Well, technically, this post should be "books for guys!" I've come across many great books for teen guys recently, that I'd love to share! (P.S. - I'm almost at my 100 books for the year - 6 more to go! See J. Kaye's Book Challenge - link on the left).
First up, and one of my favorites of the year, is The Vast Fields of Ordinary, by Nick Burd. This is the story of a gay teen in Midwest Iowa who is struggling with telling his family he is gay, standing up to bullies, and being true to himself. Sounds like any other teen book, but honestly, it's just beautifully written and must read for any YA librarian. The words are just so carefully chosen - each line is to be savored. The characters are well-written and the only mar is the very end, where he appears to have written the book you're holding in your hands (a little trite/overdone).
I just finished this book the other day. A great graphic novel, honored by YALSA and Library Journal, Life Sucks is funny, poignant, and best of all, doesn't end "happily ever after" (but the ending isn't too sucky, which is nice).
This was the perfect book to read at this time of year (Christmas season). I haven't read these authors previous endeavors (shame on me!), which include Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. While the story started out great, and was good enough that I couldn't put it down, I was slightly disappointed in Lily's character and thought that Dash made a big change - maybe too big for his character. I really wished that Lily had been more offbeat and less innocent, like it appeared she was in the notebook's first entries. Still, a fun, nice, easy read for the holidays!
I just finished this book yesterday. Crazy by Han Nolan (a woman) beautifully captures the mind of a teen boy, whose biggest fears are losing his "crazy" father, and becoming crazy himself. He battles voices in his head (characters that he has made up and really has pretty good control over) and the idea of making friends (and thus letting them in to his abnormal, perhaps embarrassing life). I thought the author did a good job of not only portraying a teen boy's emotions and thoughts, but especially of how someone deals with death and mental illness. Excellent book, overall.
This was one of the few non-fiction books I read this year. The Duel: The parallel lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr by Judith St. George is a fast read that nicely summarizes while also revealing interesting details. It was fascinating to see how the two lives intertwined and I refreshed my history along the way (smile).Well, that's it for now - I'll be back in January for my summation of 2010 (my favorite picks) and my goals for the new year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you get some books in your stocking!
