Retro Reviews (2003)

For those of you who remember my old Spicyreads website (iWeb — oh, Apple, you are so stupid for getting rid of this web-making program), you may recall the clumsy word-document reviews that I had linked. I miss those reviews! Consequently, you will see a rash of posts in which I resurrect these reviews. I will not edit the review itself, but I have added a note about one or two titles, including Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan. Although I liked it quite a lot, I still wish I could go back to this review and really gush about a book that I now consider to be a classic!

These reviews are from 2003 and I think all of these books are still really good. Oh, Walter, you left us too soon. I own a copy of the Beast and I am so happy to see this review (NAACP Image award winner). The Martha Brooks title, the Polly Horvath masterpiece, Jennifer Donnelly’s Printz honor book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Gail Giles very creepy book, Billy Merrell’s first book (he now has a new one, Vanilla, which is well worth buying), Francesca Lia Block, Herbie Brennan, Garth Nix, and Jennifer Holm are in this review with books that are ALL still available and still worth reading. Enjoy!

The most difficult task in doing reviews, aside from formatting the titles, is deciding which books to include. “Why don’t you just tell about some of the books you read in the order that you read them without skipping any?” asks a friend, as I puzzled over what to include in this review. My friend continued, “You know that some of the books you don’t include in your top group will win awards. Some of these will be someone’s very favorite books.”

I can’t completely follow this suggestion because there are some books that I throw across the room in disgust, unable to finish; I don’t review books that I don’t finish. In some ways, my friend’s advice makes sense because any book that I finish has redeeming qualities by my criteria. As much as possible, here is a sampling of books I’ve completed recently. After the book price, is my initial, gut level quality ranking that is always subject to change. A book that receives a “10” (and there are two) is a must read, a book that I expect to win (even more) awards! Enjoy!

Merrell, Billy. (2003). Talking in the Dark. New York: Scholastic/Push. 136 pp. ISBN 0–439–49036–7 (Paperback); $6.99 (6)

Billy Merrell is a serious poet just out of high school. The winner of the first PUSH Writing Internship, Billy has produced a fine set of poems telling his story. Billy wants to fit in a “good world/ that is welcoming but was full enough without him.” You see, Billy is gay and he often realized “I was lonely, without actually being alone.” Readers view life through Billy’s eyes: your family is falling apart. Your parents’ marriage is dissolving. You live in a world that prefers silence to truth but you feel compelled to speak. The phrasing is well-crafted. The line breaks, thoughtful. Billy knows how to tell a story — an important one. Students and poets will appreciate the craft and the honesty of this talented poet.

Brennan, Herbie. (2003). Faerie Wars. New York: Bloomsbury. 370 pp. ISBN 1–58234–810–3 (Hardcover); $17.95 (6)

Teen reading surveys consistently demonstrate teen’s loyalty to fantasy. Faerie Wars will not disappoint them. Harry Atherton rescues a “butterfly” from a cat. This simple act launches us into parallel worlds. Purple Empires are under attack. The forces of Hael are loosed. Evil must be repelled. Harry and the “butterfly,” Pyrgus Malvae, a faerie Prince, team together with cranky Mr. Fogarty to protect both worlds. Plenty of actions, plenty of characters, tons of detail cater to the serious fantasy fan craving complexity. The action keeps us up late at night turning the pages; it may even allow us to forgive a missing plot edit. Teens who have read this say it is first rate.

Holm, Jennifer L. (2003). The Creek. New York: HarperCollins. 232 pp. ISBN 0–06–000133-X (Hardcover); $15.99 (6) [edited to add this book is back in print as an ebook, which should make teen horror fans very happy — ebook cover shown]

Need a creepy book for that middle school or ninth grade student? Want the book to be a cut or two above Goosebumps? Check out The Creek. Caleb is back from reform school and he is not at all reformed. He is still bug snake scary, ready to pick up where he left off before reform school. When a young child is killed, Caleb is the prime suspect. Penny knows, however, that Caleb is innocent. There isn’t much she can do to convince others, unfortunately, because she has killed Caleb.

Myers, Walter Dean. (2003). The Beast. New York: Scholatic. 170 pp. ISBN 0–439–36841–3 (Hardcover); $16.95 (6)

Myers returns once again to his beloved Harlem for the setting of The Beast. Anthony “Spoon” Witherspoon sees the hurt of Harlem, the drugs, the poverty, the gangs. He longs for the education that will set him free. For Spoon, this freedom comes in the form of a scholarship to a Connecticut prep school, in a much wealthier white neighborhood. But Spoon also sees the dreams and the love and the humanity of Harlem. This is the place where his friends, family, and, most importantly, Gabi — poet and love of his live — live. When Spoon leaves for Connecticut, his relationship with Harlem and Gabi shift. Both are torn. In a few short months, Gabi begins to experiment with Heroin, the Beast. Leaving Gabi for his new life, for the education he has always dreamed of, is the easiest choice. It may also be Spoon’s best choice. In this struggle between community and loyalty and self-respect, Myers asks us to consider whether Spoon has more than one beast to fight.

Donnelly, Jennifer. (2003). A Northern Light. Orlando: Harcourt. 389 pp. ISBN 0–15–216705–6 (Hardcover); $17.00 (9)

Mattie Gorkey has faith in words. In 1906 dreams of women writers often perish at the altar of housework, back-breaking farm chores, and babies. Still Mattie dreams and collects her words, stringing them together like precious pearls. When handsome Royal Loomis begins to shower her with attention, Mattie struggles with a brand new vocabulary: duty, expectation, obligation, tradition, and their cousins. Life proves to be a most difficult word for Mattie, with its random shading of love and racism, work and pleasure, desire and gender, joy and death. The way Donnelly marries literacy with living makes this book a prime cut above most new books this year. Don’t miss it, although it will not appeal to readers who care little for luscious language steeped in the history of an actual murder more than 100 years ago.

Brooks, Martha. (2003). True Confessions of a Heartless Girl. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Melanie Kroupa Books. 181 pp. ISBN 0–374–37806–1 (Hardcover); $16.00 (10)

Here’s a gem! Noreen’s none too nice. She steals her boyfriend’s truck and his money and takes off without much thought except for her own narrow, selfish needs. She lands in Pembina Lake and proceeds to wreak havoc in this small, prairie town. Dogs are not safe. Cabins burn. Trouble follows. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether Noreen’s motives are good or bad for trouble to follow her. Why should she even bother? The town people, Lynda Bradley, Dolores Harper, and Del Armstrong, don’t have much to offer. Lynda owns a ramshackle café well past its prime that serves as a metaphor of her own life. Dolores doesn’t have the energy anymore to be that meddler for Jesus. And Del is still haunted by the ghost of his drowned brother. Call it chemistry or fate or luck, but this unlikely medley of souls bumbles its way into a relationship that works, a relationship that may even transplant some heart back into Noreen. This book has already won Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award; it is sure to walk away with more awards this year. This one is a MUST READ.

Giles, Gail. (2003). Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press. 144 pp. ISBN 0–7613–1727–9 (Hardcover); $15.95 (6)

Dead girls don’t write letters and they usually don’t show up on your doorstep. Giles is making a name for her self with her psychological terror novels (Shattering Glass was published last year to critical acclaim). Sunny’s mother sleeps from one pill to the next. Her father swims around the booze bottles. Her parents still grieve over the apartment fire that consumed Jazz, their favorite daughter, and Sunny’s older sister. Sunny, however, is somewhat relieved to have this sneaky, torturing bully out of her life. When she receives a letter from Jazz announcing that she was working out of state when the fire destroyed her apartment, Sunny is conflicted. And when a person resembling her dead sister shows up at her door claiming to be Jazz, conflict grows exponentially because this Jazz seems so much nicer than her sister. The ending is problematic but the journey is riveting. (Teens recently selected this as one of the year’s best books, as reported on the YALSA list serve).

Nix, Garth. (2003). The Keys to the Kingdom, №1: Mister Monday. New York: Scholastic. 361 pp. ISBN 0–439–55123–4 (Paperback); $5.99 (7)

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen may be the fantasy series I appreciate most. How can you not love books that feature sword wielding middle school librarians? So it was with a sense of fear that I picked up Mister Monday, fear that Nix would not deliver with this series. Not to worry! Arthur, who suffers from deadly allergy attacks, is forced to participate in a run at his horrible new school. Just before he passes out, two outlandish beings hand him a key. Is it a dream? When he wakes, he still clutches the key and bizarre things begin to happen. Worlds pop up in places where they should not be. Dog faced men flutter about his window. Best (or worst) of all, Arthur discovers he is the lawful heir of this key, whose powers he doesn’t yet understand, and Mr. Monday is willing to kill to get this key back. This book is perfect for both younger and older students.

Haddon, Mark. (2003). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: A Novel. New York: Doubleday. 240 pp. ISBN 0–385–50945–6 (Hardcover); $22.95 (10)

In Great Britain this book was published as a young adult book and an adult book. It has two different covers. In the U.S. this book was only published as an adult book. I mention this bit of trivia because the oversight by its U.S. publisher could cost the book a Printz medal, which requires that a foreign book have an American version published in the same year of eligibility. The Printz committee may decide that the “American version” must be a designated YA version. I am hoping that the Printz committee overlooks the American publisher’s oversight and awards this book the Printz medal. This is the finest book I’ve read this year. The format is innovative and it adds to the message. It also has the distinction of making math sound like a life saving endeavor (complete with proofs!). Call this book a Sherlock Holmes meets Asperger’s syndrome. Christopher Boone is 15 and autistic. He can’t eat food that touches on his plate and he loves prime numbers. Christopher hates metaphors and loves similes. He sees a dead dog in his neighbor’s yard. It has been stabbed with a garden fork. Christopher decides to emulate Sherlock Holmes and solve the mystery of dead poodle Wellington. His search is hilarious, maddening, poignant, and always riveting. Readers will scream in the train station. The voice in this book is as close to perfect as the transition from the spoken to the written format will allow. The characterization of Christopher’s dad and mom are so human, we swear we know them. If you don’t read any other book this year, pick up this one! A MUST READ BOOK!

Peck, Richard. (2003). The River Between Us. New York: Dial Books. 164 pp. ISBN 0–8037–2735–6 $16.99 (8)

It’s 1916 when Howard Hutchings hops into his father’s model T for a visit to his father’s family, “on the other side of the Mississippi River down low in Illinois.” (p. 6). “Even at the age of fifteen I knew but little about who he was and where he’d come from. And so I knew but little about myself.” (p. 6). When Howard and his dad arrive in Grand Tower, Illinois and meet the Pruitts, the Novel shifts narrators from 15-year-old Howard to 15-year-old Tilly Pruit, his grandmother, as she relates her experiences during the Civil War. Her story begins as a steamboat whistles into Grand Tower depositing two women, Delphine and Calinda, who stroll around town flaunting money the Pruitt family only dream of earning. Who are these mysterious women? Are they mistress and slave? The Pruitt family agrees to rent them rooms as the Civil War grips and divides the town. Delphine and Calinda become the focal point of the community. As their murky history slowly comes to light, the women become embroiled in a fractious debate, the same debate that frames the Civil War. Peck’s take on the Civil War, with its close look at the effect it had on women, will make this book popular in history classes studying this period. The double time-slip format is a seldom encountered literary device that’s also worth discussing.

Horvath, Polly. (2003). The Canning Season. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 196 pp. ISBN 0–374–39956–5 (Hardcover); $16.00 (8)

This year’s National Book Award winner is the strangest book of the year. Ratchet has something growing on her back that she is not to show anyone. Her mother, Henriette, works at the Hunt Club waiting tables. She dreams of becoming a member one day. “Don’t hold your spoon like that, Ratchet! The Hunt Club! The Hunt Club!…Thank God for the Hunt Club!” And then Henriette sends Ratchet to stay with her elderly twin aunts, Tilly and Penpen, with orders not to show “that thing.” Tilly and Penpen preserve all sorts of fruit, especially blueberries. And of course we have bears to contend with too. Confused? Don’t worry, sense is not of primary importance in this wacky, dark, and disturbing book that nevertheless has a fabulous sense of family.

Levithan, David. (2003). Boy Meets Boy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 185 pp. ISBN 0–375–82400–6 (Hardcover); $15.95 (8) [This one has grown on me since that review and I now think of this as a book for all time, a classic. Definitely worth reading again!]

There is an old adage that a book featuring gay characters must kill them off — the more dramatically the better. Gay characters are victimized and troubled and disowned. Levithan, however, dares to have a popular character, dares to give this character accepting parents, dares to allow him to fall in love without causing communities to go into shock or riots to start. While the comments on Paul’s report card will cause teachers to do a double take (“Oh, I get it, this book is a fantasy”), the voice will delight. Paul accepts his life warts and all and he tries to make it better. Many of the issues, especially those concerning Tony’s family, will generate constructive conversation. Unfortunately the cover will discourage some teens from even considering this well written book. Too bad! Infinite Darlene is worth meeting.

Block, Francesca Lia. (2003). Wasteland. New York: HarperCollins. 150 pp. ISBN 0–06–028644-X (Hardcover); $15.99 (7)

I confess! I’m a Blockhead. Weetzie Bat is a book I return to like mashed potatoes. I can read Block’s description of a kiss and see it with brand new eyes over and over again. Wasteland has some of this marvelous language with a much darker plot that overshadows it. Marina and Lex, brothers and sisters, fall into an incestuous relationship. Or do they? Woven through this book are fragments of T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland, including one rather long quoted segment. The narration shifts back and forth between Lex’s journals and Marina’s third person account (but not obviously). The narration shift will be difficult for many readers, to say nothing of the Eliot references. When Lex says, “You are Spring in your jeans, in the laughing leaves. I think pearls melted over your bones” (p. 2), readers will understand why Block commands such respect; they may also wonder why Block felt she needed to turn over so much of her story to Eliot and inference. Block’s simple, direct language, as always, makes this book well worth reading.