New from favorite authors: Far from the Tree, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, and The Whole Thing Together

The 2018 edition of my book What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use is now available. I have added over 80 books from 2017 with recommendations for using them in the classroom.  Many of the books have been reviewed in this blog already, however, before I move on to 2018 titles, I would like to recommend three 2017 novels by some of my favorite authors.  Robin Benway (Emmy and Oliver) won the 2017 National Book Award for Far from the Tree, her saga about three siblings who find each other after being adopted out to different families.  Benjamin Alire Saenz (Aristotle and Dante Discover Secrets of the Universe) follows the senior year of Salvador, who was adopted by a gay Mexican-American man after his mother dies in The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. Ann Brashares (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) focuses on two half-siblings who share a room at a family beach house, but have never met each other, in The Whole Thing Together. 

In Far from the Tree Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, finds herself pregnant and decides to find her biological family, after giving the baby up for adoption.  She reconnects with her younger sister, Maya, a confident gay teen who was adopted by a well-to-do family who also have a biological daughter, and Joaquin, their stoic older brother who is a product of the foster care system. Grace is much more interested in finding their biological mother than either of her siblings.  Chapters alternate between their third person perspectives, as each teen struggles to navigate personal challenges that they keep secret. Maya's mother is a closet alcoholic, Joaquin's latest foster parents want to adopt him, and Grace is trying to decide if she wants to maintain a relationship with her baby and adoptive family.  This touching family saga is truly deserving of its National Book Award.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life introduces Salvador, whose gay Mexican-American father adopted him when he was three, after his mother, who was Dad's best friend, dies. Sal finds his world turned upside down when his adoptive grandmother Mima is diagnosed with cancer, his best friend Samantha moves in with him after a family tragedy, and his streetwise gay friend Fito is kicked out of his home by his drug addicted mom.  Complicating matters, Sal uncharacteristically gets into several fist fights and wonders if he inherited violent tendencies from his biological father. When his adoptive dad gives him a letter his mother left for him, Sal hesitates to open it, thinking it might be better to leave that chapter of his life closed.  In short journal like chapters and text messages, this novel reveals a story of love, loss and the value of family.

After Robert and Lila bitterly divorce, in The Whole Thing Together, they and their three daughters take turns sharing the family's Long Island beach house every summer. The parents remarry and each have another child, Ray and Sasha, who share the same bedroom in the beach house on alternate weeks.  Although they share toys, books and even a bed, they have never met, until they unexpectedly run into each other at a NYC party and feel an instant attraction. When their stepsister Mila gets engaged, the two families decide to bury the hatchet for an engagement party at the house, with disastrous results. Then a family tragedy initiates a truce, and they begin to deal with long standing issues and healing begins.  This exploration of split family dynamics is both funny and tragic with a little romance thrown in as well.

Colorado Teen Lit Conference and New Works by Popular Authors

The Colorado Teen Literature Conference at the beginning of the month was a resounding success.  A.S.King and David Levithan, the keynote speakers, did not disappoint.  Both authors discussed their latest works in their keynote speeches.  King's Reality Boy chronicles the life of Gerald Faust who is still dealing with the fallout from his family's appearance on a reality series, when he was a 5-year-old boy with anger management problems. (See my March blog) David Levithan's Two Boys Kissing is the sequel to his first published novel Boy Meets Boy.  Based on a true event, two gay boys attempt to set the Guinness World Record for continuous kissing, the tale of which is narrated by a chorus of gay men who have died of AIDS. As always, the conference introduced me to new must reads. Three popular YA authors have new offerings.  Lauren Oliver (Delirium series) has a new stand alone Panic, which departs from the dystopian world to chronicle a realistic story of a deadly game played by high school seniors. Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak) once again offers the tale of a damaged teen in The Impossible Knife of Memory; this time Anderson focuses on a girl whose war veteran father's PTSD threatens their safety. Finally, Ann Brashares (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) tries her hand at science fiction with The Here and Now, the first in a series about immigrants from the future.

Panic is a deadly high stakes game played by graduating seniors who live in the backwoods town of Carp, New York.  The story is told from the points of view of Heather, a girl who never thought she would get involved, and Dodge, a boy who has been waiting anxiously to compete and get revenge for something that happened to his sister when she competed. The game challenges competitors to face their fears, both emotionally and physically, and of course, the teens are always one step ahead of the law.  Not only does the competition bring new friendships and revelations about the past, it also presents the possibility of love when it is least expected. The characters are sympathetic and the plot is filled with suspense.  It has already been optioned by Universal Pictures for a film.

The Impossible Knife of Memory focuses on Haley Kincaid, who has been on the road with her truck driver father, a war veteran with PTSD, for five years. When he moves them back to his childhood home, she finds adjusting to the life of a normal high school student a challenge.  Her father's method of dealing with his demons is through drugs and alcohol, and Haley must assume a parental role to keep him from going over the edge.  She struggles to remain focused, as she reconnects with her former friend Gracie, who introduces her to Finn, a guy whose dreams for the future just might include her.  The story is told from Haley's point of view which is understandably sarcastic and suspicious. When Finn finally breaks through the self-protective barriers she sets up, the reader begins to hope he will be able to help her rescue herself from the downward spiral her life has become.

The Here and Now, the first book in a new series, introduces Prenna James, who immigrates from the future where a pandemic has killed millions and left the world in ruins. She and the others who escaped keep to themselves to avoid discovery, as they look for a way to prevent the plague that will one day destroy the Earth.  She doesn't count on falling love with Ethan Jarves, who vaguely remembers seeing her magically appear one day in the past when she time travels to his world. Hoping to have a life together, they investigate clues that might lead them to change events that trigger the plague in the future.  Although I found the book suspenseful, the ending leaves a lot of loose ends that will presumably be tied up in the next books in the series.