Vast Fields of Ordinary

The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (2009)

This is a "more" novel. It's more than gay fiction, more than first love, more than coming out, more than coming-of-age, although it has all of these elements. Burd writes beautifully, the novel's many layers coalesce well, and the main character, Dade Hamilton is achingly real. It's his last summer before college, he has a crap job at a grocery store, his parents' marriage is falling apart, and the guy he's been fooling around with barely acknowledges the relationship. He's existed on the fringes for a long time, but this last summer he seems to be drawn to want more. He's also oddly aware of the case of a missing nine-year-old autistic girl who seems to be appearing in odd places, including Dade's own backyard. Stepping outside his comfort zone with the help of some new friends, Dade learns a lot before he even gets to college.

Teen Memoir

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

I enjoyed Zevin's first novel, Elsewhere, quite a bit because I thought she did a nice job exploring the afterlife. In Memoirs, she again imagines a fanciful, though appealing, scenario: what if you banged your head and couldn't remember who you were. That's what happens to the protagonist, Naomi Porter. She's at the beginning of her junior year, doing some early extracurricular yearbook work with her best friend Will, when she tumbles down the school's front steps, knocks her noggin and can only remember her life up to about seventh grade. Interestingly, she can remember math and science, but not French! Even more interesting are the insights she gains into herself as she discovers--and questions--her previous self's thoughts and actions. I think this is what makes the novel so fascinating and what will most engage teen readers. Highly recommended for grades 7 and up. Sexual situations, language.

Genre: Inspirational fiction

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel (2009)

I selected this title randomly off the new fiction shelf at the library because I recognized McDaniel's name from all my volunteer shelving at the middle school and knew she was prolific. I did not know what kind of fiction she wrote, at all. Turns out it's classified as "inspirational" fiction for teens.

This novel tackles the theme of euthanasia as one of the main characters, Cooper, has to decide whether or not to help his best friend, Travis, end his cancer-shortened life. McDaniel does not trivialize the topic or make it a black and white issue. Nor does she develop the characters to any great extent. The novel is short and to the point. It seems to be meant to generate discussion about a topic rather than engage the reader in a riveting situation (that would be Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper, for instance) .

Still Wimpy

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (2009)

Jeff Kinney scores another hit with this fourth installment in his Wimpy Kid series. Greg Heffley plans a summer vacation of indoor sloth after he and his friend Rowley charge up 83 dollars worth of fruit smoothies at the country club pool and Greg is no longer invited there. Greg does not want to return to the town pool because of the specter that greets him en route to the pool in the locker room--hairy old guys showering. What could be worse? Actually having to enter the shower area to retrieve his little brother Manny when HE wanders into the shower--after first confusing the urinals for sinks! Greg finds solace in some odd places--like the gossipy ladies at the beauty shop--but he steers clear of Fregley, the odd kid with "hygiene issues." Other disasters await Greg, with lots of laughs for us!

Good news, Wimpy fans: there's going to be a fifth book!

Another for Austen Fans

Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter (2007)

After too many disappointing first dates, Emily Albright has decided to give up on men and stay home with her favorite book, Pride & Prejudice, permanently. She loves her job managing an independent bookstore in NYC and really does not need a man. Her best friend Stella argues that she should try a fun holiday get away in Mexico, and even books the tickets, but Emily insists that she's got other plans, and happens to pick up a brochure for a literature tour in England the same week. And then impulsively books the tour. Where she meets Mr. Darcy in the flesh. Yum.

This is a fun read full of parallels between Emily's life and the plot line of her favorite novel. It's all pretty obvious, and eventually Emily sees it, too. Nonetheless, Austen fans will love reading this one. Adults only!

Not Wimpy--Just Funny!

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell (2009)

Nikki Maxwell believes her mother is brain dead, and she has proof: she asked for an iPhone and got--a dorky diary! Sure, she's a great artist, but she wants a social life, not a pity party with blank book. Her family has just moved to a new town and she's starting at a fancy new school, courtesy of a scholarship granted to her because her father has been hired as the school's exterminator. Yup, his business van, complete with large black roach flopped on the roof, will make regular visits to her new school. Argh.

It just gets worse for Nikki--her locker is right next that of the queen of the CCP--Cute, Cool, & Popular--clique, Mackenzie, who is probably the meanest girl in the history of queen bee meanies. Nikki would love to respond to some of Mackenzie's nasty jibes and cruel comments about other people, but she's way too shy, so she says them all in her head. And in her diary, of course! Nikki brilliantly illustrates her many humiliating foibles--and her eventual triumphs. This is a fun and hilarious book for all the fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid who need a few more laughs about the drama that is tween and teen life. Recommended for grades 3 and up.

Not so Peachy

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson (2005)

With a cover blurb of promising "a sweet and delicious read" from Ann Brashares, Peaches sounded like a perfect bite of fun. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I slogged through it, hoping it would get better, but it just did not. The slow start proceeded through to a slow middle, at which point the novel did improve, but not enough to redeem it.

The problem, I think, is that Anderson chose an omniscient third person narration style rather than focusing on one of her three protagonists' points of view. Birdie would have worked well; she's the sweet, shy, awkward girl whose father owns the nearly failing peach orchard. Instead, the novel bops between Birdie and two other girls, as they eventually develop a close friendship. Anderson tells more than shows, so even that friendship seems somewhat less-than-authentic. But that's just my opinion, and others may find the novel's plot more enthralling than I did.