The Lonely by Ainslie Hogarth

A darkly humorous and imaginative story

After she discovers The Terrible Thing, Easter Deetz goes looking for her sister, Julia, but ends up pinned under a giant boulder with her legs crushed into tomato paste. Bored, disappointed, and thoroughly dismembered, Easter slowly bleeds to death in The Woods with only sinister squirrels to keep her company. As The Something Coming draws closer, memories of Easter's family surface like hallucinations: a mumbling father who lives alone in the basement; a terrifying grandmother who sits in her enclosed porch all day; an overly loving mother who plays dead in the bathtub on Sunday nights.

As the story of her life unspools, Easter realizes she's being stalked, making it very difficult for her to bleed to death in peace. Will The Something Coming save her? Or will it do her in entirely?

--Publisher’s summary

Rhoda’s review; I… I… I’m not sure how to describe this book. Perhaps, “odd” and “disturbing” best describes my initial reaction. It took most of the book for me to understand what, I believe, the author was trying to convey. I guess we could have probably guessed that Easter and her family have severe psychological issues by the bizarre summary (It’s what lead me to read the book in the first place)  Author, Ainslie Hogarth, gives us a fascinating glimpse into Easter’s idea of reality.  Readers of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" may remember a quote from the character, Scout, who said, "Atticus said you never really knew a man until you stood in his shoes and walked around in them." “The Lonely” left me, if accurately portrayed, with a better understanding of the world Easter lives in. I can’t say I found the book humorous or entertaining but I did find it intriguing.

Full Disclosure; ebook received through Netgalley.com

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

        For all the teen contemporary realistic fiction fans out there... this is a fascinating book! 

Lauren is given an assignment at the beginning of the school year to write a letter to someone who has passed away. Of course the events that recently occurred in her life, the sudden death of her older sister, make this task all the more poignant. Lauren writes the assignment but doesn’t turn it in. Instead she continues on a yearlong journey of writing as a way of dealing with the traumatic events in her life.  She writes to a number of famous people who died before their time such as Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Amelia Earhart. 

This is a wonderfully written, yet horribly tragic story about loss… Author, Ava Dellaira has either experienced the loss of a sibling or done excellent research. Young survivors often feel profound loss when an older sibling is suddenly not there to provide a path; feeling abandoned by the grieving parents, they often flounder to find a sense of purpose in life. In addition, “Love Letters to the Dead” includes the divorce of Lauren and May’s parents. This seems to be the catalyst for May’s destructive behavior. The girls are left feeling frustrated, guilty and abandoned; could they have kept the parents together? Were they the reason their parent’s broke up? Lauren idolizes her sister but May, with no one to go to, turns to alcohol and men to escape the desperately need to feel loved. Now Lauren is repeating the actions of May as her life begins to spiral out of control. Lauren holds the secret to what really happened to May the night she died which is slowly revealed at the end of the story.

The book was wonderfully written and will be an excellent addition to a young adult library collection. The journal format will appeal to teens as will the interesting biographical information about the famous musicians and actors within the letters Lauren writes. My only negative is that the plot felt like a checklist of every traumatizing event that can occur in a teen’s life. There was so much added, in fact, that I felt it took away from the realism of the story. That being said, the sequence of events may be like watching a car accident; we don’t want to look but are shocked into doing it. If you’ve loved, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, you’ll love "Love Letters to the Dead"!

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Darlene Joyce “DJ” Schwenk is a cow. At least that’s what Brian Nelson, quarterback from the rival high school football team, just called her. It’s not because of her looks… although she is built like rest of the Schwenk kids; big and strong. It’s not because she’s lazy… just the opposite, she been running the Schwenk dairy farm by herself since her father had to have hip surgery. And it’s not because she’s dumb; although she’s nearly flunking out of English because of all the work, she certainly knows about dairy farming and, of course, football. Everybody in Red Bend, Wisconsin basically breathes football. Her father even names the cows after football players. And of course growing up with two older brothers, Bill and Wes, who are practically football legends for Red Bend doesn't hurt either. No, Brian just called DJ a cow because she does what she’s told and doesn't speak up for herself. OK, Brian’s got her on that one. No one in the Schwenk family speaks up for themselves. Heck, younger brother Curtis hardly speaks at all. Her older brothers, Bill and Wes, haven’t called since they took off to college after the fight with their dad; that was seven months ago. DJ hardly sees her mom since she became teacher and acting principal of Red Bend High school. As Brian says, “When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.” DJ has given up playing sports to run the farm and she’s exhausted plus she’s just been asked to be the personal trainer for whiny, spoiled, rich Hawley football quarterback Brian Nelson for the summer. But does she say anything about it? Nope. She just does what she’s told, just like the cows.

DJ soon finds out that she likes training for football with Brian, she likes talking with Brian… she likes talking (and she likes Brian too). DJ finds her voice and figures out what will may her happy; playing football for the Red Bend High School football team! What will the football team say about that? What will her family say? What will Brian say? She’s certainly not acting like a cow now! Read Dairy Queen; an amazing, empowering and utterly enjoyable story about finding your passions and learning to find your voice. 

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The typical young adult novel today has a tendency to begin with one or more parents being absent, or on drugs or dead. It is an understandable albeit annoying literary concept. The author wants to have the teen in the position of responsibility. Having a parent in the picture reverts the authority to the adult instead of the teen. Just like vampires and zombies books, the missing adult has become an overused concept. So when I read, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, I was pleasantly surprised to find a coming of age young adult novel that begins with both parents who are present, supportive and play a significant role in their children’s lives.

The story revolves around twelve year old twin basketball sensations, Josh and Jordan Bell. These boys learned the game from their father, former professional basketball player, Chuck “Da Man” Bell. Josh, the narrator, focuses squarely on the game of basketball. However his twin brother, Jordan aka “JB” Bell, has shifted his attention away from his brother, finding the new girl in school a lot more interesting. Thus the conflict begins. Josh is confused and jealous by JB’s attention to the girl he nicknames “Miss Sweet Tea”. These inner conflicts lead Josh to impulsively lash out at JB on the court; a move that gets him kicked off the team, not by the coach but by his mother, Dr. Bell, who also happens to be their school’s assistant principal. Add to that turmoil the underlying issue of their father’s health. The boys find out that their father left professional basketball because he refused to go the doctor to have an operation. Although Mr. Bell shows symptoms like fainting spells and nose bleeds throughout the story he refuses to take his health issues seriously. Could this be a precursor to a parental demise? Of course you are going to have to read the story to find out!

Teens and tweens are going to love The Crossover because it’s about teenage boys playing basketball, championship playoffs and girl drama. The cover, showing a silhouetted basketball player in black and orange balancing a basketball on his finger against a simple white background, will draw teenagers into opening the book. The first page begins with a rap verse showing text in various sizes and fonts including words running laterally down the page to mimic the boys’ action on the basketball court. Each development in the story occurs on the page in verse form, sometimes as a rhythmic rap, other times in short phrases; the various styles of verse echoing the action and energy of the story. Between the subject, the play-by-play action and in-verse format, kids are going to grab this one off the shelves!

For adults the draw is author, Kwame Alexander’s, theme of “family” masterfully woven throughout the novel. He focuses his entire story on only the four family members plus the increased presence of the girlfriend; illustrating the shift in the dynamics of the family. The parents provide support for the boys through insightful family “basketball rules; life lessons for the home as well as the basketball court. This novel also breaks through many cultural stereotypes. Their mother, Dr. Bell, is a working woman and a loving mother. Their father’s role is to “coach the house”; providing guidance and support for the family from home. When the boys make mistakes, the parents give them realistic consequences. The family fights, but not about drugs or guns or cheating. They fight about finances, health issues and sibling rivalry.

The publishing company chose to recommend “Crossover” to readers in grades 4 to 7. However, I feel this amazing book will also attract older teens as well as adults. So let’s buck the trend of the absent or dysfunctional parent!  The Crossover demonstrates how positive role models can be successfully added to a young adult novel to enhance, not hinder, a teen’s independent choices. It’s a trend that could ignite a positive movement in young adult literature.

Darius and Twig by Walter Dean Myers

Summary courtesy of Amazon.com

New York Times bestselling author and Printz Award winner Walter Dean Myers once again connects with teenagers everywhere in Darius & Twig, a novel about friendship and needing to live one's own dream. This touching and raw teen novel from the author of Monster, Kick, We Are America, Bad Boy, and many other celebrated literary works for children and teens is a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.

Darius and Twig are an unlikely pair: Darius is a writer whose only escape is his alter ego, a peregrine falcon named Fury, and Twig is a middle-distance runner striving for athletic success. But they are drawn together in the struggle to overcome the obstacles that life in Harlem throws at them. The two friends must face down bullies, an abusive uncle, and the idea that they'll be stuck in the same place forever.

Review - 

145^th Street Harlem… No protection from the gangs, violence, and thugs outside the front steps or absent fathers, depressed mothers and abusive uncles behind closed doors.  Unsupportive teachers and counselors at school who have lost faith in motivating their students. No guidance, no faith, no hope…

But two best friends, Darius and Twig, are there to support each other; to find vision and purpose; to find the best in each other.  Darius is a young aspiring writer who has a chance at a college scholarship if he could just revise the story he turned into the college magazine, The Delta Review. Twig is an exceptional middle length runner who sees his for chance for college if he stands out at his high school track meets. Both have dreams of coveted scholarships and the chance to be move beyond the low expectations of the people around them.

This is a story of True friendship!

Like Darius’s alter ego, his imaginary Peregrine falcon; Fury… these boys are going to fly!!!

Walter Dean Myers, who grew up in Harlem, is celebrated for an expressive, genuine writing style that depicts the essence of the inner city. Darius and Twig is no exception; care is taken to emphasize the hope for the characters without losing their urban dialect. Characters in the story like Midnight and Tall Boy or Twig’s Uncle paint a harsh picture of their worlds. This relatively short yet gripping novel; only 201 pages will attract reluctant readers.  The language used is strong and the situations are violent. For this reason I would recommend the book to readers in grades 8 and up. I would also recommend listening to this book on audioCD. Brandon Gill does a superb job giving distinct voices to the various characters. I feel it gave me a better appreciation for the novel than if I had just read the book.