Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

In this gripping novel in verse, Hopkins tells what happens to three suicidal teenagers who meet in a clinic for “troubled youth” in Nevada.  First there’s Conner, who seems to have the perfect life if you don’t look too closely.  He lives in a mansion in an exclusive part of town and is very popular at school. Along with this, however, he has parents with impossibly high expectations who are always comparing him to his “perfect” twin sister Cara.  Then we meet Tony, a street kid who’s been in the juvenile detention system since he was a young child, but readers won’t learn why until much later in the book.  We just find out that he’s gay and been a prostitute on and off just to survive.  Lastly is Vanessa, the beautiful girl with a secret so dark the only way she believes she can relieve her pain is by cutting herself.  These three patients slowly become friends as they find they have more and more in common with each other.  Sharing their pasts is excruciating, but carefully they reveal their darkest mysteries to each other, learning to trust and love in the process.

This book is full of bleak topics: sexual abuse, self-mutilation, drug abuse, parental neglect, mental illness and suicide. Like all of Hopkins’ books, the author has done her research, and presents her characters in a realistic, if depressing fashion.  I found this book engaging, yet sad.  It didn’t really matter that I read it after I read Perfect, as there was only one character in common.  I would highly recommend this to teen readers who like realistic fiction and fans of Hopkins’ other titles.

Click HERE to see the review of the companion novel Perfect.

 

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde

When Ellie’s mom rents the fifteen-year-0ld her own apartment so the mom’s  boyfriend won’t have to deal with a teenager, Ellie realizes that it’s a good thing she enjoys her own company.  It’s not like she had a choice, after all.  One of the few benefits, though, is her new neighbor Frank, who she is developing a crush on, despite his having a live-in girlfriend.  In her mind, he’s so different from the boys she sees at school.  He’s kind, gentle and actually listens to what she thinks.

Soon, however, Ellie discovers that he is different in a way she had never considered before, and she is both surprised and hurt.  As she learns more about Frank and explores her feelings about him, Ellie begins to grow up, and even understand herself and her dysfunctional relationship with her mother better.

I really liked this book.  It deals with a difficult subject in a very senstive way, without imposing stereotypes on its characters.  I also appreciated that it took place in New York City without being cheesy, just allowing the urban setting to play a natural role in the story. Since the book is fairly short (under 200 pp.) it would be great for someone doing a quack book project.  I recommend it to all teens.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

This is one of those books I had heard great things about from students, but just put off reading for no real reason.  Boy am I sorry now because I loved it!  The story takes place in a town so ideal that when a boy is told by his teacher that he’s “definitely gay and has a very good sense of self” when he’s in kindergarten, his mom’s reaction is that he learned a new word.  Paul is surprised that his being gay is different, and rarely faces any homophobia in his small town, although he knows it exists elsewhere.  In the story, Paul is a high school sophomore, and his school includes a cross-dressing football quarterback, cheerleaders that ride Harley Davidson motorcycles and the Gay-Straight Alliance as the most popular club.  Although he’s had boyfriend’s in the past, Paul can barely catch his breath when he meats the new kid at school, Noah. Naturally, the course of true love is never smooth, especially when Paul’s ex starts coming around again, right after he’s convinced Noah that his feelings are real.

While this book is surely a romantic comedy, Paul’s honest narration keeps the plot feeling realistic as well as honest.  I rate this 5 *’s out of 5, and recommend it to all teen readers.  Fans of Alex Sanchez, Julie Anne Peters and Ellen Wittlinger will appreciate Levithan’s LGBT-friendly world.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments  Book 4

While this may not the strongest title in Clare’s popular Mortal Instruments series, devoted fans will still be engaged in following the continuing adventures and emotional ups and downs of Clary Fray and her friends.  This story actually belongs to her best friend Simon Lewis, the recently turned vampire, more than any other character.   Called the Daylighter vampire for his ability to go out into the sunshine and function during the day like the Shadowhunters and some of the non-vampire Downworlders,  he quickly becomes the target of an ancient vampire and as well as others who try to get him to use his unique power to their advantage.

I would recommend this book to all Cassandra Clare fans and followers of the Mortal Instruments series.

                   

The Perks of a Wallflower by Stepehn Chbosky

The Perks of a Wallflower by Stepehn Chbosky

This short title has long been a favorite here at Berkeley High. (In fact, I just bought two new copies to replace some falling-apart ones!)  The story’s narrator, Charlie, is a ninth grade student whose best friend committed suicide the previous spring.  As he enters high school, he becomes a loner, the “wallflower” watching and describing what he sees without much emotion.  The book is told in a series of letters Charlie writes to his “dear friend,” although the reader never learns who this is.    He writes honestly and with a a keen sense of observation, describing high school life as he experiences it.  A group of older students adopt Charlie as a friend, and through them he learns about life, both the good and the bad.  His new best friend Patrick is gay, so Charlie discovers what it’s like to live in a homophobic community.  He falls hard for Patrick’s beautiful sister, Sam, and learns about unrequited love.  Charlie has his first date is with the self-involved Mary Elizabeth, but that relationship falls apart badly when he is honest at a party about who he would most like to kiss (Samantha, of course).  Charlie also experiences casual drug and alcohol use, the ritual of the Rocky Horror Picture Show movie, and being mentored by his English teacher, who literally gives the teen his own favorite books to read and talk about later.

Even during my most recent reading, this book captured my interest from the first few pages.  Charlie’s open and naive voice reminds me of myself as a high school freshman, and many of the kids I see these days, even though many of them have a practiced veneer of  “coolness.”   I think teenagers find it easy to identify with Charlie’s emotions and reactions to his new experiences, and this is one of the reasons this book has stayed so popular even though it is over ten years old.  As of February 2011, the book is being made into a movie starring Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief) and Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.
I recommend this title to all high school readers–it’s a short, fast read that everyone can identify with.

The Vast Fields of Ordinary

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Hurd

Dade Hamilton can’t wait to get out of Iowa–literally.  He just graduated from high school, and always felt like an outsider there.  His two-year long secret relationship with Pablo (aka the Sexican for his dark, good looks)  is disappointing and he yearns to end it.  His crappy job at the local supermarket at least gives him an excuse to get out of the house, where his parents’ fighting makes divorces look like a worthy alternative.  After he meets the edgy and charming Alex Kincaid while leaving a party, he slowly realizes that all gay relationships aren’t about hiding and shame.  Even though he knows he’s leaving for college out of state in a couple months, he finds himself falling for the mysterious Alex, who seems completely comfortable with who he is, even though he has no clue about his own future.

What I especially liked about this book is that it is about Dade coming to terms with himself and his future.  While his being gay and wanting to “come out” to his parents is part of the plot, it isn’t the only focus.  I loved these characters and was truly sorry when the book ended.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

This great book was co-written by two super amazing YA writers: John Green (Waiting for Alaska and Paper Towns) and David Levithan (Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn and Boy Meets Boy).  This hilarious story is about two different teens named Will Grayson (each written in alternating chapters by one of the two writers) who end up meeting through a series of weird circumstances at a porn store called Frenchy’s in Chicago.  Both Will Grayson’s have tons of issues and seem to work at making themselves miserable.  However, by the end of the story, both have learned some about themselves, each other, life and love.  A huge shout out to character Tiny Cooper, a wonderfully flamboyant 300 lb. gay football player and musical theater maestro extraordinaire.  I hope they decide and write a whole book about him!!!  His humanity, sense of humor and lust for life won me over the first time I met him in the book.

Obviously, I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially fans of Green and Levithan.

Here’s an online interview with John Green you can see from home.  As part of it, he even reads the first few pages of the book to us.

Punkzilla

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

This short book details fourteen-year-old Jamie’s journey across the country, trying to get to Memphis, Tennessee before his older brother succumbs to cancer.  Jamie, also known  by Punkzilla, tells his story through a series of letters to his brother Peter (“P”), letters he never actually sends.  Punkzilla and P both left home at an early age to escape their ultra conservative military dad, P leaving because he was gay and the dad couldn’t accept it, and Punkzilla running away from the military school the family had made him attend.

Jamie has escaped the life of a street kid in Portland, Oregon when he finds out his brother is dying, and seems more than content to leave behind his life as an Ipod thief and occasional druggie.  The author’s depiction of the street life these kids live is very realistic, sometimes brutally so.  Despite this somewhat depressing beginning to his story, Punkzilla meets a number of people on his road trip who go out of their way to be kind to him.

I found this book hard to put down, and found myself rooting for Punkzilla to make smart choices and get to his brother before it was too late.  Although sad, the ending was still optomistic.