New Spin on Werewolves and Interesting Story Telling in Liar
Micha is a liar! She knows it, everyone knows it. But this time she promises to tell the truth about what she is. Maybe. Justine Larbalestier writes her book in three seperate sections – “Telling The Truth”, “Telling The True Truth” & “The Actual Real Truth.”
Micha is a werewolve, but this is not your cute Twilight werewolve. Micha shares with us the painful transition between girl and wolf and what causes her to change. She refers to her secret as the family illness. She was born covered with fur. The story begins with Micha’s after hours boyfriend, Zach is killed. He is an after hours boyfriend because at school they don’t talk to each other and only meet up when no one else is around. They both like to run. Because of what she is, Micha is wicked fast. The author peels away the layers of the lies until we finally get an idea of what happened to Zach.
I really like the way Larbalestier doesn’t suger coat the change from human to wolf. It is extremely painful and the ritual her family puts her through is humiliating. I enjoyed the three layers of storytelling and we get closer to the truth with each version of her story. There is a part where we see being a wolf from her perspective and what she’s thinking as she advances on her prey. It is very chilling.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
How does Micha differ from other werewolves you’ve read about?
Talk about lies. Share stories about when you told one and how did it affect you.
Did you believe Micha’s lies at the beginning of the book?
Did you think she killed Zach?
Talk about Zach’s relationship with Micha.
Talk about the part near the end where Micha as a wolf stalks her prey. Talk about the wolf perspective.
Micha feels like a freak. Many people do. Have you ever felt like a freak?
Interesting Teen Read About Death And What Comes After
Madison wants to be clear. She is dead. She is stuck in a dark place pulsing with energy. The only things she sees are lost items from her life. Each one takes her back to a moment when she was alive. A lost orchid takes her back to getting to know Gabe, her boyfriend. A rattle takes her back to when she was an infant. Only when she revisits a hair clip she lost at a slumber party does she encounter another ghost. As the girls play with a Oujia Board, Madison realizes she is not the only spirit watching this scene. Using the board, the ghost reveals she’s Tammy and that she’s sorry Madison is dead. Madison has no idea what happened to her, but she does not have any memories past the age 17. Her lost physics homework takes her to Gabe, who she soon realizes is also dead. Together they witness what ended Madison’s life. Only then can they move onto the Everafter.
I really liked how the author uses lost items to connect Madison back to her life. The nonlinear story telling keeps us guessing about what happened to Madison. It also gives us glimpses about Madison as Huntley slowly builds her as a character. I love it when a young adult writers use the classics as their muse. Huntley shares the Emily Dickenson poem, “My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close.” Madison uses this poem to write an English paper, somehow forshadowing what is to come.
“My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,” – Dickenson
Some Ideas For Discussion With Teens:
If appropriate, talk about how the teen’s beliefs about the afterlife differ from the author’s idea. Or maybe they are the same.
Talk about the Emily Dickinson poem and about how that forshadows two deaths. What could the third even be?
Why do you think the author chose lost things as a way to reconnect with life?
Which lost item affected you the most?
Think of a lost item from your own life that is significant.
Discuss the Ouiji Board and how the game is played.
It took a while for the cause of Madison’s death to be revealed. How did you think she died? Did you expect what happened?
Christmas Romance With Cheerleaders and Tea Cup Pigs
Popular teen authors, John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle write three intertwined short stories about Christmas romances. Maureen Johnson starts with “Jubilee Express.” Jubilee (yes, that is her name) is heading to her grandparents after her parents are arrested on Christmas Eve for taking part in a riot at the Flobie Santa Village factory. Jubilee is upset that she’s missing Christmas with her overachiever boyfriend, but even more upset that he doesn’t have time to listen to her troubles. On the train, she meets Jed, who we’ll get to know better in the third story. Jubilee’s train gets stuck during a snow storm, forcing her to schlep over to the Waffle Hut with 14 perky cheerleaders. There she meets Stewart. We also meet the interesting “tin foil guy” who makes other appearances as the next two stories unfold.
In John Green’s Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, we find out how the guys at the Waffle Hut feel about being invaded by cheerleaders. It’s a Christmas Miracle!! Kuen phones friends, JP, Tobin and “The Duke” and tells them to get there, pronto and bring the game, Twister. The story is filled with John’s signature hilariously witty friend banter. There is also a great car race in the snow between the friends and two lopsided twins. Tobin realizes he should have been thinking about the girl sitting next to him, instead of perky cheerleaders.
In The Patron Saint Of Pigs, Addie is heartbroken because she ended things with her boyfriend, Jed. (You’ll remember Jed from the train, he is also moping at the Waffle Hut in the 2nd story.) Addie is a bit of a drama queen, as her two friends subtly remind her. Jed is not the boyfriend Addie wants him to be. She would like him to be more romantic (Edward Cullen-like, I am assuming.) After Addie’s huge mistake, Jed is supposed to meet her at Starbucks. When he never shows, Addie suspects the worst. Addie’s friend, Tegan has a pig obsession. Enter the world’s cutest pig, a tiny tea cup pig named Gabriel and lewd boy named Charlie and a bus full of senior citizens and the cast of interesting characters grows even larger.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Addie wants Jeb to change. She doesn’t think he’s romantic enough. Talk about how drama can get in the way of a good relationship.
Why are the guys so obsessed with the cheerleaders? Talk about how the cheerleaders pay attention to them at first and why the guys are disappointed later.
Jubilee thinks she has a great relationship with her overachiever boyfriend. Talk about how she may have lost herself along the way.
What drew Jubilee & Stewart, Addie & Jed, Tobin and Angie to each other?
Tobin and the Duke (Angie) are good friends. The Duke likes Tobin, but he is afraid to ruin the friendship. Talk about making that transition between friends and more than friends.
Can Vampries Become Human Again?
I love Francesca Lia Block! I was so excited to see her write about vampires! Pretty Dead follows vampire, Charlotte Emerson. After her human companion’s untimely death, Charlotte starts to notice chinks in her perfection. It starts with a broken nail, then she can cry and sweat. Can a vampire become human again?
The author uses her beautiful dreamlike writing to show Charlotte’s travels through the decades of her 100 years. She travels from posh city to city with a fabulous assortment of clothes. We get the sense from Charlotte that it is not that great to be a vampire, which is a departure from many other teen vampire books.
Ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about Francesca Lia Block’s magical realism writing. How does she differ from other authors that write about vampries?
Why would Jared and Emily want to become vampries?
Talk about Charlotte’s transition and her loss of perfection.
What would you choose?
Fantastic Prequel to Graceling!
Fire is the exciting prequel to Kristin Cashore’s Graceling. I am a huge fan of Graceling and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one! Fire lives up to Graceling beautifully! The only character in both books in Leck, only in Fire he is a young child instead of a king. The first chapter gives us King Leck’s much anticipated background story.
Fire is the last of her kind. She is a human monster. There are monster versions of all kinds of animals. She was the only child of the human monster, Cansrel, a dangerous man who used his powers for his own greed and pleasure. Besides her unnatural beauty and hair the color of fire, she has the ability to enter and control the minds of those near her. Now Cansrel is dead. She lives in the estate of Lord Archer, both her lover and protector. Human monsters have a hard time surviving. Monster preditors such as raptors and leopards hunger for their flesh more than any other human. She must be guarded at all times. Fire is uncomfortable with her mind control powers, and keeps her hair covered whenever she leaves her home. The very sight of her can be so shocking to humans, they can’t control themselves around her. They either want her for their own or want to kill her.
Fire is summoned to King’s City to use her powers against the king’s enemies, making her question how she lives, who she should love and what she should do with her powers.
Although the characters are different from Graceling, the book has the same feel and excitement. I love that Kristin Cashore has created another strong female character for teens! She tells us just enough of what a “monster” is and lets is fill in the blanks with our own imagination. How I picture Fire may be very different how another reader will imagine her. The introduction to the child version of Leck is brilliantly creepy! I really can’t wait for book three, Bitterblue.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
What makes Fire monsterous? What about Cansrel?
Does she have a right to probe and control people’s minds? Would you want that power?
Fire does not want to have children. She wants the monster line to end. Is she right? If you were her, what would you do?
If the teens have read Graceling, talk about the character of King Leck as both a king in Graceling and a child in Fire.
Discuss Fire’s relationship with Archer.
Discuss Fire’s secret involving her father.
Do you see Fire as a strong female character?
Compare her with other female characters in young adult fiction.
Fire uses music to comfort herself. Do you have a similar talent that makes you happy?
More Fallen Angel Fantasy!
After reading Eternal I was hoping for more fallen angel fantasy. Lauren Kate is writing a new series about just that. The first book is called, Fallen. All her life, Luce has been tormented by shadows that seem to follow her everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the movie, “The Sixth Sense.” She’s sent to reform school because a mysterious fire killed a boy she liked. She’s implicated in the crime even though she can’t remember what happened.
At school Luce meets Daniel. Not only is he supernaturally gorgeous, Luce feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam, another attractive boy, is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, the boy whose interest runs both hot and cold. Daniel tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her the truth would kill her as it has many times before. The first chapter is fantastic! But I was disappointed that it took so long in the rest of the book to get back to the supernatural. But this won’t stop teens from loving it anyway!
Unfortunately Daniel falls into that familiar theme of “boy is mean to girl” so “girl becomes obsessed with boy.” We never find out what really caused the fire that killed Luce’s friend. It also seems strange that Luce and Daniel are able to go off into the woods. I would think a reform school would have more security. The cover is fantastic! It is dark, dramatic and beautiful! Teens will love it!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
What is appealing about fallen angels vs. vampires and other characters in fantasy?
What do you think caused the fire that killed the boy?
Why do you think the “boys are mean and girls love them anyway” is so popular in teen books?
Talk about Luce’s shadows. What do you think they mean?
Scary Short Stories From Popular Teen Authors!
This is a fun collection of short stories involving popular authors of young adult fantasy. Sarah Mlynowski of Bras and Broomsticks tells a story about two girls going on a cruise. They are scoping out guys so one of them can lose their virginity. The two girls befriend another girl who warns them about a string of vampire attacks on cruise ships. Bodies are found overboard drained of blood. When Kristin finds the guy of her dreams and they are finally alone, we find out she has a secret of her own. Virginity has an entirely different meaning to these girls.
Claudia Gray, the author of the Evernight series, takes on a witches vacation filled with rivelry. Every year this coven gets together to work magic. Her mom’s coven from college and their families meet and the men in the family really have no idea that their wives and daughters are witches. Cicely hates Kathleen. The two have been rivals since they were little kids. When Kathleen brings a new boyfriend on vacation, Cecily suspects the boyfriend has been bewitched. Now Cecily must decide whether to risk performing powerful magic beyond her years.
Maureen Johnson of 13 Little Blue Envelopes fame writes about two sisters, the French countryside and a strange curse. When people hear a story about the French Revolution they are compelled to commite murder.
Cassandra Clare, author of City Of Bones & City Of Ashes, writes about a family that vacations next to an ancient witch. The villa staff’s warnings are not enough to keep two curious teens from approaching her beach house.
The story that was truely terrifying was saved for last. Libba Bray, author of A Great And Terrible Beauty, scared me to death with her “Nowhere Is Safe.” A group of teens backpack through Europe and decide to go off the beaten path near Budepest for a little adventure. They go to small village for a festival with a dark history. They find ghosts, a frightening history of devil worship and a terrifying evil shrouded in mist and dense forests. I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep after reading this one!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
How is reading a collection of short stories different than a full novel? Which did you like better?
Talk about which stories were your favorites?
Did you think the students in Nowhere Is Safe were brave or stupid?
Talk about superstitions and how legends can shape the way we think.
Desperate circumstances can make people do horrible things. Talk about what would make a village sacrifice their own children.
Powerful Read About September 11th by David Levithan
The first few chapters are a very realistic and emotional retelling of the events of September 11th through the eyes of three teens, Claire, Peter and Jasper. I won’t lie to you, these pages are tough to read. They brought back a lot of emotion of the day. This is a good opportunity for teens who may have been too young to remember much of the details. They can see the events through the eyes of characters their own age. Claire is in school and rushes to find her little brother while they wait for their mother to get them. Peter is waiting outside for a record store to open and bares witness to the attack. Jasper sleeps through the most of the attack. The three characters were at a party together just the night before. Jasper and Peter flirted, but a connection is not made until much later. Claire meets Jasper on a nighttime walk to ground zero where they find they are kindred spirits, searching for answers. The three become a source of hope and deep friendship as they navigate through the year after the attacks.
David Levithan’s description of the day’s events is very authentic both in detail and emotion. He forces us to ask difficult questions. He portrays the important politics of the time without evoking fear. He reminds us we share humanity with the entire world, and the post 9/11 events should bring us together instead of tearing us apart. I love how he portrays homosexual teens. They are just like any other teen, searching for love and acceptance. They are friends with straight teens like it is no big deal. And it shouldn’t be a big deal. I read through chapters of this book with tears in my eyes. I am so thankful David Levithan had the courage to write this important book!
Ideas for discussing with teens:
Many teens may be too young to remember details about the September 11th attacks. Talk about what they do remember. As an adult facilitator, add your personal recollections.
If they do remember, talk about how their world changed that day.
Music, specifically U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind album, helps Peter and Claire cope. Talk about how music helps you cope with difficult times in your life.
Have the lyrics to U2’s song “One” on hand to discuss. Take turns reading it out loud. The title of the book comes from the lyrics.
How does tragedy bring people closer together?
Claire says she feels survivors must breathe in the dust of the dead, and do things the dust cannot do. Discuss.
Talk about when Clarire says, “The hitch is you can’t find a common humanity just because you have a common enemy. You have to find a common humanity because you believe that it’s true.”
The characters talk about the different between “drowning” & “the swim of things”. Discuss.
Could Fallen Angels Be The Hot New Trend In YA? I Think So!
17-year-old Miranda has a guardian angel named Zachary. He watches her night and day. When she and a friend are lured into a cemetery by a vampire, Zachary displays his radiance to stop her from falling into a fresh grave. Revealing yourself to humans is taboo. Zachary is punished by losing his wings. He is charged by God to fix his mistake if he ever wants into heaven again. Zachary’s radiance caught the attention of an old vampire who makes Miranda into a vampire princess, treating her as his own daughter. Miranda finds herself no longer an average teen, but a high society vampire on the cover of magazines and celebrated at lavish parties, and who feeds off humans without batting an eye. Zachary, distraught over his fallen status, searches for her in attempts to save her and kill the old vampire Miranda calls, Father. Zachary answers an ad to become her personal assistant. (Many high society vampires use humans as servants.) Miranda becomes equally frustrated and enthralled by him at the same time. Zachary finds out in the end his mission is not what he thought, and now he must choose between what he wants, as he falls in love with Miranda, and saving her soul.
I really loved this book! Smith’s writing is much better than what you will find in most vampire fantasy books. That angels are making a big presence in fantasy writing is very exciting to me. They are beautiful and immortal, like vampires with without the blood lust. They are not your Sunday School angels. They have flaws and forbidden romance between angels and humans are becoming a common theme.
Smith creates a dark and violent vampire world where the vampires treat humans like cattle. Their wealth is immense and they live in castle like structures. Dracula is mentioned often in this book with subtle references to the classic. In fact, Father, holds the title of The Dracula. He is not the original, but a leader in the vampire community. These are not your nice, vegan Twilight vampires, but blood thirsty, keep humans as slaves, vampires.
Smith has also written Tantalize and her new book combining characters from both Tantalize and Eternal is called Blessed. Blessed will be released in 2011.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about how Miranda changed from being an average teen to a celebrity. What did that do to her personality? Which would you rather be?
If appropriate, you can discuss angels in biblical terms. How do they differ from what is represented here with the archangels? Talk about heaven and hell. What are their thoughts on both?
Can vampires be redeemed? Where do you think the story will go from here?
Fallen angels vs. vampires? Which will make the better series?
New Twilight Read Alike Where The Guy Is A Merman
I picked up Aimee Friedman’s Sea Change after a friend remarked that this could be the new Twilight. Supernatural romance is very popular right now. We’ve seen vampires, faeries, werewolves. This time the creatures in question are merfolk. Miranda is meeting her mother on an island to sort out her eccentric grandmother’s estate. Her mother was long estranged from her grandmother, making the decision to leave the family’s summer home on Selkie Island to her quite a surprise. Miranda’s mother hails from Savannah’s high society. During Miranda’s ferry ride to the island, she is warned about the creatures that inhabit the island. Selkie Island is the summer playground to the Savannah’s rich upper crust. The locals live in Fisherman’s Village, a place where the wealthy stay away. The local gossip girl type gang befriends her but she’d rather read about science (marine biology to be exact) than wear high fashion and flirt with boys. She meets Leo at the local museum. He is not like any boy she’s ever known before. He loves sea life too, but he’s a local which complicates things. Miranda also has a birth defect that keeps her shy about showing her feet. She was born with webbing between her toes. The webbing was removed, but the scars make her self conscious.
I really liked the fact that Miranda is a brilliant girl who is interested in science. You don’t see a lot of that in teen romance books. I also liked the way the girls were portrayed. They were selfish and spoiled, but never mean. In fact, they genuinely liked Miranda and wanted her to spend time with them. This was also a welcomed change. They never come out and say, “Leo is a merman”. The author drops subtle hints and lets the reader decide. The first chapter felt a little contrived, when the older seaman was warning Miranda. But after that, I really enjoyed the book!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about legends of selkies and merfolk.
Miranda is a brilliant student. Discuss why smart girls usually not portrayed in teen romances.
Discuss how the society girls were spoiled, but not mean. Why do you think the author changed this stereotype? Do you think it is realistic?
Leo is also a really nice person. Is he realistic? Why do nice guys rarely make an appearance in teen supernatural romance?
