The Deepest Breath

 

The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan  180 pages

Stevie is eleven and loves reading and sea-creatures. She lives with her mum, and she's been best friends with Andrew since forever. Stevie's mum teases her that someday they'll get married, but Stevie knows that won't ever happen. There's a girl at school that she likes more. A lot more. Actually, she's a bit confused about how much she likes her. It's nothing like the way she likes Andrew. It makes her fizz inside. That's a new feeling, one she doesn't understand. Stevie needs to find out if girls can like girls - love them, even - but it's hard to get any information, and she's too shy to ask out loud about it. But maybe she can find an answer in a book. With the help of a librarian, Stevie finds stories of girls loving girls, and builds up her courage to share the truth with her mum. Written in accessible verse `chapters' and in a warm and reassuring style, The Deepest Breath will be of special relevance to young girls who are starting to realise that they are attracted to other girls, but it is also a story for any young reader with an open mind who wants to understand how people's emotions affect their lives.

This is such a sweet story about innocence and confusion. After reading this, I can't see how anyone would think homosexuality is unnatural or wrong.   

What If? Answers to Questions About What It Means to Be Gay and Lesbian by Eric Marcus

What If? Answers to Questions About What It Means to Be Gay and Lesbian by Eric Marcus, 185 pages

Written for the juvenile reader and previously published as What If Someone I Know Is Gay?  is a very informative book written for juveniles.  It contains questions and answers by real teens about subjects such as bullying and suicide.  It contains lists of National Organizations for young people, resource books and videos.  This would be a great book for juveniles with questions on this subject matter.

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins, 546 pages

I think I have read most of Ellen Hopkins books, and I must say this is probably one of my least favorites.  Matthew Turner is a teen in high school dealing not only with everyday issues but also dealing with the suicide of his homosexual brother, Luke. Luke was driven to suicide by the bullying he faced at school after he came out.  All this has made Matthew question his religion, his faith and his relationship with his girlfriend. All of Ellen Hopkins books are a little depressing, but this one was hard to get into.

Bettyville by George Hodgman

Bettyville by George Hodgman - 288 pages

This is a touching memoir of an adult child's return to small town Missouri to care for his aging mother.  Hodgman had an uncomfortable childhood growing up gay in the 1960s in rural America.  He left for the East Coast for college and lived his own life in the decades that followed just checking in but never staying too involved.  Hodgman comes home this time and ends up staying to care for his 90 year old mother as she struggles with dementia and failing health.  This all sounds horribly depressing but Hodgman finds the joy in the small moments and the dark humor that is the saving grace of dysfunctional families everywhere.  The narrative goes between the past and the present to help illuminate the relationships and how George and Betty got from there to here.  Don't get me wrong, this is overall a sad book, especially with the examination of Hodgman's relationship with his parents and the impact of the AIDS crisis on his life, but it will also make you laugh out loud many times.   

December 2015 Post #2 by Jason Phinney

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak-560 pages

Zusak's novel is about a girl in Nazi Germany during WWII who is dropped off to "foster parents" by her mother and her brother dies on the way to be dropped off. It is a somber story that includes much death (consider the setting of the story), but is ultimately filled with hope.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger-214 pages

This "classic" (although I did not like it, personally) is about a teen who leaves his boarding school and goes on an adventure to New York. Holden Caulfield decides he doesn't like school and doesn't really fit in. I find him to be quite odd, although it is a fairly accurate portrayal of teen psyche. 

I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier-233 pages

This novel reminded me of "Shutter Island" with Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley. A teen boy is on a trip to see his father in a mental hospital. His parents were confidential informants and a part of the witness protection program with the FBI. In the end, it turns out the boy is actually in a mental hospital recovering from the traumatic death of his parents. 

Forever...by Judy Blume-224 pages

This novel is about teen love and sex. A teenage girl who is a virgin falls in love with a boy from school and she has sex with him for the first time. She ends up breaking up with him for another guy she meets while counselor at a tennis camp. Birth Control/contraception is also considered, so it was ahead of its time (it was published in the 1970s). 

Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan-256 pages

This is an interesting, weird yet good novel about a girl (Miracle) whose mother dies as she is giving birth to her. The girl's father and grandmother raise her and her father is a writer. One day her father just "disappears" into thin air. Her grandmother is a medium and is into a lot of occult stuff. The girl ends up in therapy after trying to "melt" herself and she burns herself. The girl ends up living with her Aunt who truly loves her. It is a good (albeit sad) story of finding acceptance and love. 

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger-224 pages

A teen boy meets, becomes friends with, and falls in love with a lesbian at a zine store over their mutual interest in writing and reading zines. The story is about falling in love (the boy thought he would never love anyone and hated prom) and "hard love" (because the girl he falls in love with ends up falling in love with another girl, since she is a lesbian but she was his first love).

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride-368 pages

A college dropout named Samhain (Sawin) who works at a fast food restaurant finds out he is a necromancer when a stranger who is a leader on the Council visits his workplace. Sam's mom is a witch (the "good" kind). She did not tell him about his father or himself being a Necromancer, though. In the end, Sam defeats Douglas (the stranger) and gets his estate as compensation for defeating him. 

 Ship Breaker by Paulo Bacigalupi-326 pages

 I found this novel rather interesting. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where large oil rigs are stripped for their parts and the parts are sold. Bosses control the "ship breaking" crews and take most of the profits. However, one day one of the crews stumbles upon an almost abandoned yacht and they strip it, but find a rich girl still alive on board. They are found out and captured, but then escape to New Orleans and are pursued. They end up escaping their boss for good and that's how the story ends.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey-497 pages

I will start by saying I did not like this book. I did not get into the characters and found the book uninteresting. That being said, it is about aliens living among (and "as") humans attempting to exterminate humans and take over Earth. The story is creative in that the aliens are indistinguishable from humans in appearance and they recruit the children to an army to help exterminate the rest of the humans. 

December 2015-first post by Jason Phinney

ADAM by Ted Dekker-406 pages

In this thriller, a divorced FBI agent named Daniel Clark has been chasing a serial killer known as "Eve" for months and seems no closer to catching him. Daniel's journey to uncovering the truth of "Eve's" identity and taking down the serial killer is a thrilling page-turner. The book is full of twists and turns, as every Dekker novel is, which is what I really enjoy about reading them.

Paper Towns by John Green-336 pages

Quentin Jacobsen has had a crush on the most popular girl in school (Margo Roth Spiegelman) since they were elementary kids and one "night on the town" changes everything for both Quentin (Q) and Margo. Margo disappears after that night and Q goes on a journey trying to solve the mystery of where Margo has gone by finding little clues she has left behind. Green explores high school relationships with peers and parents in this interesting novel, though I would say that The Fault in Our Stars is slightly better.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell-Audiobook, 336 pages in print

Park is a "geek" of asian descent who falls in love with Eleanor who is "full-figured" and is teased by other girls at school because of it. Eleanor's step dad is abusive to her, her siblings, and her mom. The story is about Eleanor and Park's journey to falling in love as teens. In the end, Park drives Eleanor to Minnesota to live with her aunt and uncle to get away from her abusive step dad.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson-384 pages

I'll Give You the Sun is a quirky, but good novel about twins whose mother dies in a car crash and their different methods of coping with her death. The twin brother is an artist and art is a major theme of the book. It also explores homosexuality and other relationships.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green-Audiobook, 310 pages in print

I did not get into this novel at all. I did not relate to either of the main characters and it was hard for me to finish, but I did. Two Will Graysons, both from the Chicago suburbs meet each other by chance and that is what should be the focus of the novel, but it is not. A large teen from school with one of the Will Graysons named Tiny (who is also gay) is really the focus of the novel. The other Will Grayson ends up falling in love with Tiny. Tiny has had a lot of boyfriends, though and is too much of the focus, as I mentioned earlier.

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz-368 pages

Ari and Dante are Latino teens in the 1980s. Saenz's novel details their journey to discovering their identities as people of Latino heritage and their relationship with each other and their parents.

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Behind the Candelabra by Scott Thorson

Behind the Candelabra:  My Life with Liberace by Scott Thorson- 239 pgs

Behind the Candelabra is the story of Scott Thorson's life with the famous entertainer Liberace.  Thorson grew up in a series of foster homes and it was only by chance that he came in contact with the piano man.  Thorson's life changed forever after that meeting.  He became Liberace's lover and confident and soon learned how to spend money extravagantly with Liberace's help.  After five years and plastic surgery to look more like Liberace, Liberace grew tired of Thorson and "traded" him in for a younger model.  After the breakup, Thorson was denied of all his belongings, vehicles and home that were given to him by Liberace.  Thorson sued and the suit was settled months before Liberace died of AIDS.  It is an interesting look into an entertainer who denied his homosexuality until the day he died.  An HBO movie was released this summer based on this book with Matt Damon as Thorson and Michael Douglas as Liberace.