Book review: "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire S´aenz

Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012

Aristotle is a loner. He tends to be quiet and keeps to himself. He doesn't really have any friends, until he meets Dante. Dante is everything Ari is not. He's open, talkative, and sees the beauty all around him. He's not afraid to talk about things that may be uncomfortable for others, like Ari. Despite their differences, they're friends. Best friends. But friendship isn't always cut and dry, and life isn't always simple.

This is a story that focuses on friendship, growing up, and what it means to be an adult, to be a man instead of a boy. Sáenz's prose is short and to the point, but it cuts to the heart of a matter even when Ari, our narrator, isn't sure what he thinks. That, for me, is one of the most endearing things in this entire book. Ari's unsureness, and his quietness. He speaks only when he knows exactly what he wants to say, and is completely honest and open to the reader in all things, even if he won't say them out loud.

This isn't the kind of story where plot is central. Very few major events take place. This is a book driven by character, and it's hard not to like the characters we come to know. Of course there is Ari, who I just love, and Dante, the dreamer. But there are also their parents. Dante's father is an outgoing, intelligent, likable man who believes the best about everyone, and his mother is quiet but firm, an observer. Ari's father is silent more than quiet, a survivor of the Vietnam War who has his own demons to contend with. Ari's relationship with his father really grows through the course of the book; they are very much alike in that they keep things to themselves, but as the book progresses we see them open up to each other. Ari gets along well with his mother, who urges him to talk to her about his life, yet keeps secrets that are too painful for her to bear about family history. The more I think about it, the more I'm realizing another major theme in this book is silence and its effects.

Of course, I can't review this book without mentioning Dante's openness about his realization that he's gay, and that he is strongly attracted to Ari. This of course confuses Ari, who can't bring himself to believe he might share those feelings. The novel goes on to explore the nature of love, and what it means for each character. Because as Ari says, people can love in different ways. Their relationship is handled delicately and without too much real conflict, but it seems so realistic, and that's another reason that sets it apart for me. I think the tone Sáenz struck is rare and beautiful.

What really truly makes this book memorable for me, though, is the triumph, hope, and joy I felt after finishing. It takes a lot for a book to do that to me, but this one accomplished that. Truly it was a wonderful read, and I'm thinking the Printz committee this year really knew what they were doing since I've liked both the books I've read that won this year. I'd also like to point out that this book was the winner of both the Stonewall Award and the Pura Belpre Award.

Disclosure: I got a copy of this book from the library.

Book review: "The Magic Thief" by Sarah Prineas

Title: The Magic Thief
Author: Sarah Prineas
Publisher: HarperTrophy (an imprint of HarperCollins), 2008

This is a fun fantasy for younger readers, around middle grade and possibly a bit younger, as well as of course anyone else who likes MG fantasy. It's the story of Connwaer, a gutter thief who lives in the Twilight (a rough part of the city of Wellmet). He tries to steal a wizard's locus magicalicus, which is basically like a wand but in the form of a stone, and that's where the adventure starts. He ends up the wizard's apprentice, sort of by accident, and ends up trying to save the city from losing all of its magic, as well as its lifeblood.

I really enjoyed this first book in the series. Conn is a great character, tricky and thieving when he needs to be, but loyal and truthful down to his core. Nevery, the wizard, is a grump, but a grump with a heart of gold. And the secondary characters are just as enjoyable.

The story is fun, too, though this first adventure is really just a gateway into the rest of Conn's apprenticeship in my opinion. Here, characters are established, Conn's ability is revealed, and an open ending leaves the return of villains an almost certainty.

I look forward to the next books in the series. I'd recommend this to fans of the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud and Megan Whelan Turner's books.

Book review: 2013 Printz Award Winner "In Darkness" by Nick Lake

Title: In Darkness
Author: Nick Lake
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's, 2012 

In this powerful story, we learn how circumstances can shape who a person becomes. This is the story of a teenage gang member stuck under the rubble after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 told in tandem with the story of Toussaint L'Ouvreture, the man that freed Haiti's slaves. Shorty, a 15-year-old gangster in the most dangerous part of Haiti, finds himself trapped beneath tons of rubble after the earthquake of 2010, with nothing but darkness and death surrounding him. He begins to tell us, who he calls the "voices in the darkness," his history. We also read, through third-person narration, the story of the slave Toussaint, who led his people to freedom and their own government.

It is clear why this was the winner of the 2013 Printz Award. The story is compelling, both of them together; Shorty has grown up in terrible poverty, surrounded by gang violence and political unrest. He has seen family members, friends, and neighbors killed, to the point where it is almost normal. And so, he falls in with the gang of his neighborhood, because he believes that way he will get his abducted sister back and get his revenge.

Meanwhile, we're learning how Toussaint was successful in some things, but not in others. It's history, so it's not a spoiler, but we are living the revolution along with him. What really made this fictionalized history stand out was Toussaint's spirit connection with Shorty and the Haiti of 2010. In visions, he sees Haiti through Shorty's eyes, and knows what he dreams is possible, though perhaps not as peaceful as he hopes.

The writing is superb, though it helps if you know a little bit of French or Creole. There is a lot of vernacular throughout Shorty's sections, and you can see what most of it means in the context of how it's used, but it makes for a more challenging reading experience.

What really got me with this title is the characters. It was hard to read about how violent they all are, and the evil acts they all do, but I have to say Lake wrote them in such a way that I understood why they became what they did, and still see their humanity. I could see why Shorty fell in with the Route 9 gangsters. There was one scene I couldn't stop thinking about where Biggie talks to his mother on the phone, and I cried.

If you're up for the challenge of the dark content and the difficult language, this is a book not to be missed.

Disclosure: I got this book from the library.

Book review: "Going Vintage" by Lindsey Leavitt

Title: Going Vintage
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, will be out March 26, 2013


When Mallory finds out her boyfriend Jeremy has an online girlfriend, named BubbleYum no less, she is humiliated, shocked, and hurt. When the situation starts to snowball out of control and she is a target of abuse  on Friendspace (the fictional equivalent of Facebook), Mallory decides to completely swear off technology, especially after finding a list her grandmother wrote in 1962 at the beginning of her own junior year of high school: become the secretary of the pep club (for Mallory this means starting one first), sew a homecoming dress (after learning to sew), find a steady (not necessarily for herself—swearing off boys), host a soiree, and do something dangerous. But accomplishing everything on the list, along with her other responsibilities, without any technology that was available in 1962 is no easy task as it turns out. She enlists help from her sister, and accidentally gets the help of Jeremy's hipster cousin, but it's her connection with her grandmother that proves to be the most difficult to make.

This is a fun, upbeat addition to teen literature. Mallory is a very likable person, and very funny, even if she is sometimes squashed by others (i.e. Jeremy). I was amazed at how well she handled the whole Friendspace fiasco, especially after she started receiving threatening text messages from strangers who apparently are all Team Jeremy. She never lets anything bother her to the point of despair, bouncing back from everything that is thrown from her. I loved her determination to stick to the rules she gives herself, with of course the help from her sister Ginnie. She really tries to get into the period, which by the way readers will also start to get a feel for from all the information Leavitt gives us through the story.

There are so many subplots to the story, mostly dealing with Mallory's relationships with others (her mother, sister, grandmother, dad, and Oliver, who happens to be Jeremy's cousin), and yet it all flowed together so smoothly. I rooted for her every step of the way. Her "going vintage" is a journey of self-discovery, making her realize her own self-worth yet also seeing that she is not always the reason for another person's actions or emotions. She can be so very clueless, but it's part of what I liked about her. (Cluelessness also seems to run in the family, as her parents were pretty good at that too.)

If you're looking for a pick-me-up, look no further than Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt. Light and fun with some depth and great characters, it's got everything going for it.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book for review via NetGalley.

Audiobook review: "See You At Harry's" by Jo Knowles

Title: See You At Harry's
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio, 2012 (print available from Candlewick)
Narrator: Kate Rudd

Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible most of the time. Her parents run a restaurant, her older sister Sarah is taking a gap year before going to college, and her older brother Holden is absorbed in his own problems as a freshman who is figuring out his own life. Three-year-old Charlie, the baby of the family, is the only one who seems to notice Fern, though it's not always a welcome attention. In fact, Fern is usually the one who ends up watching Charlie when her parents and siblings are too busy to take notice, to her great annoyance.

But soon a terrible tragedy turns everything upside down, and Fern has no idea what to do or how to deal with it all. Guilt, mixed in with denial and intense grief, invade her life and her family's. Together, they must find a way to heal in a world that will never be the same for them.

This is an excellent audiobook, and an excellent story. Jo Knowles based a lot of it on her personal experience of growing up in a family-run restaurant, and also having an older brother who is gay. It all feels very genuine, especially when tragedy strikes and the family is thrown into the depths of grief and sorrow. It feels very personal and intimate, and tells the heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful journey through all that, plus all the other crap that can happen in middle and high school. Fern and Holden have to deal with some incredibly nasty bullies, both peers and adults.

I listened to the audio, and Kate Rudd does an excellent job in her narration. She IS Fern. Her acting skills are never too much, yet we hear all of the emotions, the tiny catches of breath and yells, everything. I didn't want to shut my car off after reaching each destination because I wanted to hear what happened next. Another cool thing the producers did was layer Rudd's voice on words and phrases that people speak together, which is something I've never heard before.

There are so many pieces to this story, and I'm amazed at how well Knowles is able to give us all the information we need, show the subtleties in each character, craft the developing relationships, show us how Fern is growing up, illustrate how not one of these people is anywhere near perfect yet leading us to care for them, and to do it all with such beauty. I'm hoping this will win at least a Newbury honor. This is my first book I've read by Knowles, but it won't be my last.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher. This in no way influenced my reaction to the book or my review.

Book Review: "Splintered" by A.G. Howard

Title: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Publisher: Amulet Books, 2013

Alyssa Gardner is descended from a long line of madness, beginning with her great-great-great grandmother, Alice Liddell. Her grandmother Alicia drew Wonderland characters all over her walls when she was a teen and believed she could fly, jumping to her death shortly after giving birth to Alyssa's mother, Alison. Alison, residing in a psych ward, talks to flowers and bugs, and refuses to eat anything unless it's served in a teacup. Alyssa knows it's only a matter of time before she ends up in a straitjacket herself. After all, she too can hear the flowers and the insects...

But all this madness turns out to be for a reason. Alice, it turns out, really did fall down the rabbit hole, but the events of the story are a bit different than Lewis Carroll's version. When Alyssa discovers she might be able to fix her family and its curse, she is thrown into Wonderland along with her best friend Jeb and discovers allies in the netherworld, chiefly Morpheus, surprisingly sexy and seductive Caterpillar of Wonderland fame. Soon Alyssa discovers she can't be sure who she trusts; will she be able to save her mother and herself before it's too late, or will she be trapped in Wonderland forever?

This is a wonderfully grotesque and twisted view of Wonderland, and I give A.G. Howard serious credit for her world building. Wonderland is full of deformed creatures, often a mishmash of animals and mythical beings that resemble something you'd find in a nightmare. It's chaotic and morbid, mad and strange, and it was everything (and more) I really wanted Tim Burton's Wonderland to be in his disappointing film.

I did have problems with some aspects, however. The story was choppy in the beginning, with things happening very quickly; it was all a little too rapid to be quite believable to me. And at first I thought Jeb's inclusion in the adventure was purely so Alyssa could be in the center a love triangle with him and Morpheus. Luckily, it smoothed out a bit toward the middle. There are some surprising and fantastic twists that I didn't see coming, which more than redeemed the beginning bits for me.

I actually found myself enjoying the love triangle, something that usually bugs me. (The passion got a bit heavy-handed and cloying for my tastes, but I'm certain I'm going to be in the minority when it comes to that.) It was clear that each man represented a different part of Alyssa's self; light and dark, order and chaos. I found myself unsure of who to "root" for, so to speak, both of them are so much a part of who Alyssa is and could be. And that was really at the center of this novel: Alyssa's discovery of her self, and choosing which path to take.

If you're a fan of the original, this is worth the read, especially if you're into a darker and more twisted telling. Some surprising and welcome twists make this truly an original re-imagining of a classic tale.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My musings on New Adult fiction

Today on The Broke and the Bookish, I talk about my feelings about New Adult literature and why I think separating out a section in the bookstores and libraries of the world is unnecessary. Check it out!