Son of the Mob (Gordon Korman)

Title: Son of the Mob

Author: Gordon Korman

Publisher: Hyperion

Length: 262 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

It’s Romeo and Juliet, with Romeo (Vince) as the son of a mob boss and Juliet (Kendra) as the daughter of the FBI agent trying to put the mob boss away. Vince wants no part in the family business, but the more he tries to hide it from Kendra, the deeper in he gets.

This book is a little older (when did 2002 become old? Weird!) which is perhaps why it felt like a breath of fresh air amongst the paranormals and dystopias permeating this blog. Not that I have anything against the current theme of YA lit, it’s just that sometimes you need to shake it up a little. Add to this the male narrator, and you’ve got yourself a fun book about star-crossed lovers, Godfather-style.

Also included: moral dilemmas, first love, and a slimy character named Jimmy Rat found in a car trunk. Overall, a fun read that would interest male and female readers and is appropriate for a younger crowd as well. 

Delirium (Lauren Oliver)

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperTeen

Length: 441 pages

Rating: 4/5

In a futuristic United States, deliria is a disease. At age 18, everyone is given the cure and lives their life free from the fear of love. Lena counts down the days until she’ll be safe from love and can overcome the shame of her mother killing herself because of love. But love turns out to be more deadly than Lena ever imagined, both when you have it and when you don’t.

I expected a lot out of this book and it produced. Heart-wrenching in so many ways, this book will make you take another look at the value of your life and the people you love. My eyes refused to stay on the page and kept jumping ahead to see what would happen next.

Another YA dystopian journey of self-discovery, the narrative was somewhat predictable, but in all the right ways. Lena must learn who she is, not just who society says she is, and she does this through changing personal relationships with her best friend Hana, and the boy who changes everything when he enters her life, Alex.

I love that Lena is as ordinary as they come, but someone sees something special in her, and it changes everything. A great read if you’re looking for romance, dystopia, and maybe even a little self and societal reflection. It's sequel, Pandemonium, just came out and I can't fathom why I haven't read it yet...please excuse me while I go do that.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author: Sherman Alexie

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

Length: audio book: 5 hours

Rating: 4.5/5

Born dirt-poor on the Spokane Indian reservation with water on the brain, Arnold “Junior” Spirit emerges disadvantaged. But despite his alcoholic parents, recluse sister, violent best friend, and lopsided body used as target practice for many feet, this book-loving, comic-drawing narrator refuses to give up on his sizable dreams. He realizes that he can only fulfill his dreams if he leaves the reservation, so he transfers to Reardan High School, where he is the only non-white kid, and in doing so, becomes the most hated person on the rez.

Hearing all sorts of good reviews about this book, I picked it up in audio form for a road trip. You may remember that I usually dislike audio books, but this one was wonderful! The semi-autobiographical tale is narrated by the author himself, and his voice is full of humor, heart-break, and it perfectly captures the trials of a part-time Indian. Alone in my car, I laughed, I cried, and I felt like I really got to know Arnold and his many plights. The only thing I missed were the hand-drawn cartoons scattered throughout the physical version of the book (but a quick flip through a book story copy made it all better). Both the audio and regular book are definitely worth your time.

This book covered a lot of serious topics, but boy was it funny! It was very refreshing to read a book that didn’t take itself so seriously, yet dealt with serious subjects like racism and death. I learned a lot about Indian culture, and white culture too, as Arnold navigated both as an exile and an immigrant. And even though I’d read about basketball, first love, and friendship before, everything in Alexie’s voice seemed fresh and new and funny.

Is it too cliché to say “a wonderful addition to YA literature”? Well too bad, I just said it. 

Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater)

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic

Length: 390 pages

Rating: 4/5

Grace has spent winter after winter watching the wolves in the woods bordering her backyard. One wolf with yellow eyes watches back. Sam is that wolf, but he’s a human in the summer months, never daring to speak to the girl he watches so diligently. Suddenly, the two are given a chance together. But as the weather turns cold, Sam struggles to remain human and Grace refuses to let go.

Everything about this book screams LIFE IS FRAGILE! Grace and Sam hold onto each other so tightly, never knowing when a burst of cold air might take it all away from them, the love which they never thought they could actually have. It’s heart-wrenching, and I loved that cold weather (something I myself hate) was the nemesis. Also getting in the way of their love was prejudice, misunderstanding, and dumb parents. There were no good parents in this book: oblivious parents, awful parents, parents with guns, but no good parents. The kids are on their own to fix things, to find a way to make the dream last.

I liked that his book made me see werewolves in a different (non-Twilight) light. I had the same period of adjustment the characters had in the book, them trying to understand werewolves as real, me trying to understand them as portrayed in this book rather than the ones in my imagination.

This book is told from both Grace and Sam’s perspective which strengthened the bond between them for the reader. However, as much as I loved them together, I wasn’t fully convinced. Maybe it’s because they became obsessed with each other before the book began, they had six years of knowing and accepting the connection, whereas I was only given a few pages. Still, the idea that the person you’re obsessed with is obsessed back is very tantalizing, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and ended up loving the story.

This book is the perfect curl-up-under-a-blanket winter read- check it out!

Hold the phone. It’s part of a trilogy. Why am I not surprised? Despite my protests that this book would have been just fine on its own, I’m totally reading the other books. 

Unearthly (Cynthia Hand)

Title: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: HarperTeen

Length: 435 pages

Rating: 5/5

Clara is part-angel and has just discovered her purpose, the reason she was put on earth. She sees visions of a raging forest fire and a boy standing among the fiery trees. Her family picks up and moves to Wyoming where her visions take place so that she can prepare herself. There she discovers Christian, the boy from her visions who is perfect and conveniently gorgeous. While trying to fit in at her new school, she also tries to get to know Christian to find out how and why she is supposed to save him from the fire. Christian may be her dream boy, but there’s another boy in the picture too: Tucker, who appeals to Clara more and more, even though he’s a distraction from her purpose. By the time fires ignite in Wyoming, Clara faces a tough choice. Christian or Tucker? Destiny or love?

This book was crazy addicting. I only put it down once between pages 50 and 435. And that was for five minutes. There are so many mysteries. What isn’t Clara’s mom telling her about angels? Why is Clara’s purpose what it is? And what is her purpose exactly? As you might have guessed, this book is the first in a trilogy, so even though I was left with a ton of questions, there is still hope for answers in upcoming books. Why isn’t it January of 2012 so I can keep reading?

This book was so enjoyable because even though Clara is super-human, she’s easy to relate to. She experiences high school cliques, the jealousy of friends, first love, and my favorite theme, self-discovery. Clara’s the way cooler version of me in high school. Except that good-looking boys talk to her a lot more. She takes being gifted to a whole new level and I think YA readers will be able to connect to that, as we’re all gifted in our own ways.

Finally, this book is great because it’s easy to see it as a metaphor for any reader’s life. Aren’t we all trying to figure out our own purpose?

Now go and pick this book up- you won’t put it down!

And speaking of relate-able girls, I read a great article about female role models in YA literature. Can I just say I love all the amazing female characters mentioned?! I aspired to be certain aspects of all of them- from Anne's imagination to Alanna's bravery to the March sisters' perseverance- they all inspired me and still do today.