CLP Teens Blog

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz

“The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.” — Aristotle, 15

Aristotle and Dante are the most unlikely pair to form a friendship. Aristotle, or Ari, has a hard time articulating his feeling and is withdrawn and angry. Dante is self-assured, artistic, and open. Ari and Dante, both 15, meet on a typical summer afternoon at the local swimming pool, when Dante offers to teach Ari how to swim. During their lessons, the two learn that they have much in common and form special bond.

As Dante and Aristotle grow older and are separated by schools — and distance, when Dante moves away at one point — their friendship perseveres. Both boys are on the cusp of becoming men and are facing their own particular demons. While both are Mexican-American, they have very different realities. Ari has a brother in jail and a Vietnam veteran for a father, and he is a loner at heart. Dante’s father is an English professor, and his parents are openly affectionate and loving. However, Dante struggles with his own sexual identity and worries about the repercussions of revealing the truth to those closest to him.

Aristotle and Dante is a beautifully written coming-of-age tale that will resonate with any reader, regardless of age, gender, religion, or ethnicity. Ari and Dante discover and share a friendship that transcends time and distance and changes their lives forever. This is an extraordinary novel that will restore your faith in humanity. Pick it up and be prepared to laugh, cry, and share with a friend.

Review by Maddie, CLP-Squirrel Hill

Crogan’s Loyalty by Chris Schweizer

I must admit, my knowledge of United States history is pretty abysmal.  I grew up in a different country, so when most of you were learning about Christopher Columbus, George Washington and the Civil War I was learning about James Cook, Maori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi (bonus points if you can figure out where I grew up!).  Lately, I’ve been trying to brush up on my US history by reading Doris K Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” and Shelby Foote’s “Civil War”.  While both of these books are fantastic and informative, they are admittedly incredibly long and somewhat of a chore to plod through (I’m 300 pages into “Team of Rivals” and Lincoln has just been elected, sheesh!).

Enter Chris Schweizer’s “Crogan’s Adventure Series”.  Not only are his books far shorter than the tomes mentioned above (under 200 pages instead of well over a thousand pages) they are also in my favorite format: the graphic novel.  “Crogan’s Loyalty” is the first book I’ve read in the series.  It is about two brothers, Willam and Charles Crogan, who are on different sides of the American Revolutionary War.  Charles is still loyal to the British Crown, fighting the American rebels while Will has joined forces with those very rebels, fighting for an independent America.   Their paths cross and they both need to decide what is more important: fighting for their beliefs or fighting for each other.

Obviously, in a book that is only 175 pages and filled with more pictures than words there is only a snippet of information about the actual Revolutionary War in here.  But what “Loyalty” lacks in facts it makes up for in telling a great story and putting the reader in the shoes of those fighting the war.  Previously, I had always thought of the anti-revolutionary forces as being purely British and as the “bad guys.”  Schweizer dispels this image, demonstrating that the war was not purely good vs. evil, that even some Americans believed that America should stay a British colony.  They feared that if the rebels succeeded the country would be thrown into lawless chaos, a justifiable belief as many rebels tarred and feathered those who disagreed with them (a much more painful and fatal type of torture than what cartoons may lead you to believe).  War is never as simple as Good vs. Evil, and the Revolutionary War is no exception as both sides thought they were fighting for what was right.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crogan’s Loyalty and look forward to reading his other books on history: Crogan’s March about the French Foreign Legion and Crogans Vengence about pirates (arr!). If you’re interested in history, or like a good graphic novel, you’re sure to love this series as much as I did!

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series by Rick Riordan

These five books are all about a teenager from New York who discovers that he is the demigod son of Poseidon.  Through the books he finds that he is the child of prophecy and that he must take down the titan Kronos.

Percy is the title character who never fails to get a good joke in.  Annabeth is that one girl that you can never really figure out.  The one thing I thought was cool about this series was how Greek mythology was tied into modern-day society.  I recommend these books to everyone, it’s a great series!

Review by RJ.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

A girl moves into a town controlled by vampires and does’nt know it.  She moves into a house that only has three people in it and each person has their own secret.

I found Claire as one of the more interesting characters as she’s only 16 and already in college.  I also liked how the plot was very unpredictable.  I would recommend this series to a fan of very dramatic or dark books or someone that likes vampires.

Review by Jordan.

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

This book is about a boy named Jessie who is kidnapped onto a slave ship and then forced to play his fife to the slaves.  Jessie is the main character and I thought that he was really interesting.

I enjoyed that this book showed the story from Jessie’s point of view.  I would recommend this book to a person who likes to read historical fiction.  I thought it was a good book.

Review by Tyler.

¡Tré! by Green Day

This record is more of a mixed bag for Green Day.  Many different songs that have many different tempos. The mood changes for me on this album.  Sometimes, you’ll be happy because of some of the usual fast songs, but some slower songs will make you reflect on your past.

“X-Kid” seems to be popular on the radio.  “99 Revolutions” is Green Day at it’s best.  “The Forgotten” is a mellow piano ballad that will bring long lost memories back into your mind.

Green Day is one of the most successful acts in the world today.  They give their fans three new albums all in one year.  They care about the fans more than they care about themselves!

Great record.  Pick it up and listen to it if you ever get the chance!  You’ll love it!

Review by Dylan.

¡Dos! by Green Day

This album sounds like the band was just hammering out solid tunes in a garage and decided to record them.  Guitar solos in some songs are crazy!  Sounds Great!  The mood ¡Dos! creates for me makes me just want to jam out with my guitar on all the songs and sing along as well.  Very catchy songs.

“Stray Heart” has a killer bass line, the lyrics are good, drums are smooth, and the guitar work is very good with a nice solo added to the song.  Trust me, you will like this song, and I know you will relate to it very well.  Another track is “Wow! That’s loud.”  This is classic Green Day.  Very catchy, very fast, very loud.  A great guitar solo tops it all off.  The song, I think, will remind you a lot of some of The Who’s work.

Green Day is still going after such a long time and they care about their fans.  If you’re in the mood to party, or jam out with some friends, give this record a listen.

Review by Dylan.

¡Uno! by Green Day

Each song on this record is full of energy.  The mood this record creates for me is an exciting happy mood.  This record really makes you feel like Green Day took a trip back to the 90′s and just started jamming out.  The record itself just makes you wanna get up, dance, sing along, or play along with the music.

“Oh Love” is the track that stands out for me the most.  It was chosen as the album’s lead single.  It received a lot of airplay from the radio and became very well known.  It’s a fun and simple song that will be stuck in your head for days.  Another standout song is “Nuclear Family.”  This song sounds like something Green Day could have made in the 1990′s because it sounds like something that could have made it’s way onto “Dookie” if it wanted to.  Great guitar playing, awesome bass, and the drums and lyrics are fantastic!

Green Day is, in my opinion, different than most artists out there today because after 25 years they’re still going strong.  They have not ever made a record that sounded like another record.  They really care about their fans and that’s awesome!

Great record.  Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it.

Review by Dylan.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going

Seventeen-year-old Troy Billings — 300-pounds, isolated, and unhappy—is ready to end it all by stepping off a NYC subway platform when he is saved by the mysterious Curt McCrae. Curt is the stuff of high-school legends: a drop-out, drifter, and punk rock legend. While on the surface Curt and Troy couldn’t be more different, they share similarities that cause them to form a bond.

Both Troy and Curt come from dysfunctional homes. Troy’s isolation and weight issues began after his mother passed away from cancer years ago. His former military father is withdrawn and strict, and his younger brother, Dayle, is embarrassed of Troy’s weight, openly mocking him both at home and at school. Curt comes from a broken home, and his stepfather is mentally and physically abusive. Curt spends most of his time living on the streets, stealing food, money, and prescription medications. Despite these obstacles, Curt is a genius guitar player and has played music with some of Troy’s favorite bands. So when Curt appoints Troy as the drummer in his new band—despite the fact that Troy can’t play the drums—Troy is willingly swept up into Curt’s wild world.

While Fat Kid Rules the World is a book that will make you laugh, it also will pull at your heartstrings. This novel is full of raw emotion and will surely speak to anyone who has ever felt isolated or unaccepted. If you like the book, be sure to check out the movie version that was released on DVD this year!

Review by Maddie, CLP-Squirrel Hill

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Miles has a boring life, no friends and a penchant for memorizing the last lines of famous dead people. Inspired by Francois Rabelais’ last words “I go to seek the Great Perhaps,” Miles chooses to ship himself off to boarding school to change the dull life he’s lived up until now and find his very own Great Perhaps.

The first person he meets is his roommate who goes by the nickname The Colonel. The Colonel swoops up Miles into his clique of fun, friends and pranks, and introduces Miles to the girl he falls in love with: Alaska. Alaska is sexy, intelligent, beautiful, emotional and impulsive. Miles has never known someone like Alaska; he never knew someone like her could exist. And he falls hard. There are many problems with falling in love with Alaska, the most glaringly obvious is that she has a boyfriend that she loves. And he’s not just some doofus. Alaska’s boyfriend is a really cool guy and as much as Miles tries to hate him, he can’t help but like the guy.

John Green doesn’t use traditional chapters in Looking for Alaska. Instead he tells the story in “Before” and “After.” Obviously something major happens in the middle of Before and After, but you have to read the book yourself to find out. No spoilers here!

If you’re in the mood for some realistic fiction – no vampires or special powers, just normal people like you and me, well, if we went to boarding school and smoked a lot of cigarettes, and buried wine in the school yard to dig up and drink later, and played ridiculous and borderline dangerous pranks – then pick up this award winning book!

Review by Anicca, CLP-West End