By Laura Gutierrez

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(Read on the Kindle app on my iPhone)

A modern-day Catcher in the Rye? Probably not. By Wizner’s Shakespeare Shapiro is certainly a direct descendant of Salinger’s self-absorbed protagonist. Shakespeare is whiny, petulant, pessimistic, and laugh-out-loud funny. He is a senior in high school and nothing in his life is going right:
-He is burdened with an awful name.
-He worries endlessly, about everything.
-He counts among his closest friends only two people—Katie, an angry alcoholic in combat boots and Neil who is obsessed with bowel movements.
-His younger brother has a far richer social life than he does.
-His dad drinks like a fish.
The list goes on and on. But mostly he worries about his senior memoir, a year-long writing assignment about his favorite subject—himself.

Wizner unflinchingly takes on all of the most embarrassing moments in a boy’s life and makes them fodder for his protagonist’s twisted, self-deprecating sense of humor. Nothing is off-limits (and I do mean nothing). There are moments when the over-privileged Shakespeare’s woe-is-me attitude is grating but the humor in this book is more than worth it. A dose of reality, provided by a struggling classmate, helps wake him from his self-pitying stupor and redeem him for the reader.

Recommended for grades 10-12.

By Mr. Doyle

Blackbringer cover image

Fairies, and Imps, and Devils– oh my! Not my usual choice for reading material, but wow! This is a great fantasy read. It was an unsolicited donation from the publisher along with an advanced reader’s copy of the sequel, Silksinger (which I can’t wait to read). Both are part of the “Dreamdark” series.

This one is tough to put down. It’s got Magpie Windwitch, a spunky, half-wild, adolescent fairy (she is only 100 years old) as the protagonist. Thousands of years have passed since the Djinn and the fairies won the devil wars, locking the “snags” in magically sealed bottles and tossing them into the ocean. Since then, the Djinn have withdrawn from the world they created and faeries have grown complacent and have been letting magic slip away bit by bit. Now new creatures, humans or “mannies”, have arisen and are accidentally releasing the captured devils. Magpie and her band of crows travel the world hunting down the newly freed demons. But the latest devil to escape represents a different type of evil and it may mean the end of the world. Can she stop the Blackbringer before it destroys everyone and everything?

Magpie is a great protagonist. She is coarse, tough, brave, and determined. She is surrounded by an engaging—and sometimes terrifying—mix of characters. The crows, the imps, the devils, and the other faeries all help bring the story to life. There is plenty of action to keep kids reading and just enough of the dark side to lure the vampire-addicts into a different genre. This is excellent fantasy—even for non-fantasy readers.

Highly recommended for grades 7-12.

by Mr. Doyle

At the age of 10 Andrés is suddenly orphaned. A well-meaning but terribly misguided older brother snatches Andrés and his sisters from the comfort of a loving foster family in El Paso and brings them across the Rio Grande to Juarez, Mexico. There the older brother, Mando, tries to keep the family together but life in a poor neighborhood in Juarez is brutal and soon the family is destroyed along with Andrés’s innocence and hope. Years later he comes to Grace Delgado with no real expectation of getting better.

Grace, a widow, meanwhile struggles with a strained relationship with her only son, Mister, and newly diagnosed cancer. In Andrés she sees the beautiful boy he once was and the fiercely intelligent man he is now. Even though she knows “people can be totaled, just like cars,” she refuses to give up on him. But even as she pushes Andrés to keep going she herself has given up and refuses treatment for her disease. Will their near-suicidal fatalism bring them both to bitter ends or will they find a way to push through the pain and fear that constrains them and find a way to survive?

Saenz, a National Book Award winner for poetry, writes in gorgeous, lyrical prose. He conveys pain and sadness, light and love as only a poet can. Like his young adult book, Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, In Perfect Light is peopled with beautiful but damaged characters. He makes the reader love them which makes their experiences that much more painful. Though time shifts and changes in narrative voice make the story complex, and maybe confusing for weaker readers, this is a compelling, heart rending read.

Highly recommended for mature readers grades 10 and up.

By Mr. Doyle

Arnold is a Spokane Indian living on a reservation (The Rez) in Washington State. He was born with hydrocephaly (”water on the brain”) which left him with a large head, hands, and feet, a skinny body, and poor eyesight. To say he and his tribe are poor is to vastly understate their situation. Poverty, violence, alcoholism, and worst of all, hopelessness surround Arnold. Even his loving father regularly disappears into an alcoholic haze. Death, as Arnold points out, is a large part of his world. He estimates that he has attended over 40 funerals in his short life. But though Arnold cries and grieves for his family and his tribe he refuses to give in to despair. He is determined to make a future for himself. At a teacher’s urging he transfers to an all-white school more than 20 miles from his home. He becomes a part-time Indian and, in the eyes of many of the members of his tribe, he becomes a traitor. He faces hatred and violence when he is home on the rez and racism and hostility when he is at school. But this is a hopeful and funny story. Arnold’s indomitable spirit helps him create a unique space for himself. He finds beauty and kindness in both of his worlds and helps create large amounts of both for others.

In his protagonist, Alexie has created a unique voice in YA literature. With poignancy, humor, and insight he guides the reader through the mostly undiscovered world of the reservation. Ellen Forney’s drawings perfectly complement the story and help bring Arnold to life for the reader. We can only hope that a sequel is in the works because one Arnold book is not enough.

Highly recommended for grades 7-12

By Mr. Doyle

The book opens with Iggy being suspended from school pending an expulsion hearing. When he returns home there is no one to tell—his father is stoned and unconscious, his mother has disappeared, and the phone is dead so he can’t even call his social worker. In 5 days he will be expelled unless he can show he is worthy of another chance. So he vows to do something to change people’s opinions of him. He vows to make a contribution.

Iggy’s quest brings him to Mo’s door. Mo is the college drop-out who had been tutoring Iggy. Mo is from an affluent family but is rudderless, trying drugs and religions to find his way. Iggy acompanies Mo in his search for some pot, silently wondering if he will find his mom. Mo leads Iggy to a tenement drug den, resulting in a fateful meeting between Mo and Freddie, the vicious drug dealer.

Iggy is a truly good soul in a terrible situation. He is not perfect; he makes some bad decisions but he accepts the consequences. He will haunt readers long after the book has been closed. Reluctant readers should eat this up.

Highly recommended for grades 9-12

By Mr. Doyle

This amazing debut novel was another impulse buy at Barnes and Noble (note to self: must trust my impulses more). In it Cashore has created a compelling story with memorable, complex characters—especially the protagonist, Katsa. The author has combined the best of fantasy and romance and created a story that will appeal to all readers (even teen boys—if they are brave enough to open it up).

Katsa is Graced. That is to say she has a talent of almost supernatural ability. Many Gracelings are feared and avoided because they are different, but Katsa is especially reviled because her Grace is killing. Against her will, she is used as a tool by her uncle, the brutal king Randa. At his orders she scares, tortures, and kills those who dare to defy him. Over time she has come to see herself as others see her—a brutal killer. She hates the king, hates her Grace, and, frequently, hates herself. She feels powerless to change her fate until she meets Prince Po, a Graceling fighter from a distant kingdom. He sees the real Katsa beneath the killer exterior and helps her to see herself differently. Together they embark on a dangerous mission to unravel the mystery of Po’s grandfather’s kidnapping. They push themselves to the limits of their considerable physical abilities, risking life and limb to free a kingdom from a tyrant and, in the process, discover their true selves and true love.

Cashore’s writing skill is impressive. While she is very descriptive, the story never bogs down. The book is peppered with enough action sequences to keep the reader in a state of anticipation but not overwhelmingly so. And Katsa is a heroine that you will not soon forget. She is reminiscent of the similarly named Katniss in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

Highly recommended for grades 8-12.

By Mr. Doyle

Jose, a.k.a. The J-Man, and Raymond, a.k.a. Ray-Ray, are fugitives from foster care and juvie. They are “friends to the end,” watching out for each other and committing small-time crimes to survive. When asked about their parents they reply, “Don’t got ’em,” and “Don’t need ‘em.” Jose is older but smaller. He is movie-star-handsome and the leader of the pair. He has charm and wit but is mostly illiterate. Ray is almost the complete opposite of Jose. He is huge, 6’3”, 230 lbs. Although he is highly intelligent and an avid reader of almost anything, Ray is not as quick with his mouth as Jose is and is frequently tongue-tied. The two live in an abandoned train station In New York City’s Ten Mile River Park with stolen and scrounged furniture and a pack of abandoned dogs.

Like Lenny and George in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the two stick together through thick and thin, fighting the system, violent men, bad luck and poor decisions. Even their love of the beautiful Trini cannot break their bonds of friendship. Readers will fall in love with Ray. His intelligence and introspective nature recall Sammy from Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood and his big heart and desire to do the right thing bring to mind Iggy Corso of K.L. Going’s Saint Iggy—good literary company indeed. Though the ending is less than satisfying the writing is excellent and the story is compelling.

Warning: lots of harsh language.

Highly recommended for high school.

By Mr. Doyle

I subscribe to the Car Talk podcast on iTunes and listen to it every week as I drive to work. Ray and Tom are hilarious and very informative. Yes, a radio show about cars can be hilarious. If you have never heard them then go to iTunes or to their web site (Http://www.cartalk.com) and listen to the podcasts.

I got this book from Santa this Christmas. It contains letters from their weekly car advice column. Like the radio program, it is hilarious and you learn a lot about diagnosing car problems. I read it in 2 or 3 days. Highly recommended for anyone who owns or will own a car, drives a car, rides in cars, or has ever seen a car.

And as Click and Clack say, don’t drive like my brother! Seriously, my brother wrecked two of my cars by backing into them with his dump truck. And both times I was out doing him a favor when it happened.

By Mr. Doyle

I have been a fan of Mr. Scieszka since The True Story of 3 Little Pigs came out. I read some of the Time Warp Trio series to my kids. Recently I read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories to my kids and we were all very disappointed. The stories weren’t “fairly” stupid– they were very stupid. But we gave Mr. Scieszka another chance and decided to read Knucklehead. This book is hilarious. There were times when I couldn’t finishing reading a paragraph because I was laughing so hard. So many of the incidents took me back to my own childhood. My wife and I found it much funnier than our kids (8 and 9) but I think anyone could enjoy this book. The graphics add interest and the chapters are very short, making it a good pick for reluctant readers.

Highly recommended for grades 6 through adult (especially for adults!).