Young Adult Book Suggestions

All These Things I've Done

By Gabrielle Zevin (paperback due in May 2012)

Zevin's books are always thought provoking and well written and her newest is no exception. In a future where chocolate and caffeine and now illegal, we are introduced to the character of Anya Balanchine. She is the daughter of a chocolate mafia boss who has been trying to distance herself from her family's criminal ways, but is finding it harder to do than she thought, especially when romance enters the picture in the form of the assistant DA's son. Harsh choices have to be made and some serious consequences have to be faced (such as time spent in a sinister juvenile detention centre). Anya takes the choices before her seriously, and her strong sense of loyalty and excellent grasp on common sense made us admire her immensely. As well as enjoying the characterization, we also loved how Zevin introduced concepts behind prohibition and criminality into this fast paced action/adventure romance.

Wildlings 1: Under My Skin

Canadian!

By Charles De Lint

Famed fantasy author, Charles De Lint, is back with a new series for young adults! The storyline begins with a bang when Josh Saunders discovers that he is a shapeshifter - a wildling - who can change into a mountain lion at will. While there are some fairly obvious bonuses to being a shapeshifter, there is something strange about how the particular town he lives in seems to be such a big hotspot for them. There is also something just slightly suspicious about the way wildling teenagers are disappearing into government and corporate vans and never returning. De Lint captures the voices of his characters with pitch perfection and the story moves a long a great clip as we uncover mythology and conspiracy alike in the town of Santa Feliz. A great read for lovers of shapeshifter stories, and the story is also very similar to Kelley Armstrong's Darkness Rising and Darkest Powers trilogies (another great Canadian YA author). Though, we will say that it is a shame that the publishers decided to go with a cover that does not at all represent the cultural background of the protagonist.

* On an exciting sidenote, there are many new Canadian books in our YA 14+ section that we can't wait to read: One in Every Crowd by Ivan E. Coyote, Way to Go by Tom Ryan, The Opposite of Tidy by Carrie Mac, The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, and Darkest Light by Hiromi Goto.

Forgotten

By Cat Patrick

Trying to explain this the plot of this book is proving very difficult. Our protagonist, London Lane, is a young girl whose memory works backwards...that is, she only remembers forwards. She "remembers" her entire future but cannot remember a single moment of her past, having to rely on notes she leaves herself to read and her mother and best friend to help her fill in the gaps from yesterday. The author is very consistent and creative with her explanations of how London's life and  memory work, making London a great example of how we can learn to adapt to just about anything. While this is a well-written romantic story about how London meets a young man whom she can remember neither forwards or backwards, the more interesting storyline is actually the very intense mystery about the traumatic events leading up to her memory glitches.  We truly did not see the ending coming, which is always the mark of a truly delicious suspense story.

BZRK

By Michael Grant

Michael Grant is very quickly making his way to our "authors who can do no wrong" list. We loved his Gone series (think Lord of the Flies with mutants) and also his series for middle readers, The Magnificent 12. And now he turns his eye towards the mind games of the future. In BZRK, those in the know can hack into a person's brain with as much ease a criminal breaking into a person's car. One particular company is bent on creating perfection in the human brain, so that there is no anger, no hurt, no war etc. But a group of rebellious teenagers has decided that being human, even with all our flaws, is something worth fighting for (for those of you who have seen the movie Serenity, this is a similar theme). But the fight is only taking place in the mind, to see who can outhack who and win the war over our freedom to be who we are. Grant does not shy away from the violence in this book, nor does he dumb anything down. This one of those reads that proves that you can have deeply complex themes as well as a page-turning action all in the same book.

Where Things Come Back

By John Corey Whaley

Given how many novels are written about the average adult male life, it's interesting that very few writers these days attempt to do a realistic portrayal of a young man's life, and even fewer do it well. John Green is one of the authors at the top of this list, and we're pleased add John Corey Whaley's name to this short list. In a small town in Arkansas, an extinct woodpecker is supposedly spotted and suddenly everything in Cullen Witter's life changes. Woodpecker Mania begins while everyone ignores the fact that Cullen's brother has gone missing. Meanwhile, a young missionary in Africa is searching for what is left of his faith. The two stories tell us one grander story of the mystery and wonder in the small, commonplace aspects of life. Whaley's sarcastic humour and excellent storytelling provide a story that will sit with you long after you've finished reading. This book won the Printz Award (one of our faves for YA)

Wonder Show

By Hannah Barnaby

Amidst all the dystopian novels that sprang up like wildfire after the Hunger Games, it was a nice change to pace to settle into a more quiet, subtle story like Wonder Show. This is not to say that this story lacks adventure, just that it takes its time, letting you ease into it like a comfortable reading chair. When Portia Remini is abandoned by her family at McGreavey's Home for Wayward Girls, she is determined to not let this disturbing place be her home. She finds a flyer for a traveling circus and escapes to join Mosco's Traveling Wonder Show, where she learns all about carnie life from both the freaks and the norms. We loved the representation of the circus and all its queer and enigmatic characters. Portia achieves both the peace and the upheaval of nomadic life lead to and discovers that can almost always find a family in the most unexpected places. A book for the reader who always wanted to run away to join the circus.

Struts & Frets

By Jon Skovron

A fabulous coming of age story for a budding musician, or anyone who has a passion for something that is overwhelming enough to make them take risks many others won't. Sammy is young musician who enters his band in a contest where the winner will get to record an album. If this was all he had to do, life would be cake, but unfortunately he has to deal with his best friend (a wonderfully written smart girl) wanting to take their relationship to another level and with his grandfather's increasingly problematic dementia. Genuine, hilarious, realistic and awesome, this is a book to cherish.