Refresh, Refresh by Danica Novgorodoff
As in times past, many teenage boys are growing up without dads. Refresh, Refresh illustrates the lives of three boys who are waiting for their dads to come home, hoping that the military and the war doesn’t swallow their families whole. Gordon, Cody, and Josh are three friends whose dads are all in the Marine reserves, away at war. The boys try hard to act like men complete with fist fights, whiskey, and older women, but don’t yet know how to grow up, illustrated clearly by their unwillingness to let go of war games, stuffed elephants, and sleigh rides in the snowfall. They have to survive with limited communications with the men they admire, through tough times at home with the families they are trying to help support, and despite the frustration of not knowing what to do with the rest of their lives, looking towards a future over which they seemingly have no control.
It is unclear whether this graphic novel speaks for or against military enlistment. Gordon, Cody, and Josh struggle daily with how they can spend their days making their fathers proudest, and spend most of their time unhappy. And yet, the boys stick together through their hardest days, no matter what. This story should remind readers that it isn’t for us to judge how another behaves to survive. Recommended to older teen readers. This graphic novel is brief but intense.
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
Another novel about a girl who just doesn’t fit in. But, no really, Jessie doesn’t fit in at all: she’s obsessed with math and pretty much likes to study, period; she makes her own skirts, has enough to wear a different one every day, and sometimes they have themes, like fabric with pencils and rulers appropriate for the first day of school; she has a budding rock star brother which only helps to make her look more lame; and her best friends have suddenly become completely different people. When Dottie Bell starts striking up conversations with her in study hall, Jessie is terrified for her struggling reputation because Dottie is definitely uncool. But, of course, Jessie is intrigued by Dottie’s personality and interests, and since her own life and relationships are a mess, she finally decides to join in a social gathering with Dottie and her group of friends: Dungeons and Dragons, a role-playing game for true geeks, according to everyone who isn’t a geek. What Jessie finds among this new group of friends is pure joy, confidence, and a complete disruption of stereotypes.
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder stays true to a teenager’s heart and is never too serious or predictable. Recommended to all readers, though the romantic situations might appeal more to girls.
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Oh Carter, wants so badly to be ready for high school, and especially for high school girls. He’s a virgin — bummer! — and he desperately wants to be able to at least speak to girls without stuttering, without tripping over his own feet, and without getting so distracted by their bodies (or a fly on the wall). Beginning a few weeks before his starting as a high school freshman and following him through the first year, Carter struggles to figure out how to be a successful high school man. Instead, he provides the reader with a string of hysterical situations including his first date, Taco Bell, ripped pants, X-rated video tapes, first kisses, and theater productions. Boys and girls — those who have experienced high school and those approaching “the best years of their lives” with anticipation — will find Carter, EJ, Abby, and Amber’s antics hilarious, over and over again. As an added bonus, the audio version of this title presents one of the greatest voices in teen literature.
Recommended to every single high school reader that can get their hands on a copy of this title in print, on CD, on Playaway, or through downloadable audio. Just get this story in your head.
Reviews by:
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