by Chris Crutcher
5 stars
Summary:Ben Wolf is dying; not exactly the news he wanted going into his senior year of high school. In light of the situation, Ben decides to grab the reins on his life. With only a year left to live, he faces new challenges: football, history, and girls. Ben also faces one of the scariest: keeping his illness from the ones he loves. As his health declines can Ben keep up his charade, or will his secret ruin what time he has left? Delving into the complexities of life, death, love, sacrifice, and family Deadline is a book that tests how you see the world and how you experience it.
Evaluation:
This is probably one of the most intense books I have read. Dealing with the realization of his death, Ben is one of the most real characters I’ve read. Chris Crutcher does an amazing job capturing the spectrum of feelings and reactions that each character experiences. The part that makes the writing real is the humor and romance interlaced throughout. Ben is living the life he has left; that includes ragging on his brother and falling for the girl. This is definitely not a feel good, light read, and may upset some more sensitive teens. I would suggest older teens read this, and doing a parent-child read with younger teens.
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by Ellen Wittlinger
5 stars
Summary:
Evaluation:
This book is an intense look at detachment from one’s self and one’s family. John is a child caught in the middle of a divorce, where both parents are hands off, physically and mentally. This affects how he approaches his own sense of self and sense of others. GLBT issues and sexual discovery is also a main topic looked at through the developing friendship between Marisol and John. John is figuring out who he is, but at the same time is fixated on Marisol and wondering if she might be lying to herself. Finally, the aspect of zines within the book is an amazing creative outlet that was similar to blogs popular now. This book really has a lot to say about the issues and expressions teenagers go through, allowing many teens, straight and gay alike, to relate to it.
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by Rodman Philbrick
4 stars
Summary: The Big Shake changed the whole world. Spaz, a 14-year-old living in the epicenter of destruction and poverty caused by the shake, must steal to survive. Part of one the many gangs living in The Urb, Spaz must do as Billy Bizmo commands. Billy’s latest “errand” has Spaz meeting the one person who will change his life forever. In a world where there aren’t any books, there isn’t a written language, and almost everyone is hopped up on mindprobes, Spaz must find a way to save not only himself and his companions, but also the last book in the universe.
Evaluation:
Imagine a world where almost no one knows how to read and there is no written language. That is the world Philbrick creates in the book. In this dystopia there is nothing but despair, and every one is cutthroat, looking out for themselves. A boy like Spaz can’t survive long without being clever, but his cleverness is also what gets him into trouble. The writing paints a bleak picture without it becoming too sad. Actually the reader becomes slightly numb just as the characters in the book are. This is where there is a weird discrepancy in the believability of the world. While there may be a loss of written language, there is still tons of technology out in the world, including mindprobes (which is numbing the populace). It is an interesting way to have gone with the world Philbrick created, but occasionally didn’t read as very believable, even in a dystopia.
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by Julie Anne Peters
4 stars
Summary:
Evaluation:
The best part of this collection of stories is that it
focuses on situations that are relatable and familiar to both GLBT and straight
teens alike. While at the
beginning, the differences might stand out, each story is one which teens can
read and have speak for them. Do
you remember a negative relationship in which you couldn’t get out of? Or getting up the courage to go to a
meeting filled with strangers? How
about finding the perfect way to tell someone you love them? Or fighting to protect yourself against
an attacker? These are the stories
that need to be told, and in grl2grl
Peters does an amazing job telling them.
The only issue would be the focus on GLBT stories; readers should be
aware of this, as it may offend them or their families.
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