Juli, Stargirl & Alaska - three girls who will move you

Flipped, Stargirl and Looking For Alaska - three books that each feature a remarkable, larger-than-life girl, who stands out from the crowd, and has a life-long impact on those around her.

Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen is about two teens, Bryce & Juli, who have lived next to each other since they were 7.  Juli fell in love with Bryce the moment she saw him.  Bryce on the other hand wishes Juli would just leave him alone.  The story is told in both Juli's and Bryce's voices, in alternating chapters.  This in itself is entertaining - the different take the two of them have on the same situation is quite enlightening.  Over the years, Bryce and Juli both come to realise that sometimes first impressions aren't so reliable.  This is a lovely story, filled with humour, well developed characters and a certain truth about it.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli tells the story of Stargirl Caraway, an unconventional girl who finds a deep and rewarding joy in making those around her happy.  When she starts attending Mica High (having previously been home schooled) she quickly becomes popular, mostly as a result of her uniqueness.  However, it doesn't take long before she gets offside with the in-crowd, and she is shunned.  The story is narrated by Leo, who is fascinated by Stargirl, and wants to understand what makes her tick.  Leo finds it increasingly difficult to be associated with Stargirl, especially once he too feels the effects of being shunned by the crowd.  

Stargirl provides an interesting commentary on how humans (and no, not just those of the teenage variety) tend to feel happier if they are part of a groups.  And how unpleasant we can often be to those who we don't consider part of 'our group'.

Looking For Alaska by John Green has found a place in my all-time-fave-books list.  This was a debut novel but what a remarkable piece of writing.  The story is narrated by Miles as he transfers to a new boarding school, where he falls in with a group of teens  lead by the enigmatic Alaska.  The story is told in two parts - Before, and After.  Before focuses on the group and their various pranks and antics; After focuses on how the group deals with a tragedy that befalls them.

The characters are skilfully drawn, and achingly real.  It has humour, and pathos, and love, and lust, and tragedy.  It had me laughing as I read one page, then crying just a few short pages later. I loved it.  I felt quite lost when I finished reading it - I didn't want to leave these characters.

These three books are probably often considered to be "coming of age" books, and to be fair, they are aimed at different age groups (Flipped more for the tweens and younger teens; Looking For Alaska young adult and adult; with Stargirl falling somewhere in between) - and yet, as an adult, I found each of them left a little piece with me that I will keep and continue to reflect on.

Review: Trigger by Susan Vaught

What would drive a young man who seems to have everything - top sportsman, popularity, girls, great grades, a bright future - to kill himself?  Jersey Hatch's parents don't know, his best mate doesn't know, and Jersey himself doesn't know.  But he is determined to find out.  You see - Jersey's suicide attempt failed.  And now, after a year of rehabilitation, scarred, blind in one eye, with a limp, a non-responsive left hand and permanent brain damage...Jersey is deemed ready to go home.  To carry on with his life.

Jersey can't remember anything about the year before he shot himself in the head.  And everything he thinks, tends to come straight out of his mouth, so he blurts out random words like wench, frog farts, sock - this makes most social situations awkward, to say the least.

As Jersey searches for the answer to his burning question, he learns to cope with life in the real world again, and he begins to understand the fallout his actions had on his friends and family.

Susan Vaught weaves a powerful and moving story, tackling a difficult subject with skill and humour.  It will stay with you long after you finish it.

My thanks to Amanda who kept telling me "you must read Trigger, it's really really good"  Thanks Amanda, you were right!

Trigger was also published under the alternate title Blowout

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is basically an overcome-the-odds-love story about a girl and a boy, except that the boy is sometimes a wolf. It is funny, and sad, and romantic, but far from soppy.  The narration switches between Grace and Sam, maintaining a nice balance between the two main characters. Both characters grow and develop throughout the story, and the ending leaves you wanting to know more.  The story seems to have a really earthy feel to it - there is a strong emphasis on the seasons, and many of the descriptions are drawn in sounds and smells as well as images.  You'll be yearning for the great outdoors while reading it!

I love this cover - and I love that
the blue has been carried
through to the color of the text - nice.

One of the best things about this story is that Grace is a strong female character with a backbone, not willing to be run rough-shod over by a bunch of werewolves.

The only thing I found that didn't quite gel was that Grace states she had never really been interested in boys until Sam, but she proves herself to be an accomplished flirt.  Maybe that just serves to illustrate that they really are soul mates, and totally at ease and in love, but to me it just didn't sit quite right.

Shiver is the first of a trilogy.  The second book Linger has just been released, and debuted at number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading Maggie Stiefvater's blog - check it out - she is a woman of many talents.  Need another example?  Here is her book trailer for Linger, not only did she create the stop motion herself, she composed the music too.