The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
This Newbery Award winner tells the fascinating tale of Nobody Owens. Bod has spent his entire childhood living in a graveyard, raised and loved by ghosts, and watched over by guardian Silas, a man neither alive nor dead. While desperate to see more of the world, venturing beyond the graveyard poses a threat to Bod because it is only in the graveyard that he is protected from the man Jack, who is responsible for murdering Bod’s family. Bod outgrows friend after friend (children in the graveyard never get older) and he fails to keep himself invisible from outsiders (though he does know how), leaving him feeling out-of-place both in and outside the graveyard gates. Scarlett helps him to feel real, and she also is as interested as he is in the man Jack who killed his family and who threatens to finish the job by killing Bod, too. Interestingly enough, the man Scarlett meets one day in the graveyard, Mr. Frost, is also interested in the story of the murders that took place inside the house in which he now resides. What could possibly happen to Bod, a boy who isn’t afraid to die, but really, really wants to live?
Recommended to middle grade readers, as well as to all those with a flair for the dramatic, the mysterious, and the entertaining! The illustrations in the print book add flair to this intriguing story, and the audio version, read by the bestselling author, is completely compelling.
Ostrich Boys
Keith Gray
Blake, Sim, and Kenny can’t believe that Ross is dead. They also can’t believe the sham of the funeral that his parents gave him, complete with every loser from school who never even cared about Ross while he was alive. So — after some graffiti retribution on the homes of a select few — the trio decided to honor Ross with the funeral he deserves. Ross always wanted to travel from his English hometown to Ross, Scotland because “[h]e thought it would be cool to be Ross in Ross.” All the boys have to do is figure out how to steal Ross’ ashes (without getting in trouble) and travel a day there and a day back (with one map and not a lot of money. And without getting into trouble). What the boys don’t bet on is getting caught out so quickly, the cops, girls, or Ross’ own secrets to interfere with their plans. But they also weren’t counting on motorbikes, girls, or even really each other to help them get from Point A to Point B in the end. It isn’t all about where you wind up, but what you learn from the journey.
This isn’t a typical road trip novel. It’s also not a guy’s guy book. But it certainly is an exploration of the unexpected and the unspoken. Recommended to all high school readers who like their books with a twist, a heartbeat, and an adventure.
How I Made It to Eighteen
Tracy White
Tracy White tells the semi-autobiographical account of what landed her in a mental hospital at seventeen years old. In words and pictures, in honest graphic novel format, the emotions and thoughts of Stacy Black are laid out and pulled apart. It is both a portrayal of a confused teenager who feels less-than-perfect around her friends, her family, and her emotionally abusive boyfriend, as well as that of a strong woman learning to survive her own emotions and addictions. Much of the story is told from Stacy’s own perspective, but the reader also gets feedback from Maria, a childhood friend with little connection to Stacy now; Violet, a recovering alcoholic who was Stacey’s boarding school roommate; Lola, a friend from middle school with similar issues and ways of thinking; and Ashley, a depressed teenage girl assigned to the same house in the mental hospital. Everyone seems to have a slightly different image of Stacy — including Stacy — but there are positive and negative connections among them all that resonate with the reader.
Tracy White’s story is honest and engaging and recommended to most older teen readers, especially those fascinated by the struggles of addiction and depression.
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Katherine Vasilik, Teen Librarian
Franklin Lakes (NJ) Public Library
tel: 201-891-2224 x105
fax: 201-891-5102
email: vasilik@bccls.org or kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com
blog: http://katethelibrarian.blogspot.com