Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
This is…an unhappy book with an unhappy ending, full of laugh out loud moments. Oh how fun it is to see ourselves in others’ ennui, however over-the-top it may be.
Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost
Dewey Decimal System! You have failed! This book is in the wrong section. Sure, it’s with the other books about cartoons and comics in the 740’s, but it should be with the YA section. The reading ages is 4-8 for crying out loud!
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Holling Hoodhood is the only kid in his grade who is neither Catholic nor Jewish. Consequently, he is the only kid stuck with Mrs. Baker on Wednesday afternoons when the kids go to Church or Temple to prepare for their Confirmations and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
The Sea of Monsters By Rick Riordan
Once again, Percy Jackson must go on a quest to save the day, along with side kick Annabeth.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A quick trip to Ye Olde Wikipedia will inform you that Rick Riordan first began writing the Percy Jackson series back in 1994, ergo you can can then deduce (induce?) that the Percy Jackson series is not derivative of Harry Potter.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
It’s really no wonder that this was shortlisted for the National Book Award (Young People’s category) and won the Printz award. It’s one of those highly literary stories that trancscends the young adult or genre or the graphic novel genre. In fact, I think it may be enhanced by them.
I…actually liked this book. I had invited my Inner Teenaged Self up from the basement where she’s usually kept and we read it together. She liked it, too. So, here is is Inner Teenaged Self (you can picture her has having purple spikey hair, fishnet tights, and doc Martins, and that will be a pretty accurate description of me my Sophomore year of high school).
Oh. My. Fucking. God. Why would anyone ever read this book? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY? O.K., say you’re a fan of “The Hills” or whatever (though I don’t really get that either…scripted reality? don’t you people have enough drama in your lives?). And say that since you’re a fan, you want to learn more about the show, some behind the scenes type stuff. You might then pick up a tell-all by Lauren Conrad. Sure, it’d be as atrociously written, but at least it might legitimately shed light on this show that you keep watching.
Odd, in this case, may indeed be odd, but that is not what his name implies. In Old Norse, it means “lucky.” Unfortunately for Odd, he’s not.
I am making an effort to read more YA literature. But then I read it and I remember why I don’t usually pick up books like this. And the worst of it is, I kinda liked it.