Red Glass November 24, 2007

Resau, Laura (2007). Red Glass. NY : Delacorte Press. 275 pages.

Sixteen year old Sophie is afraid of pretty much everything – born prematurely, she suffers from allergies, and from a sense that her body will never be quite strong enough. So it is a surprise to everyone, herself included, when she agrees to travel to Mexico with her frivolous and immature aunt, her aunt’s boyfriend, and his intimidating (read: attractive and cool) son. It’s probably the least safe thing Sophie could even think of doing – but what’s at stake is her principito, the young Mexican boy that her family adopted when his parents died trying to enter the country.

The summary on the back of this book really confused me (too much information, too little space for processing it) – I couldn’t get a sense of what the book was actually about at all, or what it was going to be like to read it, so it sat on my shelf for a while before I picked it up again. So the only reason I can’t say that this book exceeded my expectations was that I had none, starting out.

The book is charmingly written in a sort of dream-inducing prose that is nevertheless easy to read and crisply precise. If that sounds like a completely contradictory description, I apologize. Simple put, the book is well written. More importantly, for me, was the fact that the characters were all fabulously flawed and vulnerable and real and interesting. Sophie has that exact issue that I’ve seen in my mother, and one of my close friends – the guilt of being a sickly child in a family that can ill afford the time, or money for her care. And as a part of Sophie’s character, this guilt is really well depicted here, as she battles to face and overcome her various weaknesses, psychological and physical. The author also does a really wonderful job painting Sophie’s simultaneous fascination and fear of Angel, the teenage boy who is part of her traveling party. If you ever have been, or are, a girl who doesn’t quite know what to do with the knowledge of a boy’s unique and special power to wound heart, body, or mind, you’ll sympathize… and cheer, because Sophie figures out how to move past it, and risk everything. Well, I cheered – not out loud, mind you, I was in public at the time. And Angel himself is an awesome and likable hero – he’s intelligent and handsome, and hides his heart in a box and his soul behind his sunglasses.

Booktalk Hook: Have you ever been forced to go to a place that you fear more than anything?

If you liked this book: You might like other novels with a strong Latin American flavor, and excellent prose, like those by Isabel Allende.

Dairy Queen November 19, 2007

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert (2006). Dairy Queen. Boston : Houghton Mifflin. 275 pages.

15 year old D.J. might as well be a cow – she does what everyone expects her to, and she does it without complaining – or talking at all, really. But once she starts fighting back against her bovine destiny, she’s going to change everyone around her, from her silent brother, to her stern father (and his brownies), to the starting quarterback of the rival football team.

This book covers everything you could possibly expect a novel to cover. The short summary I wrote above? Just the barest minimum of surface skimming. This book has sports (namely football – why do I keep reading books about football? where are the books on tennis, a sport I at least know something about!), and romance, and family drama, and growing up. The basics, really. All done with a really simple and beautiful first person narration that feels really honest and moving. Just reading the book, I became very attached to D.J., which is something I don’t always get from books and value all the more because of it.

The family drama aspect was realistic and understated – no one here is really wrong, or horrible and abusive. D.J.’s mom is busy. Her younger brother won’t talk – there’s nothing wrong with him, he just doesn’t like talking. Her two older brothers won’t come home. And her dad, recently injured in an accident, is learning how to be a house-husband, when maybe what he really needs to learn is how to talk to his children. And D.J.? She’s trying to balance running the farm almost on her own with the rest of her life.

And if that’s not enough, there’s also Brian, the quarter back of a rival team who comes to work on the farm. At first full of friction, Brian and D.J.’s relationship grows into a mutually beneficial partnership, and then into a friendship, but D.J. doesn’t kid herself that Brian is even remotely in her league. Brian and D.J. have a lot of chemistry that reads very well – think about what would happen if Elizabeth Bennett decided to train Mr. Darcy in football. Yeah, it’s pretty fabulous.

Booktalk Hook: Are you a cow?

If you like this book: You’ll probably enjoy Hana Yori Dango (live action – I take no responsibility if you watch the anime or read the manga). It’s less realistic in terms of family drama, and… ok, actually just not very realistic at all, but it has a romance plot with a similar flavor, and it is just as insanely entertaining.  Or if this book has given you a love of all things dairy, try indulging it further with Harvest Moon, an adorable farming sim video game series.

Knights of the Hill Country October 19, 2007

Tharp, Tim (2006). Knights of the Hill Country. NY : Alfred A. Knopf. 233 pages.

Hampton Green is on the brink of becoming a legend – he’s the star of the football team in a town where football is practically a religion, and his team is on its way to a record number of undefeated games. But the rest of his life isn’t going nearly that well. His mom only seems to have time for her string of short term boyfriends. His best friend is coming unglued. And the only girl he can talk to is completely inappropriate for him, according to the etched-in-stone social hierarchy of high school.

This book draws heavily from the old legends and stories of the medieval era. Being a Kennisaw Knight is more than just being a member of a football team – it’s a way of life. It means fighting for your honor, never giving up, and, according to Hampton’s friend Blaine, enjoying the perks that come with a heroic victory (aka, the hottest girls in school). The metaphor works perfectly – not only in terms of equating football with war, there’s also the “town hero” idea, and the rigidity of the high school hierarchy (which I always felt was a little medieval) backing it up. The concept was really well done, with appropriate conflicts and resolutions building up the theme.

The book is written in Hampton’s unabashed, ungrammatically, country voice that nevertheless manages to be both efficient and lyrical. The characters are also well drawn – I particularly liked Sarah, Hampton’s unpopular love interest. Or maybe that was just because I could relate – her unfortunate nickname “Bush Girl” is very similar (yet slightly more inventive) than the one I had in junior high. Ah, memories!

All in all, this book was well written, well plotted, and well characterized – and I definitely recommend it. I even enjoyed the football scenes!

Booktalk hook: Do you like football? Do you hate football? Doesn’t matter, you’ll probably like this book either way.

And if you like this: You might want to try the football manga, Eyeshield 21, or Gordon Korman’s Zucchini Warriors.

Geography Club September 25, 2007

Hartinger, Brent (2003). Geography Club. NY: HarperTempest. 226 pages.

Being a gay kid in high school is, at least for Russel Middlebrook, kind of like being a secret agent in enemy territory. But things change for the better when he and other, er, like minded individuals form the geography club. That is, until he realizes that there’s only so long he can keep a secret once he’s shared it.

I really enjoyed this book – there was a lot it had to say on a number of key, teen appropriate messages, but there was also real heart behind it so it never really seemed preachy or grating. The depiction of a Typical American High School seemed a bit caricatured – the cliques were a little too stereotypical and the jocks were very… jock-ish. Though the general callous sort of cruelty teenagers can treat each other with? Pretty much spot on. I liked Russel’s budding relationship with Kevin (though the details were disappointingly tame), and I liked how it played out, even though the foreshadowing had all the subtlety of freight train. And I (somewhat sadistically) loved his horrible dates with the girl his friend sets him up with. The book read a little short though, I think there could have been a few more pages rounding things out. Or maybe I just need to read the sequel, The Order of the Poison Oak.

Booktalk Hook: Did high school ever make you feel like a secret agent in enemy territory? Then you can relate to Russel Hartinger, the only (or so he thinks) gay kid at Goodkind High School.

If you liked this book: I’d recommend Nobuta wo Produce – it’s a drama series based on Japanese young adult novel by the same name. I’d recommend the book too, but I haven’t seen a translation for it. In any case, there aren’t any (non-subtextual) homosexual themes in this show, but the ending of the book really reminded me of the feeling I get from Nobuta… which is actually the highest compliment I could ever pay the Geography Club.