The Chamber of Five by Michael Harmon

This book is from a sub-genre of realistic fiction that I call cruel school. You hope that your school is not anywhere near is bad as the place described in the book.

Jason attends the prestigious Lambert School. His dad is an influential state senator and alum of the school and is the reason Jason is there. Due to his connections, Jason is chosen for the elite Chamber of Five, a group of students who unofficially rule the school. Jason wants no part of it. He is not like his dad and doesn't like the cruel things the Chamber of Five does in the name of power.

The really smart kids who earned their way into the school are powerless and have no say in anything. Jason wants to change all of that which will not be easy because the head of chamber is used to getting his way and will resort to blackmail and violence to get it. These methods are just part of the chambers methods. Jason will have to risk everything to change the system from the inside.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II by Ron Koertge

This the sequel to Stoner & Spaz which I read several years ago. I worried that I might have forgotten important things, but I was quickly reminded how much I liked the characters and found no trouble picking up the story where it left off. I would recommend reading the first one, but I don't think that is necessary if you choose not to.

Ben has cerebral palsy which means his left side is not much use to him and causes him to walk with a limp. His dad died and he was abandoned by his mother a long time ago, so he was raised by his grandmother. Because he spent so much time at the local theater, the Rialto, Ben is an expert on all things about movies. He even made his own documentary about his classmates that was shown at a Hollywood art gallery.

Ben might have stayed in the dark of the theater and the solitary world of his room watching movies forever if he had not met Colleen. She is the kind of girl that seems like the total opposite of Ben. She is a tattooed, drug user who has no problem telling people exactly what she thinks. She is also attracts the attention of any guy who sees her. She and Ben connect on a level that often amazes him.

As the story continues, Colleen is trying to stay clean and help Ben reconnect with his mother while Ben attracts the attention of another girl who shares his interest in film making. This story is all about Ben and Colleen and the people in their lives more so than any plot. I hope you like reading about them as much as I did.

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

With Banned Books Week coming at the end of September, I have been discussing challenged books with teens. I was thinking about one of my favorite books, Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers that happens to be on the list. I will not go into the reasons some people have requested that this book removed from libraries or schools. Suffice it to say that it is about young soldiers in war and that war is not pretty.

When I was in library school, I wrote about this book because it touched me emotionally. I am reprinting what I wrote here because I know that it is better than anything I could write now about this powerful book. Here is what I wrote then and still believe now:

My Uncle Bobby died in Vietnam. He was killed in action on August 19, 1969. For his actions he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Bobby Joe Likens served in Vietnam for 16 days.

“The real question was what I was doing, what any of us were doing, in Nam.”

Fallen Angels is the story of young army soldiers in Vietnam in 1967-1968 as seen through the eyes of Richard Perry from Harlem. There is no real plot and no climatic battle. This is a story of young Americans thrown into a hellish situation in a foreign land. Who will live and who will die? The soldiers are not perfect. They question their leaders. They fight with each other. They use fowl language and racial slurs. They make mistakes. They just want to get back to ‘the World.’ They want to see their homes again. Perry wants to go back to Harlem and see his mother and brother Kenny even though he knows he will not be the same when he returns.

“I didn’t want to say that I had a feeling that I wouldn’t get back home.”

I felt Bobby on every page. Did he live the lives of these soldiers? Did he have days of boredom while waiting for orders? Did he tease and curse and embrace the men who served with him? Did Bobby pray to himself? Was he scared? Did he see one of his buddies die? Was he afraid to write home to tell his family what was really happening around him and to him? Did he question those who lead him into battle? Did he kill anyone? Did he feel the shrapnel? Did he know it was coming? Did he wonder why he was there?

“The neat pile of body bags was waiting for the rest of us.”

I was born in 1970, so I never knew Bobby. His brief time in Vietnam is a mystery to me. As a child, Vietnam was just the place where my uncle died. After reading this book my question has gone from “What did he do there?” to “Did he do this or that?” Ultimately, I am left with more questions than answers, but I feel this book has given me some insight into Bobby’s life.

At the end, Perry finds out that a nurse he had met has been killed. He says nobody back home “would know about her, how this part of her life had been, what she had seen, or how she had felt at the end. They would get a telegram, and a body, but they wouldn’t know.” So true.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This started as one of the funniest teen books I have ever read. Imagine a group of beauty contestants becoming stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. Yes, there is a dark edge to it - people do die in the crash, but everything else is so wacky. There is a fight about whether the teen contestants should continue practicing their pageant skills (the dance number, the all important question round, etc) so they will be ready when they are rescued or should they spend more time trying to survive (find shelter, food, etc). It seems like a simple question to answer - and it is for Miss Texas who is put in charge and decides the pageant skill are too important to give up now.

Throw in a bunch of hunky reality television pirates, exploding facial cream, a huge man eating snake, mysterious happenings near the volcano, and a possible international arms deal and you have story that can go anywhere. In addition to the storytelling, there also bios of the contestants, commercials and secret memos thrown in occasionally to give some background info and add more funny stuff.

For me, the humor tapered off as the story went on, but it was still a fun adventure with some strong characters and a message, too.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library.

My Life, the Theater and Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff

I was in drama in high school, but it was nothing like this book. Maybe I am just forgetting how it really was...still, in this story there is a code: actors do not socialize or even speak to the crew (or techies) unless they absolutely have to (and vice versa). Adam is fine with that. He would much rather spend time up on the catwalk working with the equipment and thinking about lights. He has not been comfortable in the dark since his dad died a few years ago, so Adam is never without a light.

Derek Dunkirk (son of the famous architect) has designed the whole production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - lighting, costumes, props - the whole thing. He is pretty much directing it, too, since their drama teacher, Mr. Apple has given up on almost everything.

When something goes wrong with the production (which is often), Derek usually blames the techies and Adam has been taking the brunt a lot lately. Imagine Adam's surprise when Summer, a new actress, steps into his spotlight and seems interested in him. Adam does not care about the code, but others do. Derek (who has a reputation for dating actresses and techie) is also interested in Summer.

I do remember in high school theater that there was often more drama going on behind the scenes than on the stage. This book captures that for sure.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library.

This Girl Is Different by J.J. Johnson

Evie is different. She is an intelligent, independent thinker who is not afraid to voice her opinion. She lives in an eco-friendly dome house constructed by her, her mother and uncle. She has learned from her somewhat radical mother to never shy away from a fight against 'the man.'

Evie has been home-schooled, and for the first time ever she decides to go to public school. She is a senior and knows it is her last chance to experience typical teenage life like she has seen in the movies. She enters school with trepidation but happy to have two new friends Jacinda and Rajas she met during the summer. She is hoping that Rajas likes her as much as she likes him.

She quickly learns that school is not a democracy (and not like the movies) and is fraught with potential disasters (like demonstrating to the class how smart you are). What starts out as prank to put a teacher in her place becomes much bigger than Evie expects. With her dream of going to Cornell on the line, Evie must find a way to make everything right.

I liked the idea of a home school student going to school for the first time. Gordon Korman wrote a book for younger readers a few years back called Schooled. In that book, the student did not want to go to public school and has a hard time adjusting. Evie has chosen to go and is more than qualified. It is her disagreements with the rules and authority figures that make her life difficult.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

I expected this to be another story set in a dystopian society (like Matched by Allyson Condie where everyone's life is controlled by the government). This turned out to be our society in 2036 where no one over the age of 20 can conceive children. This has lead to a market for babies that only teens can produce. Inevitably, the teens with the most desirable traits can charge the highest prices.

We are introduced (through alternating chapters in their voices) to Melody and Harmony. Melody became a bit of a pioneer by being the first in her school to go pro and charge for her 'preg.' She is approaching the end of her viability as a baby donor and she still has not 'bumped' with anyone. Her agent has been working to match her up with the hottest professional guy.

Harmony is Melody's identical twin sister and until recently they had never met. They were both adopted and grew up in different worlds. Harmony was raised in a religious community with strict rules and an adherence to the word of God. In Melody's world, not only is teen sex encouraged it is paid for by wannabe parents. One day Harmony shows up at Melody's door and unbeknownst to either of them threatens Melody's uniqueness in the market.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

Rarely have I been so frustrated with the main character of a book. There were times I just wanted to take Alex aside and ask her what she was doing. I know she is in over her head and is truly a victim, butI just wanted her to realize it. But I am getting ahead of myself...

Alex lost her mom when she was young and her dad will not talk about her. She's knows her mom was heading to Colorado when she died, so that is where Alex has always wanted to go. She and her best friends, Bethany and Zack, have been planning the trip since they were young. Nothing will keep them from making the trip until Cole comes along.

Cole is the charming and handsome new student that Alex starts to tutor at school. He seems interested in Alex right away and before long they are dating. Cole is kind and gentle to Alex and their time together is wonderful, so she cannot understand why her friends do not like him. Overtime, Cole reveals he is verbally abusive and violent. Alex cannot reconcile the boyfriend she loves and the one who hurts her. "...I didn't understand how he could be punching my face one minute and telling me he loved me the next." Make no mistake, some of the scenes are brutal and hard to read.

What I really like about this book and author's other book the Hate List is how she takes us into the mind of someone in a difficult situation and shows the internal conflicts. There were times I was mad at Alex for denying the truth, but I was hoping desperately for her to open her eyes and find a way out.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Famous by Todd Strasser

Jamie wants to be a 'celebrity photographer' not just one of the paparazzi. She first gets attention after taking a candid photo of a former model in a coffee shop. She gains some fame herself when she appears in a New York magazine article. Her mother does not understand Jamie's 'hobby' even after one of her photos ends up on a national magazine cover.

Through her agent, Jamie is sent to LA to spend a week with a young star just out of rehab. Jamie will have exclusive access to the star's daily life, but is also restricted in what she can shoot. So what is Jamie to do when she finds pictures on her camera that she did not take and could damage the star's reputation. Should she sell the photo or keep her word to the people who are only using her anyway?

At a time when people are thrust into the spotlight (or seek it out), this story is a peek into the ups and downs of fame and celebrity. I personally do not know why anyone would want to be famous. This story did not make me change my mind, nor is it supposed to.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia lives in a dystopian society where everyone is watched and monitored. No one is allowed to make a decision for him or herself all in the name of providing everyone with a long, quality life. Cassia is perfectly happy with that. It is the only life she has ever known, and she has the potential to do well with the jobs and life she will be assigned to her.

Cassia is truly excited about attending her Match Banquet where she will find out the person who has been scientifically chosen to be the best partner for her. She will spend the rest of her life and have a family with this unknown guy. She has little doubt that it will work out because her parents are so in love and were well matched. It is only after the banquet that she begins to question her society and the officials. Events begin to reveal cracks in the seemingly serene existence.

On one level this is a dystopian romance, but it is also a science fiction drama. The setting is intriguing from the standpoint that you would hope you never have to live in such a place. There is also hope that one day these likable characters will be able to make their own choices.

Click here for more info about this book from the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.