CLP Teens Blog

Cracked by K.M. Walton

Victor hates his life. His only friend is his dog, Jazzer, he is tormented by the school bully and is constantly criticized by his cold and unloving parents. After Victor’s parents punish him for his “poor SAT scores” by forbidding him to come on their summer vacation to Europe, he takes a bottle of his mother’s sleeping pills and wakes up in the psych ward of a hospital.

The school bully, aptly named Bull, is always angry and, from the second grade on, has taken his rage out on Victor. Life is not easy for Bull though. He lives with his neglectful mother and alcoholic and abusive grandfather. Then Bull tries to defend himself with a loaded gun. When he opens his eyes, he is in the same psych ward as Victor.

Against all odds, Bull and Victor end up as roommates and are mandated to attend the same therapy group. To make matters worse, Victor is assigned to help Bull get around in his wheelchair. Forced to live together there is no escape for Victor and Bull—from their problems or each other. Tensions continue to mount and the story culminates in an expected ending.

I really enjoyed this book, though the subject matter made it a challenging read. K.M. Walton illustrates both perspectives very well, so it’s not that easy to write off bull as just the “bully” and Victor as just the “bullied.” Pick up this book and prepare yourself for an emotional journey.

Review by Maddie, CLP-Squirrel Hill

How do Facebook, Twitter, and social media affect your friendships outside of the internet?

yes this does affect my community outside of the Internet because I know a couple of people who are not in the best place right now because of Facebook and other social media networks and how it affects me is every time I try to get the attention of the people who are fighting I JUST GET MORE AND MORE PUT ON ME when im not even in the situation.

Sometimes I wish Facebook wasn’t even created because it’s just more violence to the world everywhere.

What is something you wish everybody in your community cared about?

I wish everyone would care about drugs. Not taking them, I’m not supporting these substances, but taking care not to acquire them. You can get really messed up. When I look at some of my neighbors and see what it has done to them, I just feel so upset. Upset that they can’t fight the addiction to the end, or won’t even try. Upset that even after numerous messages about the crack houses or weed houses, or whatever, the cops still don’t come. Upset knowing that these people who I have known since I was little are still taking drugs, and that they probably will be when I get into college, when I earn my degree, and probably even after I get home to an empty, new house. Can’t they just be aware of the fact that they get skinnier and skinnier, waste away. That their hoodies pour over them now, and realize that they have to stop. Waste away till death, or pick up the rescue signal and start over. How can they not see the damage I see?

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George

High school sophomore Jesse is in your face non-conformist and the creator of NOLAW, the National Organization to Liberate All Weirdos. She cuts her hair short, wears gigantic boots, and gets confused for a boy often. She’s also a lesbian, out and completely comfortable with her sexuality.

Popular, overachieving Emily is very traditional, has a part-time job at the public library, practically runs the student council, and has the perfect boyfriend, Mike. And every Tuesday afternoon in the handicapped bathroom on the third floor of the library, Emily and Jesse hook up like wild animals.

Mike has no idea. Jesse’s best friend Wyatt doesn’t know. Nobody knows. Emily justifies hiding their relationship because she’s convinced that if she doesn’t act like everyone expects her to, then no one will take her seriously and her promising future will be ruined. Making out with a social reject is certainly not what people expect of Emily. And Jesse keeps it a secret because if anyone knew she was hooking up with the girl helping StarMart, a huge corporation that threatens to close down local businesses, get a grip on the school and town, her radical friends and liberal family would feel betrayed.

Even though there is a big difference between Jesse and Emily, and on paper they don’t make any sense, they are deeply connected by their indescribable passion for one another and quite possibly in love. Read The Difference Between You and Me if you want a story of a messy, realistic relationship that’s as funny as it is complex.

Review by Annica Stivers, CLP–West End

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

What if God is a teenager? Not only that, what if he’s kind of a jerk? Meet Bob, God of Earth. He created the heavens and the earth, fruit trees and fowls, fish and even humans who he made in his own image. But Bob doesn’t care about any of that. All Bob cares about is sex, and this time he has his heart set on the beautiful Lucy. As always, Bob’s lust has dire consequences on the inhabitants of Earth as his internal turmoil wreaks havoc on the weather, creating floods and killing thousands. Mr B., Bob’s reluctant assistant, usually cleans up the mess, but he has had enough and plans to leave Earth and its unfortunate inhabitants to their ultimate demise at the hands of Bob and his raging hormones.

Writing a book where God is a teenager could quickly turn controversial, but Meg Rosoff does a good job of keeping the tone light and fun. While Bob is certainly based on a Christian God (there are bible quotes throughout the book) the Universe that Bob resides in is entirely fantasy and Rosoff writes very little about religion or spirituality. Instead, the book focuses more on human emotions. Rosoff has turned the tables and made God in the image of man, or rather, a typical teenage boy. Many of us will relate to Bob’s raging hormones, the inability of those around him to understand what he is going through, and the downward spiral that greed and selfishness often bring about. But while many of us only feel like our world is falling apart around us, Bob’s world actually falls apart as his emotions manifest in the real world. If you enjoy books that are funny, a little bit weird and with a dash of human psychology thrown in check this one out!

Review by Simon, CLP-Knoxville

Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

It’s 1895 when the New York City orphanage that cared for fourteen-year-old Carver Young announces its closing. Rather than be tossed to the streets, Carver sets out to find information about his family. When he breaks into a locked cabinet at the orphanage, he hits the jackpot. His personal file contains no details—just a handwritten letter from 1889, perhaps from his father. It says his mother is dead, but could his father be alive and looking for him? Carver makes it his mission to find him.

At an open house for families wishing to take in the misplaced orphans, Carver sees his chance to learn true detective skills. If he can convince Teddy Roosevelt, New York City Police Commisioner, to take him on Carver knows he can get the help he needs to track down his father. Instead of aligning himself with the police, however, Carver’s adopted by a crippled old man—a retired Pinkerton detective who’s struggling with his own hidden demons.

Suddenly, Carver finds himself thrust into the underground world of the New Pinkertons—a secret revival of the world-famous Pinkerton Detective Agency. The New Pinkertons are set on solving a series of murders haunting the city and frustrating the corrupt police force. If they can catch the killer, they’ll be legitimized, no longer forced to work in secret. Carver would love to help out, but he’s given his own assignment as a test—continue the search for his father. A killer on the loose and a missing family member, two totally different tasks which the reader knows from the start will eventually come crashing together.

Like any good mystery, there’s lots of elements at work here—a slew of false starts, characters with their own agendas, tricks, tools, and gadgets, a killer who loves to taunt the authorities, famous and infamous figures from history, and a band of young teens who are always one step ahead of the adults on the chase. While staying rooted in fact, there’s lots of fun to be had imagining the author’s invented components. And this reviewer found it immensely satisfying that the illusive Ripper is revealed and named for those of us who still wonder about the monster’s true identity. Pick this one up if you enjoy a healthy dose of imagination with your history and mystery.

Review by Erin – CLP, Allegheny

She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

The first book in the He’s So, She’s So trilogy opens in August when Ally Ryan and her mother breeze back into town after being gone for two years. Only things are going to be very different for Ally now. Before, the 16-year-old was one of the Cresties—overly rich and overly powerful, living the good life in Orchard Hill—too good for the Norms (average middle class). Now, since Ally’s father lost the family fortune and a lot of her ex-friends’ families’ money, Ally is hated by her former Crestie friends. To add salt to her wounds, her ex-best friend, Shannen knows all about the make-out session Ally and Chloe’s (Ally’s other ex-best friend) boyfriend had before her family left town. And to make things even more complicated, enter Jake, the new guy who is living in Ally’s old house—a huge mansion! All the girls have their hearts set on landing Jake.

Scott sends readers on a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs for Ally. One day it seems like her old friends have forgiven her; only to be tricked by the Cresties the next day. And Jake—who seems really cool and happy to be friends with Ally—but he wants to hide the friendship from the Cresties. Can Ally ever trust Jake or any of the other Cresties—or should she try to find happiness with the Norms?

Review by Barb, CLP-Allegheny

Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

This is a classic tale of two different kinds of misfits who find solace from their everyday lives in each other’s company. Ben has Cerebral Palsy and is incredibly self-conscious about it. He has turned to movies to escape life and to find out about what ‘normal’ people do. Colleen is a girl with a messed up home life, drug dealing boyfriend, and uses drugs to escape her reality. They meet in a darkened movie theater and slowly but surely become friends. Ben falls for Colleen right away because she treats his C.P. like it isn’t even there, but it takes a little while for Colleen to admit her feelings for Ben. In order for her to admit her feelings she’ll also have to admit that her drug use is out of control. Even though this book doesn’t bring anything new to the table, it’s the age-old tale of boy falls for girl, girl thinks she falls for boy but eventually breaks his heart, Stoner & Spaz is a quick, delightful read. If coming-of-age stories about people who live on the outside of mainstream society are your cup of tea than this book is for you.

Review by Leah, CLP-Downtown & Business

The Chosen by Carol Lynch Williams

Thirteen year old Kyra is child number four in the birth order of an existing 20 children with two more on the way. She lives with her father and his three wives in a community in Texas. But this is no ordinary community. They are set apart literally and figuratively. Literally in the desert of Texas, and figuratively in a religious compound that believes that a man will only go to heaven if he has at least 3 wives. The community members consider the outside world as the devil’s playground. Only the Apostle Child can make decisions for each family. Obedience is the rule. No reading, no fraternizing with the opposite sex and absolutely no disobedience! But Kyra has never been the type of child that followed every rule in the community. No reading anything except The Bible–Kyra found her way around that. The Ironton County Bookmobile makes a stop each week. There she has met Patrick, the driver and librarian who offers wonderful choices to the information starved Kyra. No fraternizing with the opposite sex, she has a friend of her own that she wouldn’t mind being one of his wives, Joshua.

So when the decree comes down that Kyra is to be married and Kyra promptly disobeys, everything is at stake. It’s the way of life for the girls to be wives even at the tender age of thirteen. The problem lies with the choice. Kyra has been chosen to marry her father’s brother, Hyrum. Kyra is to be wife number seven to a man that is almost 60 years old and her uncle!

The Chosen by Carol Lynch Williams takes an insider look at a way of life that many of us have no idea about the inner workings of. It is a story of tremendous courage and strength of a girl who chooses to try to change the only way of life she has ever known.

Review by Andrea, CLP-Hill District

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Talking animals. Singing dwarves. Sleeping beauties. These phrases conjure up images from Disney films of bright eyed, rosy cheeked heroes and heroines prancing through luscious green forests in search of their respective “happily ever afters”. However, in John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things, these icons of fairy tale and folklore don’t have eyes that are bright, cheeks that are rosy and aren’t exactly rendered in Technicolor. Connolly creates a dark, often terrifying fairy tale world, combining and twisting well known stories for the backdrop of a book that, at its core, is a coming-of-age story about a 12 year-old boy named David who has recently lost his mother.

Set in England during the early stages of WWII, David’s story is a sad one from the start. His overwhelmed father quickly remarries his mother’s former nurse, Rose, who gives birth to a son, Georgie, much to the displeasure of young David. The family moves from London to Rose’s family’s countryside estate in order to avoid the frequently falling German bombs. It’s around this time when David begins to hear voices, suffer from dizzy spells, and swears that he can hear the books on his shelves talking to him. The house in the country is very old and David finds that it holds many secrets. One night, David ventures out into the garden when a damaged German plane comes hurdling down from the sky toward him. He finds cover in a crack through the garden wall and in very Narnian fashion, David finds himself in the fairy tale land on the other side, where he can hear the voice of his dead mother beckoning him. David’s search for the voice’s source sends him on a journey filled with violence and horror. I warn you, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Probably the most surprising thing about the book is how graphic it can be, which can be seen as an asset or a fault depending on the reader’s taste. Depictions of murder, cruelty, mutilation and suggestions of sexual perversion are chronicled throughout the novel. Connolly creates an imaginary land plucked from some of the darkest fairy tale source material he could find. At one point, a character literally tears himself in two with his bare hands. We meet many characters who enjoy the torture of little lost children. This book is not exactly a companion piece to your fairy tale library – it serves more as its antithesis and it revels in that fact from start to finish.

There is also very little levity in the book to supplement its dark subject matter, save for the chapters that feature Communist Dwarves who begrudgingly tend to an obese and ill-mannered Snow White, a welcomed injection of black comedy amongst the terror filled proceedings. However, what the book might lack in overall lightheartedness it makes up for with genuine sentiment and compassion as we follow David on his journey both through the dark enchanted woods and through the pain of coming to terms with the loss of a parent and acceptance of his new family. For as fantastical as Connelly’s story is, his characters feel real as we go with them through their victories and hardships in the strange and frightening Elsewhere kingdom.

I enjoyed The Book of Lost Things immensely, but if you’re uncomfortable with darker subject matter, it might not be the book for you. That being said, if you’re a reader with a thicker skin, if you like being scared and if you are a fan of fairy tales and folklore, this novel is a must read.

Review by J.J., CLP-Beechview