2014 YALSA Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #6

It's been an emotional roller coaster of a reading week, from dystopian thrillers to zombie cows to kids obsessed with Broadway musicals to boys kissing boys. You go, YALSA. I've loved every minute!

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac

Lozen, an Apache hunter struggling to survive in a dystopian future where all technology has failed, is the strong, silent type. Unlike many YA heroines, she is a total badass. A combination of physical and mental toughness, the Apache lore she has learned from her family, and a certain mystical element makes Lozen a formidable fighter.

The Ones are holding her family hostage. Her mother, sister, and brother will be safe only as long as Lozen continues to successfully kill the gemods (genetically-engineered "pets" that escaped their cages when the electricity failed). She has a plan to escape with her family, but will she survive long enough to make it happen?

I loved Lozen. Not only is she tough, but she also stays true to her Apache background and to her role as protector. The action is pretty nonstop and kept me turning pages. On the downside, I wanted more of an understanding of her world. I also wanted some of the other characters to be fleshed out a bit more. Maybe this is nitpicky, but I wished that this book would have been edited better. In several places, awkward wording and grammatical errors slowed me down quite a bit.

I would actually rate this closer to a 3.5 and would recommend it to action fans. Even though the main character is a girl, she's tough and no-nonsense enough to appeal to even the manliest of readers. Here's my favorite quote:

"Yea, though I walk through the Valley of Death

I will fear no evil

for I am the meanest son of a bitch

in this whole damn valley."

Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi

When some bullying teammates chase them off of their normal practice field, Rabi, Miguel, and Joe head over to a park next to the local meatpacking plant to play baseball. However, the stink is worse than usual, and before the boys know what's going on, workers are running out of the plant and their baseball coach is trying to eat their brains.

When the local police dismiss the boys' story, they take matters into their own hands. By relying on each other and their trusty bats, the boys unravel the mystery, but will they be too late to stop a zombie apocalypse?

This is a quick, easy page-turner that uses humor to tackle tough issues like bullying, racism, immigration, and exactly where our burgers come from.

The audiobook is a must-listen for the zombie cows alone!

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Nate Foster is a slightly overweight 13-year old who lives in a small town and loves Broadway musicals. To make matters worse, his perfect older brother is athletic and gets all of their parents' approval. When Nate's best friend, Libby, tells him about an audition for E.T. the Musical in New York, they hatch a daring plot to get him there. 

Like any starry-eyed kid who doesn't quite fit in, Nate is absolutely convinced that this one big chance is going to help his dreams come true. He sees busy, crowded New York through an innocent's eyes and compares himself to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

"...I don't see any horses changing colors yet. But hey, I'm still indoors. And besides, it's Manhattan City and I think anything's possible at this point.  I peek down, just in case I'm in ruby slippers. Nope. Nikes. But still."

Nate has plenty of ups and downs in the city. Against the backdrop of his quest, he deals with some issues of identity and family. Is Nate gay? Possibly, but he's not quite sure yet. At this point in his life, Nate feels different (and the bullies who call him a fag and drop him in trash cans know he's different) but he doesn't have it all figured out. 

All Nate knows for sure is that he's not an a-hole: "Sometimes people are just a-holes, and you have to decide, every day, which kind of kid you are."

Good advice, Nate.

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Do you know that feeling when you've just finished a book that is so marvelous, so beautiful, and so full of meaning that you sit motionless except for the tears streaming down your face?  And then you try to write a review, to "sell" it to other readers, but the words just won't come? That's how I'm feeling now, so bear with me.

Seemingly disparate elements come together in this breathtakingly beautiful story narrated by a Greek Chorus of gay men lost to AIDS. Craig and Harry, inspired by a classmate beaten for being gay, intend to set a Guinness World Record for the longest kiss. It has to be two boys kissing, they believe, because "...maybe it'll make people a little less scared of two boys kissing than they were before, and a little more welcoming to the idea that all people are, in fact, born equal, no matter who they kiss or screw, no matter what dreams they have or love they give.” 

As these two boys kiss, other boys are dealing with their own relationships (or lack thereof). Neil and Peter have been together for a while, Avery and Ryan are brand new to each other, Tariq struggles to heal from a physical beating, and Cooper tries not to love anyone at all. While these boys all try to find their way, the Greek Chorus is watching from afar, giving advice that drifts, unheard, on the breeze. 

“We gather the things we learned, and they don't nearly add up to fill the space of a life.
You will miss the taste of Froot Loops.
You will miss the sound of traffic.
You will miss your back against his.
You will miss him stealing the sheets.
Do not ignore these things.” 

I feel sadly inadequate to capture the beauty of this story, these words. This is a story that can save lives. Read it and share it with everyone you love.

2013 YALSA Hub Reading Challenge - Update #3

I was starting to feel somewhat dispirited about this challenge, as it was feeling like a chore to get through these books. Thankfully, I'm done with Paolini and was able to read books by two authors who are actually skilled in using poetic language (rather than barfing up a thesaurus on every page).

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini


Book four in the Inheritance cycle (audiobook read by Gerard Doyle).

Eragon continues to fight minor battles and to train, but will he be able to defeat Galbatorix in the final battle?

I'm torn about how to review this book. I might have liked it better had I read it instead of listening to the audiobook. Though Gerard Doyle does a fine job with the narration, Paolini is definitely too wordy for my taste and the reader can't skim with an audiobook! I found many of the battle scenes boring, despite the gory descriptions.

This book, and the series as a whole, had much promise. However, it needed a stronger editor to help the author focus on the storylines that were critically important.  Several plotlines started out looking promising and then simply sputtered out with no resolution. Others were added for no obvious reason and did nothing to further the story.

Every Day by David Levithan

"A" wakes up in a different body every day, and experiences the world from within the various realities inhabited by these bodies. "A" has made peace with his existence and does his best to do no harm to the bodies he borrows each day. Everything changes when he meets Rhiannon and falls in love for the first time. Can they find a way to be together?

What I loved about this book was the author's obvious love of language. The writing itself is beautiful and well-crafted. Take this passage as an example:

"There is a part of childhood that is childish, and a part that is sacred. Suddenly we are touching the sacred part--running to the shoreline, feeling the first cold burst of water on our ankles, reaching into the tide to catch at shells before they ebb away from our fingers. We have returned to a world that is capable of glistening, and we are wading deeper within it."

I also enjoyed the major theme of the book, that love is love, wherever you find it. No matter how different people appear on the outside, what we all want is to be loved for who we are. Perhaps if we could focus more on our human similarities, rather than our differences, the world would be a better place. Despite a few things that I didn't like about the book (the Twilight-ish stalker elements, for example) overall, this message of honoring love in all its forms is a good message for teens and adults alike.

The Diviners by Libba Bray


The Diviners (the first in a new series, hooray!) is my favorite type of book--a blend of genres, fun to read and difficult to classify. It's a mix of fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, and suspense, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. Bray has painstakingly researched the Roaring Twenties and her gorgeous prose brings the period, and her characters, vividly to life.

After getting in trouble back in Ohio, Evie O'Neill's parents send her to New York to stay with her uncle. An expert in occult matters, he runs The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--known by the locals as The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies. When Uncle Will is asked to help the police investigate a series of brutal, occult murders, Evie comes along for the ride. Will her ability to "read" objects help her solve the crimes or make her a victim?

Evie is not the only character with a special gift. There's also a pickpocket on a mission to find his mother, a Ziegfeld girl hiding from a dangerous past, a numbers runner with healing powers, and a museum employee who is more (and less) than he seems. Despite the supernatural elements, these characters are well-developed and realistic.

Highly recommended, though you might want to hold off a bit, as book #2 (as yet untitled) isn't due out until the spring of 2014.