Reader: Guanani
Age: 18
Title: Grasshopper Jungle
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pub Date: 02/11/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book blows my mind with its gritty grace and deeply flawed characters. It focuses on a few big themes (sexuality, history, science gone wrong) but at the same time feels like it’s about everything. Despite the mutant praying mantises and mad scientist bunker, this story feels extremely realistic and does an excellent job portraying a relatable teenage experience.
Memorable or Forgettable: Grasshopper Jungle is memorable because of how it blends science fiction with the realistic-fiction elements about Austin figuring out his sexuality and place in the world. I’m amazed by how seamless these sets of ideas were, especially since they are almost always explored separately. Austin’s character was developed with a lot of sensitivity, and I cared about him even though he did some very stupid things. The sci-fi aspect was original and scary in an almost absurdist way. Even though what’s going to happen is introduced early on, the way the events unfold and how various characters accidentally contribute to the end of the world drives the plot and makes the ending somehow inevitable and surprising at the same time. I recommend this highly, but this book does deal with considerable amounts of sex stuff and gore, so be prepared.
Cover: I picked this up because of recommendations from friends. The cover is a great color, something unique and alarming that will stand out among all the black and pink covers. I also really like the subtle graphic. It hints at what the book is about without giving too much away or having a random picture of a teenage model on it, which is a pet peeve of mine.
Age Range: 16 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Grasshopper Jungle is a coming of age epic told in layers, exploring the pitfalls and wisdom of history, complex issues of friendship and sexual confusion, and, of course, the story of how six-foot-tall man-eating praying mantises from Iowa brought on the end of the world.
tags: realistic science fiction / coming of age / GLBT /ya lit
Reader: Alexis F.
Age: 14
Title: I Have a Bad Feeling About This
Author: Jeff Strand
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 03/01/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The book had some funny parts, but it was a little childish at times. Come on! What's not funny about a bunch of totally wimpy boys being sent to a "hard-core" summer camp? It may sound a little boring at first, but after you start to read it, it's pretty good. The plot was easy to follow and the characters had their own personalities (however, at times they talked exactly the same). I would probably rate it on a scale of one to five (one being the worst and five being the best) a three. It wasn't the best read, but it was good enough.
Memorable or Forgettable: It's one of those books that you'll most likely forget the majority of the plot, but certain things stick out. After each chapter there's a little "survival tip." I do not recommend using them...
Cover: The cover did not tempt me to pick it up. It's plain and I wasn't interested until someone told me that it was good.
Age Range: 12 through 13
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
tags: humor / realistic fiction / ya lit
Reader: Claire W.
Age: 12
Title: Subway Love
Author: Nora Raleigh Baskin
Publisher: Candlewick
Pub Date: 05/13/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Well first the book is very confusing. It switches between two time periods and not very well. Also there wasn't really a plot for the first half of the book. Another thing is that it took me a very long time to figure out that Laura was living in the hippie era and the other main character was in present time. The character development was poor and not really there. The plot was introduced much too late and didn't really have an ending. It just stopped at the end of the book.
Memorable or Forgettable: The book was certainly not a very original topic. It was like Doctor Who but with a subway car instead of a police box. But it was done badly and didn't make much sense.
Cover: The cover was super cool and sorta reflected the contents of the book but not that well. But the blurb on the back was the worst. It was a section from the beginning, and the beginning had nothing to do with the plot. So I was expecting a completely different book than what I got and not in a good way.
Age Range: 12 through 13
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 1P Yech! Forced to read it
tags: romance / time travel / divorce / ya lit
Reader: Grace K.L.
Age: 15
Title: The Children of the King
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pub Date: 03/25/2014
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book takes place in Britain during World War II, and does an overall good job of capturing the atmosphere of the War. I felt disconnected to the protagonist, Cecily, who seemed terribly naive and foolish. This could have worked; however, the third person narrative voice seemed rather high and mighty about Cecily's behavior. Cecily's brother, Jem, however, was a wonderful character. I identified with him, and though his actions were not excusable, they were understandable.
Memorable or Forgettable: I feel that I might not remember the plot of this book for very long, but if anything is going to stick with me, it is the character of Jem, for the reasons listed above.
Cover: When I picked up this book it did not yet have a cover. After viewing the cover online I will say that it accurately reflected the contents if the book.
Age Range: Under 12 through 13
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest
Additional Comments: It appears that this is being marketed as middle grade. I do not agree with this. Though it is about children, I would say that the style of narration is more suitable for upper grades.
tags: historical fiction / World War II / ya lit
Reader: Alyissa S.
Age: 13
Title: Acid
Author: Emma Pass
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pub Date: 03/11/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Acid is an amazing book for many reasons. The first reason is the book shows a lot of girl power and determination from a strong female character. The second reason is the book applied the theme that it's not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself, that played a big role in the book. The finally reason Acid is amazing book is because the book ended in a way that was satisfying and left me wanting more.
Memorable or Forgettable: The most memorable part of the book was when Jenna was at the prison and she beat up the new prisoner.
Cover: The cover matches the story so perfectly because it expresses the book as a dangerous girl on the loose.
Age Range: 14 through 15
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments: If i had 3 words for this book, they would be dangerous, awesome, and mysterious.
Annotation: What if someone stole your life away from you?
tags: science fiction / dystopian romance / ya lit
Reader: Sophie D.
Age: 18
Title: Chasing Shadows
Author: Swati Avasthi
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers
Pub Date: 09/24/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was awesome. My favorite part was Holly's transformation over the course of the book. She slowly loses control, but because half of the book is from her point of view, it's not clear to the reader until close to the end what is really going on in her mind. The friendship between Holly and Savitri was also very real and relatable, which made it difficult for me to read at times. I very much appreciated that there wasn't a real storybook ending, their friendship was damaged by their choices and actions. It was not a satisfying ending, but that is realistic.
Memorable or Forgettable: I loved the way it combined prose with drawings, it really made the rest of the book more like a graphic novel. I would have liked to see more segments of graphics, that would have made the transitions more smooth.
Cover: I'm not a fan of this cover. I would have loved to see some art from the book, instead of a photo. Also, it's only a photo of Holly, when the book is as much about Savitri as it is about her - arguably even more about Savitri. Picturing the white girl and not picturing the Indian girl is problematic when there is already so little diversity in YA literature.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Dark and visual, Chasing Shadows follows Holly and Savitri's friendship as they try to survive the death of Holly's brother, Corey. When Holly becomes obsessed with getting him back, can Savitri save her from going too far?
tags: graphic novel / contemporary / realistic fiction / mental illness / ya lit
Reader: Emily L.
Age: 16
Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Pub Date: 04/15/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The author made the main character, Lara Jean, seem like a normal teenage girl. The character's voice didn't sound too sophisticated but it also didn't seem too "dumbed" down. My favorite part of this novel is the development of Peter & Lara Jean's relationship because (SPOILER ALERT) you don't actually expect her to fall for him or for him to fall for her, because before they decided to "fake date" they were both completely hung up on other people. The unpredictability of their relationship is by far my favorite part.
Memorable or Forgettable: I liked how I didn't predict the ending of this book before it happened. It always kept me guessing. Yes, it's a sappy romance novel but it's not as annoying as most are.
Cover: I didn't pick up the book because of the cover, someone had recommended the novel to me. The cover honestly didn't have either a positive nor negative impact on me. It's the kind of cover that's just there and not really distinguishable from other book covers.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
tags: contemporary / realistic fiction / romance / To All The Boys I've Loved Before / ya lit
Reader: Claire W.
Age: 12
Title: The Shadow Prince (Into The Dark #1)
Author: Bree Despain
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pub Date: 03/11/2014
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: First off, the the plot was very good since all of the mythology was correct and followed the same sort of story most myths do. And the plot moved along at a very nice pace. The dialogue was quite amusing since Haden was unaware of the new trends. The character development was really good since Daphne and Haden both came out of their skins throughout the book
Memorable or Forgettable: Well, currently books that tie realistic fiction and mythology are pretty common so that didn't make it very original, but the way it was written did make it memorable.
Cover: Not really. The cover was two dark and very hard to make out.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Haden Lord lives in the underworld. Every year a group of people are sent into the mortal world to fetch a girl. This year Haden is chosen to go alone - except for his two companions - to get a girl named Daphne. Daphne has lived her whole life in a little town called Ellis Fields until her not involved dad shows up to ask her if she wants to go live with him in his glamorous life. She says yes to start off her singing career but her plan sorta backfires. In Olympus Hills she meets a mysterious guy named Haden Lord.
tags: fantasy / mythology / romance / ya lit
Reader: Katie J.
Age: 13
Title: The Fury (The Fury #1)
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pub Date: 07/23/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was long. Like, really really 688 pages long. I think that if it had been more exciting, then it wouldn't have been so, I don't know, LONG. It was a good concept, but the middle 400 pages didn't need to be in the book.
In this book, Daisy, Cal, Brick, Adam, Schiller, and Rilke are teenagers that get attacked once they get within 20 meters (most of this book takes place in England, and they use the metric system, which is a bit confusing) of other people. It turns out that they have angels (yes I said angels) inside of them. After 400 pages of getting attacked by the "ferals," they take down the bad guy,. And yes, plenty of people die. One of them is a main character and the other 5 million or so are nameless.Memorable or Forgettable: I liked this book. I might've liked it better if it wasn't 1 pound and if it didn't have 400 extra pages.
Cover: The cover was pretty good. This is how I imagined the teens looking when the transformed into angels.
Age Range: 12 through 13
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Additional Comments: WARNING: If you don't like long books, like ones that are about 688 pages, don't read this book.
tags: horror / dystopia / The Fury / science fiction / ya lit
April 5, 2014
St. Paul's Union Depot
Carrie Mesrobian's Sex & Violence wins the 26th Annual Minnesota Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Earlier in the day, several Teens Know Best members, interns, and parents volunteered as part of the awards gala set up crew. We placed programs and donation cards, arranged centerpieces, and organized the volunteer's room. Later that evening, dressed in our gala finest, we met authors, got books signed, and cheered the winners.
Teens Know Best is a teen book club sponsored by Metropolitan State University and St. Paul Public Library. Our teens read books, blog about books, and participate in lively book discussions at monthly meetings. Follow these links to read member reviews of Sex & Violence:
Guanani's Review
Sophie D's Review
Elise S's Review
During her acceptance speech, Ms. Mesrobian thanked librarians for having the courage to put a book titled Sex & Violence on their shelves. Minnesota boasts a passionately engaged community that nurtures, advocates, educates, and celebrates all aspects of the book. Teens Know Best would like to acknowledge that community, congratulate the finalists and winners of the 26th Annual Minnesota Book Awards, and thank The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library for the opportunity to volunteer and attend the gala event.
