Realistic Fiction

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

  

Bibliographic Information: Whitney, Daisy. The Mockingbirds. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group, 2010. Hardcover. ISBN 978-0-316-09053-7. $16.99.

Book Talk: Alex Patrick's first time was supposed to be special, was supposed to be with someone she connected with, was supposed to be … remembered. Instead, Alex is date raped after drinking with her friends turns into a night she can't remember. With her friends and sister to lean on, Alex decides to face her trauma head on. But how can she find justice? She can't go to the teachers. Themis Academy is a conservative prep school with a perfect reputation to uphold. Can Alex enlist the help of the school's ultra secret student group, the Mockingbirds, who were created to help those in need? Can the Mockingbirds bring Alex's rapist to justice?

At one point Alex thinks to herself:

I wonder briefly why I went through it, why it was worth it. Because in some ways, nothing changed. This is just how it goes, this is how it feels to take a stand. It feels like life, like chocolate cake, like just another average school night; it feels like wanting to be alone. You don't parade in the streets, you don't dance one the grave. You sit on the steps and you watch the school go by and the moon rise higher in the sky and it feels like... (Whitney, p.317)

Even if the Mockingbirds can help Alex, will she ever find peace?

Awards:

• A Romantic times Best Book of 2010
• A Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library
  Association
• An NPR Best Book of 2010
• An Association of Booksellers for Children New Voices Pick for 2010
• Chicago Public Library Best of Best Books for Teens 2010

Useful Links: 

Daisy Whitney's official website has information on all of her books (including The Rivals, the sequel to The Mockingbirds),access to her blog, and the author's contact information.

Here is a simple but captivating book trailer for The Mockingbirds: 

GLBTQ Literature

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Bibliographic Information: Wilkinson, Lili. Pink. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2009. Hardcover. ISBN 978-0-06-192653-2. $16.99.

Book Talk: Will Ava ever find out where she belongs? After transferring to a private school to escape her domineering girlfriend, Chloe, and find herself Ava discovers that fitting in is harder than she thought. The Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is full of “pastels” - rich, popular, smart teens that would never accept the new goth with a girlfriend for who she is. So, Ava needs to hide Chloe from her new friends and change her style to fit in. Contrary to her plans, Ava finds herself on stage crew, an unpopular pursuit at Billy Collins filled with the most un-pastel students. 

Ava is pulled in all different directions, and feels pressure from each group of friends to be what they want her to be. But Ava doesn't know what she wants to be yet, especially when she starts to feel something for her male friend, Sam. Ava can't even wear pink, one of her favorite colors, without backlash from her parents and girlfriend. With her new geeky friends on stage crew, her popular pastel friends, and Chloe at a different school, will Ava ever find out where she belongs? Is it really that bad to be Pink? 

 Awards: 

• Stonewall Award Honor Book
• Rainbow Row Listee
• Amelia Bloomer Listee 

 Useful Websites:

Lili Wilkinson's official website has information on all of her books, links to her Twitter page, and access to her Blog. You can also find the author's contact information. 

You can browse inside the book on Pink's page on Harper Collins Teen.

Biography

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
By Alison Bechdel

Bibliographic Information: Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print. ISBN: 978-0-618-47794-4; paperback; $5.58 on amazon.com.


Review: Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir. She focuses on her father’s death, which was most likely a suicide, and tells her own coming of age story, which includes her coming out to her family right before her father’s death. Bechdel uses literary works by authors, such as Albert Camus, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce, throughout the story. She draws parallels between her own life and the authors’ works very effectively. The memoir goes back and forth in time from Bechdel’s childhood, to her college life, and to her life after her father’s death. Even though the work is a tragic comic book, and overall takes on very serious universal  themes such as sexuality and loss, Bechdel’s memoir is filled with tiny details that make it very personal and often very funny. For example, the title “Fun Home” comes from Bechdel’s family’s nickname for the funeral home where they spent their childhood. The most touching and depressing part of the story is Bechdel’s connection to her father and how they become inverts of each other. Overall, this was a very interesting read. Bechdel was able to make an incredibly personal story feel very familiar and personal to the reader.

I would recommend this work to college students and beyond. A lot of the subject matter is very adult; there is a lot about sexuality, masturbation, death, and overall the book is emotionally difficult to read. However, the main reason I believe this book is best for college students and beyond is because the literary characters and works that Bechdel uses are too advanced for high school students. For example, most high school students are not familiar with works such as Ulysses, and may not appreciate the connections Bechdel draws between her life and fictional works. 

Awards: 

• 2006 Finalist: National Book Critics Circle Award
• 2007 Winner: GLAAD Media Award
• 2007 Winner: Stonewall Book Award
• 2007 Winner: Publishing triangle Judy Grahn Nonfiction Award
• 2007 Winner: Lambda Literary Award
• 2007 Winner: Eisner Award 

This book is also listed on Time Magazine's Top 10 Graphic Novel Memoirs and 

is #68 on Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Best Reads from 1983 on. Also, Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A when they reviewed it in 2006. 

The publisher's website includes information on Bechdel, an interview with her,and excerpts from the novel. Here is an example of the work:

 

Historical Fiction

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Bibliographic Information: Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print. ISNB: 978-0375842207; paperback; $7.79.

Review: The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, the title character, and her life in the home of Papa and Mama Hubermann at 33 Himmel Street on the outskirts of Munich. Liesel’s story is narrated by Death whose path intersects with Lisel’s throughout the book, beginning with the death of Liesel’s younger brother on the train ride to Himmel Street. Liesel is forced to leave her mother, whom we later find out is a communist, and live in a safer more stable environment with the Hubermann’s. Liesel instantly bonds with Papa, an accordion player, and comes to love her Mama, a woman with a sharp tongue but a big heart. She befriends Rudy Stiener, a young boy who dressed up like Jesse Owens, and the two become small-time thieves together. One day, a Jewish man, Max Vandenburg, comes to the Hubermann’s home for safety and hides in their basement. Liesel and Max bond and become close friends. Life for Liesel becomes increasingly complicated and horrific as World War II rages on.

I would definitely recommend The Book Thief and I believe it is better for an older audience, such as high school seniors and beyond. Its impressive how Zusak was able to make this book as much about the horror of Nazi Germany as a coming of age story of a young girl who has faced a great loss. It took me a long time to read this book; it is long at over 500 pages, but I had to keep putting it down because it was so sad and affected me so much. This is the kind of story that stays with the reader for a very long time.

Awards:

• 2007 Winner: Book Sense Children's Pick List
• 2007 Winner: ALA Best Books for Young Adults
• 2006 Winner: Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
• 2006 Winner: Horn Book Fanfare
• 2006 Winner: Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Awards
• 2008 Winner: Kentucky Bluegrass Master List
• 2006 Winner: School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• 2007 Winner: Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
• 2007 Winner: Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List

Expanded Books presents this Book Trailer for The Book Thief

Useful Links:

Click here to go to the author's page on Random House's website. From here, you can read an excerpt of the book thief, follow Zusak on twitter, and find information about the authors other works.

Click here for the author's Facebook page.

Click here for the NY Times' review of The Book Thief.


Here is a great 2009 interview of Markus Zusak where he discusses The Book Thief:

Classic

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Bibliographic Information: Block, Francesca L. Weetzie Bat. New York: Harper Collins, 1989. Print. ISBN: 978-0060736255. $8.99.

Review:  Weetzie Bat is a young “skinny girl with a bleach-blond flat-top” (2) living in Los Angeles with her best friend, Dirk. The book chronicles the lives of Weetzie, Dirk, and their dog and their respective partners, My Secret Agent Lover Man and Duck. The book is as much about the city of Los Angeles as it is about the characters. Francesca’s descriptions of LA and of the city’s landmarks are so vivid and accessible that you can feel how much the characters love and are a part of their city. This work cannot be categorized into on genre. It is a romance when Weetzie and Dirk are longing for love, and then find partners. It is part fantasy, such as when Weetzie is given a magic lamp and makes three wishes to a genie. It is also a very moving drama. At one point, Weetzie loses her father and she and her friends experience grief together.

Francesca’s writing is very poetic; the author uses very efficient, yet very descriptive language. At only 113 pages, the author covers so many ups and downs in these people’s lives from deciding to have children, to the pain of loss, to the happiness they find in being with each other. This is definitely a very odd book, but I can understand why it is a classic. The characters are relatable, but at the same time live very absurd and interesting lives. I thought the story flowed beautifully from beginning to end and was impressed at what a large story the author was able to tell in such a small space. I would recommend this book to young open-minded readers, because it is so strange. I think this book is great for YA patrons who love poetry because the prose are so efficient and rhythmic.

Awards:

• ·         ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
• ·         ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
• ·         ALA Best Book for Young Adults
• ·         Parents’ Choice Gold Award

Useful Links: 

Visit Francesca Lia Block's Official Website for the author's biography, contact information, and information on all of her works.

Visit Francesca Lia Block's Page on HarperCollins.

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