Book Warriors

I’m back from a loooong break and rarin’ to go. For my first review of the year, I snagged Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, a collection of short stories edited by well-known authors (and good friends) Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci. If you haven’t noticed, we’re currently in the middle of a Geek-Chic Phenomenon wherein, geekiness, nerdiness, dorkdome, etc. have come in to their own and suddenly, being an outsider is a very fashionable brand indeed. I happen to agree with Wikipedia’s astute analysis of the geek chic trend, which points out that the Geek-Chic label is largely superficial. However, as a rather dorky person (I heart reading, Star Trek NG, Star Wars, LOTR; I was in band and 4-H in high school, as well as the forestry team), I couldn’t resist the premise of this book.

The editors have gathered an all-star team of YA authors to write stories in which the protagonists are all geeks of one ilk or another. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised by the variety of tone and theme offered in these stories, which ran the gamut from dark, social commentary to silly, entertaining romps. I have to say, I expected better from some of the authors whose work I know and love, but was not let down by John Green and David Levithan. I thought Libba Bray’s “It’s Just a Jump to the Left” was an interesting commentary on growing up which channeled Judy Blume’s ability to nail the fears of a teenage girl while covering more mature concerns. I also enjoyed Sara Zarr’s “This is My Audition Monologue,” whose intriguing narrarator surprises with her blunt honesty (and, I might add, this story would make for an interesting audition monologue, even if it is long). The majority of stories contain some mature content, mostly language (a lot of which I felt was unnecessary and self-conscious) and some themes. Admittedly, I didn’t enjoy every story in the collection, but, found the collection entertaining on the whole. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone with a little geek in them, whether they let it show or not. To read an excerpt or play the game “The Great Geek Escape,” check out the publisher website: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/geektastic/index.html.

Setting: Gracetown, North Carolina; Christmas; massive snow storm. Three popular young adult authors write three separate but interconnected romances.

In the first, Maureen Johnson tells the story of Jubilee Dougal stuck on a train to Florida and her grandparents because her parents have been arrested as part of a riot over collectible Christmas decorations. Parted from her perfect boyfriend, things go from bad to worse when the train gets stuck in snow in Gracetown. Jubilee decides to make a break for the Waffle House across the interstate rather than get trapped on the train full of hyperactive cheerleaders. There she meets Stuart, who invites her to stay with he and his mom for Christmas. Stuart is sweet and cute, a good listener, who unfortunately asks a lot of uncomfortable questions about just how perfect her boyfriend really is. The question is, is Jubilee ready to face the answer?

John Green brings the second tale of Tobin, who is happily watching a Bond marathon with his best friends The Duke and JP while his parents are stuck in Boston with the snowstorm, when his other friend Keun calls from his night shift at Waffle House demanding they come immediately with a Twister board–for THERE ARE CHEERLEADERS here! Tobin and JP are instantly convinced it is a brilliant idea to go out in the storm for the sake of cheerleaders…the “Duke” however, their lone female friend, is less than enthusiastic…though she is convinced with the promise of Waffle House hash browns. The three friends face one crazy obstacle after another on their quest for the Waffle House, but as they near their destination, Tobin becomes uncomfortably aware that he is less and less interested in cheerleaders and more and more distracted by an unlikely source.

The third story comes from Lauren Myracle and involves the romance, or rather break up, of Addie and Jeb. Addie and Jeb have been dating for the last year, until a week before Christmas, when Addie makes a choice that may have destroyed their relationship forever. Addie is mired in her own misery and begins to feel worse as her friends help her see that it may not be Jeb who needs to change. Is it too late for Addie to start fresh and win Jeb back?

All in all, a cute collection of holiday romance, nothing too deep, but fun to kick back with on a weekend…especially if it ever gets cold enough for snow!

The wait is almost over loyal (and it must be said of some of you, rabid) John Green fans. Green’s latest literary contribution drops October 16, but here at MHS Library, we were lucky enough to get an advanced copy (woo-hoo!). Here’s what I can say without giving away too much:

As in Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines the narrator of Paper Towns is a guy who is witty and funny, self-deprecating and obsessed with a girl, in this case, the mysterious Margo. The narrator, Quentin (aka “Q”) lives next door to Margo Roth Spielgelman, and has been in love with her as long as he can remember, though after a shared traumatic experience when they were nine, they have drifted apart. Now Margo is the superstar of coolness at their high school while Quentin dwells in the lower realms of the social ladder.

It comes as a shock then, when Margo shows up at Quentin’s window in the middle of the night a few weeks before the end of senior year, insisting that he be her getaway driver for a night of revenge. Despite being petrified of losing his admission to Duke University, Quentin goes along for the ride and becomes more ensnared by his obsession with Margo…especially when she doesn’t turn up for school the next day…or the next. The fact is Margo has disappeared and left behind clues to her whereabouts. Quentin sets off on journey of discovery to figure out where Margo went …and who this enigma of a girl really is.

The novel is full of those trademark moments of perfect truth found in Green’s earlier novels, and his gift for putting words to universal feelings never fails to amaze me. Some will argue that this book is too similar to the previous two novels, and to them I would say, yes there are similar themes and philosophical questions happening in all three novels, but these themes and questions are important ones, getting at the heart of what all young people must figure out as they reach adulthood. That, I suspect, is why so many teens love John Green’s writing–he gets it.

I’m never good at predicting the Printz Award winners, but for my money, this one ought to get a nod in January.

For some funny video promos by John Green check out the links below.
Amazon Video Promo

Barnes and Noble Video Promo

If you’d told me 5 years ago that I’d be reading a YA book that included graphs, footnotes, mathematical equations, and anagrams galore, AND that I’d LOVE it, I’d have understandably said…well that’s crazy talk. Nonetheless, here I am, telling you I love An Abundance of Katherines by John Greene, of Brotherhood 2.0 and Nerdfighter fame.

If you like your characters funny and smart, you’re gonna love this cast of misfit characters. Colin Singleton is a former childhood prodigy already washed up at the age of 17, who has been dumped by 19 girls named Katherine. His math genius buddy Hassan (who refuses to go to college–he’d rather watch Judge Judy) takes Colin on a roadtrip to get over his latest dumping. They find their way to Gutshot, Tennessee where the (not-Katherine) Lindsay helps Colin sort out his life…and he hers. The book asks all sorts of interesting questions about life, love, and what really matters…and lets you laugh along the way.