that's the class for the semester... and i guess that's what i'll talking about for the next three months. and again, i'm amazed for the amount of good stuff that's out there for readers in this age group!
so far i've read the hunger games by suzanne collins... a book i totally resisted reading because who wants to read a book about kids killing each other?! and it was post-apocalyptic, another strike! but since i was forced, i picked it up... then i couldn't put it back down. katniss is one of those characters that you might not want to like, but can't help it. she's wise and strong and brave--oh my gosh, so brave as to tell the government of this dystopian country to piss off at the end of the book and break all of the rules of the hunger games. i recommend this one... and you might like shirley jackson's the lottery.
i love nick hornby... especially after i read his young adult novel slam. i got this book from the man himself back in 2007 (yes, i love my job!) but didn't read it immediately. i don't know why, but what a treat it was for me when i remembered it while searching my shelves for something to read. slam is about sam...
sam is a skater... not on ice, but on a board
sam lives with his mom--his parents are divorced
sam was in love with alicia... but now not so much anymore
oh, and sam talks to his poster of tony hawk for advice... especially now since alicia {his ex-girlfriend} is pregnant
the back cover of this book says, "nick hornby usually writes about men who behave like boys, and now he's writing about a boy who behaves like a man." after reading juliet, naked, i couldn't agree more. sam is more of a man than tucker, or duncan, or rob in high fidelity, or will in about a boy... while those others are self-indulgent and so egocentric, and somehow sam isn't. he has the right to be, but i suppose that's what makes us readers so drawn into his story... every single little moment.
more good (and not so good) young adult titles to come!
happy reading, my friends
jh
