YA Recommendations Part One

Hello! Today I am recommending YA books. I will state what I like about the book and what I didn't like about it. These are arranged in random order.

Calvin is a book about a kid whose diagnosed with schizophrenia, Calvin (the kid), decides the best way to deal with this is to cross Lake Erie in January, to find the creator of Calvin and Hobbes who has become a hermit. 
The author sucks you into Calvin's mind, where it all make sense. Calvin's hallucinations make sense, joyriding in cars on frozen Lake Erie makes sense, Hobbes (like Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes) is alive, real, and hungry. It all makes sense. 
This book mentions quite a bit of stuff from Calvin and Hobbes, so it's best to read after reading Calvin and Hobbes. 
Author: Martine Leavitt 
Rating: Four stars

Turtles All The Way Down is about Aza. This book focuses on three things a) the disappearance of a billionaire, b) Davis Pickett, because this is a John Green novel, and c) Anxiety and mortality. 

This book also sucks you into the mind of Aza, and John Green did such a good job with the anxiety this book will literally make you anxious, warning. 

Plus Daisy, Aza's best friend , is complete nerd. Five hundred percent. Not only is she a fanfiction writer, she speaks the language of the Wookies. 

This book is so delightfully weird, fortunes are left to reptiles, people speak Wookie, and somehow the main characters end up getting years worth of coupons. 

Author: John Green

Rating: Five stars

Eleanor and Park is..I don't know how to describe it. But it's a masterpiece and you should read it. 

It takes place in the 80s and it seems so much like a time machine.

It is a romance that you will most likely enjoy even if you do not like romances.

It will make you cry...probably.

Eleanor and Park's friendship (yes they can be friends and dating) is based around comics and music, unlike other characters in romance novels, who are dating but barely know each other.

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Rating: Five stars

What are you waiting for? Go read these amazing books! 

-Sarah

The True, You Can't See The Elephants Book Mini Review.

A while ago I posted a rant on a book I found about child abuse. It didn't really count as a review, so today I (mini) review You Can't See The Elephants. 
I didn't add that many more points but I decided it would be better than reading a rant.

"When thirteen-year-old Mascha is sent to her grandparents' for the summer, she spends her days bored and lonely at a nearby playground. There she meets Julia and Max, two young siblings who are incredibly shy and withdrawn. Mascha soon begins to suspect that they are being physically abused by their father, a prominent member of their small community. She tells her grandparents and the authorities, but they all refuse to believe her."

PROS OF THIS BOOK

-Not many middle grade books deal with child abuse.

-Julia and Max's response was believable.

CONS OF THIS BOOK

-Mascha literally tells everyone she knows. Now, they've always know that Julia and Max are abused, but none of them want to do anything about it. 

-Mascha is left with no other choice but to kidnap Julia and Max (according to the book)

-You don't root for Mascha, Mascha causes the effect like when you're reading a book where the protagonist is an antihero. 

-Sarah

Poems

Poems. 

1/17/2018

If this was a book

I would be walking towards the front

Yellow ball in hand

Sidestepping, dodging every throw,

Throwing, and watching it soar up ahead

Too high to catch,

before falling down and hitting someone

The best player on the team, cheers for me, etc, etc.

But this isn't a book.

And I watch the ball tumble down towards the ground,

Bouncing once around sneakers, before rolling

Rolling into the wall, where someone picked it up.

There were no throws for me to dodge, no throws for me to catch.

Everyone knows I am too weak to pose a target.

1/20/2018

People are like apples.

This one is green.

This one is red.

One is sour one is sweet.

But not all green are sour.

Not all red are sweet.

And upon peeling the apples there is no difference.

We just say there is.

3/22/2018

The blue pawn stood before the red queen

Ready to swoop

But the blue pawn hesitated

So the red queen went in

And the blue pawn was dead.

This was not the time for mercy

Cried the fallen

The red queen advanced farther into the battlefield.

Where the red queen stood, and the blue queen stood.

Though there was no movement to attack.

So the red queen struck, and the blue queen fell.

But as the blue queen's body tumbled,

The calls of reality sounded.

And the like-gods walked away.  

3/22/2018

To be against

Is to look upon a human face

And decide they are no more than that word,

That that one word defines them, summarizes them

That that word is all you need to know

(Last line in progress) 

-Sarah

You Can't See The Elephants: A Very Ranty Review.

I can't believe this. This is sick. 

You Can't See The Elephants is a book about child abuse. This contains spoilers. Also, this isn't a review, but more of a rant. 

MAIN CHARACTERS: Mascha, who deserves a ten year prison sentence. 

So, Mascha meets these kids, Julia and Max, and Mascha learns that they are being beaten by their parents. Everyone Mascha tells doesn't listen, so she kidnaps Julia and Max. 

Kidnaps.

K i d n a p s . 

K i d n a p s . 

Mascha leads Julia and Max to an abandoned 1 room house in the middle of the field, and locks them in.

She comes back three hours later to screaming. Julia screaming.

"What I saw in the two eyes was incredibly different-it was flat-out rage." -Mascha

"Where were you? Where did you go, wherewereyouwherewereyou!" -Julia

"Your mother had to go to the hospital. ------------- And your dad asked me to look after you. You can't come to my grandparent's becuase they are not here right now, so you have to stay here" -Mascha

This is a one room house with no food, no water, no toilet. Julia is nine, Max is seven. 

"She screamed and she screamed and she screamed, she screamed everything out. "I want to get out of here!" she yelled. " I want to get out of here now, let me out! She ran around the room like a crazy person, trampling the games and the sweets and the greasy plates. "Mascha!" she screamed. "You stupid cow, you stupid stupid cow. Why are you keeping us here?" She rattled the door and the grate on the window, but they didn't give, and Julia just got angrier. "We stink, can't you smell it? We're sweaty and filthy and there's no bathroom. Do you realize how horrible this is? What have we ever done to you?"" 

"You don't understand anything! I was trying to save you, don't you get that you crappy little monsters?"-Mascha

Even though Mascha faces a consequence for her actions (everyone rightfully hates her and is convinced she will kidnap their children), it doesn't feel right. It feels like Mascha isn't guilty or regretful, she's happy because Julia and Max are now out of their abusive home. The only time she shows any sign of regret is when she sees a newspaper saying the following, along with saying what Mascha did:

"As if nothing had happened; the young kidnapper and her family enjoying a cup of iced tea in their garden." 

-Sarah

Completely Unrelated Books Review (Calvin, A Taxonomy of Love, and Symptoms Of Being Human)

Hi! I'm back! Yes, I realize I haven't posted in a month. I'm sorry. Now let's get on with the post. Today, like always* I am reviewing books. Unfortunately, this time there is no obvious title I can use to relate Calvin, A Taxonomy Of Love, the Illustrated Man, and Symptoms Of Being Human. Because unlike last time, where I could somewhat relate the books, this time? Nope. 
Semi-Related-ness: Bent Not Broken isn't focused on mental health...kinda? It covers brain damage, mental health, siblings, and divorce? Shooter is about...plot twists.

Surprisingly, there isn't a lot I can say about this book. It didn't have a lasting effect on me, or show me the secrets of the universe. It is..odd. It has the writing style of a letter for thoughts, and the writing style of a movie script for dialogue. Think The Cursed Child style, except everything that isn't talking has been replaced by a letter to the author of Calvin and Hobbes.
Oh, yeah. This book becomes a lot better if you have read the Calvin and Hobbes comics. There's lots of references to scenes, that you most likely will not get if you have not read Calvin and Hobbes.
Also it centres** around Calvin and Hobbes so much, I have no idea how it got past copyright laws. The main characters are Calvin, Hobbes, and Susie, though 1/3-2/3 of those characters are hallucinations. 
Hallucinations? Right, Calvin is a seventeen year old with schizophrenia. He has been recently diagnosed, and since the reappearance of the tiger plush named Hobbes(of course) signaled the beginning of his schizophrenia, he decides the best way to become healthy is...

Question: Do GIFs have sound? 

To cross Lake Erie in the middle of January, to meet up with Bill Watterson (who has become a hermit) so Bill will draw him healthy and Hobbes-less. 

Yeah. Yet...Calvin never thinks of this as a bad plan, the way someone else would. It makes perfect sense to him. That's the perfect thing about this book: Hobbes is real and hungry, the plans make sense, and the hallucinations make sense. It is my favourite thing about this book, that (like the book says) it is real. But (as the book also says) is it true?

Oh and Susie is coming with him. It's very mysterious. Is Susie a hallucination? Is she going to die? 

PROS

-Very suspenseful

-Somewhat bizarre (joyriding with cars, on the frozen Lake Erie)

-What is real vs what is true?

-What I think is good representation of schizophrenia?

CONS 

-No lasting effects

-Is written from the future***

COS (con pros)

-Has a movie script style

-Calvin and Hobbes references

This book is great to read if you need blog post. That's not sarcasm, trust me. Thanks to this book, I have been inspired to write a blog post on what not to do in your YA novel.
I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, there were some...issues. These issues include: too much crammed into the book, out-of-character moments, and characters built purely to keep Spencer and Hope apart. 
I think a lot of the problem was that this book takes place over the course of six years, and things have been chosen to be left out of the book. That's fine. I don't want to know every detail of Spence's life. But it is incredibly annoying when you market a book as dealing with racism, even though the only part about racism in the book is three sentences. Examples: Girl doesn't get chosen to do something because of her race. Girl mentions it to MC. Girl says she's going to fix it. Nothing else is said. Was it fixed? I don't know, clearly it wasn't deemed important. Do you know the solution to that? To not market this as a book that deems with racism. 
I really need to do an in-depth post to this. Some of the stuff contain massive spoilers. 
PROS
-Spencer has Tourette's Syndrome
-Might teach people about taxonomies, and how you can use them in everyday life?
CONS
-Out of character moments
-Some characters seem like obstacles rather than characters
-"Wait what that is creepy how could you just put that aside" moments
-Takes place over six years
-Kidnapping 
Moving on. 

This book seems to cross the not-so-fine line between fiction and non-fiction. That line is a mile wide, in fact. But this book seems less what you want to read if you're looking for story, and more what you what to read if you want information on trans people. 

My favorite parts of the book were Riley's blog posts (on a site that is clearly Tumblr). Because Riley is a good writer. Jeff Garvin? Eh. Because while Jeff Garvin wrote Riley's blog post, I prefer Riley's writing style. Makes sense, right? Probably not. 

Also how did Riley become internet famous in a month? This blog has been open months and I am still not famous. 
PROS
-Book about a gender fluid character
-Very informative

CONS
-Slow sometimes
-Strange writing style

And that's it for this post!

-Sarah

*But not always because soon I will post about writing!
**Why on earth does this program hate British spelling?
***This is good sometimes, bad other times, mostly because you know the main character lives.