Looking For Alibrandi
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publication Date: 1992
Publisher: Puffin

Blurb (GR):
For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.

Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life. This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.

Told with unmatched depth and humor, this novel—which swept the pool of Australian literary awards and became a major motion picture—is one to laugh through and cry with, to cherish and remember.

Review:
When I was in school, we routinely had to complete projects about our heritage. People asked (and still ask) “what are you?” meaning what is your nationality. A lot of these projects ended up with discussions about why third or fourth generation Americans still call themselves Irish, Italian, Korean, Filipino, Greek, etc. instead of saying they are American first. My blood is pretty watered down at this point—Irish, Swedish, German, Spanish…but it really doesn’t matter. I’m sure kids in other primarily immigrant countries had to do the same kinds of projects/presentations. I identify most with the mish-mash of cultural traditions that my immediate family celebrates and those of my dearest friends than those of any specific country from which my ancestors hailed. Sometimes I wish I was full-blooded something, or at least enough that I could be part of an ethnic community but until American Mutt becomes an ethnic category I think I’m out of luck. It is fun to go crazytime on St. Patrick’s Day, make Pepparkakor, and put sauerkraut on tons of stuff though. As much as I couldn’t connect with Josie’s Italian culture, I totally understood the Catholic school and community situation. It’s a close-knit community and everyone knows everyone else’s business. This is especially true when people have a lot of siblings. (Josie was perhaps lucky in that regard) And feeling guilty about everything? GUILTY! Anyway, I totally understood Josie’s confusion about her identity and her and several other characters’ confusion about their futures.

I kept putting this book off because it was the last contemporary YA Marchetta book that I’d yet to read, and I’ve been told many times that it was probably her weakest book. (which to me meant that it would still be better than 98% of the YA out there) Turns out I think it was my favorite Melina Marchetta reading experience to date. The narrator for the audiobook was perfect. I watched the movie the other day and I almost wished (slash actually did wish) that some of the characters had the narrator’s voice instead of the actors’ voices. I wish I could take back watching the movie because it felt trivial compared the book. I suppose that is what I truly enjoyed most about the book, though—Josie was living everyday life and getting up to no good with her friends, seeing a boy her family might disapprove of, and feuding with a girl at school but all the while she was thinking of her cultural identity, what she would do in the future, how people’s individual life choices affect where their paths go, and about the difference between sadness and pure despair. (I absolutely bawled during the death and funeral scenes)

I think I felt a real affinity to Josie as a student-- our experiences weren’t that far off. All-girl’s Catholic school. Uniforms. Nuns. She is much more of an overachiever than I was. I never cut school but I used to leave early when I had free periods to hang out at my sister’s apartment and play cards and watch movies. (oooo, rebel.) Anyway, I’m sure you all don’t give a crap about my high school antics and really, if you aren’t already reading Melina Marchetta’s books, I don’t know what I could do to persuade you. I could tell you that her books are beautifully written, that each one of them is emotional in a different way, that her characters are multidimensional, that she understands families and friendships more than most authors, and that each one of her books is a favorite of mine. All of that is true, and if you haven’t already started reading her back catalog, you are truly missing out. But if you’re still reading this I bet you’re my friend and you already have read one or more of her books. That’s one of the reasons you are awesome. (Yeah, you.)

5/5 stars

__A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness (from an idea by Siobhan Dowd), illus. by Jim Kay
Publication Date: 9/15/11
Publisher: Candlewick

Blurb (GR): This is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss. The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming. . . .

This monster, though, is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final story idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.

Review:
Last Fourth of July, I played a party game called Time’s Up with some friends. The gist of the game is that everyone has a partner and you start with a certain number of cards as a group—say 40. Each one has a different movie/television show/book title on it and you use the same cards for the entire game so if you have great recall, the game is much easier. In the first round, you try to get your partner to guess the title by describing the movie without using specific words. (like Taboo) The second round involves trying to get your partner to guess the movie by saying one word. The third round is charades. This game is hilariously fun because I get to watch people try to act out Bridge on the River Kwai and to see what the one word they’d pick is to sum something up. So many books are utterly forgettable. I read too much to remember all the details of everything over time. I reached 1,000 books read last week and so what if somewhere around 150 of those are children’s books, it is still a milestone. 1,000 books further down the line, I’ll still remember A Monster Calls. While it would be a completely useless one word sum-up for the party board game, the one word for this book is beautiful because it is just that, inside and out.


I think it is lovely that Patrick Ness took a story idea from an author we lost too early, Siobhan Dowd. I’d read reviews of A Monster Calls before going into it so I knew what I was getting into, but in case you don’t, this is about a boy dealing with losing his mother to cancer. I have not experienced the loss of a parent but this book did not feel emotionally manipulative to me, and from what I’ve taken away from other reviews, the feelings reflected by Conor ring true for at least a large portion of people who have gone through that nightmare themselves. No part of the book felt cliché to me either, which I frankly found surprising. There is an absolute skill to taking a heavier theme, writing a book for children or young adults, and making it not only accessible but I daresay appealing to adults. I’ve never read anything Ness has written beyond this but I definitely will be doing so. He isn’t condescending to children. He doesn’t tell saccharine fairy tales, and I loved that. I guessed what the monster was there for all along but that takes nothing away from the book and the way the yew tree was brought into the story, through references and illustrations by Jim Kay was perfect. On Kay’s website, he discusses the cover image and says,

“I have very fond childhood memories of being in the back seat of a car watching fields and farmland rush by. During the hour of twilight, the familiar objects began to lose their definition, became dark, anonymous forms. The countryside at night through the window of a car was both frightening and compelling; the everyday merged with the unknown, and this is how Patrick’s story felt to me.” (1)

You and me, both, Mr. Kay. The eerie artwork paired perfectly with Conor's story. The whole book felt like he was stuck in an in-between place, which I suppose he was. Those aren't places I like to spend a lot of time but every once in a while...

I won a signed copy of this from my friend Jo's blog, Wear the Old Coat. It was definitely a prized treasure of mine from the moment I unwrapped the parcel.

5/5 stars

Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publication Date: 12/2/10
Publisher: Dutton

Blurb (GR): Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Review:
A Haiku
Boarding school story
Girl meets short boy with girlfriend
Cue teenage drama

Also it is in France, some of the parents are douchebags, and it is as enjoyable as cookies and milk.

4/5 stars

Saltwater Moons
Author: Julie Gittus
Publication Date: 8/7/08 (no US date yet)
Publisher: Lothian Books

Blurb (GR): In the beginning it seems so simple. A poem in the mail. A weekend invitation to the coast. But when Sun says yes to a midnight walk, her life becomes suddenly complicated. Saltwater Moons tells the story of Sun Langley during her final months of Year Twelve. There's the intensity of her first relationship, complicated by the fact she continues to exchange poems with her boyfriend's best mate. It's a story about love and betrayal, about constantly longing for the things we can't have.

Review:
Look out, it’s another Aussie YA book. And another Aussie author who has strong writing skills and uses evocative language. This one ended up being around a 3.5 for me but it still puts a lot of American YA to shame.  Of course, and we’ve had this discussion many a time, it is probably because there is so much more American YA so we have to wade through the muck to find the gems. Er, or whatever else you could find in the muck.  Clearly, I am no Aussie YA author as I just gave you the mental image of swimming in mud to look for gemstones and that is ridiculous…but it kind of makes me want to go to the spa. But while we’re off on a tangent, let me just tell you about the mental image I am having right now: Aussie YA characters vs. American YA characters in a dance-off West Side Story-style.  Sharks v. Jets. (When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet for life) Du-da-nuh-na-na.  I bet Jonah Griggs, Rhino, Thomas Mackee, and Tycho could really bring it in a dramatic gang fight.  And don’t even try to tell me they’d be going up against Edward Cullen. I’d schedule it for noon in full sunlight, just to be sure.

Aaaand, I’m back on topic. Sunday lives outside the suburbs with her parents, brother, and her horse, Gio. While she doesn’t have too much experience, her best friend Nicky has been fooling around with guys for a few years. Sun meets Nicky’s boyfriend, Mark, and his friend Tycho when they all hang out together. Tycho is one of those contemplative, endearing surfer dudes that seem to exist in abundance in Australia or at least in Australian YA. (whatever, I am not sick of them yet) Even after Mark breaks up with Nicky, Tycho and Sun still talk once in a while, but events take a turn after Tycho invites Sun down to his place for the weekend. It should come as no surprise that alcohol serves as the impetus for the event that sets up the rest of the plot. I just wish all the characters would say the things they mean to say or inquire to see if what they are believing is, in fact, true. I suppose it is realistic, though. Can you really fault me for wanting two characters that work so well together to just be together?

Which brings me to Tycho and Sunday. I love poetry but let’s be honest, a lot of it is pretentious. I thought it was lovely the way Tycho and Sunday sent each other poems in the mail, and I enjoyed most of them. BUT, I couldn’t help but wonder what the inspiration for this book was and whether the author just loves all these poets and wanted to include them in her book. And I’m not trying to be a jerk, I LIKED THEM! Poems can be truly amazing—in some instances, they can replace the feeling of an entire speech with just a few lines. They can evoke emotion and describe experiences so well that I think I’m there. BUT, I think it is cheesy when people read poetry to each other. Just tell the person how you feel. To their face. In your own words. Make up your own metaphors. Sure, someone has said what you want to say before (or seemingly so), but it means more if you actually put it into words yourself instead of copying the emotions of someone else.  Unless you are far apart (cue Richard Marx), then write away and poem yourself to death.  But if you are living near each other, just use poems every once in a while, when they actually mean something. /personal gripe Just kidding, my gripe isn’t over yet.  Say there is a really awesome guy. He has all sorts of quirky habits that are adorable. He sends you frakking poems in the mail and brings your mom seedlings for your garden. He drives you home when his lame friend can’t pick you up. You know who does these types of things? GUYS THAT LIKE YOU. I mean, it was about as subtle as a brick to the head.

So, in short, this book is for you if you love poetry, you like artistic surfer dudes, you enjoy reading about family discord, you are piling up your Aussie YA books, or you just want a solid read. I definitely enjoyed it and I will read whatever else Julie Gittus writes.

3/5 stars