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Say Goodnight, Gracie,
by Julie Reece Deaver

Rating: ☆☆☆

This is an older novel that had received a lot of praise, so I thought I would give it a try. The story revolves around two central characters--protagonist Morgan and her friend/boyfriend Jimmy. Both are interested in the theater; Jimmy is a mega-talented dancer and actor, and he even gets an audition for Oklahoma early on in the novel. The two have been inseparable since birth, and their relationship begins to evolve beyond basic friendship. A tragic accident changes their plans for the future.

I really liked Jimmy's character. His personality really stands out through his auditions and in the way he playfully picks on Morgan. Other characters are lacking--both sets of parents, Morgan's aunt, and Morgan herself appear wooden and shallow at times. Their responses to the tragedy have a cookie-cutter familiarity.

I didn't like how the climax of the plot is given away on the first page of the novel. I feel Deaver could have let readers know a tragedy was looming without coming out and saying who the victim was and how it happened. I like the way the novel addressed the themes of grief and drunk driving. Those looking for a new take on loss might enjoy Deaver's critically-acclaimed offering, even if it didn't completely thrill me. -KL

Finished It...

Buried, by Robin Merrow MacCready

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

A teenager struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder while living in a parent-less household. Claudine's mother has taken off again without notice, likely on another drinking binge with a new boyfriend. This books shows what it is like to live with OCD, and how people unwisely suppress their emotions. With a shocking twist that would make Pete Hautman proud, Buried is a winner. -KL

Finished It...

Give a Boy a Gun

by Todd Strasser

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2

Finished It...

Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury

Rating: ☆☆☆

This was a title I had been waiting to read since November when we scanned the nominations for the 2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Shift ended up making the cut, though I'm not entirely sure I agree.

Best friends Chris and Win have been planning a cross-country cycling trip for months, and right after their high school graduation, they decide to hit the road. Not only are they avid bikers, but they have other motivations for the trip--the two can enjoy one last hurrah together before they part ways, with Chris headed to Georgia Tech and Win to prestigious Dartmouth in the fall; they can spend the summer away from their annoying parents, Chris's mom is a nagger, and Win's dad a control freak; and they can bask in the glory of cycling from West Virginia all the way to Seattle, Washington. The twist is that Chris returns from the epic journey, but Win does not--he disappears, and Chris is left to pick up the pieces and try to figure out what happened to his best friend, while dealing with pressure from the F.B.I. and Win's powerful father.

The story is told through from the first person, with Chris as the protagonist. The chapters alternate--one chapter will be set in the present day, with Chris being questioned by investigators, and the next chapter will be a flashback to the cycling trip itself. This format sounds confusing, but as long as readers make this observation early on, the story is quite easy to follow.

As is evident with the rating, I had a few problems with this book. First, some of the characters didn't seem real to me. Chris's mom is your typical paranoid, worrisome parent, though this was a minor annoyance since her role lessens as the story progresses. Win's father also felt a bit wooden. As the owner of a chemical factory, he is extremely wealthy, but Bradbury tries too hard to make him look like a rich tyrant; she relies too much on dialogue and not enough on action. While he's supposed to come across as intelligent and maniacally by-the-book, his speech is clumsy, cluttered, and awkward. However, my biggest beef is with the story itself and the naivety of Chris. I could sort of tell what Win's fate was fairly early, thus ruining any sense of mystery. The clues that Chris receives regarding his whereabouts seemed blatantly obvious to me, but for some reason, it takes Chris a few chapters for the light bulb to kick on. The flashbacks provide a wealth of indicators as to Win's fate as well. Chris is Win's best friend, yet he can't see all the evidence right in front of him? Please.

I still gave this book a solid three-star rating, and if you like missing-person related stories, you would probably enjoy this book. There are also rewarding themes of friendship, growing up, and the need for independence. I still wondered where Win was throughout, I was just disappointed to realize that my early assumptions were correct. I was hoping Bradbury was going to pull a Pete Hautman on me, but it didn't happen.

Finished It

Gamer Girl, by Mari Mancusi

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

I have read many good books this year, but Gamer Girl ranks up there with Strasser's Boot Camp and Flinn's Fade to Black as one of the elite. A spirited protagonist and interesting conflicts make this one a winner.

Teen Maddy Starr has to deal with three layers of conflict in the story: her parents' divorce, a new school (and bully in mega-jerk Billy Henderson), and her obsession with Fields of Fantasy, an online video game. Maddy is the real deal as a main character. She wears her heart on her sleeve and speaks the truth, which readers will appreciate. I especially liked Maddy's comments about moving from a Boston city school to rural New Hampshire. She scoffs at the bad fashion taste of the student body when she enters her new school for the first time: "It was as if I'd wandered into a living, breathing American Eagle commercial. Shudder."

As you can tell from the above quotation, the story is told in the first person point of view. Maddy is an honest, sad, angry young lady who I sympathized with right away. She's frustrated that her parents are divorced and that she has to endure life with her unicorn-crazy grandmother (trust me, you will love grandma, though she is sadly under-utilized). Maddy is angry with school bully Billy Henderson for labeling her "freak girl," and for the fact that she will never have a chance with his strikingly handsome friend, Chad Murray. Maddy's only solace comes from playing Fields of fantasy, where she can transform into Allora, a magic-casting Elfin princess. Before long she befriends another teen player in the game, aptly named Sir Leo. Her interactions with this new friend play a crucial role in the climax of the plot and leads to an interesting twist.

Maddy isn't your stereotypical, mopey teenage main character. Her thoughts, words, and actions all jumped off the page as real. I was rooting for her the entire time. Throughout the novel, she learns to respect and stand up for herself, and learns her own personal charms are even greater than the Elfin princess she created. Give this one a try. -Mr. Lang

Book Review

Monster, by Walter Dean Myers

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

What would you do if you were on trial for murder at the age of sixteen? What would be going through your head knowing that after only sixteen years you could be going to prison for life? This is exactly what Steve Harmon faces in Walter Dean Myers's novel Monster.

Steve is a sixteen year-old black male. He is a good student and claims to be an overall good kid, although he allegedly gets dragged into a robbery that takes a turn for the worse. Steve winds up having to spend days on end in the courtroom. Myers writes about his story of defending himself. Several witnesses claim Steve was the lookout for an armed robbery that left a store clerk dead. He was to remain outside and warn the others if someone showed up. Later on in the courtroom proceedings, he denies his involvement. Steve carries around his notebook and writes down the events that go on in the courtroom and sometimes in his own cell.

Myers does a good job of writing the novel. It is set up in a movie-like format. Myers makes it sound very real the way he uses words like "cut to," "fade in," and "fade out" to add to the play format. Other parts of the book are made to sound like they are taken directly from Steve's notebook, which includes Steve's thoughts about every situation he goes through. Steve's lawyer's name is Kathy O'Brien. I think that one of the best things about Monster is how Myers describes the relationship between Harmon and O'Brien. Steve's attitude toward her in the beginning of the book changes substantially at the end, and the developments will keep you reading.

I thought this was one of the best books I've read all year. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes this kind of fictional drama. Myers knows how to keep readers attracted to his books. I know that I couldn't get my eyes to look away, and I'm sure any reader would enjoy Monster just as much as I did. I advise everyone to give it a try.

-Jay Hebert