Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green
Published by Speak in 2009
305 pages
Warning: This novel contains explicit language, crude language from teen boys, description of nudity, sensual and sexual encounters and alcohol involving teens.
Genre: Adventure, Mystery

Margo Ruth Spiegelman is the eye candy of Quentin Jacobsen. The two are neighbors and have known each other throughout the years; but, Q is kind of a nerd. And Margo is kind of popular, so she doesn't always give him the attention he wants from her, especially at school. Margo enlists the help of Q on an all night rampage of revenge; finally, Q has made is in! Relishing in the attention, Q delights in the friendship that he hopes will follow. Unfortunately, when he returns to school, Margo has run away. Desperate to find her, Q believes she has left specific clues just for him and only him to find her. The search begins.

This is the second John Green novel I have read, and I have fallen in love with his writing even more. His humor is just hilarious. Some of my favorite excerpts:

"I don't believe in prom," I reminded her as she rounded a corner. I expertly angled my raisin bran to accommodate the g-forces. I'd done this before. (11)

"I like driving, anyway-this vehicle may be a minivan, but it's my minivan. Radar scoots out of his seat and into the first bedroom, while I grab the steering wheel and hold it steady, quickly stepping over the kitchen and into the driver's seat.

Traveling, I am finding, teaches you a lot of things about yourself. For instance, I never thought myself to be the kind of person who pees into a mostly empty bottle of Bluefin energy drink while driving through South Carolina at seventy-seven miles per hours-but in fact I am that kind of person. Also, I never previously knew that if you mix a lot of pee with a little Bluefin energy drink, the result is this amazing incandescent turquoise color. It looks so pretty that I want to put the cap on the bottle and leave it in the cup holder..." (261)

There are so many laughable moments in this book; I love how John Green writes, he is brilliant. This novel is also fascinating because of the self-discovery that each character seems to go through individually, and how it changes the group they collectively belong to.

John Green writes novels like Looking for Alaska which are very heavy because of the content and subject matter. Paper Towns is different; for people who want to read John Green, this is a good start because it is less edgier then his other novels. But, it still has its edgy moments with language.

Liar

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Published by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books in 2009
384 pages
Warning: This novel contains sexual content, language, murder, and an unreliable narrator. Also, some scary images and narration which may scare younger readers (But I would not recommend this to students 14 and younger)
Genre: Friends and Society, Family, Mystery, Suspense

Micah is a compulsive liar; she openly declares her compulsion, and from the first page, we as readers do not know if we should trust her. Despite her continuous oath to tell the truth and not tell a lie, we find out she does. At school, her friend Zach has been murdered. The police are questioning Micah because of her habits, and believe (along with friends at school) she is a suspect. Fighting the accusations, Micah begins to reveal what we think is her true character.

This book will throw the reader for a spin! It is difficult to become engrossed in the novel when we are seeing things from the eyes of an unreliable narrator. Despite this, we become enthralled with the world that is Micah! Her lies press us to keep reading deeper into her world of deception. Form the first sentence to the last sentence, we don't know if we can believe anything Micah has told us. A definite, must read. I simply suggest allowing several hours to finish it in one sitting (and a good supply of CHEEZ-ITS); it's that good.

Looking for Red

Looking for Red by Angela Johnson
Published by Simon Pulse in 2003.
116 pages
Warning: smoking teens, language and death
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Magical Realism, Death

Looking for Red is the story of a young girl, Mike, whose brother has recently disappeared, and assumed to be dead. Not aware of how he died, the novel portrays the last moments Mike saw her brother and the healing process which takes place afterward. Mike truly "grows up" in the final two chapters of the novel, truly coming to grips with her brother's death.

Here is an excerpt from the novel:

"I stand on the beach sometimes and holler across the waves. And I don't think anyone even pays attention anymore. I've been doing it for so long that I can't remember when I didn't. So it came to me a while back that if I scream enough, he'll come back."

While Red, her brother, never returns as a mortal, be does visit Mike and other family members and friends as a spirit. His visits teach valuable lessons.

In the Middle of the Night

In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier
Published by Delacorte Press in 1995
182 pages
Warning: This book contains mild language, and mild scenes involving kidnapping and violence.
Genre: Mystery, Suspense

A suspenseful novel, this book opens with the story of two orphan siblings going to see a magician on a field trip with other school children. At the theater, a terrible accident happens. The balcony falls, killing 22 children. Haunted by the past, the Colbert family must deal with what happened that day because the father of the family may have contributed to the accident.

With twists at every corner, readers are left wondering and craving more information about mysterious phone calls-only mom or dad can answer-in the middle of the night. The end teaches readers a valuable lesson about becoming caught up in false vices, and sacrificing the good for these worthless fancies to pass time. I also love this novel because the family learns to face the truth of what happened, rather then composing a lie to tell themselves to lessen the grief of their involvement in the accident.

Silent to the Bone

Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg
published by Speak publishing in 2004
260 pages
Warning: This novel does contain mild sexual references, mild description of nudity, some language, and traumatizing events causing injury to a baby.
Genre: Mystery, Family

Branwell's little sister, Nikki, lies in the hospital in a comma. Branwell knows why; he was there when it happened. But he's not speaking about the event. Branwell sits in the juvenile detention center, not breaking his silence to anyone. Branwell's friend Connor has figured out a way to communicate with Branwell, through note cards and blinking. Feeling responsible to find out what happened, Connor visits Branwell every day until he speaks. Eventually, Branwell opens his mouth to tell the truth about what happened, but not without sending Connor on a hunt first.

This novel is fun to read because of the ingenious communication method Connor comes up with to talk to Branwell. Connor writes words on note cards which are related to his family and the crime under investigation. Connor points to a note card, and Branwell makes some type of physical reaction or movement indicating to Connor if he should or should not further investigate the subject of that note card relating to the crime. In the end, Connor is able to help solve what happened and break the silence of Branwell.

Branwell is an interesting character throughout the novel, and I loved reading and learning more about him. A young boy, he has witnessed something that shocks him and I loved reading about how he copes.