I am sorry. I fail at best-of lists. I have come to terms with it now. And that means: I'm eliminating four categories and this is your last post. FINALLY.
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Not yet reviewed | Goodreads
YA, Contemporary, 282 pages, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Release date: October 3rd 2011
- Where to find it: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their family is fine. And he certainly didn't ask to be the recipient of Nadar McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.
Lucky has a secret—one that helps him wade through the daily dysfunction of his life. Grandad Harry, trapped in the jungles of Laos, has been visiting Lucky in his dreams—and the dreams just might be real: an alternate reality where he can be whoever he wants to be and his life might still be worth living. But how long can Lucky remain in hiding there before reality forces its way inside?
Printz Honor recipient A. S. King's distinctive, smart, and accessible writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you, and then taking a stand against it.
Why it's the best:
I'm only bowled over by The Dust of 100 Dogs in hindsight, but truly, after the terrific and heartwrenching and original and incredible sophomore release that was Please Ignore Vera Dietz, King could write horrible hack novels for the rest of her career, and I'd still be back for more. Thankfully, Everybody Sees the Ants is not a horrible hack novel. It's another masterpiece that transcends genre; that I want to recommend to absolutely everybody because it's just. that. good. Not at all what I was expecting, hugely different in tone and subject matter from both her previous works (mostly because our narrator is a boy), but still keeping King's trademark blend of contemporary grit with a magical realism twist, Everybody Sees the Ants is far and away my favorite release of the year, period. Read it!
Who will love it:
Anyone who's ever seen their own ants, which is to say, everybody.
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First runner-up: And Then Things Fall Apart by Arlaina Tibensky
Not yet reviewed | Goodreads
YA, Contemporary, 254 pages, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
- Release date: July 26th 2011
- Where to find it: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
Keek’s life was totally perfect.Keek and her boyfriend just had their Worst Fight Ever, her best friend heinously betrayed her, her parents are divorcing, and her mom’s across the country caring for her newborn cousin, who may or may not make it home from the hospital. To top it all off, Keek’s got the plague. (Well, the chicken pox.) Now she’s holed up at her grandmother’s technologically-barren house until further notice. Not quite the summer vacation Keek had in mind.
With only an old typewriter and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar for solace and guidance, Keek’s alone with her swirling thoughts. But one thing’s clear through her feverish haze—she’s got to figure out why things went wrong so she can put them right.
Why it's the best:
I'm not sure I'll look back on this one as an adult and think it was as gorgeous and great as I think it is now. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll roll my eyes at my own teen angst. But that's precisely why And Then Things Fall Apart is so good: it's less of a novel and more a piece of journalism on the teen experience. Sure, Keek's experiences are fictional, but her voice and dilemmas are not. I confess that I've never read The Bell Jar, but I adore Plath's poetry, and while most authors working references and quotes in at every turn would pale in comparison, Tibensky holds her own with this story that is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. If Tibensky can keep this up, she deserves to be a voice in YA on par with Sara Zarr.
Who will love it:
Teenagers, OR anyone who got the chicken pox when they were old enough to remember it.
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Second runner-up: What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez
YA, Contemporary,
- Release date: April 27th 2011
- Where to find it: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
"Another day finished, gracias a Dios." Seventeen-year-old Marisa's mother has been saying this for as long as Marisa can remember. Her parents came to Houston from Mexico. They work hard, and they expect Marisa to help her familia. An ordinary life--marrying a neighborhood guy, working, having babies--ought to be good enough for her. Marisa hears something else from her calc teacher. She should study harder, ace the AP test, and get into engineering school in Austin. Some days, it all seems possible. On others, she's not even sure what she wants. When her life at home becomes unbearable, Marisa seeks comfort elsewhere--and suddenly neither her best friend nor boyfriend can get through to her. Caught between the expectations of two different worlds, Marisa isn't sure what she wants--other than a life where she doesn't end each day thanking God it's over. But some things just can't wait...
Why it's the best:
Like And Then Things Fall Apart, What Can(t) Wait often feels more like journalism than a novel. Ashley Hope Perez enters so thoroughly into Marisa's head that we can't help but love and hurt for Marisa, but she also balances the difficulties of Marisa's life with hope and humor that are a delight to read. Marisa's boyfriend, also, is a particular joy: as I wrote in my review, he is neither a token bad boy nor good guy, but exist in the gray area between most real life boyfriends fall into. Perez's career promises a lot, and I'm so excited to see where she goes with her next release, The Knife and the Butterfly.
Who will love it:
College-bound teens who think they have it rough, OR those who aren't college-bound in need of a little inspiration.
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Contemporary is amazing and I read a lot of great stuff I have to give a shout-out to here. More titles I loved:
1 comments:
Thanks for the love, Maggie! I'm glad What Can't Wait found you, and you're 100% right about who will love WCW!
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