15. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
This book was rough, you guys. But extremely well-written and well put together. I think what I appreciated about it most was that nothing is easy, especially for the main character - Amir, a native of Afghanistan who is forced to emigrate to the United States with his father after the Russian occupation, is not a likable guy and he does some pretty awful things, especially to Hassan, the servant's son who grows up with Amir. The bulk of the story is about Amir making things right and atoning for the sins of his childhood. I admit to not knowing very much about Afghanistan, the horrible violence that happened (and continues to happen) there, and the politics of it all, and this novel deals with it in an emotional, sensitive, raw, and ultimately satisfying way.
16. Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes, Chris Crutcher
We read Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher in my YA lit class last semester and it was a truly quality literary experience. Then Crutcher spoke at a literary conference I went to about advocating for young adults' rights to choose what they read and to combat censorship and book banning. And it was a deeply moving experience. Crutcher worked for a long time as a child therapist, who worked mainly (I think only?) with children from broken and abusive homes. He's seen almost every tragedy that can happen to a child, and brings the weight of that knowledge to his work. His books are serious meditations on the lives of teenagers, on what they deal with that adults can't remember or imagine, and addresses real problems (Sarah Byrnes deals with everything from bullying, child abuse, religion in schools, parental pressure, and being on the swim team). His books are illuminating and his dialogue is inspiring. Please read, if not Sarah Byrnes, SOMETHING by this man.
17. Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
The first of my Westerfeld party! I REGRET NOTHING. I read this one before Behemoth because it was in the library when Behemoth was not (I'm waiting for my interlibrary loan RIGHT NOW) and because you can't be involved in the YA lit scene and NOT have heard about the Uglies books. It was...ok. Leviathan is better written, and more interesting in my opinion - Uglies is pretty standard dystopian fare (Equilibrium + Brave New World x Libba Bray = Tally and Uglies). There's a huge point of convenience at the end that I actually kind of hated, but it's the set-up for the sequel so maybe after I read Pretties I'll hate it less.
Still looking forward to Behemoth (and then Goliath), though.
This book was rough, you guys. But extremely well-written and well put together. I think what I appreciated about it most was that nothing is easy, especially for the main character - Amir, a native of Afghanistan who is forced to emigrate to the United States with his father after the Russian occupation, is not a likable guy and he does some pretty awful things, especially to Hassan, the servant's son who grows up with Amir. The bulk of the story is about Amir making things right and atoning for the sins of his childhood. I admit to not knowing very much about Afghanistan, the horrible violence that happened (and continues to happen) there, and the politics of it all, and this novel deals with it in an emotional, sensitive, raw, and ultimately satisfying way.
16. Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes, Chris Crutcher
We read Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher in my YA lit class last semester and it was a truly quality literary experience. Then Crutcher spoke at a literary conference I went to about advocating for young adults' rights to choose what they read and to combat censorship and book banning. And it was a deeply moving experience. Crutcher worked for a long time as a child therapist, who worked mainly (I think only?) with children from broken and abusive homes. He's seen almost every tragedy that can happen to a child, and brings the weight of that knowledge to his work. His books are serious meditations on the lives of teenagers, on what they deal with that adults can't remember or imagine, and addresses real problems (Sarah Byrnes deals with everything from bullying, child abuse, religion in schools, parental pressure, and being on the swim team). His books are illuminating and his dialogue is inspiring. Please read, if not Sarah Byrnes, SOMETHING by this man.
17. Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
The first of my Westerfeld party! I REGRET NOTHING. I read this one before Behemoth because it was in the library when Behemoth was not (I'm waiting for my interlibrary loan RIGHT NOW) and because you can't be involved in the YA lit scene and NOT have heard about the Uglies books. It was...ok. Leviathan is better written, and more interesting in my opinion - Uglies is pretty standard dystopian fare (Equilibrium + Brave New World x Libba Bray = Tally and Uglies). There's a huge point of convenience at the end that I actually kind of hated, but it's the set-up for the sequel so maybe after I read Pretties I'll hate it less.
Still looking forward to Behemoth (and then Goliath), though.
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