Books for Teens / YA

The Giver - Lois Lowry

2012-02-02T05:51:00.000-08:00

A news report this morning quoted a doctor who suggested sugar should be regulated the same way as alcohol and tobacco. He based this on the fact that over-consumption of sugar destroys a person's health and contributes to diseases like diabetes.
Anyone who imagines creating a better world by eliminating risks, temptations and by taking control of random occurrences, should read Lois Lowry's - The Giver. In Lowry's world everything runs smoothly from birth to death, because they have chosen "Sameness" over individuality and personal choice. At the beginning of the book, readers appreciate the benefits the society provides each of it's members. A wise council chooses a young person's career and training is provided; the same goes for the formation of a family unit - men and women are matched for marriage, healthy children are born of anonymous mothers and are raised in nurseries until they are distributed to couples who have applied to raise a child. No depression or pain (medications are readily available).
The cost of "Sameness" is slowly revealed when the protagonist begins his training as the society's keeper of memories. Total control has robbed the population of their experience of being human, including the development of personal responsibility. Choose to eat less sugar? What a concept.

John Green - Author Event

2012-01-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

John Green and his brother, Hank, were in Albuquerque last night (1/24), speaking to and performing for an enthusiastic crowd. I recently read John's award-winning "Looking for Alaska" and his latest book, "The Fault in Our Stars".
A few paraphrased quotes from John:
"You can choose what you think about."
"No one quite gets to be who they want to be."
"Young people are hungry for places to celebrate intellectualism and nerdiness."
"What constitutes a good life? How can you live a good life, despite the fact that we are not heroes acting on an epic scale?"
Thank you Alamosa Books for helping to bring John and Hank to Albuquerque!

Hunger Games - The Movie: March 2012

2012-01-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

Excitement about The Hunger Games film is growing. No matter how good the page-to-screen, I hope viewers with read the books.

Saint Iggy by K.L.Going

2012-01-21T08:19:00.000-08:00

K.L. Going introduces readers to an endearing character - Igmund (IGGY) - and his "normal" life in the projects. I wonder how privileged kids react to the matter-of-fact world depicted by Going. None of the drama and macho bravado of the hood that is depicted on TV. Going writes about a sensitive kid trapped in a dead end lifestyle. This would be an excellent read for a teen book club.

2011 Worst Year for Movie Attendance; My rant

2012-01-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

News report on movie theater attendance stated 2011was the worst year since 1995. This is NEWS? There's the obvious technology (big screens, HD) that allows people to watch at home; not to mention the convenience of of downloading. Theater tickets are way too expensive. If you want popcorn and drinks you're looking at a cost that equals dinner for two at a fabulous restaurant.

Are newly released films any good? Yes - if you're between the ages of 13 and 18 - the apparent target audience for most new films. HOWEVER - it is the over-50 crowd that represents a greater share of the population AND they are less-likely to have the latest whiz-bang technology. (The Descendants)

Can we please get "points" for frequent attendance? Every other industry is using this marketing ploy - why not theaters?

Can 3-d save movie theaters as we know them? Or do they have to look hard at the mega-theater/block buster model and reinvent themselves.

Even in expensive venues the seats are uncomfortable and noise from adjoining theaters leak through the walls (quiet, passionate scenes in my film are accompanies by the soundtrack of gunfire and car bombs in the film being shown next door).

Tin Tin Movie in 3-D

2012-01-13T08:52:00.000-08:00

So I went! The artwork is perfect. Brings the characters in the comix to life without "Disneyfying" them like those awful Winnie the Pooh characters in Disney cartoons. HOWEVER - does 3-D really add to the experience? Once the novelty wore off (ten minutes?) the pace of the film was so fast I had no time to appreciate the 3-D elements. I admit that 3-D does get people into the theaters and makes us pay even more... so if that is the motivation, it works. Will Ghibli Studios resort to 3-D? The production of Tin Tin is no match for Spirited Away - despite it's 3-D hype!

My Two Cats - Wonderful pets from an animal shelter!!!

2012-01-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

I have two cats, both neutered females. The grey-and-white fuzzy girl is named Tribble, after the creatures in a Star Trek episode called "The Trouble with Tribbles". She has a very sensitive nose and seems to learn about what is going on her world with concentrated sniffing. She usually moves slowly and thoughtfully, which drives me crazy in the winter when I'm holding the door open and waiting for her come in without letting all the heat out of the house. Tribble visits a man named Jim who lives down the block, and he is crazy about her.
Bingo is a year+ younger than Tribble, but has grown to be much larger. She is black with enormous round eyes. She has pointed, hairy ears and grows a big ruff in the winter. Some have said she looks like an owl. Bingo moves like a shot and is very demanding. She has learned to scratch the glass on the French doors with her claws in such a way that she makes a squeaking sound to let us know she wants "service now"... and I rush to provide it, so I have no one to blame but myself.
Both of them are shelter cats. Please consider getting a pet from a shelter when you are looking for a creature to add to your life. There are way too many abandoned animals.

World Ending in 2012?

2011-12-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

So many rumors! Looks like October, November or December are the most popular months. Does this mean we should party harder on New Year's Eve? Run up our credit cards? Start smoking? Eat every pastry, pie and cake with no consideration of weight gain? It might be an interesting idea to think about what one would do if they KNEW the world would end. Or better yet ... we might consider what we would do if there was a guarantee we wouldn't fail? - Be brave and JUST DO IT! Happy New Year.

Can't wait to see TinTin

2011-12-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

I know the TinTin comics were written for young children, but the promos on TV look exactly like the drawings, plus the film is in 3-D. I was never that big a fan of Disney cartoons (heresy, I know); but LOVE the Japanese GHIBLI Studio films: Spirited Away, Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, KiKi's Big Adventure. Miyazaki creates not only great characters, but also an environment that supports the action in the story.

Who is JACK?

2011-12-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

There are many common expressions that use the name Jack. Wonder how that came about: Jack ass; Jack-of-all-trades; Don't know Jack; Jack off; Jack-o-Lantern... and probably others that don't come immediately to mind.

A Wish from Christmas Past

2011-12-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

What constitutes the perfect Christmas/Holiday celebration? For many it is the successful recreation of treasured traditions... decorations, food, music. My wish was to open my eyes every Christmas morning in another country, or at least a very different place than the one in which I was living. I got my wish a few times, but not nearly as many holidays as I would have liked. There's still time though!

What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

2011-12-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

What Happened to Goodbye - My first Sarah Dessen book (won't be my last). Love the idea that McLean reinvents herself every time she moves and goes to a different school. How does a person pull that off? Wish Sarah Desson would write a book about that experience instead of it being a back story.
Four identities: ELIZA / LIZBET / BETH and McLean. OK - we've read McLean's story.... but what was McLean's experience becoming these other girls?

Hunger Games - The Movie

2011-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

Every time a book I've enjoyed is made into a film, my first struggle is to reconcile my mental image of the characters with the appearance of the cast members. Jennifer Lawrence was chosen to play Katniss. My first reaction is she is a little older than what I pictured - more sophisticated. It remains to be seen how they'll be able to transform this red-carpet beauty into the gritty heroine who plays The Hunger Game.

FAT KID RULES THE WORLD

2011-09-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

K.L.Going's first book (published in 2003) is a must read. The main characters are compelling personalities that I won't forget. Interesting that this female writer didn't include women characters (only walk-ons ). Curt MacCrae - described as a blond ferret - is an extremely talented musician with a serious drug problem and the wisdom of a Jedi Master (Star Wars) with the delivery style of Chance the Gardner (Being There). Troy Billings is the ultimate troubled outsider. The book is an affirmation of life, despite the fact that it opens with Troy seriously contemplating suicide.

Bullying and Teens

2011-08-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

     I recently finished reading two YA books about bullying: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Hate List by Jennifer Brown. The audio tapes in "13" reveal the final thoughts of a teen before her suicide and the response of her friend who feels he failed her by not recognizing how she was suffering. "Hate List" details the aftermath of a high school shooting through the eyes of the shooter's girlfriend, students and the community.
     Bullying and the violence that can follow have become the subject of news reports. Yet everyone agrees bullying is not new. Is it more of a problem now? Is the bullying-related violence different now? The focus of many news reports focus on the lack of action by school officials and classroom teachers.
   In both books the authors deal with the far-reaching impact of an act of violent revenge. The bullied person not only takes revenge, but ends their own lives. Neither book offers a non-violent option to respond to bullying.
It has been said that readers of "13" connect with the book’s message of tolerance and compassion. http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/06/13/jay-asher-thirteen-reasons-why/ and that is clearly a strength of this novel, but don't both books confirm that a violent act of revenge does disrupt the lives of bullies?

Divergent not another Hunger Games? So What!

2011-06-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Before I finished reading the 5/15 review of DIVERGENT in the NYTimes Sunday Book Review, I pushed the BY NOW option for my Kindle, hoping to discover a read like the Hunger Games. But one comment by the reviewer, Susan Dominus, hit the nail on the head: Divergent.. suffers by comparison with Collins's opus".

My advice to you - don't compare! Enjoy the ride and let's see what the next book in the trilogy has to offer.

Would anyone be interested in receiving a "book" in multiple Tweets?

2010-12-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Someplace I read that Japanese teens can get chapters of a book via cell phone. If I posted tweets of a book, is there anyone who would like to receive these messages?

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

2010-11-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

The main characters in Neal Stephenson's 2008 book Anathem are teens. Was this scientific and philosophical novel meant to attract YA readers?

Cross-over books

2010-11-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

Cross-over books = written for teens; become adult best sellers. So, what's that all about?
The first time I noticed this phenomena was when Harry Potter was released. I was commuting on a crowded bus to my office in the Chicago Loop and couldn't help noticing how many people were reading Harry Potter. The Twilight series is another example of a cross-over book and now The Hunger Games series. All of these series have been or are in the process of being made into movies.
By contrast, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a best-selling series written for adults. It is a crime novel and combines the story of a young woman who has been sexually abused, by several men, with a reporter's investigation into international financial fraud and a complex intrigue in the Swedish government. There are many subplots and technology plays a major role. Swedish films based on the series have been released in the US (with English subtitles) and an American film is being made.
The written-for-teens books have no explicit sex scenes, all have an element of fantasy and some level of violence.
The written-for-adult books have very explicit sex scenes, including brutal rapes, and violence.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

2010-11-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Collins' trilogy begins with The Hunger Games. The main characters are teens struggling to survive in a society sharply divided between the ruling class that lives in the country's capitol, and the majority of the citizens of Panem, living in twelve districts where the necessities of life are produced. Life in the capitol is luxurious and decadent. Life in the districts is desperate and austere.
A major theme of the books is the use of fear and intimidation by the undemocratic government to control Panem's citizens and the main character's shift from submission, in order to survive, to defiance and independence.
The residents of the capitol lack empathy and are "entertained" by the violence of the games - perhaps because of seventy-five years of exposure?
Being successful at the games only brings the winners to another level of abuse - perhaps a comment on the price of celebrity status?