Book Review - Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen's latest book, "Lock and Key," came out last Tuesday, and this librarian definitely ran out to a bookstore to buy it (and scored a signed copy). Our library copies should hit the shelf soon. High school senior Ruby has been living in a "broken home" of sorts -- her mom can barely keep down a job, and often uses drugs -- but she's still getting by. But then one day, her mom leaves and doesn't come back... period. Ruby's doing an alright job living in the house alone, but when the drier breaks, the landlord discovers she's on her own and calls social services. Ruby wants nothing more than to just keep living on her own, believes she doesn't need anyone, when her older sister turns up and takes her in. She hasn't seen Cora, who's ten years older than her, since she went off to college-- in Ruby's mind, effectively deserting the family. Cora's settled down now, with a husband, a dog, and a comfortable life as a lawyer, and Ruby couldn't feel more out of place in her sister's tasteful McMansion. She's not planning on staying there long, though, just waiting for the right time to make her escape and return to her real life. There's only one problem. The night she tries to make a run for it, she gets caught, by her brother-in-law, and the hot next door neighbor, Nate.

"Lock and Key" is another strong outing by Dessen, one that touches on issues of child abuse, family, friendship, and making a clean start. Her fans will enjoy a return to the familiar setting -- all of her books are set in a fictionalized college town in North Carolina -- as well as a brief run-in with a character from one of her previous novels.

Recommended for Dessen fans, teens that like to read realistic fiction with female protagonists.

Four out of Five Stars
* * * *

Book Review - Your Own, Sylvia

"Miss Barnes reviews the Printz honor books" continues! This weekend I read Your Own, Sylvia, by Stephanie Hemphill, a non-fiction recipient of the Printz honor this year. Stephanie Hemphill did an amazing job with this book, which is a collection of poems the Hemphill wrote, using Sylvia Plath's own poems as a guideline. The book takes you through Sylvia's tragically short life, with poems told from the viewpoint of Sylvia's mother Aurelia, boyfriends, friends, acquaintances, and her husband Ted Hughes.

For those of you not familiar with Sylvia Plath, she is a famous American poet who rose to fame in the 1950s and 60's with her poems published in all the major magazines. As a college student at Smith College in Massachusetts, she won a prestigious internship at Mademoiselle magazine. After college, she moved to Great Britain, studying at Cambridge and later settling with her husband Ted Hughes and two young children, in rural England. Sylvia suffered from depression and was an amazingly gifted writer and poet, as well as a terribly complicated person. She authored the book The Bell Jar, which is based on her experience with depression in college. Many factors contributed to her suicide when she was only thirty-one, but she will forever be remembered as a beautiful, gifted woman, who died before her time.

This book reminded me of my own experience reading The Bell Jar, in college, and the one summer I spent on Cape Cod, reading her journals. I had forgotten how vivacious and intense Sylvia was in high school and college, an overachiever that many people will identify with. Sylvia was talked about around campus, admired by guys and girls alike. Many, many men were drawn to her and found themselves falling in love with her. But as pretty and likeable as she was, Sylvia had issues that she had been dealing with since she was a young girl, when her father passed away. She explored these issues in her confessional poetry, and found herself surrounded by the literati, including Ted Hughes, who became one of England's preeminent poets.

Join the millions of women that have found their curiosity's piqued by Sylvia Plath and her genius, by checking out Stephanie Hemphill's Your Own, Sylvia.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended for: writers, poets, Sylvia Plath fans, people intrigued by genius, high-schoolers

Book Review - "Before I Die," by Jenny Downham

Finally, my copy of Jenny Downham's "Before I Die" came in last week. Our copy just cannot stay on the shelf! For a popular title, "Before I Die," deals with some heavy stuff. Our narrator Tessa is a British teen who's been living with leukemia since she was twelve. She's recently received news from her doctor that it's no longer responding to treatment. Our narrator Tessa is going to die. But Tessa doesn't give up on living just yet, definitely not. She makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies- things like sex, breaking the law, and getting her divorced parents back together. But things happen that were never on her list - like falling in love, and her best friend Zoey becoming pregnant.

It should come as no surprise that this is, towards the end, a terribly sad book. But it's also hopeful. Tessa is mad and frustrated at times, but she's not willing to go out with a whimper. She stands up for the things she wants, the things she would get to have if given the chance to live a full, 75+ year life. This librarian was absolutely sobbing at the end of this phenomenal book.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended to high schoolers who are okay with crying while reading

Miss Barnes continues on her quest to review this year's Printz honors!

This weekend, I read Australian author Judith Clarke's adorable book "One Whole and Perfect Day." Adorable? Hmm... Sixteen year old Lily would like for things to work out, just once, in her crazy life, with her crazy family. All she wants is, well, "one whole and perfect day." Her mom's so busy working all the time that Lily is stuck taking care of all things household; her 22 year old brother Lonnie can barely get his act together and has moved out of the house; her dad left before even getting a chance to meet her; her grandmother talks to her imaginary friend; her grandfather is at odds with Lonnie; oh, and she doesn't have a boyfriend! No wonder she just wants one perfect day.

The author does an amazing job of weaving in and out of the different character's lives, much in the way that adult fiction author Anne Tyler so skillfully does so. The characters are endearingly complicated and you just can't help rooting for each and every one of them. This is a "feel good book," but not at all in that cliche way. It's filled with delightful surprises at the end that will keep you smiling hours after finishing it.

Will Lily finally get that one perfect day? Read "One Whole and Perfect Day," by Judith Clarke, to find out.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended for anyone who likes books that brighten your day or enjoys reading interconnected stories.

New YA book turned movie!

Blake Nelson's book "Paranoid Park" has been adapted for film by Gus Van Sant ("Good Will Hunting"). The movie opened a few weekends ago to decent reviews. Unfortunately, it is rated R and currently only playing at one theatre in the Chicago area, Landmark Century Centre on the north side. Still, you might want to check out the book.

Miss Barnes reviews this year's Printz winner: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Okay, I'll admit that the Printz winner and honor books this year weren't really on my radar until the awards were announced, but if my reaction to the first book is any indication, wow, the Printz committee picked some fascinating books. "The White Darkness" is probably not the best book to read when you are in the Chicago area whining about how cold it is, since the book is set in Antarctica. Or maybe that makes it the perfect read.

Sym is a fourteen year old British girl who is definitely the odd one out in her group of friends. They enjoy gossiping about boys and reading teen magazines; Sym likes talking to a famous dead explorer, Titus Oates, in her head. If that premise makes you decide that the book is not for you, think again. Sym is just your regular eccentric underdog. It's just that the quirks I chose to tell you first, her defining quirks, are rather particular. She's also painfully shy. The one thing that seems to make her feel good is hanging out with her uncle, who has the same passion for Antarctic explorers, of which Titus Oates is among the most famous. He and his crew died trying to reach the South Pole.

Anyway, so when her uncle whisks her away to Paris for a weekend, Sym is totally stoked! And when he tells her that they might be heading "down south" for a few weeks, she's even more excited. Then she learns he's taking her to Antarctica. Within a few days, there she is, in Antarctica, one of the coldest, most barren and beautiful places in the world. They are there with a small group of adventure vacationers, aka rich people who wanted to see Antarctica. Things are going fine, until everyone gets sick. Everyone except for Sym and her uncle. Soon after, it becomes clear to Sym that her uncle had quite another mission in mind, one that will take them to the places Oates once saw, before he, along with his colleagues, perished.

"The White Darkness" is a riveting adventure tale that will have you shivering and convinced you are right beside Sym and the man in her head, Titus Oates, stuck in Antarctica with a crazy man. It's a small, thick book, but if you're a voracious reader, you'll get through it in no time. I started reading Sunday night, and finished it Monday afternoon. (And I worked all day Monday!) But this book is also more than an adventure tale, it's a test of character, a thriller, a peek into a weirdo's mind, and a brilliant read from start to finish.

* * * * *
Five Stars
Recommended to: adventure readers, anyone who likes literary fiction, and rooting for the underdog. Grades 8 and up.

Miss Barnes finally reads and reviews the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, by Libba Bray

I finally finished the second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, titled "Rebel Angels," last night before heading to bed and I have to say, "Wow!" I am totally sucked into this series! For those of you who haven't read any of these books yet ("A Great and Terrible Beauty" is the first, and "A Sweet Far Thing," the final), I'll give you a quick rundown. Gemma Doyle was a British girl living in India in the late 19th century, just going about her daily life when something really weird happens. Her mother dies under suspicious circumstances and she suddenly gets swept into an alternate reality; she hears and sees things that are not really going on around her. She and her family move back to London, and she is sent to a finishing school (fancy boarding school for girls of good breeding) called Spence. It is there that she makes new friends in Pippa, Felicity, and her roommate Ann, but most importantly, it is there that she learns about The Order, gains access to the realms, and takes her friends there.

Now, I am not one for fantasies, normally, or even a lot of historical fiction, but this series has totally captivated me. It's all because of the main character, Gemma Doyle. Gemma is a girl that doesn't take no for an answer. She seeks out the things she needs to know, whether its the proper thing to do or not, and she doesn't let guys rule her life. Sure, she has some crushes, but unlike Bella in "Twilight," she doesn't feel like she needs a guy in her life to complete her. Given that she lives in a totally different time period when women couldn't even vote, this fact really says something.

Clearly, Gemma has hit a chord with other readers, catapulting this series to the top of the New York Times bestseller list each time a new title comes out. If you like books about boarding school, fantasies, historical fiction, suspense, or mysteries, then definitely, check out the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.

So far, I am giving this series 4 stars * * * *

Hopefully, I will read "A Sweet Far Thing" very soon because it is very overdue!