“Little Fish: A Memoir from a Different Kind of Year” by Ramsey Beyer September 26, 2013

Images courtesy of GoodReads.com

The Facts

272 pages; published September 2013

The Basics

Lists, journal entries, reflections, comic strips, and drawings are blended together to tell the sweet, sometimes funny story of a girl leaving a small, small town to be a little fish in the big pond of art school in Baltimore.

Booktalk

Ramsey Beyer was a shy girl who loved art and punk rock, growing up in Paw Paw, Michigan. Although she had a great family and good friends, she didn’t quite feel like Paw Paw was “her” place. If you’ve ever felt that way, you will relate to this book. Ramsey does the brave thing and heads out – 600 miles away to attend art school in Baltimore. She makes new friends, gets homesick, gets a crush, learns new things, has great adventures, gets sad sometimes, and changes her major. She tells it all in her own style, through reproducing lists and journal entries from when she was in college, as well as new drawings and comic strips. It is beautiful to look at and beautiful to read as you find out what it is like for this little fish to learn to swim in a new pond.

I’ll Recommend This Book To …

• Readers who like realistic fiction
• Seniors who are nervous about college
• Graphic novel and art fans
• Other people who make lists

A Page from Little Fish …

There are LOTS of lists. They are very interesting.

 

Image courtesy of zestbooks.net

“Nine Days” by Fred Hiatt September 22, 2013

Images courtesy of GoodReads.com

The Facts

256 pages; published April 2013

The Basics

Ethan – a high school student with a lively interest in Chinese culture and politics – befriends Ti-Anna, a fellow student and daughter of a prominent expatriate Chinese dissident. When Ti-Anna’s father first travels to Hong Kong and then goes missing, Ethan and Ti-Anna make the wild decision to run away to Hong Kong to find him.

Booktalk

What would you do if your father was missing? How far would you go to save him?

Ti-Anna, whose father is famous for speaking out against the Chinese government, already has a lot to worry about. She confides in her best friend, Ethan, that she knows the Chinese are watching her father, even though he has moved to the United States. As they become close friends, Ethan’s interest in China and in Ti-Anna grows. Despondent one day, Ti-Anna reveals that her father is missing. He traveled to Hong Kong hoping to advance his anti-government cause and never returned. The family’s few contacts in Hong Kong will not talk by phone or e-mail. The only way to help, Ti-Anna says, would be to go to Hong Kong.

Ethan latches onto her desperation and hatches a plan that takes them halfway around the world and into a situation far more frightening and complex than either is ready for.

Random Thoughts

I very much appreciated that Fred Hiatt doesn’t rely on silly devices like teen characters with near super-powers or access to fantastic resources. The only extraordinary powers Ethan and Ti-Anna have are determination and devotion.

I’ll Recommend This Book To …

• Adventure and action seekers
• Youth interested in China and other Asian cultures
• Parents who are worried about sex and language; this one is squeaky clean

“Are You Experienced?” by Jordan Sonnenblick September 17, 2013

Images courtesy of GoodReads.com

The Facts

304 pages; published September 2013

The Basics

Frustrated high school student Rich learns more than he bargained for about his old, fuddy-duddy father when a magical electric guitar sends him back in time to attend Woodstock alongside his then-teen-aged father.

The Booktalk

Rich has some special talents. He’s a great guitar player. He’s learning to maneuver around his over-protective parents. And he’s really, really good at getting in trouble with his father.

After the biggest blow-up yet, Rich breaks into his father’s study to play a single chord on an electric guitar hidden there – a chord which transports him through time and space to spend three days at the Woodstock Festival of Music and Art, the 1969 weekend of music and hippie love now famously known just as Woodstock. Stranger still, Rich will attend with his then-15-year-old father and his doomed 18-year-old uncle, desperate to forge a crucial connection between them and the legendary Jimi Hendrix.

I’ll Recommend This Book To …

• Fans of Jordan Sonnenblick because I’m a fan and that’s why I gobbled it up as soon as it was published. He delivered again!
• Older middle and younger high school-aged readers (particularly boys) looking for an interesting adventure story
• Musicians and rock-n-roll history enthusiasts
• Kids who think their parents were always as old as they are now

 

“Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan September 15, 2013

Images courtesy of GoodReads.com

The Facts

208 pages; published August 2013

The Basics

Reacting to the recent gay-bashing of a schoolmate, Craig and Harry set out to break the world record for the longest kiss. As they grow exhausted and the world watches via the Internet, the narrators take a fly-over of the current gay landscape, contemplating how the world has changed and is changing when it comes to the sight of two boys kissing.

The Review

A beautiful book, written in the omniscient voice of the generation of gay men who fell victim to the AIDS crisis of the 80s looking over, appreciating, commenting on, even envying the lives of the current generation of gay men. They introduce us to Craig and Harry who are endeavoring to make a statement by breaking the world record for the longest kiss; to Tariq, who has survived a recent gay-bashing incident; to Neil and Peter, a young couple a year into their dating life; to Avery and Ryan, who have just met and are exploring the possibilities; and Cooper, who trolls hook-up apps desperately looking for something to satisfy him. It is a fluid, chapterless narrative that is utterly riveting and deeply moving.

I’ll Recommend This Book To …

• Readers of all ages interested in GBLTQ issues
• Fans of realistic fiction looking for a memorable story
• Anyone who likes to have a good cry when they read
• Adults who survived and suffered the impact of AIDS in the 80s and 90s
• Developing writers who want to explore unique narrative styles
• The Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) for its 2014 Book Raves nomination list