Payback and Karma

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
New York : Simon Pulse, 2010.
261 p. ; 21 cm.

Well written fun! What more can I say about this very readable revenge tale.  The plot seems straight-forward enough: 8th grader gets horribly betrayed and humiliated by her best friend (a popularity-aspiring "mean girl"); moves away for 3 years; and then returns for her senior year with a very different look, and a lusciously detailed plan for payback. 

As you might guess, her campaign for revenge doesn't go in exactly a straight line, but instead leads her to discover a few truths about herself and the costs of deception and revenge.  All of this is woven into a very enjoyable, thoughtful, occasionally humorous and believable story that is hard to put down.

Getting Revenge is not a great novel, but it doesn't aspire to be that - but it is a novel that exceeds its modest aims, and has more depth to it than you might think on just glancing at it's appealing cover (see the graphic above), and the humorous by-line on the cover: "This time, the mean girl is going down."

Next time a student asks for something "good to read" and is looking for something fun, I won't hesitate suggesting this solid work of teen revenge and self-discovery fiction.

Trouble in the Windy City

Divergent by Veronica Roth
New York : Katherine Tegen Books, 2012, c2011.
487 p. ; 21 cm.

Okay, so the Chicago of Divergent is not quite the ruined city of the Great Fire of 1871 (picture above), but it is a run-down, post-war future Chicago where human society is structured around five factions representing five personality types - Erudite, Dauntless, Candor, Amity, and Abnegation.  

Veronica Roth has developed a great set-up for her novel, envisioning a society where the factions have developed ways to live in harmony by having each faction contribute to the well-being of society with their unique, but mutually beneficial roles, but since conflict is at the heart of a good novel, some faction leaders are not satisfied with the role of their faction and want to overturn the social order. Furthermore, every citizen must chose their faction and be initiated into it at the age of 16.  Most chose their faction of origin, but not everyone, and there's the rub.

There is a great deal to admire about Divergent.  The plotting is crisp, characters are interesting and usually multidimensional, and the setting is evocative and imaginative.  The narrative is rarely dull, and there are some thoroughly enjoyable imagined scenes of post-war Chicago, and excellent plot developments that keep the reader engaged.  Roth has also created a compelling heroine, Beatrice/Tris, who will definitely put readers in mind of Catniss from the Hunger Games. She is smart, complex, competitive, and develops throughout the novel.  My main frustration with the novel, is the ways in which the demands of leaving the novel open to a trilogy occasionally compromise the plot.  There were a couple of times toward the end of the novel where I thought to myself, "That character would never have done that," but felt like the action was required to keep certain other characters alive for future installments in the trilogy.

Overall, I would highly recommend Divergent, especially to any reader who is looking for a thrilling dystopian adventure.  The fact that the novel is set in our home state of Illinois - and is scheduled to be a feature film in 2014 - doesn't hurt either!

Four Teens and a Funeral

Tangled by Carolyn Mackler
New York : HarperTeen, 2011, c2010.
308 p. ; 21 cm. 

Mackler is the author of the ever popular and frequently challenged book, The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things - and that is probably the book by her I would have read if a student had not recently turned in Tangled and said, "Mr. Murrey, this was great.  You have to read it!"

I read it and enjoyed it quite a lot.  It's the story of four teens and the unlikely ways in which their lives come together and in which each of them grows and matures. The springing off event of the novel is a short week trip to a Caribbean island resort where the four of them end up briefly interacting. The rest of the novel takes place in New York state and  New York City (and so the picture above of the Sheep Meadow in Central Park).

I'd say the thing that pleased me the most about the book was that I didn't really care for it at first, beginning as it does from the point of view of Jena.  She is one of those "teen" characters who is feels just a little too smart, cute (but doesn't think she's cute), and self-aware. But oddly she grows on you and the other characters round out the novel really well - defying the surface stereotypes they seem, and revealing full, evolving human characters in the process.  There are some nice plot turns throughout and lots of low key humor.  Finally, there is a really tender romance in the book, and who can turn that down?

I'd definitely recommend this book for any readers interested in relationship fiction. 

And I'll No Longer Be a Capulet

Perfect Chemistry by Simon Elkeles
New York : Walker, 2009.
360 p. ; 22 cm.

Okay, so it's not actually a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but this young adult romance has fine echoes of the play - a boy and girl whose class and ethnic differences would seem to prohibit closeness find themselves falling deeply in love with each other.

I wouldn't have been likely to read this novel, except that it has circulated a lot since I added it to our collection and I've heard kids recommending it to each other. I found it very readable and - in spite of having some fairly predictable plot outcomes - it has compelling characters who are not just flat stereotypes.  It also works as a way of exploring the masks that young people wear to get by and the ways in which their class backgrounds can define and limit the choices they can make.  Overall, like Romeo and Juliet, it's a homage to the power of love - and the risks that characters are willing to take for love.

The novel is set in a suburb of Chicago where the high school has a divide between the wealthy white kids and the Latino students - some of who are involved in gang activities.  The novel deals with the accurate and distorted views that the two groups have of each other, and what happens when those boundaries are crossed.

The novel also deals with family life, street life and the difficulties of having family with serious disabilities.  
There is a fair bit of mature language and some frank sexual situations - not overly graphic, but definitely not suitable for classroom use, or for recommending to younger readers. 

I'm pleased I read this novel.  The writing is strong and it's good to know that this kind of book is popular with a lot of young adults. Students who like the novel or want to know more about it and the author would do well to visit the official website of the book.