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book reviews

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Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

3/20/2017

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  • Mara Carlyle's senior year is blowing up -- literally.  All around Mara her classmates begin to spontaneously combust, leaving their classmates covered in blood and worrying if they could be the next one to explode.
  • This is probably not the best time to start a relationship (knowing that either one of them could pop at any time), but that doesn't stop Mara and her new boyfriend Dylan from taking advantage of the time they have together.
  • As more and more of her classmates explode and the FBI and military get involved, Mara wonders if she and any of her classmates will make it to graduation.
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It's a little gory, but if you can get past the exploding people, this darkly humorous and satirical book will not only make you laugh, but it will also make you think about how our society and media respond to disasters. The main character, Mara, is a snarky and sometimes annoying girl who makes a lot of bad decisions including some inappropriate coping strategies, but she describes the end of the world as she knows it in hilarious detail.
Grades 9-12
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All the Rage by Courtney Summers

3/15/2017

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  • Months ago Romy Grey was raped by the town sheriff's son -- but no one believed her.  Since then, she's been branded a liar, ostracized, and bullied by her former friends.
  • She takes refuge in working in a diner in a nearby town where no one knows about her past, and she strikes up a tentative relationship with one of her co-workers.
  • When after the senior party she wakes up by the side of the road with no memory of the night before and discovers a popular classmate has gone  missing from the same party, Romy has to decide if she wants to fight back or live with the knowledge that other girls could continue to be hurt if she doesn't speak up.
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This book is a hard and emotional read but well worth it since it shines light on a society that often blames the victim.  It also examines how corruption and power in a small town can keep justice from being served.  Compared to other excellent books dealing  with sexual assault such as Exit, Pursued by a Bear and Speak, All the Rage holds up well and has it's own point of view.  
Grades 9-12
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When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds

3/10/2017

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  • Ali lives in a tough neighborhood in New York but stays out of trouble by spending his time boxing, helping out at home, and hanging with his best friend Noodles, who unlike Ali, is a guy who seems to look for trouble.
  • Then there's Noodles' brother Needles who has Tourette's Syndrome which causes him to twitch and blurt out crazy things -- but everyone in the neighborhood knows Needles is cool and looks out for him.
  • Everything is cool until one night Ali, Noodles, and Needles end up somewhere they shouldn't be, where people don't know Needles -- then things stop being cool.
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"A lot of stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don't really mess with.  The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing."  Ali's voice is so real that you'll think you're sitting with him and Noodles on the stoop in their Bed Stuy neighborhood as his tale unfolds.  A great look into the life of an urban teen on the cusp of manhood as he deals with everything life throws his way.
Grades 7-12
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The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

3/3/2017

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  • Seventeen year old Natasha Kingsley is a realist who loves science and music.  Although she's lived in the U.S. since she was eight, she and her family are due to be deported back to Jamaica later on the same day that the book takes place.
  • Daniel Bae is a Korean-American high school senior who enjoys writing poetry about love and heartbreak -- even though he has never had his heart broken.
  • One morning when Daniel is on his way to an interview with a Yale alumnus, he sees Natasha on the streets of New York city, is drawn to her, and spends the day trying to convince her that they are meant to be.  Natasha is not so easily persuaded -- her only concern is trying to find a way keep her family from being deported later that day.
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I enjoyed Yoon's first novel, Everything, Everything, and loved this one also.  The characters are unique (and refreshingly diverse), and immigration is a topic we don't see much in YA literature.  If you liked Eleanor & Park, give this one a shot.
Grades 8-12
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    Ms. Wheaton

    Teacher Librarian

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