Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Pages: 286

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary

Notes for Parents: Contains some coarse language and mature scenes.

The Inside Cover

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction in 2017.

What’s good?

Aza is living with a mental illness that sees her thoughts spiral out of control at a moment’s notice. Davis is sad and lonely, and tasked with caring for his brother after their billionaire father disappears. Aza and Davis rekindle their childhood friendship when Aza’s friend Daisy insists they try to solve the disappearance of Davis’ father (so they can get the reward). The characters are interesting. The plot is simple and easy to follow. There are several moments in the story that will make you stop and think. Themes include friendship, romance, grief, mental illness, and family. The ending is satisfying.

Best Part: Tua the Tuatara.

What isn’t good?

I don’t know where to start. I didn’t hate this book, but it was really hard to like because there was just so much going on. Many things were introduced that seemed to have no bearing on the main story itself – the tuatara, the cash, finding Davis’ dad, and Daisy’s fan fiction to name a few. Aza’s narration, and her friends’ dialogue, lacked realism because it was permeated with words like “permeated,” “declarative,” “refutation,” and “decamped.” I don’t know many adults that talk like they do let alone teenagers. And they all seemed to specialize in a certain knowledge – Davis knew astronomy, Mychal knew art, Aza knew parasites and bacteria. It was all too much too take in. If the story had just been about Aza dealing with her OCD, or Davis dealing with his missing father, it would have been much more enjoyable. Nothing felt important. Everything felt like filler. I couldn’t relate to anything that was happening.

Worst part: Holmesy.

Recommendation ☺☺☻☻☻ (2/5)

This book had too much. There was a little bit about living with a mental illness, some romance, a trace of mystery, random philosophizing, and a moment of friendship woes. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough of any of those things to make a memorable story. Throw in some pretentious vocabulary, a directionless plot, and very little character development, and you have this story. John Green fans might like it, but this is not his best work.

Green, John. Turtles All the Way Down. New York: Dutton Books, 2017. (Hardcover)

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Pages: 427

Intended Audience: Mature Teens

Genre: Urban fantasy / Dystopia

Notes for Parents: Contains violence, some coarse language, and mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father, to prove she’s worthy to stand beside him and lead their city. August Flynn wants to be human. But he isn’t. He’s a monster, one that can steal souls with a song. His own father’s secret weapon.

Their city is divided. Their city is crumbling. Kate and August are the only two who see both sides, the only two who could do something. But how do you decide whether to be a hero or a villain when it’s hard to tell which is which?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book in the Monsters of Verity duology. The second book is called Our Dark Duet.

What’s good?

We’ve all heard the saying, “Violence breeds violence.” In this story, it’s literal. Monsters are born from the transgressions of humans. It’s a compelling premise that delivers a story full of action, tension, fear, and brutality. Kate and August live on opposite sides of the city – and on opposite sides of the war. Kate wants to be a villain like her father. August wants to be human, not the monster that he is. The twisting plot brings them together and forces the question – what makes something evil? The writing is fluid, the pace is steady, and the ending is strong.

Best Part: Isla.

What isn’t good?

My biggest problem was the lack of worldbuilding. The premise is great, but I wanted to know the history, how things got to be how they are, and why. I needed answers and felt cheated when I didn’t get any. I was also disappointed with the two main characters. I liked them, but they were no one special. Kate was a typical bad-ass girl with no regard for others. August was a typical quiet, angst-ridden boy.

Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

There was a lot of potential in this story, but the results were…mediocre. The idea of monsters rising from the sins of people was promising, but not explored enough. The ambiguity between good and evil was better handled in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. In the end it was good, but not great.

Schwab, Victoria. This Savage Song. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2016.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Pages: 325

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary / Romance

Notes for Parents: Contains some sexual innuendo and other mature content

The Back Cover

Me: Tell me three things I don’t know about you. You know, besides your name and, well, everything else.

SN: okay. (1) I make a killer grilled cheese. (2) if you met me even a year ago, I was a totally different person. (3) …I don’t know. May keep this one to myself.

Me: Come on. You keep everything to yourself.

SN: (3) I like you.

Me: (3) I like you too.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

I feel the back cover doesn’t really tell you much, so here’s the description from Penguinrandomhouse.com:

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her step-monster and her pretentious teenage son, and to start at a new school where she knows no one.
Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

What’s good?

This story is less about romance, and more about relationships – between daughter and father, old friends, new friends, step-families, the dearly departed, and a mysterious confidante. Jessie feels alone as she struggles to adjust to her new life, in a new town, with a new family, at a new school. She’s lonely and sad, feeling like she has no allies, until she gets an anonymous message from a boy offering to help her through. It’s an intriguing story with a lighthearted tone, but with some laugh out loud moments (and a few heart-breaking ones).  Jessie is a strong, relatable protagonist who is vulnerable and awkward, but still bold and brave in a way that feels genuine. The dialogue (mostly instant messaging) is witty and creates a good pace. The plot is simple, but some of the moments are complex as Jessie deals with new emotions.

Best Part: First line of the novel – Seven hundred and thirty-three days after my mom died, forty-five days after my dad eloped with a stranger he met on the Internet, thirty days after we then up and moved to California, and only seven days after starting as a junior at a brand-new school where I know approximately no one, an email arrives.

What isn’t good?

Watching Jessie struggle with SN’s identity was painful. I don’t know if his identity was supposed to be obvious to the reader, but I knew it was him the moment he was introduced. Jessie was oblivious to the clues, which made the “mystery” parts of the story tedious. My only other issue is the stereotypes. Los Angeles is always sunny, and the girls are all thin, rich, blonde, and mean. Perhaps it was meant to be how Jessie saw things, but a little more balance would have been nice.

Worst part: The vague description on the back of the book is unfortunate.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

I don’t like romance stories, which is why I had no intention of reading this. But I read the first line, like I often do with new books, and I was hooked. I was still expecting a sappy teen romance (thanks to the description on the back cover), but was amazed to read a smart, funny story about resiliency, grief, and friendship, with a little thread of mystery. Well done. Recommended.

Buxbaum, Julie. Tell Me Three Things. New York: Ember, 2016.

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

Pages: 375

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Contemporary / Family Drama

Notes for Parents: Contains some mature scenes.

The Back Cover

Katie is seventeen and in love with someone whose identity she’s afraid to reveal. Caroline, Katie’s mother is uptight, worn out, and about to find the past catching up with her. Mary, Katie’s grandmother, suffers from Alzheimer’s and suddenly appears after years of mysterious absence.

As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to the grandmother she never knew she had. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is “badness” genetic? In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a Stonewall Honor Book, made Entertainment Weekly’s Must List, and was named Best Book of the Year by both Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. It was also a BookPage Best Teen Book of the Year, an iBooks Best Book of the Month, and shortlisted for both the YA Book Prize and People’s Book Prize.

What’s good?

This is the story of three generations of women forced to confront the past when Caroline and her daughter, Katie, must take in Caroline’s mother, Mary, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Katie sets out to unravel the mystery of her mother’s and grandmother’s tenuous relationship. Choices, consequences, misunderstandings, and secrets are tendrils that run through the lives of all three women. Stories of Mary’s misspent, seemingly carefree youth is juxtaposed with Caroline’s rigid parenting. The characters are well-drawn and realistic with genuine emotions. There is tenderness, anger, frustration, pain, and joy in their search for understanding and reconciliation. Most chapters are short and the pace is even. The ending is gratifying.

Best Part: Mary.

What isn’t good?

It’s slow. Don’t expect any action or even high drama. The story is more like real life with moderate ups and downs, sporadic bouts of anger and frustration, and the occasional heart stopping moment that eventually ends well. Katie was a great character – she was brilliant with Mary—but became a strange, hot mess with Esme and Simona.

Worst part: Caroline’s refusal to recognize Mary’s condition was frustrating.

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It’s painful to watch someone with Alzheimer’s, and the author portrays Mary’s struggle with the disease with grace and accuracy. The complex relationship between the three women is fascinating to watch unfold. This story doesn’t have the feel of a typical young adult story, but is nonetheless a value addition to the genre. Recommended.

Downham, Jenny. Unbecoming. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2017.