When Everything is Torn Away

If you live in tornado alley, you not only respect these hulking beasts, you also get used to them. When the siren blows, you might not run right to the shelter, but you keep an eye out. While you can't live in fear for half a year during the season, being lulled into a false sense of security can be very, very dangerous. In Jennifer Brown's Torn Away, the lives of so many were changed forever with the presence of more than just a funnel cloud... it was like the finger of God himself.

Jersey Cameron grew up knowing what to do in the event of a tornado; its just that she never really had to do it. Occasionally, the family would go to the basement, but most of the time the sirens were a false alarm. So it got easier and easier to ignore them. She gets home and starts a meal like any other normal day while her mother takes her sister to dance class, but there is nothing normal about this day. This is the day that they never saw coming and will never be able to forget. 

When Jersey realizes the tornado warning is real this time, she turns dinner off and heads to the basement. Hiding down there, she quickly realizes the tornado is bigger than anyone thought. By the time it is over, she leaves the basement to see that her entire house is almost gone. Her neighborhood is almost gone. Her neighbors, and everyone around her, are either injured, or even dead. If her neighborhood is this bad, how could her mother and sister have survived? All alone, Jersey realizes just how destructive the tornado really was. 

This book starts with the destruction of a tornado, but it continues down the road of a young girl's dysfunctional family. Her mother never spoke to her own parents, and so Jersey is sent to live with her father whom she has never met. When she gets there, it is clear these people just don't give a crap about Jersey or anything she has gone through. While the premise of the book is the tornado, the continuation of the story really gets to the heart of the aftermath of such a tragedy.  It was a really amazing and heartbreaking journey for both Jersey and the reader. Here was a normal girl in a normal midwest life who had everything she ever knew or loved sucked up into a funnel cloud. What is left is damaged beyond all repair... or is it. 

This is a book about family, about healing, and also about grieving. I think pegging this book as a "storm book" doesn't really get to the heart of Brown's purpose for the story. If it was a storm book, it would have ended when Jersey was shipped to her dad's house. Instead it kept going, proving Brown had more to say. I have always like Brown's stories, because they aren't afraid to get to the dark and ugly side of things, and Torn Away is no different. I think this story, while dark and sad, would be appropriate for a variety of students. The real-life implications are deep, and a reader will have a hard time not connecting to the story. Jersey is a young woman who was dealt the worst hand possible, yet there is still hope for her with each page you flip. 

Is Delilah Fixable?

Every family has its skeletons in the closet, the elephants in the room, and the secrets that aren't really kept, but Delilah's family is more dysfunctional than most. In Sarah Ockler's Fixing Delilah, we see a family that has never been able to be truly honest... until now.

Delilah's mother drags her away for the summer, but it isn't for some dorky family vacation. Her grandmother, whom she hasn't seen since she was eight, has died, and Delilah's mother and her aunt, both estranged, must pack up the house, make the arrangements, and settle her affairs. Delilah doesn't understand why no one has spoken to each other in years, but her mother refuses to speak about anything to do with her past, even about Delilah's father who died before she was even born. 

Returning to Vermont is emotional for Delilah, who has been getting in a lot of trouble back home, but when she reunites with Patrick, a boy she used to play with when they were kids, she realizes there are more than just bittersweet memories she was forced to leave behind. Having left her boyfriend, Finn, back home, she begins to realize he might not be as great as she once thought he was. Patrick embodies everything she has been missing for all these years. But when they start really getting into the breaking down of her grandmother's house, all those secrets and hushed conversations start coming to the top. Now Delilah's workaholic mother must answer Delilah's questions whether she wants to or not. There are things Delilah deserves to know... even if she won't like the answers once she gets them.

I loved Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer, and while I didn't like this book more than that one, this was still a really great, emotional, character-driven story. There were parts of this story where you say Delilah's grief and her attempts to reconcile her life and her grandmother's death and her family secrets that were so touching and gut-wrenching, I was instantly reminded of Ockler's supreme ability to transform a novel into a true emotional experience. For instance, in the sifting through of the house, everyone had avoided her grandmother's bedroom, so Delilah goes in, she puts on her grandmother's sweater, her necklace, uses her talcum powder, and tries to reconnect with the grandmother she really lost when she was eight. It was only a few pages, but this description was so poignant and bittersweet I was in complete awe of it. I don't know how Ockler does it, but she can describe grief like a master painter can transport you to their landscape. 

This was a great story for any emotional, sensitive young woman. It doesn't have any rampaging action, but the story behind Delilah's family is so raw and emotional, that kind of student who is deeply sensitive will truly love the experience of this book. I have grown to really love Ockler, and look forward to reading more of her books in the future. She knows her characters, and while the stories aren't the most action-packed, the characters are so real, you will feel like you are living life right along side them. 

Beneath a Meth Moon

Crystal meth has become a scourge upon our young people. But do you really understand why? I can't say I do, but in Jacqueline Woodson's heartbreaking tale, Beneath a Meth Moon, I feel like I witnessed the devastation first-hand. 

Laurel's mama packed her and her baby brother up to go with their father north, away from the hurricane, away from the water. She said it would only be a few days and that she couldn't leave Laurel's grandmother M'Lady behind, but she lied. It was forever. As they turned and drove away, they never thought that would be the last time she would see or speak to her mother. But the water came. And the water couldn't be stopped. And the water took everything away.

At first they lived with Laurel's aunt, but in search of more work, they headed to a new town with new people and new opportunities. Laurel meets Kaylee and starts cheering. Everything finally seems like it might be a life worth living again. Until Laurel meets T-Boom, the co-captain of the team. It is T-Boom who introduces Laurel to the moon. And once she starts the moon, it isn't so easy to stop. Especially when it takes away all the memories, all the pain, and all the emotions. 

This is a short, quick story, but it is devastating, both in the poetic beauty with which it is written, and the haunting devastation of the content. You see this innocent 15 year old girl who lost her mother and her grandmother, and even having a loving father and a little brother who needs her can't make her stop using. She knows it is killing her, she sees herself in the store windows, but when the itch starts, all she can think about is the moon (meth). 

I have read a number of addiction YA stories in the past, but there is something so melodic and poetic about the way this story was written that it makes you almost feel guilty in finding beauty in a story of such devastation. That conflict of emotions may be what made me like this story so much. It is written in simple language with large type and is a fast story, so this would be a very good story for an older student who struggles with reading. They won't be bogged down by the heavy content because the writing style is so smooth and easy to read. This story makes me want to explore more from Woodson. I am very impressed by my first story from her!

Zombies and Alice Have Gone Missing!

When you hear Alice in Zombieland, one would assume there was going to be either some Wonderland riffs, some brain eating zombies, or, better yet, an amalgamation of both! But with Gena Showalter's first book in the White Rabbit Chronicles, you shouldn't make any assumptions.

Alice and her sister are used to their father's crazy paranoia, but it doesn't mean they like it. Never allowed out at night, forced to live like shut-ins except for school, all of it makes for a very difficult childhood, especially when you know he is just plain crazy. But when a car accident kills Alice's father, mother, and sister, she is the only one alive in the car and the only witness to the creatures that crept through the darkness to rip them apart and eat them.

Shipped off to her grandparents' house, Alice encounters a very secretive group of kids. She is intrigued by them even though there is every reason to stay away from them. But when she is attacked, it becomes clear there is something dark and disturbing out there, and that group of kids are somehow connected. The answers are heavily protected, but Alice is determined to find out what the things are that killed her family, especially since now they seem to be after her. 

Did you ever watch a movie after seeing the trailer for months that portrayed a hilarious comedy only to find out the movie was completely depressing? Do you remember that feeling of being cheated? Well, welcome to my experience with Alice in Zombieland. I would have been fine with no actual references to Alice in Wonderland if there were real zombies, but instead, the "zombies" are absolutely nothing like zombies. No resemblance save for death. Instead, they are more like malevolent spirits which feed and infect your soul with their malevolence, turning you into your own dead malevolent spirit. In fact, they are afraid of light, only come out at night, must be battled while the hunter is in spirit form, and are killed by a super-strong light a hunter emits from their hand over the "zombie's" heart. Sound like any zombie you have heard about? I didn't think so. So why would you even call them zombies and get my hopes up?!

I have no idea, but sadly, that ruined this book for me. It could have been halfway decent if I wasn't expecting something completely different. Instead I was terribly disappointed and struggled to finish the book. So, I am torn about reading the second in the series because it had potential, but I was so annoyed by the whole zombie debacle. I did, however, LOVE the grandparents who took Alice in. They were so wonderful and endearing, and I wished I knew them in real life (especially when they tried to use "hip" language to let her know they were "cool"!). So I will see if I can bring myself to read the next book in the series. Maybe if I forget my disappointment in a little while, I will realize the parts I actually liked were redeeming... but until that happens, I am swirling in my own bitter disappointment over here!

Perfectly Addictive

Katarina Bishop has never had a normal life, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a happy life. She is loved by her con artist family, she knows they will always be there when she needs them, and now she has a boyfriend, Hale. But Hale has never known the concept of family the way Kat has, and when his beloved grandmother dies, that fact becomes all too real.

The boyfriend thing is new for Kat, but when Hale abandons them in the middle of a con, she knows something horrible has happened. When she finds out his grandmother has died, she gets to see the true origins of W. W. Hale V, and it isn't pretty. When she goes to the funeral, she truly begins to understand that Hale is from a different class of people than Kat is, and she knows she could never fit in with this life of his. When the will is read, Hale's world is thrown into turmoil again as he learns his grandmother has left him the billion dollar company. Until Hale is of age to take over the company, the family lawyer will serve as executor, but something is wrong.

When Marcus, Hale's faithful servant, pulls Kat aside to talk to her, he explains his concerns that the will is a forgery. Hale's grandmother never trusted the lawyer, and she always said she would leave something to Marianne, Marcus's sister and Hale's grandmother's best friend. Knowing Kat's particular set of skills, Marcus asks Kat to investigate and find the real will. Now Kat, always a moral con artist (really! I swear!), feels like she must take this job, but how can she take the job that might prove her boyfriend doesn't deserve the inheritance he received? 

You know, I have seen a lot of comparisons of this series to "Ocean's Eleven", but while there is the heist connection between the two, and I love them both, I think this series is in a class all of its own! It really is fun and exciting and gives the reader so much to think about. There was a time I wanted Ally Carter to start writing more YA novels and less MG novels, but I realize that has already happened. Just because her books are clean and can be appropriate to younger readers doesn't mean they aren't also complex enough for older readers. In fact, I find Carter to be very similar to Rick Riordan in that respect. Both of their books are written for younger readers within the genre but are so well written they can easily appeal to everyone, including adults. And in that sense, they are pure genius! There aren't many books that can appeal to both adults and 5th graders and make both demographics happy, but Carter has found the magic formula with this series!

And this was a much different book from the first two because the heists were much more personal to the group. Knowing the possible outcome for Hale, they didn't know how to include him, and he resented their involvement until he found out just how evil the lawyer was. I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more of these books in the series, because they are just so great to read. And it isn't often you find a good clean book you can give to tons of readers. If I had one complaint it would be that I wished the covers were more gender neutral because I know boys would love to read these stories, but the covers would scare many of them away. So I might just "heist" the book jacket and trick them into reading it! After they finished it, they would thank me for my trickery!

Who Knew Demonglass Could Be So Exciting?!

It is so much fun to watch a fun, young series grow up as you read it. It happened with Harry Potter, Twilight, and so many more. Now it is happening to the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins. The first book was a great, fun beginning, but now with the second installment, Demonglass, the series gets much, much darker.

Sophie Mercer found out she was not a witch, but actually a demon. She also watched her classmates raise a demon (her grandmother) who went all dark and scary and killed a couple of students at Hecate Hall (most commonly called Hex Hall). Even her crush turned out to be part of The Eye, a group of assassins hell bent on killing all Prodigum (magical folks). Needless to say, it was not a great year for Sophie. Now her father is back and is trying to stop her from going through the Removal- a process that strips her powers and could kill her in the process. What Sophie doesn't know is his reasons for wanting her to keep her powers are much different than she expected.

To try and get Sophie to embrace her powers, her father takes her back to Thorne Abbey which has been the Council Headquarters since their other headquarters was destroyed by the Eye. There she is introduced to Nick and Daisy- two other demon teenagers (isn't that redundant!). Since Sophie was under the impression that she and her father were the only living demons, it becomes clear someone is creating demons (which didn't go so well for Sophie's grandmother). Now, while Nick and Daisy try to introduce Sophie to the world of underage demons, such as Prodigum nightclubs, she and her father are trying to figure out who is creating demons and what army they want them fighting for.

As this is all going down, Sophie's crush, Archer Cross, (the very same one who works for the Eye and tried to kill her) comes back into the picture and even saves her. Her father forbids Sophie to see Archer, but she knows he has information the Council needs... and she can't stop thinking about the kiss they shared right before he tried to kill her. Can Sophie, Archer, and her father get to the bottom of who is making demons before it's too late? How far does the treachery run? Is anyone really thinking about how all this will really effect both the Prodigum and the innocent humans?

This was a great follow-up to a bang up debut novel. The series has gotten a smidge darker with this installment, and judging by the cliffhanger ending, it will just continue to get darker and more serious. Fortunately, though, Hawkins keeps her sense of humor when appropriate and Sophie Mercer continues to be funny, klutzy, loud, and a great character to love and laugh with. I loved this book and simply cannot wait for the next installment. Sadly we may have at least a year to wait.

The writing is fairly clean and simple. This is a great book for middle school through high school students because although the writing is simplistic and the plot is understandable, it is in no way childish. Everything about this book makes it a must have for parents and teachers alike. So go out and pick up a copy for your shelves and make sure to recommend it to everyone you know!

Heartbreaking and Heartwarming in the Same Breath

"Gram is worried about me. It's not just because my sister Bailey died four weeks ago, or because my mother hasn't contacted me in sixteen years, or even because suddenly all I think about is sex. She is worried about me because one of her houseplants has spots. Gram has believed for most of my seventeen years that this particular houseplant, which is of the nondescript variety, reflects my emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. I've grown to believe it too... This is us since my sister Bailey collapsed one month ago from a fatal arrhythmia while in rehearsal for a local production of Romeo and Juliet. It's as if someone vacuumed up the horizon while we were looking the other way."

That was just the first three pages. My. Heart. Broke. With. Every. Page. This book (I am not afraid to admit) had me sobbing and laughing in rotating intervals all night. I simply could not put it down without finding out what happens next. I even called my sister at 1am to tell her I loved her- this phone call was not exactly met with the warmth and gratefulness I had expected (mostly just a groggy "you are so weird"), but as you can see, this book clocked me in the solar plexus.

Seventeen year old Lennie is an interesting character. She is a clarinet player in the band, has never had a boyfriend, and loves to read emotional classics like Wuthering Heights. In fact, her family is famous in the neighborhood for "road reading"- walking down the road so engrossed in a book they have no idea if they are about to be plowed down in traffic. Despite her quirkiness, Lennie has still always been her sister's shadow, her companion pony to her sister's racehorse. When her sister Bailey dies suddenly, Lennie can't seem to get her life together. It was bad enough her mother left them to live with their grandmother when Lennie was one, but now Bailey has abandoned her too.

Lennie is struggling to stay afloat. When Bailey's boyfriend starts spending time with her and even making out with her, Lennie feels drawn to him. She knows it is wrong and her heart breaks for betraying Bailey every time they get together, but she still can't stop seeing him. Toby is the closest she can get to Bailey. When a new boy moves into town with his musical family and 100 watt smile, Lennie starts to feel about him the way Bailey felt about Toby. Now she has herself caught between the worst betrayal ever and a boy who just likes her for who she is, broken pieces and all.

This book is about a young girl who cannot cope with the loss of her best friend, sister, and confidante. I have to say the grief is so real, I found myself sobbing and couldn't figure out if I was tired, overemotional, or the book was really that good. After finishing, I think the book was really that good. The descriptions of Lennie's shock, how she goes through the motions, loses it when she sees Bailey in the coffin, refuses to pack up Bailey's half of the room, and talks to her sister are so real, I felt like I was grieving with her every step of the way. When the new boy comes into town, Lennie can't believe she deserves such attention at first, and then feels guilty about every happy thought. It feels too soon for Lennie to smile.

This book is obviously geared more toward girls. It is an emotional story, but it is so well written, it would touch the heart of any reader. There is a light amount of sexual activity- mostly making out, but it might make the story inappropriate for younger readers. I think this is a great 10-12 grade book with strong feelings, a wonderful story, and amazing characters. It might be too much for any student who has recently suffered a loss, though, so recommendations should be made with careful consideration. This is a beautiful story, and I plan to call my sister this morning at a more reasonable time and tell her again how much I love her!