Waiting on Wednesday: Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

By now I think we all know that I adore Ellen Hopkins & poetry & verse. Well she's done it again. While I still haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of her adult novel Triangles, I have a feeling that this is kind of the teen version of that basic storyline. I'm not saying it's the same, but I think it will have the same feel to it. Tilt is set to hit the shelves 9/11/12.

Love--good and bad--forces three teens' worlds to tilt in a riveting novel from "New York Times "bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.Three teens, three stories--all interconnected through their parents' family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt....

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year--and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister's impending death. Can he accept Alex's love, knowing that his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen--a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this standalone novel.

From Goodreads 

These are some very serious subjects that I fully expect Hopkins to handle with the same visceral & adept hand she has used in all her other works. I truly cannot wait to see what happens in this book. What are you waiting on this week?

Hooked by Catherine Greenman review

Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself. With a flighty club-owner mom and a standoffish, recovering-alcoholic dad, Thea has made her own way in her hometown of New York, attending the prestigious and competitive Stuyvesant High School. But one chat with Will, a handsome and witty senior, and she's a goner—completely hooked on him and unable to concentrate on anything else.

Always worried that she loves Will more than he loves her, Thea is pleasantly surprised when their romance weathers his move to college and Will goes out of his way to involve her in his life. But then, Thea misses a period. And that starts Thea and Will on a wild ride that neither of them could have possibly prepared for. When they decide to keep the baby, their concerned parents chip in what they can to keep Will in school and give both teenagers a comfortable place to raise their child. But when a freak accident leaves Thea shaken and threatens to upend their little family altogether, Thea is forced to turn to the last place she would have chosen for comfort: her stiff, uncompromising father.

From Goodreads

Thea Galehouse is one of those lucky girls who gets to keep her dreamy boyfriend even after he goes to college. She's not so lucky in that her mother is sexually-explicit with her, while ignoring the majority of her shenanigans & her father has been predominately absent from her life despite having a loud opinion about it. Will & Thea seem like such a good fit & I have a feeling that they might have gone the distance if they hadn't got caught up in it all.

When Thea chooses to have the baby (while simultaneously lying to everyone about getting an abortion) she effectively sets herself up for everything else that happens to her. While that may sound obvious, I believe that some things might not have happened to her (both good & bad) had she not chosen to keep the baby. This book definitely does not sugar coat the reality of teenage parenthood, but I also don't think that this is necessarily most girls' experiences. I think they'll be able to relate to Thea in ways that other readers can't & I think that is a really positive selling point to the book.

I didn't find anything so glaringly obvious at fault with this book. Personally I enjoyed the crocheting metaphors throughout the book & how this simple hobby helps Thea through some dark times. The wonkiest thing about this book had to be Thea's mother. A former adult nightclub owner, she is emotionally distant & wants to be Thea's friend more than anything else. I think this really helped contribute to Thea's predicament, but not so much that it was obvious that this kind of thing was going to happen to her.

A tender-hearted read, Hooked is a phenomenal book that allows us a glimpse at what could be for many girls.

Envy by Anna Godbersen

This is book number three in a four part historical fiction series. Naturally, if you have not read the first or second books, then spoilers may lie ahead for you. Check out my review of the first novel, The Luxe, the second novel, Rumors, and then come back to catch up on the new gossip!

What's a girl to do? Diana just can't stomach the fact that Penelope muscled her way back into Henry's life in one of the most important social positions in town, Mrs. Henry Schoonmaker. Now that's not to say that Henry has given up on being with Diana, it just means that it is now more tricky than ever and one false move could set the whole house of cards tumbling down on their heads: leaving Diana in ruins, her reputation forever tarnished, Henry would be left looking like a fool, and Penelope would wind up looking like the saint that she most certainly was not.

Elizabeth is desolate at the loss of her beloved husband Will Keller. A worse atrocity is the fact that she cannot publicly recognize him as what he truly was to her and the whole town believes that he had kidnapped her. With the family on the brink of financial ruin, Elizabeth is running out of options to help her family survive. That is until her father's mining partner comes into the picture, and not a moment too soon because Elizabeth is hiding more than just the truth about Will, she's also hiding a part of him.

Carolina Broad, the former Holland attendant Lina Broud, is being to really understand what it takes to get along in this catty world. While she has learned to talk and act like the women she once looked up to, and can now dress like one thanks to her benefactor Carey Lewis Longhorn, Carolina is still on the outskirts. Though if she manages to capture her love interest, fortune may favor her after all.

To escape the horrible winter of New York, our little caravan of fun travels to the Royal Ponciana Hotel in sunny Palm Beach, Florida. There are parties, distractions, and every scandal one can imagine. Sadly not even the sun can keep them from their societal duties when they are all forced to return home for Carey Lewis Longhorn's untimely funeral. Where does this leave our quarry?

As well written as the first two, Envy continues to wow with tales of fantastic balls, daring plans, and romance to make even the hardest hearts swoon. Turn of the century Manhattan, and even Palm Beach, come into staggering view in this opulent world. The accuracy is incredible and denotes a well-researched subject.

The girls continue to captivate the boys' attentions in every manner, both appropriate and not, imaginable. Penelope remains the shallow gold-digger while Carolina begins to prove her worth. The Holland sisters just stay steady in this novel, doing their very best to struggle through their heart-aches and financial difficulties. I found them slightly less appealing in this novel I think due in large part to the heavy focus that is always centered on them. This time I immensely enjoyed getting to know Carolina and the boys more than we usually do.

Really this book was kind of like a bridge to me. Not a whole lot happened in the novel until the very end and it felt like filler to get to the end of the series. The characters behaved according and the story progressed towards the ending, but not in any big way. Overall it was still a wonderful book, it just felt a little lacking in action.

Nostalgic Friday: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

This week I am featuring The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's a dystopian read that I discovered through my sister. She had to read it in high school and when my school never assigned it I got curious.

After a military coup creating the Republic of Gilead from the once powerful United States of America, inhabitants find themselves in a strict, domineering caste system based on the hell, fire, & brimstone from the Old Testament of the Bible. They believe that all their problems (rampant infertility, land deterioration, and an amoral society) can all be solved by returning to their close-minded roots.

What this means in practice for the men and women of Gilead is a complete overhaul of their social hierarchy as they know it. Now, your place in society is determined by your rank within the new infrastructure and the power you wield. Women are even lower in this caste system, as dictated by the ruling body and their twisted sense of ideology, and are subservient to the male figure in their life. While this isn't necessarily awful for most women, for those who belong to the "handmaid" class it is a nightmare. They are used for breeding purposes only, as if they were an animal.

This story is told from the point of view of Offred, a handmaid in Commander Fred's home. As a first generation handmaid, Offred knows what the world used to be like. She used to have a family, consisting of her, her husband, and their child. Now all she is solely cogniscent that it is her "duty and obligation" is to bear a child for the Commander and his barren wife Serena Joy. A mating ritual, involving all three participants, takes place monthly in the hopes of conception.

Offred moves about her daily routine often catching glimpses of things hinting at the existence of a resistance. She is shocked to discover who all is involved. And when the times comes for her to make a decision, she moves with fluidity in her chosen direction.

A shocking and scandalizing tale, this book was a bewitching read. I found myself imagining what it would be like to be in Offred's shoes more often than I wanted to. Her life was quite a miserable existence, but she maintained hope. She clung to memories in her darkest hours and pushed on with life.

It's truly a book about feminism in that the main character is a female fighting in a patriarchal and orthodox society. Her strength and courage is a testament to the power that resides in all of us. We just have to call on it. A mesmerizing read that most will find haunting and captivating, The Handmaid's Tale is a classic.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

If you remember, a few weeks ago I made a post with the book trailer for this book and the music video for the song that the book based around. Should you need a refresher, click here.

Lucy Scarborough has a normal teenage life. She gets decent grades in school, participates on the track team, and even gets along great with her adoptive parents, Soledad and Leo. There's only one, small blemish on her otherwise impeccable life. That blemish is her crazy mother Miranda; and in this sense, she really is nuts.

Miranda Scarborough came to live with Soledad and Leo while she was scared and pregnant at 17. After having Lucy, Miranda lost her mind and left her child in their care. Most of the time Miranda stays gone, but sometimes she shows up out of nowhere screaming and causing scenes, and always singing her version of "Scarborough Fair." She made Leo, a musician and folk enthusiast, promise to teach Lucy the song and he made good on his word.

So Lucy goes about her normal teenage life until her prom night. Her former next door neighbor, and long time hunky friend Zach has recently moved in with her and her parents while on summer break from college. He enjoys watching her prepare for her prom, while feeling overly protective of her when it turns out that Soledad has invited an impromptu guest home for dinner. Padraig is alluring and mesmerizing and yet he feels off somehow. It isn't until after the unspeakable events of prom night that Lucy and Zach realizes just how off Padraig is.

Now Lucy is in a race against time. It turns out that the song was more important than she could ever have imagined. Now she must complete the 3 impossible tasks listed in the song in order to save her daughter and herself.

A wonderful novel with interesting and vibrant characters, Impossible is a fast read. Growing up with the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel made this storyline very appealing to me and once I got into the plot, it just got better. Lucy is a very likable character who really does epitomize a normal teen. Her parents are the kind that most kids drool over, very cool and accepting. Zach plays the typical "hunky guy next door that has been ignored as a potential boyfriend" but he wears it well. And Padraig is down right despicable. He is written exactly how I would expect his kind to behave. All-in-all, this was a delightful read.

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

All Ellie wanted was what most other girls seemed to get: someone to love her. With oblivious parents and a stoner for a brother, Ellie hangs out with her best friend Corinne. The girls may not be the uber-popular, cheerleader type, but they do manage to go to a few parties. Corinne is dying to hook-up with someone and finds herself jealous of all the attention that Ellie garners.

At the last party, Corinne comes out to find Josh leaving Ellie in the backseat of his dad's van and then Ellie getting sick. What felt meaningful and special to Ellie was just a "no big deal" event to Josh. Unfortunately for both of them it becomes a big deal when Ellie realizes she is pregnant.

Gathering her strength to make up her mind about what to do, Ellie tries to make it through the rest of the school year with the help of Corinne, Corinne's new confidante Caleb, and Caleb's mom. What happens when the unthinkable happens?

Jo Knowles knows her stuff. This poignant tale looks at teen pregnancy in a real and believable light. It's not just about what happens to the mother and the baby; there is a whole community involved when a teen gets pregnant. In this book we get to see it from the best friend's perspective, the father's perspective, and the reactions of those indirectly involved. I could definitely sympathize with the main character and with the father throughout the entire story and I really liked how the characters overlapped just enough that when you transitioned from one narrator to the next you could still keep up with the storyline. While not a necessarily cheerful story, this cautionary tale might give the reader a sense of what else goes on around a situation like this. A job well done.

After by Amy Efaw

IT won’t stop crying. How can I make IT stop crying?

This is what’s running through Devon Davenport’s head on THAT morning. THAT morning Devon wasn’t feeling well. She stayed home from school, took out the trash, and then wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. To her chagrin, her mother comes home from work. Soon the police are knocking on the door and would like to speak to Devon to see if she heard anything around the trash that morning because a baby was found in the trash. When Devon doesn’t respond, her mother pulls back the blanket to reveal a large amount of blood coming from Devon. And then Devon blacked out.

Now she is facing criminal charges including attempted murder for the baby that she tried to throw out with the garbage. But Devon doesn’t really understand. She wasn’t pregnant. She didn’t give birth to a baby girl in her bathroom at home. She didn’t try to cover all that up. Did she? Now Devon, the perfect student and goal keeper, finds herself in juvenile detention awaiting a hearing that will decide if she should be tried as an adult or kept in the juvenile system.

An astonishingly real look at the terrifying reality of what many young, scared mothers perceive as their only option, After was a fantastic novel that explored the other side of this phenomenon. What happens to the mothers after they are taken away is explored from not only an emotional standpoint, but from a legal one as well. Very well written and a must read for "realistic fiction" fans.

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins has a unique presentation style that is one of a kind. Her books are written in prose format, whose rhyme, meter, and tempo vary page by page. It can be a bit difficult to get into at the start, but once you get sucked in, you could read the whole thing in a single night.

This particular book focuses on the story of Pattyn, a teenage girl growing up in a strict, religious family that she doesn't feel she really fits in. While most teens can relate to that feeling, Pattyn's situation is unique in that she is not allowed to even entertain the thought of boys.

Unfortunately being the teenager that she is, she sneaks around her family to see a boy; and like many teenagers she gets caught. As punishment she is sent away to live with her Aunt for the rest of the summer. There she learns a lot, ranging from her father's shady past, how to drive a manual truck, and how it feels to really fall in love. This story sucks you in lets you experience her heartbreak, her education, and her life. Truly a marvelous read!