Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 1999, Penguin
198 pages
I've been wanting to read Speak for a while now for a couple reasons. Number one reason: it is often acclaimed as one of the most influential YA books of our time and it has a surprising number of awards under its belt to back that up (including a Printz Honor as well as being a finalist for the National Book Award). Number two reason: I really enjoyed Prom, also by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I wanted to see how she successfully pulled off two books with such different tones (Prom is light and humorous, and Speak is notoriously heavy).
The narrator is Melinda Sordino, a girl who begins her freshman year of high school as a total outcast. Through the narrative we learn that she wasn't always a complete outcast, but a traumatic event toward the end of summer turns her into a virtual mute and makes her friends abandon her. There is very little dialogue, as Melinda very rarely talks, and Anderson did an interesting job of creating a stream of consciousness writing style, so I felt like I was inside Melinda's head as she tried to navigate through the usual freshman year conflicts (where to sit at lunch, being stopped in the halls without a hall pass, cliques, report card woes, etc.) as well as her own obvious internal strife.
Melinda is clearly depressed and dejected, her only real outlet for expression being her art class. About halfway through the book I started to wonder if I was ever going to find out what happened to her that so dramatically changed her life. There are little hints throughout the book, and you do finally find out what went so wrong over the summer, though I won't say it here. I have to say that I wish the revelation was a little more surprising, but I liked that it wasn't over-dramatized. What comes after the revelation is a bit more surprising, almost to the point of being unbelievable, and that's the only aspect of this book that I didn't really love.
As it turns out, I found the tones of Prom and Speak to be very similar. Anderson maintains her signature style of short chapters, subtle humor, and sarcastic observations of high school life. The huge difference between the two books is that the subject matter is much more intense in Speak, so despite the occasional humor, it never breaks into the realm of "lighthearted" or "fun." I've only read two books by Laurie Halse Anderson, but I would feel fully confident picking up another one of her books any time I was looking for something to read. It's hard to put her books down, and she has a unique and honest perspective that I really appreciate.
I decided to put an end to my "week-long series of posts" because I noticed my page views decreased dramatically. I guess it was just too much Julie in one week. That's fine, though, and because I want to produce a blog that you actually want to read, I will avoid giving so many negative reviews in a row and I am going to add a "recommended" tag to all the books I liked, to make it easier for you to find a bunch of them at once.
Now I want to move on to what this post is actually about: the ALA 2011 Youth Media Award Winners, announced earlier this week. Most of the books featured on this blog are young adult or "YA" books, which means the intended age group is about 12-18 years old. The reason I'm so interested in these books is because they have experienced a surge in popularity among all age groups in recent years (think Twilight and Harry Potter), and I think that means there is something special about them that really strikes a chord with many people. I also read many books intended for a slightly younger audience, although I have not blogged about many of them because I think they have a more limited audience.
Based on my interest in these two types of books, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the two ALA awards I am most interested in are the John Newbery Medal and the Michael L. Printz Award. So here are the winners and honorees of my two favorite ALA awards:
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| 2011 Newbery Winner |
Newbery Winner "for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature": Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool
Newbery Honors: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm; Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus; Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman; One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
I just want to quickly mention how relieved I am that The Dreamer was not awarded the Newbery or even a Newbery Honor. It was awarded, however, the Pura Belpré Award for "honoring a Latino writer whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience."
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| 2011 Printz Winner |
Printz Winner "for excellence in literature written for young adults": Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Printz Honors: Stolen by Lucy Christopher; Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King; Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick; Nothing by Janne Teller
I realize it's very "librarian" of me to push award-winners, but there really is something to the award process and if you're looking for something good to read and don't have time to browse, these lists are usually a pretty safe place to start. Another great list that may be a little less prestigious but may be more interesting for my readers, is the list of Alex Awards "for the best 10 adult books that appeal to teen audiences."
Take a closer look at some of these lists and I guarantee you will find at least a couple books that interest you. I'm most excited to read Ship Breaker and Nothing, but you can probably expect to see most, if not all, of these books on here eventually.
Author: Robert Cormier
Published: 2001, Delacorte
154 pages
I wanted to read another book by Cormier because I was largely unimpressed by his most famous work, The Chocolate War, and I wanted to give him another chance before writing him off. I chose this one because I figured if I didn't like it, it was only 154 pages of my time. The writing style that I found so gripping in The Chocolate War, combined with a story line that contained at least some realistic characters made this a much more enjoyable read for me.
The majority of the book takes place inside a small police interrogation room, where master interrogator Trent grills the introverted and clearly innocent 12-year-old Jason about the recent murder of Jason's 7-year-old friend Alicia. We know Jason is innocent from the outset of the story and Trent quickly determines that for himself as well, but what Trent also knows is that he is fully capable of forcing a confession out of this vulnerable young boy. And with a job advancement within his reach, Trent knows that getting a confession in such a high profile murder case would greatly enhance his standing with the department as well as local political officials.
It was wildly frustrating to see Jason, a shy boy who just wants to give the "right" answer and help out, be completely taken advantage of and backed into a corner. In this respect, Trent is a character a lot like the overwhelmingly evil characters Cormier created in The Chocolate War; but, unlike them, Trent does still have some redeeming qualities. Cormier must have really done his research before writing this book, because it is chock-full of interesting facts about body language, patterns of speech, and interrogation techniques.
With a semi-surprise ending and Cormier's intense and suspenseful writing style, this one was definitely a win for me. I will definitely re-read it if I ever plan on committing a heinous crime and need some tips about how to behave in an interrogation room. Besides that, I think I'll branch out a bit in Cormier-Land because I just read about a bunch of his other books and they seem to have more in common with this one (murder, criminals, and violence) than The Chocolate War (prep school, boys, and priests).
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Published: 2005, Viking
224 pages
So this was supposed to be a "week-long series of posts," but then I fell asleep around 9 last night and fell behind on the second day. Whoops! Let's see if I can catch up. This is not a book I would normally pick up myself, because the cover makes it look like pure chick lit. I don't have a problem with chick lit, but it's just not my favorite style. I had to read this book for a class and I'm glad I did because it turned out to be a really entertaining and worthwhile read.
Ashley, a 17-year-old senior in a Philadelphia high school, comes from a lower-middle-class family. She's an average teenager with a pretty large group of girlfriends and one best friend Natalia. Natalia is on the prom committee and completely obsessed with everything "prom." Ashley doesn't even plan on going to prom, and has already mostly disengaged herself from high school, focusing most of her energy on her embarrassing job, moving in with her slacker boyfriend T.J., and life after high school. When a math teacher steals the prom money and Natalia finds herself somewhat incapacitated, Ashley ends up at the heart of the prom committee, dealing with issues she didn't even think she cared about.
This book didn't completely blow my mind, maybe because the subject matter is light and "chick-lit-ish," but I definitely got some good laughs out of it. Both Ashley's and Natalia's families are quirky and hilarious, and I really enjoyed Anderson's honest portrayal of high school and family life. It is Ashley's normalcy that makes her a completely refreshing YA character. She's not extremely rich or poor, like so many characters in YA literature. She doesn't go to boarding school, and her parents and siblings are a constant presence in her life, another (realistic) characteristic that sets her apart from many YA characters. Additionally, Anderson's writing style is engaging and hard to put down. The chapters are short, and the dialogue is nicely done.
Laurie Halse Anderson's debut novel, Speak, was a finalist for the National Book Award and also received a Printz Award Honor, quickly establishing her as one of the most influential YA authors of our time. I haven't read Speak yet, but from what I've heard it has very heavy subject matter (often described as "gritty"), and I'm interested to see how it contrasts with this lighthearted and mostly-upbeat story. The fact that Anderson was able to pull off both styles successfully really "speaks" (ha!) to her versatility as an author.
Author: Gayle Forman
Published: 2009, Dutton
199 pages
In honor of my cousin Jaclyn, who recently asked for a book recommendation in her Facebook status because apparently I don't give enough positive reviews in this blog, I am doing a week-long series of posts about books that I do recommend. Don't worry, everybody, I have an arsenal of recommendations up my sleeve; I've just been holding back to keep you all on your toes. The time has come, though, and I begin with this sweet, easy read by Gayle Forman.
This book is written from the first-person perspective of 17-year-old Mia. On a snow day, she and her very tight-knit family (Mom, Dad, brother Teddy) decide to take a little road trip that ends in a fatal accident for everyone in the family but Mia. For the majority of the book, Mia is in a coma but her conscious self is wandering around the hospital, watching her remaining family, friends, and doctors and nurses handle the situation.
The narration alternates between stories of Mia's almost-perfect former family life and her current state of watching herself struggle to hold onto life on a hospital bed. At some point, she realizes that she has the power to decide whether she "stays" or dies (hence the title: "If I Stay"). Mia goes back and forth between not wanting to continue living because she doesn't want to be an orphan and also because it is "easier to die" and wanting to continue living because she has so many close loved ones (including an amazing, but still believable, boyfriend as well as a great best friend) and life ahead of her.
Mia's family is quirky and totally lovable and believable. Her parents are former punk rockers who give her a lot of freedom and a lot of love. Her boyfriend is a punk rocker, too, and they have a great (but not too-perfect; they have many real-life relationship conflicts) relationship that I really appreciated. In the stories sprinkled throughout the narrative, Mia describes her perception of her place among all these characters, and the picture Forman paints is both honest and realistic. Mia doesn't feel like she totally fits in because she's a concert cellist and all her loved ones play rock instruments. She's not part of the popular crowd in school, but she's fine having just one really good friend. In the end, she is weighing her options and trying to figure out if she has a place in a world without her immediate family.
Forman raises some interesting questions about life and death, but she also raises some good questions about family. Is your family limited to the one you're born into, or can it also include the people you've chosen to surround yourself with? Who are you without your family? Do you have the same identity if the people who have known you the longest are suddenly gone?
Mia's family reminded me of my own freakishly close family, and maybe that's what I liked about this book so much. I don't know who I'd be without my crazy family, even if they do sometimes insult me by looking elsewhere for book recommendations.
