Vande Velde, Vivian. Deadly Pink.

Vande Velde, Vivian.  Deadly Pink.  Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace    276p  $16.99  978-0-547-73850-5  2012    jr/sr   VG      Fantasy   

Vivian Vande Velde is well-known for her successful teen fantasy novels.  Deadly Pink takes place in a virtual reality game.  Grace Pizelli must enter the virtual world of the reality game to retrieve her suicidal sister Emily, before the game becomes reality. 

Initially, Grace’s task appears straightforward.  Put on the V-R gear, enter the game, knock some sense into Emily’s head, exit the game, re-unite with Emily in “real” life.  The whole experience should only take moments.  Instead, Grace must enter into the spirit of the game and defeat characters, outwit the programming, and so on (including a dragon!).  As pink and girly as the fantasy world initially appears, readers are always aware that suicide is an integral theme of this story.

The topic of suicide is addressed appropriately, and repercussions of suicide are discussed.  Suicide is not presented as an acceptable choice in this book.  Still, it is soon apparent that Emily has kept the dark side of her personality well-hidden behind a happy, upbeat facade.  Even though Grace is Emily’s younger sister, she handles a challenging situation with surprising maturity and strength.

While this is an entertaining read, it lacks Vande Velde’s trademark whimsy and clever dialogue.  The most memorable element of this story is exposed mid-novel, in the loving relationship that the sisters share.  Readers who enjoy the novel will be pleased that there are several others by this author that also feature Rasmussen virtual-reality games (User Unfriendly and Heir Apparent), both of which are more polished and entertaining novels than Deadly Pink.

Mystery–Fiction, Sisters-Fiction                        --Hilary Welliver

Escape- Teens on the Run.

Altman, Linda Jacobs. Escape- Teens on the Run.

Enslow 2010 128p 31.93 True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust(Enslow)

978-0-7660-3270-5 ms/hs E-BNS

This insightful book presents primary source information about the Holocaust. Altman offers firsthand accounts of children and teenagers from across Europe who managed to escape the Nazi death machine through luck, determination, self-reliance, and, sometimes, the kindness of neighbors and complete strangers. Each chapter tells the story of a young person’s circumstances embedded in a succinct discussion of historical background. A different font delineates their own words from the text and maps, sidebars, and black-and-white photographs of the youngsters and their families enhance the story.
Well-researched and clearly written, this book provides an excellent discussion of one of mankind’s darkest periods. Altman uses a balanced content of narrative and primary source material to present this description of individuals caught up by the Holocaust. She discusses the effects of their experiences on the survivors. She presents her information in a well balanced, concise, and lucid manner. The book is library-bound and ends with a timeline, chapter notes, a glossary, bibliography of books and Internet addresses, and an index.
Ogintz, Susan

Vickers, Tanya M. Teen Science Fair Sourcebook

Vickers, Tanya M. Teen Science Fair Sourcebook
Enslow 2009 160p 34.60 978-0-7660-2711-4 ms/hs
Great Science Fair Ideas (Enslow)

This is almost a handbook for teachers and for students who are serious about science projects, covering lots of how-to’s as well as highlighting some brilliant student work from all over the world. The book begins with some inspiring stories of student scientific achievement. In some cases the stories left the reader wanting more information about an individual project, but then the focus came back to ways in which the reader can make his/her work really stand out as well.
From explanations of the scientific method to keeping a good notebook to marketing one’s project, this was a very thorough examination of the subject.
CK

Grant, Vicki. Identificacion.

Grant, Vicki. Identificacion.
Orca 2009 112p 9.95 978-1-55469-134-1 hs/adult

Christopher finds a wallet and attempts to return it, unsuccessfully. This teen from the "other side of the tracks" follows a path to self destruction as he tries to escape his problems by assuming the identity of the person whose wallet he found. Upon finding a wallet, Christopher tries to do the right thing. Life has another path for Chris, however. We sense that Chris feels picked on from the very beginning of the book when he discusses Mr. Oxner, a teacher who punishes Chris repeatedly for every little thing. When rich girl Alexa shows him some attention, Chris believes that she will go to a dance with him. Imagine his feeling of inadequacy when she refuses to go! Feeling himself trapped in a poor relationship with his stepfather and feeling the derision of his own mother, he decided to use the money and credit cards in the wallet to escape. In this "Prince and the Pauper" novelette, Vicki Grant leads us on a journey of self destruction. The careful reader will "catch" Grant's attempt to foreshadow a negative ending when Chris calls the home of the man whose wallet he found only to hear that no such person lived at that address. That's a definite red flag that an adult might catch, but tragically, Chris does not think it through. He continues his transformation by purchasing a suit, then by using the credit cards to pay for food, a taxi ride, and a hotel room.
There is suspense, and Grant catches us unprepared when at the end of the story, she shocks the reader into realizing that Chris has ruined his life because the identity he stole was that of a criminal. The reader is left to guess what will happen to Chris after the policeman arrests him for murder, drug deals and arms possession.
This is a gem of a bilingual story with wonderful character development and a compelling plot. The translation is perfect. MS

Feathered by Laura Kasischke.

Feathered by Laura Kasischke.
HarperTeen, 2008, 261p, $17.89, 978-0060813178.

There is a sense of foreboding from the start. Three senior girls from suburban Glendale, Illinois fly off to Cancun for Spring break. Terri gets into the bacchanal-like teen environment right away at the Hotel del Sol where the three are staying. Anne and Michelle are more cautious, delighting in the gorgeous sunsets and turquoise ocean. When they meet a friendly stranger in the tiki bar of the hotel and accept a ride with him to visit the ancient Mayan ruins, things start to shift. Anne is apprehensive but Michelle feels a connection to Mr. Anders. In alternating chapters, Anne tells the story from her first person perspective and Michelle’s chapters are in the third person. Although the reader knows something awful has already happened since the plot is a flashback, things are not always what they seem. This cautionary tale infuses suburban teen naiveté, Mayan myths, and the harsh realities of modern life. The writing is both lyrical and eerie. It makes the reader want to yell at the book as people sometimes do at movie screens, “DON'T GO THERE!” The book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. This is an excellent selection for high school libraries and recommended for Tristate Books of Note.

Lois DUncan by Kimberly Campbell

Campbell, Kimberly. Lois Duncan.
Enslow, 2009, 104p, $31.93, 978-07660-2963-7.

This book covers the story of Lois Duncan’s writing career. It shows how Lois turns her life’s challenges into stories that everyone will enjoy reading.
The author has written an easy to read book for young readers that will certainly keep their attention and present the factual details on the career of a well-known author, Lois Duncan. The factual details are interestingly presented as well as informative and educational.

The inclusion of chronology, chapter notes, several lists, where to obtain more information and a glossary/index make this a useful research tool. The inclusion of web sites for youngsters is also important in school classrooms today.
The flow and balance of both the text and full color visuals are integrated to present a very stimulating book for both young and reluctant readers.
I found it extremely interesting that a neighbor (McKinlay Kantor) informed her at the age of 13 that her writing was pure trash. He then went on to give her advice about how to succeed. She took this advice as well as the knowledge she gained from her photographer parents and went on to become a renowned novelist.
This book is one in the Authors Teens Love series. The series consists of 16 books at this time. The general theme of the series is about noteworthy authors. LM

A Girls’ Guide to Conflict/A Guy’s Guide to Conflict.

Kavanaugh, Dorothy. A Girls’ Guide to Conflict/A Guy’s Guide to Conflict.
Enslow, 2008, 63p, $23.95, 978-0-7660-2852-4.
Flip-It-Over Guides to Teen Emotions (Enslow) Conflict management

A Girls’ Guide to Conflict /A Guy’s Guide to Conflict by Dorothy Kavanaugh is a flip book designed for both girls and guys. Each segment of the flip book has thirteen chapters devoted to one’s emotions, the brain, resolving conflicts, listening, relationships, bullies, cliques, parents, siblings, divorce, blended families, and feelings.

The author offers practical tips/advice organized in short chapters and geared toward middle school students, but high school schools would also be able to relate. The information is presented using great graphics, callouts, boxes and bulleted and numbered lists. Since the information is presented in an easy-fun-to-read fashion, the title would appeal to reluctant readers.

Since the author presents information for guys and girls in the same book, the book would appeal to everyone and provide readers with realistic answers and suggestions. The unfortunate part about a flip book occurs when you display the title and readers can view only one side. Although the cover suggests for readers to flip the book over, I wonder how many students will actually do that.

Includes color photographs, fact boxes, fun quizzes, checklists, interesting sidebars, chapter notes, a glossary of terms, books of further reading, Internet addresses, and an index. CFM