Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

loose-ends-listThe Loose Ends List
Carrie Firestone
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

With Maddie’s high school graduation behind her, she and her friends make lists of loose ends they want to wrap up before leaving for college in the fall. When Maddie’s Manhattan grandma, Astrid, announces she’s terminally ill and is taking the family on a “death with dignity” cruise, Maddie’s summer plans take a turn. Maddie has never dealt with death well, but now she’s facing the loss of her closest confidante. As the trip unfolds with one exotic destination after another, she rediscovers family connections, falls in love, and braces herself for the most difficult grief she’s ever experienced.

I really can’t decide if I liked this book or not. I felt like the writing was pretty solid. The characters were well-developed. The plot made sense, and the emotional situations deeply moved me. One of the issues Maddie faces is that her anxiety manifests itself in her body in the form of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. There are a couple of comments about her ruining thong underwear because of her condition, and she mentions feeling an upset stomach now and then, but it doesn’t overtake the story. I’m not sure it was perfectly integrated into the story, but I really liked the concept of including a character with this issue. I also loved the family saying about snow globe moments and how that tied in with other parts of the story.

My biggest hurdle with the story was in the form of a moral dilemma. I’ll include more explicit information in the spoiler section at the end of my review. I have really mixed feelings about this issue and I think maybe it would have been an easier read for me if at least some character had expressed the doubts and concerns that I felt, and there had been more dialogue about the choices the characters were making. Instead, I kind of felt like I was supposed to automatically approach the issue the same way the characters did, and the fact that I did not left me out of sync with the rest of the novel.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Maddie graduates high school without losing her virginity, not for lack of trying. She relates a brief incident in which she and her boyfriend have a failed attempt at sex. Later, she begins seeing a boy and they eventually have sex. No details about her exchanges with this boy, but they do make a point to be together frequently.

Before the cruise, Maddie’s grandmother introduces her wealthy upper class, white family to “the love of her life,” a black Jamaican man. Some family members have a difficult time accepting this relationship. There’s a brief discussion later about how Astrid was against her daughter marrying a Jewish man at first. And how coming to understand that her son was gay was also a difficult transition for her, though now both her son and her son’s husband have close and loving relationships with her.

Maddie’s cousin is a pretty promiscuous girl. At one point she relates a drama about the size of her boyfriend’s penis, and soon everyone in the family knows about it. Maddie also discusses this topic with her boyfriend. In one part of the trip, Maddie walks in on her cousin having sex with an unknown man.

There are some comments about Maddie’s grandma’s VHS porn collection and Maddie’s curiosity over whether her grandma and her lover are having sex. Her entire family is pretty open about these things.

Spiritual Content
Maddie has a short conversation with a friend about whether or not they believe in heaven or afterlife. Her friend expresses a belief that the dead sort of watch over us and communicate with us through benevolent signs. At Wishwell island, patients are offered some spiritual counseling. Maddie’s family doesn’t seem to participate. At one point, Maddie discusses her earlier obsession with the Holocaust, inspired by the discovery of her Jewish heritage.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Maddie’s brother is described as being a stoner. He, Maddie and some others gather in a hot tub to share a joint. Patients aboard the Wishwell use marijuana to manage pain.

Maddie’s mom is an alcoholic, and her drunken behavior causes some embarrassment to Maddie and her family. Maddie doesn’t drink, but her cousin and other teen characters do. (In some of the international settings, the legal drinking age is 18, so they’re probably not breaking any laws there.) More than one character gets drunk and commits some behavior later regretted.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

SPOILER ALERT
As a part of the cruise, patients have an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and participate in an assisted suicide. I had a lot of mixed feelings about this issue, and overall I think Firestone tried to show some different angles. One character, a young mom, decides the assisted suicide isn’t the best outcome for her, and that she should spend all the remaining minutes she has with her family instead.

I’m not sure what my personal choices would be were I faced with a terrible, fatal illness, so I don’t want to be judgmental. I know that I have a really difficult time with the idea that suicide somehow becomes this courageous choice for someone terminally ill. I really struggled with this issue through every page of the book.

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Review: Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Grayling’s Song
Karen Cushman
Clarion Books

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a dark force transforms Grayling’s mother into a tree, she must track the evil and free her mother’s stolen spell book. Grayling has never been far from home, and she has no skills with which to battle a sorcerer, so along her journey, she gathers a team of companions with various magical inclination, including a shapeshifting mouse and a witch who can control the weather. Together they follow the call of Grayling’s mother’s book to the source of the evil that’s taken it, and there, Grayling will have to fight to free the grimoire.

It might be impossible not to enjoy a book with a shapeshifting mouse. Pook might have been my favorite character, though Grayling’s other companions were fun in other ways. I liked that Grayling has to find her own strength and talent, and that it comes in a way she doesn’t expect. Her confidence builds with each challenge she faces.

Grayling’s relationship with her mom seemed a little less focused. Or maybe I lost track of the details in the story. Either way, I found it odd that she had the memories of the hurtful things her mom had said and yet from other descriptions, her mom seemed really caring and compassionate and close to Grayling. I kind of want to go back and reread to see if it’s just me being confused because I wanted them to be closer or whether there are in fact mixed signals in the story.

This was a fun, offbeat read that went pretty quickly. I think I read the whole thing in an evening. I definitely enjoyed it. This is a great one to add to that summer reading list for late elementary-aged readers.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
One of Grayling’s companions is an enchantress. Men tend to fall in love with her and can easily be persuaded to give her anything she wants.

Spiritual Content
A dark force has stolen spell books from persons of various magical gifting. In Grayling’s world, whether magic is good or evil depends on how it’s used—whether to help or hurt someone.

Violent Content
A soldier captures Grayling and her companions and threatens to hold them captive until they make him invulnerable.

Drug Content
Various herbs are used to heal. At an inn, the companions are offered mead.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Into the Free by Julie Cantrell

Book Review and Content, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Into the Free
Julie Cantrell
Thomas Nelson (first published in 2012 by David C. Cook)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Millie has grown up watching the Romany travelers make their yearly trek through her Mississippi town and on into the free. She longs to leave her abusive father and poverty-stricken life behind and follow them, but who would care for Mama if she goes? When tragedy swallows Millie’s family, she’s left with only the memory of her mother’s faith to guide her. A window into her father’s secret life opens to Millie, and she finds an unexpected community among his friends. As the day draws near for the Romany to return and the one person Millie has counted on to save her will appear, she finds herself torn between the life she always wanted and the life she’s learning to embrace. She’ll have to choose one path, and hope it’s the one that leads away from the long history of abuse in her family.

The prose in this story is heart-achingly beautiful. It’s no wonder the first edition of this title won the Christy Award back in 2013. Millie’s relationships are deeply developed and complex, from her friendship with the older man, Sloth, who lives next door to her family, to her relationships with each of her parents in the midst of the abuse that takes place between them.

I felt like Millie’s reactions to things, especially early on through the middle of the story definitely fit with my picture of her as the victim of and witness to abuse. There’s one moment late in the story in which something really big happens, and I felt like Millie’s reaction is much too small and she moves on much too fast. (I’m hoping that in the sequel, we get a better understanding of why this happened and how she didn’t move on the way she might want us to think she did.)

I had a bit of a hard time with the romance of the story. I wanted it to follow an entirely different course, so I had a hard time adjusting when it didn’t follow that course. Eventually I came to understand and respect Millie’s choice, but again, the part of the story where she actually makes her choice for her future felt rushed or forced, and the jilted lover is kind of like, aww, man. Yeah, okay. So I wasn’t sure what to do with that. Did he not care about her the way I thought he did? What was that supposed to mean? Regardless, by that point I was okay with her choosing the other option, so maybe it was okay.

The sequel crosses into a more new adult story, following Millie into her new marriage and watching her deal with the unresolved issues of her past in the context of marriage. I’m really eager to see how that story unfolds. The idea reminds me a little bit of Joy in the Morning by Betty Smith (who also wrote A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, one of my favorite classics.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Millie and River sneak away from the gypsy camp and kiss. She feels alive inside when she’s with him, and even spends one night asleep beside him in a field.

Millie suffers a trauma (see spoiler section if you want to know details.) A wise woman tells her that you want to marry someone who is steady and safe, not someone who makes you head-over-heels crazy about them. She reads this advice as true especially considering what happened when her mother risked everything to marry her father.

Spiritual Content
Millie’s grandfather is a preacher who is all about rules. Millie’s mom has a deep faith in God despite the fact that she lives the life of an outcast. There’s a strong theme throughout the story in which a living spiritual faith is juxtaposed against rule-oriented religion. Millie rejects the empty rule-bound religion and clings to the memory of her mother quoting scripture and her messages about God’s love for people.

Violent Content
Millie’s dad beats her mother, once so badly that she has to be hospitalized.

Drug Content
Millie’s mother uses a morphine-like medication to relieve pain from injuries and also to escape emotional pain. It nearly costs her life.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

SPOILER ALERT AND TRIGGER WARNING
A man rapes Millie. It’s not deeply described, but Millie’s response is included, and reading that was rough. Sensitive readers should take caution. Afterward, she is angry, but she puts the whole event aside very quickly to pursue a romantic relationship with a boy who loves her. I felt like that all happened very quickly. I wasn’t sure I really believed a girl who’d been raped so recently would immediately take off and offer to marry someone. It sounds like the sequel deals more deeply with this experience, so that might explain why Millie shoved it aside so abruptly and show her need for healing.

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Upcoming Reviews: June 2016

Lists, News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18,

June 2016

It’s summer time again, and here in FL, kids are already out of school. (We’ll be crying the second week of August when we have to go back and all you northerners have weeks left of summer fun.) We’ve got lots of things planned, including the obligatory beach days, and hopefully a bit of butterfly gardening. Plus, of course, lots of reading time.

Here’s a list of books you can expect to see reviewed on The Story Sanctuary over the next several weeks. Some of these have been on my list for quite some time, and I’m excited to have a chance to finally read them. I’ve been trying to work in more of the Christian young adult authors out there, so you’ll see a few listed here along with some big names flying off bookshelves in the general market. See one you’re excited about? Leave a comment!

The Crowd by Alleece Balts

Amazon | Goodreads

When seventeen year-old Ella is accepted to a prestigious school, she’d prepared for the attention that comes of being the new girl. What she’s not prepared for is the relentless torment that comes at the hands of The Crowd. What will it take to make them stop? I think what I’m hoping for here is a cleaner version of Some Girls Are, in which the message that revenge is the solution to teen bullying left me unsatisfied. The description on Goodreads promises a journey of faith, so I’m also curious to see how that’s integrated into the story.

Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

Amazon | Goodreads

Apparently I’m going through a Depression-era literature binge. Fourteen year-old Amelia suddenly finds herself responsible for her siblings and the family gas station after her mother dies. Amelia will do whatever it takes to keep her family out of foster care, even if she has to convince a hobo to pose as her father.

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Amazon | Goodreads

Imagine a dystopian world in which the Library is the evil, oppressive force. Fascinating, right? History can only be accessed through the organization called The Great Library. Owning books is a crime. I’m stoked.

Into the Free by Julie Cantrell

Amazon | Goodreads

This one has actually been on my list for a long time. I love historical fiction, so I’m excited about the Depression-era setting. Millie journeys to break the cycle of abuse in her family, find love and reconcile her broken faith. Super keen to read this novel.

When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

Amazon | Goodreads

This is actually the sequel to Into the Free and the continuation of Millie’s story as she explores her new marriage and wrestles with some unresolved secrets from her past. Again, I’m looking forward to the historical setting and the strong spiritual themes of this novel.

Grayling’s Song by Karen Cushman

Amazon | Goodreads

Grayling and a team of magical misfits embark on a quest to save her mother from a spell which turns her into a tree. As Grayling earns her independence, she soon finds her former life at home too confining and sets out on another journey of her own. I love the oddness of the group who helps Grayling.

The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone

Amazon | Goodreads

Maddie and her family set sail on a “death with dignity” cruise to honor her terminally ill Gram’s wishes. Losing my grandmothers was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through, so I knew as soon as I saw the blurb that I wanted to read this book.

Ophelia Adrift by Helen Goltz

Amazon | Goodreads

I think this book had me at Ophelia Montague. As I read the description, the names really jumped out at me. If the story is as intriguing as its characters’ names, it’ll be one of my favorites this year.

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Amazon | Goodreads

I get chills when I read the description of this book. I remember watching the footage of the Twin Towers falling on September 11, 2001. As my daughter grows up, I imagine her experience to be a little bit like the characters in these books, exploring what this event means to our country without having been alive to witness the towers falling herself. I think we need strong narratives that explore these issues of who we are as a country and how that fits into our culture today.

10 Steps to Girlfriend Status by Cynthia Toney

Amazon | Goodreads

I reviewed the first book in this series, which, at the time was called Bird Face (it’s now called 8 Notes to a Nobody) and really enjoyed the story about a girl who struggles to love how she looks and learn what it is to be a real friend. In this second book, Wendy uncovers a secret in the old photo album of a family friend with Alzheimer’s.

The Queen’s Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler

Amazon | Goodreads

When I asked author Jeff Wheeler what inspired him to write The Queen’s Poisoner, he named this question: if a parent had to choose one of their children to die, whom would they pick? I was pretty intrigued by the story already, but that really got me. I loved The Scorpion Rules, another novel that explores a world in which children are kept as political prisoners. I’m definitely anticipating a great read here.

Review: Rebel by R J Anderson

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Rebel
R J Anderson
Enclave

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

A disciplinary issue at boarding school sends Timothy Sinclair to live with his aunt and uncle. While there, he meets a bizarre creature he never would have believed existed: a tiny, winged girl named Linden who desperately needs his help.

As Timothy becomes caught in Linden’s grave mission, he draws the attention of dark faeries. Soon, hunters close in on their trail. The only hope lies in a myth about a white stone that could secure the freedom of Linden’s people, faeries living in the Oak on Timothy’s aunt and uncle’s property. Timothy and Linden must find the stone before the deadly hunters catch them.

Yet again author R J Anderson brings us a unique tale about faeries in modern England and the humans who vow to protect them. I loved that this time the faery world expanded to include other faery kingdoms, each with their own myths and beliefs about how to interact with humans.

While I wasn’t as captivated by Timothy as I had been with Paul in Knife, the first book in the series, he definitely grew on me. I enjoyed the references to his life in Uganda, and the descriptions of his spiritual journey throughout the story. I missed the Oak and its inhabitants, so I hope to see more of them in the next book in the series, called Arrow. I loved the addition of the male faeries, too. I can’t wait to see where those stories go.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Timothy grew up with missionary parents in Uganda. He’s been attending a Christian boarding school in England, but he’s really struggling with whether or not he believes in Christian doctrine. Along his journey, he meets some very kind, very authentic Believers and while their faith doesn’t immediately reinstate Timothy’s he does find himself energized to search and ask deeper questions of the beliefs he’s been raised with, and he feels much more confident about pursuing faith.

As with the first book in this series, Rebel contains faeries who possess magic. The faeries make references to the Great Gardener, whom we understand to mean God. Some faeries believe in living lives invisible to humans while others form friendships or relationships with them. Some evil faeries use their magic to take advantage of humans.

Violent Content
Some brief battle scenes. Nothing gory.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: An Uncertain Choice by Jodi Hedlund

Book Review and Content, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

An Uncertain Choice
Jodi Hedlund
Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As Rosemarie’s eighteenth birthday nears, she prepares to fulfill the sacred vow her parents made and become a nun. She struggles to accept this role even as her kingdom is in turmoil at the hands of a sheriff who enforces cruel punishment and unexplained plagues that ravage the poorest citizens. Then, one month before her birthday, an old family friend rides into her kingdom with news: Rosemarie may have another option. If she can find and marry her true love before midnight on her eighteenth birthday, she will not have to enter the convent. Three knights accompany Rosemarie’s advisor. She must find out if one of them is her true love.

I felt like this story was kind of like the Ever After retelling of Cinderella, but with the Prince and Cinderella’s character kind of reversed? I really liked the concept of having this really short timeline to find out which man is Rosemarie’s true love and what is love and that sort of thing, with the clock counting down in the background.

One of the things I always struggle with in reading medieval stories is the way the writing, especially in dialogue, can be extremely stilted. I shall see what may be done about this unfortunate circumstance, etc. I tend not to enjoy that sort of thing because it’s just not how I imagine the characters talking and it sounds really forced to me. But that’s a personal preference. If you prefer that style, this is definitely a book to check out.

There were a couple of plot issues that I kind of hiccuped over, too. The largest was the idea that Rosemarie would become a nun and still also rule her kingdom. I guess I thought that you had to forsake worldly goods when you join a convent. I’m not sure if that’s a faulty perception on my part, or if I was supposed to willingly suspend my disbelief in the reading of this story. Either way, I understand why the stakes were set up that way, but it confused me. I kept wanting someone in the story to be like, yeah, but remember how King What’s-His-Beard was a monk and still ruled? Something to kind of let me off the hook for wondering. But alas.

The romance element of the story was very sweet. I liked that she had to kind of work out what was important to her in terms of choosing a husband and that her chosen knight shared her values. There were definitely some things that happened I didn’t expect, so that was good, too. The plot definitely wasn’t as simple as I expected it to be. I liked that.

The cover art and some of the way the story is told reminded me a bit of Melanie Dickerson’s novels. I’ve reviewed The Princess Spy here if you want to check it out.

Because of some brief graphic description of torture, this might not be a great pick for tweens, though the other parts of the story are certainly light enough. See below for more information on content.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
There’s some sexual tension between Rosemarie and the three knights. She wonders repeatedly what it will be like to kiss them. There is one kiss in the book.

Spiritual Content
Rosemarie has grown up believing that when she turns eighteen, she’ll have to become a nun because of a vow her parents made when they received help from a holy artifact to conceive her. When Rosemarie feels troubled, she spends time in prayer and seeks council from a trusted advisor within the church.

Violent Content
Rosemarie is passionately opposed to the use of torture to punish her people for even serious crimes. The local sheriff disregards her wishes and tortures several criminals by various methods which are described briefly. Torture comes up several more times throughout the story. The most graphic description, I thought was when a woman’s head is placed in some kind of restraining device so that her tongue can be removed. That scene lasts a bit longer than the others, and had more painful descriptions.

Drug Content
A goblet of ale is poisoned at a feast.

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