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7 Mini-Reviews of Short YA Books & Some Whackadoo Story Ideas

10/17/2012

27 Comments

 
A few weeks ago, we compiled a long list of YA books under 220 pages. At the time, I was on schedule to finish my allotted 100 book goal for 2012, but I wanted to get ahead so I could be ready for the onslaught of Cybils nominees I am currently wading through until December. When I put those walls together, I try to put two descriptors/tags with each one so people can have even an inkling about what the book entails. However, when I was putting that specific wall of books together, I was so surprised to see how many "issue books" are also short YA books. I was chatting to Tatiana and Catie the other day about how I'd recently read short books about a disfigured war hero on a revenge mission, an intelligent teen stuck inside his body who might be murdered by his father, a girl kidnapped by a pedophile and made a sex slave, a kid with cerebral palsy and his new party-hard friend making a movie, and I can't say the last one because it would be a spoiler. 

You could read probably two of these books each day, and I suggest you do, as each of them has something unique to offer. Alright, maybe two a day is reaching but a few a week is definitely doable, even for slower readers. 
   
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Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

I saw this book all the time, on Goodreads, on favorite lists, mentioned by authors, in a conversation about disturbing books, but I only picked it up after I put it on the wall and even then, I hadn't actually paid attention to what the book was about. This was probably a mistake. I basically read this book with bug eyes and slack-jawed astonishment, flying through the pages in a frenzy as I found out about how Alice was abducted and sexually abused for five years. She was starved to keep her body childlike, and she has received no education since her abduction. Some reviewers label this book as horror, and it honestly reads like a horror book, or a thriller, because it is off-putting and I was not sure where the story was going to end. I was compelled to keep reading. But one cannot call this story unrealistic. Pedophilia, child sex trafficking, and their like are very much still happening. I am uncomfortable recommending alternative reads to this one as most of the ones that come to mind do not actually cover the same topics: kidnapping is not always sexual, abuse is not always sexual abuse, captive/captor are not always deranged adult and young child, etc. If you want to read about what it might be like for the victims of a murderous pedophile or are looking for a shock, read this. It is uncomfortable and it is unforgettable.  4/5 stars

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Heroes by Robert Cormier

Robert Cormier wrote I Am the Cheese, which will forever be burned in my brain as it was a question at pub trivia that I got incorrect a few months back. As such, I made it a personal goal to read several of his books in the next year or two because 1. I hate getting questions wrong in pub trivia; 2. His books are supposed to be twisty and well-written (some are required in many high school curricula); and 3. Most importantly to me, they are very short.  I immediately put Heroes on hold at the library when I read its blurb: 

Francis Joseph Cassavant is eighteen. He has just returned home from the Second World War, and he has no face. He does have a gun and a mission: to murder his childhood hero.

Imagine you are sitting in a room with me right now. Now go ahead and look into my eyes and tell me that if you read a blurb about a soldier with no face coming back to his hometown to murder someone, you wouldn't be interested in picking the book up. You're a liar, that's jacket copy at its best. I am very confused about what this soldier looks like from the cover. Does the background image look like a woman to anyone else? Maybe it's the bangs? There is somehow a ton and yet nothing going on in this story. I don't want to ruin the motive behind his revenge plot but I will say that this book just feels bleak. I felt horrible that a naive kid joined the army, was seriously injured, and then returns to a town that's forgotten him, filled with other physically and mentally injured vets, and devoid of hope.  Francis covers his entire face for the entirety so I never got a full idea of what he might look like but Cormier didn't play it down at all, instead (perhaps overly) mentioning the oozing crevices of Francis' face where his features used to be and the soaked-through bandages that filled with blood and pus. Heroes reads like a short story. It is a quick sketch of what one soldier's reasons were for joining the forces and how failing to act can haunt a person forever. In my opinion, the only reason to read this is the story. Those looking to get quotable quotes or flowery prose should just move along. 3/5 stars

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Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Dear Sara Zarr,

How could you narrate the audiobooks of Story of a Girl, Once Was Lost, and Sweethearts and then NOT narrate How to Save a Life? Don't you have any respect for the "people" who get addicted to hearing you read your own books? I think you should consider the very real possibility that you are evil.

Sincerely,
Flannery

People is in quotation marks because I'm assuming from the level of my outrage that there must be other people out there. For now, though, it's just me. Story of a Girl is about a teenager whose family and social life were upturned when her father caught her having sex with her brother's best friend in a car. In typical Zarr fashion, the story is very contained, both temporally and in terms of side plots, but it is still contemplative. In one summer, Deanna does a lot of growing up, and the people around her aren't exempt from a bit of growth themselves. At times, it was painful to experience life in Deanna's home because I know what it is like to have something unsaid and undealt with hanging over a group of people until every interaction just feels awkwardly awful. I could feel how frustrating Deanna's life was and Zarr's unaffected tone of voice was perfect for Deanna's teenage skepticism. 4/5 stars

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Stoner & Spaz by Ron Koertge

This awkwardly-covered book follows a teenager with cerebral palsy around while he attempts to break free a bit from the strict rules his grandmother enforces. He befriends a popular girl at school who exposes him to the wonderful worlds of dance clubs, drugs, and making out. I liked the book as a character study and I wasn't expecting more to happen but the author adds in a storyline about Ben's interest in filmmaking that overwhelms the second half of the book and changed the flow for me. (though there is a second book and it looks to be more about filmmaking) The dialogue is funny and Ben's addiction to going to the movies (where no one judges him) was endearing, but I lost all my attachment to this book as the story went on. It went from a 4 star book to a 2.5/5 stars. 

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Westmark by Lloyd Alexander

Westmark is a compact, quick-paced start to a fantasy series and it is the first of Alexander's works I've read. It won't be the last, as I already intend to finish this series sooner rather than later. Theo, the main character, is apprentice to a printer in a kingdom where the king rules in name only, as he's been overcome with grief since the disappearance of his daughter years before. In his stead, Chief Minister Cabbarus rules with an iron fist and ridiculous ineptitude. When Theo agrees to print up an order for Musket, a dwarf working for a traveling magician/con man Dr. Absalom, it runs contrary to the Cabbarus' rules and sets up a story of escape, evasion, and intrigue. Theo becomes part of Absalom's show, along with Musket and Mickle, a young street urchin girl. Though the outcome is predictable, I was pleasantly surprised by the road the characters took to get there and by several plot twists. If you're looking for an entry point into Lloyd Alexander's fantasy books, this one is perfect. At least, it was for me. On to the next! 4/5 stars

Stuck in Neutral cover
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

This book is one of the creepiest I've ever read, no question.  Stuck in Neutral is about an intelligent child who is a prisoner in his own body. While Shawn's mind is fully functional, he has no control over any other part of his body and the entire world, including his family, believes him to be intellectually disabled. Every so often, he is struck by a seizure. Shawn has come to love these times because he feels like he can break free of his body and partake in the world. His father, however, sees his child in pain. Shawn's dad left the family home when Shawn was a child because he couldn't deal with his son's cerebral palsy. He also wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning poem about Shawn's birth and early years and still gets lauded for doing so. (I am not usually into "fake award-winning writing within novels" and I wasn't into this poem) The creepy factor came into play when the narrator, Shawn, informs the reader that he believes his father is going to murder him.  This short book explores what it might be like for a child inside an immovable body, what it might be like as a father who is always wondering what is going on in the mind of his son who can never tell him. I won't tell you the ending but I will tell you one more thing: Terry Trueman is the father of a son with cerebral palsy. I cannot imagine what life would be like to be constantly wondering what, if anything, your child is thinking or to know if they are in pain. Stuck in Neutral is absolutely a worthwhile read with a unique narrator. I can't guarantee this book won't make you feel awkward but it will certainly widen your perspective a bit. 3.5/5 stars

Daddy Long Legs cover
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

I found Daddy-Long-Legs courtesy of the lovely ladies over at Young Adult Anonymous and then devoured it in one sitting. (it is free for Kindle, though devoid of illustrations) Published in 1912, it is a series of letters from the fictional Jerusha (Judy) Abbott to the mysterious benefactor who plucks her from an orphanage and pays for her college. The conditions of receiving the monetary support  are that he will remain anonymous (as such, Judy calls him many things but most often Daddy-Long-Legs because she's only seen him once in shadow against a wall and he looked tall and thin) and that she write him monthly letters. Fans of epistolary fiction will love this, as well as Anne-girl fans, because Judy is spunky, hilarious, and outspoken in an Anne of Green Gables way. After a while I wanted the story to get to the point, though I never really tired of Judy's voice. Once the endgame of the author becomes clear, it is funny to see the actions of Judy and her benefactor change. I also think this book would appeal to fans of movies like Meet Me In St. Louis and the older versions of Cheaper by the Dozen. The descriptions of the homes, families, clothes, and such really made me picture those movies I've seen time and time again. (I feel kind of like a badass that I placed both those movies in the same time period as Daddy-Long Legs before looking the dates up.) 4/5 stars


Now you know I wasn't kidding about how weird some of the short book plots are that I've recently read. However, I think we can go even weirder, don't you. Thus, here are some suggestions I am making up right as I type this: 

  1. Ken, a teenager with terminal brain cancer, decides to go out with a bang by going on a murder spree.
  2. Christmas dinner at The Smiths is a bit awkward when Bree's long-lost half-sister, her biological brother who has secretly transitioned to female, and her aunt and uncle who are in love but have to keep it a secret all show up for some rotisserie chicken.
  3. Everybody's  a twin. (Liz Lemon shoutout!)
  4. For years, Holly's grandmother has been sending her $50 gift cards every month. Only they haven't been going to Holly's current address, they've been going next door. A boy from school has been spending them every month and sending her grandmother regular thank you cards. Obviously arguments and then true love occurs.
  5. The most popular girl in school throws a Halloween masquerade ball where everyone has to keep their face covered at all times. Who Was It? checks in with all the attendees the next day, but you'll never believe who did what with who.
  6. A Juggalo who loves Insane Clown Posse so much that he wears his makeup every day to school explores his life-long dream of being a taxidermist. 


What are your ideas? Let's hear them. 
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27 Comments
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 06:36:41 am

Flannery, your ideas are better than 99% of what is being published. I am particularly interested in #4 and 5.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 06:42:46 am

Where are YOUR crazy ideas? I bet you'd have some good ones. I actually thought of the gift card one yesterday while I was walking the dog. I thought it'd be an interesting way for two people to meet and it would set up some tension, obviously, as one person is scumbag enough to do such a thing but still nice enough to write regular thank yous to the grandma;-)

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Trin link
10/17/2012 07:14:18 am

I'd totally read number 4, write this now!

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 07:19:25 am

YOU write this now! I am just an idea machine.

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Keertana link
10/17/2012 07:15:35 am

Wonderful mini-reviews, Flannery! I loooved Story of a Girl and I have Living Dead Girl on my TBR-Shelf, so I'll have to add some of these other titles too, particularly Daddy-Long-Legs. I loved Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron (and the novel preceding that installment whose name I've forgotten), but I remember not continuing that series, but those two books were fantastic, so I'd recommend that to you as well if you liked his writing style! :) OH, and I love Idea #4! Write it, please? I'd definitely buy it! ;)

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 07:21:11 am

Thanks, Keertana! I am definitely going to read more of Alexander's stuff. My younger sister has been in love with The Black Cauldron and that entire series for years so that is next on my list after I finish the other two Westmark books.

Secretly, I want to steal someone else's monthly gift cards;-)

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Noelle link
10/17/2012 07:16:48 am

What IS the cover of Stoner & Spaz? Are those all arms? And I'm so glad you liked Judy Abbott :D

I would read books of ALL of your ideas. The rotisserie chicken really makes #2. And I would throw down with #4. Meet cute with PUNCHES. And a potential for meddlin' grandma? Done and done.

Um, just throwing some ideas out there:
1. I still want to read about a bunch of late teens working at an adventure tourist attraction (ziplining, tubing snorkling etc) in lets say...Hawaii. On an excursion, something goes wrong and the teens have to survive with a bunch of random tourists with varying degrees of attractiveness and survival skills.

2. College radio station. Call in advice show? Request line o' love? A Sleepless in Seattle angle? I don't care. Give it to me!

...And that's all I've got FOR NOW.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 07:27:10 am

LIIIIIMBS. LIIIIIMBS EVERYWHERE.

I think the rotisserie chicken really makes it as well. I mean, all those people wouldn't come to the dinner if it was just plain turkey with no stuffing. Snoozefest. How great would it be if Holly could contain her anger for long enough to get the grandma in on the action? They could start sending really creepy gift cards to places like Cabela's with a card that says, "Holly, go get those knives you've been wanting. Take care of those assholes!" with nothing else. It could turn crazy really fast.

I was a college radio DJ. I wish I could've given advice. Instead, I just quoted movies with my friends and accidentally played swear words. Whoops!

I'd totally read the teen tourist attraction workers. Two summers ago, my parents went on an Alaskan cruise and told me they'd found the perfect job for me when they came back. They met a twentysomething guy who lived in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness in a tent filled with books. He had to wear period clothes and then teach cruise people about history and gold panning and stuff. My parents said they were very inquisitive with him--how many books did he read a season? was it worth it to live out here alone? how did he shower? etc. I love that they were actually trying to get the scoop:)

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Missie link
10/17/2012 07:35:35 am

Thanks for helping me make a wall of shorties. I need some if I have any hope of reading 100 books this year. There is still time to get er done, right?

P.S. If I had any ideas, I'd be trying to sell them. :P

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 08:01:20 am

Of course there's still time! You don't need to worry until December;-) Just read 1 short book extra per week and you will be golden. You are freaking amazing at achieving your goals (in life and in reading) so I am 100% positive you'll get there, Missie.

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VeganYANerds link
10/17/2012 09:01:29 am

You're so right, so many short books are issue books and you certainly read some interesting ones!

Living Dead Girl sounds horrible but at the same time I know I want to read it. And I'm glad you loved Story of a Girl, that book really got to me, I felt that awkward home-situation so hard.

And I think you could be some author's muse and give them ideas, hire yourself out!

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 02:08:03 pm

Ha, I wish I could get paid for just thinking of ideas for plotlines and character traits.

I know you want to read Living Dead Girl. And I know I want to read your eventual review of it.

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
10/18/2012 01:05:01 am

Flann, there are literary agencies that do just that - come up with stories and hire someone to write them (like the one Lauren Oliver works for - http://www.paperlanternlit.com/). There might still be a way to utilize your talents.

Bonnie link
10/17/2012 10:50:37 am

I'm loving the idea of #4 and #5 but DEFINITELY #3. (Liz Lemon is my hero).
I read Living Dead Girl earlier this year and I think my jaw was on the floor and eyes were huge the entire time. Thankfully it was a short one. Short and very brutal. I definitely need to try something of Sara Zarr!

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 02:03:19 pm

I love Liz Lemon so much, even though this season hasn't been as funny.

Yeah, I couldn't believe Living Dead Girl. I wasn't expecting that at all. You haven't read any Sara Zarr?! Oh my gosh, Bonnie, get on that. Like now.

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Bonnie link
10/18/2012 12:55:04 am

It hasn't been that funny... but oh well. I keep watching it.

Which Sara Zarr would you recommend? And obviously in audio right? :P

Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/18/2012 04:31:32 am

I'd start with Sweethearts or Story of Girl. I read Sweethearts years ago and that got me hooked but she narrates both audiobooks. Story of a Girl is a short book--go for that one.

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Angiegirl link
10/17/2012 01:10:37 pm

Oh goodness yes WESTMARK. If you enjoyed it, you are going to just revel in how awesome THE KESTREL and THE BEGGAR QUEEN are. To this day it remains one of the best trilogies I have ever read. So glad you gave it a try.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 02:05:37 pm

You and my younger sister are the two people who recently got me interested in reading something of his. I can't wait to see where the story goes!

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
10/17/2012 01:40:33 pm

No one likes #1? I started a list the minute I read your idea. Um, I mean, I love #4. Gift cards! Neighbors! Hijinks! I think you should write out one of these stories for NaNoWriMo.

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/17/2012 02:01:34 pm

Well then, where is your list?! I know you'd have some crazytime ideas. You should include a meet cute about a hip girl from Los Angeles whose grandmother can't park her car. While taking forever, a hot guy comes out of a nearby car and offers to park the car for her. True love ensues.

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
10/18/2012 06:54:27 am

I totally meant a murder spree list, but your meet-cute parking idea just saved a ton of lives!

Heidi link
10/18/2012 08:02:40 am

This is a great format for reviewing all of those quicky short books, Flannery! I suppose it makes sense that so many issue books are so short, at least it does to me, if they were longer I probably would never get through them.

Living Dead Girl reminds me of a book I just read the other night, actually. My Book of Life By Angel, which was a very different story, but of the same ilk. About a girl who gets somewhat forced into the sex trade by the guy she thought was her boyfriend. Heavy, depressing, but still really true and worth reading.

Heroes sounds interesting, but as I absolutely hated The Chocolate War, I don't know if I'll be going there.

I've been meaning to read Sara Zarr forever, so it's good to know she does a great job of narrating a lot of her own books.

So happy that you thought Westmark was a great place to start with Alexander! I shamefully haven't read any either, but the fact that this one is quick and fun (and recommended by both you and Angie) have it pretty much sold for me.

Stuck in Neutral sounds amazing and terrifying. And consider Dady Long Legs bought! I've never heard of this, but it sounds like something I'll love! Of course I'm an Anne fan girl, and I own Meet Me in St. Louis--it's one of my faves.

Your ideas are amazing. I can see most of those being legit books, particularly the gift certificate one. Though I'm 95% sure there's something out there where everyone's a twin. I just can't think of what it is...

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/18/2012 02:43:38 pm

I can easily see how someone could hate Cormier's writing. I'm still going to read that one because it's so "famous." Same with I Am the Cheese.

Thanks for mentioning another book like Living Dead Girl. I'm going to read it to see if it's as jarring as that one was--if so, I'm certain it's worthwhile, as you said.

You don't have to buy DDL--it's free! I flipping love Meet Me In St. Louis. It's almost the season. I always tear up during Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas:-/

I'm thinking about doing NaNoWriMo. Maybe I'll integrate one of these ideas into it. (A girl with terminal brain cancer, who is in love with her cousin who lives next door and spends all her gift cards, goes on a murder spree, leaving some rotisserie chicken and a mask at each crime scene.)

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Heidi link
10/23/2012 01:33:40 am

I would read that book.

That is all.

Leanne link
10/18/2012 08:36:28 am

I love your mini reviews, Flannery :) Story of a Girl was spectacular, and I've been meaning to listen to the audiobook and determine the dealbreaker: whether or not audiobooks are for me. The previous ones I listened to... did not end well.

And did you say, fans of Anne of Green Gables will love Daddy Long Legs? And it's a req from the lovely ladies over at Young Adult Anonymous? Sold lady, sold. ;)

I'm partial to the 4th and 5th idea, and the 1st one is totally creeeeepy and something I imagine you would say, haha. :)

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Flannery (The Readventurer) link
10/18/2012 02:45:24 pm

Are you saying I'm creepy? If so, HOW DID YOU KNOW?

Audiobooks are amazing. If you don't like them then you've just been trying the wrong ones. Try one of Zarr's (Story of a Girl), Holly Black's Curse Workers series, Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, or If I Stay by Gayle Forman then come report back.

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