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FLASH REVIEWS: YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challenge, Check-In #2

Eight down… and seventeen more to go. That’s not a very encouraging statistic considering I began this challenge back in February and I now have only until 11:59 p.m. (because every minute counts!) on Saturday, June 22nd to live up to my reading pledge. But as this is Summer Reading season and I HATE to fail at anything, I still think I can do it. Maybe. Possibly. Okay, my chances aren’t great, but I refuse to give up!

Anyway, here are the three books that I have read for the challenge and haven’t yet reviewed. (Thumbs up on all three, by the way. Although one definitely stands out for me far and above the others.)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal Romance
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
I soooo wanted to love this book. And I did like it—a lot. But for me it did not quite have the same magic and ingenuity that made The Scorpio Races so enthralling. I think part of the problem is that I missed the first-person narration that allowed me to empathize so strongly with previous Stiefvater characters. (Although switching to third-person narration does fix the tendency I’ve noticed wherein Steifvater’s dual narrators often read as too alike and not fully distinct from one another.) But ultimately The Raven Boys lacked the lyrical qualities that drew me to Shiver and (most particularly) The Scorpio Races.

That is not to say that the book isn’t well written. It is, very much so. And the premise is intriguing. Blue is an interesting, likeable character who comes from a family of clairvoyants but remains a bit of an outsider. After all, she is not clairvoyant herself, though her presence somehow acts as an amplifier for others’ gifts. Meanwhile, there are the “Raven Boys” of Aglionby Academy. Gansey is the de facto leader of a group of misfits at the prestigious boys’ school. He feels responsible for guarding his troubled friends’ well-being and is obsessed with unraveling a mystical mystery that becomes key to the book (and presumably the rest of the series). Like most of the locals, Blue wants nothing to do with the stuck-up Raven Boys, but then she meets Gansey, whose fate seems tied to Blue and a deadly curse. All the elements—mystery, heartbreak, friendship, betrayal, moral dilemmas—are there, but they only began to come together for me near the book’s end. It was well past the mid-way point that the characters and their relationships began to fully engage my interest, but once this happened I was hooked. Luckily, this is only the first book in the Raven Cycle quartet. I think now that the characters have been introduced and the tone set, The Dream Thieves (due out in September) has the potential to far surpass its predecessor.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Genre: Graphic Novel/Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This graphic novel from the author of Smile is a quick and amusing read. I loved Callie and really enjoyed all of her
interactions with her drama club pals, particularly her friendship with Liz. However, I do feel like the book reinforces stereotypes by [POTENTIAL SPOILER: Highlight to read!] having all three of
the male performer characters turn out to be gay (or potentially gay)
and making the only female performer into a self-absorbed, melodramatic
diva. But then this title was selected as one of the Great Graphic Novels Top Ten 2013 and as a 2013 Stonewall Honor Book, so maybe it’s just me. I have yet to see any other reviews that raise the same concerns. But regardless of my quibbles, I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a perpetually lovestruck 7th grader who adores the theater and her role on the crew of the school play. This title should find particular favor with middle-school Glee fans.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Genre: Horror/Historical/Speculative Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
As The Diviners was a 2013 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten selection, I chose to listen to this book in audio format. It was a much better experience than my last encounter with a Libba Bray audio book. At first, the 1920s slang and historical background seemed a bit gimmicky and overdone, but I was quickly drawn into the creepy, atmospheric world Bray creates. The Diviners is shamelessly excessive—the slang, the numerous characters, the mysteries—but this perfectly reflects the sumptuous excess of the era and lends the book an epic quality that promises good things to come. Featuring disparate teen protagonists with nothing in common other that a secret special ability, a ghostly serial killer, and the vivid setting of Prohibition-era New York, this is one of the most memorable series openers I’ve read in ages. Even better, while reaching a satisfactory resolution to the main plot of this book, there are overarching mysteries that have me eagerly awaiting the second book of the planned quartet.

REVIEW: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Teen/Young Adult

Summary: In the summer of 1987, two 15-year-old loners meet and forge a powerful friendship. Ari is a brooding “tough guy” who obsessively questions his place and purpose in the world; Dante is his complete opposite, relentlessly positive, self-assured, and emotionally open. Over the course of a year and through his friendship with Dante and Dante’s parents, Ari  finally comes to terms with himself and the unspoken secrets that haunt his family.

First Line: “One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke.”

Tracy’s Thoughts:
This book blew me away. The writing is deceptively simple, poetic, and quietly powerful. It’s easy to slip right into Ari’s mind, to feel every nuance he is feeling, from confusion to impulsive anger. Despite this, Ari remains a bit of a mystery—he refers to himself as “inscrutable”—as even he does not understand himself. I love that Ari is more than a little angsty as a character, but it’s not a dark and overblown angst. Yeah, he’s confused and often feels quite lost and even angry, but the book never once feels depressing. Not that certain issues addressed in the book aren’t emotional and potentially upsetting. Yet Sáenz handles it all gracefully without being heavy-handed in the slightest; in his capable hands, Aristotle and Dante’s story is far more sweet than bitter, but it never minimizes those ever-present “issues.”

Family drama, issues of sexual and ethnic identity, and even PSTD play a part in this stunning novel, and yet none of these elements overwhelms the story. Ari’s coming of age plays out slowly and patiently, and the novel unfolds in a realistic manner. Although one particular family revelation feels a bit coincidental, I bought it. And although it may seem a bit unlikely, I loved that the parents were so accepting of Ari, Dante, and their possible more-than-friends feelings for one another. Perhaps this wouldn’t have been the norm in 1980s Texas, but I appreciated that Sáenz didn’t need to go there. There is a lot going on in this book, but it all works together seamlessly, without any wasted subplots or characters. At its core it is less a book about sexual identity than about family, friendship, and having the courage to speak honestly and freely to the people who matter.

REVIEW: See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Audience: Tween/Teen (11 and up)

Summary: Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible in her family. Her dad is obsessed with the family restaurant and hardly ever comes home for dinner anymore; her mother is constantly escaping to her special room to meditate; and her perpetually critical sister Sara is miserable to be stuck at working at the family diner while her friends are all away at college. Fern has always had a special bond with her older brother Holden, but now that he’s started high school he’s busy coping with school bullies and his own emerging sexuality. And then there’s adorable, irrepressible three-year-old Charlie, the constant center of attention within the family.
The only person keeping Fern sane is her eternally calm and optimistic
best friend Ran, who almost makes her believe that “all
will be well.” But then tragedy strikes and even Ran can’t see how things will ever be okay again.

 First Line: “The very best day of my life, I threw up four times and had a fever of 103 degrees.”

Tracy’s Thoughts:
This is a book that will make you laugh, break your heart, and then somehow, against all odds, make you smile again. Knowles’s characters are fully developed, with authentic emotions and flaws. Quiet, introspective Fern makes a wonderful narrator, and though the lens through which she sees each of her family members is necessarily skewed by her own perspective, readers are able sympathize with each of the characters. Fern’s voice is distinct and engaging, often with shades of unintentional humor. This is especially true when she talks about her family:

Holden is always running off in a huff, and I am always the one searching for him and bringing him home. Holden’s named after the main character in The Catcher in the Rye. I wasn’t supposed to read it until I’m older, but I snuck my mom’s paperback copy out of her room last year. The pages were all soft from her reading it so many times. The book is about this boy who’s depressed because he thinks everyone he knows is a phony, so he runs away. I understand why my mom liked the book and all, but I personally think is was a big mistake to name your kid after a boy who tries to kill himself, even if he is thoughtful and brilliant. My favorite parts in the book are when the main characters talks about his little sister, Phoebe. Sometimes I think I’m a little like Phoebe to our Holden. Because in the book she’s the one he goes back for. And that’s sort of like me. Only I have to go looking for him first. (25–26)

The first third of the book introduces the quirk-filled family, from
Fern’s goodhearted, embarrassing father to demanding, loveable Charlie.
But then everything—the simple coming-of-age story you thought you were
reading—comes to a devastating halt as tragedy strikes. The emotions
become even more palpable, and the characters more real.

Relationships shine in this book, particularly the bond between
Holden and Fern—and later, when she steps up after the tragedy, Sara.
Fern’s friendship with Ran and Cassie—which also adds a minor love triangle to
the mix—rings equally true and enjoyable. I don’t want to spoil the “tragedy” that shifts the direction of the
narrative, so there is not much more I can say about this gripping
story. Characters must cope with guilt, grief, and other complex emotions, but the story never becomes maudlin or melodramatic. But there are hints of brightness amidst the darkness that comes. This is a simply but incredibly well-written story, full of humor, compassion, heartwrenching tragedy, and, eventually, healing.