Broken Soup
Jenny Valentine
Part mystery, part love story, Broken Soup is not the average “my brother died and now my family is falling apart” novel. Sure, Jack died unexpectedly, and now Rowan is left as the primary caregiver to younger sister Stroma because their mom just lies in bed all day and their dad has moved out of the house. But the two girls are hanging on alright for now.
What makes this story so intriguing is how it all begins: a strange teenage boy – a cute, interesting, strange teenage boy – hands Rowan a negative of a picture telling her that she had dropped it. Rowan’s never seen it before, but her new friend Bee encourages her to see what’s on it. When she develops the picture she sees her brother smiling back at her. Through the hardships of grief, Rowan learns how the good is intertwined with the bad, how coincidences don’t always mean anything but sometimes they can mean everything, and how you sometimes have to open up your heart in order to be able to receive gifts in the most unexpected ways.
The twists and turns, especially toward the end of the novel, may not necessarily agree with the most discerning or realistic reader, but the emotional connections of the characters help to take readers’ minds off the need focus too much on the details. Recommended to readers looking for a touch of mystery with their angst, plus a dose of a really awesome crush.
Ship Breaker
Paolo Bacigalupi
Scavengers are poor and desperate. They need to keep hunting for the next profit of goods that translate into wealth just to stay fed and sheltered. They form bonds for survival.
Along the gulf coast, at Bright Sands Beach, Nailer works with a crew of scavengers, pulling copper wire to make quota for the bosses to hand up to the big companies like General Electric, Patel Global Transit, and FluidDesign. When Nailer makes it out of an oil drum alive, despite being left for dead by a crewmate, he’s nicknamed “Lucky Boy,” even though his wounds only prove that he’s lucky he wasn’t left for worse. Still he survives that and, with the help of Pima and her mother Sadma, he and his dad also survive the storm that rips apart their beach that night. Lucky, indeed. On a rare day off following the storm, Pima and Nailer take advantage by exploring a bit, looking for some good scavenge. What they find is the wealthiest clipper they’ve ever seen, shipwrecked and forcefully abandoned. And what they find on the ship — the young, beautiful, rich, troubled, barely alive daughter of the owner of Patel Global — is what turns out to be the beginning of a horrific adventure.
This is a dark tale of survival — of nature, economics, social, and self. It’s incredibly written and the characters are unforgettable in their realness and complexity. Recommended to older readers with a stomach for violence and a curiosity for adventure. This title was recognized by the American Library Association as the winner of the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Read it.
Taken
Norah McClintock
Steph has never been content living in the small town that she and her parents moved to a few years ago. Two years ago her dad died in a car accident, and now her mom is dating Gregg and things for Steph have just felt worse and worse. She and her mom fight a lot — mostly about Gregg — and she doesn’t have too many friends. She even lost her Grandfather shortly after being able to spend an entire summer with him learning about the woods, nature, and survival. As if things weren’t annoying enough, now her mom is being overprotective since two young girls have been kidnapped and one has been discovered murdered right outside of town. Everyone is worried about a serial killer. Steph wasn’t worried until she was walking home alone at the end of a the day and felt an arm come tightly around her body, hand tightly over her mouth.
Waking up with her hands and feet tied together in an abandoned shed in the middle of the woods was probably the scariest moment of Steph’s life. But now she must fight her way out of the unknown woods, escape her kidnapper, and frantically avoid being the serial killer’s next victim. After a history of running away, will anyone be looking for her? Will anyone believe who took her or where she’s been? Recommended especially to reluctant readers and anyone looking for a quick suspenseful read!
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: katethelibrarian.blogspot.com
President, NJLA Young Adult Section