Bad for You: Exposing the War On Fun by Kevin C. Pyle & Scott Cunningham

Wow, a non-fiction book. This is a cool exploration of the many ways that adults have tried to take away fun from kids and teens. For example, the war on comic books went all the way to congressional hearings in the 1950s. Comics were thought by some to cause juvenile delinquency. It seems laughable now, but a comic code was created and enforced. William H. Gaines was a publisher of many comics at the time and a very vocal proponent of the publisher's rights to print what they wanted (can we say First Amendment). He did stop making comics, but (thankfully) kept publishing Mad Magazine.

So what else have adults tried to curtail or stop all together: skateboarding, fairy tales, role playing games (beware D&D enthusiasts), video games, telephones, cell phones (and all that other technology you love so much), long hair, playgrounds, recess and even chess. Don't worry, they know what is good for you: standardized tests and more homework.

As you can probably tell by the cover, this is not some dry examination of facts. It is a mix of text and illustrations (lots of them) that examines not just why adults have imposed these restriction, but the history of how we got to that point. Surveys and studies are cited to support the arguments.

Amazingly, restricting young people often resulted in the behaviors that were trying to be avoided in the first place. Not that all the adults were being cruel on purpose they were just ill-informed and misguided.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and one of the creator's sites: Kevin C. Pyle.

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

It's incredible when you find yourself inside the pages of a book. So, I'm reading about this 16 year old girl named Elise (obviously, not like me). She splits her time between her divorced parents (mine are still married). Because she has no friends, she decides to remake herself to fit in with the popular crowd (I never did that). It doesn't work, so she tries to slit her wrist (I never came close to anything like that). See, Elise feels pathetic and worthless (OK, that one I've done). There is one particular paragraph in this book that so clearly summarizes my feelings for a good part of my life. It's amazing and a little scary at the same time.

Sometimes at night, Elise sneaks out of her mother's house and walks. One night, she meets Pippa and Vicky who take her to a warehouse club called Start (that's only open on Thursday nights). Because they are older and regulars, Vicky and Pippa get underage Elise in the door. Elise feels out of place - she doesn't dance or drink. It's just one more place where she feels like she doesn't belong. There is the music, though...

Elise loves music and she knows a lot of it. A chance to see the inside of the club's DJ booth is enough to get her interested in being a DJ herself. OK, so where is this all going. Well, Elise learns how to DJ and gets a chance to do it at Start. There are romantic complications and difficulties with her parents, usual teen stuff, but we get to experience it with Elise. If only life's issues were as easily dealt with as they are in books.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

Two girls, one on each coast, are counting down the days until they start college where they will be each other's roommate. They e-mail each other to get acquainted and share more than just who is bringing the microwave.

Elizabeth lives in New Jersey, and even though all her friends are staying in state she cannot wait to leave for California. She wants to escape her beach town life and her mom and, who knows, maybe she will even get to know her dad who left years ago to live in San Francisco.

Lauren lives in San Francisco with her parents and her five younger siblings. Even though she is just going across the bay, she worries that her parents will not be able to deal with all the children without her. She has never had room to herself, so she was disappointed when she learned that she had been assigned a roommate.

A complication neither girl foresaw happening over the summer was boys. Yes, they each start dating - if that's what it is. Who wants to get serious over a guy when you only have a few months until you both go away? Just one of the many discussions that happen between Lauren and Elizabeth who find that sharing some topics through e-mail are easier than facing them in person and are sometimes more difficult when you really don't know the other person.

Each girl's story is told in alternating chapters, but is not entirely told through e-mails. We know what is going on with each girl including what they are not sharing with each other.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and Sara Zarr's site.

Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Harry hides his face to the audience when he is on stage. He tips his fedora down over his sunglass covered eyes and pulls his collar up. He knows the reaction he will get if he exposes his scarred face; he has seen it many times. Harry has always tried to keep himself hidden, to go unnoticed in the crowd, but there is a freedom in playing music. It is a freedom he gets nowhere else. And the whole band thing wasn't even his idea.

Harry was struck by lightning. Well, that is what people think. The truth is he was tied to a tree that was struck by lightning and the resulting fire burned his face and neck. He was young at the time, so most of his life has been a series of hospitals, surgeries and therapy. And keeping away from bullies and pretty much everyone else - until he met Johnny.

Johnny didn't seem to care about Harry's face and Harry was so grateful for a friend that he pretty much went along with every idea Johnny ever had. So even though neither had played an instrument before, Johnny suggested that they start a band - and the Scar Boys was born.

And in the music there is freedom for Harry, but not without a price. A friendship is tested - add a girl and a road trip to the mix and Harry learns a lot more than he planned.

For more info check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Totally Unrelated by Tom Ryan

At a little over a hundred pages, this is a quick read for sure. If you have read many of my reviews, you know that I love books about music and that's why I sought out this one - particularly since it involves Celtic music.

Neil is the member of a family Celtic band who has made quite a name for itself locally. His parents and siblings can all play multiple traditional Celtic instruments, but Tom can really only play guitar. He's tried the others, but could never master them. He tried dancing, too, like his younger twin sisters, but he is not that coordinated. To top it all off, he is the only one without red hair and freckled skin. Yes, Neil is a bit of an outsider in his own family.

As his family's annual summer tour gears up, Neil and his friend decide to form a band (not Celtic) to perform in a battle of the bands contest (ok, his friend had to practically beg him to do it). With the addition of a new cute girl as their lead singer, they are surprised with their own potential.

Now, I could go on but I'm afraid I will tell you the whole story (again, it's pretty short). Besides you will miss the humor and fun of following Neil through his two musical journeys.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

What are the odds of two people finding each other in such a large world with so many others? It is a rhetorical question, but it is kind of a miracle when it happens.

In their own ways, Eleanor and Park are set apart from the crowd. Park is the son of a Korean mother and an ex-military father. Park is not the tough, athletic guy his dad would like him to be. He prefers rock music, wearing black shirts and reading comics.

Eleanor is the new girl in school. Her red hair and unique way of dressing (second hand mostly) make her stand out and an easy target at school. She has recently moved back in with her mom and her horrible new step father after being abandoned at a family friend's house for over a year. Eleanor is very careful at home because her step father could explode at her at any time.

Call it fate or whatever you wish but on the first day of school, Eleanor has no where to sit on the bus except next to Park. It is not love at first sight - in fact it is avoid any contact at all on first sight and for several days after. It is only a small connection at first that breaks the barrier between them and it grows from there.

There are more complications than I am willing to spell out here. I will say that Eleanor's home life make it difficult for her to trust anyone and causes her to hesitate to let anyone see her for who she really is. For his part, Park is crazy about Eleanor and only hopes she will eventually see in herself what he sees in her.

Rainbow Rowell has created a story of two young people who need someone and unexpectedly find each other. I was particularly happy with the later stages of the story even as I cringed at the potential danger that could be coming. The story is set in the 1980s. Having been a teen myself then, I liked the many references to the time.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

The F--- It List by Julie Halpern

I don't have a bucket list - you know, a list of things you want to accomplish before you 'kick the bucket.' It's not that I've done everything I have ever wanted to. I just don't feel the need to write these things down. Becca, on the other hand, has been making a list for a long time, but now is the time for her to act...

Becca has cancer. The prognosis for recovery is good, but why take chances? Knowing she will be sick and too weak to work on her list, she gives it to her best friend Alex to do some of it for her. 'Bucket list' is too morbid (especially since Alex knows Becca is not going to die), so they call it the F--- It List.

It's unfortunate that Alex went to the first day of school not knowing anything about Becca's condition. They had a falling out (over a guy) and had not spoken all summer. And Alex could have used her best friend since she was dealing with the sudden death of her father.

We follow Alex through her life coping with her father's death, her friend's cancer (and treatment which is sometimes worse than the disease) and Leo, a guy she may be dating but not exactly. The time with Leo makes Alex's life more complicated for many reasons, one in particular is that Alex feels guilty for having fun while Becca has lost her social life, her strength, her appetite and her beautiful hair. Alex loses herself in horror films dreaming of the day when she can make her own.

This story is not about completing items on the list. That occurs, but it does not drive the story as much as Alex's relationships with the people in her life.  Alex and Becca both need each other and it comes through in their conversations. They are funny, honest and sometime harsh.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon

Richie has cancer and he is going to die, soon. He's been fighting it for over half his life and is out of options. Now, he lives in a hospice (filled mostly with old people) waiting out his last days. He could be laying in bed dreading the end, but Richie is a teen after all. At this point, what does he have to lose? So he keeps life as interesting as possible for himself. It helps that another teen, Sylvie, is across the hall.

With Sylvie, there is the possibility of at least having a girl who likes him. Sylvie is way too pretty and out of his league - Richie knows there is no way he would have had a shot with her if they were both healthy. But now here she is, still beautiful in her frail state and hanging out with him.

Richie's mother has raised him all on her own refusing help from even her own mother. She is strong and has worked hard to give them both a good life. Her constant vigil in his room makes it difficult for Richie to be free, so one week when she is sick and not allowed in the hospital he takes advantage of it.

Two teens with little time left can create much chaos for their parents and the hospice staff. Even the staff who want Richie to be his 17 year old self are uneasy with some of his behavior (like a few Halloween pranks on hospital visitors). And Sylvie's dad might literally kill Richie if he is caught with Sylvie again.

This could have been an incredibly depressing story about a teen with cancer, but is instead a humorous look at a young man making the best of his situation. He is surrounded by people who love and support him even when he makes bad choices (you know, how all teens should be). Even though death is never far, his head is full of normal teen thoughts - fun, sex, childhood and his family.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

I'm not one of those people who look at the end of a book before I read it. I understand why people do that, but it would ruin the experience for me. That being said, I was tempted to peek at the end of this one because the suspense was almost too much.

'Zoe' tells her story in a series of letters to a randomly chosen death row inmate in Texas who she found on the internet. She feels connected to the inmate because she killed someone, too. And there's the suspense. We don't know who and we don't know how. We do know that it is one of the boys she is interested in.

Zoe (that is the fake name she gives the inmate, Stuart) wants to tell someone her story, but does not want to tell it all right away. She wants Stuart to understand how it happened, so she begins with how she met Max, the popular guy all the girls like, and Aaron, the guy she instantly connects with who seems to have a girlfriend already. She also talks about her constantly fighting parents, her ailing grandfather and her deaf baby sister.

Not knowing who is dead borders on excruciating at times. Zoe is not a killer, so how did it happen? Definitely a story that made me want to read it faster just so I could get some answers.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

The Extra by Kathryn Lasky

Stories about Holocaust victims never have happy endings. I'm not referring literally to the ending of this book - it may or may not have a happy outcome (read it to find out). Even if the characters survive and outlive their persecutors, their lives are filled with the death and disappearances of their family and friends. So many times, they never know what happened to these people. They were taken away on trains or just disappeared one night, never to return. It was a horrific time.

Lilo is a Gypsy, a largely misunderstood population. She does not belong to a roaming caravan. She lives in a house and goes to school. Her father repairs watches and her mother sews the finest lace. And she lives in Austria at the time of the Third Reich.

Gypsies were rounded up like so many others who did not meet Hitler's standards for human existence. They were imprisoned, starved,  tortured and killed. Lilo hopes her dad's work for prominent people will save her family, but one night they are taken from their home to a camp. Before long, Lilo and her mother are chosen to be extras in a movie made by Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's favorite director. They do not experience the glamour of movie making; they are nothing more that film slaves who could be killed for doing something wrong as easily as anyone in a concentration camp.

Sometimes Lilo's life is so crushingly hopeless that she is afraid to feel anything for a clever boy named Django. He teaches her how to gather information that is helpful to their survival. How can she allow her heart to be open to anyone when she may never see her own family again?

Lilo's story is loosely based on a real girl who was a stand in for the real Leni Riefenstahl. It is a story of contrasts and juxtaposition as the actors dress in fine clothes and eat wonderful food while the extras dress in rags and are given little to eat. For Lilo, it is all fake and she can only hope that one day she can return to her real life.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.