Revolution by Jennifer Donnally

Andi Alpers knows tragedy. After the sudden death of her ten-year-old brother, she’s watched her family systematically fall apart. Her mother coped by slipping into a deep, vegetative depression; her father coped by falling in love with his twenty-five-year-old colleague; and Andi coped by drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, and music. When she faces possible expulsion from a prestigious school, her father decides to reenter her life. As a last-ditch effort to save his family, he checks Andi’s mother into a mental hospital and takes Andi with him on a business trip to Paris, where he’s supposed to conduct DNA tests on a child’s heart to see if it belongs to Louis-Charles, the missing son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

While in Paris, Andi finds a journal written by Alexandrine Paradis, a girl her age who lived during the French Revolution. As Andi reads Alexandrine’s journal, truths about the revolution unfold and reveal the cruelty performed on the young prince. Drawing parallels between Louis-Charles and her little brother, Andi slowly finds a new way to cope with her brother’s death. She starts to make friends, fall in love, and care about living again. While exploring the catacombs one night, Andi finds herself transported to 1795, and she has one, last chance to save the prince…and herself.

This book needs a prologue. The entire time I read this novel I felt as though pertinent information was missing. I never developed a connection with Andi, her brother, or their story. A connection between reader and characters would be much stronger if the reader had a glimpse of the family before the tragedy to create perspective.

Andi was supposed to be a musical prodigy writing her senior thesis on the composer Malherbeau. Although research was necessary to add to the depth of this novel, it was steeped in unnecessary information that broke the flow of the plot and dulled the interest of the reader. All of the musical references and descriptions grew monotonous and made me want to set the book down and not pick it up again.

Another frustration with the book was the romance between Virgil and Andi. This entire relationship was forced and artificial, and it needed to be omitted. I understand that Virgil was supposed to mirror Virgil from Dante’s Inferno as he led Andi through the catacombs of self-discovery, but it failed. I despised this plotline.   

Overall, I gave this novel three stars because I loved learning about the French Revolution. I wish the author had eliminated Andi’s plotline and focused entirely on Alexandrine, Louis-Charles, and the events of the French Revolution. 

The Whole Stupid Way We Are by N. Griffin

Dinah and Skint are best friends. Dinah is flighty while Skint is moody. Dinah worries about the beauty of things while Skint worries about Monks being tortured in Burma and people starving to death. While Dinah is worried about matching her stripy skirts and leggings, Skint refuses to wear a coat in the Maine winter as a form of self-punishment for having luxuries while others suffer. Dinah has two loving parents who adore her while Skint’s father suffers from dementia, and it’s ripping his family apart. All Dinah wants to do is help Skint. All Skint wants is for Dinah to mind her own business.

The basic premise of this novel is unique. I like the idea that it’s not enough to care about injustices; we need to DO something about them. If we aren’t part of the solution, we are inadvertently a part of the problem. I don’t think enough YA communicates this important message.

The plot is slow-moving and boring. Part of this is due to the disjointed sub-plots that are never developed as well as the shallowness of the characters (all of them). The voice of each character is unique; however, it isn't believable. For instance, there are times that Dinah speaks like a woman from the Victorian era instead of a fifteen-year-old from 2012. To offset this, Skint curses a lot, which seems a bit overused. I know that the author uses this technique to convey emotion, but most of the scenes are flat, so it isn't very authentic.

The scenes are repetitive, poorly developed, and monotonous. Nothing interesting happens until 80 pages before the end of the book (the novel is 349 pages). By then, the reader has lost interest. In fact, I had to force myself to finish it. As a result, I would not suggest this novel to any of my students.

The Drowning House by Elizabeth Black

4.5 Checks

Photographer Clare Porterfield has been summoned to return to her hometown of Galveston, Texas, to complete an exhibit for prominent businessman and family friend Will Carraday. Living in the aftermath of a devastating loss that has led to the inevitable crumbling of her marriage, Clare makes the journey from D.C. to Galveston. Part of her wants to run away from her failed life, but part of her is drawn to the home that she was forced to abandon ten years earlier after a tragic accident.

As she researches the Carraday photos and archives to prepare for the exhibit, she uncovers secrets that are better left buried and lies that prove deadly. The closer she gets to discovering the truth, the more she realizes that she’s at the center. Everyone in this story has a secret, some of which are almost too painful to discover.

Elizabeth Black’s writing style is so flawless that her descriptions captivate the reader almost as much as the actual plot. Her ability to weave intriguing historical facts of Galveston within the suspense of the present-day story makes it hard for the reader to put it down. Through such skillful writing, Black is able to make the reader feel Clare’s impatience for learning the truth with every turn of the page.

Although I enjoyed the quiet unfolding of this book, I became frustrated by the lack of clarification for certain important details. Several times I felt as though there was an inside joke, or story, I needed to know in order to interpret comments or allusions. The book ended without ever cluing me in to the inside story. As a result, I ended the book with questions that never received answers.

Overall, people who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy Black's debut novel. I look forward to reading more books by her. 

ARC received at ALA 2012

Publication Date: January 2013

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

MiKayla, Shane, and Harley come from homes that are broken – either physically or emotionally. Each one has watched the breakdown of their parents’ love and feels the void that it creates. It’s this void that propels each one of them into relationships in search of the love that they don’t feel at home.

Hopkins does a great job of portraying different facets of relationships through each character. She shows the innocent intensity of first loves, the dangers of placing our trust and lives in the hands of those who might not deserve it, and the importance of staying true to ourselves. Each character develops an obstacle based on choices they made that he or she must overcome. As they work through their options and face the cruel judgments of others, they realize that redemption and hope still exist.

ARC received at ALA 2012

Publication Date: September 2012

**Companion to Triangles

PS Thanks for sneaking Karin and I a copy, Ellen!

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

In Hopkin's sequel, she introduces readers to the need for perfection that some teenagers face, which leads them to feed the IMPULSE. Cara, Conner's twin sister, has her entire life planned for her, and everything seems to be falling into place until she realizes a part of herself that no longer wishes to stay hidden. Sean, Cara's boyfriend, has a plan, too: earn a baseball scholarship to Stanford and make Cara love him. But, what happens when half of the equation refuses to play the game? Then, there is Kendra. Beautiful, ambitious Kendra, who is willing to sell her life for a modeling career. As her stock begins to soar, she wonders if the cost will prove deadly. And, finally, Andre is a young man who must decide if his dreams are worth having, or if they're simply fantasies keeping him from reality.

The novel begins from Cara's perspective right after Conner attempts suicide and is sent to Aspen Springs. Although he isn't at the center of the novel, he is the glue that holds a lot of it together. For instance, Kendra is in love with him, Cara is distraught about his attempted suicide, Sean was his teammate, and Andre dates Kendra's sister, who knows all four main characters. Hopkins does a good job of weaving in and out of Conner's story to flow into their personal demons, constantly tying them together. Even though I enjoyed this book, I felt like it became repetitive in several places. I know that the goal was to present certain events from different perspectives, which I liked; however, I'm referring to the fact that each character of the story seemed to repeat what they said and did in the previous section. For instance, every time Sean surfaced, I knew he was going to whine about Cara and baseball - nothing new. When it was Andre's turn, I knew that Jenna (Kendra's sister, his girlfriend) and he would go on a date, and she would ruin it by acting insensitive; then, he would apologize and tell her how much he loved her. Kendra was going to count calories and not eat; Cara was going to question her entire life. For me, I would have liked more action and interaction so that the story didn't become dull. Hopkins did throw in a couple of twists towards the end, which really helped the novel end powerfully. I just wish that more of those events would have been woven throughout the entire novel.

This novel could be stand-alone; however, the ending of the first book will be spoiled.