Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (TOR 2008)

Lynn: I have strong feelings about the science fiction written for teens. I won’t go into that now but someday soon I will rant at length. I am feeling quite mellow right now because I just read an outstanding book that is guaranteed to win over even the most dubious. It does everything good science fiction should do. It is smart and extremely entertaining, pursuing thought-provoking themes that in this case are quintessentially adolescent AND universal. While providing lots of action and suspense, a great strength of this book is the richly developed characterizations. Terrific dialog and awesome aliens round out a book that is perfect to hand to anyone 12 and up, boys and girls, science fiction fans and newbies. Meet seventeen-year-old Zoë, smart, sassy, obsessed with her new boyfriend and rarely separated from her sarcastic best friend, Gretchen. She is also rarely separated from her two alien bodyguards who record her every experience for their home planet. Zoë’s foster parents are leaders of a new colony on the planet Roanoke. The colonists are struggling to establish farms and homes when they discover they are pawns in a gigantic galactic chess game. Zoë’s Tale is the fourth book in Scalzi’s outstanding Old Man’s War series and it is a parallel novel to The Lost Colony. Don’t panic! Zoë’s Tale stands alone quite nicely with ample background information seamlessly provided. I guarantee that most readers will immediately search out the first three books so be prepared to provide those too. In an author’s note, Scalzi says, “I despaired how I would ever actually get a writing tone approximating that of an actual teenage girl…” Well, he did and Zoë is a memorable character. This is one of those gateway books we librarians are always looking for that will open doors to new genres for readers. Buy this book for your teen collections NOW!
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Cindy: I'm on deadline for some reviews and can't read this right now, but Lynn has me hooked. Most of the sf I've read has been the stuff she has sent my way and this sounds like a winner.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (Scholastic Point, 2008)

Cindy: Given the choice, I would read Maureen Johnson (or books like hers) every week. This one could be a musical, with Auntie Mame come to town in the form of drama diva Amy Amberson. Following family tradition, Scarlett's 15th birthday gift is the key to a suite in their struggling Manhattan hotel with the charge to keep it clean. They rarely have guests anymore, but lucky her, Mrs. Amberson has landed on their doorstep, and in Scarlett's suite, and things get interesting. The aging actress spends as much time orchestrating Scarlett's life and problems as she does directing Scarlett as her chambermaid and personal assistant. Like any good musical there's a romance with communication problems, a Show-That-Must-Go-On (this one her brother's Hamlet production originally staged in a parking garage before it finds a new home) and other plot points, but just spending time with Scarlett and Mrs. Amberson in the quirky hotel kept me entertained. Here's hoping there's a sequel: Encore!
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Lynn: Maureen Johnson rocks! Scarlett is looking at a summer of changing sheets and convincing the temperamental toilets to run in the family hotel. Then the alarming Mrs. Amberson, an aging and wealthy actress books for the whole summer and drafts Scarlett as her assistant. Mrs. Amberson is an unstoppable force and when you add a parking garage production of Hamlet, a gorgeous actor in the company whose kisses weaken Scarlett's knees, sibling career crises and a 30-year-old feud, you have a recipe for chaos that is laugh-out-loud funny. Johnson is really on her game here with a cast of quirky memorable characters, terrific dialog and intriguing relationships. I especially admire the nuanced portrayal of Marlene, Scarlett’s little sister who has survived cancer. I want to stay in this hotel - aging plumbing and all.

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion, 2008)

Lynn: "Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." Trouble does come of course, even to Henry’s privileged New England family, when a truck driven by a young Cambodian immigrant critically injures Henry’s older brother. Schmidt’s signature fluid prose beautifully captures two distinctly different communities, exploring issues of racial prejudice, class, perception and family loyalty. Henry’s friend Sanborn and Black Dog (a terrific addition to literature dogs!) add humor to a leisurely-paced thoughtful coming of age story. There are some problems here including a few exceptionally convenient plot devices and some one-dimensional secondary characters but I didn’t care. Those concerns were swept away for me by the strength of the portrayal of Henry’s journey from childhood to adolescence, the vividly evoked sense of place and the masterfully crafted language. We recently heard Gary Schmidt speak at a conference about his fascination with what event or experience initiates the change from childhood to adolescence. That theme stands out so much for me in this book. Henry’s awakening is written with such subtlety and grace that I am willing to forgive any quibbles I might have.
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Cindy: There's no question that Schmidt is a master wordsmith. I've admired his writing since first reading The Sin Eater and I've read everything of his except Anson's Way. I agree with most of Lynn's praise for this book. The setting is fabulous, his descriptions are lush and the physical and psychological journeys mesh well. That said, I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the Trouble metaphor, especially the refrain about building your house far from trouble. I listened to this on audio, so perhaps that repetition annoyed me more than it would have if I'd read it in print like Lynn. I don't know, I like this book a lot and will booktalk it with teens but I'd have liked a little more subtlety. Listening to Gary tell stories at our conference was wonderful. He is a storyteller in every sense of the word. You just want to spend an evening by a fire and listen to him spin tales. Black dog is a keeper for sure. I'd like a whole book about his escapades. His effect on the house mimics that of my teenage daughters who leave a similar trail of destruction behind.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame (Candlewick, 4/2009)

Lynn: I know it’s not nice to tease but we are going to talk about this laugh-out loud funny book even though it won’t publish till April. I think it is extremely hard to write humor but this first novel makes it look easy. Fifteen-year-old Matt and his two buddies have a tradition of setting a summer goal. This year’s is to see a real-live naked girl. Add barbell disasters, laxative and fart jokes, a nudist colony and three bumbling buddies who steal your heart and you have a book tailor made for teen-age boys. There is lots of crude snort-worthy humor here but there is also a sweetness to this story that will win over the most hard-hearted reader. It is definitely worth waiting for! My thanks to the generous folks at Candlewick for letting us have an early peek.
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Cindy: Matt's efforts to get in shape enough to just finish the 100 yard butterfly for his team will have your sides hurting as much as his--but yours will be from laughing. And I just love Gramps. Truly. Every boy needs a gramps like him. Not only did we get an early peek at this hilarious title, but the arc features Lynn's and my first book blurbs, along with friend, Ed Spicer (www.spicyreads.org) Two of our teen readers also have their comments in the arc. Here's what they had to say:

Nick A., age 16: "The book is incredibly funny, but I can still relate to those awkward moments....Had it not been for school and food, I would have read it straight through."

Leah M., age 14: "The main characters'...appalling cluelessness when it comes to girls will be sure to elicit a sympathetic cringe from the male population and a raucous laugh from everyone else. This book sped by with all the ease and grace of a truly amazing read, and considerably faster than most manage to swim the fly."

Finally, our teens were able to join us in providing feedback about the cover art. We love the final look--represents the contents very well and should be eye catching on the bookstore and library shelves for its target audience.

Likely Story by David Van Etten (Random House/Knopf, 2008)

Cindy: Written by YA author/editor David Levithan, playwright David Ozanich, and One Life to Live writer, Chris Van Etten, under the name "David Van Etten," the story is about a girl born (literally) and raised on a soap opera set, the daughter of a TV daytime diva who has never won the daytime Emmy. She blogs about how soap operas are so unrealistic and that there needs to be a show that is a likely story showing the drama of everyday teen life. Before you can say "Erica Kane," Mallory is pitching, writing, and casting her own tv drama and her life gets as complicated as the shows she mocks. Pure fun for this recovering All My Children addict. Our 7th and 8th grade girls can't get enough of this series and have kept me from the advance copy sequel, All That Glitters, while they pass it around. Book #3 is set to pub June 2009 so the fun will continue in Red Carpet Riot. Can't wait--a perfect start-of-summer read to anticipate.
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Lynn: I can’t help it – mention soap operas to me and my eyes roll involuntarily. It is a direct result of overexposure to As The World Turns and their ilk in my formative years so I wasn’t exactly eager to read this despite Cindy’s enthusiasm. When our book club teens loved it I decided I needed to curb my skepticism and give it a try. What a treat! Mallory is a heroine after my own heart and this very affectionate spoof of the soaps is smart and charming. There’s enough satire to keep us curmudgeons smiling but it is never mean-spirited. And just like the soaps, this is addictive. I’m going to send my clairvoyant secret twin out to retrieve the sequel right away!

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

Lynn: A young girl disguising herself as a boy to escape desperate poverty, dragons with elemental powers, a kingdom in crisis – these plot elements make Eon sound like any other ho hum fantasy. Not so! I think this is one of the year’s best. Sadly it is not being released until the end of December so put this on your not-to-be-missed list. Goodman sets the story in a richly described Asian-style country in the midst of a power struggle. Vivid characters fill the complex plot and their struggles propel a pulse-quickening pace. Goodman takes standard elements and weaves straw into gold in this mesmerizing tale with plenty of thematic heft. I can’t say it enough: don’t miss this!

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Cindy: From its striking cover to its compelling heroine, readers will root for ex-slave Isabel to one day find her promised freedom. Set in New York City during the summer of 1776, Manhattan as a battleground is vividly realized as Isabel becomes a spy. Her sex and ethnicity help her efforts as she is invisible to the powerful white men around her. Author M.T. Anderson, who explores similar themes of freedom and liberty in his Revolutionary War novels about Octavian Nothing, jokes that some folks think he and Laurie are siblings and that their parents must have influenced these books. There's no genetic relation between them, but the two authors have made admirable contributions to the study of our national family's foundation and philosophy.
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Lynn: Cindy and I agree on this wonderful book. For me it is Isabel's strong voice that is the highlight. This is the kind of book that makes history sing out with a voice that brings the time and place to life for young readers. Anderson does a terrific job of weaving the necessary historical information into the story also, never letting that slow the pace. I especially appreciate the accurate portrayal of the very ambivalent feelings most people had about the revolution. Everyday survival was center stage and siding with the eventual winner meant more to most ordinary people than championing a cause, a fact that seldom appears in books for teens. I was captured completely by Isabel and was loathe to end the story. I need a sequel, please! While we have recommended this book for grades 7-10, I think it is perfect to give to younger strong readers.

The Big Game of Everything by Chris Lynch

Cindy: This book was a hoot. I've read all of Chris's more recent, darker titles, and definitely need to go back and read some of the earlier funny titles that I've missed. Two brothers have summer jobs helping Grampus with the family golf course. There are only 13 holes so far, but Grampus is slowly working on developing the course, so to get in 18, you have to repeat a few holes. It's the kind of book that has such great characters and comic moments that you don't care if it even has a plot. And then, Lynch, twists a little knife in your heart as Grampus is forced to contemplate THE BIG GAME OF EVERYTHING. Loved it.