Monday, June 20, 2011

NHYA: Dirty Little Secrets vs. Invisible Girl...


Nerds Heart YA is in its third year and seeks to bring books rarely blogged about more attention. According to the site, "the contest focuses specifically on books that in some way represent groups of people who are typically under represented in YA fiction."


All YA novels published in 2010 with few blogger reviews can be considered so long as a character (or the novel's author) falls into one of the following seven categories:


•Person(s) of Color (POC)

•GLBT

•Disability

•Mental Illness

•Religious Lifestyle

•Lower Socioeconomic Status

•Plus-size


The First Round of Judging commenced on June 13th and runs until June 29th, followed by the Second Round. Visit Nerds Heart YA to keep up with what books are still in the running!


A Backwards Story and We're Not Butterflies... teamed up to decide which of the following two titles would move on to Round Two, INVISIBLE GIRL by Mary Hanlon Stone or DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu.


Both books deal with abusive relationships. Read on to find out our decision!




LEGEND:


RED = We're Not Butterflies...

PURPLE = A Backwards Story

Black = Everything Else!


EXPECTATIONS:


WNB: I honestly thought that DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS was a silly title. That kind of turned me off... But I did like the cover image. I have the paperback.


ABS: I thought the title for DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS sounded too much like PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. I didn’t expect much from the title, to be honest.

ABS: I thought INVISIBLE GIRL was going to be more of a beach read based on the cover despite the hard-hitting issues lying within.


WNB: I was hoping INVISIBLE GIRL would be more feminist-y. I thought it was going to be more of an exploration of socio-economic status based on the cover synopsis and the descriptions of the golden CA imagery and the dirty, skinny, poor imagery of Stephanie's home life.


PLOT:

WNB: With INVISIBLE GIRL, I thought the beginning struggles with her mom were intense and horrifying. I thought her dad was a BIG wimpy loser for sending her to CA. After CA, I thought the mean girl seemed a lot like Regina in MEAN GIRLS. I thought the drinking beer/making out with the dude/barfing scene was weak.

ABS: I agree. The opening for INVISIBLE GIRL was so intense. The imagery with Stephanie curled in the closet with her childhood NANCY DREW novels and soiled pants really got to me. I thought this book was going to pack a huge punch, but the emotions fizzled when she moved to CA. The focus was more on her fitting in and less on all her emotional scars.


WNB: Yeah, and fitting in in a REALLY lame, already-been-done-a-lot way. It didn't seem realistic that she would want to be friends with those people no matter how sucky her life had been.

ABS: All the focus on fitting in made the book seem ordinary, like something I'd read before. Stephanie just happened to have an abusive mom. It was more about fitting in around rich, mean, snobby girls.


WNB: In DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, I loved the reality of Lucy’s feelings about her mom. I loved how she described the house and tried so hard not just to avoid her life but to change what she could about things.

ABS: I loved that DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS occurred over such a short period of time. It made all of Lucy's decisions harder. She was a scared teenager in a situation no one should have to go through. She loved her mom, but was embarrassed, too. It was easy to sympathize with her.


WNB: I really like how the author acknowledged things like how the character was worried how she smelled after living in a dirty house and how she valued hot showers, but didn't harp on these things and make it seem like she felt sorry for herself.


ABS:

It felt like she really explored the issue of children whose parents are extreme hoarders and focused on the impact such a disorder would have on a family. I wish there had been more of this type of focus in INVISIBLE GIRL.

CHARACTERS:

WNB: In DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, the relationships between the family such as the sister blaming her siblings for various events and the brother in denial all seemed possible.


ABS: I liked the way C.J. Omololu created such an introspective narrative that focused internally on Lucy's struggle. It never felt overdone or boring. She had just the right mixture of external events.


ABS: And the way her sister was turning into a younger version of her mother was scary! I also liked the focus on her friends, classmates, and neighbors. It revealed so much about Lucy and her situation.


WNB: It was. I really liked how the romantic interest was dealt with. It was subtle and seemed healthy, like two kids liked each other and wanted to spend more time together, but it forced Lucy to really look hard at her issues. I think was a really important catalyst for her development and rebellion against her mom's illness.


ABS: For INVISIBLE GIRL, I honestly have trouble remembering a lot of the characters now. I hate how Stephanie's dad just shipped her across the country (even though she had all those uncles). It was never really explained why she had to move so far. Stephanie felt like such a burden, and all it did was hinder her more.


WNB: I hated the shitty, wimpy dad, the intense mom and the Carson Drew dad in L.A., the lawyer. I really thought the lawyer was another person who totally failed Stephanie especially when she wanted so badly to respect him.


ABS: I agree. At first, I thought he was going to be a fantastic role model for Stephanie, and then after the briefcase incident, he did a complete 180. I felt bad for Stephanie; she had no one to turn to.

ABS: I loved how terrified we were of Stephanie's mother in the beginning and wish there had been tighter character development throughout.


WNB: Yeah, the beginning descriptions of Stephanie's mom were really great. Those are the characters Stone should have stuck with. I think the uncles would have been a more interesting choice as well. As for the adoptive family... All the people in LA were jerks. I am really relieved that she finally found Amal. Although Amal's character seemed really childish and the ending of finding Amal's family as allies seemed really sudden and a pat solution to Stephanie's problems.

WRITING/PACING:

ABS: DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS takes place over the course of about a day. The writing is tight and the events are so horrible that they compel you to keep reading to see what happens next. The end of the book has a drop, but Omololu posted an “aftermath” chapter online here (but DON’T read it unless you’ve read DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS).


WNB: I thought INVISIBLE GIRL was really choppy. It was hard to keep track of the days and nights; they all looked really similar. The book spanned summer and the start of school during the fall semester.

ENDING:

WNB: I thought the ending of DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS was great. While it left one wanting to know more... the catastrophe couldn't have been a more causational end to the situation.


ABS: I didn't buy the ending of INVISIBLE GIRL. It felt too tidy. I think it's because the book had pacing issues and took place over such a long period of time. DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, however, had that drop, so I was really happy to see Omololu post the extra chapter online. I was hoping for a sequel until I saw that!

WNB: The end of INVISIBLE GIRL was definitely too tidy. It did offer relief from the horrors of Stephanie's life and while I was glad for that, I didn't really believe it. I remember thinking that I was glad that she found one person in her life that she could trust. I related to that part a lot because I teach high school girls and hopefully get to be that person for some of them.

And the winner that will be moving on to Round Two of Nerds Heart YA?


DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C.J. Omololu. Congratulations! Keep score of what books move on at the OFFICIAL SITE.



WNB: Thanks to Nerds Heart YA and our sponsors! This was my first time judging and it was a really fun excuse to buy and read MORE books!



ABS: I really enjoyed participating in this year's Nerds Heart YA Tournament and can't wait to see who makes it into the final rounds. DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS is *my* dirty little secret and I hope it makes it all the way through! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read our post!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Nerds Heart YA!

Hey there blog readers!

Ms. Haverstock is participating in her first ever book reviewing/judging process!

Check out the button in the sidebar to see the shortlist and learn more about the contest. Here's a link to the shortlist of the books that are under consideration. I am in the first round of judging. I am super excited about the role I get to play in evaluating these books!

Check back here to keep up with what is going on!

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Book lists!

Another booklist... I keep posting these booklists and links to blogs about books because I think that is what could attract people to read. I guess I like lists and I hope that other people do too. Enjoy!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/apr/04/cat-clarke-top-10-teens


-Ms. H

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Hunger Games casting nominations...


I read blogs, library blogs, librarian blogs, book review blogs. I think I have mentioned this before. In my mornings reading, I came across another link to a discussion of the casting of the upcoming movie based on the book the Hunger Games. So, the issue is that the person cast in the movie role as the character, Katniss, may not/probably will not look the way she was described by the author in the book. An article from the blog, Jezebel says this:
"Those who read The Hunger Games slowly enough to savor its descriptive language know that Suzanne Collins gives her heroine "olive" skin, grey eyes, and dark hair. Katniss' looks in the novel are typical of her fellow residents in "The Seam," an impoverished area populated by coal-miners like her deceased dad. The wealthier merchant class, including Katniss's mom and sister, generally are described with fair hair and skin." Other blog and internet folks are predicting who will be cast and rumors are flying.

The main point is that the women in the running for the Katniss role have lighter skin and lighter hair and are not a person of color. Are the movie decision makers whitewashing this character, casting a Caucasian person when it seems obvious that the character would be a person of color? Read the blog discussions. There are more here and here and here and here. Remember, these are blogs and they are opinions, but they could be interesting to think about.

In a fit of inspiration this morning in response to reading all about it and thinking about it, the HNHS Library decided to run a little contest. Who would you cast as the different characters in the Hunger Games? Here are some suggestions from The Film Stage, another blog. Who didn't they think of that you would like to see on screen?

You can nominate the actors you would like to see in the different characters' roles on the poster outside the library. Once we have received all nominations, I will make up an online ballot and we can all vote!

Keep thinking!
Ms. Haverstock

Thursday, January 13, 2011

library magic...

About once every couple of years or so, I create a library video using Animoto. It doesn't get used for much, but maybe I will put it on the library homepage. Delightful!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Holidays and books...

Happy Holidays from the HNHS Library!
In my daily reading, I have come across lots more best of 2010 lists of great books. I have used these lists to compile the HNHS Library's wish-list on Amazon.com.

If you would like to purchase a gift for the HNHS Library, click the link above. The book will be conveniently shipped right to the school! You can dedicate the book to a current student or to an alum. The book will then receive a bookplate with the student's name and graduation date.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Best of...

The Best of 2010 lists are starting to come out. The variety of these lists are a really cool way for me to do some collection development. There are lots of diverse groups producing the lists... teachers, students, librarians, library organizations, award committees, publishing companies and that makes for interesting review reading. The first of the lists on my radar is the Kirkus Review's 2010 Best Books for Teens.

The others that I watch for are:

Cybils
Michael Printz Award
National Book Award
Booker Prize
Teen's Top Ten
Alex Awards

With the exception of the Alex Awards, I am often a bit skeptical of wholesale acceptance of award winning books. I know librarians are trained in most things book-ish and publishers do the book-ish thing for a living but I also know that these people are not teenagers (nor am I). I like recommendations from people who the books are intended for. That is why I am always also on the look out for teen reviewers.

If you want to be a reviewer for library books and you happen to fall between the ages of 13 and 19, email me and let me know! HNHS students and otherwise are welcome!