Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

After being completely creeped out by "172 Hours on the Moon" I wanted to read something that was going to make me laugh.

A book with "Dying Girl" in the title? Really?!

Yup. The "author" (main character, Greg Gaines) sums it up best:

"I do actually want to say one other thing before we get started with the horrifyingly inane book.  You may have already figured out that it's about a girl who had cancer.  So there's a chance you're thinking, 'Awesome! This is going to be a wise and insightful story about love and death and growing up. It is probably going to make me cry literally the entire time.  I am so fired up right now.' If that is an accurate representation of your thoughts, you should probably try to smush this book into a garbage disposal and then run away...My point is this: This book contains precisely zero Important Life Lessons, or Little-Known Facts About Love, or sappy tear-jerking Moments When We Knew We Had Left Our Childhood Behind for Good, or Whatever."(p 2-3)

Awesome.

As promised, there were no real life lessons.  There was a whole lot of cursing (mostly by his crazy friend, Earl).  And it made me laugh out loud...a lot!!  Greg is dry, sarcastic, self-deprecating, and extremely funny. 

This really isn't a book about "the Dying Girl"...but much more about a teenage boy trying to navigate life in general.  I give it 4/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.

As a side note, if you are looking for a "wise and insightful story about love and death and growing up", you MUST read John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars".  I didn't review it on this site...mostly because I was too overwhelmed to write about it at the time.  It's brilliant.  Extraordinarly funny and smart.  And I cried my eyes out.  It's now at the top of the "Ms. Martin's Favourites" list over on the side.  As another reviewer put it, "I was undone by this novel." 

The Sky is Everywhere ~ by Jandy Nelson

There's something powerful about the use of words...and when an author has a gift for describing things in exactly the right way, a book can be absolutely magical. The Sky is Everywhere is one of those magical books.

Lennie's sister has just died and she's feeling completely lost. She doesn't know how to be around her best friend, Sarah ("For the first time in our lives, I'm somewhere she can't find, and I don't have the map to give her that leads to me"). She's suddenly and overwhelming confused about two boys: the new guy in town, Joe, whose musical passion and zest for life overflows, and Toby - her sister's boyfriend, who is the only person who seems to understand her grief.

The Sky is Everywhere was one of the most beautiful books I've read in quite a while. The author - Jandy Nelson - knows exactly how to combine words to perfectly capture feelings and settings....probably because she is a poet - this is her first novel. Interspersed throughout the book are poems that Lennie writes and scatters around her town...every one breaks your heart a little:

Grief is a house
where the chairs
have forgotten how to hold us
the mirrors how to reflect us
the walls how to contain us
Grief is a house that disappears
each time someone knocks at the door
or rings the bell
a house that blows into the air
at the slightest gust
that buries itself deep in the ground
while everyone is sleeping
Grief is a house where no one can protect you
where the younger sister
will grow older than the older one
where the doors
no longer let you in
or out
(Found under a stone in Gram's garden)

This is one of the Teens' Top Ten nominees...and I will be stunned if it's not in the Top Ten - or even top 3!

I'm back!

After a LONG hiatus from this blog - including a semester-long sabbatical - I'm back, and going to try my best to get some recent posts up here. I didn't read as much as I thought I would on my break, but a few of my recent favourites are:

• The Maze Runner (bk 1) and The Scorch Trials (bk 2) by James Dasher...I am SO looking forward to book 3, The Death Cure - due out October 11th...and I promise I'll have a copy for Rez right away. SO, if you haven't read book 1 or 2 yet, you've got all summer! The series is right up there with the Hunger Games trilogy...awesome!
  
  
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins ~ okay, so the title sounds a bit corny, but I loved this book. For her last year of high school, Anna gets sent to a boarding school in Paris for American students. Yes, it's a romance story...but so much more. I almost didn't read it, but I'd seen so many great reviews by other bloggers, librarians, and teens that I decided to give it a chance...and I'm so glad I did...you should too!
  
  
• Pink by Lili Wilkinson ~ I've started reviewing books for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) and this was one of the recent titles I reviewed...and I LOVED it. It reminds me a bit of John Green books (he's one of my all-time favourite authors) - honest, really smart, funny, real. Here's part of what I wrote: "Australian author Lili Wilkinson takes a witty, refreshing look at high school and adolescence that obliterates stereotypes along the way. The novel is in turn laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, and heartbreaking as Ava repeatedly steps into teenage social landmines - with unexpected results."
  
  
• The Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi ~ this year's Printz award winning book (the award for best YA novel of the year)...for good reason. It's going on my list of favourite dystopian novels (Maze Runner, Hunger Games, City of Ember, The Giver, Gone, Unwind...just to name a few!). I read this one in a day!
  
  
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver ~ I JUST finished this one...about half an hour ago. Needed some time to recover from reading it...but this is the book that inspired me to put up a post, it was THAT good. Before chapter one even starts, you know Samantha dies. She and her friends are in a car crash and she doesn't make it. Then Chapter 1 begins with a description of her day, leading up to the crash. I'm not going to lie - she's not a very likeable person. In fact, she's the kind of teenager that makes other teenagers' (and adults') lives miserable. But then the book gets interesting...because Samantha re-lives that same day over and over again...and piece by piece, she (and you) get a better sense of the big picture as she's forced to take another look at her life and the lives around her. Honestly, one of the best books I've read in a long while. It's on the Teens' Top Ten nominees list for this year, and I'll be shocked if it doesn't make it up in the top 5.
  

So, there you go...some reading ideas to get you started for the summer. I'm going to start working my way through the Teens Top Ten nominees...and I'll let you know what I think. Happy reading!

Twenty Boy Summer ~ Sarah Ockler

So, I've been doing quite a bit of reading this summer (including the first 3 books in Michael Grant's Gone series...wow!!!) and finally finished one of the Teens' Top Ten nominees - Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. And I LOVED it!

I have to admit, based on the book's title and the cover, I thought it was going to be a slightly fluffy, but fun, romance novel. And although it definitely had romance, it was so much better than I was expecting.

Anna and Frankie are best friends. The summer before, Frankie's older brother dies - and we learn, right at the beginning of the book, that Anna had secretly started dating Matt just before he died...and promised Matt that she'd let him tell Frankie - which he never had a chance to do. The 2 best friends head off to Frankie's family cottage for the summer where Frankie is convinced to move on with her life, and drag Anna along with her, by embarking on the Twenty Boy Summer.

The author is just so good at describing things in a completely honest, real way. Grief, friendship, love. The two friends - and the way they deal with Matt's death - are so believable and real. How do you get over such a loss? Is it possible to move forward?

It earns a 5/5 from me on the Rez Recommends scale!

Wintergirls ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

I know I've been slow in posting this summer, but I needed to write about this book.

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the best YA authors out there. And Wintergirls is simply brilliant. It's also one of the best - and most disturbing - books I've ever read that deals with eating disorders.

Two best friends descend into a deadly spiral, as they starve themselves in a quest to become the skinniest. When Cassie dies, Lia is left to cope still wants to fade away, and is haunted by the memories of her friend and her own demons.

It's dark, and haunting, and - like its title implies - sharp and icy. I actually felt a little queasy while reading it...only a powerful, honest novel can elicit that kind of reaction.

I'm positive it will be a multi-award winner this year. If you can't wait til September to read this one, the KPL has multiple copies.

Life Less Ordinary ~ books about teens who stand out from the crowd

• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
  Poor Colin hasn’t had much luck with dating. He’s been dumped 19 times...all by girls named Katherine! Nothing like a road trip with your best friend to try and heal your broken heart...and figure out why you keep getting dumped! John Green is hands down one of the best Young Adult authors out there! This book earned multiple starred reviews and a Printz Honor award.
• Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
  This book is a perfect example of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” This high-flying novel has everything a great adventure should...daring rescues, thrilling escapes, pirates, and a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Winner of a Governor General's award. Also look for the follow-up books, Skybreaker and Starclimber.
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, vol. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
  Octavian is a African slave sent to American to receive, as an experiment, a classical education usually reserved for the “elite”. As the Revolutionary War unfolds, Octavian runs away to join the army and experiences the horrors of what it means to be a slave in 18th century America. This brilliantly written novel also provides insightful commentary on today’s society and our notion of history. Also try volume 2, Kingdom on the Waves. Both are multi-award winners.
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
  When 15-year old Lizzie is killed, she travels to the afterlife, called Elsewhere, and tries to figure out how to “live” in her new surroundings. A powerful story about life, and life after death. Winner of multiple starred reviews...and one of my all-time favourites!
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  Earth is about to be invaded by a hostile alien race. The defense plan? Train an army of children! Ender Wiggen is the unlikely candidate recruited to join the troops. Even if you don’t normally like science fiction, I DARE you not to love this book!
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  Kat’s little sister is ordered to compete in the Hunger Games...a reality TV series kind of like Survivor, but instead of getting voted off, you die! Kat volunteers to take her place and, with TV cameras following her every move, fights to stay alive.
• I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusack
  Ed Kennedy’s life isn’t exactly exciting...he spends all his time hanging out with his dog, driving his taxi and playing cards with his friends. When mysterious, coded messages show up in his mailbox, he is sent on a series of tasks that will change his life. Winner of a Printz Honor award.
• I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
  Cammie goes to a prestigious all-girls private school...but it’s not just any private school. It’s a secret school for spies! All of the girls are spies in training, which makes leading a “normal” life a little difficult. It’s a fun, light-hearted adventure...if you were to mix James Bond with Harry Potter with the girls from Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, this is the novel you’d get!
• Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
  When the moon is hit by a meteor and bumped out of its normal orbit, life on Earth is horrifyingly altered. Worldwide tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, ice storms… chaos. Miranda describes in her diary how she and her family struggle to survive. Also check out the sequel, “The Dead and the Gone” that tells the same story, but from the perspective of a boy in New York City.
• Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
  Australian teen, Reason, must go live with her “wicked” grandmother, Esmeralda, in Sydney after her mother has a mental breakdown. While trying to escape from Esmeralda, Reason runs through a door...only to find herself in New York City. This magical adventure is the award-winning first book of a trilogy (followed by Magic Lessons and Magic’s Child).
• Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
  A “fallen angel” (demon) named Kiriel is bored with Hell and decides to take over the body and life of a slacker teen who has just been hit by a cement truck. Even though he’s breaking all the rules, Kiriel is determined to experience life as a human teen and have a positive impact on the people around him. Winner of a Printz Honor award.
• Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
  Imagine high school and dating...when your dad is a mafia leader! Life is certainly “interesting” for Vince Luca. Oh, and did I mention that the girl he’s fallen for is the daughter of an FBI agent?! Funny man Gordon Korman at his best! Also check out the sequel, Hollywood Hustle for more adventures as Vince heads off to college.

Don’t forget to fill out your own reviews of these books for a chance to win some great prizes!

Before I Die ~ Jenny Downham

This book is probably one of the saddest books I have ever read...but somehow, because it is so honest, and so beautifully written, it manages NOT to be depressing.

You know that Tessa is going to die. Right at the beginning of the book, you learn that her leukemia has returned, and she has very little time left to live. So, she creates a list of the things she still wants to do before she dies. The book talks frankly of sex and drugs…but it all makes sense in the context of a young woman who is frantically trying to take control of what time she has left. To edit that out would have seemed dishonest.

Tessa tells her own story so honestly that it's impossible to put down. This book is NOT for the faint of heart. It is gritty, and raw, and gut-wrenchingly sad. I started crying (sobbing) about 40 pages from the end of the book and didn't stop. (Probably good to avoid reading this one on a bus or other public place!!)

Of all of the books on the Books with Bite list, this is the first one that I've given a 5 out of 5 on my Rez Recommends book review form.