Myers, Walter Dean. Darius & Twig. New York: Amistad, 2013. 978-0061728235. $17.99. 208p. Grades 8 and up.

Does it make a difference how you want to live your life if someone’s intent on messing it up?  Darius is convinced it does.  Living in Harlem where gangs and bullies are a perpetual threat, Darius tries to focus on doing well in school and helping his mom and younger brother at home.  His one ally and best friend Twig, a sensational runner, is being scouted by colleges, but both boys find it difficult to think of the future when they are bullied on a regular basis by Midnight and Tall Boy.  When the editor of the Delta Review becomes interested in one of Darius’s short stories, he sees an opportunity to escape Harlem.  As he ponders the revisions to make, though, he questions his character’s strength and reasons for pushing his physical limits.  The discoveries he makes register a little too close to his own life.

While teens strive to be accepted and admired, they also need encouragement and guidance to build friendships around faithfulness and honesty rather than popularity.  Darius & Twig is a story of hope and optimism as well as one of despair.  In Darius’s world, sometimes the two are so close, it’s impossible to distinguish one from the other.

Realistic Fiction       Christine Massey, JWP Middle School

 

Coley, Liz. Pretty Girl 13. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2013.  978-0062127372. $17.99. 352p. Gr. 9 and up.

Angie Chapman stands alone on the outskirts of town.  She has just returned from a weekend camping excursion with the Girl Scouts.  A little confused as to why she’s clutching only a plastic bag, she timidly shuffles to her front door.  Expecting a warm homecoming, the shock and bewilderment on her parents’ faces startle her, but not as much as the realization that she’s been missing for three years.  Now Angie must work with her parents and the local police to piece together the facts of her abduction.  Only her receptive psychiatrist can help when she discovers there are multiple personalities occupying her mind.  With the help of several invasive psychotherapy sessions, Angie has a chance to heal, but her alternative selves may not depart willingly.

An incredible,  psychological thriller shrouded in mystery and evil, Coley explores dissociative personality disorder, identity, and the controversial methods and procedures used to treat individuals.  Angie’s childhood innocence was marred by sexual assault at the hands of  a beloved relative which only makes the reader’s empathy increase as she remembers more of her abduction and imprisonment.  Fans of Ellen Hopkins looking for a similar read won’t be disappointed.

Realistic Fiction, Suspense   Christine Massey, JWP Middle School