Compul1on

A compelling entrée into the claustrophobic world of an OCD teen. On the field, in the hallway and to his one good friend, Luc, Jake is Magic Martin, quirky but respected star soccer player. Only his sister, Kasey, now a high-school freshman, knows the truth about his family: Money is tight, their mother is mentally ill and their father is running on a constant low boil. And no one but Jake knows that he is constantly at war with the "spiders" in his brain, battling their encroaching, strangling webs by obsessively monitoring and manipulating numbers. The author immerses readers in Jake's anxious reality. The time is of constant concern to Jake, the digits of which add, subtract, multiply or divide into a prime number ("OK") or don't ("Fuck"). Tiny, mundane actions—tapping the beak of a lawn flamingo, touching a grandfather clock—become fraught with tension. The author deftly illustrates the impact of Jake's obsessions without relying on exposition; readers see through Jake's eyes the paramount importance of maintaining the "magic" and through their own eyes the hours upon hours lost to counting and tapping. The climax is both inevitable and gripping, and, although Jake longs for the day the spiders retreat for good, the conclusion that he must instead learn to cope with their presence comes as relief to protagonist, but left the reader wanting more.
Taut, suspenseful and well-realized this complex novel is sure to keep the attention of readers willing to delve into it.

She likes, He likes

Sanchez has created yet another addition into the oeuvre of LGBTQI literature. Here he is focused on the “B”. In this latest book, Sanchez introduces readers to the nearly perfect lives of Lance and Ally an attractive All-American gay teen and his “straight” best friend as well as their respective love interests Latino bisexual Sergio and his closeted butch lesbian best friend Kimiko. The story opens as the two pairs are about to meet. Lance and Sergio are instantly smitten with each other and Ally is mysteriously drawn to Kimiko. Both pairs are forced to deal with the obstacles that bisexuality presents. Lance is unable to understand how Sergio could possibly be bisexual and is determined to make Sergio gay; while Sergio is reluctant to date Lance exclusively because he is afraid of heartbreak. Ally is slowly becoming more curious about her attraction to women, going so far as to break up with her long term boyfriend, while Kimiko deals with an overbearing parent.
Alternative sexuality abounds as each character tries to fully understand themselves and the difficulties surrounding love. This novel deals with the common issue of sexual identification that many adolescents deal with. However, Sanchez’s newest novel is a tad heavy handed and can come across as “preachy”. While he creates characters that are interesting and different, readers may become bored after the initial introductions. The story seems to meander and lacks any direction other than to the obvious romantic conclusions that pair Sergio and Lance in a committed monogamous relationship, and Ally and Kimiko beginning to test the waters.

Something with Bite

Editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have created an interesting if yet still ancillary addition to mass of vampiric literature that has flooded the young adult collections. Readers will recognize some of the heavy-weights of teen literature such as Cecil Castelucci, Neil Gaiman, and Garth Nix; interspersed with lesser known names to truly cover the gamut of alternative vampire lore. Datlow and Windling have selected titles that range from entertaining and inventive to down right creepy; such as Sunbleached by Nathan Ballingrud, in which a teenage boy imprisons and tortures a vampire in the crawl space underneath his house only to have the tables turned once the sun has gone down.
While many of the selections take the vampire lore to imaginative places, others are overly predictable, or in one case down-right random; such as Christopher Barzak’s Gap Year. In which, Barzak introduces reader to a world which a multitude of vampire-types exists, including vampires that fed on a variety of things including darkness, tree bark, human voices, attention, and even feelings, many of which go unnoticed by their human carriers until their specific “hunger” appears. This premise leads readers to assume everyone in a vampire of sort, and to feel less than satisfied when they discover that the heroine is one as well.
While other vampire novels are entering the market daily, this collection of short stories are for the most part entertaining and are sure to excite readers hungry for more vampire literature, the misses are few and overall this title is interesting enough to distinguish this title as a worthwhile Young Adult purchase.

Love Will Keep Us Together....

Lily is a sentimental teen, Dash is not. Lily loves Christmas, Dash does not. Lily and Dash are polar opposites, so when Lily leaves a red moleskin notebook at the used bookstore, it is inevitable that Dash should be the person that finds it. Cohn and Levithan have paired up again to write a schmaltzy holiday novel. On paper Dash and Lily shouldn’t be compatible, but as they begin to reveal little bits of themselves through challenges presented in the red moleskin notebook, it becomes apparent that they are more alike than even they would like to admit.
This romantic holiday romp enforces the idea that sometimes the people we imagine in our heads are nothing like their real life counterpart, and sometimes they can be exactly what we are looking for. Readers will follow through the ins and outs of New York city, with characters that are edgy and humorous all at the same time.
Not as inventive or cute Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, but will be sure to grab fans of both of these authors.

They're Cousins...Identical Cousin...

AUTHOR: Rallison, Janette
TITLE: My Double Life

Alexa is a smart and likeable teen. She is shy around boys and happens to have an eerie resemblance to the dim-witted pop star Kari Kingsley. When a picture of Lexi is seen by Kara’s manager, Ms. Pomperoy a plan begins to hatch in which Alexa begins to fill in as Kari at smaller events to allow the pop star to focus on her music. Readers discover that Alexa’s true motivation is to continue this charade in order to meet her father, superstar Alex Kingsley.
Rallison attempts to highlight the fast paced lifestyle of Hollywood, filled with glamorous parties, instant makeovers, and love triangles come off as over-kill. The constant introduction of new tribulations for Kara and Alexa to deal with seems heavy handed and forced and storylines about Kara’s supposed shopping and gambling addictions appear to be less than realistic. Readers discover that these are the root of Kari’s financial woes and the reason behind needing to hire a double. Through the twenty page resolution, Kara is in rehab for her addictions, Alexa has a new beau, and her mother and father are beginning to rekindle a relationship.
Fans of Rallison will be pleased with a new addition to her library of chick-lit. However, this novel will not assist her in finding any new audience.

Love is a many splendered thing...

AUTHOR: Cart, Michael
TITLE: How Beautiful the Ordinary

Each story focuses on a different aspect of identity, whether it be gender or sexual. Cart managed to edit a cohesive collection of short stories that is incredibly strong. Readers will be pleasantly that some of their favorite authors are attempting new techniques within the collection, most notably David Leviathan’s non-traditional short story in which he speaks directly to the audience and asks them the difficult questions. Many of the protagonists are secure in their sexuality from the stories inception, however not all of these characters are teens. In fact, many of the protagonists in this novel are young adults and in one case is over forty. In addition, the novels not only tend to range in age but in the graphic nature as well. This novel may find a difficult niche market, however fans of any of these authors would be remiss if they were to pass up this collection.

Death comes calling...

AUTHOR: MacHale, D. J.
TITLE: Morpheus Road: The Light

Fans of MacHale will rejoice in this new series. With a much darker tone than that of the Pendragon books, the Morpheus Road tells of a boy named Marshall, a nerdy boy with very few friends. When his best friend is caught trying to sell counterfeit tickets, his punishment is an entire summer up in a cabin in the woods. Marshall soon realizes that his summer has just taken a turn for the worse and he has no idea just how bad it will get. Something is very wrong, in truth this typical teen that has just unleashed a very dangerous monster and that now his best friend is missing.
Full of the macabre, this novel is truly creepy with strange and mysterious occurrences attempting to help and harm our young protagonist around every corner. MacHale will have readers guessing what is real and what is imagined, but most importantly what is going to happen next. The characters are all extremely well drawn and immediately the readers are drawn in to Marshall’s situation.
Adults play a secondary cast to the happenings revolving around Marshall, and his unwilling partner his best friend’s super hot and insanely popular sister Sydney, yet the plot line is believable enough to keep you wanting more. This is the first book in an anticipated trilogy

Add 2 parts Love and 1 part Death...

AUTHOR: Nelson, Jandy
TITLE: The Sky is Every Where

While attempting to enlighten readers as to the varying affects that death can have on those left behind, Jandy manages to draw readers in with a mix of mystery, romance and grief. Our protagonist Lennie is a talented musician happy to hide in the shadows of her sister Bailey’s vivacious personality. When her sister dies and she is thrust into the limelight she shrinks away, cutting out friends and ignoring her family members. She finds solace in the form of her sister’s boyfriend Toby, and the new musical ingénue Joe Fontaine. As time progress she is able to appreciate the musical talent and grows to love Joe, at the same time she is having an intensely physical relationship with Toby. Lennie knows that her actions are wrong but continues nonetheless.
This novel is overwrought at best. Understanding the after affects of a sibling death seems to get lost in translation. Characters are cliché and flatly drawn, specific plot points are never fully explained, and the idea that grief and physical attraction are somehow intertwined seems heavy handed. The voice of Lennie fluctuates from whiny and love-struck to deeply depressed within a matter of a few sentences. Readers discover that not only were Toby and Bailey destined to be married, but that she was also pregnant with his child.
This novel attempts to cover too many issues and while it makes the story interesting it also allows for the message to get lost. Finding an audience for this novel would be difficult at best, since this is not a traditional love story or even a well told story of grief.

Romance...Blomance----(puke)

AUTHOR: Balog, Cyn
TITLE: Sleepless

In the ever increasing collection of paranormal romances Sleepless falls quickly to the middle of the heap. Told in alternating chapters, Balog introduces us to Eron and Julia. Eron DeMarchelle is a Sandmen, a demure and sophisticated creature that aids in putting helpless humans to sleep and protecting them from themselves. Julia is an innocent human whose long time boyfriend has recently died in a horrible car accident.
After one hundred years of service Sandmen are granted a fresh start, a chance to live the life the lost, only after they train their replacement. Enter Griffin, a brash and abrasive Sandmen in Training, more concerned about sneaking into the bedrooms of his more attractive charges, than fulfilling his duties.
Some readers may be intrigued by the introduction of the Sandmen and the art of putting people to sleep. However, very little of the back story is explained. Eron is perhaps the most well developed character, and readers will be charmed by his

I hear voices....

AUTHOR: Nolan, Han
TITLE: Crazy

Jason is a likeable protagonist who uses humor as a way to deal with the problems that life is throwing at him. After the death of his mother, the only woman that could keep his father “normal”, it quickly becomes Jason’s sole responsibility to keep what is left of his family together, even if that means having a father who sees images of Greek Mythology and refuses to take his medicine, no heat, no money and barely any food . Secretly, Jason is hoping that someone will take notice of his actions in school, but only after he is referred to an at-lunch counseling group does he truly recognize the dangers that this possesses. Nolan navigates the difficulties of high school, death, divorce, drug addiction and mental instability through Jason and his friends. Readers are exposed to a very real and dramatic view of a life surrounded by mental illness and all that in entails. Through it all Jason understand the true meaning of a family and the importance of having a healthy support system.

War...What is it good for?

AUTHOR: Scott, Elizabeth
TITLE: Grace

This dystopian novel explores the ideas or religious zealotry, while putting a human face on both sides. Grace was given away by her father to the Angels to be trained for one goal, to become a suicide bomber and take out an important person in the government. Unable to give her life for something she does not believe in, she flees aboard a train, only to discover that the person she is traveling with is one of the most dangerous men in the country. As they travel close to the border, Grace learns more about the man she is traveling with and how they share more in common than either had thought possible.

Scott does an exceptionable job at portraying the sheer dedication of suicide bombers and idea that people that are so vastly different can share things in common.

Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle...err, brother

AUTHOR: Oppel, Kenneth
TITLE: Half Brother

When forced to reconcile the idea of humanity, 13-year-old Ben Tomlin learns to appreciate family members in whatever size, shape and species they come in. Zan was taken from his mother after only a few days and given to the Tomlins to be raised and cared for as their own. Zan which happens to be short for Tarzan is a chimpanzee. As Zan grows, his new family attempts to teach him sign language and to test to see if it is possible for chimps to learn language.
As time passes, Ben sees Zan as more of a little brother and less and less as a science experiment, his sentiment is not shared by his father. While Zan is learning words and sign and beginning to combine them to form thoughts, he also begins to demonstrate typical animal characteristics and after a while it is decided that Zan must be sold. Oppel makes this story compelling and interesting, while the books setting 1970’s Canada is a bit unfamiliar and at times awkward, the story of Ben and Zan is heart wrenching and will force readers to ask what makes a creature human.