Mini-Reviews: Young Adult Contemporary

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

I don't know about you, but that cover definitely made me think I was in for a fluffy, romantic read. NOPE (read in Chuck Testa's voice) (you're my favorite if you got that reference).Sweethearts is about Jennifer, who used to be fat and almost friendless. Now she goes by Jenna and is popular and thin, but can't forget about the one friend that she did have back in the days of Jennifer, who disappeared after a traumatic experience that is alluded to in pieces throughout the book. When her friend re-enters her life, it causes Jenna to re-evaluate her priorities. It sounds like it could still be that fluffy, romantic read. However, it is not. Everything is awkward, and the entire premise for the book seemed implausible. I couldn't understand many of the characters' motivations. And the end of the book left me dissatisfied and with that slightly gross, off feeling you get about five o'clock when you've had a long day. Anyway, not my favorite. I will say that it was fun reading a book set in a place that I have lived -- I am a sucker for that.

2 stars

Warnings: Language, child abuse

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

I did have a more positive experience with How to Save a Life. In this book, a teenage girl's mother decides to adopt a baby after the death of the girl's father. However, she goes about it in an unorthodox way, finding a pregnant girl on a website and inviting her to live with them for a few weeks until the baby is born. The girl, Mandy, naturally has a few secrets of her own. 

I think the premise of How to Save a Life is as implausible as Sweethearts, but for some reason I could relate much more to this read, perhaps because of my recent pregnancy and childbirth experience. The characters were initially unlikable, displaying their flaws long before their redeeming qualities emerged, but by the end of the story I felt invested in them. Sara Zarr is also an excellent writer, and I think because I enjoyed this book as a whole more than Sweethearts I was able to appreciate her writing more as well. I also loved that the bookstore where Jill worked was called Margins. Ahem, could it possibly be Borders she was mimicking? I used to work at Borders and I felt like I was reading pages from my own life. 

3.75 stars

Warnings: Language, child abuse, some mostly off-page sensuality

 Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty

For some reason I can't get this picture to load, so I apologize for the lack of cover-age. Second Helpings is the second book in the Jessica Darling series. We were left with Jess's rage at Marcus Flutie in the last book. Now, Jess is doing things differently -- choosing different friends, different extracurriculars, and even finding a boyfriend -- one who is not Marcus Flutie. She is trying to choose a college as well. 

I have had mixed feelings so far about the Jessica Darling books. There are many elements of the books that bother me, such as the negativity and some of the gratuitous innuendo. At the same time, I love the openness and snarkiness of Jessica Darling's voice. She is stressed out and over-analytical, and it is something I can relate to so much. I keep going back and forth on whether I'd like to finish the series. I probably will read the next book, but I'm not sure how far I will go. 

3 stars

Warnings: Language, innuendo, off-the-page sensuality

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

Okay, I'm just going to come out with it -- this is possibly my favorite contemporary YA novel ever. Ever ever. The premise is that Devan, who was raised by her father and (evil) stepmother, has never met her mother. All she knows is that she is an author named Reece Malcolm who lives in California. That is, until her father passes away and the evil stepmother doesn't want to be responsible for her anymore. Devan winds up moving to California to live with her mother. As she adjusts to her new life, she learns more about herself and her family.

I think what really made this book memorable was the characters. They all had so much dimension -- no one was perfect, everyone had their little quirks and annoying personality traits as well as their redeeming qualities. Every character felt so real and so genuine. The details of Devan's life also seemed so realistic to me -- I felt as if I was existing in her interesting little world. I loved reading about her performing, Reece Malcolm's messy and eccentric writerly life, the shopping and dinner dates Devan and Reece had together. Even though this is a contemporary book, I was completely transported into Devan's story while I read. This book was fun, with its share of drama and romance, but it also struck deeper chords, exploring the bonds between mother and daughter and the definition of what family really means. Definitely read it. Now.

4.5 stars

Warnings: Language, discussion of sex (not at all graphic)

YA Friday: Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Title: Sloppy Firsts
Author: Megan McCafferty
Series: Jessica Darling #1
Genre: YA, contemporary
Publisher: Broadway, 2001
Source: Kathy
Read for: FYA Book club

Jessica "Notso" Darling's best friend, Hope, has moved away, and now Jess is stuck with her shallow, annoying clique of pseudo-friends, the unwanted affections of her friend Scotty, the comparisons of her mother to her apparently perfect older sister, insomnia, and the frustrating fact that despite the fact that she's a virgin, she hasn't had her period in months. Things get even weirder when the school bad boy, Marcus Flutie, decides to start speaking to her.

So I liked this book, and I didn't like this book. There was a lot of good here, but also a lot that bothered me. Let's start with the bothering to end in a happy place.

I think the number one thing that got to me was the fact that I hear so much about Marcus Flutie being the best thing to ever happen in print, and the truth was that in this book at least, he was a bit of a loser. Charming, yes, intelligent, yes. Heavily into drugs and casual sex, also yes. That does not equal dream boy to me, and I wouldn't think it would to most girls. Granted, he changes some in this book, and there are four more in the series. I guess I was just expecting something different from all of the hype, and the reality let me down. Which leads into the other thing that bothers me. I know that this is a biased opinion of mine, so don't all y'all jump down my throat. I know it's a personal preference. However, I was bothered by the amount of foul language and talk of the dirty goings on in high school. I know that McCafferty's intent was to portray high school realistically, and I'm sure that a lot of people in high school do experience that level of language and "dirty talk." (I didn't). But while it may be accurate, I felt uncomfortable by it. So be aware that if you are also made uncomfortable by such things, Sloppy Firsts probably isn't the book for you.

However, with that said, there were a lot of amazing things about this book (enough that I am going to try the second book in the series). While the sexuality and language were not true to my high school experience, Jessica was. She was snarky and the things that frustrated and confused her, the philosophical tangents she went on both alone and with Marcus, rang true. She felt authentic, as if she was coming from a completely true place. Things weren't neat and tidy. The ending certainly isn't (which is of course why I am going to have to read the next book). She's caught in the middle with her group of friends. Her friend soulmate, Hope, is out of the picture except for emails and occasional phone calls, and her other friends are flakes and fakes. Jess has to learn how to cope with her situation and realize that while she may not get Hope back, there are some decent alternatives. She is also caught in the middle of the awkwardness that comes with relationships -- do you date the guy to have status and to have someone to do things with, or do you wait for something you are actually interested in? And are there any guys that aren't dirtbags in high school, anyway? And then there is her family, which isn't out of control dysfunctional, but which is difficult to deal with in that way when you are a teenager and want some autonomy and just can't seem to break free.

That kind of turned into a rant. My point is -- it's legit. It's complex. And Jessica Darling is awesome. The only problem is there is some smut to wade through to get to it. I hear it gets a bit better in the later books, so I'm giving Second Helpings a chance.

3.5 stars

Warnings: Language (smatterings of F-bombs), descriptions of things that high school kids do (but off the page)

YA Friday: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Bumped

Author: Megan McCafferty

Genre: YA, dystopian

Publisher: Balzer & Bray, 2011

Source: Received from NetGalley

Bumped explores a world where over 75% of the human race is infertile after the age of eighteen thanks to a progressive virus. As a result, teen pregnancy is not an epidemic that needs to be stopped but a condition that is embraced and rewarded. Melody Mayflower is a genetically desirable teen waiting to sign her first "bumping" contract in order to provide a couple with a child. However, her plans are shaken when her twin sister, Harmony, appears from the doctrine-heavy community of Goodside, where they preach the wickedness of bumping for profit and encourage families and marriage. Harmony and Melody's opinions and goals are very different, but as they get to know each other, they start to question the societies in which they were raised.

This was an interesting read for me. I went into it knowing that I had the potential to be offended due to the scandalous subject material. However, what was offensive to me was not so much the cavalier attitude about sex - although that was present to a degree - but the way Christians (described in the book as "having God") were presented. They were presented as ignorant, blindly following their beliefs and forcing individuals into loveless marriages. This is a satire, and I know that both the abstaining viewpoint of Goodside and the let-it-all-go-wild viewpoint of the bumpers-for-profit were brought to extremes to illustrate a point. However, I didn't love the underlying message that people who wait until marriage also walk around in floor-length dresses wearing veils and gloves so their skin isn't sullied by the unclean eyes of unbelievers.

End of rant. Other than the fact that I felt like Christians were being mocked a little in this book, a few other issues bothered me. First of all, I felt that the characters were a bit shallow. While both Melody and Harmony undergo personal changes that lead them to question their respective lifestyles, these changes seemed to be superficial. They begin questioning the institutions after sudden, dramatic events in their lives, and it seemed unrealistic to me that they would have such drastic alterations in their belief systems, especially Melody. While Melody is a little nervous about the idea of bumping, she seems pretty convinced of the idea - light-heartedly jealous of "Ventura Vida's adorable six-month bump," excited about the prospect of being admired and rich. Harmony is more introspective throughout the book, but the change in her seems to come mainly from physical attraction to a man. Is that really a message we want to send to teens - change your standards so you can get a guy?

I also didn't love the ending. I know that trilogies end on a cliffhanger so we will all be desperate to buy the next book. I know it's good salesmanship and profitable. But everything happened so quickly in the end of the book that it seemed too obvious that McCafferty was trying to ensnare our attention for the next book. Everything is left hanging, and everything happens too quickly to process. I know, I know, I like my loose ends tied up. I know I can't expect that in the first book of a trilogy. But if at least a few of the ends were tied, the ending would have been less jarring and the book would have felt more complete.

Now that I've aired my grievances, there were also a few aspects of the book that I enjoyed. The plot was entertaining and I wanted to keep going to find out what happened to the twins. I also think the idea to turn on the head a generally accepted position of society - that teenage pregnancy, regardless of what you may think of premarital sexual activity, is not a good idea - was brave and interesting. I found the dichotomy between Goodside and the rest of the world to be interesting, and a good example of the proverb to be moderate in all things. Encouraging unbridled sexual activity to ensure the continuation of the human race resulted in many problems, especially exploitation. Rigidly controlling lives by enforcing stringent rules also resulted in a decreased quality of life and seclusion for many women. McCafferty does a good job of bringing both these situations to light. She doesn't present either group's ideas as truly viable - these are both corrupt societies. They are opposites of each other, so doing a one-eighty turn in philosophy isn't going to solve the problem.

So overall? This isn't an awful book. I was engaged. I wanted to know what happened next. I have a favorite quote. "Harmony really puts the fun in fundamentalism." A little cheesy, but it made me LOL - literally. Ha. But it did lack depth. It was written at the level of young YA readers, but the content was definitely adult. I also felt it was offensive toward Christians at times. I probably won't recommend this book to anyone, but I did feel that I gained some insight from it.

2 stars