Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

3.5/5

Anna has been best friends with Matt and his sister Frankie since the girls were two. When Matt kisses Anna on her 15th birthday they wonder how Frankie will be affected by their changing relationship. They decide to wait until the right moment to reveal their feelings for each other. When Matt dies suddenly, Anna promises herself she will never reveal the secret. A year after the tragedy she heads off on a summer vacation with Frankie and her parents, all of whom are still grieving their loss.

When reading YA books, I am often struck by dialog. Authors either get it really right or really wrong. When it’s right, it makes the story believable and relatable. When it’s wrong, it makes the story laughable and hokey. Ockler gets it exactly right. The reader gets to see the depth of each charater’s grief without ever being overwhelmed. Anna and Frankie’s interactions contain just the right amount of teen angst, comedy and competition. Let’s face it, teen girls often hate their very best friends as much as they love them. This book demonstrates those feelings perfectly.

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

3/5

Teen pregnancy from 4 different perspectives: Ellie is a teenager looking for someone to love her since her parents are far too busy to be up to the task. Her pregnancy is so inevitable it’s almost cliché. Corinne is Ellie’s best friend who stands by her side through everything despite developing a crush on Caleb, who has loved Ellie since first grade. Caleb not only loves Ellie, he is best friends with Josh – the father of Ellie’s baby. Josh lost his virginity that night in the van with Ellie and now just wants the entire “problem” to go away.

Chapters switch perspectives among the four main characters. Each one obviously feels very differently about the pregnancy. The text is engaging if a little obvious. In the end, you feel for all four of these young people.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

2/5

Best friends Chris and Winston take a cross-country bicycle ride from West Virginia to Washington State the summer after high school graduation. What is supposed to be one last adventure before they leave for different colleges turns into a mystery when only Chris returns home.

Chapters alternate between recounting the events of the trip and the investigation into Winston's disappearance. Chris soon realizes he is the prime supect and must do everything he can to find his friend.

Shift is an easy and predictable book. Readers will identify with the main characters and the realistic events of the journey. The chapters that describe the trip are filled with interesting scenery, remarkable locals and believable anecdotes. The chapters devoted to the investigation often seem contrived and silly. The author would have been better served by simply writing about the changing friendship revealed by the journey. The mystery aspect of the book just ruins it.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

4.5/5

After her return from the Hunger Games, Katniss has become the unwitting spark of a revolution in Panem. Her defiance in the arena places all of her loved ones in danger as the leaders do everything they can quiet the unrest. She soon realizes they will do whatever necessary to eliminate the threat she poses to their power, including sending her back into the Games.

Catching Fire maintains the excellent pacing of it's predecessor. Its rating only suffers based on the book's position in the middile of a trilogy - there is no new plot and nothing is resolved. However, the characters continue to grow as twists and deceptions are revealed. Katniss is faced with tougher decisions and the fight for her life is even more dangerous.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

5/5

Katniss has taken care of her family since her father's tragic death. When her younger sister is selected to compete in the Hunger Games, an annual competition with only one survivior, she volunteers to take her place in the arena. She begins training believing she has only herself to rely on but soon learns that may not be entirely true. Can she learn to trust the people who claim to be on her side? Will she have the strength to survive the horrific obstacles she must face? Will there even be a home worth returning to if she does win?

Set in a dystopian future, this novel is equal parts adventure, love story and thriller. The book's broad appeal lead to a third place finish in the Most Popular Young Adult Books of 2009 competition held by the American Library Association. It is the first of a planned trilogy. The Hunger Games has a fast-paced plot, well developed characters and manages to contain just the right amount of humor despite it's stark premise.

Personal note: I love this book! My favorite YA book that I read in 2009.

Team Gale (despite my love for Peeta too).

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

3.5/5

This novel tackles the controversial topic of teen suicide in a unique and insightful way. Clay Jenkins receives a package in the mail containing 13 cassette tapes. He soon discovers that each tape contains one of the reasons why his classmate and crush, Hannah Baker, committed suicide only a few weeks earlier.

The author deftly alternates between the present, which includes Clay’s heart wrenching reaction to the tapes, and the past, which follows Hannah’s journey from popular freshman all the way to her decision to narrate the reasons behind her suicide. Young adult readers will identify with many of the characters including Hannah; however, they will also notice the many times she failed to help herself.

Thirteen Reasons Why does not gloss over the often harsh realities of being a teenager. Every one of Hannah’s reasons is believable. Clay’s reactions are as authentic as they are sad. Asher does an excellent job of detailing how someone’s actions and words can have unforeseen effects on other people. Readers will find themselves thinking about this novel long after they finish reading.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

3.5/5

Melinda Sordino is a high school freshman with a terrible secret, no friends, and a newly acquired habit of remaining mute whenever possible. She is ostracized by her classmates for calling the police to break up a summer party. Gradually, readers will realize that the events of that party are the catalyst that sent her spiraling out of control. Will she find her voice in time to save herself?

Anderson does an excellent job of writing realistic teen dialog and creating believable settings and scenarios for her characters to interact. Date rape, which is the trauma Melinda experienced, is thinly veiled and easily predictable; however, there is still an interesting build up to the final scene.

The conclusion of the book may be considered a bit too perfect for more mature readers but, overall, Speak navigates the inner mind of a traumatized teenager with impressive insight. Melinda’s use of art to express herself, her parents’ detached attitudes, and the utter sense of despair she feels will have readers rooting for her.