Much has been written about there only being a few basic story plots, so it's no wonder books we read remind us of stories with which we are already familiar. It's fun to think about ways in which books we are reading compare to books or films we know. This year's Pulitzer Prize winner Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver is basically a retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Although the protagonist is a young boy, it would be difficult to categorize the book as young adult because it is so gritty. Instead, I will recommend several new YA books appropriate for younger readers. While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai is reminiscent of the Sandra Bullock film While You Were Sleeping. An Indian American girl dressed in a Comic Con outfit rescues a boy who is drowning in a canal. Although she tries to remain anonymous, she ends up falling for his brother. Good As Gold by Candace Buford will remind readers of the TV show Outer Banks. An African American girl whose family is down on its luck decides to search for the legendary treasure for which her tourist town is famous. Ride or Die by Gail Agnes Musikavanhu gives a nod to the film Baby Driver starring Ansel Elgort. Thrill seeker Loli Crawford gets involved in a daredevil contest with an anonymous guy, taking greater and greater risks with each dangerous dare she undertakes.
While You Were Dreaming introduces Sonia Patil, whose mother originally came to the US seeking treatment for her daughter Kareena's leukemia. When her mother is deported, Sonia, who was born in the US, is terrified her undocumented sister will be deported as well. During a local Comic-Con, Sonia, who is dressed as a superhero, rescues James Cooper, who falls in a canal. A picture of the rescue goes viral, and Sonia struggles to remain under the radar. When she visits James' family restaurant to check on him, his family mistakes her for his girlfriend. She finds herself not only drawn to the close-knit Black/Indian American family, but his older brother as well. This homage to the 1990s film While You Were Sleeping explores the topics of undocumented immigration, health care and the toxic use of social media with a blend of reality and romance.
In Gold As Gold Casey Whitlock's family has fallen from grace with her father's bankruptcy. Once a part of the "charmies," the rich kids in Langston, Georgia, she is now a "downstreamer," living in her grandmother's tiny house on the wrong side of town. Threatened with losing that house as well, Casey reaches out to Tanner for help in selling her family's last valuables in his stepdad's pawn shop. A rust-colored coin she's trying to sell is actually part of Langston's buried treasure that tourists and locals are seeking. Tanner, Casey and his friends, Squid and B decide to look for the treasure and end up finding out the original town Toulouse, a black community now underwater, holds the clues they need to find the treasure. Echoing the popular TV series Outer Banks, the treasure may be the key saving Casey's family and her future.
High schoolers Loli Crawford and her best friends Ryan Pope and Cairo Dahmani live for thrill seeking adventure and reckless car chases in Ride or Die. Although she is the ringleader, they enable her high jinks. When Loli throws a "rager" at her ex-boyfriend's mansion to create a diversion so she can steal back a necklace Ryan gave her from her ex's new girlfriend, she gets trapped in a closet with an unidentified boy she calls Mysterious Voice or MV. He challenges her to a game of risky undertakings that she can't resist. They communicate via letters and anonymous chats challenging each other to increasingly dangerous dares. Ryan and Cairo have her back but are more and more critical of what she is doing. Loli selfishly puts the dares before her safety and friendships. When she ultimately discovers MV's identity and he challengers her to disappear with him, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Reminiscent of the film Baby Driver, including Ryan's prized blue Mustang called "Baby," as well as his passion for music, highlighted by a predictive track at the beginning of each chapter, this high octane thrill ride will keep readers turning pages to see what is coming next.
