TeenLit Book Reviews

Fresh Girl, by Jaïra Placide is a fiction novel with a rating of 3 (on a scale of 1-4, 4 being the best). The most appropriate reader is a mature young adult, male or female, ages 14-18. I would recommend an older reader because of the political and personal violence seen by the main character. Mardi, the main character, is a fourteen- year old Haitian girl who is born in New York, but at age four moves to Haiti to be raised by her father's mother because of her own parent's financial difficulties. Her life in Haiti is filled with disturbing experiences of political violence, and mistreatment of women and children. When she finally returns to New York, at age 12 she is scarred by the haunting memories of her last days in Haiti. A major strength of the book is the vivid imagery of Mardi's daily life, and the fast, flowing, realistic dialogue. One weakness is the lack of details in the development of the other characters besides Mardi. The book is still eye-opening about the 1991 coup in Haiti and the people affected by those changes.

The Shell House, by Linda Newbery is a fictional novel with a rating of 3 (1-4, 4 being the best), for readers ages 14-18. I suggest an older teen reader because of the complex, and controversial themes. The main character is Greg, a seventeen year-old boy who is seeking to learn about himself through the plot device of the unfolding mystery of an old mansion that he is exploring. The other main characters are his two friends, Faith and Jordan, without whom his journey would be lonely and less meaningful. The Shell House is set in present day England. The symbol of the "shell" is important throughout the story as a metaphor for Greg's life and his relationships with his friends. His life has openings for new opportunities to learn about himself, like a shell can be curved and open to the world. Similarly, the old mansion without a roof is open for investigation, like the open shell. The main plot movement is about how Greg learns about himself and at the same time finds out about the previous owner of the mansion. Themes of homosexuality, depression, disability and self-revelation are explored. The Shell House falls down in its weak development using the metaphor about the "open house" and its parallel to Greg's openness to learning about himself. The symbol is briefly and interestingly developed, but then is quickly forgotten. A strength is the descriptive narrative, which is often hidden in lines about Greg's photographs. I recommend this book for mature readers who want to think beyond the main story line.

"Food Fight" is a book about eating disorders targeted to America's most at-risk group- adolescent girls. This is their book as much as it is author Janet Bode's. Sprinkled throughout the facts and statistics of anorexia and bullimia, are bits and pieces of the writings of young girls. They write about their families, their friends, their lives at school, and mostly, their body image. One writes: "I hate my entire appearance. My hair is too thin and I wish it was curly. I hate my face. My ears stick out and now I have acne... but the worst is my weight... I can't stop thinking about food. I am fat. I am disgusting." It only makes it worse to realize that this girl is ten years old. In fact, "Food Fight" makes one aware that the problem of eating disorders is getting worse. The girls who develop the disorders are younger and younger. Clearly American girls are in trouble, and Bode wants us to do something about it. This book is her contribution to the battle against anorexia and bullimia. It serves as a sensitive guide to these girls, girls who are so often labled as "over-achievers" or "good" girls. On the outside, Bode notes, girls who develop eating disorders may look as though they have everything going for them. But on the inside they feel upset. But Bode wants people to understand that an eating disorder is not just a problem with an individual girl. It is a problem with families, with society, and with American culture. She explains the many reasons why a girl might develop anorexia. It may be triggered by a comment her father makes. It may be that she sees a skinny woman in a magazine ad, or all the supermodels she sees on TV. For whatever reason, the girl begins to think her life would be better if she just lost a little bit of weight. It often begins with a diet. But then she wants to lose more and more. Often, before she or her family notices, her problems with eating have spun out of control. Most frightening of all is the fact that studies have shown that children as young as two years old have already learned the message that thinner is better. Is it any wonder that, as Bode notes in a chapter headed "Food for Thought", in one school 43% of girls in 5th through 8th grade had dieted? And 54% felt they looked fat? Despite these alarming statistics, no one has really listened to young girls themselves about their thoughts on eating disorders- no one, that is, until Janet Bode. As author Janet Bode explains in her concluding chapter, this book was a project on many levels. Bode spoke to experts on nutrition and eating disorders. She spoke to parents. But what makes her book unique is that she collaborated with a grammar school English class and used the writings of hundreds of girls in the seventh and eighth grades. Although many books have been written on this topic, this is the first book that takes it into account that the age of girls afflicted with anorexia and bullimia is getting younger and younger. This is Janet Bode's wake-up call. It is both well-written and easy to understand. It is informative and educational, with instructions readers on nutrition and good diets; diets meant not for losing weight, but rather achieving health. It is a guide for parents also, instructing them to the warning signs and the steps to take to help build a girl's self-image and prevent eating disorders. It is personal and sensitive, the stories of these girls are all too familiar. These girls are our friends, sisters, daughters, and maybe even ourselves. All in all, Janet Bode has written a wonderful and necessary book that certainly gives us food for thought.

Lucy the Giant, by Sherri L. Smith, is a fictional novel, about a six-foot tall, sensitive and awkward heroine. The rating is a 3, (1-4, and 4 being the best). The audience who would most enjoy the book would be young adults, male or female, aged 11-14. The reader is quickly introduced to the main character, a tenth-grade student, named Lucy, who lives with her alcoholic father, and her loving stray dog, Bar. This is an odd name for the dog she loves, and the place she hates, the bar, where her father goes to drink. For a moment she thinks that Bar can bring comfort to her lonely life in the small Alaskan town where she lives, since her mother left the family eight years ago. Early on, Bar, dies, and sadly, Lucy can only afford a tin can for the ashes. Lucy runs away, and without much difficulty gets a job on a crab fishing boat, under the assumed identity, of an adult named Barbara. Life doesn't necessarily become easier, but at least the Bering Sea of Alaska is beautiful, and life is different. As a crew member leading an adult life, she feels far away from the emotional dangers she had experienced at home. Her new family seems safe. The feeling of safety doesn't last very long. Lucy a.k.a. Barbara, comes to realize that problems follow you wherever you go, unless the change is positive and internal. This theme is developed particularly at the end of the novel, which ends somewhat predictably. Not much is solved, at least not the relationship with her father. She does however, find ways to comfort herself by enjoying her good memories, and the pleasure she takes in understanding herself, and this is an important change.

Anyone who has read any of Amelia's books knows what I'm talking about when I say her books are to say the least addictive! So it isn't a shocker this is another wildly perfect book. It is mostly about a vampire hunter named Turquoise Drake, and her life. Her life mostly is a real mixture of being a vampire hunter trying to deal with her life and deciding what she wants in her life. After some catastrophic and tear-jerking things happen with her family she is force her the path of working with vampires, Along with some thriller in the mix to when a she is sold into slavery as a job to kill a particular vampire. While under ownership she encounters a previous master who decides to create havoc for Turquoise. Which threatens her life more then ones. I really love how the characters are so well developed with there own untold but unquestionably noticeable quarks to there personality. The only weakness is if any is the cliffhanger end! But I predict anyone who picks this book up will be able to put this one down! Rating: 4++ Reader: Anyone 13 and up who likes Amelia's twisted life of vampires and humor

What Janie Found, by Caroline B. Cooney, is the sequel to three other novels, all based on a similar theme. The genre is fiction, for a young adult audience, ages 13-16. The rating is a 3 on a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the best. Someone who has read the first three in the series would be the best reader of this book, but it is remarkable how easily this novel can stand alone after a brief reading of the introduction. The main character, Janie, was kidnapped at age three, and brought up by her kidnapper's parents, after her kidnapper disappeared. This unlikely plot is balanced by the more common and well- developed themes of love, guilt, family attachments, and all of their complexities. These universal themes help the reader go beyond the unlikely plot. Janie's need to know her kidnapper, Hannah, and the details about her life, drive this novel to a peaceful conclusion. A major strength is the character development of Janie, and also, surprisingly, the character development of Hannah in her absence. One weakness is the implausibility of the events, but again, this is countered by the universal nature of the more important themes of the novel.