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New York City resident Sarah Beth (Sethie) Weiss is seventeen years old and obsessed with food and fat.  From Sethie’s perspective, lanky Janey won the genetic lottery and Sethie lost; even her 49 year old mother Rebecca looks better in a bathing suit.  Sethie’s two favorite words, svelte and lithe, are etched on her bedroom mirror, along with the mantras: Don’t Eat and Bones Are Beautiful.  5’4 Sethie weighs 111 pounds but she still sees fat on her boney frame.  Rules and definitions, order and control, rituals and routines govern Sethie’s life, unlike best friend Janey and almost boyfriend Shaw, who stroll through life unhurried.Read More →

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The notion of a “bleached” culture or absence of culture among white people looms large, and young adult authors are working to dispel that belief as they explore the diversity of what it means to be white. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s book Faith, Hope, and Ivy June (Delacorte, 2009) and now Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank are appropriate for performing some myth-busting as well as providing a door for cultural discussions with a focus on diverse lifestyles, especially those conditions imposed by class differences and geographical circumstances. Set in 1954 in the mountains of West Virginia, Shank’s book features eleven-year-old Lydia Hawkins whoRead More →

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Yesterday by author C.K. Kelly Martin is a dystopian book flavored with time travel, Orwellian, and other futuristic Brave New World elements like genetic and mind engineering. Although the novel features detailsreminiscent of Feed by M.T. Anderson and Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, it offers neither the plot sophistication nor the thematic richness. In fact, the novel’s lengthy exposition spans several chapters before it escalates into action that holds the reader’s attention. The plot revolves around two sixteen year old designer babies, Freya Kallas and Garren Lowe, who look like Greek statues with classical, sculptured beauty. When a Toxo outbreak threatens humanity’s mass extinction, the two teens—whose parents have powerful jobs inRead More →

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In: Romance (YA), Sci-Fi & Fantasy (YA), Supernatural & Horror (YA), Young Adult Book Reviews
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The Temptation by Alisa Valdes doesn’t feature the vampires or werewolves of a Maggie Stiefvater or Stephanie Meyer novel, but the character list does include shape shifters and a ridiculously handsome, courageous, and devoted male protagonist.  The plot also revolves around a paranormal romance with sequels to follow. This first installment of the trilogy—a magical and mystical romance set in Albuquerque, New Mexico—tracks the story of sixteen year old Shane Clark and her love interest, Travis Hartwell, a revenant who alternates between human and ghost forms.  Shane drives a fancy car, attends a fancy school, owns a fancy dog, and listens to fancy music untilRead More →