Poison Ink by Christopher Golden

Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
Review by Shelly Burns (Write for a Reader)

Summary
High School is a difficult time for many teens - peer pressure, fitting in, friends, first loves, and all that goes with being a teenager. For the girls in Poison Ink, it’s all of that…the whole high school experience. What do you do when you just don’t fit in? Sammi, T.Q., Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko knew all too well. When you are the loner, you hang with the other loners. None of these girls fit in with any of the other groups at Covington High, so they fit in with each other. They want a symbol of their bond, their friendship; what’s better than a tattoo? That’s exactly what they set out to do one night. They won’t get just any tattoo; they want one that will symbolize their friendship. They decide to go to an out of the way shop - one that won’t ask for parental permission for underage girls who want tattoos. All of the girls except for one, Sammi, go through with the tattoo. What would her parents say? The girls are furious, but before the night’s over, Sammi decides that she will return the next day, by herself to get the tattoo. Does she get it, or is it just airbrushed to appease the other girls?

Now she’s an outcast again, and her best friends turn into strangers. They are doing things they never would have done before: smoking, skipping school, fighting, taunting. During one of their brawls, Sammi tries to get in the middle and break it up only to have them turn and attack her. What does she spy on her friend’s back during the fight? The original tattoo has taken on a new form; it’s grown tendrils and it’s going over the girl’s body. What did the tattoo artist do to her friends and how can she stop it? Will Sammi be able to get her friends back?

My Review
Christopher Golden tells a great story. From the first page to the last, I was hooked! I loved Golden’s characters. The girls were so realistic, the storyline intriguing. You are drawn into the story from the prologue. Funny thing is I figured that the prologue would be an insight into the beginning of the story, but it’s actually taken from the end.

Golden paints such a vivid picture with his words:

“Pieces of her are broken. Every bump or crack in the road jostles her, shooting needles of pain into her skull and back and searing her side where some of her ribs have given away. She breathes through her teeth, and her pain turns into a strange whistling.

A paramedic floats into view above her. With a warm damp cloth, he wipes some of the blood from her face. Twenty-something, skin like mahogany wood, a ridiculously good-looking guy. She feels almost embarrassed to have him looking at her bloody, swollen face.

‘You’re going to be just fine, honey,’ he says.” (taken from the Prologue)

You feel bad for Sammi. She did what any high school girl would do when they know they are out defying their parents. She thought twice about her decision and it cost her the friends she loved.

“The rest of the day Sammi walked the halls of Covington High in a constant state of humiliation…Every glance or whisper troubled her. No matter how she told herself they weren’t talking about her, that a lot of people hadn’t even noticed the way her friends had abandoned her …still she felt exposed.” (p. 89)

When Sammi tries to fix things and the others realize what they had become and how they had acted, you almost feel sorry for them.

“Sammi’s heart broke for her, the horror of it coming to her all at once. What must it have been like to be a passenger in her own body, able to see out through her own eyes, aware of the things that her puppeteer had done to her body?” (p. 252)

Sammi is written as such a strong character, but there are times when I wished she would just “get over herself!” She is smart though. She figures things out and does her best to try to fix what she had a part in creating. She wanted the tattoo and pushed for them all to get them, but not so it would break up their friendship.

I just loved how real the story was. I could see a group of high school girls doing the things these girls do: plotting about getting tattoos behind their parents’ backs, fighting in school, etc. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger than high school students because of some of the actions that the girls take: drug use and foul language, for example. I think that high school students and young adults will enjoy this book. It was an easy and enjoyable read.


What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

Guys Lit Wire (reviewed by Book Chic): "I was seriously on the edge of my seat during the entire second half and couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. " (read more...)

Little Willow: "Poison Ink is one of my favorite books of 2008. I put this book into the hands of teens and adults alike. I feel as though I am introducing a new generation to Golden's works, and that feels great." (read more...)

Mrs. Magoo Reads: "Although there were a few brief disturbing parts (if you get queasy easily you'll probably just want to skip over a few paragraphs), I fully enjoyed the novel, and I really do hope it's made into a movie!"(read more...)


More Info:

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734832
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734837
• Source: Review copy from publisher

Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling

Big thanks to Mary Rowe (The Library Queen) for writing the following review!

Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling

Some mysteries are much like a roller coaster; you get in and hang on while you are taken for a dangerous ride. You are thrown up-side down as you speed along in the dark and are totally terrified before you come to the end of the track. This mystery is not at all like that at all.

Dream Girl is more like a stroll with Robin Leach through the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Along the way pieces of the mystery become known at a leisurely pace. In-between the clues you are entertained by an introduction to lavish living with fascinating and eccentric characters. The mystery is slowly revealed to the heroine and the reader at the same time.

Claire has always thought her dreams were strange, but when her grandmother gives her a cameo necklace her dreams begin to change. As she pays attention to the dreams , they seem to lead only to embarrassment as her sleuthing uncovers nothing. Just as she is about to give up on following the leads in her dreams, Claire's grandmother gives her a few suggestions that help her have more confidence.

The characters in Dream Girl are a lively mix of likeable individuals, dramatic eccentrics and a few unpolished gems. For the most part the characters are fully developed and the relationships ring true.

Kiki, Claire's grandmother is very sophisticated. She lavishes money and clothes on her granddaughter but also seems to honestly enjoy spending time with Claire. Becca Shutterworth's character seems to be revealed gradually almost like a butterfly unfolding its wings for the first time. The reader gets glimpses of Becca that create uncertainty about her personality. When she is finally emerges I felt as if she had become my friend as well as Claire's.

Some characters lacked depth and don't seem to add much to the story line but hinted at having more important roles in possible sequels. Claire's parents (Mom's a writer and dad is a French professor) and their eccentric friends add color to the story but not much else. I wondered if Douglas (college professor friend of Claire's dad) was going to become a stronger character in the plot but all he does if have dinner with Claire and Becca and disappear from the book. In some ways the extra scenes like this added to the mystery because I found myself wondering if this was going to be important incident in the story just like Claire wondered if her dreams were significant.

Becca's brother Andy has a girlfriend named Rye. Rye seems to lack the most development. Readers just don't get enough information about her to make her more than a "stick figure" walking among the more central fleshed out characters. The catty schoolgirls aka "the beatles" didn't gain much affection from me or from Claire and Becca. They seemed to be placed in the story only to detract attention from the real mystery surrounding the Shutterworth family. I found myself wishing they had been given more personality. When they get their "just rewards" from Claire and her friends I felt sorry to see the friends behave unkindly and Claire seemed to have regretted it also.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and while I would not classify it as one of my favorites I did find the time reading Dream Girl enjoyable. I enjoyed the fashion name dropping along with the peek behind the dressing room doors of stores, which unfortunately, will never be graced with my real presence. (I never knew some customers were treated with finger sandwiches and other delicacies while shopping.)

Dream Girl was more of an intriguing situation than a fast paced mystery. But the stroll was lovely.


What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

Liv's Book Reviews: "The writing in Dream Girl might not have been all that wonderful or captivating but the whole mystery of the story and the fun romance between Claire and Andy kept it all moving and left me satisfied. I would recommend Dream Girl as a nice light read along the lines of The Gallagher Girls and The Queen Geek Books..." (read more...)


The Book Muncher: "Dream Girl was definitely a satisfying and thrilling read that I recommend to all readers. Fans of stories with high style, high school, and high mystery will enjoy this novel." (read more...)

YA Book Realm: "It’s a great book to pick up if your looking for action, mystery, and just a touch of romance." (read more...)

Harmony Book Reviews: "The plot of Dream Girl involves so many things that it’s hard to believe it all fits in between the few hundred pages it does. Lauren Mechling has a way with words and she makes that happen, keeping the plot fast-paced and never bogging the read down with details." (read more...)

Abby (the) Librarian: "I would hand this one to middle-school mystery fans who like a splash of the paranormal." (read more...)

In Bed With Books: "I enjoyed DREAM GIRL, but the A-plot doesn’t hold up to any of the subplots. The paranormal element feels extraneous and didn’t seem to add much to the book as a whole. I believe I prefer the 10th-Grade Social Climber books, which Lauren Mechling coauthored." (read more...)

More Info:

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385735219
• ISBN-13: 978-0385735216
• Source: Review copy from publisher
  

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (June 10, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0385734700
ISBN-13: 978-0385734707
Source of book: Review copy from publisher



If there's one book you, your children, and your students should read this summer, it's Shana Burg's debut novel, A Thousand Never Evers.

Set in Kuckachoo, Mississippi in 1963, A Thousand Never Evers is historical fiction told from the point of view of the 12-year-old African American girl, Addie Ann Pickett. Kuckachoo is a town separated by color--"the white side" and "the colored side." Racism runs deep, and the town sheriff may be the biggest racist of them all. When Addie Ann makes fun of a white lady's hat, her brother disappears. On top of not knowing whether or not her brother is alive, an incident with the town garden leaves Addie Ann's Uncle Bump on trial, and Addie Ann must find the courage to save him.

Even though Addie Ann's story is fiction, the novel is interwoven with real incidents, tragedies, and figures from the Civil Rights Movement: the deaths of Medgar Evers and Emmitt Till, the church bombing that killed the four little girls, the struggle for the vote, the ridiculous tests African Americans were required to pass before they could register to vote, the terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan, the downright racism African Americans faced every single day, and more.

Through Shana Burg's powerful and emotional writing, you can feel the fear, the injustice, and even the hope that countless many experienced during this dark time in our country's history.

Here's an exerpt from the day Medgar Evers is killed:

"Now Mama shakes her head like she just can't believe this. Medgar guys' dead and gone. 'Lord, you listen to me,' she says. 'You bless Medgar's hardworking, full-of-courage soul.'

After that, how am I supposed to eat? Hen or no hen, my stomach's knotted up knowing someone can get killed for doing heaps of good." (p. 9)

A Thousand Never Evers is also a coming of age story. We see Addie Ann grow from a girl who didn't really think much about "the movement," to one who matures and fights passionately for justice. Without being "preachy," the book sends the message about the importance of standing up for yourself and those around you, preserving your self worth, having the courage to fight for the truth regardless of how frightening the consequences may be, and not judging people based on their outward appearance.

I give this book my highest recommendation and predict that this will be a front runner for the Newbery Medal.





What Other Bloggers are Saying:

Becky's Book Reviews: "Dignity. Taking a stand. Doing what's right. A Thousand Never Evers is the story of one family's stand--one community's stand to unite for what's right, what's just." (Read more...)

Welcome to my Tweendom: "Brilliantly written, A Thousand Never Evers should have a place in every public and school library. " (read more...)

If you have a review of this book, leave a comment with your link, and I'll post it here. Thanks for reading!

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 208
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (February 12, 2008)




Thus far, I've only reviewed books that I've really liked, so you may be thinking, "does Jill like every book she reads?" Of course not. I've read plenty of children's books I don't like but have decided not to review them because I really didn't think I had much to say except that they were just okay. I lead a team of writers at a communications firm and know how important it is to give constructive feedback to help writers grow. As a writer myself, I know what it feels like to receive wishy-washy, vague feedback. I need to know what needs work so I can improve, make it the best piece possible, and apply the same lessons to my next piece. So, in my opinion, if I read a book and don't have something constructive to say except I didn't like it, that's a useless review. That's why up until now I've intentionally chosen not to review books about which I had mixed feelings.

Last weekend, I read Lurlene McDaniel's new Young Adult novel, Prey, and I DO have something constructive (at least I think so) to say about it. It's a story about a female high school history teacher, Ms. Lori Settles who seduces her teenage student, Ryan Piccoli. We seem to be obsessed with real-life cases like this in this country. Probably the most infamous of these teachers is Mary Kay Letourneau who had two children with her teenage student and ended up marrying him when she finished her jail sentence. And then the 25-year-old teacher Kelsey Peterson made national news back in November when she was caught in Mexico with her 14-year-old student. As a former teacher myself, I am incredulous when I hear stories like this. Questions run through my head: Why would someone in such a professional and influential position do this? What was she thinking? What happened to this woman that would cause her to act this way?

I was naturally intrigued when I received a review copy of Prey. Perhaps this would answer some of my questions and get more into the head of these female predators. Prey alternates between the point of view of three characters: Ryan, Ms. Settles, and Honey, Ryan's longtime friend who is secretly in love with him.

The book gets off to a promising start. We learn from the very beginning that Ryan is intentionally Lori's target. From the very first day of school, she knows that, "he'll be the One" (p. 15). Upon reading this, I felt a chill and was eager to continue reading. However, I felt the seduction happened way too quickly, and Ryan's situation didn't seem realistic. His father is a traveling salesman and is out of town four days of the week. A housekeeper cleans the house, but doesn't live there and hardly pays any attention to Ryan when she is there. It almost seems too easy for Lori to manipulate him and too easy for them to get together.

Writing in first person is challenging and probably one of the most difficult tasks to pull off well. Successfully writing from the first person point of view of multiple characters is extremely difficult (I'm thinking of Faulkner here, who I believe was a master at this). I applaud McDaniel for taking a risk here. I was interested in the relationship between Honey and Ryan and then Ryan and Lori, but McDaniel never really went deep enough with the characters. While Honey's character was needed to describe Ryan's friend's and family's concern about his sudden change in behavior, I often felt she was just an aside, an interrupter of sorts, especially when her chapters disrupted the flow and momentum of the novel.

In addition, at some points, McDaniel didn't seem to capture the teenage voice in a believable way. For example, at one point in novel, Ryan hears that a coach at the school has been asking Lori out. When Lori picks him up for a tryst, he confronts her. Here's how he describes his feelings to the reader, "Rain is pelting the windows, sluicing in long noisy rivers along the glass, like a knife cutting through my heart. The windows are fogged, moist from our breath and the heat of anger. Hot wetness swells behind my eyes. I'm acting like a jerk, but I can't help myself. I have to know the truth about her and Coach" (p. 76).

To me, language like this coming from a 15/16 year old seems inauthentic, while at other times, he's completely thinking like a teenage boy. McDaniel did, however, make Lori Settles seem to be the most authentic and consistent of the characters. We see what's going on in her mind, what makes her tick, and her deliberate plot to seduce him.

Oh, and let me address the white elephant in the room: how were the sexual encounters portrayed? McDaniel tastefully describes the seduction and subsequent encounters. Without going into detail, she leaves much to the imagination and doesn't get too graphic. But don't get me wrong--we are talking about a teacher having sex with a teenage boy. It's in the book, but I was never shocked or offended or thought McDaniel went too far. Given the sensitive subject matter, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you think it's appropriate for your teen, and I would only recommend this for teens.

Overall, Prey was a good story on surface level, but it lacked the depth, consistency, and authenticity that would have made it a great story. McDaniel herself admits in the author's note that this is not typical of her writing, and I commend her for stepping outside of her comfort zone. I also admire her for addressing such a serious issue and hope that teenagers who read the book will be able to spot the warning signs if their friends start to behave differently and secretively.