Smith, Amber. The Way I Used To Be.

Smith, Amber.  The Way I Used To Be.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books  2016   384p $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-4935-9      hs/adult    Realistic fiction  VG-BN

Author Amber Smith immediately pulls the reader into the psychological depths of despair as her protagonist, young Edy, tries to cope after being raped. Chapter One draws the reader into Edy’s solitary suffering by describing the rape from her perspective.  Imagine Edy’s introduction to adulthood, when her brother’s best friend Kevin comes into her bedroom one night and attacks her, threatening her with death if she tells. So begins Edy’s journey through her high-school years.  Dubbed the “school slut”, Edy must try to cope as she forges ahead, in and out of relationships that would have been quite fulfilling had she been emotionally stable.  Instead, she keeps her secret to herself and tries to survive.  Smith divides her book into four chapters of life, each a year of senior high school.  In her freshman year, Edy creates a lunch-time book club with her best friend Mara.  Together, the girls try to define their role in high school. This year, she runs into Kevin’s sister Amanda who looks at her disdainfully.  Edy can’t quite figure out why.  During sophomore year, she meets Josh, a young man who senses that all is not right with her, yet forges ahead with the relationship.  Unbeknownst to Josh, Edy is NOT sixteen, so when they have sexual relations, he is unaware that he is breaking the law.  Due to Edy’s lack of ability to function in normal relationship-building, and because Edy is underage, Josh breaks up with her.  There is so much more to this book, and Smith never divulges until the end whether Kevin will have to pay for his crime or whether Edy will accept what has happened to her and move ahead in life.  This novel is worth the time as much for its character development as for its dive into an area of PTSD.  Publisher please note:  The Tristate Young Adult review committee recommends book of note status for published books; however, in unusual cases, we can recommend an advance reader’s copy as a BON.  Please see pages 238-239, where the italics are not correctly done to indicate which words are part of a note and which are regular text.                   

This book is a very good choice for high-school readers as well as for young adults.  The rape scene is quite vivid, there is profanity, and the psychological trauma is palpable.    

Summary: After Edy is raped by her brother’s best friend, she struggles to cope alone.  Throughout the high-school year, she faces obstacles, new understandings about life post-rape, and new relationships.  Normalcy is not part of the equation.

Rape-Fiction, PTSD-Fiction                                  --Martha Squaresky

Wiviott, Meg.  Paper Hearts.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books  2015  368p.  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-3983-1  ms/hs  Historical fiction  E-BN     

The story is a fictionalized account of a group of girls who become friends in the Auschwitz death camp as they struggle to survive and work in a munitions factory.  In 1944, Zlatka and the other girls make a birthday card for Fania, her best friend in the group, to mark her twentieth birthday.  This undertaking is an enormous risk for them, and the origami heart is treasured and hidden through the remaining time in the camp and the death marches afterward.  The actual heart can be seen at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.  The story is told in verse format and covers flashbacks to life before the war, the dark days in the camp, and the daily struggles and familial losses of the inmates.  It is a tale of love and loss, hope and survival.  Highly recommended for secondary collections.

Summary: Fictionalized account of girls who become friends in the Auschwitz death camp and the risks that they take to make a simple paper birthday card for one member of their group.

Holocaust-Fiction, Novels in verse                          --Stephanie Pennucci

Bow, Erin. The Scorpion Rules.

Bow, Erin.  The Scorpion Rules.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books  2015  384p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-4271-8  hs  Science fiction  VG-BN   

     

In this fascinating story of love, war, and humanity, in which the world is ruled by the AI Tallis, the children of world leaders are kept hostage against their peaceful behavior, but when war is threatened these “children of peace” must take matters into their own hands.  Coming on the heels of “Hunger Games fever”, this story might suffer from being mis-classified.  It is almost nothing like the Hunger Games except for the idea of child hostages.  However, these young hostages are allies, hoping for peace, and when peace seems possible, and therefore their lives are threatened, they act to protect each other, bringing to light serious questions about identity, self-sacrifice, and what -- and who -- is worth dying for.  There is a romantic subplot that is both beautiful and unexpected, rather like the solution protagonist Greta comes up with to stay her own execution and the destruction of entire nations when Tallis becomes personally involved.  Tallis, by the way, will be absolutely delightful to millennials and younger readers, who are far more likely to enjoy this book than their parents, who may be uncomfortable with the casual approach to sexuality beyond the heterosexual norm.  This was a genuinely fun read, and the ending will leave readers wondering what else is in store for Greta and her companions.

Summary: In this fascinating story of love, war, and humanity, the children of world leaders are held hostage against their peaceful behavior, but when war is threatened these “children of peace” must take matters into their own hands.                    

Hostages-Fiction, Peace-Fiction, Artificial intelligence-Fiction

--Bethany Geleskie

Fletcher, Susan. Falcon in the Glass.

Fletcher, Susan.  Falcon in the Glass.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books      2013  302p  ISBN 978-1-4424-7710-0  ms/jr  uncorrected proof VG-BN Historical fiction

Young, fatherless Renzo dreams of being a famous glassmaker, but without a patron, he must work doing menial labor in a glassworks on the island of Murano around the turn of the 15th century.  He uses what little time he has to himself to make works of art in glass, especially falcons, and this comes to the attention of the owner of the glassworks.  This very well written book makes an intriguing story about the island of Murano and its history of glassmaking.  Together, the boy who would be a great glassmaker, his family, his co-workers, and the glass itself create a story that is part historical fiction and part fantasy.  All of it makes for a great, story-driven read.        This is a highly recommended addition for all middle-school and public-library collection.  Girls and boys alike will enjoy this book -- there is something for everyone.

Summary: Young, fatherless Renzo dreams of being a famous glassmaker, but without a patron, he must do menial labor in a glassworks on the island of Murano around the turn of the 15th century.  He uses the little bit of time he has to make works of art in glass, especially falcons, and this comes to the attention of the owner of the glassworks.       

Glassmaking-Fifteenth century-Fiction                             --Lynn Fisher

Greenfield, Amy Butler. Chantress.

Greenfield, Amy Butler.  Chantress.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books    2013  324p  ISBN 978-1-4424-7712-4    jr/sr      uncorrected proof   VG-BN  Fantasy 

Main character Lucy has been raised in isolation and forbidden to sing, or even hum, and that is all the reader knows about her until she leaves her isolation and is thrown unprepared into the intrigue of an urbane world where music can be magic and those who can wield it are hunted by dark forces. Throughout the book the reader is introduced to imaginative and carefully planned magical lore, which makes it an intriguing read even in the several moments when the plot drags. Very few things actually happen in this book, which is the first in a series, except at the very end, when the training Lucy has been describing comes into play in a flurry of final activity, after which things are restored to their proper order. Despite the careful characterisation and development of Lucy’s world, there is a disappointing lack of information about the villain, who is really too much of a looming, non-present figure to present a plausible threat.  The reader sees more of his magically directed spies, the shadowgrims, who can tear a person to pieces, limb from limb and spirit from body.  Much of the book is devoted to Lucy learning to use the ability she has to manipulate magic through song, an ability that earns her the title of Chantress.  This emphasis on her lessons is excellent for her character development but tiresome after a hundred pages or so.  There is an equally slow-moving romance that is believable and creates a more satisfactory ending for the book. This is a quick read featuring an interesting world and an uncomplicated plot, which sometimes is exactly what a reader needs.  The cover art does look very much like something belonging to a teen paranormal romance; therefore, the book may end up surprising readers who expect vampires or angels, but it is unlikely that even those readers will be disappointed.          

This is exactly the sort of book that libraries will find hard to keep on the shelves for several months after its purchase because it really sells itself, and even after the initial fervor has died down, it will still circulate regularly.    

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Lucy discovers that she is a chantress who can perform magic by singing, and the only one who can save England from the control of the dangerous Lord Protector.   

Singing-Fiction, Fantasy, Magic                             --Bethany Geleskie