Kerr, M.E. (1989). Dinky Hocker shoots smack. New York: Harper Trophy. (Originally published 1972). Genre: Realistic fiction Intended audience: Teens Personal reaction to the book: The fourth book I read for the course and the first one I enjoyed reading. It had believable characters, a flow that never felt like it was sketched out from… Continue reading Retro worth a shot
Genre starter
Hinton, S.E. (1997). The outsiders. New York: Puffin. Genre: Realistic fiction Intended audience: Mid-teens Personal reaction to the book: I did not like it as assigned reading in junior high; I do not like it now. On page 162 or so, Ponyboy says "I would rather have anybody's hate instead of their pity." So why… Continue reading Genre starter
Bring tissues
Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton. Genre: Romance Intended audience: General YA Personal reaction to the book: SPOILER ALERT: Review contains spoiler. OK, so it's an emotionally manipulative tear-jerking exposed dental nerve ending of a book. What's wrong with that? It's also extremely well-written and it's the first romance I've… Continue reading Bring tissues
The movie was better
Goldman, W. (2003). The princess bride: 30th anniversary edition. New York: Ballantine. Genre: Fantasy / romance / adventure Intended audience: Everyone Personal reaction to the book: The movie was better. First time I've written that. On the second complete read, one of the problems is the layers of prefaces and extra chapters, etc., accreted over… Continue reading The movie was better
Ghastly good read
Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins. Genre: Thriller, fantasy Intended audience: Mid-teens and up. Personal reaction to the book: Neal Gaiman is a genius (I keep writing that in reviewing his work). I was wondering what made this a YA book, but when I thought about it, it's a simple story of… Continue reading Ghastly good read
Unsubtle history lesson
Draper, S. (2006). Copper sun. New York: Antheneum. Genre: Historical fiction Intended audience: Students interested in race Personal reaction to the book: A fictionalized, highly didactic lecture on the evils of slavery. Has zero ring of honesty. It idealizes Africa: – There's a longish speech on how slaves in America can be well-treated but still… Continue reading Unsubtle history lesson
Avoid this book
Dashner, J. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte. Genre: Distopian, adventure Intended audience: Teens Personal reaction to the book: Utter, unmitigated crap. Teensploitation of the lowest order. There is nothing original here (see Hunger games, Logan's run, Running man, Ender's game, Lord of the flies, among many others). The characters are cardboard cutouts; the… Continue reading Avoid this book
War … what is it good for?
Cormier, R. (2000). The chocolate war. New York: Laurel Leaf. (First published 1974.) Genre: Realistic fiction. Intended audience: Teens Personal reaction to the book: It's not pretty cynical for a teen book, it's pretty cynical (as in Raymond Chandler's “Red wind,” where the pearls from the dead lover are fake). Even I, cynical former newspaper… Continue reading War … what is it good for?
Can I get a witness?
Cooney, C.B. (2009) If the witness lied. New York: Delacorte. Genre: Realistic / suspense fiction Intended audience: Mid-older teens Personal reaction to the book: This was a hard book for me to pigeonhole: It is billed as a YA thriller, but it's got very little action. It has a strong, repeated message of trust God,… Continue reading Can I get a witness?
Game, set and match
Card, O.S. (1985). Ender's game. New York: Tor. Genre: Science fiction Intended audience: Mid-teens and older Personal reaction to the book: Overall, I was pretty blown away by this one. Yes, there are elements of a coming-of-age novel, but there's a much more fascinating study of war and the military mind, society and social hierarchy.… Continue reading Game, set and match
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