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Twisted
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Reviewed by Kim Baccellia
Everybody told me to be a man. Nobody told me how.
Tyler Miller is used to being Nerd Boy but all that changes after he is arrested. During his mandatory community service,
he develops not only a buff body but the attention of the most unlikely girl on campus—Bethany Milbury, whose father
also happens to be his dad's boss. Tyler knows he should bask in his new status on campus but others are not too thrilled
with him. Chip, Bethany's brother, hates him.
Then there's Tyler's sister, Hannah, who's growing up too fast in his eyes. Or as Tyler states: Sisters should not have
boobs. To make matters worse, his best friend Yoda wants to move from friend-who-was-a-boy status to Hannah's
boyfriend.
Tyler struggles with his own feelings regarding Bethany. One night he goes to a party and his life is changed—once
again. He's found guilty before proven innocent by his principal and peers based on his earlier act of vandalism. And
life at home isn't any better. His father blames him too. When everything proves to be too much for Tyler, he makes a
crucial decision. One that will affect not only him but those around him.
I loved this book. I especially loved the voice of Tyler. I found myself cheering for him, even when others in his school
turned on him. His conflict with his perfectionist father and how he comes to grips with it will stay with the reader
long after the last page.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what goes on inside the mind of a seventeen-year-old boy.
Leaving Paradise
by Simone Elkeles
Reviewed by a.fortis (Sarah Stevenson), Reading YA: Readers' Rants
Right now, just about the only thing keeping Maggie Armstrong going is the thought that she'll be studying in Spain
next semester. You'd be eager to leave, too, if you had no friends, your dad had left your mom, and your leg was a weak,
scarred mess after your former best friend's brother hit you with his car while driving drunk. But Maggie's ordeal of
surgeries and physical therapy is almost over, and it's time for her to go back to school and start her senior year.
It's senior year for Caleb Becker, too, but he's had a very different time of it the past year. He's been serving time in a
juvenile detention center, convicted of hitting Maggie with his car. It was a stupid accident, he really is sorry, and so
he's released from detention to serve the rest of his sentence doing community service.
Neither of them counted on seeing each other again.
Of course, it was inevitable; but the horrible incident that links them together also pushes them apart. Caleb is willing to
make amends and let the past lie, but Maggie isn't ready to forgive the person who ruined her life—not just her social
life, but her physical health and her role as a top athlete on the tennis team. The way she sees it, without her success at
tennis, she doesn't have anything left to keep her dad's attention on her; he'll just gradually disappear into his new life,
his new family.
Unfortunately, if she can't deal with Caleb, she won't be able to move on. And avoiding him becomes more and more difficult
in their small town, where everyone runs in the same social circles. When circumstances keep throwing them together, they
have to face up to the trauma they shared.
In this gripping tale of personal drama, healing, and redemption, Elkeles keeps the pages turning with strong first-person
writing from both Caleb's and Maggie's points of view. Both characters grow significantly over the course of the novel, and
our perceptions change, too, the more we gradually learn about what happened the night of the accident. It's such a
skillfully woven story, with every new development and revelation a treat to be savored, that I don't want to give too much
away—but this one is highly recommended.
Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend
by Carrie Jones
Reviewed by Kelly Herold, Big A little a
Carrie Jones' Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend adds a twist to the YA breakup novel.
High school senior and singer-songwriter, Belle Philbrick, is dumped. And not in your usual way. Her boyfriend
Dylan—Harvest King to Belle's Harvest Queen—announces that he's gay. And, needless to say, dumps her. Tips
on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend chronicles Belle's story in first-person narration over the course of the week that
follows.
Why a week? In an inspired piece of character development, Belle doesn't want to turn into a Malory—a girl who whines
about a boy for an extended period of time. Instead, she spends time with her best friend, Emily, and becomes closer to
Dylan's best friend, Tom. And, because she lives in a small Maine town—her breakup and Dylan's announcement that he's
gay remains their secret for about 24 hours before everyone knows everything. Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend
is a tale not just of Belle's coming to terms with her gay (ex) boyfriend, but also the entire town's adjustment to Dylan's
announcement.
Carrie Jones has created an admirable heroine in Belle. While her breakup with Dylan is understandably painful, social
justice and her true love for Dylan win over her pain. As one of the leaders of her school's Amenesty International
chapter, Belle can't overlook when other students call Dylan "fag" (or her, weirdly, "fag hag").
Belle is a compelling character, very real despite the fact that her situation may seem unusual. (In the spirit of full
disclosure, I must admit a similar thing happened to me during my senior year of high school.) One doesn't expect your first
and true love to be gay. Fortunately, Belle has a good friend to turn to—a level-headed girl named Emily. Here is a revealing
conversation between the two girls:
"You know. It's a big deal what's happening to you and Dylan and everything.
That's hard to adjust to. You love him for, like, forever and then—boom that
love's gone."
I stare into Emily's blue eyes. She stares back with sympathy. I say as
undramtically as possible. "It was a lie, Em. It was just a fairy tale. You don't
have to recover from a fairy tale."
She exhales, plucks off the lens cap again and twirls it between your fingers.
"Yes, you do."
Carrie Jones has teenage speak—even the discourse of smart, self-aware teens like Emily and Belle—down pat.
Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend is highly recommended for older teens. (Belle and Dylan were sexually active,
so there is some sexual content.) This is one smart book with one smart heroine.
Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Viking Juvenile, 2007. ISBN: 0-6700-6101-8.
Leaving Paradise, by Simone Elkeles. Flux, 2007. ISBN: 0-7387-1018-0.
Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend, by Carrie Jones. Llewellyn Publications, 2007.
ISBN: 0-7387-1050-4. (Release date: May 28)
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