The Secret Diamond Sisters

Madow, M. (2014). The secret Diamond sisters. NY: Harlequin Teen.
Young Adult for mature young adults
Romance?

I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars.

This is a hard review to write given how impressed I have been by the author.  Oh how I wanted to like this book, but I can't even figure out who an appropriate audience would be. If the book is going to be aimed at young adults, there needs to be some value to it: a lesson, a role model, outstanding writing, enlightenment?

I enjoyed the three books in Madow's Transcend Time Saga  and promoted, recommended, and shared them with many high school students. I expected The Secret Diamond Sisters to be similarly written with great storytelling, likeable characters (with a role model or two thrown into the mix), clean romance, and some twists and turns to keep readers engaged.  The Secret Diamond Sisters had none of these qualities, and despite its main characters being highschoolers, it's not really a high school book.  To match their actions, the characters should have all been four years older and you would have the makings of a great new adult book.

What disappointed me, beyond the writing itself, is that the precedent set in Madow's prior books was thrown aside. In this book, we have heavy drinking (truly, alcoholism), casual and careless sexual encounters, eating disorders, extreme vanity and materialism as the norm for kids ages 15-17.  I know it's Vegas, but I also know this isn't the norm, even there. And I would pray that even in Vegas, being a millionaire's child doesn't mean all laws are "overlooked." Seriously, a fifteen-year-old is going to be allowed in 21+ bars in Vegas? In reality, there would be adult bar patrons complaining about that. This is a stretch I can't accept. I also just didn't like or care about any of the characters. Courtney is most promising, but she also doesn't have anything that makes her interesting or exceptional: a willowy model body and a brain aren't enough.

Okay -- I will acknowledge that extreme vanity and materialism may be a norm for this set, but for the rest of it, there weren't even any "lessons" for a young reader to learn. We start off with one character who is exercising and on an 800 calorie/day diet. She is adored by all, and is considered the hottest girl at school. And she sacrifices food calories to have alcohol to calm her nerves, deal with stress, escape reality, be brave. . . Never do we see a downside. And there are plenty more examples of horrible behavior and decisions made, but no ill consequences. (literally - hangovers without vomiting? For the amount consumed, these girls should have had alcohol poisoning.)

I have heard comparisons to Gossip Girl, but not enough happens to merit the comparison. I loved Gossip Girl, but this book has no real plot and barely a hint of a secret or two which might unfold in the next book. This first book is just a day by day, four person viewpoint of who gives each girl chills, what designer shoes will be worn, and what amount of alcohol will be consumed. This will probably appeal to some because it seems voyeuristic, but I never found that hook to keep me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing me this free ARC in exchange for an honest review -- painful as it is to give.

Brooklyn Burning

Brezenoff, S. (2011). Brooklyn Burning. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Lab.

YA Realistic Fiction / Contemporary Fiction / Urban

QuickNEasy, 195 pages, ages 14+

I gave this 4 out of  5 stars on Goodreads.

I started reading this book for two reasons: 1) I am on a trek to find books appealing to kids who don't think they like to read, and 2) this book was under 200 pages and available at the library!

Going into a book cold-turkey is always interesting.  I hadn't read the book jacket or any reviews of Brooklyn Burning and assumed by the cover that the book was about a pyromaniac. (By the way, I like the cover and am so glad that it's not a back view of a teenaged girl wearing a formal gown and her hair blowing ever so subtly in the wind.  Thank you Steve Brezenoff. Never mind that the girl cover wouldn't fit in any way, shape, or form with the contents of the book.) So, not knowing what I was in for, I was initially frustrated because I couldn't tell if the main character, Kid, was male or female.  Enter character Scout, who also is not identified as male or female, and I started to get it. Ding! The author was being INTENTIONALLY VAGUE in stamping a gender label on these characters. Brilliant! People are just people with talents and skills and beliefs and feelings.

The book's main character is Kid, who writes some chapters directly to Scout, so that the readers almost feel like they are getting a peek into a journal or love letter.  Other chapters are written as general narratives, mostly filling in what the readers don't know about Kid's year prior to meeting Scout. Those back chapters made my heart ache for all the injustices poor Kid experienced, and they made me angry. Had Kid's parents been accepting and loving and acted like parents, Kid's life wouldn't have been so hard.  On the other hand, as a result of being rejected by Kid's father, Kid found love not once but twice and acceptance in places and ways that never would have been possible if Kid's parents had just loved Kid.  

The characters that showed love and acceptance towards Kid were really what made this story push forward.  With the presence of Fish, Jonny, and Konny, the readers didn't have to waste energy worrying about things that didn't matter -- Kid was going to be okay.  Imperfect as they are, these characters feel so real and familiar -- like you'd find them in any inner city neighborhood, looking out for their own. 

There are questions that aren't answered (namely, the genders of two major characters), but it's okay to be left wondering about some things.  And again, that intentional vagueness reminds us that sometimes there aren't clear answers for the questions in life. 

On the Clean-O-Meter rating. . . this is tough. There's an Fbomb fairly early on, but then I don't recall there being so much as a damn after that. There is significant underage drinking (mostly without any consequences, effects beyond the characters being identified as drunk), and drug references of shooting-up and junkies.  There is also a character who is a bisexual prostitute, but we are spared any details, and another character who is a minor and very sexually active with multiple partners, though we are also spared details.  Several of the characters are lesbian or gay or bisexual or questioning or not caring. Again, no details other than putting two and two together that character A - who is either male or female - is attracted to both males and females. There are several homeless teenagers, but they all seem to have food, money, shelter, safety.  There isn't any violence and nothing in the story is graphic.  I'm going to say a 7 out of 10.

The Odd Squad: Bully Bait

Fry, M. (2013). The odd squad: bully bait. NY: Disney Book Group.

free ARC via NetGalley -- Thanks Disney-Hyperion!
to be released February 12, 2013

Young-Young Adult / Realistic Fiction / Illustrated, notebook style novel

QuickNEasy; 214 pages; ages 9-13 (but appealing to older, I think)

This book was hilarious, and even though the art wasn't finalized in the version I read, the sketches were great and really added to the storyline.  Nick is our main character, and he's "the shortest seventh grader in the history of the world" and bullied on a regular basis. His parents are divorced and he lives with his eccentric grandmother (Memaw - my favorite character) and his mom, and he's just trying to make do with himself and fly under the radar as much as possible.  His counselor puts him with two other oddballs so that together, they can belong to a group! And everything's better when you're part of a group, right?

Odd Squad is written in the style of Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries, but it stands apart because adults **GASP** are not incompetent and unhelpful!  There are four adults in the story, and they are all supportive and caring and **GASP** have good lessons to impart.  And two of them, Memaw and Mr. Dupree, the school custodian, are super-interesting, surprising, and funny! 

Though some of the things that happen in the story are a stretch, it's mostly realistic and humorously fleshes out what's typically found in most middle schools: the bullies, the bullied, the helpers, the loners.  Fry nails this slice of middle school life. I laughed out loud at many parts, while finding other parts poignant in their truth.  There are reminders that people are not always what they seem and that there is sometimes a fine line between being bullied and being a bully.

Some of my favorite quotes. . .

"A mystery is like a pig wearin' underwear. Don't make no sense 

till you see him puttin' on pants."  -- Memaw

"Hippies are dinosaur versions of skaters." -- Nick

"Karl's one of those kids you avoid eye contact with because he'll think you want to be friends. Then he'll latch on to you with his superhuman loser grip." -- Nick

Mr. Dupree: What does every bully fear? They fear losing control. If they lose control, they get afraid. If they get afraid, they run away.
Nick: How do you make them lose control?
Mr. Dupree: You take it from them.
Nick: How?
Mr. Dupree smiled as he leaned down and got right in my face.
Mr. Dupree: You bring the crazy.

Happily, this gets a perfect 10 on my Clean-O-Meter scale, which is only appropriate given the intended audience.  No sex, no swearing, no violence. 

Circle Nine

Heltzel, A. (2011). Circle nine. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
YA Mystery / Contemporary /Psychological Thriller

QuickNEasy*, 260 pages, ages15+

I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

It is hard for me to say this is a good story, as it's really pretty disturbing what the mind will allow when it is traumatized.  The brain will allow and accept alternate truths and delusions so that it doesn't have to deal with reality and repress anything disturbing. 

But it is a good story, intelligently written with good characterization where it was important. I pretty much read it straight through because the pieces of the puzzle were enticing me to want to see the whole, completed picture.  There were enough hints that I knew the complete picture was going to be ugly, but I had to know.  I desperately needed an explanation.

Our main character, seventeen-year-old Abby, lives in utter bliss.  She doesn't remember anything except Sam, and Sam is everything to her and she everything to him.  Their life seems like a fairy tale, but there is blurring at the edges to signal something's terribly off.  Abby's reality is richly descriptive, and like Abby, the reader wants to believe in the decadent life Abby is living.

Abby's complete and utter dependence on Sam is frustrating, and Sam's complete and utter control over Abby even more so; but there is so much below the surface and neither is truly completely in control or completely controlled. Again, running beneath the surface was this NEED for me to find out why Abby was so passive and easily manipulated. . . I kept on reading.

Recently, the books I've been reading haven't had satisfactory resolutions at the end, but that is not the case for Circle Nine.  Though we don't have all the answers, and we don't know exactly what happens around the bend, the direction the story leads makes sense.  There is some hope for Abby, even after the dire and depressing life she's lived.

I could definitely see this being made into a movie. . . 

So, the Clean-O-Meter is tough on this one.  There is abuse -- serious, ongoing psychological and sexual abuse.  The sex isn't graphic or detailed, but it's there and the context makes it sickening.  There is some mild vulgar language -- though a day later, I can't remember specifically which ones, indicating they were apropos for the situations.  There are references to underage drinking and drug use, and drug addiction is a major component of the story though not blatantly so.  So, maybe a 6.5 because it's done so well.

*I initially read this because due to the length, I thought it might appeal to reader who has little patience for lengthy stories; however, this isn't written at a low-level. The vocabulary is better than I'd expected, and there are plenty of literary references that the average reader may not know. Having said that, I don't think the vocab or references are show-stoppers to those who don't understand them, and they definitely enrich the story.

Burnout

Vrettos, A.M. (2011.) Burnout. NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books.
YA / Mystery

QuickNEasy, 193 pages, ages 12-17

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Told in alternating viewpoints "Today" and "Remembering," we get the picture of our main character, Nan, who's been through rehab and sworn off drinking, only to find herself in a place she doesn't remember, in clothes she doesn't remember wearing, having blackouts and nausea as the realization that she's fallen off the wagon washes over her.

Nan is a very well-written, realistic character. She struggles with her body image and yearns for friendship and acceptance.  In steps Seemy, who initially is the answer to Nan's prayers but eventually becomes a negative influence through her self-centered and destructive behavior.  Nan is smart enough to be able to recognize the emptiness of the friendship, but she has nothing else.

I was not satisfied with the lack of information about Seemy -- there were a lot of unanswered questions by the end, and how things played out seemed a little unrealistic.  Nan's actions didn't make sense given the circumstances, but I did like that Nan found her inner strength -- that needed to happen.

The writer did a very good job of conveying blackouts, which was a pretty powerful reminder that whatever Nan had done was still in her system and could cause permanent damage. It made it scarier that even though she seemed to be distanced from the danger, it was really right inside her still.

On the Clean-O-Meter rating, it's probably an 8 out of 10.  The subject matter of alcohol, drug use, and addiction is handled without a lot of details.  There is some minor swearing, and though it's clear Seemy is sexually active, there aren't details. Really, that sums up everything that could be controversial -- it's in there, but it's just mentioned and not spelled-out in any way, making this pretty safe reading.