Beautiful-- Amy Reed

Sometimes beauty is multicolored like a sunset. Sometimes it resembles Peaches and Cream Barbie. And sometimes beauty looks like a badass punkrock chick with pounds of eyeliner, screamin' red lipstick, and ripped up fishnets tucked into combat boots. Cassie wants to be one of those hard-beauty girls, because nobody messes with them.

When 13 year old Cassie's family moves from a tiny town to a suburb of Seattle, she has a rare opportunity to reinvent herself. No longer will she be the even-nerdier-than-the-smart-kids geek. When the most popular, but feared girl in school Alex decides to befriend Cassie, her whole world shifts. She is dosed with acid, and begins spiraling into a drug and sex filled existence. While she is still in all the advanced classes in school-- and acing them, by the way-- her private life is in shambles. Only neurotic Sarah, who was locked in a closet and raped by her father for the first ten years of her life, gets through to Cassie on a personal level... and it isn't until disaster strikes that Cassie's eyes are opened to the life she has been living (if you can even call it living). Oh, and don't forget this: Cassie is only 13.

So, obviously not light reading, right? Honestly, it reminded me a lot of that movie Thirteen. There are a lot of girls who love harsh, realistic books like Living Dead Girl, and the tomes of Ellen Hopkins. So, Beautiful isn't for everyone, and although the protagonist is a 13 year old, I would still only recommend this to older teens.

P.S. I freaking love the cover. It fits the book *perfectly*.

Breathless-- Jessica Warman

I have to admit that I love this cover. Something about those underwater shots always grab me. Anyway, on to the book!

Katie's family wasn't always rich. They used to live in a cottage, hang out together, and be a "real family." But as her father started to make more money, he became more controlling... her mother in now an alcoholic, and her brother suffers from drug induced schizophrenia. When he tries to kill himself, Katie's father decides to ship her off to boarding school rather than deal with a family embarrassment... and her brother is shipped off to a mental institution.

Swimming has always been Katie's escape. When the captain of the swim team at her new school asks Katie what her best swimming stroke is, Katie shrugs and says all of them... and it's true. We follow Katie as she succeeds at swimming, but basically fails at the rest of her life. Compelling supporting characters, like her roommate Mazzie and her brother Will, really round out the story. I was tricked into thinking this was going to be another one of those rich girl boarding school books, but it's not... it goes deeper than that and teen readers will likely become engrossed in Katie's struggles.

I would recommend this to teen girls who like family dramas, boarding school books, stories that include lots of teen partying, and sports (swimming especially).

Tricks-- Ellen Hopkins

Guess what? Ellen Hopkins will be visiting my library soon! To prepare, I thought I would read her latest book, Tricks. I made the mistake of reading it before bed... and let me tell you, this is not a cheery bedtime read.

Tricks is a verse novel, just like her other works. It's the story of five teens from all over the USA. Even though each teen is vastly different and was raised in a unique way, they're stories all have a similar theme: sometimes sex isn't just about love... sometimes it's about power, freedom, money, punishment, torture, individuality, exploration, or intimacy. And somehow, in the end, the teens' lives intersect in a mostly tragic but slightly hopeful way.

I can't say that I loved this book... I struggle with the verse novel format, and to be honest, I had a hard time keeping the characters straight at first. Still, I know why teens love her: Hopkins writes about real hard living. Some teens are really drawn to the gritty realism she so clearly writes. I would recommend this book to boys or girls who like verse novels, edgy topics, or want to read something about teen prostitution (don't laugh, I've totally been asked for this!!).

Punkzilla-- Adam Rapp

Punkzilla is Jamie, a 14 year-old boy who lives the crustpunk, street kid life in Portland, OR. After his militant, homophobic father enrolls him in military school, small-for-his-age and androgynous looking Jamie runs away in hopes to find a better life for himself. He lives in abandoned warehouses in Portland with other kids, and writes letters to his gay and dying of cancer brother, Peter. Peter sends Jamie bus money, so he can come visit him in Tennessee before he dies. Most of this story is told through Jamie's unique letter writing style, as Jamie writes letters to Peter he never plans to send, describing his bus journey and what the life of a Punkzilla is like.

I have to say, this book was intriguing but a bit challenging to read. Adam Rapp really does a good job writing in Jamie's style. I truly felt like I was experiencing things through Jamie's perspective, and even though the lack of punctuation and made-up words were sometimes a stumbling block, they made the story richer. This isn't a feel-good story, and the content might be better suited for older teens, but its grittiness isn't over-the-top or inappropriate for the story Rapp was trying to tell. It's one of those books that will linger with you for a while, for better or worse.

Because I am Furniture-- Thalia Chaltas

Anke is invisible. No, she really is. She has two siblings, and they are not invisible, not one bit. In fact, her father can see them so well he never seems to leave them alone. Ever. Anke's sister Yaicha is a genius with makeup. Maybe she will go to cosmetology school when she grows up. Or maybe she has covered up so many bruises and scrapes, she has become an expert by default. Anke's brother Darren is a daredevil and popular at school. He's also tough, but never tough enough to keep his father at bay. Their father is an alcoholic, physically and sexually abusive. And their mother just looks away.

No one knows why Anke is invisible to her father. He literally never speaks to her, never visits her room in the middle of the night, never uses her face as a punching bag. And the sad, sad thing is that Anke is so desperate for someone to love her, so desperate for human touch, she almost wishes he would... well... anything would be better than being invisible, right? Anything would be better than being a piece of furniture.

This is the debut work by Thalia Chaltas, and though I am not fond of the verse-novel format, I know it's popular with teens. This is an unflinchingly realistic tale of abuse, silence, and the need for human contact. Although the words are sparse, the reader really feels a connection to Anke. Teens will relate to Anke's strength and suffering, and I can't wait to recommend this to girls who are fans of Sonya Sones, Ellen Hopkins, Laura Wiess's Such a Pretty Girl, and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak.

This book will be published in April 2009.

The Spectacular Now-- Tim Tharp

This is a book that will evoke strong emotion in all who read it... Tharp's rich language and utterly engaging protagonist, Sutter, draw you in right away. He is an entirely likable guy, which makes disliking his actions all the harder. You see, Sutter is a full-blown drink-whiskey-in-the-morning, two day hang-over, drunk driving mess of a teenager. Yet somehow, the reader can just rationalize his behavior along with him because intentions are truly golden.

When we meet Sutter he is praising the glory of his fat and fabulous girlfriend Cassidy. She proceeds to dump him because he can't seem to put anyone first besides himself (and his 7 and 7). When Sutter meets Aimee he is passed out on the front lawn in an unfamiliar neighborhood after a particularly strong bender. He doesn't think of her as girlfriend potential... he is still half in love with Cassidy and Aimee is kindof a dork anyway. But Sutter feels like Aimee needs him; he wants to inspire confidence in her and help her overcome her dreary home life situation. Tharp's subtly is apparent through this relationship because on the surface it seems like Sutter is taking on Aimee is a project, but really it's Aimee who helps Sutter grow.

I can already see that some people will have problems recommending this book to teens. I wouldn't say this book glorifies alcoholism, but it sure doesn't demonize it. Everything *does not* get resolved in the end, which I really liked because it added a breath of realism to the book. The sad thing is that Sutter reminds me of some people I know... they are in their 20s, not teens, but still very similar. It's that "party-man" attitude; the idea that if you get royally intoxicated you will be the life of the party, the person everyone likes to see, the daredevil who will try anything. Honestly, society praises this type of behavior subtly through celebrity obsession, movies, and TV shows. And, if we are really going to be honest here, who doesn't like the life of the party and sometimes wish we could be that person? This is the crux of why it might be hard for adults to pass on this book to teens; Sutter is so likable and someone people will want emulate him... but he is an alcoholic, unhealthy, and makes dangerous choices.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and wish I had read it prior to our Mock Printz selections. I would recommend this book to older teens who enjoy strong character driven books with wellcrafted language and coming of age type plots.

P.S. I really really wish it had a better cover... I feel like the cover of this book will make it a hard sell...