See You in the Cosmos

Cheng, Jack. See You in the Cosmos. 2017. 316p. ISBN 978-0-399-18637-0. Available at FIC CHE on the library shelves.

Alex Petroski is fascinated by space. He loves stars and rockets, and his an active participant on Rocketforum.org, where he knows all of the other participants. He loves his dog, named after the famed astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan. He loves his older brother, who works in Los Angeles as a sports agent, and his mother, who has good days and bad days, but mostly bad days. At eleven, Alex wants to do is to replicate Dr. Sagan’s exploit of creating a golden record containing all sort of information on Earth, then sending it to space on Voyager back in 1977. He’s built a rocket, and he plans on attending SHARF (Southwest High Altitude Rocket Festival) in New Mexico so he can fire it up in the sky, along with a golden iPod on which he has been recording his thoughts.

Accompanied by Carl Sagan, Alex leaves a bunch of ready to eat meals for his mother, who rarely comes out of her bedroom, and heads out to New Mexico on a train from his hometown in Colorado. He meets Zed, a man who has made a vow of silence and communicates with a chalkboard and who is also heading to SHARF. Since the train is late, Alex agrees to go with Zed and Steve to the festival site. There, Alex manages to fire his rocket in the C competition, but it doesn’t go very far. Steve and Zed do their best to comfort Alex, but he perks up when he discover that there is a match for his father in Las Vegas. Alex and Ronnie’s father died eight years ago, and no one really talk about him. When Alex did a family project in school, he used Ancestry.com and left some contact information if anyone else was looking around, and lo and behold there is someone with the same name, birthdate and death date a state away. Steve and Zed agree to take him to Vegas to find out more about his father. As Alex’s adventures continue, he will realize that sometimes what you are looking for is right at home.

Told through transcribed recordings, Alex has the responsibility level of a 13-year-old, as he likes to point out, but he’s also incredibly naive and talkative, often repeating himself. Though not addressed until the end, his mother’s sickness and his brother’s absence from his life overshadow everything that Alex does. The discovery of a half sister increased the size of his family, and the many contacts he makes during his trip turn into friends that help him grow and deal with his mother’s schizophrenia. Alex, who often thought he was alone, has a bigger family and way more friends than he ever thought.

Thornhill

Smy, Pam. Thornhill. 2017. 533p. ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3. Available at FIC SMY on the library shelves.

It is 2016, and Ella and her father just moved to Midchester, in a house abutting the extensive grounds of an abandoned orphanage named Thornhill. Her father works a lot, and Ella often finds herself at home alone. She doesn’t know anyone in town, so she spends a lot of time looking out her window at the ruins that is Thornhill. When she spots a light in the top floor, Ella is curious. Who lives there?

In 1982, Mary is an orphan who lives in Thornhill. Suffering from selective mutism, Mary has no friends and spends most of her time in her top floor bedroom, creating masterful puppets out of fabric and clay. These are her true friends. Unfortunately for Mary, a bully she thought had been adopted for good has been returned to the orphanage for poor behavior. This unnamed bully has been harassing Mary and turning all of the other girls against her. When she was here Mary could not sleep at night and had to watch her every step. Now that she’s returning, Mary confides in her diary that she will never have a moment’s peace.

As Ella investigate the property next door, she finds old broken dolls. She begins fixing them, and eventually she meets Mary. Then Ella discovers that Mary died at Thornhill back in 1982. Mary, meanwhile, tries to deal with her bully but the conditions at the orphanage grow worse as kids are adopted out and the facility readies for closing. When Mary discovers that she and her bully will become roommates in a new institution, it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She needs to take matters into her own hands. Will present-day Ella assuages past Mary’s ghost and become her friend?

Mary’s perspective is told through a diary, while Ella’s view is presented through images only. The two stories combine in a beautifully written sad tale of bullying and its consequences.

And the Trees Crept In

Kurtagich, Dawn. And the Trees Crept In. 2016. 341p. ISBN 978-0-316-29870-4. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Living in London, Fourteen-year-old Silla and her four-year old sister Nori have just run away from their abusive father, and seeking refuge, they turn to their aunt, Catherine. She lives at La Baume, a manor that has been in their family for generations. Located outside of a small village in England in the middle of Python Woods, the residence is decrepit and old, and Cath used to run an orphanage there.

Nori cannot talk or make a sound, and she was severely injured to the point where her collar bone and her arm are now deformed. Cath is happy to meet them, and welcomes them into her life. Over three years, Silla and Nori grow up but lack for nothing, except companionship. The manor does not have a telephone, nor a television. Electricity is provided by an old generator, which is broken more often than not. Still, it’s a better life than being stuck in a small apartment with a violent man.

Life in the manor becomes strange, however, and it becomes clear to Silla that something strange is taking place. Cath warns them not to go in Python Woods, ever. When Cath tells the story of the Creeper Man, who supposedly dwells in the forest, Silla becomes scared. Cath tells them the Creeper Man will never let them out of the woods. When Cath serves a birthday cake with living earthworms inside, Silla becomes even more scared. Then Cath barricades herself in the attic, and doesn’t come down. Suddenly there are weird sounds throughout the manor, almost as if it is haunted. A strange boy, Gowan, arrives from the woods and offers to help them. Food begins to run out. And all the while, the trees are physically getting closer to La Baume as the house itself appears to be slowly sinking in the earth. And Nora. Poor Nora, she should have a normal childhood. Instead, she is hungry all the time, and she is the only one who can see that the Creeper Man is in fact already in the manor. Silla must discover the source of the Creeper Man’s power before Nora and her succumb to the threat represented by the trees creeping ever closer …

The horrific atmosphere of La Baume builds slowly, but as details are revealed the terrifying nature of what the girls face is revealed. Fans of horror will definitively want to get their hands on this scary book!

Monster

Myes, Walter Dean. Monster. 2004. 281p. ISBN 9780064407311. Available at FIC MYE on the library shelves.

Steve Harmon hails from the streets of Harlem, but he currently resides in a juvenile detention facility, where he awaits his trial for murder. Life can be a slippery slope, and each bad decision Steve made took him led him to be a lookout for a robbery gone wrong.

Now that he’s facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, Steve must participate in his defense. To pass the time and to stop himself from going insane with the activities both in the courtroom and in prison, Steve think of his situation as a movie, and narrates it as such.

With the prosecutor calling him a monster, Steve is in the fight of his life. Will his past mistakes cost him everything?

Unmarked

Garcia, Kami. Unmarked. The Legion Book 2. 2014. 384p. ISBN 0316210226. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Instead of stopping the demon Andras and preventing his escape from Hell, Kennedy was the instrument that released him. As one of the five members of the Legion, she participated in a ritual that opened the gate and released Andras.

Unmarked picks up right where Unbreakable left off. Kennedy has been enrolled in a private school for troubled teens by her aunt following the death of her mother. For days she has heard nothing from Jared and the other members of the Legion. But she’s been following the damage done by Andras, which is left unexplained in the press: large storms; people disappearing; mass murders. Andras is making his way for her, and she knows there will be no escape this time.

Fortunately, Jared, Lukas, Alara and Priest track her down, helped by Elle, Kennedy’s best friend, and rescue her from her school. Using details from her memory, Kennedy is able to track down her father’s sister, whom she did not know existed. Faith, Alex’s sister, reveals that she is the 5th member of the Legion, but having been tortured by the Illuminati she remains in hiding. She can’t reveal anything else because she is killed by a spirit later on in the night. An assault on the sequestered farm house follows, and the six of them escape. Armed with hints and a journal, they trace back information to Paul Revere’s tomb in Boston, then confront Andras, who has occupied a stranger’s body. The battle goes poorly, but the group is rescued by Gabriel and Dimitri, two members of the Illuminati, and they capture Andras.

Given the opportunity to destroy a vengeful spirit to earn her mark, Kennedy does so, but then remains unmarked. Dimitri reveals that Kennedy’s mother was also a member of the Illuminati, a group in direct opposition to the Legion. This makes Kennedy a member of the Illuminati, not of the Legion. Kennedy is crestfallen.

Meanwhile, Andras successfully transfers himself into Jared’s body. Needing to possess someone to survive, the Legion could kill Jared and therefore destroy Andras forever. But there has to be another way to rescue the one Kennedy loves. As the white dove, the outsider looking in, can Kennedy save her friend and the rest of the Legion?

Afterworlds

Westerfield, Scott. Afterworlds. 2014. 599p. ISBN 1481422340. Available at FIC WES on the library shelves.

Two stories converge together into one book. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. This is the story of Darcy Patel, who is a young adult novelist. Back in November, Darcy wrote a whole book and sold it and an unwritten sequel for $150,000 a piece. In her book Afterworlds, Elizabeth was the victim of a terrorist attack and was the only survivor. She managed to slip in the Flip Side by preventing to be dead, and she met Yamaraj, a 3,000 year-old Flip Side traveller.

This book chronicles both stories, that of Darcy as she becomes an adult, falls in love, and struggles with putting the finishing touches to her book. Lizzie, meanwhile, learns to cope with her new gift as well as survivor’s guilt. As Darcy grows, the Lizzie chapters show a growth as well. The suspensefulness of the “fiction” of Afterworlds has nothing on the suspense reflected in Darcy’s life. Will her book ever come to fruition? Will she survive her fractious relationship with Imagine Gray, her girlfriend and fellow writer? And what about Liz? Will she remain unscathed from her trips to the other side, or will she be irrevocably affected?

Fans of paranormal activities will adore Liz and her attraction to mysterious and powerful Yamaraj. Those who are interested in the writing process will enjoy reading this book and witness how Darcy adapts her book to the suggestions provided by the editor. Can she nail that killer ending?

Thirteen Reasons Why

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. 2007. 304p. ISBN 1595141715. Available on the library shelves at FIC ASH and as an eBook on Overdrive.

Hannah Baker spent her whole life being ignored, reviled, hated, or picked on. Desperate, she committed suicide. Clay Jensen didn’t know her very well, but he feels like he could have done something about her misery.

So when Clay Jensen comes back from school and discovers a strange box with his name on it, he’s not sure what it is, or even why he’s receiving it. Opening the box, he discovers thirteen old cassette tapes. As he begins listening to them, he realizes that Hannah discusses, on each tape, the actions of one person who lead her towards her fateful decision. Every one of the people mentioned on the tape could have prevented her tragedy, and were an instrumental part of why she committed suicide. Each person, from the first to the last, must in turn listen to the thirteen tapes then send it to the next person in line. To find out how Clay contributed to Hannah’s suicide, he must listen to all the tapes, and hear Hannah’s story through her own words.

Told from two distinct voices, Hannah and Clay’s perspectives and stories show how small actions from many people can add up to a tragedy of deadly proportions.

If you liked this book, consider reading Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot. Or read Falling into Place, where Liz Emerson's suicide attempts leads others to discover secrets about themselves they would rather forget.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1

Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 2007. 217p. Book 1 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. ISBN 978-0-8109-9313-6. Available as FIC KIN on the library shelves and as an eBook on  Overdrive.

Greg Heffley is heading back to school in September, to the dreaded middle school. His mother offers him a diary in which he can write whatever he likes. Calling it a journal, Greg decides he will use it to comment on his middle school experience through text and drawings.

As an undersized middle schooler, Greg finds himself amid other students who have already bloom and who need to shave. They are taller and meaner than Greg, and he often becomes the victim of their actions. Through hilarious experiences shared with his best friend Rowley, Greg talks about his daily experiences with his peers, his brother Rodrick, and his family.

Greg also experiences jealousy when Rowley becomes more popular than him. The elaborate plots and plans to hitch himself to Rowley’s rising fame may lead to popularity for Greg, but it may also cost him everything.

The drawings are absolutely essential to appreciate this story, and it reads very quickly. Look no further for an entertaining look on the painful years of middle school.

The story continues in Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules. For another entertaining look at the illustrated life of a middle schooler, take a look at Jake the Fake Keeps it Real or Diary of a Middle School Zombie.

Belzhar

Wolitzer, Meg. Belzhar. 2014. 264p. ISBN 978-0-525-42305-8. FIC WOL on the library shelves.

For the last year, Jamaica Gallahue, or Jam to her friends, has been grieving for the loss of her British boyfriend, Ree Maxfield. She has sunk so deep in depression and despair that her parents are forced to send her to a special school in mountainous Vermont called the Wooden Barn.

Her roommate, DJ, has food issues. Everyone one else at the school is dealing with a major physical or emotional trauma. And Jam remains herself lost in her grief. One of her class, however, is taught by Mrs. Quenell, a teacher who’s been here for decades. Only a small number of students are allowed in Special Topics in English, and everyone has to be personally selected by Mrs. Quenell.

On the first day of classes, Mrs. Quenell informs the five students in the class that they will only study one author this year, Sylvia Plath. And like her, students will be expected to write in a journal that Mrs. Quenell gives them. She will not read the journal, but it needs to be completed by the end of the semester. She also tells them that they must look out for each other.

Something odd happens when she writes in the journal. Jam feels transported back in time and space where she can reconnect with Reese. They can only do things they did when they were together, but for Jam this is enough. It allows her to spend time with Reese again

Everyone else in class experiences the same phenomenon, and name the space Belzhar in honor of Plath’s The Bell Jar. All five of them can now go back in time and dwell with their loved ones before their world traumatically changed forever.

But as time passes, and as the journals become filled, Jam begins to learn about herself and her friends. But the truths she encounters on the path to recovery may be more than she’s willing to deal with.

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.

Meg Wolitzer discusses her relationship to Sylvia Plath's work in this Time magazine article.

Zoe Letting Go

Price, Nora. Zoe Letting Go. 2012. 279p. ISBN 978-1-59514-466-9. FIC PRI on the library shelves.

Sixteen years old Zoe Propp is unceremoniously driven and dropped off by her mother at Twin Birch, a facility that welcomes teen dealing with anorexia. Zoe has no idea why she’s here. Surely this must be a mistake. The other five girls that are here clearly belong as their bones stick out and they are clearly too skinny. But she’s not. So why is she here, instead of back home spending the summer vacation with her best friend Elise?

Throughout her stay at Twin Birch, Zoe begins the process of exploring what has happened to herself and to Elise, and learns to deal with the other girls in the facility. She passes the time by writing letters to Elise, since telephone calls, cell phones, and the internet are not allowed. Will Zoe finally realize why she is here before it’s too late?

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.