Sunday, December 1, 2024

Time Travel, Parallel Universes and the Multiverse in YA Novels

 The possibility of time travel, the potential existence of parallel universes, and even the concept of the multiverse are based on respected work from highly reputable physicists and mathematicians. Many authors base the fantastical elements of their books on creative scientific theories. In  Sixteen Minutes by K.J. Reilly Nell, Cole, and Stevie B, are intrigued by new girl Charlotte who says she's from Everywhere. Although he is in love with Nell, Cole agrees to travel to the future with Charlotte, for a chance to stop a tragedy. Stealing Time by Tilia Jacobs and Norman Birnbach, finds Tori traveling from 2020 to 1980 to help her father prevent a jewelry heist that destroys her family. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson focuses on Lennon Carter, who is invited to apply to Drayton College, where students learn the art of persuasion to bend people and reality to their will. 

Sixteen Minutes introduces teenagers Nell, Cole, and Stevie B, who have grown up in the small town of Clawson, New York, “two hours south of nothin’ and just north of nowhere.” Although Nell and Cole are a couple, artist Stevie B barely disguises his love for Nell, as he fills his artist notebooks with sketches of her.  When Charlotte, who says she is from “Everywhere,” arrives in Clawson, she quickly captures Cole’s attention. Although he professes his love for Nell, he is with Charlotte constantly. Nell and Stevie B find out that Charlotte is a time traveler from 2101 who can save Cole’s younger sister Finn from a terminal illness, if he returns to the future with her. But will they allow Cole to go alone? Now knowing that time travel is real, and a multiverse of futures await them, they have the option to live lives they could have only dreamed about. The author’s note at the end of the book discusses the viable science behind time travel and multiverses.

In Stealing Time Tori Gold is growing up in New York during the outbreak of Covid-19 and her parents' impending divorce. When she time travels from 2020 to 1980, she wonders why she is there.  Then she realizes she has landed in her father Bobby’s bedroom and meets him as a teenager.  She discovers that a jewelry heist forty years ago sent her grandfather to jail and destroyed her family. Bobby, after some convincing, believes that she is from the future and is here to prevent the heist of the Desert Sun diamond from the museum where her grandfather curates the gems displays.  A gang of thugs is planning to steal the diamond, but Bobby and Tori band together to stop the heist and clear her grandfather of the crime. The trope of traveling back in time to meet family members is handled with humor and fun, although the adventure is packed with danger.

Dark academia is a literary genre that features a dark, gothic aesthetic and themes of academia, intellectualism, and secret societies. An Academy for Liars introduces Lennon Carter, whose life is imploding, when she gets an invitation to take an entrance exam to Drayton College, a school where students learn the art of persuasion to bend people and reality to their will. Lennon’s advisor Dante is convinced she is particularly gifted and supports and rescues her whenever she gets out of her depths. As she gains control over her powers, she learns she is able to create elevators that open to not only different worlds, but also times in the past.  She is destined to play an integral role in the well-being of the school.  This is my first introduction to the genre (unless you count the Harry Potter series), which makes me curious about other books to recommend. This book is for mature readers as the violence and sexual encounters are fairly graphic. 

Friday, November 1, 2024

Jane Austen Reimagined

 Perhaps no author's books have been reimagined more than Jane Austen's. This month we have three new young adult novels that incorporate elements from Jane Austen novels. Dashed: A Margaret Dashwood Novel by Amanda Quain sets Sense and Sensibility on a modern-day summer cruise. The Monstrous Kind by Lydia Gregovic is an Austen inspired regency era fantasy, set in an alternate England which is shrouded in a toxic fog that turns people into zombies. In Want of a Suspect by Tirzah Price (Pride and Premeditation, Sense and Second Degree Murder, Manslaughter Park) is the first in a Lizzie and Darcy Mystery duology. Lizzie and Darcy, now both lawyers, investigate a deliberately set warehouse fire.

In Dashed Margaret Dashwood is accompanying her sister Elinor and husband Edward on a cruise where Edward will be the ship's pastor for the summer. Margaret is looking forward to being away from her sister Marianne who has just gone through another breakup.  When Marianne, who is wallowing in misery, decides to join them on the cruise,  Margaret has to share her cabin with her. She is determined to find Marianne another boyfriend, so she will stop crying. She enlists the help of Gabe, the ship's theatrical lighting expert, to find eligible men. Along the way Margaret develops feelings for Gabe, which she tries desperately to deny.  Add to the mix a hurricane on the horizon and Margaret is in for a stormy summer.

The Monstrous Kind is a supernatural mystery, which encompasses a story about sisters and social manners in Regency England. Twelve families make up the ruling class due to their immunity to the deadly fog surrounding the country. Commoners will be killed by the fog or turned into monsters. Merrick Darling, daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex, is off in New London looking for a husband, but returns home when her father dies. On her way home she is saved by sentry Killian Brandon, when she is attacked by a fog-infected monster. She arrives home to find the Manor’s perimeter being breached and her sister Essie preparing to become Lord of the Manor. The other Lords, sensing their family’s weaknesses, are jockeying to take them over, and the Monsters are looming. Killian and Merrick form an alliance to get to the bottom of the secrets threatening their lives. 

In Want of a Suspect finds Lizzie investigating a warehouse fire, looking for the woman the owner thinks caused the fire and consequently his brother's death. Witnesses lead her to suspect Josette Beaufort or her cousin Leticia, who both fit the description of the woman seen at the warehouse. Coincidentally, years earlier Darcy’s proposal of marriage was turned down by Josette, making him uncomfortable with the investigation. When Leticia is murdered and Lizzie gets closer to the truth, the warehouse owner fires her, as he realizes his brother had been involved in a smuggling scheme. Darcy begins to understand that Lizzie’s safety is his most important concern, and he works closely with her to uncover the truth. This new element of the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries is sure to delight fans of the series. 

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

The Impact of Missing Fathers

 The impact of a dead or missing father on a child's sense of identity and well-being is explored frequently in young adult novels.  In Jandy Nelson's (I'll Give You the Sun) new novel, When the World Tips Over, the Fall kids' father mysteriously disappears, affecting each of the three children differently. Then a rainbow-haired girl comes into their lives, saving each of them in a variety of ways. For She is Wrath by Emily Varga is a Pakistani-inspired retelling of The Count of Monte Christo. Dania is imprisoned for a crime she did not commit. When she escapes and finds her father was killed for defending her, she seeks revenge with the help of a friend and some magical zoraat seeds. Nothing Like the Movies, the sequel to Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, picks up when Wes and Liz head off to UCLA, only to have him drop out and break up with her when his father dies unexpectedly.  

The Fall kids' father mysteriously disappears in When the World Tips Over, leaving behind a shattered family.  Twelve-year old Dizzy reads romance novels, sees ghosts and longs to be reunited with her estranged best friend Lizard. Seventeen-year-old Miles is supposedly the smart, athletic, and handsome "perfect one," but he struggles with his sexuality and lack of connection with his siblings. Nineteen-year-old Wynton is a violin prodigy, who causes trouble wherever he goes.  Their mother runs a restaurant and longs for her absent husband, leaving a gourmet meal out for him each night.  Enter the rainbow-haired girl, Cassidy who saves each of them when she meets them - two from accidents and Miles from himself.  Cassidy has had her own issues with abandonment, which are explored in a parallel plotline. When the kids go in search of Cassidy, catastrophe strikes and the secrets of the Fall family curse begin to surface, giving all of them an opportunity to rewrite their futures.

For She is Wrath focuses on two female prisoners, who escape from prison and reclaim a cache of zoraat seeds and powerful djinn magic which allow them to establish themselves as wealthy women in the city of Basral.  Both Noor and Dania are seeking revenge against the power-hungry emperor Vahid, who came to power himself using djinn magic.  Dania's father, an esteemed sword maker, was killed when he tried to defend her.  She, an expert swordsman herself, disguises herself using the zoorat seed magic, and executes an elaborate scheme to hurt her betrayers, including Mazin, the lover who betrayed her. But seeking revenge becomes complicated as the magic threatens to overtake Danai, Noor disappears, and her feelings for Mazin reemerge despite his betrayal.  Dania ultimately learns the power to destroy her enemies comes with a price.  

In Nothing Like the Movies, tragedy strikes after Liz and Wes start their freshman year at UCLA.  Wes's dad dies of a heart attack, and he must go back to Nebraska to support his mom and sister, leaving Liz behind.  Deciding she is better off without him, Wes breaks up with her and begins to work on getting his life back together.  Fast forward two years and Wes is back playing baseball at UCLA, but Liz wants nothing to do with him.  Unfortunately, her internship with a production company has her focusing on the baseball team, throwing them together constantly. She enlists the help of her camera man Clark to pretend to be her boyfriend, but Wes will not give up on getting her back.  Each chapter begins with a quote from a popular romcom and an extensive playlist of romantic songs is woven throughout the narrative. 

Sunday, September 1, 2024

New YA Mysteries

 Mysteries are arguably the most popular genre in fiction. In teaching the mystery genre, analyzing the author's use of classic mystery techniques can help students understand why mysteries are such "page turners." Foreshadowing, cliff hangers, and red herrings are just a few of the techniques authors use to keep their readers coming back for more. Several new YA mysteries lend themselves to this analysis. Of course, the prolific Karen McManus has a wonderful new mystery offering, Such Charming Liars, in which a mother-daughter grifter team sets out to do their final job, but they run into unexpected complications. The second book in the Liar's Beach series by Katie Cotugno, Hemlock House, once again has Holiday and Linden investigating a mystery that the police have supposedly solved. Added to the intrigue are feelings that are beginning to surface between the two sleuths. The Champions, the second book in Kara Thomas's Cheerleaders duology finds the football team targeted for murder this time around. Finally, The Debutantes by Olivia Worley is set at Le Masques Ball, the social event of the year for New Orleans elite. Last year's ball queen was murdered and the planners are hoping to avoid such drama at this year's soiree, but it's not to be. 

 In Such Charming Liars Kat and her mother, Jamie, have been living under assumed identities after fleeing her abusive father.  After a two-day unsuccessful marriage to Luke Rooney in Las Vegas, Jamie has been working for a jewelry forging ring helmed by Kat’s pseudo-grandmother Gem.  When Gem takes Kat along on a job, Jamie is furious and wants out. Gem agrees after one last job, heisting a ruby necklace from the wealthy Sutherland family at the patriarch’s 80th birthday party. Kat tags along on the job and finds out Luke and his son Liam are also attending. Complications quickly arise when Parker Sutherland is found dead with the ruby necklace in his pocket. Kat and Liam join forces, along with Parker’s nephew Augustus to find the murderer.  Twists and turns keep the reader engaged, as one double cross after another confounds their investigation.

Hemlock House, the sequel to Liar’s Beach, finds Linden and Holiday at Harvard investigating the death of Bri, Linden’s girlfriend Greer's roommate.  Bri, Greer’s best friend, is found in Greer’s bed, wearing her clothes, dead of an apparent overdose.  But the drugs found at the scene are not what shows up in the autopsy. Once again Holiday is the calm analytical one in the detective duo. While Linden is suspended after being framed for stealing Greer’s watch, Holiday pieces together the clues and confronts the murderer.  A subplot involving a love triangle between Linden, Holiday and Greer adds spice to the mix. Linden is once again the narrator, whose rash, clueless behavior is reined in by Holiday, his childhood friend and now maybe more.

The Champions, the second book in the Cheerleaders duology, takes place eleven years after the killer of the dead cheerleaders in Sunnybrook is brought to justice.  Hadley has just moved to Sunnybrook and is hoping to become editor of the school newspaper. She is disappointed when she is assigned a story about the school’s championship Tiger football team, which is a positive focus for the town. However, soon after she turns in her story, one of the team members, whom she interviewed, is poisoned, and Hadley begins getting strange emails telling her to stay away from the football team. It is clear that the players have secrets, and when a second player is mysteriously killed, Hadley wonders if someone wants revenge for their sins. 

In The Debutantes Les Masques Ball is the social event of the season for New Orleans elite, even though last year’s queen, Margot Landry, was murdered.  Margot was a wild child, and many people thought her self-destructive tendencies won out. Then this year’s queen, the perfectly poised Lily LeBlanc, disappears after the ball is hijacked by someone in a Jester costume. She sends a text to the Maids on her court, her best friend Vivian, her boyfriend’s sister Piper and April, her frenemy, asking them to meet her the next morning. However, she never shows up.  The three of them must band together to find out why she disappeared and rescue her before she becomes another dead queen. 

Thursday, August 1, 2024

New Action-Packed YA Adventure Novels

 As summer winds down, it's a great time to squeeze in a few more action-packed adventure books, before school and assigned readings begin. I can recommend four new gripping YA novels that fit the bill. The Medici Heist by screenwriter Caitlin Schneiderhan (Stranger Things) introduces a teen gang of con artists attempting to rob Pope Leo X and the Medici family of the indulgence money the Pope has been extorting from his subjects. Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies by Abigail Hing Wen find four teens on the run to escape with coins that contain digital codes to a cryptocurrency account. Heir Apparently, the sequel to The Prince and the Apocalypse by Kara McDowell, once again pairs Chicago teen Wren Wheeler with the heir to the British throne for a page turning adventure. Thieves Gambit, the first in a duology by Kayvion Lewis, pits master thieves against each other in a fast-paced heist competition.

The Medici Heist is set in 1517 Florence when Pope Leo X and the Medici family return to take up the reins of power.  Con artist Rosa Cellini, in an effort to gain revenge, plans a heist to steal the indulgence money the Pope has been extorting from people.  She enlists the help of master of disguise Giacomo, prize fighter Khalid, Sara the Tinkerer, and Agata an alchemist.  Each member of the team has complications of their own that motive them, but also threaten to derail the plan. Rosa also enlists the help of Michelangelo and his assistant to gain access to the palace.  Information about the politics surrounding the preunification of the Italian city-states is neatly woven into the narrative.  As Rosa and the crew infiltrate the family guard, disarm Leonardo da Vinci's traps and deftly evade capture, they execute the meticulously planned financial ruin of the papacy.

Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies begins with prom dates Tan Lee and Winter Woo agreeing to remain platonic friends,  even though their attraction is real.  Although Winter and her mom rent rooms from the Lees, she and Tan manage to avoid each other until his parents and her mom decide to go to Hawaii for a conference, leaving them alone with his five-year-old sister Sana. Things go smoothly until Tan's ex-girlfriend Rebecca Tseng arrives at the house, looking to hide from her father's wealthy goons.  She has three gold coins with her that she wants to pawn, promising she will disappear as soon as she gets the money. Unbeknownst to Rebecca the coins are actually housing digital codes to her father's cryptocurrency accounts.  Cryptography enthusiast Tan recognizes this, but before he can break the codes, her father's goons arrive, causing the four kids to go on the run to protect the coins.

Heir Apparently finds Wren Wheeler back in Chicago wondering if she really is married to Prince Theo, heir to the British throne.  Hearing that he is in Canada, she travels with her sister and best friend to see him and reclaim the dog she left behind when they parted in Greece. Theo convinces her to return to London with him to deal with their marriage mystery, but their plane crashes near a deserted island with an active volcano. They must find food and water, tend to injured passengers and find a means of escape before the volcano erupts.  Once again the book is peppered with witty dialogue and romance.  Although readers don't need to read the first book in the duology, familiarity with the characters will make readers more engaged with the couple in this fast-paced action adventure. 

Thieves Gambit introduces Black Bahamian 17-yr-old Ross Quest who comes from a family of master thieves.  She has been invited to the ultimate heist competition, but all she really wants is to escape her family, lead a normal life and find friends.  However, on their last heist Ross's mother is kidnapped with a billion-dollar ransom.  Ross's only option is to compete in and win the quest, which promises the winner any wish they want.  Her childhood nemesis, Noelia, and Devroe, a charming Black British thief, are among the competitors.  As the Gambit moves from one heist to another, Ross is confused as to who to trust, including her mother.  The sequel Heist Royale, in which she and Devroe must team up to work for the Gambit, comes out November 12, 2024. 

Monday, July 1, 2024

Summer Travel Reads

 Summer is the time for family travel, and even if you can't go to exotic places you can read about them.  One of my favorite trips, a bike ride from Venice to Florence, was inspired by one of my son's school projects. He had to write about Italy from many perspectives including famous sites to visit.  Four new young adult novels focus on travel in Rome, Alaska, Paris, and the Appalachian Trail in the US. In All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Edel, Astoria Herriot poses as a tour guide for a Scottish influencer, who is trying to hide his affair with a pop star. Many sites in Rome are described in great detail as they attempt to avoid the paparazzi. Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean finds Savannah Moore on an Alaskan cruise with her high school nemesis and his family. Having taken an Alaskan cruise myself, I was impressed by the accuracy of her experiences. Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn Stringfield, introduces Black American Whitney Curry, who is studying in Paris at an international arts school, hoping to finish her one woman play about the legendary Black songstress Josephine Baker. Wild About You by Kaitlin Hill focuses on a reality TV show which challenges selected teens to complete various tasks while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Having just returned from the Smokey Mountains, this book appealed to me on many different levels.  

All Roads Lead to Rome is an homage to the movie Roman Holiday. Loner Astoria "Story" Herriot, attends an American School in Rome.  She runs into Luca Kinnaird as he is attempting to escape from the paparazzi who are chasing him and Jasmine, an international pop star. Story has on the same color dress as Jasmine, so Luca grabs her and has her pretend that she is his tour guide.  In exchange for posing as his girlfriend/tour guide, he promises to fund a memorial scholarship for recovering addicts in the name of her late father, who died of an overdose. As Story and Luca attend many society events and tourist attractions, their opposites-attract chemistry kicks in. Story takes Luca to many of her favorite places in Rome and the surrounding countryside, and ultimately ends up accompanying him to Scotland, where she finds out there is more to Luca than meets the eye.  

Hearts Overboard opens with Savannah Moore being dumped  in front of most of the senior class by her boyfriend Caleb, who says she's boring and set in her ways.  Headed for an Alaskan cruise with her parents, their best friends, and their son Tanner, Savannah enlists Tanner's help, despite his being her nemesis at school.  He volunteers to take photos that they can share on social media of all their risk-taking adventures, including zip-lining, dogsledding, hiking the bear-infested Alaskan wilderness, singing late night karaoke, and taking a polar plunge, showing Caleb what he's missing.  Along the way she and Tanner clear the air about their antagonism toward each other, which stems from mistaken perceptions. After spending so much time with Tanner, Savannah wonders if Caleb is the one she really wants. 

Love Requires Chocolate is set in Paris where Black American drama student Whitney Curry is attending an international arts high school, where she hopes to complete her one-woman show about Josephine Baker.  She has a "Parisian Bucket List" for research she hopes will help her finish her play.  Her French tutor, is a caustic black athlete, Thierry Magnon, who is doing community service for a racially charged fight during his team's soccer match. When she gets lost in Montmartre and calls him to rescue her, she offers him a good review as a tutor, which will end his team suspension, in exchange for his being her Paris tour guide.  The first-person narration chronicles her introduction to the city of love, including making chocolate at Thierry's family chocolate shop, as well as insight into the global Black culture. 

In Wild About You anxiety ridden Natalie Hart loses her college merit scholarship and decides to enter the teen version of Wild Adventures, a reality TV show with a grand prize of a $100,000 scholarship. The challenge is to hike the Appalachian trail, while completing various tasks with a complete stranger.  She is paired with Finn Markum, who resents Natalie's brash perky personality and lack of outdoors experience. He is grieving his father's death, as he had hoped to do Wild Adventures as a father/son duo. Natalie with her complex beauty routines seems like a thorn in his side.  As they complete one task after another, he finds Natalie has skills he hadn't counted on needing and realizes they make a good team. This slow burning romance explores mental health issues and grieving, as well as how to trust oneself when the going gets tough.

Saturday, June 1, 2024

Cultural Comparisons

 Young adult novels about  kids from different cultures lend themselves to teaching the writing of comparison contrast essays, comparing their culture to the one in the book.  Depending on the students' level of sophistication, the essay can range from a simple four paragraph essay to a fully developed paper, where each topic is explored in great detail.  Various issues that can be compared are governments, food, religion, climate, holidays, celebrations, and living conditions.  Have students note the similarities and differences as they are reading.  Three new YA books that lend themselves to this unit follow. Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat focuses on Arya whose family is planning an elaborate Punjabi shaadi (wedding). Structured like a Bollywood movie, the book includes family shaadi drama, scrumptious food and references to many Bollywood films. What's Eating Jackie O? by Patricia Park introduces a Korean American girl who attends Bronx Science in NYC. Jackie would rather cook than study, and when she gets the opportunity to compete in a teen cooking competition, she must convince her parents to let her compete. The Quince Project by Jessica Parra finds Cuban American Castillo Torres attempting to move forward from her mother's death by starting a party planning business. When she get the opportunity to plan a nontraditional quinceanera for a popular online influencer, she thinks her dreams are coming true. 

In Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment, Arya's family is overwhelmed by planning her sister's Punjabi wedding. Her mother and sister are constantly at odds, and her mother retreats to her room, forcing Arya to act as mediator.  In addition her best friends Andy and Lisa have broken up, making her friendship with them awkward, and Dean Merriweather, the white soccer player whom Arya thinks stole the student council presidency from her, is foisting all the event planning on her. Written like a Bollywood movie, complete with intermission, it also has many Desi references, including food, dance and famous movies. The story evolves as Arya's realizes that problems don't always get solved like they do in her beloved Bollywood movies. 

What's Eating Jackie O? focuses on a Korean American sophomore at Bronx Science in NYC, who works at her grandparents' restaurant "Melty's" and dreams of becoming a professional chef.  When Jackie is scouted there for a competitive teen cooking show, "Burn Off," she is thrilled.   Dodging her parents' ivy league dreams for her and making it through the initial cookoffs, she finds more obstacles ahead.  The judges expect her to create Korean dishes, whereas she prefers to combine cuisines. She must also navigate subtle layers of microaggressions against minorities,  shame and sorrow over her older brother's imprisonment, and a romantic attraction to a fellow competitor, as she competes for the opportunity to realize her unconventional dreams.  Recipes are included!

In The Quince Project Cuban-American Castillo Torres, a budding event planner, feels like the best way to movie forward after her mother's death is to apply for party planner Mandy Whitmore's "fairy godmother" internship, help her sister Mariposa "Po" get into college and pry her grieving father away from his video games.  Needing more experience for her resume, she jumps at the chance to organize Disney YouTuber Paulina Reyes' nontraditional quinceanera. Hanging out with cute lifeguard Javier Bae-Luna, Paulina's childhood friend and chambelan, is a bonus.  Unfortunately Cas is caught stretching the truth about her relationship to Mandy Whitmore and her plans go awry.  Healing after the death of a loved one, sisterly love and conflict, and thwarted ambitions are explored in a sympathetic way. as Cas strives for her happily-ever-after. 

             


Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Musicians -The Notes, Every Time You Hear that Song and The Ballad of Darcy and Russell,

 Books about elite musicians can go in many different directions, but frequently the tolls of the mental pressure these high achievers experience, resulting in questionable behavior, are at the core of the story's conflict. The Notes by Catherine Con Morse, explores the mental health issues challenging elite pianists at a boarding school for performing arts. Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris focuses on the personal sacrifices made by a country singer in her quest for stardom. The Ballad of Darcy and Russell by Morgan Matson follows Russell Henrion, an aspiring musical theater writer, who sabotages his whirlwind love-at-first-sight romance with Darcy Milligan, by lying about his true identity. 

In The Notes Chinese American pianist Claire Wu attends a South Carolina boarding school for the performing arts.  When a Taiwanese piano teacher, Dr. Tina Li, arrives, Claire is smitten and is determined to please the demanding teacher.  However, her best friend Jenny and crush Rocky are skeptical. When Claire begins receiving anonymous notes warning her not to fall under Tina's spell, she becomes obsessed with who is writing them.  Preparing for her piano repertoire with hours of practice, falling for Rocky, and striving to be accepted in the Asian Students Society, Claire begins to struggle under the emotional and physical stress. Dr. Li misguidedly believes that pressuring students with negative reinforcement will improve their performance. Rocky, who is the top senior pianist at the school, flounders under her harsh treatment, and Claire in her attempt support Rocky battles to succeed as well.  The mystery of who is writing the notes is secondary to the realistic exploration of mental health issues challenging elite young artists in this semi-autobiographical novel. There is a content playlist included at the end of the book. 

In the beginning of Every Time You Hear that Song, superstar country singer Decklee Cassel dies, leaving behind a time capsule supposedly filled with memorabilia. However, when it is opened, there is nothing in it.  Shortly, after the shocking revelation, Decklee's prerecorded message introduces a scavenger hunt to find the contents.  Teen reporter Darren Purchase, who is from Decklee's hometown of Mayberry, Arkansas, goes on a road trip with her friend and coworker Kendall Wilkinson to solve the mystery. The story chronicles Decklee's rise to fame in the 60s and her partnership with lyricist Mickenlee Hooper and their secret lesbian romance. Mickenlee mysteriously disappears after a falling out with Decklee over being true to themselves.  Decklee, who has struggled to climb the ladder to stardom is not willing to reveal their relationship in a musical world that does not accept homosexual relationships.  Darren, who herself is a bisexual, uncovers the scavenger hunt clues with uncanny prescience, until the final shocking reveal.  Told in alternating perspectives, the novel uncovers the ugly truth about the sacrifices made in the climb to stardom.

The Ballad of Darcy and Russell takes place as the main characters are heading home from the Silverspun Music Festival.  Darcy Milligan has gone to see her dad's favorite band, Nighthawk, before she heads to Connecticut for her freshman year of college. When her bus home breaks down in Jesse, Nevada and her phone dies, she seeks the help of Russell Henrion, an aspiring musical theater writer, who will be a freshman at the University of Michigan.  It's love-at-first sight and they spend a romantic few hours together, wandering around Jesse until the bus is fixed.  As they bond over hopes and fears about the future, they find themselves falling head over heels.  Then they break into a hotel pool for a swim and get arrested by the police. Russell breaks down and calls his celebrity dad to get them out of jail, revealing that he has been lying to Darcy about who he really is.  Darcy ends up at his house waiting to catch a bus back to LA and meets all of his dad's ex-wives and children.  She discovers the complicated emotions of a musician who is trying to get out from under his father's shadow and prove that he can make it on his own. Navigating the transition to college, struggling with parental expectations and the trappings of privilege, are a few of the issues covered.  The snappy dialogue and sizzling chemistry between Darcy and Russell make this a journey the reader will enjoy taking with them. 

Monday, April 1, 2024

Classic Connections: Hamlet is Not OK, Twelfth Knight, and The Calculation of You and Me

 Many modern YA authors are following the time honored tradition of retelling a classic story in a modern setting or incorporating elements of a classic in a modern tale.  By having students read and compare the classic and the related modern novel, teachers can expose kids to plots that form the backbone of literature and help them appreciate the clever variations that the modern authors imagine. In Hamlet is Not OK by R.A. Spratt a reluctant student is assigned a paper on Shakespeare's Hamlet and finds herself able to transport herself into the story. Twelfth Knight  by Alexene Farol Follmuth is a feminist reimagining of Twelfth Night which incorporates Shakespeare's characters into a story about a girl who is a whiz at multiplayer role-playing games. The Calculation of You and Me by Serena Kaylor finds the main character employing the services of a rock star to write lyrics to win back her ex-boyfriend. 

Hamlet is Not OK introduces Selby Michaels, who is left on her own for six months and stops doing her homework.  Her parents, who own a bookstore, go to a parent-teacher conference and return home in a rage.  She is banned from TV, computers and music and must work with her brother's nerdy friend Dan to make up the work.  When she is working on an English paper on Hamlet, Dan has her read the play aloud, and they are magically transported to Elsinore Castle in Denmark and meet Hamlet's father's ghost. As the story unfolds, Dan explains what's happening, and Selby is determined to stop the violence.  Dan cautions her about changing the narrative, telling her it will impact literature for centuries to come. As Selby attempts to save Ophelia and stop Hamlet's downward spiral, they travel back and forth between the bookstore and the 17th century, witnessing familiar plots and famous lines, that even Shelby recognizes. Coming up with a compromise to stop the mayhem, but leaving the story intact, Dan and Shelby bond over their shared magical journey.  Although the author includes lines from the play, she prefaces the story with a caveat  suggesting the reader to skip them if they wish, as Dan's explanations of them suffice.

In Twelfth Knight Viola Reyes is a high school student, who loves multiplayer role-playing games, in particular "Twelfth Knight." When her tabletop game team rejects an original game she created, her best friend suggests she try being nicer, and the Student body President and star quarterback Jack "Duke" Orsino leaves all the school event planning to her, Viola retreats into online game play. Then Jack has a season ending injury and decides to begin playing Twelfth Knight. Viola has disguised herself as a male player, Cesario, to avoid the misogynist attitudes of guys who play the game. Cesario and Duke begin teaming up and are surprisingly successful together.  As Jack begins falling for her in real life, Viola worries about what will happen when he discovers the truth about her Cesario identity.  A quick way to introduce students to the classic is to read the picture book Twelfth Night: For Kids by Lois Burdett aloud, so that kids will recognize all the references to the classic in this clever retelling. 

The Calculation of You and Me uses the basic premise of Cyrano de Bergerac to tell the tale of Marlowe Meadows,  a whiz at math whose interpersonal skills are not as sharp. When popular Josh sets his eye on her, she suddenly has a golden ticket to a social life.  Two years later he unexpectedly breaks up with he, because she isn't romantic enough. Despite her friends' disdain for Josh, she is determined to win him back. Enter Ashton Hayes, a goth rock god with whom she is paired for an English project. When she reads his love lyrics for his band's songs, she makes a bargain with him.  If he helps her get Josh back by writing romantic love notes for her, she will revamp the band's social media to help them go viral. Although he hates Josh, Ash agrees, and he and Marlowe begin meeting at the romance bookshop/cafe where he works.  He gives her an assigned reading list of romance novels, and she works on a data analytics formula for the band to follow.  As she gets to know Ash better, she begins to wonder why she is chasing Josh.  She is used to math problems which are easily solved, but love has a funny way of complicating everything.  The story is retold for children in The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac (Save the Story) by Stefano Benni, illustrated by Miguel Tanco, which can facilitate easy access to the story for comparison purposes.  


Friday, March 1, 2024

New Suspense-filled YA Novels

 Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by uncertainty, doubt or undecidedness in a narrative work.  Suspense is the audience's anticipation about the plot or conflict, particularly as it affects a character for whom the audience feels sympathy. Three new YA titles this month elicit that excitement for the female protagonists. In Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry by Alex Ritany Nora Radford explores the truth about her toxic relationship with her best friend Julia, after she dies in a car accident. Cancelled by Farrah Penn introduces Brynn Whitaker, who is a "flirting coach" for her classmates.  When she is wrongly accused of hooking up with another girl's boyfriend, she must proves her innocence or face ostracism for the rest of her senior year. Make Me a Liar by Melissa Landers adds a sci-fi twist to a similar plot.  Tia Dante is an "immersionist."  She can swap bodies with a consenting person and handle difficult situations for them. But when someone uses her vacated body to commit a murder, she must find the culprit or go to jail. 

In alternating chapters Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry chronicles the years before and after Nora Radford's best friend Julia dies in a car accident. The two have been inseparable since fifth grade and plan to go to McGill University together.  But then Nora gets the opportunity to apply early admission for a journalism program a TMU, and things between the girls begin to deteriorate. Complicating matters, Nora's childhood friend Dillan moves back to town, and they rekindle their friendship, making Julia jealous.  The truth about the girls' toxic relationship is slowly revealed, as Nora discovers Julia's betrayals that have sabotaged her future. Nora struggles with her feelings of guilt and grief over Julia's death, as she processes what really happened.  The author's pacing, dialogue and characters propel the reader through Julia's gut-wrenching discoveries, as she tries to make peace with what happened and move on with her life. 

Cancelled finds serial dater Brynn Whitaker giving advice to fellow high schools on how best to communicate with their crushes and score dates. Her much-needed income as a flirting coach is threatened when she goes to a Halloween party dressed in a banana costume, and an anonymous video surfaces of a person in the same costume hooking up with her ex-best friend's boyfriend.  Being ostracized at school, she is determined to find the identity of the actual person in the video. As she gets closer to the truth, she realizes she doesn't want to slut shame another girl, but rather turn the tables on the misogynistic attitude that exonerates the male cheater.  She and her friends form a "femolution" club, denouncing sexism in the school.  Her social group includes a trans girl, a pansexual hijabi wearing girl, a pregnant classmate and her swoon worthy twin brother.  With her income, her scholarship and college recommendations on the line, Brynn must prove her innocence once and for all.  

Make Me a Liar has a similar plotline with a sci-fi twist.  Tia Dante is an immersionist, a person who can swap bodies with a person with their consent.  Tia uses her ability to help classmates do things they are afraid to do for themselves, such as standing up to bullies, breaking up or coming out - all for a price.  When someone borrows her body while she is swapping and murders the district attorney, Tia is suspected of murder.  With the aid of her ex-boyfriend Nash, who she finds out is an immersionist himself, Tia attempts to prove her innocence.  Tia's first-person narration reveals her to be a witty irreverent teen (Pies before guys) with a penchant for trouble.  Nash, who broke up with her, realizes his error and works to win her back. A secret supernatural organization and international mobs, as well as criminal justice issues, make this a real page-turner.  

Thursday, February 1, 2024

New YA Romances: With a Little Luck, GILM! and Heartless Hunter

 It's February and love is in the air, laced with a little magic.  Three new YA romances employ magic to move the plot along.   With a Little Luck by Marissa Meyer (Cinder) introduces Jude, a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) playing introvert, who finds a magic twenty-sided die that changes his luck in love and life. GILM! by Brian Corley has the protagonist employing a magical spell to help him write a popular song to win the girl. Heartless Hunter: The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli pits witches against witch hunters in a battle for control, so that they may freely practice their magic. 

In With a Little Luck, Jude, an introverted artist whose parents own Vinyl Ventures music store, spends his time drawing comics, working at his parents' store, hosting D&D nights with his friends, and pining after Maya, a girl he has had a crush on since elementary school. One night Jude finds a red 20-sided die, and he begins experiencing an uncanny bout of good luck.  His comic book art is chosen for publication, his best friend Ari's song becomes a finalist in a song competition, and he wins tickets to a concert, which he asks Maya to, and she accepts.  The concert date goes incredibly well, and Maya joins his D&D group, but then he misplaces the red die and his good luck turns bad. He discovers that his crush on Maya was more about the unattainable, and he's really in love with Ari, but wonders if it's too late to let her know how he feels. Jude's comics, which are based on the games he creates as dungeon master for his D&D group, penned by Chuck Gonzalez, are included in the text. As Ari makes it to the last round of finals in the song writing competition, Jude wonders if the song about unrequited love is actually about them. Jude's narration, which includes breaking the fourth wall, is engaging and the chemistry between Ari and Jude is palpable. Readers will enjoy his journey of realization. 

GILM!, (an admittedly odd title), is about a boy who is challenged to write a song about a word that rhymes with film. Geoff Smith, a recent transplant from Texas to Portland, has a single father who is a collector of magical oddities.  When Geoff finally talks to his crush Corrinne, he offends her by saying he dislikes musicals, and brags that he is a songwriter himself and is in a band (although it's in Texas.) She challenges him to write a song that has a word in it that rhymes with film. If he succeeds, she will go out with him.  After drawing a blank, he goes home and finds one of his dad's book on magical spells.  Executing one, he wishes to write a popular song that includes a word rhyming with film and his wish is granted.  However, be careful what you wish for!  He arrives at school the next day and his song Gilm! is on everyone lips. To make matters worse, his father can't stop saying it. Now Geoff has to find a way to undo the spell but keep the girl. The author is a songwriter/musician in the rock band The Mars McClanes, who have recorded a new song of the same name, which in turn inspired the novel. 

Heartless Hunter: The Crimson Moth is the first book in a duology set in the Republic of Red Peace, where witches once ruled, but are now hunted by witch hunters known as the Red Guard.  Teenage Rune Winters, a wealthy socialite, is known for turning in her own witch grandmother to be purged.  However, Rune was persuaded to do so by her grandmother, to save herself.  To vindicate her death, Rune operates in secret as the Crimson Moth, who helps witches escape the Purge.  Her grandmother charged her with finding the witch Seraphine for help, and to do so she courts Gideon Sharpe, the head of the red Guard, hoping to get a clue about her location. In turn Gideon suspects Rune of being the Crimson Moth and returns her advances, trying to catch her in the act.  What they didn't expect was to fall in love.  The complexity of the conflict paints neither side as wholly good nor evil. A dramatic ending sets up the sequel in which the two factions will continue their battle. 

Thursday, January 4, 2024

New YA books for 2024

 The revision of my book What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use for 2024 is now available.  Just click on the book icon in the upper right corner of my blog and it will take you to Lulu.com where you can purchase this book. Over 50 new books are recommended along with ideas for using them in the classroom. I would again like to take this opportunity to thank NetGalley for providing ARCs of many of the new young adult novels that I review.  Three new YA books being released in January 2024 caught my fancy.  Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a Regency-inspired fantasy about a seamstress who weaves enchantments into the clothing she creates. The Getaway List by Emma Lord (Begin Again) finds a high school graduate defying her mother and heading to NYC to rekindle a relationship with her childhood best friend, who is the co-creator of the "getaway list," a list of adventures they want to experience in the city. Dungeons and Dramas by Kristy Boyce introduces Riley, who is obsessed with musicals. When she gets caught hijacking her mother's car to go to the city to see Waitress, her punishment is working in her father's gaming store, where she gets new insights into the gaming world, as well as her relationship with her father. 

Fragile Enchantment introduces Niamh, a seamstress who has magic in her blood, which allows her to stitch emotions and memories into the clothes she designs.  When she receives an invitation to serve as the tailor for the royal wedding in Avaland, she sees it as an opportunity to guarantee a better life for her working class Machlish family. She arrives in Avaland to find Machlish workers striking, the groom Prince Christopher (Kit) alienating everyone around him, and Lovelace, a gossip columnist, wreaking havoc at court.  Niamh pierces Kit's thorny defenses with patience and persistence, as she creates a calming wardrobe for the upcoming nuptials.  Neither he nor his fiancé, the Castillian Infanta Rosa, want to marry, but are being coerced by forces beyond their control.  Complicating matters are the political upheaval created by the rebellious workers, the tenuous marriage agreement between the kings of Avaland and Castille, Lovelace's column exposing the growing intimacy between Niamh and Kit, and Niamh's deteriorating health which is being depleted by her use of magic.  The narrative satisfyingly works its way toward a resolution of all the complications in this sweeping Regency romance. 

In The Getaway List, Riley Larson, who has received rejections from all ten colleges she applied to, decides to defy her controlling mother and take back the spontaneity in her life.  She heads to NYC where she reunites with her childhood friend Tom with whom she created a Getaway List.  Over their three-year separation, Tom had grown distant, and Riley discovers her mother had plotted to keep them apart.  Fueled by her anger, Riley decides to stay for the whole summer to work through the list with Tom and his quirky friends, camping, going to concerts, and exploring the city. Tom's screenwriter mother is on an extended stay in LA, so Riley and Tom are free to not only discover themselves, but also their romantic feelings for each other.  The supporting characters are well-developed, and the author's affectionate portrayal of NYC adds to the charm of the novel. 

We are introduced to another rebellious Riley in Dungeons and Dramas. When this Riley takes her mother's car, without permission nor a driver's license, to the city to see the musical Waitress, her divorced parents decide her punishment will be working at her estranged father's gaming store.  Not only is she distraught about working there, she is also upset that the school has cancelled this year's spring musical, which she was hoping to direct.  When her ex shows up at the store with his new girlfriend, Riley claims her co-worker Nathan is her boyfriend to save face.  Nathan is appalled, but agrees to the ruse so that he can make his crush jealous.  To make the relationship seem more official, she starts playing Dungeon and Dragons with him and his friends at the store.  Of course, she is the bard and finds opportunities to sing at every meeting. The more time she and Nathan spend pretending to be involved, the more lines blur.  Meanwhile, she is campaigning to revive the musical by putting on a show for the administrators to demonstrate that there is sufficient interest for them to reconsider their decision.  When things go terribly wrong, Nathan and her new friends come to her rescue.