In most of the YA novels that we love, we tend to focus on the male protagonist that makes us swoon, or the couple whose love we root for above all else.  I started to realize that there was almost always a best friend character who helps the protagonist. After all, where would Harry have been without Ron and Hermione?  In that spirit, I would like to focus on another unsung friend — Kim from “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman.  “If I Stay” and its companion book “Where She Went” are truly amazing and hands-down two of my favorite books (not just of YA, but period).  I fell in love with Adam and rooted for Mia and Adam’s love all the way through.  I also came to love and appreciate Kim, the kind of friend that quite honestly, we ALL need in our lives.

When Kim and Mia first met in sixth grade, everyone assumed that they would get along.  At first they resented one another, until the day they had an actual fist fight.  By the end of the fight, they were laughing  and became friends just like everyone had predicted.  From that point on, they were inseparable.

Name: Kim Schein

Age: 17

What She’s Like: Kim has long, thick, black curly hair that she wears in a single braid everyday.  She is droll and quick-witted, with a sarcastic sense of humor — the kind where she has to say “just kidding’ to people who don’t know when she’s just joking. Kim has the distinction of being one of the few Jewish kids in her town in Oregon, somewhere near Portland. She is a fiercely loyal friend to Mia.

Why Her: When Kim hears about Mia’s accident she immediately goes to the hospital with her mother.  While there, she does something uncharacteristic: she prays for Mia and asks her to live.  She then goes to Portland to find Mia’s boyfriend Adam and give him the terrible news in person so he wouldn’t have to hear it on the phone.  Together they head to the hospital, so he can be with Mia.

When neither of them is allowed to see Mia (only her grandparents have been allowed to visit), Kim helps sneak Adam in.  This is especially poignant, since neither of them particularly cared for the other.  They both shared their love of Mia, but they weren’t friends outside of her. But in that moment, Kim understood Adam’s desperate need to see Mia for what could’ve been the last time.  This was the time for Mia’s friends to step in and support her (and her grieving grandparents, who had already lost so much).

Kim never wavers in her unconditional love, support and encouragement. She’s the truest of friends. Even in “Where She Went,” it’s obvious (mostly through photos and a few conversations) that her friendship with Mia continues to be steadfast and close as they develop from teens to adults. Every girl deserves a Kim!

Favorite Kim quotes:

“Cut it out!” Kim interjects.  “Mia is still here.  So I’m not losing it.  And if I don’t lose it, you don’t get to!”

“Look, I accept Adam because you love him.  And I assume he accepts me because you love me.  If  it makes you feel any better, your love binds us.  And that’s enough.  Me and him don’t have to love each other.”

“But after what’s happened today, that would be nothing.  Even going to jail would be easy compared to losing you.”

“I do have a point to all this,” she continues.  “There are like twenty people in that waiting room right now.  Some of  them are related to you.  Some of them are not.  But we’re all your family.”  She stops now.  Leans over me so that the wisps of her hair tickle my face.  She kisses me on the forehead. “You still have a family,” she whispers.

Don't mess with a witch's babies! (Warner Bros.)

It’s Mother’s Day, so I wanted to highlight some of my favorite literary mothers in YA. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you with children, and to those of you who are missing your own mothers this bittersweet holiday, know that you are not alone.

Molly Weasley, “Harry Potter”: Allow me to quote my own story about Movie Moms… “With good reason, most Harry Potter fans adore Lily Potter, who sacrificed her life to save baby Harry from Voldemort’s Killing Curse. But Molly Weasley also deserves credit for being an awesome mum to seven precocious gingers. On top of raising her own wizards and witches, she dotes on Ron’s two best friends, Harry and Hermione, who each have to learn their way around the wizarding world. And Molly isn’t just quick with the cooking spells — when it comes to her children, she can unleash her inner warrior (take that, Bellatrix LeStrange).”
Memorable Quote: “Not my daughter, you bitch!” (OK, I know there are plenty of quotes I could use, but this is THE quote!)

Mia’s Mom, “If I Stay”: I have to be honest and say I can’t remember her name, although I know it was mentioned a few times. I loved a lot of things about Mia’s mom — how supportive she is of her daughter; how she never diminishes the love Mia feels for Adam even though they are teenagers (because she had met her own husband at a young age). She’s this petite punk feminist who can’t make pancakes but adores her family. One of the reasons I love Gayle Forman’s book so much is that Mia and her parents are close, and that’s not often the case in YA, where parents can be clueless or provide the tension in coming-of-age stories.
Memorable Quote: “I’d understand if you chose love, Adam love, over music love. Either way you win. And either way you lose. What can I tell you? Love’s a bitch.”

Mrs. Prior, “Divergent”: We don’t see much of Tris’ mom, but that’s because the moment Tris chooses Dauntless, she’s no longer with her parents (who are left behind in Abnegation with neither of their children — sniff!). But during the one “Parents’ Day” that she visits Tris and then again during the horror at the end of the book, it’s obvious just how awesome a mom Mrs. Prior is, even if she’s only in a few scenes. Selfless and brave, sacrificing and intelligent, Mrs. Prior is more than initially meets the eye (even Tris doesn’t realize how much her mom rocks until “Insurgent,” really).
Memorable Quote: “You’re my daughter.  I don’t care about the factions…Look where they got us.  Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again.”

Gram, “The Sky Is Everywhere”: I lived with my grandmother (and great-aunt for that matter) from the day I was born until the days they took their last breaths. For that reason, I have a huge soft spot for amazing grandmothers, and Gram is simply the best. She took care of her two orphaned granddaughters, and after one dies unexpectedly at the age of 19, she gives Lennie, the sister left behind, the space and time she needs to grieve, to heal, to fall desperately in love for the first time. Not every grandmother could deal with a sullen, desperate granddaughter (who makes out in front of her!), but Gram is just that patient and kind and all-around awesome.
Memorable Quote: “You act like you’re the only one in this house who has lost somebody. She was like my daughter, do you know what that’s like? Do you? My daughter. No you don’t, because you haven’t once asked… Did it ever occur to you that I might need to talk?”

Mrs. Murry, “A Wrinkle in Time”: I never read “A Wrinkle in Time” as a child, and what a loser I am for missing out on one of the greatest children’s books of all time. When I finally read it at like 33, I had so much sympathy for Mrs. Murry, who had to raise those super precocious children on her own. Solo parenting (when you’re married) stinks, and my heart just sank at the thought of brilliant but frightened Mrs. Murry not having a clue what had happened to her kids.

Mariah Fredericks is the author of “The Girl in the Park,” our April Book Club pick.  The book, a mystery set in an elite Manhattan private school, is easy to read yet thought-provoking and engaging — especially for teens still navigating the socially stratified nature of high school. The lessons learned by Fredericks’ protagonist Rain are important for teens: listen, observe, find your voice. Since “The Girl in the Park” is also an engrossing whodunit, it’s entertaining to try to solve the central crime before the “big reveal” at the novel’s climax.  The clues are there, you just have to look and listen like Rain did.

As native New Yorkers (now living elsewhere), Sandie and I appreciated and enjoyed the many references to familiar sites in Manhattan (Sandie went to Columbia, so she particularly loved that Rain lived in Morningside Heights). We also understood the attitudes of Manhattanites toward those live off the island. In fact, we still know many adults who refuse to consider anything over a bridge or tunnel worth visiting or knowing.

After you read Mariah’s Q&A, read our reviews of “The Girl in the Park” and our giveaway for five copies of the book!

When Wendy Geller’s body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,”Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled.” But shy Rain, once Wendy’s best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just “party girl.” As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Fredericks’ mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

What made you decide to do a “whodunit”? I was thrilled and surprised when an earlier novel of mine, Crunch Time, was nominated for an Edgar. It is a whodunit in a sense, but it didn’t really occur to me I was writing a mystery. I have enormous respect for mystery writers. They make a unique deal with the reader. Can you figure out where I’m going? What do you feel this character would do or not do? So I wanted to try it again. Plus, my mother was a mystery junkie. The shelves in our house were crammed with Dorothy Sayers, P.D. James, and Agatha Christie. It was nice to write something that she would have particularly enjoyed.

How did you go about mapping out the plot and the clues that would be revealed along the way? 
What kind of research did you do into the way journalism and crime detection works in this kind of scenario? How did I map out the clues? Not very well, at first, to be honest. Because Rain was a “listener,” I wanted most of the clues to be verbal, things people let slip or gossip that comes to her. But that gets very convenient after a while—”I overheard so and so say she could have killed her!”—so I had to add some tangible element she could track herself. That’s where the E pin came in. Let’s just say it will be a long time before I write another book where jewelry is the central piece of the puzzle!

Was it difficult to hold the coming-of-age aspect together with the mystery aspect of the book? Not at all. The mystery was based loosely on the Jennifer Levin murder in the 80s. I had a very strong reaction to that case, and I’ve had a lot of time to think about that emotional reaction and grow beyond it. It hit a nerve with a lot of people. So it seemed natural in this story to intertwine Rain’s emotional journey with her need to speak for Wendy and identify her killer.

Did you go to a Alcott-like Manhattan private school like Dalton or Calhoun? If not, how did you research the nuances like how upper-crust Manhattan kids feel about “middle class” classmates and the outerboroughs? Bingo—you got it. I went to Calhoun. And I knew exactly how upper crust Manhattan kids felt about the “outerboroughs” because as a kid, I was a dreadful little snot who didn’t acknowledge anyone not living on the island as a New Yorker. Slap me 17 times. Fittingly, since I graduated and started paying my own bills, I have always lived in the “outerboroughs.” So I’ve experienced it from both sides.

Why did you set the story amid the “Gossip Girl” world instead of, say, a more middle-class and relatable group of New York students? Part of the hysteria over the Jennifer Levin case stemmed from the fact that—in the official story at least—she and Robert Chambers were kids who “had it all.” Money, private school, looks. They became emblematic of upper class decadence, of how we were literally spoiling our children. So wealth was part of the story. Rain, however, I see as slightly different. She’s definitely comfortable, but not wealthy in the same sense. For that and many reasons, she has an outsider’s perspective.

Did you name Alcott after Louisa May Alcott, or just because it sounded like a posh name? Both. It sounded posh, but also has overtones of progressive and Americana that I think appeals to families who attend those schools.

As the story went on, Rain found her voice but also that there is a power in silence and listening. Do you think “listening” is undervalued in today’s teen culture? I remember spending endless hours on the phone, listening to my friends. I suspect today’s kids are similar. I remember my sister, after she noticed her daughter had spent an entire weekend on her phone, texting and talking, telling her, “You need to learn how to be by yourself.” I feel like kids today put a huge value on their social connections. Of course, listening is very different from understanding. Rain gets into trouble when she jumps to conclusions. She only makes progress when she realizes she has to listen to what is and just hear what she wants to. That I think is lacking across the board in our society. We decide what a person is really saying before the words are even out of their mouth. We make assumptions on people based on soundbites. And many of those assumptions can be quite harsh.

Social media/technology plays a big role in how Rain investigates the murder. Do you think teens should be more aware of what they put out there for others to see? Has social media/texting changed the social caste system of high school? I could be very wrong, but I’m not sure it matters in terms of how they may be seen by colleges or employers. I think we all know that kids present one way to peers and another way to adults. If a kid is posting about his constant pot smoking, the college or employer is probably going to see he’s a pot head without having to check his Facebook page. But I do think it matters when it provides another way for people to be cruel to one another. It allows people to put negative images of themselves or others out in the world in electronic type—as opposed to the old methods of whispers and writing on the bathroom wall. I’m stunned by the level of anger and nastiness I see on the internet. I can’t imagine that doesn’t have an impact on the social caste system of high school. I do think, given the random cruelty of the internet, you should be aware of how much of yourself you put out in a public forum, the same way you’re aware when you’re walking down a dark street late at night. Remember your vulnerability. And you should be aware of how much negativity you contribute.

Tell us about the process to get this book published. How long did it take to birth your book, from inception to publish date? I just looked at my old files. In November of 2009, I wrote an opening scene of Rain with her speech therapist. It’s profoundly creepy and I’m sorry it never made it into the final book. That went on to be sixty pages of the mystery. Anne Schwartz and I had been trying to work together for a while. I really admired her as an editor and she liked my work. Happily, she liked the 60 pages and we had our project. Because it was a mystery, there were a lot of complexities I hadn’t counted on, and Anne was very helpful in working those out. I think it took more than a year to get the final manuscript. And then of course, almost another year to publication because the publishing house has to work its magic.

Was the story of the Girl in the Park “ripped from the headlines,” like on “Law & Order”? Was it inspired by true events at all? Yes. It was inspired by the 1986 murder of a girl named Jennifer Levin. She was found in Central Park, strangled. Almost immediately, Robert Chambers, a boy she had dated, confessed to killing her. But he claimed it was self defense because Jennifer was sexually aggressive. He weighed over 200 pounds; if she weighed 100, I’d be surprised. Nonetheless, his lawyers ran with the wild party girl image and people ended up very confused as to who was to blame: Robert for killing her or Jennifer for…being young and making some of the same dumb moves most of us make when we’re young. There were photos of her at clubs. Her diary was published to show her wild lifestyle. Totally unfair and ugly. But it worked. It was a hung jury. People bought Robert Chambers’s story, and he pled guilty to a lesser charge.

I remember the case well because I initially fell for the hype. Two rich kids party, one ends up dead—eh, who cares? I really judged Jennifer in an unfair way. Then a friend pointed out that it’s not actually a crime to be young, pretty, and have boyfriends. So I have Wendy going through a similar smear campaign after she’s killed.

Who are some of your all-time favorite YA authors? Many people writing today, but for “all-time” I will go with the ones I read as a young adult. Paul Zindel, Robert Cormier, the wonderful Paula Danziger, Louise Fitzhugh. And of couse, Judy Blume. I just reread several of her books and I was horrified to see how much I had stolen from her. Unconsciously, I swear!

Warner Bros. The Battle of Hogwarts

It’s May 2, which any Harry Potter fan can tell you is the anniversary of the climactic Battle of Hogwarts. Since “Harry Potter” (and I guess my now 10-year-old son, who desperately wanted to read it three years ago) is the main reason I got so into Young Adult books as, you know, an adult, I just wanted to share some fan art and a few “Deathly Hallows” quotes.

Because it’s the reason we can celebrate:

The trio's victory hug by NinnyTreetops from DeviantArt

“One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air. The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him.”

Ron and Hermione leaving the Chamber of Secrets by Catching Smoke from DeviantArt

I’m a huge Ron and Hermione shipper, so naturally this is one of my favorite moments during the Battle, when Hermione finally gushes about Ron’s skills opening the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. For seven years, Hermione criticized Ron openly (usually for his own good) but usually forgot to show him how great she thought he was — but not that night.

“I had to have a few goes to get it right, but,” he shrugged modestly, “we got there in the end.”
“He was amazing!” said Hermione. “Amazing!”
“So…” Harry was struggling to keep up. “So… ”
“So we’re another Horcrux down,” said Ron, and from under his jacket he pulled the mangled remains of Hufflepuff’s cup. “Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn’t had the pleasure yet.”

 

Silly but hilarious (I love those twins — sniff):

“Holey? You have the the whole world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?”

Because they’re more than friends, they’re brothers of the heart:

“He must have known I’d want to leave you.”
“No, he must have known you would always want to come back.”

How I love Professor McGonagall!

“We teachers are rather good at magic, you know.”

Because Rowling loves the concept of falling in love as children:

“Snape’s patronus was a doe,’ said Harry, ‘the same as my mother’s because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from when they were children.”

 

What are your favorite quotes from “Deathly Hallows”?

When Wendy Geller’s body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,”Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled.” But shy Rain, once Wendy’s best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just “party girl.” As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick’s mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

This month our book club read a mystery set in the rarified world of an upper-crust Manhattan private school. With a unique, quiet protagonist named Rain, “The Girl in the Park” is not your usual prep-school soap opera. Oh, there’s plenty of cattiness and class issues — even a dangerously handsome scholarship kid and an attractive young English teacher — but  Mariah Fredericks makes it so much more than a poor little rich kids plot. It’s a story of grief and loss and how we may never really know everything about even our closest friends. Thanks to Random House, we are giving away FIVE copies of the book to lucky readers. All you have to do is leave a comment and fill out the nifty Rafflecopter form at the bottom of our reviews.

“Young” Reader Average: B+

Kristen graded the book an A+

Usually I hate mystery novels, but this one was really gripping. I didn’t relate to Rain or Wendy, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel for what they were each going through. Being the new kid at any school is tough, but especially somewhere everyone is so rich and snooty about where people grew up (I had no idea Long Island and Queens were considered embarrassing by Manhattan kids).

I thought it was really clever of the author to make the central character someone who was so shy and had her own “scars” and could somehow observe everything with an introverted, determined eye. At first I, like her, kept thinking the killer was one person or another but then it was really obvious who the killer was, but it was still cool to see Rain figure everything out. At one point, it almost seemed like the movie “Skulls,” where the secret society is a sign of evil not greatness.

Lily graded the book a B-

When Rain hears that her former best friend Wendy’s body has been recovered in Central Park, she is shocked. Nobody can figure out who killed her, or why, so Rain decides to do some investigation of her own. As she makes leaps and bounds in overcoming her shyness, Rain discovers some shocking secrets about Wendy’s death.

I thought this book was OK. I enjoyed it up until the part where the killer is revealed (and it was really obvious). But then there was a very unrealistic confrontation scene, which ruined the whole thing for me.

 

“Adult” Reader Average: B

Cara graded the book an A-

When her former best friend, Wendy, is found murdered in Central Park, Rain starts looking for possible suspects among her fellow students at an elite New York City prep school.

Rain was a compelling protagonist. We’ve all felt different at one point or another and I felt enormous empathy towards her because of her condition. While I often felt she was careless in her behavior, it was believable for someone of her age and experience. I enjoyed discovering more about Wendy through Rain’s memories, revealing more of their friendship and Wendy’s past as the book progressed. I figured out the killer fairly early in the story, but it was an enjoyable read and kept me entertained through to the end.

Jenn graded the book a B-

“The Girl in the Park” by Mariah Fredericks begins the morning after a high school party. Our protagonist Rain Donovan is distraught to learn that her former best friend’s body has been discovered in Central Park.  Soon we learn that Wendy Geller’s penchant for chasing other girls’ boyfriends hadn’t earned her many friends at the prestigious prep school they attended. There are numerous people who were glad to see Wendy gone, and Rain makes it her top priority to find out who killed her.

Wendy was obviously a complicated person, and I thought Fredericks did an excellent job showing that complexity through Rain’s memories of her. She may have been a party girl, but she was also a kind person who simply wanted to be loved. I really liked that Rain was able to see both sides of Wendy’s personality and love her for what she was.

I thought a few of the clues revealed early on were a bit too obvious. I guessed the killer about halfway through the novel, but the story was still engaging enough to keep me reading until the end. I also thought the story was wrapped up a little too simply and not quite realistically.

Overall, I thought this was a decent mystery. I loved reading books like this when I was a teen, so it made me feel a little nostalgic for those novels. It was interesting to read the story unfold and slightly horrifying to see the dark side of human nature.

Taylor graded the book a B

It seemed like a very interesting book to me, and Geller followed through on the mystery aspect.  I also think she painted a very accurate portrait of [privileged] kids in high school – girls can be so unnecessarily mean, kids are secretive and clique-ish, and any individuality or abnormality puts you at risk for being ostracized.  For me, though, the book was too easy.  I figured out who the killer was very early on, and was just sort of waiting for the main character to get there. And parts of the book were slow…but Geller made up for that with the way she interspersed past memories of a friendship with the present realities of dealing with death.

I know this book isn’t aimed at my demographic, so I’m not terribly concerned that it was easy to deduce the whodunnit aspect.  The rest of the book was well written, with fun characters.  Overall, I think it was an enjoyable read.

Diana graded the book a B

“The Girl in the Park” by Mariah Fredericks was an enjoyable read.  Since it is a mystery/whodunnit book, I was reminded of the many Nancy Drew books I read in elementary school.  While Nancy never dealt with murders, our protagonist Rain wanted to discover what really happened to her friend Wendy.  The setting of the book was a private school for the kids of the rich and famous of New York City.  Fredericks did an interesting job in portraying what a school like that might really be like.

While it was easy to figure out “whodunnit”, it was interesting to see how Rain would get there.  Fredericks also included some important life lessons for teens such as not judging people and understanding that there is more to people than meets the eye.  Although there were some subplots and characters that could’ve used more “fleshing out”, it was overall a good book.

Enter the giveaway for one of FIVE copies of the book below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen’s senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone’s eating “Lazarus burgers.” But as absurd as the town’s carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen’s sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.

While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.

Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It’s about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.” It’s about the dream of second chances.

 

It wasn’t difficult to decide to read this book since, “Where Things Come Back” was the recipient of the William C. Morris Debut Award and the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.  The National Book Foundation also named John Corey Whaley a 2011 5Under35 author.  The book has received other awards and recognition so it was with great anticipation that I selected it and began reading it.  It did not disappoint.

Cullen Witter is your typical 17 year old, who is bored by his life in the small town Lily, Arkansas.  The only two people who keep him from losing it, are his 15 year old brother Gabriel and his best friend Lucas Cader.  When Lily is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight due to the possible discovery of an unusual species of woodpecker, it creates excitement for most in the town, except the three boys, they do not get caught up in the excitement.  Sadly, in the midst of all of this, Gabriel suddenly disappears.  His disappearance forces Cullen to change some things about his life and he is forced to keep things together for his family.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, GA, 18 year old Benton Sage, is sent from his small church to Ethiopia as a missionary.  Benton believes that in Ethiopia he would be able to truly exert his faith.  However, the missionary work proves to be far different from what he thought and it shakes his idealistic desire to make a difference in the world.  Benton’s story includes a section that explains the story from the Book of Enoch (a book of the Bible generally not accepted by mainstream denominations) about Angels and Nephilim that are the basis of so many other YA novels.  However, in this story they are the source of one man’s faith and another man’s downfall.

The genius of this book is that as the story unravels and you realize how each of the characters’ lives are all connected you can only feel amazement and acknowledge the fact that John Corey Whaley is truly a magnificent writer.  Don’t take my word for it, read the book, you won’t regret it.

Favorite Quotes:

“Life, he says, doesn’t have to be so bad all the time. We don’t have to be anxious about everything. We can just be. We can get up, anticipate that the day will probably have a few good moments and a few bad ones, and then just deal with it. Take it all in and deal as best we can.”

“Cullen, people can’t give up on other people yet.  We all get a second chance, you know? We get to start over like Noah after the flood.  No matter how evil man gets, he always gets a second chance one way or another”.

“Being seventeen and bored in a small town, I like to pretend sometimes that I’m a pessimist.  This is the way it is and nothing can sway me from that.  Life sucks most of the time.  Everything is bullshit.  High school sucks.  You go to school, work for fifty years, then you die.  Only I can’t seem to keep that up for too long before my natural urge to idealize goes into effect.  I can’t seem to be a pessimist long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good.

1. “Breaking Bad”: There are a few amazing TV shows I regret not watching live: “The Wire,” “Friday Night Lights,” and now “Breaking Bad.” I know some people love to watch marathons on Netflix, and there is a certain joy to keep going and going without having to wait a week in between, but I also feel like I missed out somehow. Not that I have a full-time job where I would be talking these shows up, but still, it’s not the same. In any case, I’ve been watching the series (about a cancer-stricken chemistry teacher who partners with a mediocre ex student to cook and sell top-grade meth in New Mexico), and Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are simply awesome in it as Walter White and Jesse “Yo” Pinkman.

4. Spotify. It’s like Napster used to be, except you’re streaming and not downloading, so nothing is illegal. I love how I can see my friends’ playlists and make silly ones like one where all the song titles are names or another of all the songs that remind me of high school, or New York or my older siblings. I’ve been using Spotify for a while, but I’ve been listening a lot lately when I work at night.

5. “The Girl in the Park” by Mariah Fredericks. This is our Book Club pick for April, and it’s such a fascinating read. I don’t want to say too much, because we’re all sharing our reviews next week, but everything from the setting (posh New York City prep school) to the protagonist (teen girl born with a cleft palate) to the relationships make you wonder how differently people act when they want to be popular, want to be loved, want to come first in someone’s life.

“Froi of the Exiles” by Melina Marchetta

Publication date: March 13, 2012,  Candlewick Press

I was hesitant to read “Finnkin of the Rock,” but once I started it, I couldn’t put my computer, iPhone, iPad, Kindle down until I was done. And then I promptly re-read it all over again. So when Alex let me know via Twitter that “Froi” was available on NetGalley, I immediately asked for access. I’m so, so glad I have amazing Twitter pals who will nudge me in the right direction when it comes to books. And I will state now that whether or not you like the fantasy genre, you MUST READ “Finnikin” and “Froi.” Just ask Tee at YA Crush. She knows what I’m saying.

I’m blessed to have an amazing day job, so I was able to review “Froi of the Exiles” for Common Sense Media. I gave it five stars. Needless to say, I’m a huge Melina Marchetta fan. She’s an expert at creating rich worlds where everyone is beautifully flawed. Her characters are never of the clear “white hat”/”black hat” variety, and her Lumatere Chronicles are, like her contemporary novels before it, full of the kinds of people you come to desperately  love and respect — even when they’re making choices that make you want to scream. Here is my CSM review (keep in mind that reviews there are always short and to the point):

Melina Marchetta is an exceptional writer, but it has still been surprising to see a specialist of contemporary teen fiction transition so seamlessly to the fantasy genre. Despite their medieval setting, the Lumatere Chronicles explore the same themes that Marchetta so beautifull conveys in books like Jellicoe Road and Saving Francesca. As the author herself has acknowledged, Froi and Quintana have the same trajectory as Jonah and Taylor in Jellicoe Road — they’re emotionally broken and in need of the other to help heal.

Like Finnikin and Isaboe, Froi and Quintana feel an almost otherworldly pull to be with each other, but their story is even sadder — and more frought with obstacles, if that’s possible — than the queen and her king’s. Once again, the book follows several points of view, and some of the secondary characters are just as compelling as Froi, especially Phaedra, the estranged Charynite wife of Lucian of the Monts; and Lady Beatriss, who finally realizes that she wants Captain Trevanion to know what really happened to her during the decade they spent apart. Gorgeously written and thoroughly detailed, this is one of the best fantasy epics in all of young-adult literature. Even those who eschew the genre should give it a try.

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Ransom Riggs’ book, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”,  has all the ingredients of a thriller: murder, suspense, horror, fantasy, and even some romance.  Jacob Portman  is a somewhat typical sixteen year old who lives in Florida.  He is especially close to his grandfather, so when something happens to him and Jacob believes that some kind of monster is the culprit,  everyone thinks he is crazy! He knows that he has to investigate further just to clear himself with his family who are all one step away from having him committed.  This leads Jacob all the way to Wales and ultimately to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

After Jacob arrives at the home and meets all of the incredible  kids who live there he is amazed.  At the home he meets Emma Bloom, a pyrokinetic,  Hugh, a boy with bees living in his stomach, Olive, a girl who can levitate, Bronwyn Bruntley, a girl with super strength, Fiona, a girl who controls the growth of plants, Horace, a boy with prophetic dreams and Claire Densmore, a girl with a mouth on the back of her head.  Jacob quickly befriends everyone and for the first time in his life feels at home.  He also finds himself falling in love. Which is why when Miss Peregrine and her home are threatened by their enemies, Jacob joins them in their fight for their lives and their way of life.

This is a suspenseful page turner and I am looking forward to seeing what Mr. Riggs has in store for us in book two.  I was also thrilled, but not too surprised,  when I found out that Tim Burton has agreed to direct this movie.  So that’s another movie I’ll be eagerly anticipating.

Memorable Quotes:

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was.”

“Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries — but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.”

“I don’t mean to be rude’ I said, ‘but what are you people?’
‘We’re peculiar,’ he replied, sounding a bit puzzled. ‘Aren’t you?;
‘I don’t know. I don’t think so’
‘That’s a shame.”

Our latest YA Junkie has been a friend of mine for a long, long time, but we’ve never actually met. We met each other through an online message board turned LiveJournal support group more than 10 years ago. We’ve gone from blushing brides to newlyweds to new moms together, but it wasn’t until the final “Harry Potter” books were coming out that I realized just how cool Allison’s job was as a teen services librarian in California. Now that I’m a zealous YA convert, I rely on Allison for spot-on recommendations. She always nudges me in the right direction and knows exactly what I would love (like Kristin Cashore, Gayle Forman, Kiersten White, and John Green, to name just a few authors).

When she’s not making her library’s teen lit section rock, Allison posts on her own blog: Reading Everywhere, and her podcast, Authors Are Rockstars. You can follow Allison on Twitter if you love librarians as much as we do!

Name, if you’re out about your addiction:  Allison

Age: 30-mmmphhh

What you do: Teen Services Librarian

How long have you been reading YA: Since I was about 9 years old, starting with the literary greatness of Francine Pascal’s series, Sweet Valley High. I always wanted a lavaliere…

Who are some of your “must-read-everything-they-write” authors: Shannon Hale, Libba Bray (And they once went on book tour together! I’ll always mourn the fact that they didn’t come anywhere near my city.)

Favorite fictional boyfriends: Peeta Mellark, from “The Hunger Games.” Romance AND bread? Sign me up! Gilbert Blythe, from “Anne of Green Gables.” “Carrots.” Do I really need to explain this?

What’s the last YA book that blew you away and why? “Code Name Verity,” by Elizabeth Wein. It’s about two incredibly strong young women during WWII. It’s amazingly well-researched, and the narrative structure is incredible. It starts out with one of the girls captured by the Nazis in Occupied France. She’s forced to write down everything she knows about the British War Effort, and when she runs out of information, they’ll kill her. To say more would spoil an incredible story. It has strong crossover appeal for adults, and I think it’s a definite contender for the Printz Award.

Which YA books will you forever keep on your bookshelves: “I Capture the Castle,” by Dodie Smith, because it’s a classic, and I’ve got a lovely old copy I bought in a used bookstore in London when I was in college, so it has sentimental value.  And of course I keep all the books autographed by the fabulous authors I’ve been fortunate enough to meet.

If you could force Hollywood to adapt one YA book into a movie, which would it be? “Paranormalcy”, by Kiersten White. It’s such a fresh take on paranormal romance- a genre I’m almost thoroughly bored with, but this book and its hilarious main character brought back the fun for me.

Oh oh oh, can I choose second book? Can I? Yes? Why, you’re too kind… “White Cat,” by Holly Black. The idea of magic-using mafia families is such a great premise, and this is such a brilliantly plotted story. I’d LOVE to see those crazy cons play out on screen!

What’s at the top of your TBR pile? “Thumped,” by Megan McCafferty; “Purity,” by Jackson Pearce and “In Honor,” by Jessi Kirby