The Internet exists to teach us that we are never as obsessed as we think we are. There is always a more fanatical collector or expert on obscure 16mm film reels or paperback young adult novels, to show us we are but mere enthusiasts. On a recommendation from the YALSA listserv, I visited The Dairi Burger to read about the reissue of the execrable teen series Sweet Valley High. Witty and smart readers visit the site and demonstrate a remarkable memory of plots and characters that overwhelms my own. But we all have similar stories. Most of us read compulsively, sometimes under bedsheets with flashlights, and devoured books like cakes then and now. Some of those books were destructive to our impressionable psyches, but when we’re all grown up we hope they form a generational bond, a laugh, a deep roll of the eye or maybe even some critical analysis.
While the SV canon—and it is canonical, though sometimes flexible with fact and reality, with hundreds of titles and series within series—may seem benign and forgettable to most, Francine Pascal’s covert mission of normalizing repulsive, greedy, shallow, and extraordinarily sexist behavior has helped to socially condition most of her vulnerable young readers. At the outset of each book, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, our heroic twins are always described in their perfect size six, tanned, sun-streaked blond glory, with eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean, even! What is intended to read variously as virtue, vivaciousness, ambition, magnanimity in the twins is really callowness, condescension, ruthlessness, self-righteousness. And what of the fat or single, LGBT folks, people of color, the poor? If they even exist in this world, they are tragically doomed or soon forgotten and they function as catalysts for the primary characters, eliciting pity and contempt.

This reissue is completely irresponsible and unnecessary. And the only reported edit is that Jessica and Elizabeth are now a perfect size four. I know that none of this is new, that we are all familiar with the evils of media for young people. Most likely children and teens today will not be interested in hoary Sweet Valley when they have young adult books like Gossip Girl, The A List, The Clique. The new offerings are mordantly self aware and cheeky and seem sometimes to have a hint of parody, even while they exist primarily to prop up the most garish and exclusive brands. In the SV books, characters are often kidnapped, raped, beaten, and tragically killed, but maintain a glazed innocence and mostly abstain from drinking, drugs, and sex, except for when it kills them to prevent others from indulging. At least the new naughty YA books aren’t pretenders.

And for illustrative purposes here are some choice quotations:

“There are a dozen fairy-tale princesses, Rose thought, and they’re going to make me a fairy-tale princess too.”

“He responded by turning his face to hers and kissing her hard, his arms crushing her against him, his mouth demanding what his body wanted to take.”

Lila, upon seeing Manuel: “I don’t know how she can date him. He’s so ethnic and working class.”

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During our peak business hours on any day of the week, it’s common for a teen to meander up to the circ desk every 5 min to inform me of the boredom or new drama in their lives. What begins as a game can quickly become distracting for the patron I’m currently assisting. I’m sure that you too are familiar with the various ways harmless teen behavior becomes disruptive or escalates to more serious issues. In an attempt to create a positive environment for teens to interact outside of programs, I struggle to find the right type of activity to sustain their interest as well as occupy a good amount of their spare time. Because it’s hard to break into conversation with some teens, I’d like to share a few practices I’ve tried which have shown to influence constructive relationships between teens and books as well as teens and myself.

When displaying “Pep Rally” found in Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits, I’m greeted with gaffaws as teens gaze upon the wry stick figured cheerleader illustration. The word ‘air’ fits within a large O for a head, ‘ridiculously thin waist’ bends to form the torso, ‘bOObs’ cross the mid-section, and ’stupid little skirt’ collapses upon itself as it swishes side-to-side. In this collection of 30+ poems, language acrobats across pages, zig-zaging, and curling as hair might on a “Bad Hair Day.” These clever word pictures accompany the opinions of a mistrusting high school teen who eventually learns to confide in someone like “Andrea, a cheerleader who turned out to be a regular person- annoyingly pretty, but a regular person.” It doesn’t matter if teens read all of the poems, for they just might open up towards you.

You can use prompts found in the Write Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing by Bonnie Neubauer to get teens thinking outside of typical first person stories. On a strip of paper type “Without looking down, describe what, if your feet had eyes, they’d see right now” or other various excerpts to litter your teen area, create a bulletin board display, or slip them inside books during checkout.

Hopefully you’ve picked up a few good hints to assist you in your interactions with teens. As I discover other helpful practices, I’ll give ya a holla and share. For more inspiration, follow these links: Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverant & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet’s Life by Alan Wolf OR Poetry is Contagious: How I Teach My Students to Write Award-Winning Poetry by Betsey Coleman.

My Alt. Teen Services post is a day late. I guess that’s an improvement on last month when it was a week late. I’m going to blame it on indecisiveness this time. I spent most of yesterday trying to come up with a good topic. There’s so much to think about and talk about these days when it comes to teen services, so much in the world impacting a teenagers life and so many librarians trying to figure out the best way to help them. I was pretty much set on writing about how neat it would be to have a Teen Yoga program at a library, however, while crunching on my Grape Nuts early yesterday morning my husband thoughtfully reminded me that November 11th was Veterans Day, something which had completely passed me by. My husband has good reason to be paying close attention to this particular holiday. His nineteen year old cousin was killed a mere three days into the invasion of Baghdad in April of 2003. We were newly weds at the time, young adults ourselves and it was the first time I’d ever seen him cry. Suddenly a yoga program seemed like a very trivial topic.

It makes me twitch to think about all the issues teens have to deal with these days but the one that leaves me most anxious, the one that makes me gnaw on my hang nails and yank at my tangled hair in the morning, is the depressing situation in the Middle East. The past few years has revealed a lot of dishonesty in our government. I’m not here to argue over those issues. I’m here to try and put myself in the shoes of a sixteen year old and imagine what it must feel like to be at the edge of my childhood in a world where you seemingly can’t trust anyone, or look to anyone for honest leadership. All the facts and the falseness, all the broken promises, I wonder, how do they make sense of it all? How does it effect them? Do they even care?

Of course they do. They may not keep up with the news in the traditional way but they do keep up and they do care.
I’m currently reading The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by Naomi Wolf. Now before you say “Whoa, maybe not such an objective middle-way read”, know that I’m only on page twenty and don’t have much of an opinion on the book other than that it’s helping me learn a lot of WWII history that I didn’t know. There is, however, a quote I read which has been stubbornly sitting at the tip of my brain all weekend. In an attempt to express how fragile our civil liberties are Wolf uses an interesting pendulum analogy:

“Up until now, the basic checks and balances established by the Founders have functioned so well that the pendulum has always managed to swing back. It’s very success has made us lazy. We trust it too much, without looking at what a pendulum requires in order to function; the stable framework that allows movement; space in which to move; that is liberty.”

I read the part about being “lazy” and was reminded of another quote that I read recently in Julian Aiken’s article from American Libraries, Outdated and Irrelevent? Rethinking the Library Bill of Rights. The results of the survey he reviewed indicated that “more than half of our public libraries are not conforming to Article V of the Library Bill of Rights“. Apparently this particular part of our job has simply turned into a cumbersome battle that most librarians are “no longer interested in fighting.” I find something downright scary about “rethinking” the Library Bill of Rights and remolding it to better fit the needs of busy librarians who are unwilling to spend the time explaining Article V to busy working parents.

So, where am I going with this? I’m not entirely sure, this is definitely a very randomly thought out post. Am I saying that we’ve become lazy? I don’t know. I’m not sure you can quantify laziness so lets not even use that word. Maybe we’ve become too cautious. Tensions are high in this country, people are on fire with opinion, who can blame anyone for choosing to remain reticent in the wake of controversy or for choosing precaution over advocacy if it means keeping relations in a community peaceful, not to mention helping to avoid heated disagreements with friends and peers. That route is easier, less stress on everyone, that’s for sure. But I have to admit, the repercussions of that kind of cautious action scares the bejezus out of me. Is it enough that we keep gay/lesbian fiction on our library shelves, yet overlook doing programs or displays to promote those books because we’re afraid of upsetting people? How many of us shy away from doing teen programs that may involve political or religious topics because we worry it might lead to inflammatory discussion or upset parents? I think Teen Librarians need to be careful about choosing the quiet stay out of trouble lets lay low and walk the path of least resistance so we can appeal to everyone route. You may think your appealing to everyone that way but instead you end up isolating your services to a quiet reading room and I say quiet because, well, eventually no one will be there. They’ll be here instead.

I think Younker had it right when he described teen services as “the illegitimate child of public libraries”. It’s unfortunate but true and because of it teen librarians have to expect controversy while on job. They have to anticipate these moments be willing to face them and engaged in them productively. Most importantly, we shouldn’t be afraid to let teens engage in disagreement. When holding a book discussion, don’t gloss over hot topics because you’re worried it may pinch a nerve and start an argument. If you do, you may be missing out on a perfect opportunity for teens to express themselves. Teens love to express their opinion. Let them. While you’re at it let them know what it means to be able to live somewhere where they are able to express their opinion without persecution. Then let them know how fragile those rights are and how easily they can be stripped away from them. Using library services to empower our youth is one way we can help maintain the checks and balances in our society.

A while ago I shared with you a review of It’s a Bird, from a graphic novel review newsletter I write for my library system called Getting Graphic.  It has been a little longer between reviews than I had planned, but today I am back with two more reviews for you.  The first review is a newer title that you should definitely be aware of and the second is an older title, and is perhaps my favorite graphic novel of all time.  I will continue to post more titles here each month or so, but if you want a little more please check out the newsletter itself and feel free to subscribe if you so desire.

The Plain Janes
By: Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

When Jane was knocked off her feet by a nearby terrorist attack in Metro City her parents decide it is time to leave.  The family moves a long way from the city to a suburban town called Kent Waters.  Jane hates it there, until she forms a secret club called People Loving Art In Neighborhoods, or simply P.L.A.I.N.   The group, which is made up of four less than popular girls, all named Jane, attempts to create meaning both for themselves and for their town by creating renegade art projects throughout the community.  While some folks seem to love the art provided by P.L.A.I.N. the community as a whole begins to fear it and starts to investigate these “crimes” very seriously.  The Plain Janes is the first of a variety of graphic novels put out by MINX, an imprint of D.C. comics that is aimed at teenage girls.  It is fun and quirky, and will certainly appeal to its intended audience, as well any adult, female or male, who can remember what it is like to be a teenager trying to find his or her way through life.

Blankets
By: Craig Thompson

At a very expansive 592 pages, Blankets has the space to cover a lot of material.  In this novel, the author relates his childhood, telling readers about his family, which consists of two very religious and strict parents as well as a younger brother who is at times the companion in his adventures but can also double as his mortal enemy.  His bizarre family life and childhood are the reasons that he often feels ostracized from his peers until he meets Raina, who soon becomes his first love. This is a coming of age tale, much akin in style to J.D. Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye.  Often, Heralded as one of the best ever graphic novels and as one of the first great examples of the genre, Blankets has a lot to live up to.  Readers will not, however, be disappointed in this choice, even if they go in with the highest of expectations.  This is one title that any graphic novel fan should be aware of, and is a great title for a first exposure to the genre.

In and Out of the Rabbit Hole

China Miéville’s Un Lun Dun is a singular phantasmagoria that nonetheless tempts comparisons to Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, and His Dark Materials. In his acknowledgments Miéville thanks Lewis Carroll, Tanith Lee, and Neil Gaiman, among other writers, clearly signifying what is to come for the reader. By not shrugging off his influences, Miéville can integrate them unselfconsciously with his own ideas and language. Miéville is a master of the switcheroo and the sneak. He thumbs his nose at conventions of the fantasy genre like councils and prophesies. And happily, he values libraries and librarians. The extreme librarian and bookaneer Margarita Staples says,

“I used to really look forward to requests for books way down in the abyss. There are risks: hunters, animals, and accidents. Twenty years ago, I was in a group looking for a book someone had requested. We were led by Ptolemy Yes…after weeks of searching we ran out of food and had to turn back…he’s out there still in the Wordhoard Abyss living off shelf-monkeys, looking and he’ll be back one day, book in his hand.”

Un Lun Dun is shelved in my library’s YA division and I think a lot of geekier older teens would love it. However, the book would be just as appropriate in any adult collection. It is irritating that a book is considered YA if it is fantasy and features teenage protagonists. Un Lun Dun’s heroines are the tall blonde Zanna and the awkward round Deeba, who both find themselves in Un London, one of many abcities including Lost Angeles, Baghdidn’t, Parisn’t. The story of the abcities is a critique of disposable culture and environmental collapse. Broken things find their way to abcities where they are repurposed as tools and weapons.

While Miéville packs his story with too many characters to remember, Un Lun Dun delights with its many inventions: Brokkenbroll, smombies, Smog, Klinneract, Wraithtown, Webminster Alley, Storyladders, the Black Windows, and MOIL (Mildly Obsolete in London.) Miéville enlivens his inventions with great illustrations that give a sense of how cinematic this novel could be.

One of Un Lun Dun’s most subversive moments occurs when Deeba is accused of terrorism by Inspector Churl. “Were you terrified, Murgatroyd? There you go girl: you’re a terrorist. You make me twitchy, and under Article Forty-one of the 2000 Terrorism Bill, that’s all I need. Time for some reasonable force, I think.” It is exciting to see a fantasy novel marketed to a teenage audience exposing corruption and the erosion of civil liberties. I only hope that readers can draw the obvious parallels to our present-day situation.

Un Lun Dun was exciting to me in a way a book hasn’t been since I was nine, reading by flashlight under the covers. It is a smashing combination of dystopian anarchism and realist hope.

Literature Themed Social Networks
A book report alternative
Teen readers may find perks in either of these programs aimed at gathering teen opinions on young adult books. First Look offers ARCs to registered teens in exchange for opinionated reviews. Creating an account with First Look will enable the user to participate on the message boards as well as grant them permission to receive arcs. If you have a library MySpace page, HarperTeen has a presence worth checking out. Just grab some code to continue promoting literature. More involved but equally rewarding, the Pulse It program created by Simon and Schuster, Inc is aimed at reading enthusiasts. Teens print a parental consent form, mail it to S&S, then create a member profile. They will be sent young adult titles to review including ARCs on a regular basis.

Shelfari* and Revish*
For teens who have book collections at home, Shelfari is the coolest place on the web to create an online bookshelf, join book discussion groups, make friends with similar genre interests, and gleefully grab some code to show off their bookshelf on MySpace or other blogs. Shelfari recently held a best review contest for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which the winner received a signed copy. I’m not aware of Shelfari holding many contests, but Revish is hoping to have more user-driven review of the month competitions. If they follow through this idea, Revish would be the place to suggest for the teen looking to branch out of book reports.

Teens gearing up for another year at school may also enjoy more social networks discussed on the main blog found here.

Recently I stared writing a graphic novel reader’s newsletter for my library system called Getting Graphic. In it I usually mention about 5 or 6 titles, some of which are newer titles while others are past favorites that I feel everyone should be aware of. I will be posting one or two of these reviews here every month, but feel free to check out the newsletter, or subscribe to it, if you would like to read about the rest of the titles. For now I will leave you with today’s review, which falls under the category of older favorite everyone should be aware of.

It’s a Bird…
Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Artist: Teddy Kristiansen

This fascinating story about Superman depicts the Man of Steel in a whole new light. Seagle’s partially autobiographical story follows the life of a comic writer named Steve as he wrestles with the decision to start writing for Superman. This decision should not be hard as Superman is the Mecca of any comic writer’s world, however for Steve this is not the case. Steve is dealing with a dark family secret, which relates to his own mortality. His secret causes him to think Superman, with his infinite powers and near invincibility, is a ridiculous character that he can not relate to. This turmoil provides the basis for a very touching and real Superman story. Steve’s thoughts and actions throughout provide a wonderful insight into the world of comics and writing in general. Teddy Kristiansen’s understated art style also lends a wonderful touch to this must read story. This novel would be recommended for anyone who enjoys Superman stories, as well as those who simply enjoy a penetrating and personal graphic novel.

Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers
By Cris Beam

Here is a nonfiction story that pops like a novel. This book is amazing and everyone—not just teachers, librarians, and parents—should read it. Beam writes nonfiction like a dream. She renders real people in a raw and realistic, yet literary way, with a flair for dialogue and descriptive details. Her characters are as big as life.

Beam taught briefly at Eagles Academy, a GLBT school where she met the transgender teenagers whose lives she documents. Her main subjects are Foxxjazell, Domineque, Ariel, and Christina, my favorite. Christina is destructive, smart, intense, and heartbreaking; she made me laugh and cry (no, really.) When she cries she hiccups and “sounds like a fish tank” and when she’s scared she curls up in the kitchen sink and eats Doritos. Christina burns brightly and will stick in your mind long after you’ve finished the book.

Navigating through our rigid world is fraught for transgender people. Obtaining employment, education, medical care, a driver’s license, a passport, using public bathrooms, and finding a safe romantic partner are all daily struggles. Because Transparent’s teenagers have been locked out of our limited story of gender, they can astutely critique its absurdities and constrictions. They’re pretty clear that they know what’s up with their bodies and their identities. It’s the rest of us who are confused and fighting so hard to keep everything “normal.” This book shows that transgender people aren’t reinscribing stereotypical gender roles. Being transgender is much more complicated than playing dress-up.

Beam has created a seamless narrative of transgender history, the personal lives of modern transgender teenagers, and the medical and legal travails of most transgender people. I hope this book changes minds and burrows into hearts. That’s why I’m writing this review. At my big city library transgender teenagers are treated with hostility and contempt. We need to work to protect all teenagers, especially the most vulnerable, from harassment and abuse. This book will arm its readers with more information and compassion to fight the good fight. We must keep in mind that “the pervasive self-doubt or self-hate born of a dismissive larger culture will squeeze itself out from the soul’s crack’s somewhere.”

With the start of June, our clientle increased to include the summer teens. As I’m sure you’ve experienced these pent-up Energizer rabbits who gather and demonstrate their restless spirits, let me share a few RA practices. Aha! I’ve discovered that their boredom and too much free time make them sitting ducks for listening to book topics. Of course literature is broached after a couple of weeks spent chatting on summer plans, new schools, friendships, relationships, the skatepark, and parents, but eventually I’ll introduce a few literature characters into the foray. For instance, I’ll dramatize a particular character say Lauren from Bloom.

When Lauren plays her flute she loses herself in the music. Reading the flight of notes dancing across the pages allows her momentary bliss as she temporarily forgets that her best friend Katie wouldn’t understand this passion for music nor why she’s unhappy in her relationship with Dave. Then again, Lauren doesn’t share her feelings with anyone, so it’s understandable the world considers Dave + Lauren the perfect couple. Dave treats her with respect and love but Lauren feels no passion in return. To Lauren, their relationship has become too routine.

Except that’s how it feels. Like I’m watching a movie. Looking at his hand holding mine, I don’t feel much of anything except worry that I don’t feel more of anything…Now I know exactly what he’s going to say, and “6:30″ is out before he’s finished saying, “What time should I pick you up tonight?”

Tension develops in Lauren’s life when she begins to fall for the new transfer student Ethan. From the beginning it is clear how this young love story will play out. Regardless of this forseen fraction, Bloom conjures character emotions that are on par to the swooning romances found in The Truth About Forever and What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. Teens with weakspots for tender romances can sympathize with Lauren’s indecision and may also enjoy a similar situation found in If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince: Lucy feels shafted by a father who has remarried, relocated, and left her alone and out of favor with a stepmother and two evil stepsisters all of whom seem to delight in spending her father’s money, not to mention her bedroom has only a blowup mattress for furniture. *inhales deep recuperating breath*

If teens feel indifferent towards Lauren and Lucy. Perhaps quoting Seuss and holding races on Fox in Socks readings will open a window for a favorite childhood book discussion. And for fanactics, vehemently discuss Harry Potter predictions (using the voice of Jim Dale’s Trelawney, of course) or propose the question found on the MySpace Twilight group “You know you’re obsessing over Twilight when…” We’ve still another month to attempt to reach reluctant and gung-ho readers before the start of school, so good luck, I hope these ideas may assist you in your endeavors.

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“Her face was streaked with blood and rain. Her hair was soaking wet. She was angry. Afraid. Confused. She was inappropriately beautiful”(168).

Ah, doomed young love.

Kevin Brooks’ Being is a dismal UK dystopian science fiction novel that for some readers probably suffers from redundancy, a bad ending, and an abundance of cool. Unfortunately, the questions that develop in the course of the novel are not adequately resolved by the book’s end, which is troubling but works as a strong nod to the novel’s thematic existentialism. Regardless, I loved it and had a difficult time recovering from it. A little medical, a little conspiracist, and a little technological, Being has shades of “Alias,” Trainspotting, Morvern Callar, Chuck Palahniuk, Run Lola Run, and Poppy Z. Brite. As apparent from the name-dropping, this novel has a specific audience although not the conventional science fiction readership. While Being is unsettling with its grime, depravation, and loneliness, it is not an alienating read. Unlike most dystopias, it comforts and confirms our feelings of being unsafe and disconnected in the postmodern world.

While the characterization is sparse, Brooks adeptly cultivates concern for his heroes, Robert and Eddi. Their relationship is atypical for teen literature yet normal for Brooks’ reality. It is loving, but not sentimental. Robert and Eddi are just two unusually messed-up young people in a world of trouble involving circuit boards, fake identities, and a man (or is he a machine?) named Ryan.

Brooks’ evocative sensory language describes old feelings in new ways and creates panic, pain, and fear. “The slice of the scalpel is quick and tight. At first I feel nothing, just the silent peeling of skin and fat, opening up like a blood red smile…then suddenly the pain cuts in. It hurts”(19).

And later:

“It had some kind of miniature connection sockets all around the edge, little gold things…filaments, dulled silver-white shining dark in the light of the eye. Intricate patterns of dots and lines, circles, and waves. Fine hairs, like slender worms, moving to the flow of something invisible”(180).

And the cover is pretty rad, too.

As a children’s librarian working in an inner-city library, it is always a pleasure to come across new urban titles, especially when a unique approach is provided for our teen readers. Adrian Harper’s Night Biters is an action-packed horror novel in which urban teens, whose days are spent participating in graffiti, skateboarding, and hip-hop fashion, come face-to-face with vampiric forces in the city of Oakland. Harper uses street culture as a setting, rather than a centralized plot or motif, which further validates the positive aspects of hip-hop culture as something common and unproblematic. Still issues of violence are present between various gang groups of Hispanics, African Americans, and white power bikers, but the realistic violence is intermingled with supernatural phenomena.

The novel is self-published through what is known as the “vanity press,” and the book does suffer from misspellings, unfocused writing, and several cut-off sentences. Teens might be interested in purchasing the novel at their own leisure, but the likelihood of a vanity novel being approved for aquisitions is quite low. However, Harper has embarked on something we need more of in teen fiction - novels about African Americans and hip-hop culture where ethnicity is not the central plight. We hope to see more of Adrian’s future work as his writing matures and he continues to fill the holes in teen fiction. Perhaps the sequal, The Rave of Werewolves, will be suitable for a small press publisher?

Harper has a blog, where he writes about reaching urban male readers. We (librarians) are fighting for the same cause as you, Mr. Harper! Please drop a comment or two on Adrian Harper’s blog and let him know what you think about his approach.

Extras, Extras, Read all about it:

• Adrian Harper’s MySpace
• Adrian Harper’s Blog
• Night Biters Web site

I’d Tell You I Love You,
But Then I’d Have To Kill You
Ally Carter
Format: Hardcover
Price: $15.99
ISBN: 1423100034

Enter the hush-hush lives of Cammie Morgan and her brilliant yet deadly comrades, otherwise known as the Gallagher Girls. These schoolgals attend The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, an undercover program posing as a posh boarding school. The curriculum’s ultimate goal: to produce the creme-de-la-creme among young spies for the CIA, FBI, NSA, ect. Sure, breaking and entering and hacking secruity systems may come easily to this crew, but when it comes to deciphering the language of lurve they’re clueless. Although the humor will keep readers pinned to the pages, teens won’t miss the moral struggles for respect and honesty. Yessirree, Ally Carter’s sassy romp is a sure thing for readers desiring light romance with spunk.

(I recommend taking a peek at the inside jacket summary. It would make an excellent booktalk itself. Kudos Hyperion.)

Genre: Fluffy_Romance/Spunky_Wacky_Humor(Think Evanovich)/Covert_Opts
Read-alikes: Meg Cabot; E. Lockhart; Jaclyn Moriarty; Louise Rennison
Web Goodies: LOL while reading Ally’s blog on her website found here. And beef up your library’s Myspace friends by including Ally’s Myspace account here.

Commentary:

“Get good, ladies. Or get dead.” - Joe Solomon, CoveOpts instructor at
The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women

Sound familiar? How about “You’re never too young to die.”? These cocky and in-your-face taglines certainly perk the ears of our techy-seeking adventure readers. With the upcoming October release of the motion picture Stormbreaker, it’s appropriate to disclose this Anthony Horowitz read-alikes booklist complied a year ago by Valerie Ott and the YALSA-BK list serve:

Get Frazy for your library’s myspace account.

Butcher, A.J. - Spy High Series
Clancy, Tom - Net Force Series
Cooney, Caroline B. - Emergency Room/Flight 116 Is Down/The Terrorist
Stephen Cole - Theives Like Us (newly added 09/26)
Higson, Charlie - The Young James Bond Series
Howe, Norma - The Adventures of the Blue Avenger Series
McNamee, Graham - Acceleration
Mikaelson, Ben - Sparrow Hawk Red
Mowll, Joshua - Red Jericho
Muchamore - Cherub Series
Zindel, Paul - The Gadget

Journey Between Worlds
Sylvia Louise Engdahl
Format: Hardcover
Price: $17.99
ISBN: 0399245324

Journey Between Worlds soulfully explores cultural prejudices against the backdroup of a futuristic colonization of Mars and through the empathic turmoil of a recent HS graduate. Mirand forgos her earthbound relations in exchange for a temporary Mars life. She exhibits a stubborn dissidence towards Mars that fuels her misconceived views. However, new relationships influence her to reevaluate and understand herself, as well as, Mars from the natives’ perspective. Reflective and thought-provoking, this valiant character finds solace in self discovery. Other Sylvia titles have been recently reprinted.

Genre: Philosophy/Human_Relations/Gut_Love
Read-alikes: For serious content, suggest other Engdahl titles. Due to deep character development recommend this to older teens and young college students who have read and loved authors like Gail Carson Levine and Tamora Pierce.
Web Goodies: HEY, Sylvia has a MYSPACE ACCOUNT! Her website can be found here. Also check out her SpaceSubsite to further enhance your space age mythological experience.

Commentary: JBW was my introduction to Engdahl’s writing, which means I haven’t read the more popular title Enchantress from the Stars (Newberry Honor book). From the getgo it’s immediately apparent that this Journey will indeed be otherworldly. I’m thinking, that because JBW was written in the 70’s, the dominating writing style of the time, for the YA field, was more intense and philosophical than my modern palate has been accoustomed to. I mean to say that the previous generations had another method of portraying their missions. For example, Melinda is highly mature and intuitive:

Nobody knows this better than parents, and parents don’t want to think of their kids as adults. This is less because they distrust you than because they distrust themselves; its a matter not of your age, but of theirs. They hate to believe that they are old enough to have grown children. So if you love your folks, why make it tough for them? - pg 3

I don’t read this as being stated in the vernacular, but as being directed towards an older teen or adult audience. The story, throughout, contains other loaded ideas and is dense in character development. At times, these power ideas reduce the backdrop of Mars to slightly significant, causing the novel to lose most of its science fiction cred. Which is only a problem if you have a reader wanting a strong science fiction read. But Melinda’s insightfulness will certainly win the hearts of those wanting a coming-of-age story with substance.

Participating: Got any ideas for read-alikes that contain valiant characters or other similar reads? Please leave a comment.

“If there ever was a show called People Who Are Crazy and Need To Have Their Heads Examined, I’d be the very first guest.” - DJ Schwenk

Dairy Queen
Catherine Murdock
Format: Hardcover
Price: $16.00
ISBN: 0618683070

D.J. Schwenk, farm gal to the bone, has been raised under the silence treatment. Simply put: To avoid conflict, don’t discuss it. Having recently taken up milking and haying duties without fuss, DJ is bewildered by her partner-in-farming Brian’s lackadaisical attitude. And Brian, doesn’t know what to make of DJ’s cocooned emotions. After a playing a couple of rounds of my brother does this or my mother does that, the two rivals start a friendship on common ground, football. DJ’s connections allow her to begin coaching Brian for a most intense opening game. Aside from a few underdeveloped twists and bizarre cow analogies, Catherine Murdock’s first novel gracefully contributes to the unfilled tween niche.

Genre: Stubbornness/Football/Farming/Light_Romance
Read-alikes: Judy Blume; Ann Brashares; Meg Cabot; Carolyn Mackler; Prom/Laurie H. Anderson; Three Clams and a Oyster/Randy Powell
Web Goodies: Check out Catherine’s website here.

A.L.I.E.E.E.N.
Lewis Trondheim
Format: Paperback
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 1596430958

In this alien eat alien world, survival is nigh impossible when your outnumbered by cutesy yet heartless enemies. Much like a foriegn film with no subtitles, characters communicate through code which can be fun translating if you use various voices. Comic and tragic, this Burton meets Seussical realm will delight your darker wit.

Genre: Aliens/Blood/Toilet_Humor/Peer
            _Pressure
Read alikes: Tim Burton; Edward Gorey; Lemony Snicket; Jhonen Vasquez