything is the same and nothing will ever be.

I liked this book especially because even though it is an “issue” book, it presents whole and loveable characters. Randi deals very well at presenting the conflicting emotions that surround illness and death. How you can for moments forget what has happened until it all comes flooding back. Neither does the author shy away from favouritism within families, and trying to accept people for who they are. Angelina’s emotions are very clearly presented and easy to empathize with. I would recommend this book for a library collection.

Age range: 13 and up

Ranking: Quality – 5/5 Popularity – 3/5

The Blue Roan Child

Syeira is a stable orphan in the kingdom of Haysele. Her mother died when she was young and she never knew her father. She is uncertain of her age she works in the King’s stables and seems to enjoy her life, especially working with the horses. Syeira is particularly fond of an Arva mare and her two colts. Arva is known for its wild horses and these were only captured because some of the King’s men managed to capture the colts. These horse were found to be too wild to be handled and are kept to themselves.

One day Ran of Stormsythe, a cruel lord, arrives to take more horses for his stable, the price of peace. When Ran leaves Syeira discovers that Ran has taken the two Arva colts. Syeira decides to free the mare and joins with her on a quest to rescue the colts. They begin their voyage hoping to intercept the ship on which the horses are being carried but that soon becomes impossible. Syeira is helped by a hackler, a roaming master horseman, who gives her balms to sooth the mare and directions of how to get to Thruckport, the capital of Stormsythe. He also helps her select a name for the mare, Arwin, after the mother of all horses.

Syeira then voyages north. She first meets Zephyra an old gypsy who knew Arwin when she was young. Next, when traveling through the great wood Syeira meets an old botanist who lives almost entirely in the past. Syeira almost falls prey to the lure of living in the past, when her mother still lived. She continues her journey to Thruckport. The city is highly defended and Syeira must leave Arwin in order to swim into the city. Syeira finds her way to the military stables but cannot find the colts.

Syeira must learn to trust the peope she meets in the cruel city in order to find a rescue the colts.

I enjoyed reading this book, even though I am not a great lover of horses. I think that if someone were really horse-mad they would love this book. I have included this book as a fantasy mainly because of how the horses communicate with Syeira using sent-images. Also the inclusion of flying horses, which are just a legend till the end of the story, plays on the fantasy elements. Overall this world is fairly recognizable for readers as a non-descripted undeveloped world. This book can be seen as choppy as some of the adventures do not play into the overarching storyline of Syeira’s quest. I, however, enjoyed the way in which the book was written. The voyage that Syeira takes did not seem overly long and plodding.

Age Range: 12 plus

Ranking: Quality – 3/5 Popularity – 3/5

The Golden Compass

So I have to summarize the plot of The Golden Compass in a paragraph. There’s this girl who lives in a universe where your soul exists in two parts. One inside and one outside your body, and the one outside your body takes the shape of an animal. This animal can change shape when you are young and it becomes fixed during puberty. But already I’m going into too much detail.

Lyra the heroine of the story is a free spirited orphan, daughter of nobility, who has been left by her adventuring Uncle to be raised by the scholars of Jordan University. During this time the “Gobblers” appear, stealing the children of the poor and Gyptians. When she is old enough to need a “womanly” influence she is taken away by Mrs. Coulter, a rich and glamarous scholar to be groomed. But her best friend disappears that day and the Gobblers are never far from her mind. The Master of Jordan doesn’t want Lyra to go with Mrs. Clouter but can’t stop it. He instead charges Lyra with the alethiometer, a compass like object which can answer any question if the person knows how to use it.

Lyra finds out some of the secrets behind the Gobblers and runs away. She is rescued by a band of Gyptians and joins them on their quest to rescue the children in the far North. Lyra and her alethiometer become indispensible to the mission. Along the way she rescues an armoured bear, Iorek, who also joins their quest. As I am over length already I will simply say that Lyra has many adventures leading which lead to a gripping climax.

This book is the kind of story that I loved when I was a teen. I am partial to the fantasy genre and I love a good trilogy. Mr. Pullman was able to mix a complex story with a great heroine and a compelling plot. This book is an example of a great book that could be considered both for young adults and adult collections. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

Age range: 12 plus

Ranking: Quality – 5/5 Popularity – 5/5

The Girl with a Baby

Jane Williams was always the good one in her family. Her family has been going through tough times since her mother’s death from cancer. Her brothers have dropped out of school, her father is often absent and her grandmother, Teh, has had to move in to help out. In the midst of this Jane finds herself pregnant. As the book opens Jane is giving birth to her daughter, Destiny. She had managed to conceal her pregnancy from her whole family. Destiny’s father knew of the pregnancy, but after her birth he moves away and does not keep in touch. Jane must resolve to raise her daughter and keep her family together in the wake of this surprise. When Jane returns to school 6 weeks after the birth of her daughter things get even tougher. She is lucky enough to attend a school with a daycare but she finds that she is now shunned by all of her old friends.

Things come to a head when she decides to audition for the school musical. A talented singer Jane has to decide if she should audition for the lead role, going up against the beautiful head of the drama club. Jane has to struggle with the demands on her time and her lack of self-confidence. Bolstered by her new best-friend, a new girl on the block and the support of her grandmother Jane decides to audition for role of Sandy in Grease. When Jane is the better of the candidates another problem erupts when one of the judges refuses to allow Jane the role because it would reward her and set a bad example for other kids. However Jane does get the role and manages to stay on top of raising her daughter, doing schoolwork and rehearsing for the play. Giving it more depth is the fact that weaved throughout this story the fact that Jane is part Native, her mother Native and her father white. This affects how Jane sees herself and her family, especially as compared to her white middle-class neighbours.

This book is a fantastic insight into the thoughts of a first-time mother, as well as a teenager in a tough situation. It is not a preachy book about the difficulties of being a teen mom; neither does it gloss over the stresses of being a single mother. Jane is a real person and you can understand and empathize with everything she is going through. The relationships are also well presented and realistic. Jane fights with her brothers, her grandmother has difficulties keeping up with everything, her father is flawed. But there is also a great part where Jane’s best-friend Dawna expresses her envy of Jane’s family. Dawna confides in Jane about her family, where she feels like an outsider.

The only facet of the story that I don’t think that the author dealt with enough was the situation surrounding Jane’s first and only sexual experience. From the description of the situation one could say that perhaps she was forced. Not in a brutal way but in that her boyfriend had sex with her despite that she asked that he used a condom and that she asked that he stop. She never physically tried to stop him, and perhaps Jane would not say that she was raped or coerced; more that she did not understand fully what was going on. Perhaps it would not have fit within the story but I think that perhaps it would have been important to discuss in the author’s note.

The experiences of the author bring this book its authenticity. Sylvia Olsen is a white woman who married into the Tsartlip First Nation and she works with First Nations communities. Her daughter also became a mother at 14.

Age range: 13 and up

Ranking: Quality – 5/5 Popularity – 3/5

Tuck Everlasting

Winnie Foster is a young girl who lives a very sheltered life in a little village. When she decides to venture into the forest her family owns one night she has a great adventure. In the forest she meets the Tuck family. The Tuck family had drunk from a spring in the forest and somehow become immortal. The Tuck family brings Winnie back to their home where she learns to love this strange family. A strange man, searching for the Tucks, overhears them explain their situation to Winnie and follows them. He then ransoms Winnie for the forest with the magical spring. When the police arrive at the Tucks home Winnie has to decide where her allegiances lie. She also has to decide how she will use what she knows. Does she want to join the Tucks in their immortal life.

This was a very sweet book with the message that often what you desire from life is not really what you want. The story was very simple and easy to read. The development of the plot may be a little too obvious for the older/more experienced reader. Winnie is a character that many young girls could probably empathize with, especially the overprotective family. The historical setting would also appeal to those who enjoy the “Little House on the Prairie” or L.M. Montgomery books. I would recommend this book also because of its status as a “classic”.

Age Range: 10-13

Ranking: Quality – 4/5 Popularity – 3/5

The Girl I Wanted to Be

Presley is a young girl who is just entering High School in the 80s. This book covers a few short months between the end of the summer and Christmas break, but it is filled with drama. After a time “away” at a clinic for alcoholics, Presley’s aunt Betsi comes to live with her family. Presley’s parents and younger brother are present in the story but Betsi is far more of an influence. Presley also idolizes her older cousin Barry, king of the High School. As Presley struggles to discover what is important in High School (grades, sports, boys, popularity) she also struggles with a secret. She learns that her Aunt Besti (her mother’s sister) is having an affair with her cousin Barry (her father’s brother’s son). Presley keeps their secret even after Betsi leaves him for another man. This abandonment destroys Barry who commits suicide on an ice covered lake, although the family thinks it is an accident. Barry’s death throws the family into turmoil, even more after Besti confesses to the affair. This book shows how families even when torn apart can put themselves back together, or at least start to.

Evaluation:
I liked this book but I think that I would have preferred to have had Barry as the main character. I was desperate to know more about him and his struggles but Presley did not tell me what I wanted to know. The book was well written and it held my interest but I sometimes felt that it avoided delving too deeply into the characters feelings. I would have liked to have heard more of Presley’s inner monologue concerning keeping “family secrets”. Although the book is told in the first person from Presley’s perspective I felt that it did lack some of her thoughts, especially after Barry’s death. I would still consider this book for a serious but not too heart-wrenching read.

Age range: 13 plus

Ranking: Quality – 3/5 Popularity – 3/5

Al Capone does my Shirts

Moose Flanagan is the 12 year old son of an Alcatraz electrician/guard. His family lives on the island along with the other guards’ families, the warden’s family in their mansion and some of the most notorious prisoners of the mid-thirties. His parents took this job so that they could pay for a private school for his sister Natalie, who is different. Although it was not a diagnosed disease at the time, we can tell that Natalie is autistic. Moose struggles to do the right thing for himself, for his family and for his sister. He wants to fit in to his new school but the warden’s daughter Piper makes things very difficult for him, especially when she wants him to break the warden’s rules.

This book was a super fun read. Moose’s character was well developed and you could really see his world. I liked that the depression was only mentioned in passing. This was really Moose and Natalie’s stories, and not the story of 1930s America. Moose’s feelings were well articulated showing how he both loved and resented his sister at the same time. The notes at the end showing what parts of the story were based on historical fact and which were fictionalized was very helpful. This would be a great resource for further non-fiction reading, a preference for many boys.

Age range: 11 plus

Ranking: Quality – 5/5 , Popularity – 5/5

The Giver

Jonas lives in a word without choices. All decisions are made by the elders, for the good of the Community, from what you will do, who you will live with and when you will receive your children. On the day of their twelfth Ceremony all children receive their Assignments, the jobs that they will do for the rest of their lives. When we meet Jonas, he is approaching this momentous day. Jonas, however, does not receive a standard assignment, he is chosen as the Community’s Receiver of Memory. He is to become the vessel of all memories for the Community. This is a job of great honour, responsibility and pain. Jonas receives the memories from an old man he knows only as “The Giver”. As he learns the memories of the world and what things were like before the “Sameness”. Jonas begins to question the Community and the way it works. When Jonas learns the truth about the functioning of the Community, he and the Giver decide that things must change. A final betrayal forces Jonas to flee the Community and run for his life.

I very much enjoyed this book and was pleased to learn that it is part of a trilogy, as the ending left me hanging. It is well written and captivating, drawing you into the story and their world. I was quite sure that the “Releasing” of people was not a good thing, but this may just be because of the number of similar fantasy stories that I have read. This book is a great introduction to the many books that deal with freedom and choice, as well as a discussion starter around these subjects as well. I would consider this book for younger children before introducing them to classics like 1984, A Brave New World and others. I liked the way that Ms Lowry began with only a surface view of the Community and then as you read you learn more and more about what level of control was exerted. I would definitely recommend this book.

Age range: 10 plus
Ranking: Quality – 4/5 Popularity – 4/5

My YA blog

Here is my contribution to the world of YA. As part of my course on Young Adult services I have to read as much YA literature as possible. Believe me it is easy to choose to read a YA book or watch Degrassi over say Cataloguing (not that I don’t also enjoy that). Anyway I will be posting brief synopses of the things I read as well as my evaulation. I have tried to place an age range but this is pretty much a guess. I have also included two ranks, the first is for Quality basically how good of a book I thought it was (writing, story, entertainment) and Popularity indicating how popular I think it would be with teens.

I hope that you enjoy.