Tag Archives: Guilt

YA – See You On Venus

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Vinuesa, Victoria. See You On Venus. Delacorte Press, 2023. 978-0-593-70513-1. 341 p. $12.99. Grades 8-12.

Mia has grown up in group homes and foster homes with very little known about her birth mom. She knows that her mother is from Spain and her name is Maria. Mia has grown up with a heart defect, and now faces the possibility of a short life unless she undergoes a risky surgery. Mia wants to meet her birth mom before this happens, but time is running out. She has been saving and planning this trip with her friend, Noah. Her biggest wish is to meet her mom and find out why her mother gave her up. Kyle has everything going for him until a fatal accident occurs that kills his best friend – Noah. Kyle begins to spiral to a dark place, and then enters Mia. The two of them embark on this overseas trip to find Mia’s birth mother. Will this trip provide answers to help them move forward with their lives? Noah’s death has brought them together; will this tragedy help mend their broken hearts?   

THOUGHTS: This was a quick read with a powerful message of hope and love and friendship. It has also been made into a movie, so students will be familiar with this story and may come looking for the book version. 

Romance

MG – The Shape of Thunder

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Warga, Jasmine. The Shape of Thunder. Balzar & Bray, 2021. 978-0-062-95667-5. $16.99. 275 p. Grades 5-8.

Cora Hamid and Quinn Macauley are next door neighbors and inseparable friends all their twelve years of life–until they are not. Quinn’s older brother, Parker, takes his father’s hunting guns to his high school one November morning and shoots Cora’s sister, Mabel, a teacher, another student, and himself. The two families’ approach to grief could not be more different. Abandoned as a baby by her mother (the reader never discovers why), Lebanese-American and Muslim Cora has the nurturing support of her biologist dad; thoughtful, maternal Gram; and the professional support of a trained therapist. Quinn’s family buries the issue. Told in alternating voices, the reticent and less academic Quinn has difficulty expressing her thoughts and guilty feelings. Her workaholic father is against any outside help to ease the family’s suffering, and her mother hides in the house cooking and baking. Longing to reconnect with Cora, Quinn delivers a box to her doorstep stuffed with articles about time travel and wormholes on Cora’s birthday. She knows Cora well enough to appeal to her scientific nature. Perhaps the two of them could find a wormhole and travel back in time to stop the tragedy of that fateful day. As the pair work through the logistics of approaching a huge tree in the forest for the site of their wormhole/time traveling, they each experience the pain of regret and the insistence on holding fast to the memory of a loved one. While Cora has made new friends on her Junior Quizbowl Team and excels in her studies, Quinn has felt shunned. She longs to be on the soccer team, but is too ashamed to try out. Her art gives her some pleasure, yet not even drawing can remove the heavy weight of a secret she knows about her brother, the possibility that she could have prevented the circumstances. After she confides in the school librarian her remorse, she resolves to confess this awful secret to Cora. Though the revelation breaks their renewed bond, Cora devotes more time to her plan to make the impossible possible. When she questions her father about time travel, she is encouraged and inspired by his answer. He tells her that her absent mother had a theory comparing the shape of time to the shape of thunder: “impossible to map” (p. 213). When both Cora and Quinn are coaxed by different people to attend the traditional Fall Festival at their middle school, the rumble of thunder pulls the two estranged girls to the woods to prove Cora’s theory. The hopeful resolution of the story, despite the sadness surrounding it, gives the reader relief. Quinn’s and Cora’s relationship see-saws throughout realistically. After all, Quinn reminds Cora of the unspeakable thing Parker did. Quinn’s strained home life with her parents who refuse any kind of self-reflection or examination of the devastating action of their son is painful.  Minor situations like the jealousy of Mia, another friend of Cora’s, toward Quinn; the snide remarks of Quinn’s former teammate and friend; the growing crush Cora has with her classmate, Owen (a Japanese-American character), will resonate genuinely with middle school readers. The Shape of Thunder is a tough read, but one that confirms that happiness can co-exist with grief, and friendships can be mended.

THOUGHTS: This novel is full of emotion and rich in language and characterization, but not so intense that a sensitive middle grade student would be put off. Cora is a thinker and an intellectual. Throughout the novel, students will find themselves entertained by the interesting facts Cora spouts (“…cows kill more people than sharks each year…”). The images Warga uses to describe different feelings are unique but spot on (the “fizziness” Cora feels in her tummy when talking to her crush, Owen, etc.). She also makes dialogue very interesting. Quinn has a hard time speaking; her brain freezes and she can’t say the words. When she finally gets angry enough to spill over her feelings to her buttoned up family, it is heartbreaking. The conversations between Cora and her father and grandmother also are authentic and tell the reader so much about the characters. What the reader must conjecture about are Parker’s reason for the shooting and the absence of Cora’s mother since her father seems to have no obvious vices. Ms. Euclid, the school librarian and art teacher, is a heroine for Quinn. This book should be issued with a box of tissues.

Realistic Fiction          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia

YA – Clap When You Land

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Acevedo, Elizabeth. Clap When You Land. Quill Tree Books, 2020. 978-0-062-88276-9. 432 p. $18.99. Grades 9-12. 

Because of a terrible tragedy, two sixteen year old girls suffer an unimaginable loss. Though they’re half sisters, Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios have never met; they don’t even know of the other’s existence. When Camino arrives at an airport in the Dominican Republic to pick up her Papi for the summer, she sees a crowd of people in tears. The plane he was on went down over the ocean, and Camino’s future plans of attending medical school in the US vanish in an instant. Despite the utter hole her Papi’s disappearance leaves in Camino’s life, she holds onto hope that he will be found alive. Who else will protect her from El Cero, a local pimp who starts hanging around and following her. In New York Yahaira suffers a similar loss, though her grief is overshadowed by guilt and anger. Because she learned one of her Papi’s secrets, Yahaira gave up playing chess and rarely spoke to her father for the past year. Yahaira struggles to see her Papi as the man she grew up idolizing, as the man her local Dominican community in New York sees. Her mother is also experiencing similar mixed emotions, and she is adamant that Yahaira’s father be returned to the states, though his wishes were to be in the Dominican. As Yahaira learns more about her father and his time away from her, she becomes more determined to know more.

THOUGHTS: Told in alternating chapters of verse, do not miss out on this newest Acevedo book! It is a must have for high school collections.

Realistic Fiction          Maryalice Bond, South Middleton SD

Camino and Yahaira live in two different worlds; Camino in the Dominican Republic as an apprentice to her healer aunt, and Yahaira, a chess champion, in New York City. Camino dreams of attending Columbia University and lives for summers when her father, who works in NYC, returns to DR. Yahaira cannot escape who she is and the unspoken truths that surround her. Connected by a secret, completely hidden to one and unspoken by the other, a plane crash reveals the truth and connects these two together forever unleashing a world of pain, hope, and family.

THOUGHTS: Told through alternating, novel-in-verse chapters, Acevedo explores one family in two separate worlds: one of wealth and one of poverty. One of hope and one of want. One of love and one of anger. Yet it is not always clear which world each character lives in. The exploration of the haves and have nots as defined by the characters alternates within each story as each girl grapples with the world in which she lives. Throughout the story, Acevedo explores a variety of issues facing each character: sexual orientation, sex trafficking, abuse, loss, desire, and hope. Readers will connect with the characters of Camino and Yahaira even if their situations are a window.

Realistic Fiction          Erin Bechdel, Beaver Area SD

MG – Echo Mountain

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Wolk, Lauren. Echo Mountain. Dutton Children’s Books, 2020. 978-0-525-55556-8. 356 p. $17.99. Grades 6-8.

Like her award-winning novel, Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk repeats her lyrical style in the historical fiction work, Echo Mountain. Ellie, the twelve-year-old narrator, and her family have moved to a remote part of Maine when the Great Depression hits. With his able middle child at his side, Ellie’s father builds their cabin. Her mother, a music teacher, puts down her mandolin and picks up the ceaseless household chores that come from being poor and living off the land–tasks older sister Esther endures but detests. The little brother, Sam, is impetuous and lively; the mountain is the only home he remembers. When the novel opens, Ellie’s father has been in a coma for months. While clearing land, he is felled by a tree. The details of this accident form Ellie’s dilemma and burden. A thoughtful girl, Ellie keeps still and accepts the blame for her father’s injury while always searching for natural remedies that will jolt him from his oh too silent sleep. While on these scavenger hunts, Ellie is surprised by tiny carvings of animals where she walks and believes someone is leaving them for her. These tokens are more meaningful for Ellie because they make her feel noticed, something she needs since her father’s accident. Of necessity, she’s a loner on the edge of childhood, and the story that ensues brings her to the brink of young adulthood. One day, a matted-haired dog appears at the edge of Ellie’s property, and she follows it to the other side of the mountain where the more established folks live. There she discovers the cabin of Echo Mountain’s legendary “hag,” feverish in her bed, in a room with carving tools and jars of herbs and medicinal cures. With the guidance of the hag–who is a healer– and the help of Larkin, the woman’s grandson, Ellie shows extraordinary resourcefulness in doctoring the old woman and her own father. The situation weaves the threads of the story tightly together with the kind of coincidences that deliver a wondrous tale. This quiet story of resilience during difficult times tells of a family who, in Ellie’s words, “…went looking for a way to survive until the world tipped back to well.”

THOUGHTS: This book concentrates on personal issues, rather than global ideas. Sensitive middle school students who like to wrap themselves in multi-faceted characters will gravitate to Ellie. It also provides a study of the dynamics of relationships: how Ellie relates to her mother and sister; how the different neighbors either share or refrain from sharing; how rumor feeds the negative attitude of the mountain people toward the hag; how humans deal with guilt and remorse. Similar to books like The Line Tender by Kate Allen and The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bryant.

Historical Fiction (Great Depression, 1930’s)          Bernadette Cooke, SD Philadelphia

YA Fiction – Flame in the Mist; Eliza & her Monsters; Inexplicable Logic…; Goodbye Days

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Ahdieh, Renée. Flame in the Mist. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017. 978-0-3991-7153-5. 392 p. $17.99. Gr. 7+.

Hattori Mariko is a gifted samarai and skilled alchemist, but none of that matters since she was born a girl. Unlike her warrior brother Kenshin, Mariko has been raised to serve her family in marriage and has been betrothed to the son of the Emperor. On her journey to the Imperial Palace, her caravan is attacked by members of the Black Clan, and Mariko only barely escapes with her life. Determined to discover who sent the infamous Clan to kill her, Mariko dresses as a peasant boy and infiltrates the group. As she sinks deeper into their ranks, Mariko finds her intellect and skills appreciated for the first time in her life and also finds herself falling in love, and begins to question her family, her purpose and her country. THOUGHTS: A nice addition to any Young Adult collection. Teens will relate to Mariko’s conflicted choices and get lost in the excellent world-building and storytelling.

Fantasy     Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School

 

Zappia, Francesca. Eliza and Her Monsters. New York: Harper Collins, 2017. 978-0-06-229013-7. 400 p. $17.99. Gr. 7 and up.

Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl who have been looking for a follow-up, look no further!  Eliza and Her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia, is a perfect pairing. Eliza has a huge secret; she is the author and creator of the webcomic Monstrous Sea.  Since she is only known as LadyConstellation online nobody knows her true identity.  While she is an internet superstar, her offline life is less than ideal. Eliza feels beleaguered and misunderstood by her classmates, and her parents, who are baffled by her ties to her “fake” internet friends, and her desire to spend all of her time on her phone or computer. Then hulking, football player-looking Wallace comes into her life.  Wallace, who inexplicably and shockingly is a huge fan of Monstrous Sea, writes his own stellar fanfic too; a more unlikely pair you won’t find.  The slow build up of their friendship is well done; there is some skeptical orbiting, followed by cautious interaction, and eventually, full-fledged trust.  However, when Eliza’s secret is exposed her entire world comes crashing spectacularly down around her. THOUGHTS: Even if you’re not into webcomics or fandom, Eliza is a relatable character; her love of her digital community, her desire to spend all of her time with her friends, and her mixed feelings for her parents and siblings are all things that teens will identify with.

Realistic Fiction     Lauren Friedman-Way, The Baldwin School

 

Saenz, Benjamin Alire. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. New York: Clarion Books, 2017. 978-0-544-58650-5. 464 p. $17.99. Gr. 9 and up.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s follow-up book to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, is just as brilliant, beautiful, and heartwarming/wrenching. Sal never thought of himself as an angry kid.  And yet, here he is, getting into fight after fight for no real reason and hating himself because of it; Sal can’t help but wonder if he’s more like his biological father than he thought. As in Aristotle, parents and adults play a major role throughout the book.  Both Sal and his best friend, Samantha, are molded by their parents. Even though Sal has been raised by a steady, kind hearted, loving adoptive father, Vicente, a man who fully embraces the idea of turning the other cheek, he fears that, ultimately, his character will be shaped by the temperamental, unstable father he never knew. The matriarchs, Sal’s terminally ill grandmother, his deceased mother, and Samantha’s mother, also get a starring role here. This novel highlights in ways no other YA book in recent memory has just how powerful and pivotal adult-child relationships are and addresses head on the age old question of nature vs. nurture. Another powerhouse of a novel from Saenz. THOUGHTS: The platonic friendship between Sal and Samantha is a refreshing change from the best-friend-to-boyfriend/girlfriend trope in many contemporary YA books.

Realistic Fiction      Lauren Friedman-Way, The Baldwin School

 

Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Crown, 2017. 978-0-553-52406-2. 404 pp. $17.99. Gr. 9-12.

“Where are you guys? Text me back.” This seemingly unremarkable text from Carver Briggs to his three best friends may have precipitated the car crash that killed Blake, Eli, and Mars. Now the fourth member of their “Sauce Crew” must face both senior year at Nashville Arts Academy without his closest friends and a potential criminal charge of negligent homicide. Some of his classmates sympathize with Carver, and others (including Eli’s twin sister) blame him for the tragedy. Carver finds solace in the company of Eli’s former girlfriend, Jesmyn, even though part of him feels like he’s betraying Eli by growing closer with her. Meanwhile, Blake’s grandmother invites Carver to spend a “goodbye day” with her doing all the things that Blake loved best. As guilt, panic attacks, blame, and legal fees threaten the stability of Carver’s world he must find a way to make it through the goodbye days and go on living.   THOUGHTS: Zentner won the 2017 Morris Award for his debut, The Serpent King. In my opinion Goodbye Days is an even better book, with a stronger hook for booktalks and an emotionally resonant depiction of a hot-button issue. The richness of Nashville’s arts scene and unique locales (including the iconic Ryman Auditorium and Parnassus Books) imbues every page and provides a wonderful backdrop to the story.

Realistic Fiction     Amy V. Pickett, Ridley School District

 

Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2017. 978-0-553-52406-2. 405 p. $17.99. Gr. 10 and up.

Goodbye Days begins with Carver (aka Blade) attending the funerals of his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Together, the four of them made up “Sauce Crew,” and without them Carver is facing a long, lonely summer and a potential trial. Though his older sister Georgia is a much needed distraction, she has her own life at the University of Tennessee. After Carver suffers from a panic attack, Georgia helps Carver begin his healing by taking him to see therapist Dr. Mendez. It seems the only people that truly knew Carver were his now deceased friends. Readers are slowly introduced to each friend through flashbacks memories Carver shares. Carver and Eli’s girlfriend Jesmyn sit together at one of the funerals and through their shared grief become friends. Over the course of the book, Carver is able to lean on Jesmyn and open up more about his friendships and his guilt. It is Blake’s grandmother (who raised Blake) who presents the idea of a Goodbye Day to Carver. At first he isn’t sure, but he eventually concedes. Together they share memories of Blake, learn things they didn’t know about him, and truly begin the process of healing. Word of Carver’s Goodbye Day spreads to the other families, and eventually he has very different Goodbye Days with each.  THOUGHTS: People who know me will tell you Goodbye Days is a book just for me. I find the heartbreaking books to be most compelling. Having lost a best friend in my mid-20’s (to a terminal illness), I found the voice of Carver’s grief to be very authentic. Readers will be torn between pulling for him in the pending legal mess and feeling frustrated or angry with the choice he made to text a friend who was driving. While Goodbye Days is part cautionary tale, it is more about consequences, grief, and moving on after loss.

Realistic Fiction       Maryalice Bond, South Middleton School District