Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

When the blurb on the back of a book tells you to "Clear some space in your schedule: You won't want to be interrupted as you read this nail-biting drama". You should heed their advice. You should not start reading it at 10 pm when you have to get up early for work the next morning. Okay, I don't know about you, but I really should have known better.

I asked the library to order Life as We Knew It back in October, and it just finally came in yesterday. (I do find it interesting that a book I've been waiting for ages just happens to show up several days after it makes the BBYA list -- especially since the same thing happened with Princess Academy and the Newbery Honor last year... but I digress...)

So, I checked it out last night at work, went home, took a shower, made myself a cup of apple cider, and started reading. Bad idea. At midnight, I figured I should probably go to sleep, so I put the book on my nightstand, lay there for a few minutes, realized there was no way I was going to fall asleep without finishing it, and picked it back up. I was able to finish it by about 1, but then it still took me a little while to get to sleep. So, now I'm at work, and it just happens to be the one day of the week that I work 11 hours... and I'm really tired. But it was so worth it.

Life as We Knew It is written as a series of journal entries, beginning as Miranda is finishing her sophomore year of high school. She writes about her classes, and her grades, and her summer plans, and "that moon thing" that is about to happen.

"That moon thing" is that an asteroid is going to hit the moon -- which, while cool to watch, shouldn't be that big of deal. But the asteroid is more dense than anyone expected, and when it hits the moon, the moon shifts off its axis, causing all sorts of changes on the earth. For example, since the moon controls the tides, almost immediately, there are huge tidal waves covering much of the east and west coast -- the Statue of Liberty even washes out to sea (This is really what freaked me out the most -- since my boyfriend goes to school in New York City).

As soon as this happens, everything changes for Miranda and her family (younger brother Jonny, older brother Matt, and their mother) -- everyone begins stockpiling food, gas prices start sky-rocketing, schools close because they are running out of food to feed the students. And every time they think it can't get any worse, something else happens... keeping Miranda and her family desperately fighting for survival.

What is really scary though, is how suddenly it all happens -- this novel isn't set hundreds of years in the future -- the journal entries have dates, but not years, and Miranda's early journal entries make her seem like an average teenage girl of today. And we know that things like this can happen -- though on a smaller scale -- we've seen what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans, we watched the footage of the Tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand.

And most of us have just enough experience with storms and power outages to have some idea of how this would be. Personally, I remember hurricane Isabel (2003), when we lost power for three or four days, and I had to eat cold ravioli out of a can, and we didn't have air conditioning, and all of the stop-lights were out. And that is absolutely nothing compared to what Miranda goes through -- but remembering it makes it just a little bit easier to imagine her suffering.

Life as We Knew It terrifies me and makes me want to start hoarding canned goods -- but I still loved it and want to recommend it to everyone who might possibly enjoy dystopian or end-of-the-world type fiction. But please, beware, once you start this one, you won't want to put it down.

So Many Books, So Little Time!

So, yesterday, while driving from one library to another (it was my insane 11-hours-of-work day), I saw a bumper sticker that said BBYAMY. And while I eventually figured out that it probably was short for "Baby Amy" -- my first thought was BBYA? That stands for "Best Books for Young Adults" Maybe that's a librarian! Okay, so clearly, I've been spending way too much time reading or blogging and not nearly enough in the real world -- but then, today, the 2007 BBYA list was announced:

The bold ones are the one's I've read -- and the ones in red were cybils nominees in the YA category (I'm guessing that quite a few of the other's were Cybils nominees in the Fantasy/SciFi, Graphic Novels, or possibly even Middle Grade categories). I'm very happy too see all 5 titles from our Cybils shortlist here!. Oh, and the links go to my reviews.

2007 Best Books for Young Adults (according to ALA)

Almond, David -- Clay

Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party. (I will finish it, I promise)

Bondoux, Anne-Laure. The Killer's Tears.

Booth, Coe. Tyrell.

Brooks, Kevin. The Road of the Dead. (on hold at the library)

Budhos, Marina. Ask Me No Questions.

Cohn, Rachel and Levithan, David. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist .

Cornish, D.M. Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling.

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen. (read before beginning this blog)

Eldred, Tim. Grease Monkey: A Tale of Growing Up in Orbit.

Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy. Ed. Sharyn November.

Fletcher, Susan. Alphabet of Dreams.

Frost, Helen. The Braid .

Gantos, Jack. The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. (review sitting in my drafts folder)

Giles, Gail. What Happened to Cass McBride?.

Glass, Linzi Alex. The Year the Gypsies Came.

Going, K.L. Saint Iggy.

Gratz, Alan. Samurai Shortstop.

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines .

Hartnett, Sonya. Surrender.

Hoffman, Alice. Incantation.

Jansen, Hanna. Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You.

Jaramillo, Ann. La Linea.

Johnson, Harriet McBryde. Accidents of Nature.

Johnson, Maureen. Devilish

Knox, Elizabeth. Dreamhunter: Book One of the Dreamhunter Duet (I'll review both when I read Book Two!)

Koss, Amy Goldman. Side Effects.

Krech, Bob. Rebound.

Lanagan, Margo. White Time.

Lansens, Lori. The Girls.

Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky .

Lat. Kampung Boy.

Lisle, Janet Taylor. Black Duck.

Lynch, Scott. The Lies of Locke Lamora.

McCormick, Patricia. Sold.

Miller, Kirsten. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City.

Mitchell, David. Black Swan Green

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen

Murphy, Sean. Off Road.

Myers, Walter Dean. Street Love.

Na, An. Wait for Me.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It. (I really, really, really want to read this, but the library still hasn't recieved it -- I ordered it back in October!!!)

Pierce, Tamora. Terrier.

Portman, Frank. King Dork .

Pratchett, Terry. Wintersmith.

Price, Charlie. Dead Connection

Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life.

Rosoff, Meg. Just in Case .

Sayres, Meghan Nuttall. Anahita's Woven Riddle.

Sedgwick, Marcus. The Foreshadowing. (checked out from the library, haven't read yet)

Selvadurai, Shyam. Swimming in the Monsoon Sea.

Smelcer, John. The Trap.

Stahler, David, Jr. Doppelganger.

Stassen, Jean-Philippe. Deogratias, a Tale of Rwanda.

Sturtevant, Katherine. A True and Faithful Narrative. (review sitting in my drafts folder)

Tharp, Tim. Knights of the Hill Country.

Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia.

Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork. Illustrated by Scott Hunt.

Vaught, Susan. Trigger.

Vizzini, Ned. It's Kind of a Funny Story.

Volponi, Paul. Rooftop.

Vrettos, Adrienne Maria. Skin. (review in my drafts folder)

Werlin, Nancy. The Rules of Survival.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Blind Faith.

Wooding, Chris. Storm Thief.

Woodrell, Daniel. Winter's Bone: A Novel.

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese.

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief.

Non-Fiction

Bausum, Ann. Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement.

Benanav, Michael. Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold.

Engle, Margarita and Qualls, Sean. The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano.

Fleischman, Sid. Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini.

Fradin, Judith Bloom and Fradin, Dennis Brindell. 5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft's Flight From Slavery.

Freedman, Russell. Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Harper, Hill. Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Up before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America.

Hubner, John. Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth.

Jacobson, Sid and Colon, Ernie. The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation.

McClafferty, Carla Killough. Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium.

Noyes, Deborah. One Kingdom: Our Lives with Animals.

Robertson, James I., Jr. Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen.

Thimmesh, Catherine. Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon.

(Apparently, I need to read more Non-Fiction!)

King Dork by Frank Portman

King Dork by Frank Portman

While he was home on "winter break", my boyfriend and I were having a discussion about the books we like to read. Generally, he makes fun of me for reading "teen" books (which, as you know, I do), and I make fun of him for reading "basically-the-same-book-over-and-over-again" (He likes looooonnnnnng epic fantasy series like Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth)*.

He had just finished the Sword of Truth series and I was trying to practice my readers advisory skills on him, so I could find out what he likes about them (hey, a girl sometimes needs gift ideas ;) ), and he started talking about how "real" they are.

Okay, now you're probably thinking what I was thinking -- real? fantasy? Those two words don't normally go together, but in this case what he meant (and I'm paraphrasing here), is that within the fantasy world of the series, everything that happens fits into the reality that the author has created -- that the world, and the characters in it are three dimensional, and so, to the reader, they seem "real".

I realized that in my own reading recently, that quality of "real"-ness to be that one important, indescribable thing that separates a really good book from a book that I absolutely adore.

And I adored King Dork because it was real to me.

I've been thinking about this review for a long time, mainly because some of my fellow cybils committee members strongly disliked it (see Jackie's review here ) -- so I really wanted to justify my love, nay adoration, for this novel.

But I should probably tell you at least a little bit about the basic plot first -- Tom Henderson (also known by a variety of nicknames such as King Dork and Chi-Mo) is your average high-school misfit, highly intelligent, not many friends, we all know the type. His father died when he was very young, his mother has remarried, and he knows very little about his father. He and his best friend, Sam Henderson, are in a band; or rather, they enjoy coming up with band names and album names and song titles and lyrics and hoping that someday they might find an actual drummer.

One day, Tom goes looking in the basement for a copy of Catcher in the Rye and finds, not just a copy, but one that belonged to his father, with something that looks like a code in it (along with a stack of other books with similar nonsensical notations). He begins investigating this code in hopes that it will tell him something about his father.

What I loved about the novel, though were Portman's humorous descriptions of Tom's life -- and how on-point they were. My AP (and IB) teachers really did have us make collages, someone in my eleventh grade English class actually pronounced "wanton" like "wonton" (though not the teacher, thankfully!), and Tom's step-father and his lectures just reminded me so much of my own*.

Oh, and how could I forget the Catcher cult -- like everyone, I read Catcher in the Rye in high school, and I just couldn't see what all the fuss was about. I kept trying to find the symbolism and the deep meaning -- and it just wasn't there for me. (I do want to re-read it someday though -- I think I might enjoy it more if it wasn't an assignment).

This novel probably isn't for everyone. In fact, I'd be just like the members of the Catcher cult if I said it was -- but it was just so much fun. I did listen to the audio version, and I was laughing out loud while driving to work (which is always a good thing) -- and I do have to recommend the audio version, if only because of the recordings at the end of Frank Portman singing songs based on or from the novel such as "Thinking of Suicide" and "I Want to Ramone You." (Though I just discovered that some of those tracks are also available to listen to on Amazon ).

*But when you've been dating someone for 5 years... you can get away with making fun of them. And I know I'd probably like the long fantasy series too (I read a couple Wheel of Time books and really liked them), but I'm terrified of getting sucked in and not having time to read anything else.

*who once spent a five minute drive explaining to me why I needed to have my lights on while driving at dusk (after I had already turned them on), by repeating the same sentence over and over and only slightly rearranging the words. "You need to have your lights on so people can see you. People need to be able to see you, so you need to turn your lights on. It's hard to see at this time of day, so it makes it easier for other people to see you if you have your lights on"... and so on...

The Braid by Helen Frost

The Braid by Helen Frost

The third verse novel on the cybils nomination list, The Braid tells the story of two sisters, Jennie and Sarah. Their family is exiled from their village in Scotland and forced to emigrate to Canada. While Jennie leaves for Canada with her family, Sarah secretly stays behind with her grandmother. Both sisters face hardships in their new lives.

Frost tells the sisters stories in an intricate series of poems, weaving them together like a braid. This is a beautiful little book and will appeal to fans of historical fiction and poetry.

If after reading this, you find yourself interested in Canadian history, I would highly recommend any of Janet Lunn's YA novels, especially Shadow in Hawthorne Bay (a favorite of mine)

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

Just as Simone is beginning her junior year, her parents drop a bombshell on her: her birth mother has called, and wants to meet her. While Simone has known her entire life that she was adopted but has no interest in learning anything about her family history. She has too many other things on her plate, finding extracurricular activities at school, learning her SAT words, and trying to run into Zach, the cute guy who works the coffee counter at the local organic market.

After a conversation with a friend (who is also adopted), she decides to make the call to her birth mother, Rifka, who as it turns out, is (or was) a Hassidic Jew. Simone slowly begins to learn her family's story, and, more importantly, to realize that it was something she needed to know.

I absolutely adored this book. Though I have two small complaints:

1. The Title -- I never really believed that Simone thought her life was impossible. She was quite possibly the most well-adjusted teenager I have ever read about. Every time she complained about something that was happening in her life, she would also mention the things going on in her friends' lives.

2. I listened to the audio version, which was really good, but the narrator was the same one who did Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson) and I kept getting confused. Moral of the story -- listen to this on audio, but read Speak (because it's just one of those books that everyone should read!)

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Patricia McCormick's Sold is a novel in verse about a young girl sold by her step-father into prostitution in India. It is also one of the most powerful books I've read in a very long time.

Lakshmi is 13 years old, living with her mother, step- father, and baby brother in a small village in Nepal. After gambling away all the family's money, her step-father sells Lakshmi into prostitution. She is then taken to Calcutta where she begins her life in a brothel.

There, she encounters not only other women and girls in a similar situation, but the children of some of them. One of the most moving scenes in the novel is when the son of one of the other prostitutes catches Lakshmi with his book, and begins to teach her Hindi and English.

Lakshmi's story is told in heart-wrenching detail, and I was actually openly crying at one point. McCormick has clearly done an amazing amount of research for this novel (actually, if you're interested, here is a slide show thingy from amazon about her trip to India and Nepal). This is one novel that needs to be read, by teens and adults alike.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

By the time she is 16, Hattie has been shuffled from one relative to another, when she receives a letter telling her that she has just inherited a homestead in Montana. Having nowhere else to go, she sets out for her new home. Upon arriving in Montana, she discovers that she has only 10 months to "prove up" her claim (and thus, to be able to keep the 320 acres left to her).

What makes Hattie Big Sky unique however, is the time period. We normally think of homesteading as something that took place in the 19th century, something involving covered wagons, but in fact, it was still going on in the early twentieth century, even during the first world war. Much of Hattie's story is told through letters that she writes to her friend (okay, maybe more than a friend) Charlie, who is fighting in France. She watches first hand the discrimination that her German neighbors face.

Hattie Big Sky will appeal to fans of historical fiction (one might notice the glowing praise on the front cover that comes from Karen Cushman, author of Catherine Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice), and to those who love Little House on the Prairie* and Anne of Green Gables.

*Yes, I was one of those -- my mom started reading the Little House books to me when I was only 2 and I spent an entire summer pretending to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and riding around the house on my rocking horse)

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Now, I know I have a backlog of 10 or so books I need to review, but I read The Rules of Survival last night and I just have to review it.

Once I started reading, I absolutely could not put this book down, and when I finally finished it, I suddenly realized that I had a headache that went all the way down one side of my face. The story had been so intense that I had been clenching my jaw for almost two hours.

And now, I know it may seem odd to be recommending a book that gave me a headache, but it was completely worth it, and it's nothing compared to the pain that the Walsh children suffer.

Matthew is 14, and he lives with his two younger sisters, Callie (12) and Emmy (6) and his mother Nikki, who is becoming more and more unhinged. His main concern in life is keeping his sisters safe from his mother. After one especially frightening incident, he realizes that he needs to do something to get himself and his sisters away from Nikki, and he turns to Murdoch (one of his mother's ex-boyfriends) for help.

Werlin tells this story in the form of a letter written by an 18 year old Matthew to his younger sister, and therefore often addresses the reader as "you," which really helps to draw the reader into the narration. The language is simple and easy to read, which helps to balance out the difficult themes. This is a novel that needs to be read, as Matthew's story, like the story of so many children out there, is one that needs to be heard.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Okay, this review has been sitting in my drafts folder for almost a month -- I just love this book so much that I felt I really needed to do it justice -- but I have other books to review (and to read -- it's like Christmas every day with these Cybils review copies arriving on my doorstep)

I absolutely adored John Green's Looking for Alaska (last year's Printz award winner -- if you haven't read it yet, see here for John Green's photo essay about winning the award-- this actually made me want to read the book), so I was very, very excited when I heard about An Abundance of Katherines.

It definitely did not disappoint. Katherines is a very different novel from Alaska, much more lighthearted and fun (and possibly not quite as deep or profound, but that was okay with me).

It might also help that on the acknowledgement page, Green actually thanks librarians!

Colin Singleton is an 18-year-old child prodigy who speaks many languages and has a talent for anagramming. He has been dumped 19 times by girls named Katherine (not Catherine or Kathryn). After K-19 dumps him, he and Hassan (his slighty pudgy, Judge-Judy-obsessed best friend) set out on a road trip. They end up in a small town in Tennessee, where they meet Lindsey Lee Wells (who, incidently, is dating a boy named Colin). Colin, in a flash of inspiration, comes up with the idea to create a formula that can predict the outcome of any relationship. (Note to readers -- knowledge or understanding of math is not at all required in order to enjoy the book).

I could say a lot more -- but basically -- read it -- I promise you'll laugh!

Also... read "The Approximate Cost of Loving Caroline" -- Green's short story in the collection Twice Told -- I was reading this story while hanging out with my boyfriend (who was reading some epic fantasy novel, as usual), and I kept annoying him by interrupting and reading lines from the story -- it was just that awesome.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Let me just start by saying that I am absolutely, positively, head-over-heals, in love with this book.

Last weekend, a couple of friends and I took a little road trip, and I took it with me. I read for an hour or two on the road. Then, after going to bed at 3 in the morning, I actually woke up early Sunday morning to finish it by the light of my lightwedge (yes, I am a dork), while all my friends were still sleeping!

I normally return books to the library as soon as I'm finished reading them -- but this one is still sitting in my drawer in the back of the library as I type this.

Of course, I kept it out (supposedly), so I could share some quotes -- so I could share with you the brilliance of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, but then I realized I would have to read it again -- which while enjoyable would kind of get in the way of all the reading I'm going to have to do for the Cybils

But I was just so impressed. So many books for teenagers have their protagonists falling in love for the first time, which really isn't that realistic when we're talking about 17 and 18 year olds, so I was surprised to read a novel where the main characters have been in relationships before, and where those previous relationships weren't completely horrible or completely wonderful, but complex and real, like human relationships. And really, that is what Cohn and Levithan did so well; they created living, breathing, imperfect characters.

And the best news of all -- they're collaborating on another novel, due out August of 2007!

Added later: I've noticed that many people are finding this post by searching for "Nick and Norah's Quotes" and other such things, so if that's what you're looking for, check out my later post with some of my favorite quotes.
Updated again (10/4/08): more quotes and some recommended reads

Just in Case by Meg Rosoff

Since I loved How I Live Now, I was very excited to hear that Meg Rosoff had a new book coming out, and Just in Case definitely did not disappoint.

David Case finds his baby brother about to fall off a window ledge, and, deciding that fate has it out for him, he changes his identity, becoming Justin Case (get it?). He meets Agnes, a 19 year old photographer, who wants him to become a model, and he falls into an obsessive love with her. The story that follows is the story of either his nervous breakdown, or of fate actually conspiring against him -- or both. In some short passages, fate actually narrates, telling the reader how much fun it is to play with David/Justin.

I enjoyed this at least as much as How I Live Now -- and it is definitely going on my list of books that I would be happy to see on the Printz honor list this year.