Paige works on her high school newspaper, she enjoys the idea of being a reporter but struggles with the fake school garbage that surrounds her. not only that, she's been asked to work on the school yearbook. Attached to this are some awfully mean students, Grace & Laura for example. These two make a point to highlight the embarrassing moments of others, they want these toxic moments put in the yearbook, making Paige's life even harder. In addition, Paige's home life is a mess. Her father is a monster, the entire family has to walk on eggshells around him. Her brother, Adam, is the one the family adores, but he's gone off to university, leaving the brunt of her father's insecurities and outrage on Paige and her mother. Paige's only solace is her aunt Polly and someone else, a mysterious stranger in her school who leaves messages written in red ink in her assigned reading. Desperate to find out who it is, Paige tries to find out who she is at the same time, because nobody in her immediate life seems to care. The Yearbook is a searing look at the toxicity of high school, the social pressures that pile up along with the educational ones. In addition, it has some very real moments regarding family tensions. Her father is a brutal ogre but his sinister nature isn't all yelling and breaking things, it's the subtle ways the family must dance around him, creating prepared statements for him, readying the house before he gets home. This is how people must deal with a true narcissist, and true narcissism is a very, very scary thing to behold. Holly Bourne is a master at writing for the teenage heart in all its broken glory. I highly recommend this for ages 13 and up!
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Lex is burning alive. At least that's how she feels inside. Her soon to be step-father, John, is a monster, but nobody else really sees it that way. Since being with John, Lex's mother has undergone what can only be described as a lobotomy, she's placid, meek and anxiety ridden. Lex's step-sister Iris is young and innocent and caught up in the angry whirl-wind that is John's behaviour. Sometimes he's sweet, sometimes he's not. When Lex's mother and John get into it and the swearing starts and things get thrown around, that's when Lex's monster comes out. She becomes the furious thing, trashing the house, damaging property, running away. John thinks Lex needs to be medicated, and he's got a doctor friend who can do just that. Desperate, Lex turns to the only person who has ever got her, Kass, her soon to be step brother, whom she also has had an undying crush on for years. Kass is in university in Manchester, he's also desperate not to become like his father, although sometimes his behaviour says otherwise. As the wedding looms, and the situation at home starts to collapse, Lex starts to do even more outrageous things to get her mother's attention to what she's become. Furious Thing is one of the best YA I've read in a while. Lex isn't just living with a monster, John is written as a complex character with sides that allow Lex to see why her mother loves him. Lex is also a deeply complicated, flawed person, someone I wish I knew when I went to high school. Someone who goes with her gut, is desperate to feel something in this life and to show others what it's like to love and hurt. I think this is a beautiful story about life and love and abuse and deciding you aren't going to take it any more. Highly recommend it for ages 14+. Trigger warning for sexual abuse. Amelie has just moved from Sheffield, UK to the southern part of the country, her dad has a new job and she's going to university. She's leaving behind her friends and most importantly Alfie, the boy she loves. Together they've made a pact, that they will give each other space but get back together in two years. Things seem to be going ok at first, Amelie meets Hannah, a nice girl who shows her around. When she performs and wins a local music talent show, she's introduced to Reese, a student and singer in a local band. It's love at first sight, but is it? What follows is a harrowing story of abuse. Reese tells Amelie he loves her over and over again, then casually insults her in front of his friends. He insists every mean thing he says is a joke, but his "mood swings" become more and more intense and Amelie finds herself obsessed with keeping him happy, walking a dangerous tightrope as she tries to keep him from flying into a rage at something trivial. Then, to keep him happy, to save what she thinks is a normal relationship, she begins to buckle to his pressure to do other things. This is a terrifying novel, Amelie's descent into this manipulative, toxic relationship is something that is tragically all too real. This novel is like an air raid siren for the soul, a warning shot that will undoubtedly help teens navigate what is essentially a confusing and scary time in their lives. Holly Bourne is a fantastic writer who slugs you to the gut in a matter of a few pages. She knows how to write about fear, relationships and the anxiety of life with an impressive skill. I really recommend this one to teens ages 15 and up! Holly is fourteen and her best friend Amy has just moved from the UK to Canada. Upset, she turns to a group chat with students from her school to try and fill the void left behind after Amy left. Through the students in her school, she meets a boy named Jay. Jay doesn't go to Holly's school and she's never met him in person, but Holly feels like he really gets her. They are very similar in so many ways, same age, they both have parents who seem too busy to pay attention to them, they both are looking for a connection. It only takes Holly a few days to be nearly completely smitten with Jay. They chat online through the night and Holly finds herself nearly sleep deprived and desperate to be on her phone twenty four hours a day just to talk to him. Sometimes Jay gets impatient when she doesn't respond, when she's visiting with her grandmother or when she's trying to sleep or be with her other friends. Sometimes Jay sounds jealous, but Holly convinces herself it's because he loves her and there's nothing wrong with a guy being protective, is there? They've known each other a couple of weeks and already Holly is envisioning her life with Jay. Jay gets her, not like her parents, Holly thinks. He also starts to tell Holly to skip school, and when she gets detentions, to skip those too. He tells her to ignore her parents, ignore her teachers and only listen to him. Holly believes it's for the best, and when Jay asks to meet under the pier at Brighton, she agrees. Always Here For You is terrifying, it's a must read for any teen using social media, and let's be honest, that's almost every teen out there As the noose tightens, it becomes a book that is nearly impossible to put down, it's a true nightmare scenario that every teenager should read. I recommend it for ages 12+! India Smythe is 14 and can't seem to get out of her own way. She's funny, nice and has good friends but always finds herself in one awkward situation after another. When she discovers that Ennis, the most popular boy at her school, has taken a liking to her, her life goes into warp speed in an attempt to be cool enough to live up to what she thinks are Ennis' and his clique friends' expectations. What follows are a series of genuinely funny moments involving an expired and probably illegal perfume brand and a party where India's dad storms in, clueless yet overly protective of his daughter. Eventually India begins to wonder who she's becoming by trying to keep Ennis' eye. Not only that, she's not sure she likes who she's becoming. It can be hard to find funny novels for teens. As a Librarian, I'm always on the lookout. Sarah Govett has created a story here that would appeal to a 12 year old just as much as a 17 year old, and that's an amazing feat. It's warm, hilarious and has some important underlying issues involving social media, body image, friends, peer pressure and more. I absolutely loved this story and can't wait to get it into the hands of our students. Don't miss this one! This is the 5th book in my sponsored read in memory of my brother. For more information on this fundraising event, click here. Neena's life is quickly unravelling. Ever since her brother Akash vanished, she's been having trouble connecting the dots, not just with his disappearance, but with everyday, mundane things. She's desperate to hunt down clues as to where her brother is, but she can't seem to get a grip on reality. She loses trust in people, she becomes paranoid, she loses time. Her parents, frantic that she's slipping into a life of danger, become even more strict, which pushes Neena farther away. As her life crumbles into a paranoid frenzy, Neena tries to hold on to her sanity by finding her brother and her true self. A Million Pieces of Neena Gill is a harrowing look at mental illness, peer pressure, angst and desperation. It's a sad but important book that I highly recommend to teens who feel like they've got nobody listening to them. It's important that they know there is help out there, Emma Smith-Barton deals with delicate topics in a well researched and beautifully written way. Teens who are in need of help don't always ask for it, books like this can be the catalyst, something to give them a nudge in the right direction. I'm glad it exists, I wish I had a book like this when I was a teen, I'm excited to talk about it with our teens this coming school year. This is the 4th book in my sponsored read in memory of my brother. For all of the details about this fundraising event, you can click here. Cameron Post has just lost her parents in a tragic accident. Just prior to this, she was kissing a girl for the first time. Her first feeling is one of relief, knowing her parents will never discover her secret. Then she's moved to Miles City, Montana to live with her aunt Ruth and her grandmother. Ruth is conservative, religious and misguided in her intentions for Cameron. Cameron learns to survive the boredom of a small town and the depression, anxiety and ruin that her loss has left her. When Coley moves to town, something in Cameron ignites, she's never met someone like Coley, a beautiful girl who seems perfect in every way. Her and Coley become friends and just as their bond becomes close, Ruth decides to send Cameron to an ultra-religious camp in order to "fix" her homosexuality. In the camp, Cameron meets some teens who are genuinely on board for their "fixing" and others who see the camp for what it is, a denial of the basic human rights of the people who are forced to go there. Together, Cameron and her friends hatch a plan, one that will bring them closer together or potentially tear them apart. This is a beautiful novel that touches upon loss, grief, depression, substance abuse, the dangers of forcing religious beliefs onto others and so much more. Cameron wants to be herself, but she's not really sure who that is. I strongly identified with her struggles in her small town. The boredom, the toxic masculinity, the gossip, all of it were things that were to be overcome otherwise they would swallow you up. Cameron doesn't let it swallow her up, she takes things head on and pays a price for it but in my opinion it's a price worth paying. Cameron is someone I wish existed in my town, I think she would have been a great friend. This novel has received tons of accolades already so I'm not writing anything new here, but check it out if you haven't already. I'd happily give it to a Year 10 or 11 students at Glenthorne. Brody Fair is suffocating. He's falling behind at school and has no real plan for the future. His brother is a genius who spends every spare millisecond cramming his head full of knowledge so he can get into a good university. His father has agoraphobia and hasn't left the house in years. His mother takes on as many shifts as she can and is completely overwhelmed and exhausted. To make matters worse, Brody is bullied on a daily basis by a couple of girls who verbally attack him on a daily basis. When Brody meets Nico, everything changes. Nico introduces Brody to Everland, a magical world that exists in a kind of parallel universe in their home city of Edinburgh. In Everland, Brody meets like-minded people and can be himself. With Nico he feels free to explore his feelings and do what he loves most, drumming, making music and sitting in quiet. There is a catch to Everland, though. Brody can only visit it once a week, and he only has a limited time to enjoy it. There is a temptation, though, to leave his seemingly crumbling real world behind and stay in Everland forever. Brody finds himself faced with a choice that will alter his future forever. Last Bus to Everland is a stellar novel that covers several topics facing teens today in a subtle but very effective way. The pressure to succeed at school, poverty, mental illness, coming out, bullying and finding out who you want to be are all part of Brody's journey. You will feel for Brody, you'll want to join him in Edinburgh and tell him everything's going to be ok. Nico is a character that is also confused and troubled in different ways, with Brody he finds some kind of solace and you will be rooting for them as you fly through the pages of this novel. The relationship between Brody and his family were some of my favourite parts of the novel. Brody doesn't feel like he really knows his siblings and it takes a few traumatic events for him to have important conversations with them, especially his brother. He loves his father but can't help feeling resentment about the fact that he doesn't work, forcing his mother to have no life outside of her job. It's a very well written dynamic, the idea that haunts a lot of people with mental illness, that they should just "get over it" and get on with their lives. It's never that simple. The depiction of Everland itself is beautiful and haunting at the same time. It's in this dreamlike fog of bliss that Brody gets some respite from the pressure cooker that his home life. I really recommend Last Bus to Everland, it's a superb novel that will tear your heart out, but in a good way. Don't miss it. Susan is new to Canada and lives with her mother in Ontario. She's not used to the cultural freedoms in this new country, she's used to live in Saudi Arabia. Susan is reserved, wary of boys and determined not to get her driving license. Susan is very bright and her parents have high expectations of her. They want her to be a doctor although in secret she wants to be an artist. Her father is still in Saudi Arabia, making excuses as to why he can't join them in Canada. As her fear about her parents' relationship grows, Susan decides to bury herself in her studies. Then she meets Malcolm, a brooding, somewhat troubled teen. Malcolm's mother died of cancer, previous to this he found out his father was having an affair. This drove Malcolm to drink and use drugs on a regular basis. The abuse he experienced at the hands of his father didn't help. Now, though, he's trying to get on the straight and narrow. Fresh off of a hard breakup, Malcolm isn't sure what he wants anymore. When he meets Susan, Malcolm knows he's found someone truly unique. Their friendship grows and soon becomes something bigger. Malcolm breaks through Susan's protective barriers and gets her to act out in ways she's never experienced before, skipping school for one. As they begin to feel deeper feelings, people from Malcolm's past begin to haunt him and disrupt their relationship. Told from Susan and Malcolm's perspective, The Beauty of the Moment is a very nuanced look at teen life. The characters posses a moral duality that is present in everyone but hyper realised in teens in my opinion. Susan's overbearing parents aren't one dimensional, they waver, they try to see things from Susan's perspective and they sometimes admit when they are wrong, just like a lot of parents. Malcolm's relationship with his sister is heart warming and one that I really enjoyed reading about. His father is a silently brooding character that is the focus of Malcolm's rage. This dynamic really packs a punch and makes for intense reading. The Beauty of the Moment is a brilliant sophomore novel from Tanaz Bhathena. Fans of John Green, Jandy Nelson, Nicola Yoon and Jennifer Niven will love this story. Paris is on the cusp of a Revolution, but all Camille cares about is putting food on the table so her and her sister Sophie don't starve to death. Her parents deceased, Camille must try to survive famine, disease and her brother's drunken squandering of the little money they own. However, Camille has a secret. She can turn worthless metal into coins, for a short period at least. This magic skill buys her and Sophie some time while she figures out a plan. After delving into much darker magic, magic that her mother warned her about, Camille is able to disguise herself as nobility and enter the famed halls of Versailles, where she partakes in expensive and dangerous card games where the rewards are great. It doesn't take long for Camille to discover that she might not be the only one at Versailles with a dark secret. Throw in the fact that she's fallen hopelessly in love with a daring young balloonist, Camille doesn't know if she can keep up her double life much longer. As the stakes become higher and the suspicions out of control, Camille finds herself in great danger, it doesn't help that Paris has turned completely upside down with violent anger at those who enter Versailles. Enchantée is a great novel containing magic realism and historical facts about Paris, Versailles and the French Revolution. Camille's brother is a great villain, as are the other characters at Versailles although I don't want to spoil this as it's not clear who the real villain is right away. I felt like the novel moved a long at an excellent pace and was really interesting from start to finish. I was genuinely concerned for Camille and Sophie and the sections of the novel where they were starving were really effective. I don't think anyone who loves YA will want to miss Enchantée at all when it's released in 2019! |
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