SEVEN WAYS WE LIE by Riley Redgate

Expected publication: March 8th 2016 by Amulet Books
Read: February 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 352 pages) from NetGalley 

Seven Ways We Lie is a high school story that, apart from a scandalous teacher-student relationship, deals with real high school issues. Told from multiple perspectives, the characters deal with drugs, parties, sexuality, and even some school projects. Even the dialogue is believable, and it’s presented as clipped sentences with sometimes awkward undertones. There are a lot of “um, so yeah” conversations, but then the author goes into beautiful prose for the remaining storytelling. The pacing of the story was timed well also; in fact, all the different perspectives allowed the reader to see more of the story than would have been presented with only one main character.

Likening every point of view to one of the seven deadly sins was an intriguing device for the story. Two of the characters even do a project on Dante’s Inferno which further delves into the “high school is hell” metaphor. Ultimately, Seven Ways We Lie was a well-paced story with enough mystery (who is the student involved with a teacher?) to keep the reader hooked from the first chapter, and Riley Redgate makes each character so relatable that the constant change in perspective is not only welcomed but anticipated. 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. 

IN A DARK, DARK WOOD by Ruth Ware

Published August 4th 2015 by Scout Press

Read: November 2015

How I Got It: Borrowed Hardcover (310 pages) from Public Library 

Nora runs, listens to her talk radio programs, and writes novels. She is content in her independent lifestyle until she receives an invitation to a hen night (read bachelorette party) for her estranged best friend, Clare, whom she hasn’t heard from in ten years. She chooses to attend the weekend-long festivities and finds herself at a house in the woods with no cell phone service, a muddy driveway, and a cast of characters including a doctor, a playwright, a new mother, and Clare’s perfectionist new best friend. Shooting ranges, Ouija boards, drinking, and drugs ensue, and Nora begins to realize that everything she knew about her past with Clare was wrong. When she wakes up in a hospital with a head wound and police outside of her room whispering of a murder, Nora must piece together her memories of the weekend and decipher between what’s real and what’s not.  

This is a page-turning, edge of your seat, whodunit novel. Not only is there mystery in the relationship between Nora and Clare, but the details of the crime aren’t reveled right away. Even then, the reader is stuck in a case of amnesia with Nora, and while certain aspects of the mystery are predictable, the ending was a complete surprise. In a Dark, Dark Wood is a twisty mystery, and while most loose ends are tied up, it still leaves the reader wanting to know more. 

ILLUMINAE by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

        

Published October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Read: November 2015
How I Got It: Purchased Hardcover (599 pages) from Amazon
Series: The Illuminae Files (subsequent books to be released in 2016 and 2017)

In the year 2075, people travel through space, artificial intelligence has a name and personality, and terrorism is unfortunately still a problem.  When the Kerenza colony is attacked by a company called BeiTech Industries, Kady and her boyfriend (or is it ex-boyfriend?), Ezra, are forced into a war. There is battle carrier action, a disease turning the ship inhabitants into zombie-like creatures, and a supercomputer (AIDAN) with a god-complex. The book is set up like a dossier of the “incident” including news briefs, chat conversations, surveillance footage, and data straight from AIDAN’s core. The text is not always linear; the words twist and turn on the page to reflect the ships in battle and become convoluted with a mix of ones and zeros when AIDAN becomes damaged. 

In the midst of war, there is still romance, humor, and strong character development. Young adult readers, especially those who prefer short text message language, will enjoy the way this story is written. Readers will also love the mix of outer space, warfare, zombies, and technology that this book presents. Kady and Ezra are relatable characters, and seeing this war through their eyes allows it to be exhilarating yet somehow a little less scary. Knowing that this book is part one of an upcoming series, the Illuminae Files, lends to the fact that the characters will be okay even if there are many yet unanswered questions.

Greetings from the Library Reference Desk!

Hello readers,

  My name is Natalie, and I am a Reference and Instruction Librarian for a local community college. You'll notice that posts previous to this are arranged by "modules." Well that is due to the fact that this blog was originally an assignment for my Young Adult Literature class in my Master of Library Science program. However, now that I've graduated and become a real-live Librarian, I have decided to resurrect this blog from the internet graveyard.

  In addition to all things library, I am a book lover (no, the two are not mutually exclusive), and I am a book reviewer for Library Journal. Unfortunately, because of copyright issues, those reviews must stay in the confines of the print journal and lj.libraryjournal.com/. But I will link to those reviews if links become available. Because I have been reviewing for that publication, and I am used to following their reviewing guidelines that means that all of my reviews will be in the same format (Yay for consistency!).

  The previous posts on this blog, again, are from a Young Adult Literature class so they are all juvenile or young adult book reviews. I still read A LOT of YA Lit, but I've broadened my reading horizons to include nonfiction (including technology stuff, celebrity biography, etc.), adult general fiction, mystery and thriller, humor, and just whatever else I feel like picking up. So the following reviews will be for many different genres of books.

Where do I get my books?
  From the library (obviously). I also get books from NetGalley (advanced reading is great), Barnes and Noble, the Amazon Kindle store, book fairs, thrift stores... I think you get the idea. I'm also a subscriber to Uppercase Box ( a monthly YA subscription box created by Lisa Parkin, uppercasebox.com); I recommend it to any YA book lover.



I hope you enjoy the reviews!

Module 15: Go Ask Alice

Module 15: Censorship Issues

Go Ask Alice

Author: Anonymous

Book Summary:

      Go Ask Alice is based on the actual diary of a fifteen year old girl. It begins with her “normal” teenage problems of moving to a new school and finding new friends. However, when she goes back to her hometown to visit her old friends, she is invited to a party and inadvertently tries LSD. After that incident, drugs become a huge part of her world. The rest of the book follows her through the times she ran away from home, her weeks of being sober and then using again, and her various friendships and sexual conquests.

         

APA Book Reference:

Anonymous. (1971).Go ask Alice. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

Impressions:

     I hate the idea of censorship and book challenges. However, while I think teenagers should have the right to read this book, I can see why people would challenge it. It mentions a lot of controversial topics, mostly drugs. The book goes into detail about the girl’s drug use and what happens to her when she’s on the various drugs. She even becomes a dealer at one point and sells to a nine year old boy. Despite the controversial content, I do not think this book should be banned or challenged. This book is marketed as being a real diary and an honest story. If nothing else, it could even be a cautionary tale considering what happens to the girl as a direct result of her drug use. 

Professional Review:

Kirchhoff, H.J. (2006, February 18). Paperbacks. The Globe and Mail (Canada). Retrieved from: http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2052/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=303830

“Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous, Simon Pulse, 214 pages, $9.50

This is the 35th-anniversary edition of this young adult classic, in which the anonymous teen diarist tracks her own fall from middle-class comfort to the mean streets that, ultimately, killed her.”

Library Uses:

     Go Ask Alice could be used in a library program about writing. It could be used to encourage people to keep diaries or journals as part of the writing process. The book could also be used to start a discussion about controversial topics; it could be used in a display with other books with the same type of subject matter.

Module 14: Exposed

Module 14: Short Stories and Poetry 

Module 14: Exposed

Author: Kimberly Marcus

Book Summary:

Liz Grayson is a high school senior who seems to have it all, a “forever best” friend named Kate, a loving older brother in college, a boyfriend, and enough talent to go to college to be a photographer. However, when a Liz and Kate have a fight at their Saturday night sleepover, something happens that will change Liz’s relationships with everyone. Kate accuses Liz’s brother of rape, and Liz is forced to choose sides. Who does Liz believe- her brother or her “forever best?”

              

APA Book Reference:

Marcus, K. (2011). Exposed. New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books. 

Impressions:

      I liked that this novel was told in verse. I’ve always been a fan of poetry, so this book caught my attention. The subject matter of the book was best told in verse. There easily could have been more detail in a traditional novel, but since the author seemingly wanted the reader to make their own decision about whether the rape occurred, the verse allowed for those details to be left out. Every poem in the book was relatively short, so while Marcus says a lot in the poems she does not exaggerate details.

     The poetry is not only good at leaving ambivalence; it also shows the emotions that Liz goes through. I think that teens can relate to this book on the emotional level even if they cannot relate to the situation itself. 

Professional Review:

Exposed. (2011). Publisher’s Weekly, 258(1). 52. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA246347344&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w&asid=c1b91080c8354a948aca06b02fa9240b

“This provocative first novel, told in free-verse poems, offers a nuanced view of the ramifications of a rape, as seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Liz, an avid photographer. Marcus captures Liz's divided allegiances between the accused-her brother, a college student with whom Liz has an ambivalent but loving relationship--and her best friend, Kate, the victim ("My brother is a track star./My brother is a partier.... My brother/ is not/a rapist"). The stages of grief are well developed, as Liz negotiates the social consequences of the alleged rape, the loss of Kate as a friend, and her guilt for leaving Kate alone after a fight at a sleepover. In one poem, "Distraction," Liz claims to accept the loss, but says, "And except for a few times/every few minutes,/I hardly think about Kate/at all." Liz's relationships with her parents and peers offer poignant moments, such as when she lies to protect her mother from the rumors she hears at school. Marcus presents a thought-provoking portrait of rape and its irreparable impact on victim and community. Ages 14-up.”

Library Uses:

This book could be used in a library program about poetry. It could be used as a tool to show that poetry does not always have to rhyme; even free verse poetry about controversial issues can be beautiful.

Book Talk (Assignment C)

  For SLIS 5420 Assignment C, I chose to conduct a book talk program for high school juniors and seniors. The theme of the book talk was male outcasts.

  The books that I talked about were: 

Anderson, L.H. (2007). Twisted. New York, NY: Viking. 

Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Brynes. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

McNamee, G. (2003). Acceleration. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books.

Strasser, T. (2000). Give a boy a gun. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.