TWERP - MARK GOLDBLATT

TITLE: TWERP

AUTHOR: MARK GOLDBLATT

RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2013

FORMAT/PAGE COUNT: ebook (net galley)/288 pages

PUBLISHER: Random House Books for Young Readers

PURCHASED: Did not purchase (Net Galley)

SYNOPSIS: 

  It's not like I meant for Danley to get hurt. . . .

   Julian Twerski isn't a bully. He's just made a big mistake. So when he returns to school after a weeklong suspension, his English teacher offers him a deal: if he keeps a journal and writes about the incident that got him and his friends suspended, he can get out of writing a report on Shakespeare. Julian jumps at the chance. And so begins his account of life in sixth grade--blowing up homemade fireworks, writing a love letter for his best friend (with disastrous results), and worrying whether he's still the fastest kid in school. Lurking in the background, though, is the one story he can't bring himself to tell, the one story his teacher most wants to hear.

   Inspired by Mark Goldblatt's own childhood growing up in 1960s Queens, Twerp shines with powerful writing that will have readers laughing and crying right along with these flawed but unforgettable characters. (FROM GOODREADS)

REVIEW: 

I love this book so much! It’s one of those books you want to take with you onto the rooftops, hold high in the air and proclaim, “Ladies and gentlemen of Earth…read this book!” It’s also one of those books you want to hold close to your breast and say, “There, there…it will be okay!” Because you’re terrified it’s going to miss its audience. This is a splendid story, well told. By all accounts, it should fly off the shelves. I’m just worried that the time period may put some off. It is for young readers and I know young readers will love it. If they give it a chance. What I also know is that adults would LOVE Twerp too!

Julian, the narrator, makes a deal with his teacher. If he writes the stories of him and his friends he can get out of writing the book report for Julius Caesar. What the teacher has in mind—one would suspect—is that Julian face the scrutiny of his own introspection. And face it he does. It’s a lovely tale Julian tells. He shares his whole world with the reader…even the darker secrets he would probably normally keep to himself. He tells the teacher how he penned a love letter to woo a girl on behalf of his best friend, he tells his teacher how that event totally backfires in his face and causes his best friend to disown him, he tells the woe-begotten tale of how he fears he is no longer the fastest kid in his school, and he shares with his teacher the story of the suave new kid from Mexico who could be his Achilles heel in this regard. In short, there are several insightful stories that Julian allows us to glimpse along the way. The one he is reluctant to tell is the motivation behind the telling. All these stories relate to power struggles and manipulations between friends in some way. But the untold story, which eventually comes out within Julian’s narration to his teacher is the story of Danley Dimmel.

Set in 1969, Twerp is an integral story of the struggles kids face to balance on that thin line of bully and bullied, cool and uncool, leader and follower. It’s a great story…you will fall in love with the way Julian gives us the raw truth of the happenings within the child community of his New York neighbourhood. It’s a universal story most readers will easily relate to. I hope kids give it a chance…there is much to be learned within Julian’s stories. And much to be enjoyed!

I will definitely be purchasing this book. It's one I will revisit several times! Suitable for adults as much as it is suited to children. ENJOY!

Size: 5

Banshees, Chrystal Balls and Shadowquakes...Oh My! - VELVETEEN - Review

Title: Velveteen

Author: Daniel Marks

Release Date: October 9th, 2012

Format/Page Count: E-ARC/464 pages

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Purchased: NOT purchased--From NetGalley

Available for PRE-ORDER at Amazon: Pre-Order

Synopsis:  

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It'll be brutal . . . and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: Another Twitter book. All my recommendations come from Twitter these days. Following Daniel Marks through Twitter, and on Youtube, made me want to read this book. He has a great sense of humour and I figured when mixed with horror, that it would be a winning combination. HIGH expectation!

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Horror (I want to list a few more genres here...as it was so much more than horror...but horror it definitely was.)

Review:

How do I begin? First off, about the synopsis...it's just a little misleading. Bonesaw is AWESOME. And Velvet most assuredly has plans in her afterlife journey to make the despicable Bonesaw’s life a living hell. Don’t get me wrong. But this is only a side-plot in a most bodacious story about an incredibly built world living parallel to our own. PURGATORY is about to get into a kick-ass melee that can either spell the end of Earth, or, if Velvet Monroe has her way, the end of a few ill-meaning revolutionaries!

So, yes, Bonesaw is a focal point in Velvet’s story. Absolutely! And a fine one, at that. He’s a menacing serial killer with a penchant for cheese graters and knives. He’s a horror-ific delight! And Velvet secretly traipses between purgatory and our world with malignant intent in order to make Bonesaw suffer, while at the same time attempting to rescue his potential victims. And this is a wonderfully delightful plot-line in Velveteen.

But there is SO much more going on! And it is good. It is fantastic. Purgatory’s inmates are getting restless. They mean to invade our world and takeover our bodies. They mean to live again. Forever. As the revolution winds up, Velvet is in the forefront of the fight against it. This angry little girl is most assuredly spurred on by the passion built out of her life being stolen from the wicked, wicked man she calls Bonesaw (Fantastic name, by the way!). The injustice done to her makes her the queen of her peers. Her team is the best at what they do. And what they do is cross between that loosely veiled world of purgatory into ours…and save souls. So when Purgatory residents decide to invade Earth and live anew, it is Velvet who steps up to the plate to put a wrench in their works.

When certain evil elements in Purgatory plan an exodus, all hell breaks loose. Bitchy, loveable Velvet and her kickass team of avengers will do whatever it takes to put an end to the uprising. This is what Velveteen is really about. The fact that Velvet’s own dispute with Bonesaw is interwoven into this fantastical story is just pudding on the cake. Er…or icing on the whipped cream. Er…or the reader having their cake and eating it too.

Oh, what a wonderfully delightful read this was! I can’t say much more without giving away what happens, but I will say this: DANIEL MARKS is a king of description and detail and world-building! I SAW Purgatory…in all its wondrous, shabby, darkly festive glory! I saw it! He did such a wonderful job creating this world…it makes me want to call VELVETEEN a dystopian, but of course Purgatory is just an ethereal curtain away from our own world. At the onset of Velveteen our world is still in one piece, so a dystopian Velveteen is not.

Ooh…the graphic violence so well told in this tale! Truly a delight. The sassiness that is Velvet. The show-offy hotty, Nick, who was her forbidden love interest. The children sidekicks—the adorably hostile Luisa and her cranky, gas-addicted brother Logan. It was all a delight. Marks is a master at what he does. Velveteen was exquisite with humour and horror and romance and grit. This is a MUST read.

Velveteen truly is an extravaganza. The whole time I ‘walked’ the streets of Purgatory, I silently prayed that TIM BURTON would not only pick this book up…but fall in love with it. Dear Mr. Burton…please use your movie magic to recreate the splendidly frolicking world of Purgatory on the big screen. I’m begging you!

Expectation: MET. SURPASSED. CRUSHED. Thank you, Daniel Marks...because of you, I can now actually SEE Purgatory. It is a place. And it is fantastic (Ash-drab is a colour).

Size: 5 (1/2)

Daniel Marks – YA Author – Vlogger – Smartass (His words, not mine!)

Daniel Marks – YA Author – Vlogger – Smartass (His words, not mine!)

I recently finished reading VELVETEEN by Daniel Marks. I pre-ordered the print book and grabbed the e-Arc from Net Galley to review. This book blew me away in so many different ways. It was Marks’s humour on both Twitter and his Youtube channel that originally turned me on to him. I’m really happy to report that the same sense of humour can be found within the pages of Velveteen. As much as I was oogied out by the macabre descriptions of such things as corpse reanimations and the horrid and terrible things a certain dark character named Bonesaw did to innocent young girls, there was such a great voice in Marks’s writing—a voice of humour, bravado, confidence, playfulness. There is romance, horror, comedy and mystery in Velveteen. You’ll fall in love with sassy/funny/taking-care-of-business Velvet and the hunky soul, Nick, whom she rescues early on in the story. Watch as they work to save the world from a repugnant child killer who thinks a cheese grater is a wonderful implement of torture. Watch as they attempt to save Purgatory from an uprising and an Exodus. Watch them do these things while they find themselves in the midst of a budding—and forbidden—romance. This story has everything! As much as a book filled with horror and the horrific could be a delight, it was ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL! This is not my review (review will be posted in a few days). (-: Just an introduction to the author.

Velveteen was simply epic! It comes out this fall from Delacorte. I’m asking you today to either pre-order it OR mark your calendars to purchase it upon its release. You won’t be disappointed.

Want to learn more about Daniel Marks? You can find him here on YOUTUBE, where he vlogs quite regularly. Make sure to follow him on TWITTER, also. And if you have any questions for him…don’t be afraid to FORMSPRING him! Marks also has a BLOG.

So…go forth! Discover the twisted, dark and hilarious world of this delightful new writer!

 

We Were Here - Review

Title: We Were Here

Author: Matt de la Peña

Release Date: October 13, 2009

Format/Page Count: Kindle ebook/336 pages

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Purchased: Amazon 

Synopsis:  The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.

When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home—said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can’t even look at him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live.

But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting to the border to where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother. Forget himself.

Life usually doesn’t work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you’re running from. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: My expectations for this book were high. I just read Mexican WhiteBoy and thought it was amazing. I love this writer's voice...so I was pretty confident I would enjoy We Were Here just as much.

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review:

‘People always think there’s this huge hundred-foot-high barrier that separates doing good from doing bad. But there’s not. There’s nothing. There’s not even a little anthill. You just take one baby step in any direction and you’re already there. You’ve done something awful. And your life is changed forever.’ ~ Matt de la Peña, We Were Here

This is one of the best young adult books I have ever read. Scratch that. This is one of the best books I have ever read.

At the onset of We Were Here, we get acquainted with Miguel, the narrator of the story as he is transferred from juvi to a halfway house. Miguel has a mindset that he has absolutely nothing to lose, and that he will never again have anything to gain. We are aware that he has done a bad thing—a terrible thing—but we are not quite sure what it is. We only know that he never wants to forget the burden of his guilt…that he wants to carry it with him forever and feel the extreme pain of his suffering.

This is the story of three troubled teens. Miguel, Rondell and Mong are a very unlikely trio. Miguel’s first encounter with the other two boys are violent. There is spitting and punching and a painful pinning to the ground. All of these things make the reader think Rondell and Mong will both soon be left in the dust of the story. But they would be wrong. The three eventually devise a plan to escape the halfway house together and make a run for freedom in Mexico.

Once they are out in the wilds of California, and heading for the ocean so they can travel south to Mexico, the story really takes off! Along the way, the reader is treated to a wealth of self-reflection from Miguel’s ongoing journal writing. We discover that he is a compassionate, thoughtful and intelligent young man. And we get to find out the back-stories of each of his traveling companions as Miguel sets off one night by himself to read the boys’ files, which he stole while preparing to leave the halfway house behind him.

It is also Miguel who allows the reader to see the good in the other two boys. Rondell, we are quick to learn, is not a bad kid…but a simple one. He believes in Jesus Christ and puts all his faith into a bible he cannot read but carries around with him all the same. Mong, who appears to be a psychotic hopelessly lost soul, turns out to be an overwhelmingly sad case. Nobody should endure the heartache and soul-breaking that Mong has been through in his young life. When he declares Miguel his best friend, it will baffle both Miguel and the reader…but it is such a pivotal moment in the story. Heartrending.

I love when authors namedrop books. I always have. In We Were Here, Miguel has a penchant for reading. Throughout the course of the story, he spends time with Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The reader cannot help but see Miguel as a modern day Holden, and Rondell as a modern day Lennie. At one point I found myself thinking, ‘Oh please, please, please…mention Camus’s The Stranger. You have to!’ And sure enough, the name was eventually dropped. Miguel’s second travel companion, Mong, is without a doubt Camus’s Meursault! This book is an homage to all three of these wonderful stories, but it is also SO much more than that. It is a story that, in itself, will definitely become a classic.

The potential reader of We Were Here will just have to take my word for it when I say this is one of the best books I have ever read. I don’t want to give away too much of it here. I can only say that it unfolds with a beauty I have not seen in a while. The reader will grow so close to these three boys, they will want to protect them from both themselves and the world around them as they set out on the journey of their lives. The journey they take makes men of boys, and makes each of them realize the wealth they carry inside. Your heart will break and strengthen and break again as you take every step alongside Miguel and his broken friends. And when you hope beyond hope that they do the right thing, they might even hear you.

This was a beautiful story. Be prepared to feel all of the emotions you carry…and some you didn’t know you had. I will be re-reading this every now and again…it’s one of those books you want to hug close to you when you’re finished.

Expectation - I thought Mexican WhiteBoy was a great book. This book...this book! I love it so much. Expectation was annihilated! Matt de la Peña has written the quintessential coming of age book, the quintessential on-the-road book and the quintessential friendship book all in one! It's a must read!

Size: 5 (1/2)

Mexican WhiteBoy - Review

Title: Mexican WhiteBoy

Author: Matt de la Peña

Release Date: August 12, 2008

Format/Page Count: Kindle/258 Pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Purchased: Amazon

NOTE: This author was brought to my attention through BOOKALICIOUS.ORG

Pam posted about Matt's books being removed from the curriculum in Arizona...and she challenged other readers to read Mexican WhiteBoy along with her in April. I took her up on the challenge. (-:

Synopsis:

DANNY’S TALL AND skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. A 95 mph fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it.

But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. And that’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he might just have to face the demons he refuses to see right in front of his face. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: This book sounded interesting, of course. But I didn't have any real expectation. I just thought it was pathetic that it would be removed from a curriculum. I wanted to support the author and send a message to the idiots who 'banned' his books. But I didn't really know enough about it to have any real sense of expectation.

REVIEW:

Before I start in on my gushing for this novel, I wanted to begin by saying that the story TOTALLY snuck up on me. As I was reading about a hitting competition in the beginning of the book, I had no idea how deep the story would go. Initially it was an interesting read, yes...but it suddenly became so much more than I first imagined it would be. It blossomed into such a great coming of age story...filled with wisdom and memorable characters.

Danny moves to National City to spend the summer with his father's family. Danny felt like an outsider at the preppy private school he attended, because he is half-Mexican, but coming to National City, he feels like an outsider because he is half-white. He doesn't speak a word of Spanish. He loves his father's family...almost irrationally. He wants so much to be like them...to be Mexican like them.

Upon Danny's arrival to the neighbourhood, he takes part in a batting competition after being prodded by his cousin Sofia. Sofia is feisty and fiery and she loves her cousin. She protects him in the neighbourhood...sticks up for him when kids ask why Danny doesn't talk.

When Danny shows prowess with a baseball bat, Uno, one of the neighbourhood boys, has a problem with him. Uno doesn't like the competition. He clearly feels threatened, so he pitches Danny a bad ball. Danny struggles to get a piece of the errant pitch and accidentally sends his bat through the air...right into Uno's developmentally handicapped brother's face. Uno's reaction is to break Danny's face open with his fist. This causes Danny to slam his head into the ground.

This is not a great start to Uno and Danny's relationship.

The great surprise I discovered as I continued to read is that these two boys become best friends. The turn in their relationship begins at a local fair, when some of the boys take turns at a pitching cage equipped with a speed gun to measure the speed of a thrower's pitch. Uno's quick switch from bitter jealousy and dislike to admiration of Danny's gift is absolutely transformative.

From this point on in the story, I was delighted by the way the two boys grew their friendship. It was great to see Uno teach Danny to reign in his wild pitches, and to watch the two grow together and take on each other's better qualities. Uno turns out to be the best coach (both life-coach and pitching-coach) that Danny has ever had. And Danny blossoms under Uno's tutelage. His thoughtful inward personality actually seems to wear off on Uno over the course of the novel. It's just a great relationship to witness...well worth reading Mexican WhiteBoy for.

There are some great moments in this book...from the hustling scenes Uno and Danny participate in, to the parties the close-knit group of teens have, to the quiet moments Uno and Danny share at the train tracks.

There is also a LOT of darkness in this story. To begin with, Danny's father is GONE. Just gone. He doesn't know why, but the truth comes out along the way...and it is a truth that initially crushes Danny. It's his passionate cousin, Sofia, who helps him through the difficulty he experiences with this plot-line. Sofia and Uno, who seems wise beyond his years...and is so much more than the bully we thought he was at the beginning of the story.

I won't get into everything that goes on in this story...because it is so worth picking up. I don't want to spoil any more of the surprises that happen along the way. Just go get this book! You won't regret it. But here's a hint...GIVE IT TIME. If you're anything like me, you'll be quietly reading along and suddenly think, 'heh...this is good. This is real good.' It's the first book that snuck up on me in a long time. It starts out quiet, but the ride picks up until you realize you're absolutely 100% hooked in.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone. Matt de la Peña does an amazing job playing with the reader's expectations. Quiet shifts in his characters become explosions on the page. Once you start reading Mexican WhiteBoy, you will fall in love with these strong characters and delight over the way they play off one another.

SIZE: 5

EXPECTATION: Ha! Even after the first few pages, my expectation wasn't that extreme. And then the shifts began and my love for the story grew and grew. I want to thank Pam from Bookalicious for turning me on to this author. I will be picking up more of his books! It's safe to say my expectations were blown out of the water.

AND Special Message to Arizona, who removed Matt's books from their curriculum: SHUT UP! This is a brilliant relationship book...a great book about friendship. I can't see anything inappropriate with it. It's been called anti-white...just ridiculous. It sounds like another case of book banning by people who didn't bother opening the book and reading it.

 

Split - Review

Title: Split

Author: Swati Avasthi

Release Date: March 2, 2010

Format/Page Count: Kindle Edition

Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers

Purchased: From Amazon, after reading a review. I missed this title on its release year. I was so glad to have found a review by teacher/blogger Sarah Anderson, who I follow on Twitter. Again...another title discovered through Twitter. It now creates my TBR list. Thank you, Sarah at YA LOVE BLOG!

Synopsis: (From Goodreads) Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.At least so far.Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. First-time novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split—how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.

Expectation: High. I liked the YA Love Blog review so much, I Kindled Split the second I finished reading the review. I was extremely interested to see how this novel about physical abuse in the home played out.

Market/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Review:  

"Fightology Lesson #8: Relax when the hits are coming because it hurts less."

This book is nothing short of phenomenal! As we are introduced to our narrator, Jace Witherspoon, he is travelling from Chicago to Albuquerque---in search of shelter and sanity. Jace is one of the strongest characters I have come across in quite a long time. I don't say this because he only makes great choices and he's a natural hero. I say this because he is breathtakingly honest when it comes to his flaws. His brokenness and his vulnerabilities make him a hero to readers.

Jace comes to Albuquergue to find his older brother, who fled their abusive home years before him. But Christian has made a new reality for himself. He put himself through university, has a new life and a girlfriend, and he's changed his last name to erase the past he fled. He is less than welcoming when Jace shows up at his doorstep with his face smashed in and no place to go.

Christian's girlfriend, Merriam, who is also a teacher, was a wonderful calming character in the midst of the chaos. After getting over the initial shock of Jace's presence, Merriam was the mediator between Christian and Jace. Though Jace took quite a while to warm up her, he eventually liked her 'meddling' and concern.

I could not believe the raw honesty of this book. I was compelled to read on and on...like one is compelled to rubberneck as they drive by the scene of an accident. Jace's honesty is so brutal; not only when he's talking to others, but also when he is internally ruminating. It's fascinating to see him come to terms with the physical abuse he fled and the heavy secrets he carried away with him. He is determined to become a new person--one who looks and acts nothing like his father--yet feels somehow stuck in the role in which he senses he belongs. This is the reason he can't quite allow himself to get close to Dakota, the girl who helps him get a new job in a bookstore in Albuquerque.

With Merriam's gentle persuasions, the brothers begin to form a new kind of reality. Christian, though, is unwilling to talk about the beatings he took from his father. Christian has truly put the past behind him. In his new life, the old life just did not happen. The wall he built for himself begins to crumble, though, with Jace's arrival into his carefully crafted life.

Avasthi has woven a remarkable story of physical abuse in a family setting. Not only that, she has perfected the relationship of brothers flung into this terrible reality. The guilt, the silence, the covering up and the taking on abuse for others. Everything is just so real that it splits you down the middle. It was such an emotional rollercoaster of a read. I couldn't read it fast enough. There was so much riding in the balance. The highest stakes, for this reader, was the relationship between the brothers. Such an important relationship, that of siblings. I had to find out if Christian and Jace would make it. I needed to know.

I really don't want to give too much away. Buckle up, because this is a ride you have to take. It's a serious and believable ride. One that will let you see exactly what goes on behind the closed doors of a house ruled by the iron fist of an abusive parent/spouse. You have to read Split.

SIZE: 5

This book exceeded my expectations. The honesty of the story--the realistic portrayal--blew me away. I'd say it is a MUST read.