What a Wonderful World!: Volume 1

by Inio Asano, 205 pages

Lose everything in a fire?  Quit your job without a back-up plan?  Find yourself taken hostage by a guy in a teddy bear costume?  Characters face changes big and small in this darkly funny, deeply thoughtful, and cleverly-plotted manga about what it means to be alive.

This volume is only half the story, leaving the helplessly hooked reader wondering how it all fits together.

Essex County: Volume 2: Ghost Stories

by Jeff Lemire, 223 pages

As he's moved from his farm to a nursing home, an old man suffering from dementia looks back on his life and his relationship with his younger brother in this second volume in Jeff Lemire's moving Essex County trilogy.

Sad and yet ultimately hopeful, this.  Lemire excels at making me teary-eyed and yet not bitter about it.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel, 232 pages

This is a memoir of the author's complicated childhood with her closeted gay father who may or may not have intentionally jumped in front of a bread truck when she was nineteen.

Bechdel relates the gaps between her father's public and private lives and how his secrets affected her and her family over the years.  Despite his many affairs (some possibly with minors) and lifelong obsessions (art, architecture, gardening, literature) that seemed to take priority over emotionally connecting with his wife and children, he was still her father, and losing him shortly after coming out, herself, has left a hole in her life.

This cuttingly honest and thoughtful analysis of an imperfect life through the author's memories made me cry when I got to the last page.

Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story

by Ari Folman and David Polonsky, 177 pages

A friend's dream about vengeful dogs triggers a surviving Israeli soldier's search for the truth of what happened during his service in the war with Lebanon and his memories of the massacre of Palestinian civilians his mind has sealed off to protect him.

This story is powerful and I'm sure the animated film from which this graphic novel is adapted is harrowing and visually arresting; but static as it is here, one aspect of the artwork kept me from investing in the story and characters as much as I'd have liked.  Largely consisting of altered photography from the war, the images have built-in realism that works great for backgrounds (crumbling buildings, burning tanks, low-flying fighter planes) but clashes with the way the creators chose to portray the modern-day characters (their remembered younger selves look more drawn and less photo-like).  Their designs look like drawn-and-air-brushed-over photographs that have been enlarged or shrunken or flipped to fit the needs of the various panels and then pasted on top of the more realistic backgrounds.  They almost never alter the expressions, so pages are filled with the same flat, lifeless faces over and over again, cutting the characters off emotionally and visually from their deep, painful conversations and the terrible events around them.  This could be intentional, to show how they've distanced themselves from the trauma and are just going through the motions, but I mostly found it distracting, lazy-looking, and a drain on the emotional umpf.  Some of the other imagery, though, is haunting and the story's questions about memory and trauma and guilt are important ones.  If only those few bland, frozen faces were different!

I'd say watch the film, instead, but only if you're prepared to be presented with frames of harsh reality, as I assume it does as this book and ends with a handful of unaltered photographs of the massacre's victims.  I was not ready and had to shut my eyes and close the book.

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak
Narrated by Allan Corduner
552 pages

This is an incredible novel about a German girl living in Nazi Germany during World War II.  This novel, narrated by Death, tells how Liesel became a book thief.  This is the story of Liesel, the people she loves, and the negative impact of the Nazis.  This is an incredibly sad and moving tale.  Be prepared to cry.

I loved this book.  This is a great book for teens and adults.  However, I would not necessarily recommend this one for pre-teens because there is a fair amount of cursing in both German and English in this book.  If cursing is not an issue, this is a great read.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

296/2012

Greg has figured out how to navigate the high school social scene. Be friendly enough with every social circle and you'll get by. He has his friend Earl and they make movies after school, but then show them to no one. When Greg's mom suggests he befriend Rachel, a girl he knew in Hebrew school, because she has cancer, Greg is not pleased. Now he hidden social status is blown. And it gets worse when Greg and Earl decide to make a video about Rachel-and the whole school has to watch it.

Fangland

by John Marks
385 pages

This is about a news show called The Hour, which appears to be a fictional version of 60 Minutes.  An associate producer, Evangeline Harker, travels to Romania to vet Ian Torgu, an Eastern European crime lord, for a possible interview.  Torgu kidnaps her, and she turns up several months later in a monastery, very different than she was when she left.  In the meantime, strange things start to happen at The Hour.  Strange voices start to appear on digitized videos, and many employees start to act strange.

I wasn't a big fan of this book.  Though some of the ideas in this book are intriguing, like vampirism being spread through words instead of through direct physical contact, I feel like the author attempted to do too much.  He tried to make it too "literary."  I just didn't get it.  I also thought that Evangeline was really stupid in the beginning.  None of this would have happened if she had just used a tiny bit of common sense.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson
343 pages

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

After I saw Chelsea’s review, I knew I had to read this, and soon. It was so cute. Road trips + awesome music + a scrapbook + not obviously falling in love (as Chelsea so accurately stated) = the most epic read :)

The Innocent

by Avi Arad (story?), Junichi Fujisaku (script), Yasung Ko (art), 217 pages

Executed for a crime he didn't commit, Johnny Wright wakes up on the other side and learns he's got one more chance at life by helping other innocents like himself--unless he lets his desire for revenge get the better of him.

A decent premise that fails to deliver. For more details, please see my full review on NoFlyingNoTights.com.

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak, 552 p.

Out of all of the books I've read on Germany during World War II (I had a strange obsession with the Holocaust as a child), I had never read such a poignant book from the perspective of a German child.

All I can really say without getting too choked up is that this is, quite possibly, one of the best books I've ever read.  Ever.

Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

2011/336pgs



About the Book: Cam is a teen who is living with cancer. Her recent doctor visit didn't turn out well and she doesn't have much hope. But her mom isn't about to give up and convinces Cam that they should spend the summer in Promise, Maine, a place where miracles happen. Cam is cynical and doesn't believe in miracles, but in a town where flamingos visit and sunsets last forever, Cam has a summer to believe in miracles.

Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: Tough topics like teens dying can be hard to write well. Sometimes they can come off as too cheesy and corny and Nicholas Sparksy. Other times they don't feel real and you don't like the characters. Wendy Wunder manages to pull off a story that makes you care about the characters and feels real without veering into a cheese-fest.

Cam is a cynical character and at first I had a hard time relating her. But she grew on me as the novel went on. She was tough and smart and her sarcasm made me begin to like her. She doesn't always make the best decisions, but then, she's faced with a tough situation in life and it's hard to keep up hope. As she begins to trust others and let people in, she changes and began to like her more.

Her sister and mom are nicely fleshed out and great supporting characters. They struggle with trying to live as normal a life as possible while dealing with Cam's illness and loss of hope. Her sister is the one who starts keeping track of the miracles and some of her preteen innocence is sweet and charming. Asher, the love interest, is a bit too perfect. I liked Asher, but I wasn't exactly sure what he saw in Cam, especially since she was so gruff with him to begin with. I felt like their relationship never really developed in the way I wanted to watch it develop. Much of their relationship seemed very surface level and I just didn't believe that it was as deep as it was portrayed. I guess this was the most unrealistic part of the book and felt like it was there just because Cam needed a love story.

Also, at times the writing seemed a bit strange. It was written in third person, but there were times I forgot it was in third person and the descriptions and narration felt like it switched to first person. It was a bit jarring each time and I had to remind myself it wasn't told in first person. I don't know that many readers would notice this and it wasn't something that was that distracting and it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. It was just something strange I noticed.

The story itself is good and the author does a great job of infusing hope into an otherwise sad story and making the reader believe. Both Cam and her sister learn to accept everyday miracles, which is a great theme of the book, without the author really hitting you over the head with a message. I love the simple gesture of looking for everyday miracles.

If you have readers who like a good tear-jearker, The Probability of Miracles should be added to their reading pile.

"Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver

470 pages

Samantha Kingston has it all: the most crush-worthy boyfriend around, three amazing best friends, and unmatched popularity at Thomas Jefferson High School. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it ends with a car accident that kills her.

But she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one roller coaster of a week, she works to figure out what is causing the cycle and how she can make things right.

I picked this book up because I thought the premise was interesting, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I didn't like the main characters at first, and I'm still not sure what I think about Samantha--sure, she changes for the better, but who wouldn't when faced with death? However, the story itself kept me interested. When I heard that she relives the fateful day seven times I worried that it would get repetitive, but it doesn't at all. In fact, it's really interesting how tiny changes Sam makes from day-to-day have a huge impact on what happens later. It demonstrates how seemingly insignificant choices can make a big difference. Also, I liked the suspense that built up as I got closer to the conclusion and tried to figure out whether Sam would ultimately live or die.

In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

2010/217pgs

In A Heartbeat has two points of view-Eagan, an ice skater who had one tiny mistake that ended in her death, and Amelia-the recipient of Eagan's heart. Amelia begins to feel like she's taking on parts of her donor's personality and interests and wants to know more about her donor.

I liked this book, a lot more than I thought I would, but I still could have done without the two points of view. I can see where Eagan's story was needed so we knew more about her and her influence on Amelia, but I didn't really care about her wanderings in her half-heaven that she was stuck in. Each chapter startedr the same, so it was a bit boring. Having her story added a sadness to the story as well, so I'd give this to fans of Lurlene McDaniel. I did like Amelia's storyline and I found her character interesting. I also liked that the subject matter was unique and different.

A Fine and Private Place

by Peter S. Beagle, 272 pages

"The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace."
-- Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress"

I was wondering where the title came from. And then the title page told me. And then I read the book and went, "Ohhhhh, clever." :P

Mr. Rebeck has been secretly living in an abandoned mausoleum in New York's Yorkchester cemetery for the last nineteen years. He washes up in the lavatory by the front gates at night when no one's looking. A cocky, cynical, very raven-like raven brings him food twice a day and sometimes passes on news from the city beyond the walls. And every now and then someone finds him and talks with him and plays chess with him...until they forget him...and words and chess and everything else related to the life they no longer possess. And then they vanish. They always do. But some fight it more than others.

Oh, this is wonderful. Again, I'm reminded of a less dark, less sharp-edged Gaiman, this time The Graveyard Book. Although Mr. Rebeck is in his fifties, self-sufficient (minus the raven, of course), and hiding from life rather than death, there is still that spirit of wonder, eternal ephemerality, and camaraderie amongst the headstones. We sit with him as he hears out a confused ghost and offers comfort as best he can. We follow a visitor home to the real world, cross their threshold, and trail behind them from room to room as they go about their daily existence and miss what is no longer there. We eavesdrop on characters' thoughts and encounters like ghosts ourselves, clinging to Mr. Rebeck's wisdom until we start to worry that he, too, needs a counselor, someone to talk him into examining himself and re-evaluating the merits of the long-abandoned world of the living. And if some of his unintentional advisors happen themselves to be dead, what of it?

The novel--Beagle's first, published in 1960 when he was just 19!!--deals with the limitations of life, death, love, and self...and sometimes with their unexpected limitlessness. The Last Unicorn, published in 1968, may be a little more fluid and outwardly fantastical, but this is just as lovely. I must go find me some more. :)

Our Father Who Art in the Tree

by Judy Pascoe
176 pgs
2003

Our Father Who Art in the Tree explores the hardship and grief of a family shortly after the father dies. The family is slowing falling apart when the only daughter, ten-year-old Simone, discovers she can hear her father talking to her from the top of the Poinciana tree in their yard. Eventually she convinces her distraught mother to climb the tree to see for herself.
Through these conversations in the tree, time and a massive storm, the family begins to heal and cope with the loss of their patriarch.
I came across this in passing at the library and found it to be a touching story. I had to look up the poinciana tree, since I had never heard of it. They have beautiful red-orange flowers.

What I Did.

by Jason, 268 pages

This melancholic Norwegian graphic short story collection features three tales that share themes of death, guilt, and time. "Hey, Wait..." recalls a childhood friendship and the shock of growing up. "Sshhhh!" wordlessly follows a bird man's life through its ups and downs. And "The Iron Wagon" adapts a 1909 Norwegian psychological mystery's tale of murder and its toll.

Although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the various dog, bird, and rabbit men and women from one another, these stories succeed in conveying a sense of the inevitable nature of death, the ephemeral nature of life, and the weight of what we do with it for the brief time it is in our hands.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I was crying or in tears from page thirteen. Really.

Mia, seventeen, is facing a lot of choices she isn’t sure she is ready to make. A gifted cellist, she has been invited to attend the Julliard School of Music in New York.  She just isn’t sure she can leave her exuberant, rock star family back in Oregon or Adam, the boyfriend she still can’t quite believe really loves her. When all the choices evaporate in an instant Mia has only one choice left to make. Should she stay or should she go?

This is not your typical Lurlene McDaniel sappy teen dealing with death book. It is complicated and solidly emotional. Through flashbacks into different times in Mia’s life we get a surprisingly detailed character study for such a slim tome. Readers who connect with empathetic characters and are ok with a high level of intensity, will find much here to make you reflect and appreciate. There is a sequel coming out in April: Where She Went. 2009, 201 pages.

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman, 312 p., 2008.

Three things you should know:

1. Neil Gaiman is a god.

2. Neil Gaiman is a literary genius.

3. Neil Gaiman makes me swoon.

Since I've got that out of the way, I loved this book almost as much as I was terrified of it. We're introduced to Nobody Owens just as he's unwittingly escaping certain death at the hands (as sharp blade) of the man Jack. As luck would have it, the friendly neighborhood graveyard takes him in, shelters him, and offers the baby the protection of the graveyard. Neil Gaiman describes Bod's most unconventional upbringing amongst the alternative living: exploring the cemetery, making new friends, learning interesting lessons. But there is a darkness that his undead loved ones must hide from him: the man Jack that failed to kill him so many years ago is waiting for young Bod.

As usual, Neil Gaiman weaves a supremely intricate plot that doesn't fail to please. This guy is smart. You can't deny it. And he expects the same of his readers (really not too much to ask). Also, its a great introduction to classic literature. And why, pray tell, is that? Its dependence on the structure of Rudyard Kipling's the Jungle Book. (Get it? Jungle Book...Graveyard Book... Jungle .... Graveyard... book...) And how so? Boy's family is killed by mysterious, evil stranger. Boy is raised close by and yet so very far away. Boy finds a mentor is adopted home. Boy must defeat old foe. Boy must grow up and return to intended home. Whew.

In short: nicely done, Mr. Gaiman.

The Hate List by Jennifer Brown, 407 p.

In light of recent shootings and the rise of bullying in schools, this is an interesting look at the struggles that teens face, but also questions how each of us perceive the world and our place in it. Brown doesn't give any easy answers or lay blame, but points to the need for communication, compassion and forgiveness to begin the healing process.

The book begins after a shooting at Garvin High School perpetrated by 16 year old Nick Levil. Told through the eyes of the shooter's girlfriend, Valerie. Through a series of flashbacks we experience her past and current struggles to not only move past the horrendous act, but also to come to grips with the realization that Nick, the boy she thought she knew could become this monster everyone now despises. The interesting twist is that Valerie is seen as a possible accomplice due to the hate list that she and Nick created of all the people who were mean and cruel to them in high school. Although she dove in front of Nick, getting shot herself in order to stop the shooting spree, even Valerie's parents doubt her innocence in the affair. As Valerie struggles to return to school and pick up the pieces of her life, she begins to wonder herself. How could she not have know what Nick was planning?

Brown's book is an amazing look at a sensitive subject. When does teasing cross the line to bullying? Who in high school hasn't been made fun of or laughed at? Why does it roll off some and not others? What responsibility does each of us have to ourselves and to each other as we all struggle to fit in? This book is compelling enough to force you to continue reading but it also has the substance to make you think how things could have and should have been different.

Heart of a Shepherd

By Rosanne Parry, 161 pages.

OK, so before I said I hoped The Secret of Zoom would win the 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award. Scratch that, I spoke too soon! Stop what you're doing, put down what you're reading, and go get a copy of Heart of a Shepherd. I have not been this moved by a children's book since Walk Two Moons. I cried and cried. Man. Oof. Wow.

Heart of a Shepherd is about a boy everyone calls Brother. He lives on a ranch in Oregon with his grandparents. His father is serving in Iraq, and his mother is out of the picture. He has some sheep he tends, some older brothers, and some friends at school. And that's basically the book right there. Although things happen in the book, the story is mainly about Brother's thoughts and feelings as he deals with life, death, growing up. I can't explain the alchemy that good writing brings to a simple story to make it moving and important. All I know is I was reading a story about a boy, and then the magic of literature happened and I was crying my eyes out.

Heart of a Shepherd is a simple and thoughtful portrait of a boy on the cusp of adulthood. Even though it's categorized as J Fiction, I think YA readers might get more out of it. But who knows. I remember reading Walk Two Moons in fifth grade and loving it, and when I read it again last year I loved it for different reasons. Heart of a Shepherd is probably the same-- people of all ages will find something of value.