Emotionally Berating

So, speaking of cancer...

This was the first self-published title I read. I was really, really pulling for the author. I wanted her to overcome that cover. I wanted it to be good because, well, I'm selfish and I would have to say here, in public, what I thought of it. I've put it off for months. Months.

Thirteen-year-old Kay has it good. Her parents are nice, she's got great friends and the cute 16-year-old jock, Jamie, sees something in the shy blond girl. Soon she's got a boyfriend the other girls envy (in a friendly way). She has everything she could possibly want. But then there's a tragic car crash and an ominous diagnosis. The perfect boyfriend and her perfect life is no more.

I'm sorry, Kitt Raser Kelleher. This Time, Last Year wasn't good. Perhaps with a good editor to reign the story and language in...I won't deny that some love a good depressing read, but did Jamie's mom really need to lose her husband (before the book opened), her older son (car crash near the beginning), AND her younger son (cancer, at the end)? Seems like just two of those would be enough. Which isn't to say that no mother out there hasn't gone through something similar, but it was rather over the top here. In addition, point of view was all messed up. Kelleher would have been better off going with 3rd person. As it stands, there's an uncomfortable mesh of 1st limited and 1st omni, which, well, doesn't work.

On a second read, I found that the foreshadowing was well done, until Kelleher took it too far by page 82. Also, Jamie's doctors SUCK. It took them, what, at least two months to diagnose him? And then that was the hospital staff, due to the car wreck.

As much as I deride Lurlene McDaniel, well... if you happen to have this lying around and someone doesn't much care about grammar or language in general and who wants to be attached to the tissue box for the duration, well, there ya go. This will work until the next sob-fest gets published. In all fairness, This Time, Last Year does highlight that life does go on after loss. No matter how acutely you feel the death of a loved one, the love you felt for them will still live, but you must move on. In time.

Also, if you need a kissing primer - this'll do it. See p 57.

And, as for self published titles, I've actually read worse since this one. It was a picture book depicting scenes from the Bible where all the people are, inexplicably, frogs. This includes the Crucifixion scene. And just so we're clear: Crucified frogs. You knew they were dead because of the x-ed out eyes and the protruding tongues. It was disturbing and grotesque. (and shamefully, just a little bit hilarious in an entirely appalling way.)

Defiance

In one of those moments where I just wasn't really in the mood to read what was sitting on the "to be read" shelf, I went out to the stacks (god, being a librarian is awesome) and took a gander at the new teen shelf. I liked how short Amy Goldman Koss' Side Effects is. I hadn't read any reviews, but recognized the author and knew that other books she's written have been well-received. But what really (sadly?) drew me in was the cover. Clearly a girl, if a little punk or masculine, but defiant and triumphant all at the same time. It reminded me a little of the air that surrounds Cecil Castellucci's characters. At least in my head. And I really wanted to get to know this girl.

It'd been a bit since I read it, so I sat down to rekindle the memory and before I knew it, Koss had captivated me again with Izzy's voice, and I'd read nearly half the book. We meet Izzy as she starts a typical day, goes to school, day dreams about the school hottie, gives her mom a hard time, and gets out early for a doctor's appointment. A few hours later, she's rushed to the Children's Hospital with a cancer diagnosis. The world around her gets a bit hazy with Izzy's bewilderment at the sudden change in the world order. But here's where Koss shines - Izzy remains the same girl we met complaining about her mother on the first page. She gets tired and angry, but even when she can't come up with a scathing quip because her brain is mush, she still doesn't let those around her get away with anything.

Izzy is awesome. She's strong and sarcastic and has a dry sense of humor. Basically, she's right up my alley. Example:

"'How was school?'
'Fabulous.'
She perked up. 'Really?'
'It sucked, Mom. It always sucks.'
'Please don't use that word'
'Which word?'
Mom sighed" p11.

Koss is succinct; there's nothing extraneous in her text, and she manages to create a swath of memorable characters in less than 150 pages. Anyway, it's a fantastic and quick read.

Definitely for fans of Castellucci. And you could try to wean your readers off Lurlene McDaniel with it. If that's your thing. But then, our girl lives (this is not a spoiler), so perhaps it's more for fans of No More Dead Dogs. heh.

Breakfast is always best then.

Awesome title. Great cover. "Eh" book. People seem to compare it to Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, but I think that it's closer to an older title that has alternating boy/girl voices: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Although, now that I really think about it, Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is probably the dot connecting those two books.

Calliope's moved A LOT. Eliot wishes more than anything that he could get away from the Religious Fat Camp his father runs in North Carolina. When Calliope's nomad mother follows a Renaissance Faire circuit (Delores is a wench. Really.) to Eliot's town, Cal may just have found the place she can call home. If only she can convince Delores.

So, why am I just lukewarm about the title? Nothing terribly specific. It's not that I didn't like it, but Brad Barkley & Heather Helper's joint project just didn't read terribly fresh. Bad parents, bad religion, teens who know better, one wise adult. The Renaissance faire stuff was unusual and interesting, and I believed the characters, but somehow I just didn't connect to them. I didn't care. Maybe because the broad strokes of the ending were a forgone conclusion, and the elements that weren't, were rather unlikely.

There are some very cute moments in it that are tempered with our teens relationships with their "good" parents (as literally opposed to the "bad" parents each have). Cal's feelings toward her father are especially well done, and Eliot's mother is actually a fascinating character. She's torn between her role and her desires, and there was great insight there. It's a light, amusing romantic read, and the alternating voices will make it an easier sell since you'll be able to tailor the book talk to the sex of your audience.

But hey, I'm not the only one who has an opinion on this one:

Kip
TinyLittleLibrarian
Literate Mama