2009 YA Challenge Wrap-Up

I have completed the 2009 YA Challenge. I wasn't much of a YA reader before but this challenge has created a monster. This was loads of fun and a great introduction to my new favorite genre.

Here is my final list:

1- The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke (completed 1/29/09)
2- Inkspell - Cornelia Funke (completed 1/15/09)

3- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne (completed 3/07/09)

4-The Lake that Stole Children: A Fable - Douglas Glenn Clark (completed 4/06/09)
5- The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau (completed 4/13/09)
6- The Prophet of Yonwood - Jeanne DuPrau (completed 5/02/09)

7- Stardust - Neil Gaiman (completed 3/22/09)

8- M is for Magic - Neil Gaiman (completed 2/25/09)

9- The People of Sparks - Jeanne DuPrau (completed 4/14/09)

10- Secret Vampire - L.J. Smith (completed 1/13/09)
11- Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler (completed 5/19/09)
12- If I Stay - Gayle Forman (completed 6/02/09)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

On a wet, cold and snowy morning 17 year old Mia decides to take a ride with her parents and younger brother to visit family and friends. It’s a Snow Day for them and they’ve decided to make the best out of this impromptu day off. They jump in their car and head off... in the blink of an eye, Mia is standing by the side of the road watching as her injured body is being pulled out of the wreckage. As she travels in this state, between life and death, she watches as her body is transported and treated for injuries, as her family and friends all gather in the hospital, and as she makes the toughest decision she’ll probably ever make... should she stay?

To be honest, I can’t gush enough about this book. I found it to be unputdownable. I fell in love with Mia, her family, friends and her boyfriend, Adam. The underlying importance of music was also very moving. I loved how the characters express their feelings toward music and how music affects them as a being. The characters are very well-developed and you can’t help but fall in love with them all, from the trendy punk parents to the hipster teens. Mia’s memories are like a family photo album full of snapshots of happy times.

This book is about friendship, family, love, life and the tough decisions we are faced with in order to have these things. It is a well-written and well-formulated story which makes you think long after you've turned the last page. There were times where I laughed and some where I cried, and although it wrenches the heart, it definitely is not one to be missed.

Getting some insider info on the book - I just read that Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) will direct the movie. That’s definitely something I’ll be looking forward to. If it’s even half as good as the book was it’ll be worth the time to go see it.

20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Anna, Frankie and Matt (Frankie’s older brother) have been best friends since they can remember. They are next door neighbors, their parents are best friends and they do everything together. On Anna’s 15th birthday Matt kisses her - making Anna’s lifelong dream come true. Anna has been crushing on Matt since she started liking boys. After several weeks of secret rendezvous’ in their backyard and chaste kisses in the shadows, Matt tells Anna that he is waiting for the appropriate time to break the news of their budding love to Frankie and asks her to please not tell Frankie about them until he does. Due to unforseen circumstances, Matt dies and the secret is never told. A year after Matt’s death, Frankie’s parents decide that they should resume their yearly vacations at Zanzibar Bay on the west coast and invite Anna to go along. The girls see it as a vacation from their grief, a place where they can be whomever they want to be and won’t be seen as Matt’s sister or Matt’s best friend. They devise a plan the "20 Boy Summer". They have to meet 20 boys while on their 20 days of vacation - and make it the ABSE (absolute best summer ever) and hopefully the possible ditching of the A.A. - Anna's Albatross (a/k/a her virginity).

This was such a beautiful and poignant story about the powers of friendships, loss, summer romances, healing and believing in oneself. Once I started I could not put it down. The characters were so real - you can’t help but to laugh, cry, and eventually fall in love with them. Ms. Ockler wins you with her imagery and you long to be there laying out on the beach with the girls. I loved this and I highly recommend it.

20 Boy Summer will be on sale on June 1. My thanks to FSB Associates for providing me with a copy.

The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau

This is the Third Book of Ember and this story takes place about 50 years before The City of Ember is actually built. The main character is Nickie - who travels with her aunt to the town of Yonwood, NC in order to clear out her great-grandfather’s home after his death. The world is in great turmoil and on the brink of war. Upon her arrival, she is told that one of the town’s citizens has had a terrible vision of fire and destruction in the world. They now call this woman the Prophet of Yonwood - but the prophet is in some type of shock and has not told anyone of her prophecy. Instead she repeats several words over and over - but they are too garbled to be properly understood. One of her neighbors, Ms. Beeson, has taken it upon herself to translate these words and the town is taking these translations as prophetic instruction on how to avoid the coming disaster.

As the people of Yonwood struggle to not sin and follow the prophets translated instructions, Nickie explores the odd town and its residents. She begins to investigate her great-grandfather’s home and peculiar belongings, as well as meet some of her neighbors - particularly a reclusive neighbor who studies the heavens and a boy who is obsessed with snakes - and all this, while trying to reach her goals (i.e. living permanently in Yonwood, falling in love and finding a way to help the world).

Sadly, I really couldn’t get into this book. I would advise not reading this book directly after The People of Sparks, the feel is so different that it will probably not hold you in the same way. Only the epilogue really ties to the ember saga itself. Probably a good book overall, but I was disappointed since I expected a stronger connection to Ember. I'm glad I read it because of the last few pages, but overall, it was disappointing. I will read the fourth book (The Diamond of Darkhold) but only because I still have that spark of hope for this series.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

What happens in Ember stays in Ember, or does it?

The people of Ember have emerged into the light... they are above ground where "it is green and very big and light comes from the sky" - and this is all thanks to Lina and Doon’s wisdom in deciphering the Instructions of Egress left by "The Builders". Once above ground, they come upon the people of Sparks, a small farming community. Here the town residents, barely remember the "old times" with incorrect names for old devices, and they have scavengers who pick over the remains of the previous industrial society from several hundred years back. Neither community knows what to make of the other but Sparks takes in the strange 'cave' people - feeding them, giving them someplace to sleep and eventually granting them a six month time frame to learn how to survive in this post-apocalyptic world and start their own community. But soon jealousy and resentment leads to disastrous events and the threat of war looms between the communities.

I have to admit that this story didn't capture me like the first book of Ember did, but yet I still enjoyed it and I found it satisfying in the end. The themes of this book echo the themes of the first book in many ways. You ask yourself - Just what does it take to survive in a new world? How does human kindness or the lack thereof affect and come into play towards the repetition of history?

My favorite quote from the book (and there were many) but this one stood out the most:
"People didn't make life, so they can't destroy it. Even if we were to wipe out every bit of life in the world, we can't touch the place life comes from. Whatever made the plants and animals and people spring up in the first place will always be there, and life will spring up again."

Ms. DuPrau is very good at writing a child's perspective without it seeming overly simplified or unreal. I’m looking forward to the next installment (The Prophet of Yonwood) - from what I read it’s a pre-quel to the first two books so it should answer some of the niggling loose ends about how this world came to be. Once again, this book was a page turner and I read it in a couple of hours. It is highly recommended no matter what the age.

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Doon and Lina are two teenagers who live in a city called Ember. A city built by "The Builders" using an underground river to power their generator which runs all their lights and storerooms filled to the brim with all their daily necessities - light bulbs, clothes, canned goods, etc. - that should last them forever. Well, sadly forever is here and their generator keeps breaking down and causing flickering lights and blackouts through the city that last longer and longer each time. There are also scary rumors of their storerooms being empty.

As the residents of Ember start becoming aware of their city’s dire situation and the mayor’s lack of providing them with a solution, they all start to realize that it is only a matter of time before the city will go dark permanently. As the townfolk begin to worry, Lina finds a very intricate box in one of her closets but sadly her little sister, Poppy, has chewed up the paper that was inside. So it is up to Lina and Doon to decipher this message that is mysteriously written in the same handwriting used by "The Builders" when they provided the city with their books on rules to live by. Together they will piece clues to lead the population out of the dark and into the light.

I know I'm a little old to read this book, but maybe that is what makes this book stand out and get noticed. This tale was able to hold my attention almost two decades after middle school, which I believe is the focal age group for this book.

This book will make you hold your breath in anticipation every step of the way. You'll cheer for the main characters and good folk of Ember. Ms. DuPrau’s description of this world is brilliant and you can picture the crumbling city as you read the book.

The story is full of mystery, adventure, great characters, and vivid descriptions. It plays with themes of light and dark. A fun, easy read that pulls you in from the very first chapter and will keep you hooked until the very last page! This book is very well written and I whole-heartedly recommend it to young and old alike.

The Lake That Stole Children: A Fable by Douglas Glenn Clark

The Lake That Stole Children begins with a fisherman who is out fishing with his son and daughter. The fisherman is quite strict on his children when it comes to fishing in the lake - as he knows how dangerous it can be for a child with its cold and strong currents. He will not allow them to cast their lines too far into the lake for fear of them falling into the water. The daughter is respectful and obedient but the son feels that if his father weren’t so strict about his casting the line far into the lake he would be able to catch all the fish that his father does. So the boy sneaks out of his home while his family is sleeping and is finally able to cast his line far into the middle of the lake. Lulled by the lake, the beautiful night and his dreams of bringing home fish, he isn’t aware of the danger that awaits him. A huge glass fish resides in the lake that drags him into the water and eventually swallows him into his big glass belly. There he finds other children who have also been imprisoned by the big fish. Fortunately, the fisherman hears the boy’s crying - but will he be able to free his son along with the other children of their glass cage? You’ll have to read this magical story to find out.

I don’t know if it was because it was late at night when I decided to read this short story, but I found it to be quite spooky. It definitely isn’t something I would read to my little one’s, but a 6-8 year old might enjoy it. I’ve read some mixed reviews about this one - but I found that it got the right message across. Listen to your parents - they’re usually right.

Many thanks to Author- Douglas Glenn Clark for sending me an autographed copy.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

When Tristran Thorn is sent on a quest to find a falling star by his ladylove Victoria Forrester, little did he know of the magical adventure that would ensue.

After falling in love with the film, and being acquainted with other Gaiman works over the past year, I had high expectations for this novel. But sadly, I must confess, I actually liked the film better - which was quite a surprise to me. Don’t take me wrong, I enjoyed this book immensely, but the film just left out some of the irrelevant characters (i.e. stepmother and sister storyline) and brought a more comedic side to some of the more obscure characters in the book (i.e. Captain Shakespeare, the dead brothers, etc.).

Mr. Gaiman’s writing style had a marvelous balance between melodic poetics and simplistic ease in his sentence structure and wordsmithery.

Stardust swept me away on a magical journey full of dark humor, love and adventure. It was a surprisingly modern and moving fairy tale about finding the missing part of ourselves hidden "behind the wall". Witches, pirates, and a love story... what more can you ask for in a fairytale. It just goes to show that fairytales are definitely not just for children.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The story is told through the point-of-view of Bruno, a 9 year-old boy who is sadly naive to what the situation in his country is. When Bruno’s family moves from Berlin, he leaves behind his three best friends and his beautiful 5-story home, making him a very unhappy young man. Bruno detests his new home at Out-With (Auschwitz). At Out-With there are no other children to play with other than his older (12) sister "who is a lost case" and the house only has 3-stories and barely any windows, not to mention they are somewhere in the country and not in a big city like he is used to. His family has to move after The Fury (The Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler) comes to dinner at their Berlin house with a beautiful blonde lady (Eva Braun) to give his father a promotion. At Bruno's new house he can't see all the way across Berlin from his window (like he did in his old home) but he can see into a "farm" surrounded by a tall barbed wire fence with lots of boys milling about. He becomes jealous of these boys because they have lots of friends to play with, and he doesn't, and they get to wear striped pajamas all day, every day, while he has to wear all this fancy clothes all the time. All these are examples of how naive Bruno is, which is beautiful and so sad at the same time.

As any 9 year old would, Bruno loves to explore. So, to keep himself occupied he begins exploring through their backyard. Through these daily adventures he eventually comes to a fence where he meets a young Jewish boy named Schmuel. Although Schmuel is on the other side of the fence, this does not deter the grand friendship that ensues.

I found it a bit shocking how the author mixed innocence with violence in a very peculiar way. The writing style is simple, yet profound. A quick read; because you will not want to put it down, and a heart wrenching ending that will keep you thinking long after you've finished the book. 

On a side note: I also saw this movie about two weeks ago and it does not disappoint. It stayed true to the book on almost everything. It was a little different at the end but it still got its point across. It's a touching story and one that you shouldn't miss out on.

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman

In this collection, we have a variety of short stories that go from funny, to creepy, to fascinatingly clever. Although M is for Magic is aimed at the YA audience I guarantee these stories are great for any adult to enjoy.

Here’s an overview of the stories:

The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Little Jack Horner is hired to solve the mystery behind the death of Humpty Dumpty. - I personally loved this one. Detective stories always suck me in.

The Troll Bridge
Hands down this is my favorite of the bunch. Upon a stroll through the forest, a young boy encounters a troll under a bridge who wants to eat his life.

Don't Ask Jack
A very short and creepy tale of an old Jack-in-the-Box.

How to Sell the Ponti Bridge
Not one of my favorites but still a great crime story.

October in the Chair
Also one of my favorites. The months of the year hold a gathering to tell their stories.

Chivalry
Fine... this one is also a favorite. When an old lady finds the Holy Grail at her local thrift store a dashing stranger on a magnificent horse comes a knockin’.

The Price
Quite creepy really... this is the tale of stray black cat that fights the devil every night to protect the family that took him in.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties
ehhh... Didn’t do much for me. But nonetheless, it was still worthy. Two boys walk into a party where they realize the kids aren’t everyday average teens.

Sunbird
A gathering of Epicureans who have become bored having tasted everything there is to taste. They are enticed into seeking the legendary Sunbird of Suntown... for a taste that is to be richer than peacock and lusher than duck.

The Witch's Headstone
This is an excerpt from The Graveyard Book. It tells a story of Bod getting into trouble outside the graveyard while trying to help the ghost of a witch.

There's always something great about short stories; the satisfaction of being able to read something as a "whole" in a few hours. Yet, as always with short stories, I always want more.

Mr. Gaiman does not disappoint with this collection. This was quite an enjoyable read no matter what the age.

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Prosper and Bo are on the run from their aunt and uncle who want to separate the brothers by having the young Bo live with them while shipping the older Prosper off to boarding school. With hopes of staying together, they flee to the magical city of Venice where they are taken in by a mysterious boy who calls himself the "Thief Lord". With the help of their Thief Lord they are able to reside in an abandoned movie theater with other young runaways - who they consider family and the dilapidated theater a home. Along the way we also meet Victor Getz- the detective hired by Bo and Prosper’s aunt and uncle to help find the boys (and by far my favorite character).

This story was such a fun, action-filled, fast-paced adventure! I loved all the details and descriptions of Venice. The characters were full of wit and quite funny. The story itself is well-written has the perfect combination of magic, imagination, and reality.

For those of us who love adventure, twisty plots and witty characters - this is really a treat.

Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith

When Poppy is diagnosed with terminal cancer who does she turn to for support in coping with her fate? None other than her secret vampire BFF - James, who can actually save her by converting her. This was a very cute, PG rated, YA book that I devoured in about 2 hours time (while at work *snickers*). It's a teen vampire romance drama, with all the cliches/ trimmings. But other than that, it is a great guilty pleasure read. One thing that I did find new and refreshing was that vampirism had a scientific explanation in this story. It wasn’t just about " I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD". This is the intro story to the Night World series by L.J. Smith.

I found this little gem through one of J.Kaye’s posts. Amazon.com has a limited time free e-book version of it being offered that I couldn’t help getting caught up in right away.

2009 YA Challenge

Guidelines for 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
2. Read 12 Young Adult novels. You may list your chosen books any time during the year. Change the list if needed.
3. Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.
4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.