Wing has always lived under the radar. Her brother Marcus is always the one in the limelight. He's charming, funny and a high school football star with a promising professional sports career looming on the horizon. Wing seems resigned to the fact that she's always going to be on the side lines, never quite fitting in and secretly harbouring a crush on Marcus' best friend Aaron. Then a tragedy strikes the family (I won't spoil it here) and Wing is forced to find something inside of herself that can take her mind off the psychological torment her family is going through. She finds her strength in running. To everyone's surprise, even her own, she's really, really fast. Wing focuses on running to ease her pain, but it's not enough. On top of the tragedy, her mother can no longer pay the bills, meaning the bank is threatening to take the home away. Desperate, Wing decides to use her new found running skills to good use: a nationwide competition looking for a spokesperson for a brand of awesome running shoes. As the clock ticks towards the competition, Wing is unsure if she can handle the pressure surrounding her and her family. Wing Jones is an emotional glimpse into family tragedy and the guilt that can accompany it. I really enjoyed watching Wing's confidence grow through her running and how it helped her cope with the tragedy and her overall social skills. I think people need to find something, at least one thing in life that they can latch onto to help them through tough times or just times of insecurity. Wing Jones is about finding that thing and going all in, never giving in and not letting the bastards get you down as they say. I highly recommend this book for ages 13 and up!
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When aliens called the vuvv land on Earth, everyone is initially terrified. Then the vuvv announce that they are here to help -- their technology is superior, their medicine can cure any illness in seconds. They bring knowledge from the farthest depths of space to us humans. Nobody realised how much of a curse it would be. With everything now automated using vuvv technology, people lose their jobs by the droves. Sure, their medicine is amazing but the vuvv run a private practice. If you can't pay their currency, which is a lot, then you don't get treatment. Those who can afford the vuvv's high cost of living can really experience life to its fullest. The rest are pretty much left in the dark to scrabble and starve. Adam is an aspiring artist, but his family has no money to survive. He decides to get creative with his girlfriend Chloe. Together they create a 1950s style romance that the vuvv subscribe to and watch via their version of The Cloud. Turns out the vuvv are obsessed with American 1950s music and culture. However, when his relationship with Chloe goes south and his Merrick's Disease flares up dangerously high, Adam has to decide if he's going to stand up for what he believes in or cave and go along with vuvv rule like everyone else. This novel is sharp as a razor with some really biting commentary on class, consumerism, pop culture and teen apathy. Hilarious, sad and disturbing, it's a must read. I recommend it for ages 15 and up! Blade Morrison has a lot to live up to, and a lot to escape from. The son of a fallen-from-grace rock star, Blade is the poster boy for "money doesn't buy you happiness." Nestled in the Hollywood Hills with maids, butlers and wads of cash doesn't mean much when everyone around you is falling apart. Then, after a disastrous late night party, Blade learns a shocking secret about his family. Inconsolable, he sets out on a trip around the world to uncover the truth, leaving his drug-addled father behind. Written in verse, Solo is a fast-paced examination of family trauma, redemption and setting out on your own. Alexander has a real skill in making regular conversations between people flow like poetry. It touches on a subject that a lot of teens can identify with. Alexander's characters are deep and real and full of life, each one's desires pour off the page like music. Highly recommended, can't wait to get this in the hands of our students! This is a guest review from Dulcie, student at Glenthorne High School: This thrilling sequel to Lady Midnight is a barely possible to put down. It continues to delight readers with its mix of danger, fear and forbidden romance. It shows how friends can be torn apart by unrequited love and how deeply you can betray someone you love, without meaning to. Introducing new character, Kit Rook, ‘the lost herondale’ and the deep friendship he forms with Tiberius and Livia. It also shows how the shadowhunters fight against the discrimination of downworlders when some of their closest friends have to flee to stay alive Rating (out of 5 stars): 5 stars It's the early 1900's in the UK and women still can't vote. That's the reality that I hope teens take away from this novel right away. It's something I constantly stress in the library when I teach responsible researching skills to students using WWI as a backdrop. Speaking of research, Nicholls has done hers and in the process created a thrilling and engaging tale about a topic I've never before come across in a YA novel: the plight of the Suffragettes and women's rights in general during World War One in the UK. Seventeen year old Evelyn comes from a wealthy family but is filled with frustration at the fact that she can't go to university. Women were expected to stay at home and raise families, and although she could apply to go to Oxford, her father forbids it. Evelyn decides to join the Suffragettes and is immediately plunged into a dangerous and exciting world filled with police brutality, hunger strikes, protests and serious jail time. Fifteen year old May comes from a Quaker background, already part of the Suffragette cause, she rallies against violent protests that some parts of the movement get involved in. When May meets Nell, a girl who has known nothing but hardship her entire life, something awakens in May that she never knew was there before. Nell has always known she was different, she dressed, looked and acted unlike any of the other girls she grew up with. Her life is taking care of her siblings in their tiny flat in London. Starvation and extreme poverty is always on the horizon. With May, Nell finds a temporary release from the misery. Set against real-life events that changed the lives of women everywhere, Things a Bright Girl Can Do will anger you, bring you to tears and enlighten you to the extreme hardship brought to the UK because of the foolhardy decision to engage in a ridiculous war that nobody won. Nicholls also brings to life the effects of PTSD on soldiers that returned home and the pain, confusion and frustration felt by those left at home to pick up the pieces. I can't wait to talk about this book to teens at the library, it's an important topic that has been handled with grace, wit and a razor sharp insight into history. Zoe needs a change, and a change she is going to get. She's seventeen & had a very rough year. Her father died while exploring a cave and her neighbours have vanished from their home. When the mother of all blizzards hits her hometown and her mother is trapped in a grocery store, she sets off on her own to find her brother Jonah and their two dogs who've gotten lost in the woods. After finding Jonah, things somehow get worse when a creep called Stan the Man appears, attacks Zoe & Jonah and attempts to kill their dogs. They are saved by what Zoe thinks is an angel. A shirtless teenage boy who appears out of the blue and with a click of his fingers sends a river of fear flowing through Stand and in turn changes the colour of the snow around them. The boy is called X. Well, that's what Zoe calls him at least, and he's no angel. In fact, he's from Hell. Except it's not called Hell, it's called the Lowlands and it turns out X is a bounty hunter, sent to capture evil souls that roam above ground. The rules of the Lowlands are strict, and although Zoe finds herself falling for X, she knows it's not meant to be. Soon, she's swept up in X's world and the dangers that inhabit it. And it's not just her that's in danger, it's her entire family. The Edge of Everything is a great modern-fantasy romance with a twist that will be gobbled up with glee by both boys and girls and the high school I work at, and that's a great thing! I recommend it to ages 14 and up! After an unspeakable tragedy, Alice is left with a brain injury. Unable to express herself vocally, she uses her art (making beautiful fishing lures) and her writing to express how she feels. Alice lives with her gram, who is suffering from respiratory troubles and requires constant care. Alice's brother Joe lives with them as well and is trying his best to keep everything running. They have no mother or father in the picture. Together they all hang on in quiet desperation as to what the future holds. When a boy named Manny comes to their town, he is instantly taken by the beautiful and mysterious Alice who stands on the roof of her house and throws her poems out to the world. Manny has a dark past and many secrets that keep him from being who he really wants to be. In the meantime, Joey starts to see a girl named Tilda. However, there are people in their town that don't want Joey and Tilda together. Dangerous people. Written from Alice and Manny's perspective, The Stars at Oktober Bend is a sad, funny and thrilling read about a girl who is old beyond her years but can't express herself the way she wants to. It's about love and friendship and standing up for what you believe in. I really loved it. I recommend it to ages 12 and up! In 1970 Alaska, you grow up slightly differently than other people. The Smell of Other People's Houses is the tale of four different teenagers whose lives intertwine in the stark yet beautiful backdrop of Fairbanks, Alaska. Ruth has survived a family tragedy and has a secret that will send her away from her friends, possibly forever. Alyce wants to stop working on her father's fishing boat and become a dancer but when her and her dad witness something extraordinary while fishing one day, their lives change forever. Dora is living day to day, trying to escape the brutal reality that is her drunken, abusive father. She finds solace in her friends and other people's parents but she isn't sure how much longer she can last. Hank and his two brothers decide to run away from Fairbanks but nothing ever really goes to plan. I loved this book, the dialogue is fast yet dreamlike and even though I have no idea what it was like to grow up in Alaska a decade before I was born, I still connect with the setting. I grew up in a small Canadian town of 250 people, There were hunters, drinkers, drug abusers, racists that hated First Nations and African Canadians, and mixed into that were people that would break the Earth in two for you if they could. It was rough and beautiful, dangerous and serene, boring and thrilling all at the same time. I think Hitchcock has completely nailed the way a town like that can seep into your bones and never let you go. Highly recommend it! Things are gonna get rough. Beck is the product of a loveless and brief encounter between his poor mother and an African sailor in Liverpool in the early 1900s. After his mother dies Beck is sent to Canada to a group called The Catholic Brothers which is just as terrifying as it sounds. Abused at the home, Beck is sent to work as a farmhand where he's treated like one of the animals. Beck powers through, though, and what follows is a beautifully written tale of extreme hardship and true grit. Eventually, Beck finds Grace, a woman that understands at least part of his hardships. With Grace Beck finds a glimmer of hope in what has been a cruel and heartless world. I loved this book, even when it was hard to read sometimes. Peet creates a character that survives against all odds and projects volumes without barely saying a word. There's been a lot of controversy about this being nominated for the Carnegie Award and the graphic description of abuse and sex. I get that, I wouldn't hand this to an 11 year old. It's for older teens in my opinion. Some have said it's just for adults and I disagree. If an older teen reads this they'll still be here in the morning and they'll be better off for reading it. An amazing tale that should not be missed. Griffin has just lost the love of his life. HIs best friend and soul-mate, Theo, has drowned in a horrible accident. Now Griffin is left to pick up the pieces, starting with the realisation that one of the only people that can help him cope with this tragedy is Jackson, the boy Theo grew to love after he left Griffin and moved to California for school. Griffin's suffering doesn't end there, his OCD has gone into warp speed since Theo's death, and he can feel himself quickly unravelling. In order to survive his grief, Griffin has to be honest with himself, and unleash the secrets that are tearing him apart. Written from the perspective of Griffin when Theo was alive and after he died, we slowly learn the things that Griffin has kept hidden from everyone he loves. I've never read Adam Silvera before and his writing is truly unique. Griffin is consumed with grief the entire novel, fading in and out between hopelessness and not-quite hopelessness as he retraces his time with Theo, remember the things that made them special as a couple. When his OCD rears its ugly head it's easy to imagine Griffin's world crumbling around him as he tries desperately to make the pieces fit in his mind. It's a brutally honest look at dealing with grief, teen angst, teen love and loss of all kinds. I recommend this book to ages 16 and up! |
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