Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld

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So Yesterday
Scott Westerfeld
Razorbill
Published January 1, 2004

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When Hunter meets a girl with a whole different way of doing her shoelaces, he has no idea the strange adventure that’s about to begin. Through her, he winds up invited to a secret meeting at which he stumbles onto a pair of amazing shoes, and the possibility that his cool-hunting boss has been kidnapped. Hunter and his new friend pursue the shoemakers, trying to discover what’s become of his boss, Mandy. Full of quirky characters and with Hunter’s off-the-wall sense of humor and irony, So Yesterday was a worthy read. Go Hunter, the Mighty Penguin!

This was such a fun story. I read and loved the Uglies series by Westerfeld, and when I saw this, I had to pick it up. So Yesterday is a lot lighter than Uglies, but still packs great characters and a thought-provoking message about trends and how sometimes we get used by companies in their pursuit of a bottom line.

The more I read by Scott Westerfeld, the more respect I have for him. I guess I’m a little old-fashioned, but I like YA that is cleaner, at least that doesn’t brazenly plaster sexual situations across its pages. Scott Westerfeld handles these situations elegantly, acknowledging them without overstating them. I like that and really enjoy knowing I can recommend these stories to younger teens with confidence.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity.

Sexual Content
While Hunter is attracted to a girl, not much happens between them physically through the course of the story.

Spiritual Content
None

Violence
Very light– some scuffles between good guys and bad guys.

Drug Content
Alcohol is served to guests at a product launch party. Underage characters drink juice cocktails– it’s not totally clear whether they expected the juice to be spiked, but hard to believe it came as a surprise. There’s not really any clear remorse for consuming alcohol under age.

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I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke

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

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires
Cathy Gohlke
Moody Publishers
Published September 1, 2008

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Prompted by a desperate letter from an estranged cousin in Virginia, Robert must put aside his plans to join the Yankee army and help his family. A visit to his uncle throws him by mistake into the middle of a prison escape. After he’s left for dead, an unexpected friend lends him a hand, further blurring the lines of Robert’s patriotic loyalty. As he and his new friend set out to find his family, Robert finds the journey to be harder than he ever imagined, and that the enemy he must confront has a different face than he first believed. If he is going to rescue his family, Robert knows it will take wrestling with more than just the enemies of war. And the results may not be of his own making.

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires is the sequel to Gohlke’s Christy Award-winning William Henry is a Fine Name. The Civil War story tackles issues of loyalty, humanity, and faith through the eyes of an 18 year-old boy with family on both sides of the battle lines.

The writing is absolutely amazing– the kind of stuff that will stick with you long after you put the book down. If you enjoy historical fiction, particularly the Civil War era, you absolutely have to give this a read. I haven’t read William Henry, but I had no trouble following the plot and characters of I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires. I don’t think you have to read them in order, but if the first one is as good as this (and I’ve heard it is) then by all means, read both as I plan to do myself!

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None

Sexual Content
There are some oblique references to a rape that occurred before the story takes place.

Spiritual Content
Robert wrestles with his faith and the idea that God is in control, has a plan, and will take care of him.

Violent Content
Robert is bound during the prison escape. One character shoots another and threatens other lives before falling to death.

Drug Content
None

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The Fruit of My Lipstick by Shelley Adina

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

The Fruit of My Lipstick
Shelley Adina
FaithWords
Published August 1, 2008

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

In Gillian Chang’s second term at upscale Spencer Academy boarding school, she feels prepared for everything. Armed with rock-solid faith, good friends and no shortage of smarts, she’s got it all covered. Doesn’t she?

When she begins to fall for Lucas Hayes, a high achieving Stanford PhD hopeful, Gillian finds herself unable to keep up and be the girlfriend he wants. With all the pressure he’s under, it’s no surprise he gets a little short-tempered. Gillian resolves to try harder, but she finds herself isolating from her friends more and more.

Then a scandal emerges, with rumors that Gillian is at the center of it. Even her friends are uncertain of the truth. Gillian has to get to the bottom of it and get herself back on track. But can she do it without losing Lucas?

The Fruit of my Lipstick is the second book in Shelley Adina’s All About Us series about a clan of friends and their adventures at Spencer Academy. In some places the plot seemed a little bit linear, but it’s a fun read, full of pop culture references and spunky characters. Sort of a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants except girls in boarding school. I enjoyed reading it and recommend the series to fans of Sisterhood, Babysitter’s Club or Laura L. Smith’s Status Updates series.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No harsh language

Sexual Content
None

Spiritual Content
Gillian and her friends are Christians at a secular academy. They form a prayer circle and try to hold each other accountable in their faith.

Violent Content
Lucas gets rough with Gillian, pushing her a couple of times.

Drug Content
None

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My Thoughts on Twilight and The Graveyard Book

Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Poll Question: Should Christian teens read books about characters of spritually questionable origin?

  • Maybe. Mature kids can discern the truth without being spiritually compromised. Other kids aren’t ready. (4 votes)
  • Yes. Reading about a vampire doesn’t do any harm. It’s just fantasy! (2 votes)
  • No way. The origin of vampires isn’t “questionable.” It’s evil. Don’t even go there. (2 votes)

My Vote
I’ll be honest– this is a tricky one for me. When I began this blog and posted my first poll, a friend left several comments on my facebook account about teen fiction and what it should and should not contain and she said two very key words: age-appropriate. (maybe that’s technically one word, hyphenated…)

I think there’s something to that. Absolutely. In the case of Neil Gaiman’s book, we’re talking about a story set in a graveyard with a small child as a character. (I’m so resisting the urge to revisit that too often quoted line from the movie that will haunt Haley Joel Osmet for the rest of his life.) I’m not sure this is what I’d call appropriate content for middle grade readers. It’s an intensely dark story. (A beautifully written one, but dark nonetheless.) I mean let’s talk reality here for one second– kid grows up in a graveyard, raised by ghosts… anyone see a complex coming for little Bod? Okay, I know, it’s just fiction…(I’m the girl who loved the movie Meet Joe Black, but came away at the end thinking, dude, that guy is going to have one serious complex.)

But I know for myself, as a young reader, stories inspired me and even to a degree became a part of me in a deeper way than my reading does today. I think young readers moreso than older ones tend to idolize the characters they read about. Does reading The Graveyard Book encourage a fascination with death and the dead?

Here’s another interesting thought from a blog I read this morning. She blogged concerning Bella and Edward’s relationship and its similarities to abusive/co-dependent relationships. Is this a relationship we want teens to emulate?

Honestly, I think the romance genre itself often does a poor job presenting a healthy view of a romantic relationship. I have seen it even in Christian fiction. But that’s another topic altogether!

One of the things I liked about the Twilight series is that purity was important to Edward and that he and Bella waited until their marriage to consumate their relationship. In a culture where sexual purity is so out of style, it was exciting to me to see a YA series promoting abstinence take the bestseller list by storm.

Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

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

Breaking Dawn
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown & Company
Published August 7, 2007

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

At last– the moment Twilight fans have dreamed of: Edward and Bella marry and retreat to a private island for a honeymoon. When it becomes obvious that Bella is pregnant– and with an extraordinary child– the couple returns home to care for Bella and possibly even protect her from the child in her womb. But the only way to save Bella may be to transform her.

When the dreaded Volturi close in on the Cullen Family, presumably to kill the child, Bella commits to do whatever it takes to protect the child she saw in her dreams. As the battle looms nearer, it becomes clear to Bella that she has more strength than even she gave herself credit for. But will it be enough to protect her new family from total destruction?

This was my least favorite book in the series. I will say that at last, we see Bella find her own strength, and that was a cool twist. But instead of it happening in an interesting and hard-won way, she kind of just eases into victory almost without realizing she’s doing anything incredible. So that part wasn’t so cool.

Edward and Bella finally have their long-awaited consummation of their romance, and that takes some time and is a bit ridiculous what with Edward’s crazy strength kind of out of control. Bella’s pregnancy is kind of weird, too. Honestly, some of the vampire story rules got too weird for me at that point, because it gets into what the risks are of her carrying a child who’s only part-vampire and is that even possible? My favorite description of the book (though it does contain some spoilers) comes from a spoof commercial advertising a Twilight Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It’s pretty crazy, but it kind of sums up some of my feelings on the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
There was a little bit more swearing in this novel compared to the first. Light bordering moderate.

Sexual Content
So now that Edward and Bella are married, the party is on. Meyer does a fair job keeping the details of Bella and Edward’s sex life strictly between them. Hints about it are dropped, and the room is damaged due to Edward’s super-strength, but there’s no play by play description of the events that occur.

A bond forms between the baby and one of the werewolves, and because of her age, it’s a little strangely creepy. The characters maintain that it’s an imprint, kind of a betrothal type matching deal, that’s not sexual in any way, but I still found it to be a little weird.

Spiritual Content
Largely the same as the other Twilight books. The Edward Cullen and his family are “good” vampires who’ve chosen only to feed on animals, not humans. They are at odds with the “bad” vampires who consider themselves superior to the human race and still kill/bite people. Werewolves emerge to protect the people of Forks, WA.

Violent Content
The Volturi are as ruthless as ever, destroying one vampire in the midst of a conflict. The baby emerging from Bella is a bit graphic and bloody– it’s not the usual birth experience.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

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

Eclipse
Stephanie Meyer
Little, Brown & Company
Published August 7, 2007

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Once again Bella Swan’s life is in danger, seemingly because of her association with the Cullen family. Strange events unfold in nearby Seattle– a mass of unsolved murders. Could there be “newborn” vampires on the loose?

As rumor of the “newborn” vampires spreads, a new rumor reaches the Cullen clan. The powerful Volturi, to whom Bella has promised to shed her mortality and become a vampire, appear to be planning a visit to the town of Forks. As Bella seeks to get her promise met, she discovers she must make a difficult choice. If she becomes a vampire, she loses Jacob, her best friend. If she remains mortal, Edward will watch her grow old and die.

I liked that this book expanded some of the ideas about the vampire lore and hierarchy beyond the Cullen family. Some of the same plot constructions hold up this story that formed the earlier books in the series. Again we see Bella waiting for rescue and Edward treating her as though she’s helpless. I’m just not a huge fan of that model. I want to see more spine from her at the very least. See below for content information.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
There was a little bit more swearing in this novel compared to the first. Light bordering moderate.

Sexual Content
Still very little physical sexual contact at all. Huge amounts of romantic tension between them, though. Bella and Edward’s desire for each other is very obvious.

Spiritual Content
Largely the same as Twilight and New Moon. The Edward Cullen and his family are “good” vampires who’ve chosen only to feed on animals, not humans. They are at odds with the “bad” vampires who consider themselves superior to the human race and still kill/bite people. Werewolves emerge to protect the people of Forks, WA.

Violent Content
The Volturi are as ruthless as ever, destroying one vampire in the midst of a conflict. The werewolf clan takes on a vampire.

Drug Content
None.

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