gut it out

Jacquelyn Mitchard is another one of those authors whose name i'm familiar with, and whose works i've sold often, but whom i've never read. until now, that is!

All We Know of Heaven, her second young adult novel, is a doozy. no fluff here, folks! it's pitched as "based on a true story of mistaken identity ripped from the headlines." now i don't know about you all, but i'm a sucker for "based on a true story," whether it's a book or a movie or whatever. even though it always means that the characters are prettier and the plot is neater and has been edited for your enjoyment, there's something about knowing that somewhere out there, someone has gone through this (more or less).

All We Know follows a girl who is mistaken for her identical best friend, after the two get in a car accident resulting in one death and one coma. the heroine (i don't want to give anything away, so i won't use her name) wakes up to find herself traumatized, physically and mentally injured, and on top of all that thought to be someone else. her efforts to not only get over the tragedy, but to regain her physical and mental abilities, are, for lack of a better phrase, insanely well done. the heroine rides an emotional rollercoaster in her attempts to remaster things as diverse as walking, math, and sentence structure. nothing is treated lightly here, and Mitchard gives full attention and props to the difficulties inherent in the aftermath of brain trauma and to those who "gut it out." she also nails the teenage mind and emotional state, already turbulent enough, and provides moments of sweetness and fun to break up the drama.

the book also gave me a lot more respect for cheerleaders, which i can pretty much guarantee i've never had before. to all of you wronged cheerleaders out there, i apologize on behalf of non-cheerleaders. you might get more respect if so many of you weren't evil to the rest of us in highschool. just a thought.

weetzie who?

i've never read Francesca Lia Block. here's what happened: i was 12 when i discovered her. but that is WAY too young for Francesca Lia Block. or at least, when i was 12 it was. i suppose that 12 year olds nowadays are probably already watching more explicit things on HBO on a nightly basis. but anyway, i was not one of those 12 year olds. and then, by the time i was reminded of her existence, i was going through an intense Jane Austen phase and had pretty much no time for her.

but as a bookseller, i've remained very aware of Francesca. she's always on the radar, especially if you work in the teen section a lot. which i do.

which is why, 12 years after i first discovered her, i decided to pick up the ARC. also it had a pretty cover, and i am susceptible (VERY susceptible) to well-done covers. i'm glad i did.

Blood Roses didn't start off with a bang. i enjoyed the first few stories, but wasn't blown away. until, that is, i got to 'Skin Art', 'My Mother the Vampire', and 'Changeling'. 'Skin Art' and 'My Mother the Vampire' are linked, and just ... wow. really freakin' good. 'Changeling' is so sad (of course, all of them are, i don't think that she writes stories that aren't sad on some level) and so wistful and beautiful, i was stunned. whoever decided the order of these stories really knows their stuff.

so! PG13, folks, and utterly worth it. this goes on my shelf next to the other amazing gothic and girlie books.

vanilla

some people go for the hardcore stuff -- rocky road, and the like. others prefer cookie dough, or mint chocolate chip, or espresso fudge. and then there are those who like vanilla. simple, dependable, and sweet.

Something to Blog About, by Shana Norris, is vanilla in book format. nothing too elaborate here, plotwise: Girl likes Boy, Girl has Arch-Nemesis, Arch-Nemesis turns out to be Misunderstood, Girl gets Boy. pretty classic stuff. Norris's strengths are her writing (Libby has a strong and funny voice) and her sense of the thin line for teens between the funny and the heart-wrenchingly embarrassing. what could have been bland is, instead, vanilla.

plus i LOVE the cover. who can resist a girl that cute with her hair on fire?! i will be heartbroken if they change it because the chains didn't like it for some reason or other. the cover sells this book. don't you think?

safe for middle schoolers but really speaking to the jr high/highschool crew, Something to Blog About hits the shelves February '08 (according to my ARC, but Amazon says April 1 so who knows).

the gothic and the girlie

at one of the other bookstores i worked for, "chick lit" was a dirty phrase. the manager, normally a mild-mannered, cheerful, and all around wonderful woman, would shoot you a look full of daggers if you uttered it in front of her. "fluff" would also get you a look, but minus the daggers (probably because it's not gender specific).

but let's be honest. there are some books that, by their nature, appeal more to women than to men. and vice versa. aforementioned manager even instituted a shelving policy to highlight this -- there was a section called "rough reads" that was the male equivalent to the Unutterable Phrase. and those books are not all "fluff," either.

my case in point, when i argue about this with people, is usually Barbara Kingsolver. if you've worked books, you know that the customers who buy these books are almost invariably female. but you'd be hardpressed to find anyone who would call her works fluffy. she tackles serious issues with complex, articulate, and stunning prose. if you don't believe me, pick up a copy of The Poisonwood Bible or Prodigal Summer.

which brings me to my latest read: The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff. it's Barbara Kingsolver meets Charlotte Bronte. what does that mean? it means that this novel is a gothic family history, told by a narrator just like Taylor from The Bean Trees. The Monsters of Templeton brings girlie to gothic with stunning effect. which means, of course, that i absolutely loved it.

it's funny that i'd find this book so soon after reading The Thirteenth Tale for the first time (but as i mentioned before these things just seem to happen). this was another modern tribute to the gothic mystery. as i read it, i couldn't help but think about it as if Edgar Allen Poe had concocted a family history for A.S. Byatt, which was then revealed by a quietly endearing mouse of a biographer. And then, to top it all off, I picked up Mary Modern, which is gothic by feel if not by plot (who ever thought cloning would feel gothic?) and that's a compliment. Large house with hidden passageways, chronologically displaced characters wandering around, cloning, a rabid preacher -- Camille De Angelis has written a bizarre and fascinating book.

so, while you're waiting for The Monsters of Templeton to hit the shelves (February 2008), you have some books to while away the time.