September 2019

Young Adult Titles

The Cheerleaders, Kara Thomas, 2018

Monica struggles during her junior year.  Her sister committed suicide 5 years ago, a fact she still refuses to accept. 4 other cheerleaders died before her sister did, and Monica thinks there’s a conspiracy.  As she investigates the cold case, her friendships shift, danger unspools, and she’s not sure who to trust or believe. The atmosphere of high school is excellently evoked, as Monica breaks its rules in a frightening mystery. If you liked Veronica Mars, here’s a companion story, with a tough heroine willing to break standard codes of behavior to get information.

Pumpkinheads, Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks, 2019

Deja and Josiah are best friends at work.  They work every autumn at the pumpkin patch, loving the smells, the tastes, and the feel of fall. This graphic novel begins with Josiah being nostalgic: tonight is their last night, and since they’re both seniors, ‘last night’ means forever. Deja decides she needs to make sure her friend lives his life to the fullest, and works to make the most of his last night. Faith Erin Hicks has created a colorful palate, and the background sky goes from pale blue, to peach, rose and finally dark, as the characters walk through the farm and enjoy the best it has to offer. This simple story is a wonderful coming of age piece by two master writers.

Catwoman: Soulstealer, Sarah Maas, 2018

Selina, with her Catwoman disguise as well as her cover identity of Holly Vanderhees, seeks to disrupt the peace of Gotham City after the Joker has been imprisoned.  Half of the chapters focus on her, as the third person narrator slowly reveals her secrets. The other chapters focus on Luke, who is Batman’s young sidekick, Batwing. Luke persists in telling Batman, on another mission far away, that everything is under control.  But it’s not, as Catwoman forms alliances with Gotham City’s underground criminals and gets media attention as Batman’s nemesis. One video shown on news is of her knocking Batwing on his butt, and another shows her flying out a window while flipping off Batwing after a grand theft. I have not been a follower of Catwoman stories, so I don’t know if this story challenges her mythology, but I do know Maas has written another engrossing book that I would recommend to teens.  

They Called us Enemy, George Takei, 2019

This graphic novel recounts Takei’s time at a Japanese internment camp.  He was a child when his parents packed up and he didn’t understand their trauma.  He was also protected by his parents when the family was moved to a higher security camp for those who refused to sign documents that unconditionally accepted the US  government as a supreme authority.  While the end skipped across the years and might need some explanation for younger readers, this book could be a great introduction to an important part of history. Takei offers an experience  of powerlessness and his thoughtful reflection to personalize history.

The Fever King, Victoria Lee, 2019

Noam Alvaro is a high school dropout. His dad was a well-respected crusader for undocumented immigrants, still an issue in this dystopian future country which replaces the USA. When a virus wipes out his family as well as the immigrant community , Noam survives. He now has the magical power that virus survivors get.  His power is with technology, and it is so special that the Defense Minister becomes his mentor. Noam’s suddenly privileged life lands him in a dorm with fellow survivors, where he works in secret to topple the government that destroyed his life. But friendship and romance complicate his motives. This cool story, blending sci fi and fantasy, has diverse (Noam is Latinx and bisexual) and complex characters. Its ending sets up a sequel.

Maximillian Fly, Angie Sage, 2019

Angie Sage’s book is great fun. Maximillian’s voice is incomparable.  He is smart, self-deprecating, and has an amazing vocabulary. Max is a human sized flea, with special glasses that give him insect vision, too.  Of course, regular people despise those with the genetic traits of bugs, and Max’s twisted society has very dark elements. The town of Hope is under a protective bubble because of a contagious disease long ago. Max and a small band of his new friends are the heros Hope needs!  This engaging middle-school book will be loved by a reader with a large vocabulary and a taste for the gothic. 

Adult

Sula, Toni Morrison, 1973

In the 1920s, Sula is the sometimes best friend of Nell. When together as children, they watch a boy drown, and do nothing; they promiseto keep this secret.  Sula grows up to be amoral, goes away to college and when she returns to her black neighborhood after a decade away, she is quickly labelled evil by the community. Sula and Nell’s friendship and then Sula’s isolation, makes for a well-crafted narrative line for Morrison’s lush descriptions, packed with feeling. Readers are given insight into a poor black community called the Bottom, ironically located up on a hillside . Its people struggle to find work in the 1920s, in the 1940s and then again in 1965.  Morrison explores what individuals have, what they lack, and what they lose, with emotional depth and complexity.

The Alice Network, Kate Quinn, 2017

 In 1947, her mother takes Charlie to Europe, to abort  what was conceived out of wedlock. Instead, the pregnant Charlie leaves her mother behind, beginning a quest for her cousin Rose, who disappeared at the end of the war. She enlists the help of Eve, an alcoholic and embittered woman who lives at Rose’s last known address. The stories of two women separated by generations intertwine to reveal a network of spies in France during World War I and its legacy.  Both Charlie and Eve transform and triumph in this intriguing historical novel.

The Guest Book, Sarah Blake, 2019

Events have repercussions that last for a century in the Milton family saga.  Kitty begins as an ingenue, marrying the right kind in upper-crust New England. Her inner life is explored with care.  As Mrs. Milton, she rules the family as a perfectly graceful matriarch and a tight grip on her family.   Evie, her granddaughter and another central character followed throughout the novel, tries to shed the aristocratic snobbery she was born into by becoming a feminist academic. However, Evie also wants to keep hold of the island her family bought for vacations. The generation between these two is represented in part by Len Levy, who falls in love with Kitty’s daughter.  The story of this novel is stunning, well crafted, and thought-provoking. It’s drama should appeal to readers who want a great story well told, and it lends insight into America’s moral history.