For Darkness Shows the Stars

Peterfreund, Diana. For Darkness Shows the Stars. Balzer & Bray, 2012.

This is the Goodreads blurb on this book: "It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever. Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it."

The premise of this book sounded interesting, Austin connection notwithstanding. However, the pace of the book is so slow that I simply could not get interested in the story, no matter the premise. At just over 400 pages, I should have been able to finish it in a few hours, but it took me DAYS of slogging to get through this book. I could see this book as a great cross-genre recommendation for Austin fans, but it was not my favorite.

Freak Show

St. James, James. Freak Show. Dutton Juvenile, 2007.

Billy Bloom has been sent to live with his father in Florida after his mother decides she's had enough of him.  Billy is gay and presents as a Kurt-esque character, although Billy might even give Kurt a run for his money.  But Florida might not be ready for Billy, and we follow him into his new school as he attempts to find his place.

I was interested in the premise of this story, and I really wanted to like it, but I could NOT get past the irritating narrative voice. Anyone who spends that much time on internal narrative and that little time on the actual events that are occurring ... argh. Too many all-caps situations, not enough of what was happening outside the protagonist's head. And I'm sure part of this was due to the fact that the protagonist didn't want to be in Florida, and so he retreated inside to survive, but nonetheless, this book just didn't do it for me.  I would likely recommend this book to Gleeks and to those who enjoy books with alternative narrative styles, like books told through texts or in script form.

Life as We Knew It

Pfeffer, Susan. Life as We Knew It. Harcourt Children, 2006. 

An asteroid hits the moon and pushes it closer to Earth. Disaster follows: tidal waves are HUGE and drown out much of the earth's coastline; earthquakes are happening everywhere; dormant volcanoes have become active. Miranda is 16, and her journal entries sound very much like a typical 16-year old's. Her only observation about the eminent asteroid crash is that she has too much moon-related homework; after the moon incident, she frets that her school has cancelled this year's prom.Things get worse for Miranda's family, and for everyone else. Electricity is spotty. Food is hard to come by. And the temperature is dropping. Will they be able to survive?

At first I wondered if I'd make it through this book; if Miranda spent the entire book obsessing over prom, I knew I'd regret my decision to read it. Then, when it seemed like maybe she would realize that their situation was more dire than the lack of an internet connection, I worried that the end of the book would read, "And then my family died, and I ate them. And the cat." [Actually, I'm surprised that they didn't eat the cat; he survived to the end of the book.]

But the book ended on a hopeful note, so it was worth the read. I enjoyed Ashfall more than this book, since the main characters there are more concerned with their survival, and the catastrophic climate changes associated with a supervolcano seemed more realistic, but this was still a good book.

I just noticed on Amazon that this is book one in a four-book series. Probably I won't be reading the rest of them, although if I were at a library with patrons who read all things dystopia, I'd be sure to keep this series on the shelf.

Tess Masterson will Go to Prom

Halpin, Brendan. Tessa Masterson will Go to Prom. Walker Childrens, 2013. 

Tessa's best friend invites her to prom, using a giant marquee to display his question to the small-town world where they live. Tessa turns him down and reveals the thing she's hidden from everyone but herself: Tessa is gay. This private admission turns into a public spectacle when the townspeople protest Tessa's plans to come to prom in a tux and with a female date.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the story, so I'll stop my summary there. This book was fun and funny and adorable and had a great Jordan Sonnenblick-esque ending and I was hesitant to start another book afterward, thinking that nothing could top the amazingness I'd just read. And maybe it can't.

If you haven't read this book yet, you need to. Even if it bothers you that one of the main characters wants to go to Purdue. After all, he's just a character. :)

Beyond Courage

Rappaport, Doreen. Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust. Candlewick, 2012.

This book is an excellent collection of stories of various groups of people who resisted the Nazi regime during the second world war.  There are quite a few photographs in this book, but not the typical Holocaust pictures that some of us may have become immune to. Also, the information in this book is tragic, but not graphic, so it is suitable for teens and tweens both. I would want this book in my classroom, were I still teaching.