Friday Flashback: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld



Tally Youngblood is Ugly. Everyone in her society is considered ugly until they turn 16 and have surgery to make them Pretty.  In addition to being beautiful, pretties live a life of full of parties and absent of responsibility. While Tally eagerly awaits the day of her transformation, her friend Shay has become convinced that there is a darker side to becoming Pretty, and runs away.  On the day of her operation, Tally is given an ultimatum: find Shay and bring her back for surgery or remain Ugly forever.  Tally heads out into the unknown on a search for her friend and the truth.  What she learns may change her life forever.

This was my first science fiction novel.  I put off reading it.  Science fiction was for out-of-shape men in their 30s who still lived with their parents.  It was space and aliens and time travel.  Then I put aside all of my misgivings and just read the darn book.  Did you know that science fiction can be cool?  It sounds silly now, with books like Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games as national best sellers and science fiction the "it" genre, but it didn't always used to be that way.  Scott Westerfeld's Uglies opened up a whole new world of reading to me.  And even in the day and age of row upon row of dystopias, this is still my go to.  The first pages of the book draw you into the world; even naming the place where newly operated teens live "New Pretty Town" doesn't seem a silly choice.  You're riveted by the action and gripped by the building suspense.  The naive and adventurous spirit of the characters and the connections that can be drawn between the materialistic values of their society and ours make for a story with which teens can identify.

Practically every student in my middle school has read all four books.  I trained the first generation of readers to act aghast if another student indicates that he or she hasn't yet read the books and to demand that the problem be rectified IMMEDIATELY.  It's kind of awesome to watch my 6th graders (particularly the ones who have done Hunger Games Camp with me over the summer and have heard my Hunger Games read-alikes book talks) providing reader's advisory to their friends.  It makes my day.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Giver by Lois Lowry



Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most celebrated works of children's and young adult literature.  Set in a future society where poverty and sadness do not exist and no one has ever known deprivation of any sort, twelve-year-old Jonas comes to discover that this seeming happiness comes at a great cost.  As he comes to understand the true nature of the world he lives in he is finds himself questioning whether the benefits of the "utopia" outweigh the loss of freedom, individuality and choice.

I'm pretty sure that every student at my middle school has read The Giver.  If they didn't read it in 5th grade before arriving at the middle school, there's lots of pressure from other students, and okay, from me, for them to read The Giver ASAP.  It has come to be "the" introduction to dystopic literature.  It's less violent and shorter than Hunger Games, and with younger characters, I think it feels more accessible.  I've yet to come across a student who hasn't absolutely loved The Giver (though I'm sure they must exist).  I think that younger young adult readers find The Giver to be a bit more sophisticated than their usual fare and are excited by the idea that their reading is literally exposing them to new worlds and asking them to think critically about the structure of society and whether the folks who are in charge really know what they're doing.  It's always nice to feel mature and to feel like you're reaching new levels in your reading.

Another classic.  Another controversy.  According to the American Library Association, The Giver was the #11 most challenged book in the 1990s and the #23 most challenged book in the 2000s.  While the ALA rankings do not include specific information about the grounds for the book challenges, Scholastic (the publisher) has a little reading guide (all parts of it are available online if you just edit the "pt4" part of the link to be "pt1" through "pt7") that discusses censorship of the book and notes the society's use of euthanasia for infants who fail to thrive and older persons who have outgrown their usefulness to society as reasons for challenges.  Also interesting to note is that the Scholastic reading guide addresses The Giver's ambiguous ending.  I'm going to completely avoid spoilers here, but say that Lowry is quoted as saying that she wanted the ending to be ambiguous and that that's why she won't write a sequel...which of course she did wind up doing*!

Anyway, if you haven't yet read The Giver, you should.  The fall 2012 release of Son (the fourth book in the fancily titled, but not yet available as a complete boxed set, "Giver Quartet") is just one tiny reason why The Giver is getting media coverage.  The schmancy new covers are another.  But the real reason folks are still talking about The Giver is because it's so good.

*The reading guide was published in 2003 though, so I'll kind of cut her slack.  I haven't read Gathering Blue, which was published in 2000, but I imagine it must not touch on what may or may not have happened at the end of The Giver.  Messenger, which I have read, and which totally seals the ending, wasn't published until 2004.  Son, which even more fully seals the ending, wasn't released until just this year, so maybe she changed her mind.  And she's allowed to do that.    

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie



Arnold (aka Junior) has spent his entire life on the Spokane Indian Reservation, and it hasn't been easy.  His parents are alcoholics. He lives in poverty.  He was born with "water on the brain" and now has various medical issues and physical oddities.  He is the perfect bully target.  Luckily, he has his best friend Rowdy to protect him.  He also has his diary, in which he draws and vents about all of his troubles.   Now that he's transferring to Rearden, an all-white public school off the reservation, his life is getting that much more complicated.  And funny. And sad.

Alexie does not pull any punches in this humorously honest (and semi-autobiographical) look at life on the rez and how a chance at escaping it all is harder than it looks.  The language is raw.  The comics are hilarious.  The situations he encounters are real.  And really difficult.  Several of the 8th graders at my school have read it and have absolutely* loved it.  I've watched them describe the plot to other students and say how funny it is only to receive weird/horrified looks in return, as the non-readers wonder how a book with themes of racism and bullying could be funny.  Then the non-readers become readers, and invariably recommend it to more people!

There's cursing, racism, bullying, substance abuse, death, and MASTURBATION.  Suffice it to say, there are lots of things for adults to be afraid of (when they happen to occur in books for teens). And thus, some adults have worked to ban this book (the wikipedia entry has a quick encapsulation of efforts to remove the book from school curriculum with links to articles).  My guess is they're really just afraid of the "sex" It's honest about bullying and trying to fit in, about burgeoning sexuality and self-doubt, and about everything else that happens in high school.  Teens, who are living the trials and tribulations of high school on a daily basis, take comfort in reading about someone else who can face all sorts of bad stuff and still have a sense of humor about it all.  Meanwhile, some adults (and I stress the some), get rankled by the thought that their children are mature enough to handle that type of content.  Such as it is.

*I'm sorry.  I had to do the "absolutely" pun.  You would've too.  Admit it. 

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: Thirteen Reasons Why

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Thirteen Reasons Why (Th1rteen R3asons Why) by Jay Asher



Seriously?  How has it taken me this long to do a Friday Flashback post about Thirteen Reasons Why? I don't know.  I must apologize for this oversight. I'm sorry.  I wrote a post about the book two and a half years ago, but I didn't review it.  So here we go!

There are thirteen reasons why Hannah Baker decided to kill herself.  Clay Jensen is one of them. And he has no idea why.  He never did anything to Hannah, except have a crush on her.  To understand what happened, he must listen to a series cassette tapes, left in a box on his front porch.  The tapes were recorded by Hannah prior to her suicide. Each tape is addressed to a different person and explains how that person contributed to Hannah's decision to end her life.  Clay spends a long night listening to the tapes, trying to come to grips with what Hannah has done and what he, and others did to contribute to Hannah's pain.

When I first read this book (at the recommendation of a librarian friend) it was a few months after the hardcover release, and the "buzz" was fairly limited to librarians and folks in the "YA" know.  I was blown away.  I found myself riveted to the sections of text that are Hannah's audio, unable to put the book down.  When Clay's "voice" broke in, I was right there with him, shouting "No! You didn't have to!" and "But, couldn't you...?" or "Why didn't you...?" right along with Clay.  I was confused.  I was angry.  I was disappointed.  Not by the book, but AT the book.  I have been known, in the past, to become deeply invested in the characters in a book.  And this one takes the cake.  Even though I knew that Hannah had already killed herself after recording the tapes, I found myself hoping she would change her mind.

Two summers ago, after it hit the New York Times Bestseller List, articles about the book were hitting mainstream publications and hold lists at libraries were out the wazoo, my book club decided to read Thirteen Reasons Why.  I decided that instead of doing a re-read of the print novel, I would listen to the audio book.  I'd heard that it was exceptionally good and that they had used two voice actors to read so that there was a clear distinction between Hannah's voice on the tapes and Clay's voice/thoughts.  Holy wow!  This book was meant to be an audio book.  I listened to the entire NINE!HOUR! audio book in one sitting (while in the car on the way to vacation).  I highly recommend "reading" it as an audio book.

Ooh!  And there's a great interactive website that supports the book, with cool things like the map that Clay follows, discussion questions, and recordings of the tapes.  Definitely check that out.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: Forever by Judy Blume

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Forever . . .by Judy Blume



First, let me apologize for the absolutely hideous cover art going on up there.  What is that?  I think that cover is worse than the cover of the copy I checked out of the library years ago:

My favorite cover is the one below.  Contemporary...Sets the tone for a little romance...Keeps it real.

Anyway, this post isn't supposed to be about book covers.  It's supposed to be about the content of Judy Blume's coming-of-age-novel, Forever... So here goes...

First love.  When you're in it, you're sure it will last forever.  And so it goes for Katherine and Michael, who meet at a New Year's Eve party.  Forever... chronicles the relationship from start to (spoiler alert!) finish, detailing the most intimate moments and realistically portraying the highs and lows of teenage love.  Almost 50 years after the original 1975 publication, the characters - their fears, their emotions, their decisions - and the story (aside from the 18 year olds being able to legally consume alcohol) still ring true.  It is truly a timeless classic.

But WAIT!  You know a classic coming-of-age story that realistically portrays a monogamous, committed teenage relationship isn't getting off the hook that easy, right? Because instead of (spoiler alert!) them having unprotected sex and Katherine winding up pregnant, Blume has Katherine and Michael take the novel approach of (spoiler alert!) talking to each about having sex and planning ahead to be safe.  And then they have sex.  On the page! And no one dies, becomes infected with a venereal disease or winds up pregnant. And so OF COURSE! all this together creates outraged parents and other adults can not accept that such a book was/is appropriate for teens.  It was an instructional manual for how to have SEX! And get away with it. Teens just can't go around making well thought-out emotionally mature and responsible decisions and not have to pay the consequences of having sex! And somehow, despite the vast number of provocative and controversial books on the market, it remains one of the top 20 most challenged books, as recorded by ALA.  Crazy, right?

Ooh! And if you have the time and the inclination, Roger Sutton did an interview with Judy Blume for School Library Journal like a billion years ago (1996), and it's a great piece.  Roger's on the war path, Judy's defensive, it's great family fun.

I personally didn't get around to reading Forever... until I was already in my mid-twenties, but I wish I had read it when I was in high school, because it could've given me some perspective on that whole "first love" thing.  And my friends and I totally would've passed it around and read passages out loud and had just a ton of fun together with it.  So if you have a teenage girl on your holiday shopping list, think about gifting her Judy Blume's Forever... Or if you ARE a teenage girl, read it! Heck, if you're a teenage boy, you should probably read it too.  My friend James read it and it totally blew his mind.  He's a married man and he just could not fathom the thoughts in Katherine's head.  It gave him some perspective.  And made him wish to never have a daughter.  But now he has a daughter.  And someday, when she's a teenager, hopefully she'll read Forever...

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Looking for Alaska by John Green



Wanting more out of his friendless, uneventful adolescence, Miles has gone off to boarding school to seek (in Rabelais' reputed last words) the "Great Perhaps." In his first months of school he finds his life turning around.  Despite incurring the wrath of the "weekday warriors," he's found his first real friends, discovered the vices of cigarettes and alcohol, acquired a girlfriend, turned pranks and become hopelessly and helplessly enamored with the beautiful, troubled Alaska Young.  In one night, his relationship with Alaska seems to evolve into something more and comes to an abrupt end.  Miles is forced to wrestle with his guilt, and acknowledge the superficiality of his relationship with Alaska as he seeks to understand what happened.  

The genius of this novel (for me) is threefold: the shockingly realistic behavior and deeply witty and intelligent language exhibited by the teenaged characters, the structure of the novel that signals a countdown to some defining moment (that presumably has to do with Alaska, whose name is featured in the title), echoes of the classics (A Separate Peace, Dead Poets Society, etc.) but with a distinct new voice and fresh perspective on boarding school life.  I also really enjoyed Miles' particular quirk of memorizing famous last words.  Is it any wonder that Green's debut novel earned him a Printz Award, attracted legions of "nerdfighter" followers and established Green as the go-to author for literary fiction for young adults?  I think not.

We read this book for our faculty book club at school.  It was interesting to see the division among the faculty of those who were absolutely horrified by the seeming absence of adults and the irresponsible behavior of Miles, Alaska and their friends, and those who felt that the novel spoke to their younger, naive selves.  I think that by the end of the meeting, after talking through the novel and assuring the naysayers that John Green was really a good guy and that his audience tends to be more mature teens who aspire to do good works and be good people, that almost everyone came around to enjoy the book.  A bunch of attendees even went on to read The Fault in Our Stars (which everyone unanimously preferred).  I also taught them about DFTBA.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

 

Katsa's differently colored eyes (one green, one blue) indicate that she has a grace, a special ability.      Sometimes, a "graceling" has the ability to predict the weather or predict the future.  Katsa's grace is killing.  Ever since she was a little girl her uncle, the king, has used her to defend and expand his kingdom by disposing of anyone who stands in his way.  Now that she's 16, she's decided to take matters into her own hands in defiance of the king.  With the help of her new found friend, Po, she forms a council to bring justice to the seven kingdoms.  In doing so, she uncovers levels of deceit and corruption than she thought possible and finds herself on a dangerous mission.

Uglies was my first venture into the world of science fiction and Graceling was my first "high" fantasy novel (I'd already read all the Harry Potters).  What a book to kick things off!  Cashore's world building (which she discusses in this Horn Book article) is impressive, the descriptions of the kingdoms and the terrain over which she travels in her quest, evoking vivid imagery.  The map in the back (my personal favorite feature of fantasy novels!) is also really helpful in orienting the reader through Katsa's travels.  The characters are so richly drawn and the plot so tightly woven that despite it's almost 500 pages, you'll want to read it in one sitting.  (I read it in two during my winter break from grad school several years ago.)  Now that it's been a few years, you can also quickly follow up your reading of Graceling with companion novels Fire and Bitterblue, in which familiar characters make cameo (and sometimes much larger) appearances and take the reader to other parts of the kingdoms. 

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier



If you've ever tried writing a one-sentence summary of The Chocolate War, then you know that it can be a bit of a challenge to describe this book without making it sound foolish.  Just the fact that the plot centers around the bullying a classmate because he doesn't want to chocolate for the school's annual fundraiser makes it seem...childish? petty?  like a silly kids book?  And yet, it is anything but childish, petty or a silly kids book.  The Library of Congress summary reads as such: "A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fundraising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies."  That's a little better, but I'm still not convinced that this is the type of book that sounds like it should be in the top ten of the Top 100 Challenged Books for both of the last two decades (while The Chocolate War was published in 1974, ALA only started tracking in 1990) for it's violent and sexual content. So how about this one-sentence summary instead: 

What started as an initiation prank for a high school secret society escalates into a stand-off that pits one student against the students and administration and could wind up costing Jerry everything he has, including his life.

That's a little better, right?  I sure hope so, since it took me about an hour to come up with that.  But what if I had more than one sentence?  What would I add?

• The point of view of the novel shifts from one chapter to next, gradually unveiling the depths of corruption at play, the motivations of each character and the lengths that certain individuals will go to in order to maintain power.  
• The novel's central question revolved around a quote from T.S. Eliot that is posted in Jerry's locker: "Do I dare disturb the universe?" And if so, at what cost?
• The novel was published in 1974 it is among the first novels written specifically for young adults.
• It is often compared to works like Golding's Lord of the Flies and Knowles A Separate Peace, which also feature all-male casts of prep-school rivals.  What makes The Chocolate War stand out from these two other works (I think, at least) is the presence of a complicit adult who knowingly allows boys to wield power over one another for personal benefit.

If you haven't read it, you definitely should.  It's pretty much one of the founding members of the YA canon.  Realistic, palpable suspense and corruption all wrapped up in hormonal teenage boys?  How could you pass that up?

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak




The first time Death saw Liesel Meminger, he was taking the soul of her younger brother.  Germany in the late 1930s was a rather busy time for Death, but he couldn't help but be drawn to Liesel; even if he wasn't going to take her just yet.  As he continues to observe Liesel, he watches her, impoverished and illiterate, steal The Gravedigger's Handbook from the cemetery at her brother's burial.  Her family gone, Liesel is taken in by a family living in the outskirts of Munich.  Here Death continues his observations as Liesel continues her thieving, stealing books with the assistance of her friend Rudy.  But it's not all thievery.  With the help of her foster father and a Jewish man that the family are hiding in the basement, Liesel learns to read and express herself through the power of words.  As Nazi rule rages on, she also learns about the depths of human cruelty and the amazing sacrifices and small kindnesses that have the power to change a person's life.

Astounding.  Years after reading this novel I still can't get it out of my head.  The unexpected and ingenious choice of Death - the Grim Reaper - as the narrator of a tale of love and life in the face of hatred and death is masterful.  Zusak's characters are memorable for both the bigness of their hearts and willingness to be a ray of hope to others and also in their flaws.  It is worth every one of its 576 pages.  Never before (or since) have I read a story about the horrors of the Holocaust that so fully captured the fears and struggles of Jews and Germans alike.  Read. This. Book.

Recommended for: Teens and adults alike.  Yes, it's long.  Yes, you'll cry.  Yes, you'll laugh.  Do not delay.
 
The Book Thief was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Honor book.


The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson



No one is speaking to Melinda.  Sure, they talk about her, but they don't talk to her.  Not after she called the cops and broke up the party.  Not that anyone cared enough to find out why.  That's fine; she isn't speaking to them either.  She hasn't really spoken to anyone: her friends, her parents, her teachers.  It's not that she's angry, though she is.  She just can't.  When she tries, her throat clenches up and her mouth goes dry.  Her freshman year in high school wasn't supposed to be like this.  As the months go by and first marking period turns into second and then third, her isolation persists and the only place where Melinda finds comfort and solace is in her art.  Through it, she can express herself in ways that words cannot.  She knows that things could be better if she could only find the words, if she could build up the courage to speak.

Melinda may not be talking, but through her internal narrative the reader understands exactly what she's thinking and feeling.  She's bitter.  And broken.  She's sarcastic.  And witty.  She sees right through all of the pandering and pretending that is so rampant in high school.  Without saying a word, her character's voice is stronger and more compelling than almost any I've ever read.  I laughed out loud.  I shed a tear.  I shook my head in disbelief and clenched my fists in anger.  Laurie Halse Anderson has captured the inner-workings of a teen's mind and heart and given the reader something to really enjoy.

Sometimes, trying to figure out which book to review next can be a challenge (particularly when it's for a feature where you review favorite older titles).  Deciding to review this week's Friday Flashback title was a given.  How could I justify writing one more post to this blog without reviewing the title that started it all for me: Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak?  Unless you count R.L. Stine's Fear Street series (and I don't), Speak was the first YA novel that I ever read.  At the age of 22.  Back in 2002.  I was working in the Barnes & Noble Children's Department in Princeton, NJ and my friend Andrea (who is now a children's librarian), encouraged me to read a novel from our newly designated "Teen" section.  I'd shelved tons of copies of Speak and the cover looked cool.  Andrea had read and loved it and told me just go ahead and read it.  So I did.  And I loved it.  It started me down the path to YA Lit and becoming a librarian.  Thanks, Andrea!

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton



"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind.  Paul Newman and a ride home."  So begins Ponyboy's tale.  In his world, there are two types of people: Socs (the haves) and Greasers (the have nots), and never the twain shall meet. A proud Greaser, Ponyboy dresses and acts the part, even while he studies hard and does well in school.  Then a confrontation between Socs and Greasers goes horribly awry.  While hiding from authorities, Ponyboy ponders life and questions the rigid social structure he's always accepted.

What can be written about The Outsiders that hasn't already been written by reviewers more critical, analytical and talented than I?  Probably not much.  A coming of age story with echoes of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, S.E. Hinton's first novel (written when she - yes, SHE! - was a teenager) is a true member of the young adult canon.  Some say it was even the first.  While underage drinking, smoking, gang violence and indications of teenage sex (though none happens on-screen) have kept censors busy for decades as they've worked to take the book off school reading lists and out of libraries, it remains one of the most assigned and best loved teenage tales.  And with good reason.  Inside the cover of this short novel are big ideas about identity, acceptance and the value of a person.  Sure, the character names are goofy, and they slang used is outdated, but the story itself is timeless.

Recommended for: all readers!  This is a must-read for anyone who reads YA lit (and even those who look down on it).

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky



Every once in a while, a book comes along that captures its subject matter so perfectly that it transports the reader to another reality.  This is exactly how I felt when I read Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  As someone who attended high school in the suburbs of New York City during the late nineties and hung out with an odd mix of closeted homosexuals, artists, drama kids and sometimes-athletes, I suppose Charlie's high school experience wasn't really that far different from my own.  Charlie and I listened to a lot of the same music and dressed up for midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show.  But I didn't read it when I was in high school (it wasn't out yet), or even when I was in college or graduate school.  I read it after I turned 30.  And even 12 years after high school it conjured up such vivid images of the characters and setting that I could picture it all so clearly.

Many reviewers compare Perks to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.  I will not be one of them.  Where Holden was a loner, disenchanted with the world, Charlie was naive and eager to embrace new people and experiences.  Total contrast.  Charlie went in to high school alone because his shy social awkwardness (some might say Asperger's) made it difficult for him to reach out and form friendships.  Luckily, Samantha and Patrick come along.  Around them, he can be himself and so can they.  There is a beauty in Charlie's pain as he struggles through adolescence, because he is so heart-breakingly honest. His pain is your pain.  His joy is your joy.

I haven't yet had a chance to see the movie, but read a favorable review in Time magazine.  I figure that any movie based on one of my favorite books with a screenplay written by the book's author and starring Paul Rudd as an English teacher can't be too shabby.  I'll  try to see it this weekend and give a full report.  In the meantime, here's the trailer:


*You'll notice that I linked to the original/non-movie version of the book.  I have a strong dislike for movie covers.  It was really tough to get Amazon to pull up this result; all they wanted to do was push the movie cover.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Friday Flashback: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman



Mia's life is perfect. She has a promising future as a concert cellist, an amazing boyfriend and cool parents. On one snowy day everything changes. Her parents are killed in a car accident and Mia and her brother are rushed to the hospital in critical condition. As she clings to life, Mia steps outside of her body to watch and listen while friends and family keep a bedside vigil and doctors fight to save her. The choice is hers. Will she let go of life, or will she fight for it?

This fast-paced, emotionally gripping novel takes readers through the 24-hour period in which Mia reflects on her life and decide whether, after so much has been lost, she has the will to live. Mia’s first-person narration alternates between bittersweet memories of the past and observations of the present, as her best friend, boyfriend and extended family visit her in the hospital. While the premise of Mia’s outer-body experience verges on the supernatural, Forman’s prose is seamless.  Her characterizations are so accurate that the reader is drawn into the narrative without questioning the magical elements that enable Mia to observe the scene.  At times deeply moving, at others humorous.  If I Stay is a book that will capture you in the first few pages and never let go.

Keep some tissues handy.  You'll need them for this one.

P.S. The story continues with Where She Went. Another gripping tale that will have you turning pages and wiping away the tears as you go.

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