The Off Season

DJ and her family are back in the sequel to one of my favourite books, Dairy Queen.

DJ is starting off her school year as the only girl on the boy's football team. She is getting some grudging respect from the guys, and school doesn't seem as hard this year as it was last year. Of course, Brian Nelson is helping DJ's view on things.

DJ and Brian are dating. Kind of. Brian is still coming out to the Schwenk farm to help out, and he and DJ are getting in some serious make-out time during day trips to the Mall of America, or during farm chores.

DJ's family is even communicating a little more. They sit down together every weekend to watch Win's and Bill's college football games on TV. During one of Win's games, the unthinkable happens. Win is grabbed by the face mask, hits the ground, and doesn't get up. Things are going to change for the Schwenks.

DJ is forced to be the family point person to fly out to Washington, and try to be there for Win. But Win doesn't want anyone there. Can DJ help Win fight his demons, and manage to slay a couple of her own as well?

Another great story from Catherine Gilbert Murdock. We watch DJ grow, and come into her own. She is learning that it's not always in her best interests just to be comfortable and stay silent.

Dramarama

Sayde and Demi are getting the heck out of Dodge (aka Brenton, OH)and going off to the fabu summer drama institute at Wildewood Academy. Before she met Demi, Sayde was plain old Sarah, and her life lacked razzle-dazzle. Now, on the way to Wildewood with Demi dropping his straight boy drag, Sadye is sure she is in for the time of her life.

She is partly right.

Wildewood has everything. Amazing productions, Broadway directors, students who have performed all over the country. There are even a few straight boys for Sadye to consider pouncing. She gets along fine on the surface with her roomies Nanette, Iz and Candie, but underneath it all, tall gawky Sadye still doesn't fit.

She wonders how all of these other kids can simply accept direction. Especially when it's obvious that better options exist. Even Demi starts to think that Sayde is being a downer.

Filled with all of the heartache and angst one expects at summer camp, E. Lockhart has written a superfun book about growing up and growing apart, that theater geeks as well as those who have never even heard of Guys and Dolls will eat up.

I am as far from a theater person as you can get. My high school didn't even have a drama option, and musicals give me a rash, but I truly enjoyed this book!

Parrotfish

Angela has finally decided on her new name. Grady. Gender ambiguous and perfect. But when she lets her family know her decision, she is met with a distinct chill.

Angela had been homeschooled until she hit her sophmore year in highschool. She and Eve had been best buddies, and the fact that Angela never felt like she fit into a girl mode was not that big of a problem. Not until the uber-girliness comparisons of highschool. She had first come out as a lesbian, but that didn't feel right either. She doesn't feel like a girl who likes girls, she feels like a boy who like girls.

Enter Grady.

Imagine it. Imagine binding down your chest, chopping off your hair, buying some boys clothes. Imagine changing your whole identity...rather revealing your whole identity.

Grady is lucky in a way. He first reveals himself to classmate Sebastian. Sebastian is a geek, but has managed to be friendly with everyone. Sebastian's reaction to Grady's announcement is to exclaim, "Wow!...You're just like the stoplight parrotfish!" Not exactly the reaction Grady was expecting, but not the worst reaction either.

But all reactions to Grady are not so positive. Mean girl Danya has decided that Grady is a pervert and hatches a plan to embarass him infront of everyone. Some teachers refuse to call Grady anything but Angela. And then there are the logistics of where to go to the bathroom, and what to do with a crush.

Ellen Wittlinger has written a story about the search to fit in a world that is either male or female. Readers are forced to face their own stereotypes and opinions about gender identity. This is a book that will fill a large void in the YA lit world, and would make for an amazing classroom read (at least at the school I work in). I had a couple of problems with the way that Grady waxes poetic about Kita's ethnicity, but other than that, this is a solid novel with likable (and not so likeable) characters. You will be rooting for Grady and loving Sebastian before you know it!

Pretty Little Liars

Hello Mean Girls!

Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna were all friends with Ali. They loved her and loathed her at the same time. She always managed to get secrets out of them, and then lord that fact over their heads.

But Ali disappeared.

Two years later, the girls are juniors and have changed drastically since junior high. Aria is back from Iceland and is more bohemian than ever. Hanna lost all that weight and wears the latest fashions. Emily is trying to love her boyfriend, while she is lusting after new girl Maya. And Spencer is still trying to surpass her older sister.

An amazing amount of things are going on in this book. Sex, drinking, affairs with teachers etc. It kind of reminded me of a girl version of Doing It in that my brain refuses to believe that all of this could possibly be going on.

But admidst all of this a some pieces of brilliance. Like when Emily realizes that her mom is a racist. The slow dawning of this unthinkable idea is life altering for her. Also, the pacing is perfect. What Sara Shepard is writing about is nothing new, but she made me stay up past my bedtime, wanting to find out what the "Jenna Thing" was all about.

More substantive that other mean girl series, girls 8th grade and up are going crazy for Pretty Little Liars.

Plain Janes

Starting a new school is never easy, but for Jane, it proves especially difficult. She has just survived a bombing, and her parents think that it's best to move out of Metro City and to the suburbs.

Jane is invited to sit with the popular girls at lunch, but defers and tries to break into the table of not-so-popular girls. Jane is surprised when these girls don't welcome her with open arms. But, she doesn't give up. She soon wins them over when she comes up with her plan to hit the town with P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art in Neighborhoods).

Soon Jane and the other Janes (Polly Jane, Jayne, and Jane) are hitting the town guerilla grrl style with public art. The small town deems the acts "art attacks", and soon that feeling of fear from Metro City has followed Jane and her parents.

Smartly written with sassy illustrations, this graphic novel is my favourite of Castellucci's work. I honestly have to say, I was coming at this with a little bit of a snotty, holier-than-thou, this is a marketing comic viewpoint, and I was swiftly reminded that coming at something with that kind of bias makes me no better than those comic boys who look down their noses at me, just cuz I'm a girl. The plot is quickly gripping and the main Jane is quite likable. The desperation and rollercoater-y nature of teen life is honestly portrayed.

Black and white illustrations are perfect for the story, and I think that Plain Janes will lead many a young grrl toward comics and illustration. Never a bad thing!

Cupcake

...so you knew what was coming, right? My tendancy to binge on a series continues.


We follow Cyd to her post highschool year in NYC. Cyd is living in the Village with her half brother Danny, and she is valiantly trying to avoid higher education. Fortunately, she has loads to keep her busy. Friend Autumn is ditching classes at Columbia, there is the search for the ultimate caffeine (not easy, I live in NYC and I know!) , Luis may be back in the picture, and there is the neighbourhood curmudgion to win over.

There is nothing really surprising about the latest in the series. Cyd is trying to find herself and her place in her family. She is trying to put Shrimp behind her, but the fates seem to be working against that little situation.

This is a very NYC-centric story and a very Village-centric story at that. I think, however, the juxtopposition of Cali and NYC is just what Cohn was working on. A big, in-your-face showing of the "then" and the "now"....growing pains included.

This will serve well to the readers who love the Pants and have outgrown the Princess Diaries. The hot pink covers do little to belie the 18-year-old stuff going on inside. My niece will love them!

Shrimp

Ok. So I wasn't a huge fan of Gingerbread. The whole "Sid" and "Nancy" parents offended my somewhat punk sensibilities. I left Shrimp unread on the shelves for a year or so. Then the Cupcake arc showed up at work and I wanted to read it. Jen let me know it wasn't too good of an idea to read one without the other, so Shrimp got read.

Cyd is in San Fran for her final year of highschool. She and Shrimp are no longer together, but she is on the lookout for him when she runs into Helen, a girl from her school. Cyd recognizes Helen, but doesn't really know her, since as a rule, she does not befriend girls. Helen, however, has different ideas, and before Cyd knows it, she is actually friends with Helen and Autumn (who Shrimp actually hooked up with when on break from Cyd!)

Cyd and Shrimp keep finding each other, but Cyd soon finds that she is no longer the hellion she once was. And maybe Shrimp and his wandering ways are no longer for her.

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This is a great read for older teens who may find themselves in relationships that they no longer understand. The dialogue, though wonky, rings true and I found my 36 year old self yelling at the book "Break up with him dammit!"

I really did enjoy this book much more than Gingerbread. Did I just get over the Lia Block comparisons and unfortunate character names? I don't know. Maybe I dated one too many "artists" in my youth?