Random Reads

These novels deal with serious issues not usually addressed in teen literature.  Many topics involve breakout issues not even previously written about.  I think the authors are brave for tackling such serious issues in an effective and thought provoking manner.  The titles deal with serious matters not to be taken lightly.  They provide insight to what other teens may be experiencing. 

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

  This book is dark, creepy, and extremely disturbing.  It reads quite similar to When Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins.  Alice was kidnapped by Ray when she was ten years old.  She is now 15 and still waiting for the nightmare to be over.  She is constantly beaten, starved, and used for Ray's sexual fantasies.  From the outside, people see a girl who is quiet, underweight, apparently homeschooled, and stays home all day while Ray goes to work.  Many readers may wonder why Alice doesn't just run away?  This novel explores the psychological torture that Ray uses to keep Alice in check.  The novel reads like a "ripped from the headlines" story that will haunt readers for a long time.

Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson

    Frances is 18 years old and a junior in high school.  She missed part of school eleven years ago when her mother smothered her three younger sisters.  Frances was adopted by another family who provided the stability, love, and support to help her overcome the past.  She meets a new boy in school and life seems good until she learns her mother is being released to a halfway house and wants to see her.  This novel is another "ripped from the headlines" storyline which will appeal to fans of psychological fiction.  I finished this novel in one day and although I enjoyed it overall, the climax was portrayed completely different than I expected.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

   This is an extremely disturbing novel that depicts the atrocites of war through the eyes of a child.  Ishmael is twelve years when he is recruited into the civil war of his country Sierra Leone.  After his family's village is destroyed by rebels, he journeys across the countryside with other boys until he is given an AK-47 and showed how to fight.  The army brainwashes him, gets him hooked on drugs, and turns an innocent 12 year old boy into a killing machine.  Ishmael gives a horrifying account when he describes the wounded and killed and even the people he murders.  Eventually he is saved from this lifestyle and rehabilitated where a new life is waiting for him.  His chilling accounts of flashbacks, migraines, and nightmares will leave readers sympathetic to his life.  Readers will have a better understanding of war through the eyes of a child soldier.  I would not recommend this book for the faint of heart because the violence depicted is graphic and real. 

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen, translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford

     This novel gives an account of the Rwanda genocide through the eyes of a young girl.  It is written by the German adopted mother of Jeanne d' Arc Umubyeyi, the sole surivor of her family.  When Jeanne was eight years old, she witnessed the murder of her family and other innocent neighbors.  Her account is vivid and detailed and readers will marvel at her courage to survive and eventually continue living.  The 1994 Rwanda genocide was a horrific moment in history when many countries looked the other way.  In a very short period, almost a million Tutsis were murdered by the Hutus.  This unforgettable account will leave readers stunned. 

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Meredith is fifteen years old when her father is released from prison early.  Her dad was sentenced nine years for molesting her and others.  He is released after three and Meredith's world is turned upside down.  Her father is coming home and hasn't changed one bit.  Meredith fears him and finds temporary solace in a neighbor/boyfriend who is paralyzed.  Wiess does an excellent job of portraying a teen trying to cope with circumstances nobody should have to confront.  Readers will be horrified her mother's indifference although the ending offers some hope.  I finished this book in two days and was completely captivated by Meredith's character as she struggles to find peace.  Readers will want to adopt Meredith by novel's end.

Sold by Patrica McCormick

     This novel is written in free verse which usually makes the reading easy on the eyes, but in this case, the subject matter is quite deep and disturbing.  Lakshmi is thirteen years old and lives in Nepal with her mother and step-father.  She performs chores and plays with her best friend.  Her step-father gambles their money away and sells Lakshmi where she is forced to become a prostitute.  At first, she refuses to perform such actions but is severely punished until she eventually accepts her fate.  Lakshmi's future is uncertain and the reader will be horrified by her everyday life and what she endures.  The end of the story reveals an author's note that confirms the reader's suspicions that the plot is actually based on real life events.  Readers will be haunted for a long time by Lakshimi's life and will come away with a new appreciation for their own freedom.

The Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox

     At a high school party in 1991, Sophie decides to make love to her boyfriend Crow for the first time.  They exit the party and head for the woods.  They begin and Crow quickly discovers he forgot a condom.  He tells Sophie he'll be right back and quickly heads to his car to retrieve one.  Upon his return, he finds Sophie covered in blood and unconscious with sirens in the distance.  In a split second, Crow decides to run.  Evidence later suggests that Sophie was raped while Crow maintains his innocence.  Sophie's memory loss of that evening only complicates matters.  Sophie's tragedy divides the entire town as it involves both families, teachers, and friends of Crow.  Although this was a very compelling read, too many side storylines detract from the overall focus of the novel. 

  Jenna, 14, and her brother Jeremy, 12 arrive at school like any other ordinary day.  Their lives are forever altered when they learn the disturbing news that their father shot and killed their mother in broad daylight outside her favorite coffee shop.  This novel is told in alternating chapters through the siblings’ eyes.  Jenna was her father’s favorite and Jeremy was a momma’s boy.  Each child deals with the tragedy in different ways.  Their conflicting emotions and the trauma they experience is expertly told by Julius Lester.  As the novel progresses, the reader is drawn into the lives of the entire family including the mother and father and what finally possessed the father to kill.  When the truth is finally revealed, the reader will be satisfied and root for Jenna and Jeremy to overcome this tragedy.  The title alone will draw any reader to this book and they won’t be disappointed.  Recommended for older teens.

Boy Kills Man by Matt Whyman

  Sonny and Alberto are best friends living in Medellin, Colombia, a place filled with drugs, poverty, and drug lords.  Alberto is selected as a hitman for one of the major drug lords despite being only thirteen years old.  Sonny is immediately jealous of Alberto's new lifestyle because he begins packing heat, has an abundance of cash, and commands respect.  One day, Alberto mysteriously disappears, never to be heard from again.  Although twelve year old Sonny is devestated, he is eager to be his replacement.  Sonny's world abrubtly changes as his life turns to crime as he also becomes an excutioner.  He is able to provide money to his family and Alberto's family, gains the respect of his live-in-uncle which is actually more fear than respect, and feels he has found his purpose in life.  Although Whyman offers little hope by the novel's conclusion, he easily captures the heartbreaking culture of Sonny's world through powerful descriptions and a very compelling read.

     Grady West was sixteen when he was attacked and raped.  He is slowly trying to recover from his trauma.  He divides his life into sections, before and after.  He is unable to eat, avoids people, has a hard time speaking, and continually dwells on the night of the attack.  He attends a new school determined to fade into the crowd.  Instead, he is meets two people who will later become his friends as they try and get Grady to face his demons.  Grady has experienced something that most males have not experienced and most who do fail to report the crime.  Johnson is brave for tackling such a difficult topic and many may be turned off by the subject matter.  The author does an excellent job of getting inside Grady's head as he struggles to recover from the incident.  Some may find the reading painful but the novel guarantees that it won't be so easily forgotten.

     Jeff is fourteen years old when he is kidnapped at a roadside bus stop.  Two years later, his abductor, Ray, releases him and Jeff returns home.  His family is ecstatic at his return but many questions remained unanswered.  During his captivity, Jeff was brutally raped and psychologically tortured.  Jeff is reluctant to share the past two years with his family.  Ray returns and begins stalking Jeff's family.  Ray is eventually captured but tells a much different tale than Jeff.  Ray tells the police that the sex was consensual and Jeff was a willing partner.  The conflicting stories will ultimately lead to the truth.  Jeff's readjustment to society and his family is the meat of the story.  His recovery process is sensitively handled. Atkins tells a powerful yet chilling story.