Book Review: The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

When Lizzie is caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night, her life is ruined.  The school turns against her and her best friend Angie cuts her off completely.  Unable to cope, Lizzie kills herself.  But when Lizzie’s handwriting is found on lockers and pages of her diary are surfacing around school, it’s clear that someone is not ready to let her go.  Angie begins to investigate these mysterious appearances, she gets pulled deeper into darkness over her own guilt about Lizzie’s death.

In all honesty, I’ve been putting off reviewing this book because I’m so conflicted about it.  On the one hand, Pitcher’s debut attempts some pretty difficult stuff, both in its subject matter and in it’s fairly unlikely protagonist.  But amateurish writing, a desperate need for tighter editing, and a plot that sort of fizzles instead of explodes makes this one hard to remember.  After finishing it several months ago, the details have all but escaped me.

That’s not to say that there aren’t things that work here.  Readers are likely to be riveted by Angie’s narration.  A mystery that reads quickly, this one has appeal especially for reluctant readers.  There’s enough intrigue here to fill the pages, and some of the secondary characters are interesting enough to hold their own.

But savvy, sophisticated readers are going to stumble over the novel’s awkward writing and stilted dialogue.  Pitcher doesn’t ever seem to be in total control of her prose, and the result is a clunky narration that jars the reader out of the story too often.  Bizarre metaphors and similes clutter the pages, some of which are so bizarre they’ll leave you scratching your head in complete bemusement.  Surely that can’t have been Pitcher’s intent.

At times heavy-handed and perhaps a bit too issue-driven, this one isn’t a standout, despite its best intentions.  Although it’s likely to find an audience and might open up a dialogue about what it means to give power to words, it stumbles far too much in its delivery and its message to really pack a punch.  Disappointing.

The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher. Gallery Books: 2013.  Electronic galley accepted for review via Netgalley.

Book Review: Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter

Evelyn is sixteen, wants to be valedictorian, and is pregnant.  She’s really a good girl who has been playing bad in an attempt to get her preoccupied, distant parents to pay attention to her.  The result, however, has lasting consequences.  When the baby’s father slacks off, Evelyn is faced with some difficult decisions.

There’s no shortage of teen pregnancy novels, so when a new one is published, it has to stand out in some way.  Unfortunately, Caela Carter’s Me, Him, Them, and It doesn’t distinguish itself as a standout issue novel in any way.  The pronoun-heavy title gives you the gist of the novel, its cast of characters, and hints at how crowded the story will be with its issues.

And it is a crowded story.  Carter attempts to tackle way too much in this novel.  Everything from adoption, sexual orientation, divorce, religion, and race is touched on here, and one gets the sense that Carter was trying way, way too hard.  The result is that nothing has a lasting impact.

A drawn-out narrative doesn’t help matters.  Carter’s story drags on for so long that readers will feel like 9 months have actually passed as they read Evelyn’s self-indulgent narrative.  This book could have benefited from some tight editing and a heavy hand with the ‘delete’ key.

Of course, part of the problem with the narrative is that Evelyn is such a hard character.  Reader reactions will vary with regard to Evelyn’s personality, but many readers will be put off by her selfish, brash approach to life.  There are times where it feels very authentic, but it doesn’t make it any easier to like this heroine.  A cast of flat characters does nothing to help the fact that the narrator is grating.

This might work for teens looking for every book about teen pregnancy they can find (it happens), but there are so many other, better options out there it’s hard to recommend this one.  Overly long and with a lead character many readers will dislike, this is best for readers who can power through to the fairly satisfying, if rushed, conclusion.

Me, Him, Them and It by Caela Carter. Bloomsbury: 2013. Library copy.

Book Review: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

When Mallory’s boyfriend cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides to take a break from the modern ways of life.  Helped in part by a list her grandmother wrote in the 1960s, Mallory attempts to swear off technology and return to what she thinks must have been a “simpler” time.  But as Mallory becomes more ensconced in the ways of the past, she realizes her present is changing, and she might have taken the whole vintage thing a little too seriously.

Lindsey Leavitt brings her trademark humor and wit to this cute story of a contemporary girl trying to go vintage.  Although the novel didn’t work for me, there’s a lot here that teens will like.  Leavitt’s ability to create an authentic voice for her characters is on full display here, and the twist on technology will hook younger readers.  However, a crazy mess of subplots and some too-convenient plot points will make sophisticated readers roll their eyes.

Mallory’s voice feels authentic (if a little irritating), and her relationship with her loyal younger sister is fun to read.  The two are good girls from a good family, and Leavitt’s tendency to craft YA novels that are free of controversial material makes this a good choice for middle-grade readers.  All of this works well for the intended audience, but I couldn’t help but think that something was missing from the story.

Something about Mallory and her struggle to find balance after her breakup never quite gelled for me.  I found her often irritating and dubiously obtuse.  A too-convenient plot twist near the end of the novel was too much for me to take, and I felt the details of the book slipping away from me as soon as I finished it.  This wasn’t a standout, but that doesn’t mean it won’t find an audience.  Perhaps my expectations were too high, after loving Sean Griswold’s Head.

It’ll work for teens looking for a sweet, “clean” read, but it’s not very memorable.

Going Vintage by Linsdsey Leavitt. Bloomsbury: 2013. Electronic copy accepted for review via NetGalley.

Book Review: Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney

In this conclusion to Janie Johnson’s harrowing story about being kidnapped as a child and raised in another family, readers finally get answers to all the questions they have about Janie’s life, Janie’s families, and what happened to Hannah, the woman who kidnapped her.

Except this is a hot mess of a novel and pretty much undoes any of the good that the beginning of the series ever did.  Unless you’re a die-hard fan of Cooney’s early 90s series, there’s no reason to pick this one up.  Ever.  At all.  A confusing timeline, what can only be described as flat, lifeless writing, and virtually NO PLOT make this one a total miss.

Nothing about this ever gels.  Janie’s in college now, but she’s still as vapid and childish as she ever was.  The way she talks and thinks about the world is from another era, but somehow we’re in present-day, where everyone has Facebook and iPhones and is connected via social media.  If we’re only five years in the future from when the first book took place, how did we make such a jump in terms of technology?  Nothing about the previous story lines work within the context of present day, and because of this, nothing about this story feels at all plausible.

None of the other characters make up for Janie’s rampant obliviousness and selfish actions.  I read one review where the reviewer referred to Janie’s family as a bunch of “wackadoos,” and it really couldn’t be more apropos.  Everyone in the novel is straight up crazypants, and not in a fun way.  The only person with anything resembling an interesting voice is Hannah, and the novel’s rushed ending ruins even that.

Therein lies the real problem here: nothing happens.  For 300 pages, Cooney wastes everyone’s time by not doing anything to really further the plot.  It’s only in the novel’s rushed final pages that readers and characters alike get anything resembling a conflict, a climax, and a resolution.  It’s a bore and a chore to get through this one, and the pay off isn’t nearly worth the time invested.

If you’re a die-hard fan who must know if Janie and the totally cardboard Reeve get together, read the last couple of pages.  Other than that, this is a total miss.  Just go re-read the first novel in the series again and bask in the 90s glory.  A total disasterpiece.

Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney. Delacorte Books for Young Readers: 2013. Electronic galley accepted for review.

Book Review: How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Throughout Caitlin Moran’s humorous memoir, she interweaves observations about women’s lives today with anecdotes about her own experiences in becoming a woman.  Nothing is taboo or out of bounds for Moran, who covers issues such as Brazilian waxes, abortion, pregnancy, weddings, and popular entertainment without even pausing to catch her breath.  Equal parts funny and thought-provoking, Moran’s memoir is sure to delight while it also inspires.

Except that Moran spends too much time trying to delight, and not enough time actually thinking about her arguments and the kind of message they send.  It isn’t that Moran hasn’t done her homework–because it’s clear that she has–it’s more that she seems to subscribe too often to the classic white-feminist viewpoint and completely ignores intersectionality.

This is too bad, because Moran has some good stuff present in her humor-memoir-manifesto.  She doesn’t shy away from any topics, and her honesty is refreshing.  There are whole chapters that are particularly effective, including the one on abortion, which is searingly honest.  Her anecdotes about her childhood growing up in a poor, large family also lend humor and color to the book.

But there are so many moments where Moran goes off the rails that it’s hard to remain on her side throughout the book’s pages.  Moran tries so hard to hit all the marks of feminism while also remaining pithy and cool, and while this in and of itself gets a little grating, it’s her blind spots when it comes to intersectional feminism, transgenderism, and cissexism that are the most jarring in a book that’s supposedly a call to arms for all women.

Moran tends to see issues in a very black-or-white way.  While this is partially put into place to add to the humor of Moran’s book (and she is very funny), it’s also quite polarizing.  Of course, reader sensitivity will play a role in how all of her statements are taken, but the fact remains that her humorous tone often comes off as a little too dismissive:

Even the most ardent feminist historian…can’t conceal that women have basically done fuck-all for the last 100,000 years. Come on — let’s admit it. Lest stop exhaustively pretending that there is a parallel history of women being victorious and creative, on an equal with men, that’s just been comprehensively covered up by The Man. There isn’t.

It seems odd that Moran is making the argument that women have done nothing in the history of humankind.  While she is clearly exaggerating, it is this same kind of dismissive attitude that is so often applied to the histories of people of color by white people.  It is a slippery slope, and it’s also kind of offensive.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the end of Moran’s lack of empathy for marginalized groups.  Take, for example, Moran’s distinction between stripping and burlesque dancing:

With burlesque, not only does the power balance rest with the person taking her clothes off…but it also anchors its heart in freaky, late-night, libertine self expression: it has a campy, tranny, fetish element to it.

There’s a lot to unpack there, and whether or not the reader agrees with Moran about burlesque being so different from stripping is beside the point when one unpacks the offensive, loaded terms she uses to describe burlesque.  This sort of language is rife with cissexism connotations and feels particularly insensitive, given what Moran is trying to accomplish.

Not all readers will have the same reading experience, and many will enjoy Moran’s very British take on the current state of women’s issues.  However, anyone who is interested in a dialogue about intersectional feminism will have to look elsewhere, as Moran turns a complete blind eye to it in her memoir (and hasn’t been great about it on Twitter, either).

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. Ebury Press: 2011. Library copy.

Book Review: Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher

One day, while bored at IHOP, Bobby Steele and his friends Marcus and Big Poobs decide to create a fake application for Whitestone Academy, a fancy private school that rivals their own public one.  Rowan Pohi is born, and they have a good time creating a persona for this person.  But then Rowan is accepted to Whitestone, and Bobby decides to attend the school as Rowan.  Everything goes according to plan for a while, but Bobby can’t balance his two worlds forever, and eventually they come crashing together.

Readers, what can I say?  Nothing about this one worked for me.  It’s fluffy wish-fulfillment masquerading as deeper fiction, and the result is an uneven mess.  Even with a complete suspension of disbelief, the story seems improbable at best.  Half-baked characters and an underdeveloped plot make this one difficult to get through despite it’s very short length.

Even recognizing the story’s implausibility isn’t enough to make this one enjoyable.  When Bobby decides to attend Whitestone as Rowan, the reader knows he won’t be able to keep up the facade for very long.  Perhaps making things worse is the fact that Bobby is never a fully developed character, making his plight as a nice guy from the wrong side of the tracks fall completely flat.  This is exceedingly apparent, especially when he starts talking about the night his father abused his mother: it’s supposed to be upsetting, and it is, but it also feels incredibly manipulative.

Nothing about the story feels authentic in any way.  Bobby’s ultimate success at Whitestone feels completely undeserved and is largely underwhelming, as far as culminating events go.  Everything about this novel was underwhelming, except for the weirdly culturally insensitive and racist comments about Native Americans.

Definitely worth skipping.  It might work for reluctant readers (especially male ones), but there are so many better options out there it hardly seems worth it.

Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher. Clarion Books: 2011. Library copy. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel.

Book Review: The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci

For as long as they can remember, Tess and her younger sister Lulu have gone to the carnival.  Summers mean the trucks roll in and bring the delights of the carnival to their town.  This year, both girls are finally old enough to attend unchaperoned.  This means they can experience the carnival in a new way, and that means they can experience the carnival with boys.  But with these new experiences comes new jealousies, and the girls are about to experience a summer that will end in tragedy and forever alter the lives of everyone involved.

There are actually two stories at work in Castellucci’s novel: the story of the sisters, told through prose, and a retelling of the mythology of Medusa, told through comic/graphic novel format.  While the stories eventually converge, this is a jarring transition, and many readers will struggle to make sense of what is happening on the page.

Part of the problem with the dual narration is the fact that one of the stories is so much stronger than the other.  The story of Tess and Lulu is so much more powerful and emotionally resonant than the Medusa storyline, and yet it gets swallowed up by the mythology.  The exploration of jealousy and being lost in a sibling’s shadow would have been plenty for this slim novel, and yet it seems as though Castellucci wasn’t willing to let it stand on its own.

All that being said, Castellucci is a talented writer.  Readers will race through this one to see how it ends (it’s fairly predictable yet oddly compelling), or they’ll tear through it because they don’t quite understand what’s happening.  Either way, it’s likely this one will see most of its readers through to the end.

The Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci. Roaring Brook Press: 2012. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel.

 

Book Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

When Parker’s mother leaves her family to go live with her girlfriend, Parker’s charmed life is turned upside down.  She decides to make some changes, so she quits softball, loses weight, and starts hooking up with lots of guys.  But how far can Parker go before she goes too far and loses sight of who she really is?

Miranda Kenneally’s follow up to Catching Jordan offers more of what readers either liked or didn’t like in her first novel.  There’s some romance, some witty dialogue, and plenty of sports talk to be found.  Despite the book being jam-packed with issue after issue, the pacing is quick and the pages go by fast.  It’s an issues book disguised as a frothy romance.

In this one, Kenneally does away with those embarrassing poems that broke up the narrative of Jordan and instead allows the reader insight into Parker’s mind via her journal entries.  These work for the most part and help to make the self-destructive Parker sympathetic, even as she enters into an ill-advised relationship with the young, hot, softball coach.  There’s certainly authenticity to Keneally’s characters, and this is a stronger novel overall than her debut.

Even so, I was bored by this one.  There’s a formula to her Hundred Oaks novels, and while some readers will find comfort in that, I found only predictability.  It’s been a few weeks since I finished this one, and I barely remember it.  There’s definitely entertainment and escapism to be found here, but it won’t work for all readers.

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally. Sourcebooks Fire: 2012. Library copy. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel.

 

 

 

Book Review: Faking Faith by Josie Bloss

Dylan did a little sexting to make her boyfriend happy, and now she’s a social pariah.  No longer on speaking terms with anyone at her high school–including her supposed best friends–Dylan becomes ensconced in an online world where she discovers the world of homeschooled Christian blogging.  Posing as a fellow homeschooler named Faith, Dylan makes fast friends with Abigail, one of the most popular bloggers.  It isn’t long before Dylan ends up going to stay with Abigail and her family.  It’s there that Dylan learns that her actions truly have consequences.

There was a lot of promise in Bloss’s novel about telling the truth and figuring out who you are, but it never fully develops.  Bloss goes for complete cliches and offensive stereotypes and doesn’t ever ask her readers to ask the hard questions.  Also, it’s not nearly as interesting as it should be.

Part of the book’s problem in being uninteresting is that Bloss doesn’t allow her characters to be complex in any way.  While Dylan herself is fairly well-developed and clearly facing a dilemma, everyone else falls prey to the worst types of stereotypes about Christianity.  All of the men in the world that Abigail (and “Faith”) inhabit are domineering and overbearing.  The women are meek.  Readers get the sense that these Christians are unenlightened.

This is made worse by the fact that Dylan’s life provides a stark contrast with no nuance whatsoever.  While it’s clear that Dylan’s life is flawed, it’s glaringly obvious that her secular life is preferable to the oppressive world in which Abigail lives.  It’s a disappointingly shallow exploration of fundamentalism, and readers deserve better.
Uneven, uninteresting, and overall not worth a read.  Readers would be better to seek out something with a more balanced perspective.

Faking Faith by Josie Bloss. Flux: 2011.  Library copy. Read for 2012 Cybils YA Panel Round 1.

Book Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

Jacqueline follows her high school boyfriend to college.  Then he dumps her at the beginning of sophomore year, and she’s not sure what she’ll do next.  When she’s assaulted by her ex’s frat brother, her rescue comes in the form of a stranger who saves her and drives her home.  All Jacqueline wants is to forget about the attack, but her savior Lucas sits behind her in one of her classes and doesn’t seem to be making it easy for her to move on.  It doesn’t help that Lucas is seriously hot and her would-be attacker seems to be almost stalking her.  Sophomore year ends up being more than Jacqueline ever could have imagined.

Gentle readers, I’m not sure about this one.  I’ve been sitting on this review for a long time, trying to figure out exactly what it is that I want to say, and I’m still unsure of how I want to review it.  While it’s certainly an enjoyable book and isn’t lacking in the heaps of praise department, something about this didn’t sit right with me from the beginning.

Using an attempted sexual assault as a meet-cute for our heroine and hero feels manipulative and wrong.  It’s possible that not every reader will view the inciting event in this way, but I couldn’t get past the feeling that Webber was pulling every string at her disposal to make the plot work.  Although the novel had some good things to offer and Webber certainly creates a compelling story with well-developed main characters, I couldn’t get past the uneasy feeling that followed me throughout.

There’s also the issue that the book is in serious need of editing and trimming down.  There was no reason for Webber to include some of the book’s elements, particularly in the case of the mistaken identity subplot.  And while Webber does indeed write some steamy scenes, there’s also so much waffling on the part of both main characters that the novel feels much longer than it should.  Some of this could have been tightened with the help of a strong editor.

That being said, this book has found an audience and will continue to do so.  The fact that it’s a self-published book that got a major-publisher pickup and features older YA characters sets it apart from other titles in the genre.  There’s certainly stuff to like here; I just wanted it to be better and not make me quite so uncomfortable.

Easy by Tammara Webber. Create Space: 2012. Electronic copy. Read for 2012 Cybils Round 1 Panel.