The blush after your first kiss. The adrenaline of a roller coaster ride. Moving to a new town. None of these can compare to the emotions one feels after finishing a book so completely excellent that you want to buy it for everyone you know. I love that feeling. And somehow I have become blessed this past month for I have read not one but TWO of these wonderful books. Of course I have to share them now with you all and desperately hope that you will pick them up at the local library.
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park by Steve Klueger
"Boston teens T. C. and Augie are such close friends that their families acknowledge them as brothers. Alejandra has recently arrived from Washington, D.C., where her father served as a Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Kluger’s crowded, exuberant novel follows the three high-school freshman through an earth-shaking year of friendship, romance, musicals, and baseball. At the center is a broadening sense of what family means." In the hands of any other author this story would have been sappy chick lit, but Klueger gives his first YA book a fresh and friendly male perspective on romance of both teens and adults, gay and straight. Reading this book is like watching Mary Poppins: it will make you cry happy tears.
My Most Excellent Year: For audiences ages 13+
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Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Those of you with your ear towards the book publishing world might recognize this title due to its book cover controversy. Publishers Weekly link, where I first heard of the book. I was intrigued. When visiting the local public library a few days later, I noticed Liar on the "New YA" shelf, thought "Why not?", and snagged it.
Let me just say that the book's controversy was a blessing in disguise. Liar is jaw-dropping amazing ... but I doubt I would have otherwise come across it. The book's jacket summarizes the story as:
"Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing?"
...but it's SOOOO much more. Think about the unexpected revelations in Lois Lowry's The Giver. It's like that! However, I CANNOT and WILL NOT describe the gob-smacking, mind-blowing twists of Liar and if anyone tries to tell you, cover your ears and run away screaming. Knowing will ruin the adventure. I won't say much more, just that I gobbled up the book, and then wished I had read more slowly so the experience would've lasted longer.
Liar: For audiences ages 16+
"Boston teens T. C. and Augie are such close friends that their families acknowledge them as brothers. Alejandra has recently arrived from Washington, D.C., where her father served as a Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Kluger’s crowded, exuberant novel follows the three high-school freshman through an earth-shaking year of friendship, romance, musicals, and baseball. At the center is a broadening sense of what family means." In the hands of any other author this story would have been sappy chick lit, but Klueger gives his first YA book a fresh and friendly male perspective on romance of both teens and adults, gay and straight. Reading this book is like watching Mary Poppins: it will make you cry happy tears.
My Most Excellent Year: For audiences ages 13+
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The original and replacement covers of "Liar".
Let me just say that the book's controversy was a blessing in disguise. Liar is jaw-dropping amazing ... but I doubt I would have otherwise come across it. The book's jacket summarizes the story as:
"Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing?"
...but it's SOOOO much more. Think about the unexpected revelations in Lois Lowry's The Giver. It's like that! However, I CANNOT and WILL NOT describe the gob-smacking, mind-blowing twists of Liar and if anyone tries to tell you, cover your ears and run away screaming. Knowing will ruin the adventure. I won't say much more, just that I gobbled up the book, and then wished I had read more slowly so the experience would've lasted longer.
Liar: For audiences ages 16+
