What the Waves Know by Tamara Valentine

4 stars
Language
Reader's Choice

This story, which I absolutely enjoyed you understand, had a bit of an identity crisis.

Told in first person by a 14-year-old, it felt oh so much like a young YA coming of age novel.

Except that every so often there were 6 or more f-words on a single page.

It was jarring to me, not just because I'd prefer not to have the profanity there at all, but because it didn't feel like it fit the story.

Strip out all the profanity and I'd have handed this book to Boo the second I finished it.

And given it 5 stars.

Also, and I could be wrong here because it was definitively before I was born, but was there really that much throwing around of the f-word in the early 1970s?

Seems like the casual use of "higher caliber" swear words has increased over time... which would lead me to believe that there wasn't so much of it in the 70s as in the 80s and less in the 80s than the 90s etc.

But what do I know?

Well, I know that it didn't feel like it fit, not to me at least, and that jarred me out of the narrative.

All that aside, I found it to be a beautiful, if subtle, treatment of how mental illness affects those "left behind" so to speak.  And specifically how the illness of a parent can affect a child.

Also how trauma can have lasting effects.

Overall, if you can get past the profanity give this one a try.

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

5 stars
JF

Weird and wonderful and quirky and heart-wrenching and heart-warming and....

Oh just go read it, would you?

This one did actually take me a little bit of time to get into, but ultimately I loved it.

Kizzy Ann Stamps by Jeri Watts

5 stars
YF/JF

I really loved this book about integration.

Kizzy is going to be one of the first black kids to attend the white school.  Her teacher tells her to write to the woman who will be her new teacher, and so she does, because EVERYBODY does what that teacher says. :)

I loved the format-- nearly the entire book is Kizzy's letters.  You have to infer what the teacher says in response until the very end, when one letter from the teacher is included.

Great story about integration, being yourself, and learning how to shine.

Boo's review:
5 stars

Basically it's a collection of letters she wrote to her teacher.  It was back when white people could still treat black people badly.  There were other black kids in her class-- she used to go to a black school, but they could be in the white school now.

[Mommy note:  Boo got really in to black history last school year, so I was hoping she'd like this one.]

More Like Her by Liza Palmer

4 stars
R- 2-3
language
received for review

I actually would have given this 5 stars if it hadn't been for all the language, both vulgar/crude and profane.

I don't think the person who wrote the synopsis read the book, really.  It's sort of what it's about.  But not quite.

This isn't really a mystery.  It's more of a "what happens after" or "how people move on" kind of thing.  And a finding yourself thing.  It feels weird to call it "coming of age" since the main character is an adult, but that's almost what it is.

I don't actually know what else to say about it, other than:

Overall, I ended up really enjoying it.

Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

4 stars
yf
copy received for review

While I will never understand why you wouldn't tell a child who his/her father is, I ended up rather enjoying this story of destiny and what happens when we try to change it.

Emily was named after Emily Dickinson and her mother (a poet who lives by the new age idea that destiny is everything) tells her that she's certainly destined to be a great poet.

Problem is, Emily doesn't really like poetry all that much.  And her mother's obsession with destiny is kind of driving her crazy.

Overall, I really liked this one.  Definitely recommended.

Looking for Me by Betsy R Rosenthal

4 stars
jf
verse novel

So, I found this when I was looking for a new book by the same title by Beth Hoffman, because I so enjoyed Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.

Now, let me say there is NO RELATION between this Looking for Me and that one.

But I really really enjoyed this one.

(I still haven't read the other one.)

This great verse novel is a coming-of-age story about a girl during the depression.  It is, in fact, based on the author's mother.

A quick read, it'll make you laugh and cry, by turns.

Overall, recommended.

The Keeper of Dawn by J B Hickman

5 stars
R- 2
Copy received for review

Poignant.  That's the word for this one.

It's a little bit Dead Poet's Society, but not as much as you might think when you start reading.

Boys from wealthy families, a boarding school, distant parents... and everyone's got a secret.

I honestly wasn't sure about this one.  But I really ended up enjoying it.

Recommended.

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

5 stars
YF
ARC received for review

A really cute coming-of-age-ish story!

This is my first Rebecca Stead novel and I really enjoyed it.

Great choice for late elementary/middle schoolers.  Short and fairly easy to read while dealing with a lot of issues: fears, bullying, friendships, family trouble, moving, etc.

Absolutely recommended.

The Starlite Drive-in by Marjorie Reynolds

5 stars
R- 1.5

An interesting coming-of-age story framed with brief scenes in the "present".  (Present meaning 1993 or so.  I actually used a calculator to figure that out.)

Callie Anne is 12, 13 in October, and lives with her parents at the Starlite Drive-in where her dad is the manager.  Her mother hasn't set foot outside the house in five years.

Love, loss, betrayal, change-- all are encompassed in this novel as young Callie Anne spends the summer learning, loving, and trying to decide whose secrets to keep.  And what lies to tell.

Overall, recommended.

Reader's Choice winner, 1998

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

5 stars
R- 2
Language

I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this one.  It was more of a "let's get it over with so it can be crossed off the list" than a "oh hey that looks good".

Just didn't seem like my style.

And it wasn't really.  It's not the kind of thing I read a lot of (unless it's on a Reader's Choice list, lol), but I ended up really enjoying it.

Similar themes to The Language of Flowers, certainly.

I haven't seen the movie, but I just looked it up on IMDB and holy funny, Dylan Bruno (Colby on Numb3rs) plays Willy Jack!!  I seriously think I need to see it just for that, because that cracks me up.

Overall, recommended.

Reader's Choice winner 1996

Jungle Crossing by Sydney Salter

4 stars
JF
Local Author!

A fun coming-of-age tale set in the Yucatan.

Kat drove me completely nutty at first-- I wasn't a super typical teenager and while I recognize that her desire to be in the "in crowd" is totally normal I CANNOT RELATE.  AT. ALL.

Thankfully, she comes to her senses eventually, hallelujah.

But, yeah, she drove me nuts.

Overall, good read.

Just Juice by Karen Hesse

4 stars
JF

Juice hates school... and feels like school hates her.

Letters and words make no sense... numbers are worse.

So she walks with Pa, trying to keep him from falling into the pit of sadness he's been in since he lost his job.

Overall, a cute coming-of-age type story.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

4.5 stars
R- 2

This was one of those books where the jury was out on how much I liked it until the very last page.

Victoria Jones is an interesting, if not always likable, heroine who you want to root for... or smack upside the side.  Either way.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying it, but can't quite bring myself to give it 5 stars.

Sort of a coming-of-age story-- recommended.

Wild Girl by Patricia Reilly Giff

5 stars
JF
Beehive Nominee

Really enjoyed this sweet, tender story.

A coming-of-age story about a Brazilian girl finally joining her father and brother in the US.... a father and brother who expect to see the little girl they left behind.  The little girl who loved pink and Snow White.

How can she explain that she's not that little girl any more?

Definitely recommended.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

3 stars
r-2

This book just didn't quite work for me. 

It's well-written and interesting, but I guess I just couldn't relate enough to the character to understand the choices she made.  The situation is all too foreign.

I'm sure it's realistic.  Some things are just too harsh to be made up.

Overall, I'm not even sure it's a happy ending.  I don't really think it is.

Anyway, I can't really pick out why I didn't enjoy it, but I just didn't.  Help me out, what did YOU think of it?

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

Oh wow.

Um.... I'm not sure how to rate this.

It was, overall, well-done.  It was compelling.  It was so, so hard to read.

Hard enough to read that I'm not sure I can recommend it... at least not without the strong warning that it's difficult.  (Especially if you've struggled with infertility, post-partum depression... etc.)

Told in alternating viewpoints, the story follows Allison, her sister Brynn, Charm, and Claire.  Allison and Brynn are first-person, Charm and Claire are third-person, which was a little jarring, but the flashbacks and jumping between viewpoints was well done.

The story that unfolds in heart-rending and the climax gut-wrenching, but the ending is ultimately hopeful, at least for Allison, who is the true protagonist.

Part mystery, part family drama, part coming-of-age.... I'm not sure what to call it.

Anyway.... I'm not sure if I'm glad I read it, but I know finishing it was better than not knowing the truth would have been.  (I almost put it down.)

Counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

5 stars
YF

Oh my CUTE!!!

My cousin picked this for our book club this month after seeing the movie and finding out it was based on a book.  (She says the movie follows the book REALLY well.)

What a cute story!  Told in alternating viewpoints, we follow Bryce and Juli from when Bryce moves in at age 7 to 8th or 9th grade.

The alternating viewpoints are done beautifully.  We get to see events from both characters and it's practically flawless in terms of flow.

The ending is great-- not too much but not too little.  The reader is left with a sense of optimism and is able to fill in whatever else may happen themselves.

All in all, I loved this book.  Cute, cute story.  I would not call it a romance, but it's definitely a coming-of-age with a bit of a love story.

Counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge and, of course, for my book club. :)

The Battle for the Castle by Elizabeth Winthrop

5 stars
JF
Sequel to The Castle in the Attic

So, I was totally curious about the girl on the cover, since there are NO girls in the first book.

She's a castle resident.  Sort of.  :)

Anyway, great sequel, very fun.  Even more of a coming-of-age story than the first, I think.

Recommended for boys, but you really should read the first one first.

(Wow, short review.  Sorry about that.)

Counts for the Support Your Local Library Challenge.

How High the Moon by Sandra Kring

4 stars
R- 3

Another sweet coming-of-age story that I enjoyed more than I expected.

Interesting reading this right after Saving CeeCee Honeycutt-- similar themes, but very different little girls!

Teaspoon (age 10) is the narrator, and it took me a while to get used to her voice, but I liked her.  She rambles on and on.... gave me a hint of what Boo will be like in a few years. ;)

Even with the young protagonist, though, this is definitely an adult book.

There is a fair amount of language in this one, which I could have done without, but all in all, I enjoyed it.  Recommended. :)

Counts for the Reader's Choice and Support Your Local Library challenges.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

5 stars
R- 2

Okay, so when I start out with a new Reader's Choice list, I often pick one I'm not very interested in to read first.  One that isn't my style; that I wouldn't pick up if it weren't on the list.

Which is exactly what I did here.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't think this looked like a bad book, just not really my style.

I loved it.

Which is, of course, the whole point of making yourself read things you don't think are "for you"-- sometimes you find something you love.

This book is heartbreaking and hopeful.  Beautiful and tragic.  And fabulous.

CeeCee is 12 when her life turns upside down... or maybe right-side up?  Whisked away by an aunt she doesn't know to a city she's never even visited, CeeCee must heal.  And she does.  Surrounded by crazy, powerful women, CeeCee finds herself.

Definitely recommended.  To anyone, but especially those who love to see some real "girl power". ;)

Counts for the Reader's Choice and Support Your Local Library challenges!