His, Hers & Ours

Hey there again everyone,
Here are my thoughts on some of the books I've read this week!
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
I'm proud to say that I have finally completed this book, but disappointed to say that I found it, well, disappointing. In his debut novel, David Wroblewski weaves this story of a young, mute boy who spends his childhood learning the art of breeding and training his family's infamous Sawtelle dogs. After Edgar's long lost uncle returns to help around the kennel and his father mysteriously dies, Edgar finds himself plunged into a new life of mystery, betrayal and loss. The storyline is complex, at times stark and realistic, and at other times dipping into the realm of the paranormal. With a plot that loosely follows Shakespeare's Hamlet, Wroblewski presents a creative take on the play, but the results are unfocused and forced.

I am a genius of unspeakable evil and I want to be your class president by  Josh Lieb
 This book was the perfect company for election week. In his debut novel, Josh Lieb, producer of The Simpsons and The Daily Show with John Stewart, tells the story of a young, overweight, unpopular boy who we soon discover feigns stupidity to cover up his true identity as a rich, evil genius. Narrated in the snarky voice of main character Oliver Watson, the book follows Oliver's decision to run for the president of his eighth grade class, though such a feat hardly presents a challenge for a boy who has already become the third richest person in the world, capable of running corporations and overthrowing world leaders. With subtle commentary on real life elections and  insights into life as an unpopular seventh grader who, though he won't admit it, wants nothing more than to please his father, Lieb's novel is both funny and compelling. Jon Stewart sums up the book well with his comment, "If War and Peace had a baby with The Breakfast Club and then left the baby to be raised by wolves, this book would be the result. I loved it."

Skinned by Robin Wasserman
One of my favorite genres to read, and fortunately a genre that is rising in popularity for YA fiction, is post apocalyptic/dystopian fiction. This genre presents a modern, teen twist on classics like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and  includes books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (one of my all time favorite books), Uglies by Scott Westerfield, and even books like Lois Lowry's The Giver which I mentioned in an earlier post. These types of books are typically set in a future time in a world that can be recognized as the United States after some sort of major catastrophic event. In Skinned, author Robin Wasserman tells the story of a young girl who had it all--beauty, popularity, money (or in this world, "credits")--but awakes after a fatal accident to find that her body has died, but her mind has been downloaded into a new mechanical body. Now, main character Lia finds herself  facing a life of immortality in a society that disdains what she has become. Set in a world where names like "Chicago" and "Atlanta" are only names in history books, Skinned is a story of survival and change, of overwhelming social networking and class distinction. After discovering that the book is the first of a trilogy, I'm excited to see how this story unfolds. 


This past Friday, I attended the Youth Literature Seminar, an annual celebration of children's and young adult fiction put on by Kalamazoo Public Library. This year's focus was on international literature, with discussion on the boundaries that could be crossed by reading books written outside of the United States. I've always loved reading international books, so this was an exciting opportunity to learn new titles and suggested authors. International literature, especially books in translation, is a growing trend in the world of publishing, so this next book is me participating in a trend!
Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Well, this book is not exactly a translation, but it was originally published in Australia. It's always fun to start reading a book and slowly figure out the world I'm reading about is not the United States. Often, the clues are subtle and easy to ignore, like college referred to as "University" or a word here and there that sounds just a bit off. This book, however, is not subtle. Within the first pages, we are not only introduced to the life of a teen in Sydney, we also learn many different varieties of Australian slang. In Ten Things I Hate About Me (not to be mistaken with the 1990's movie Ten Things I Hate About You, which I love), Randa Abdel-Fattah tells the story of a young Lebanese Muslim girl who is trapped in two identities. At school, she is blonde and blue eyed Jamie, a typical Anglo Australian girl. But at home, she is Jamilah, daughter of a strict Muslim father who forbids her to go out past sunset or to participate in co-ed activities of any sort, except Arabic school. In this coming of age story, Jamilah/Jamie struggles to juggle her two worlds, and must gain the confidence to  embrace both sides of her identity.