35 Going on 13: What I Did for Love
By Angelina Benedetti Jun 16, 2011Summertime, and the reading is easy. Which is to say that that there are so many great books to choose from. In the selections below, the protagonists are asked to do extraordinary things in the name of love. On this list you will find four sequels, one Printz winner, one National Book Award winner, and even a few best sellers. All to say that the field of teen lit grows ever more fertile for adult readers like us who shop our libraries' teen shelves.
Billingsley, Franny. Chime. Dial. 2011. 361p. ISBN 9780803735521. $17.99.
Seventeen-year-old Briony is caught in the age-old conflict between duty and desire. Her duty? To convince her fellow villagers not to drain their beloved swamp for the sake of a railroad, lest a beastie from within it unleash a killing cough on the village children, including Briony's beloved sister, Rose. Standing in her way is Eldric, the son of the railway man, who has come to stay with the sisters and their reverend father in the parsonage. Briony finds herself drawn to his natural kindness and London ways, even as she recognizes that saving her community may very well get her hung as a witch. Fans of Billingsley's The Folk Keeper (1999) have waited so, so long for this story of a young woman empowered by magic she does not yet understand. Both insightful and completely unreliable, Briony's narration sparkles, and her relationship with Eldric unfolds with the enduring sweetness of another age (think Gilbert Blythe or Laurie from Little Women) while altering the course of the story and her destiny. An unforgettable book from a lyrical master.
Black, Holly. Red Glove. Margaret K. McElderry Bks: S. & S. 2011. (Curse Workers, Bk. 2). ISBN 9781442403390. $17.99.
The story of Cassel and his Worker family, begun in last year's The White Cat, picks up a few months after Cassel's mother (an emotion worker) cursed Lila, the daughter of the Zacharov crime family, to love Cassel against her will. In the world of Black's "Curse Workers" series, curse work is illegal, outlawed by a federal government increasingly hostile toward those citizens who can perform magic with the touch of a hand. Cassel has learned that he is one of the most powerful workers there is, leaving him few career options: join the Zacharovs and his beloved Lila or go to work as an informant for the Feds. The murder of his estranged brother brings the unwanted attention of Agents Hunt and Jones. What would they say if they knew that Cassell himself committed the crimes they are asking him to investigate? Can he believe in a future with Lila despite his dead brother, his own criminal past, and the agents who want him to turn in her family? Ending with one of the best closers in recent memory ("After all, hell is supposed to be hot"), this story begs for another book (or three).
Blundell, Judy. Strings Attached. Scholastic. 2011. 310p. ISBN 9780545221269. $17.99.
Author of the What I Saw and How I Lied, the 2008 National Book Award winner, Blundell gifts readers with another story of a young woman forced by circumstance to grow up too soon, this one set in 1950s New York. Kit Corrigan wants to be a dancer, but the city is unkind to this teenaged runaway from Providence, RI. Enter Nate Benedict, the father of her (ex?) boyfriend, Billy. Benedict offers Kit an apartment and a job as a dancer at the swanky Lido Club, asking only that she lure his estranged son back into town. Kit knows better than to get involved with Billy's father (who is rumored to have mob connections), but the chance to repair her relationship with Billy is too much to resist. When a mobster is murdered at the club, the blowback brings to light disturbing secrets involving Kit's family, their connection to the Benedicts, and the disappearance of her Aunt Delia. Again, Blundell has crafted an utterly engrossing story, set in a city both grittier and more glamorous than our own New York.
Bray, Libba. Beauty Queens. Scholastic. 2011. 396p. ISBN 9780439895972. $18.99.
Whitney Huston once sang that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all; this is only one of many lessons to be learned in Beauty Queens. Fourteen Miss Teen Dream Pageant contestants survive a plane crash on a deserted island. Not knowing when rescue will arrive, the girls set about the business of survival-food, water, and shelter-while their self-appointed leader, Miss Texas, encourages them to stick with their pageant prep. Unbeknownst to our heroines, the island's volcano hides the secret lair of the Corporation, an all-ruling intergovernmental super-entity planning some bad, bad business involving explosive hair removal cream, a crazy dictator, and one-time-pageant-winner-and-now-presidential-candidate Ladybird Hope. Bray's delicious satire does not overpower the beating heart at the center of this empowerment tale. Each girl's backstory is equally compelling, and when these ladies bond together to bring down their oppressors, they keep the reader eager to reach the action-packed conclusion. Did I mention the boatload of sexy pirates? Treat yourself to the best beach read this summer.
Clare, Cassandra. City of Fallen Angels. Margaret K. McElderry Bks: S. & S. 2011. (Mortal Instruments, Bk. 4). 424p. ISBN 9781442403543. $19.99.
Legions of fans of Clare's "Immortal Instruments" series are making this, the fourth in the series, one of the best-selling books of the spring. As the book opens, Jace and Clary are in love, but his troubled past is catching up with them. Jace is a Shadowhunter, a warrior dedicated to keeping the peace among the Downworlders, that is, the various supernaturals in their midst. Clary is a Shadowhunter in training, still overwhelmed by the connection she and Jace share. Keeping it interesting are their many Shadowhunter and Downworlder companions, including Clary's best friend, Simon, a newly turned vampire who is two-timing a werewolf (not a good plan). Add an ancient demon, murdered Shadowhunters, and an unstoppable curse to the mix, and you have an exciting page-turner from an urban fantasy master. Do not worry-the ending leaves no doubt that there is another story in the works.
Forman, Gayle. Where She Went. Dutton Juvenile. 2011. 264p. ISBN 9780525422945. $16.99.
In If I Stay (2010), Mia made the decision to stay in this life rather than follow her parents and brother in death after a car crash. Behind that decision was the pure love she felt for Adam, her boyfriend and the frontman of a Portland punk band. Now, two years later, Adam's band, Shooting Star, is astronomically popular (think Cold Play meets Nirvana), and Mia is out of his life. She is a cellist on hiatus from Julliard, beginning a world tour, hailed as the next Yo-Yo Ma. Heart clouded by confusion and anger, Adam nevertheless buys a last-minute ticket to her New York concert. Thus begins a long night's journey into day, as these emotionally scarred early twenty-somethings struggle to resurrect the love they once shared.
Goodman, Alison. Eona. Viking Juvenile. 2011. 637p. ISBN 9780670063116. $19.99.
In Eon (2008), readers were introduced to the world of the Dragoneyes-a culture reminiscent of ancient China-where a circle of men control the elements with dragon energies. At that book's conclusion, Eon, a Dragoneye, had revealed herself to be Eona, a forbidden female in their midst; the emperor had fallen victim to his ambitious brother; only two Dragoneyes (Eona and the traitorous Lord Ido) remained; and the emperor's heir, Kygo, was on the run. Now, Eona has joined Kygo in his quest to regain his rightful place. But without the tutelage of Lord Ido, she will not be able to control her dragon. Even as her feelings for Kygo grow, she is drawn to the seductive nature of Ido's power and the bond they share as the last remaining Dragoneyes. Through a connection with her traitorous ancestor, Kinra, it becomes increasingly clear that if Eona wishes to restore the dragons to the land, she may lose both men, and her power, in the bargain. This epic duet is a great next read for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven (2010).
Hautman, Pete. The Big Crunch. Scholastic. 2011. 280p. ISBN 9780545240758. $17.99.
June is used to being the new girl in town. Her father's job as a consultant has her and her family moving often, so she keeps her heart in check and shuns sticky attachments. Enter Wes, who cannot understand why June, of all people, makes him just a little bit crazy. When he finds himself punching her would-be boyfriend for no reason, he realizes that he has moved beyond the borders of his carefully ordered world. Through four seasons (as suggested by the four panels that make up the book's cover), Wes and June navigate a whole new set of feelings for them both. As someone who first met her spouse in junior high school, this reader could especially appreciate this book's core message: ready or not, the right person can come to you at any time. The title is drawn from the theory that if there is a Big Bang, which blew the universe apart, there must be an equally strong "Big Crunch," which pulls us all back together again. A tender, heartfelt, and oftentimes humorous love story for any age.
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