The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything, Robyn Schneider. New York: HarperCollins Publishers/ Katherine Tegen Books, 2013. e-book, 263 pps. including preview of another book.

Ezra Faulker was one of the cool kids in his high school. He was a tennis champ and therefore a higher-order jock. The crowd he hung around with didn't include his former childhood friends, including his former best buddy Toby.

But alas, there was a bad car accident. Ezra wound up hurt badly and was still attending physical therapy sessions and occasional trauma sessions with a trauma shrink of sorts. So high school has changed. The jocks and Ezra inhabit two different parts of the world now. Even the last girlfriend wound up with a different fellow-- one of his jock buddies.

Through a series of mishaps and coincidences [Yes folks, there really are coincidences], Ezra was thrown back into Toby's orbit and onto the debate team. The new girl by name of Cassidy also was added to the debate team roles. She didn't want this.

And some other stuff happened.

sapphoq reviews says: Robyn Schneider did a fantastic job of depicting the various cliques and factions in a typical American high school. Description of various neighborhoods in the area also seemed to be realistic to me. Toby's seventh grade event was grossly enjoyable. The Beginning of Everything depicts a high school boy who must find new reasons for being. I liked the book. Recommended.

There is some teen sex and groping, under-aged drinking, unsupervised parties, and a sort of suicide. Parents who object to these things may not want their teens reading this book.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Asylum, Madeleine Roux. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. e-book, 216 pps.

Some teens labeled as gifted descent upon a college in New Hampshire for a summer program. They stay in a dorm building which used to be an asylum. Three of them become pals. Daniel is described in the book as being anxious and was given the label of "mild dissociative disorder." Jordan is a gay teen who is supposed to be somewhere else. Abby is an artist. They explore the warden's office on the first floor of the building and find other hidden stuff there.

sapphoq reviews says: I was dismayed by the label of "mild dissociative disorder." It seemed not to fit the story as it was told. I think it might have been better to use the words "fugue states" and to explain to the [probably mostly teen] readers what that is.

Asylum started off slowly. I didn't really get interested until the trio began their extended exploration of the secret rooms. Until that point, I was forcing myself to stick with the book. The ending was somewhat predictable. I would have liked also for the characters of Daniel's roommate and the history professor to be fleshed out a bit more. 

The old photos were pretty cool but easily located on the internet. 

A disappointing read, even for teens. Skip this.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant, Veronica Roth.  New York:  Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.  e-book, 343 pps.


@VeronicaRoth on Twitter

http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ 


Living in a fishbowl is awkward and can lead to suicide a la Sylvia Plath.  Or it can make you stronger, possibly braver.  Or perhaps your world will implode.  Revolution is composed of blood and guts and ideology.  The rebels know they are not in for a walk in the park or a picnic.  Only fools imagine otherwise.

Allegiant is the third book in the popular Divergent Series written by Veronica Roth.  The factions have been broken apart and the power seat has shifted.  Lovers Tobias and Tris find themselves at the Chicago Airport along with their friends and frienemies Christine, Uriah, Peter, and Caleb.  There are other people there also.  The other people all seem to have important functions in this new temporary holding place.  Outside the airport, danger lurks.  Inside is not really any safer.

The airport has been reworked into a patrol station and genetics laboratories.  D.N.A. has been unraveled and those with superior genes are endeavoring to fix the mess that is the United States since the Purity Wars.  Tobias/Four is haunted.  By today's standards, some clinician would diagnose P.T.S.D. and offer him drugs and some kind of therapy.  Nothing of the sort exists.  There is only the promise of love and some sort of freedom to sustain him.  But it may not be enough.  It takes extraordinary courage and bravery to truly let go of old dreams and move forward into the unknown.

sapphoq reviews says:  The explanations about the genetics behind the divergent series in Allegiant may be tedious to those who are not science-minded and not expansive or precise enough to satisfy the fans of hard sci-fi.  There is however, much for the geek to love about the series and this book.  Because a revolt is in progress, blood and guts and battle-cries echo throughout Allegiant.  Plenty of action and trickery abound.  Allegiant is a deeply satisfying and unsettling read.  The entire series is highly recommended to those who love an intricate plot and lovers of dystopian fiction. 

Born at Midnight by c.c. hunter

Born at Midnight, C.C. Hunter.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011.  e-book, 288 pps.

@CCHunterBooks on Twitter;  http://www.cchunterbooks.com/

Born at Midnight is first in a series written by c.c. hunter.  In the tradition of Rick Riordan, c.c. hunter's novel focuses on the journey of one teen, Kylie Galen, to find her true self in the midst of so many lies.  Kylie, much to her horror, finds herself on a bus being sent to a camp for troubled teens.  Only the camp and the campers are not what they appear to be.

The "trouble" is not of the typical adolescent variety.  The campers are different.  They are vampires, witches, werewolves, fae.  And unknown.  Kylie is the Unknown one.  As such, she initially feels left out by even the teens at the camp.  There is a director who counsels Kylie through her difficulties, some fine cute teen boys, a bit of danger, ghosts, distant relations, a really pissed off lion, and a cute kitten.  The end leaves the reader hankering for more.

I could not help myself.  When at the bookstore this past Saturday, I read all of the other books in this series too. 

sapphoq reviews says:  Good:  Born at Midnight was the correct length to tell the story it told.  [So were the other books].  Bad: Holiday's counseling sessions with Kylie had too much of a feel of therapy for my liking.  Good: Kylie's two friends and all of the campers in the books each had a distinct personality.  Bad:  I thought Holiday's co-leader should have been a lesbian and Holiday her bisexual lover.  An opportunity not to cater to assumed heterosexuality was lost.  The teens at the camp by definition a non-mainstream bunch surely must have had a few non-straight kids within.  There seemed to be a bit of time devoted to the idea that teens should wait until marriage before going all the way.  It came off as propaganda rather than a value sincerely held by Kylie.  Good:  The story in Born at Midnight [and in the sequels] kept moving.  The plot and sub-plots were interesting.  The crises were well-thought out and plausible.  The ghosts were believe-able.  The resolution made sense.  Teens and young adults who were bored with all of the Greek gods and goddesses in the Riordan series will like this series better.  Recommended for the teen and young adult reader.

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Sweet Venom, Tera Lynn Childs.  New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2011.  e-book, 231 pps.

Gretchen is a monster hunter and she goes to a public high school in San Francisco.  She is abrupt, proud, and a fighter.
Grace is a geek who just moved to San Francisco.  She goes to a private elite high school.  She is shy, retiring, and quiet.

They meet, and as fate would have it, Gretchen and Grace have quite a bit in common.

sapphoq reviews says:  The monsters were really fun in Sweet Venom.  The monsters were the absolute best part of this book.  The storyline was alright for a young adult novel.  The characters were quasi-teenagerish.  There was no cussing or sordid sex scenes or implied lesbianism in Sweet Venom.  I managed to read through this book but am not planning to buy the rest of the series.  Read it if you can borrow it.  Not too sure it is worth the money.
            

Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield

Drowning Anna, Sue Mayfield. New York: Hyperion, 2001. Small size hardbound, 316 pps.

Set in England, Anna is a new arrival at school where she is befriended and then shunned by most of the other girls in her class. She is outright bullied. No one lifts a finger to help. Hints of anorexia and then a full-fledged suicide attempt take place before Anna's mother determines that her daughter needs her intervention.

sapphoq reviews says: It may be that anorexia and self-injury express themselves differently in England than they do in the U.S. Stateside, anorexia is usually attributed to a sick rebellion against controlling parents; and cutting to trauma whose purpose is to make the cutter feel more or go numb. I give this one a clear miss.