The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Black, H. (2013). The coldest girl in coldtown. New York, NY. Little, Brown and Company.

In this vampire romance, Tana wakes up to find that she and her ex-boyfriend, Aidan, are the only survivors of a massacre from a party the night before.  She escapes with Aidan and rescues a lone vampire boy, Gavriel, who seems to be in trouble and in need of saving from the other vampires.  With a few new tagalongs for the ride and the risk of possible infection,  the group enters the walls of Coldtown, where vampires and humans both live and die in a new sort of civilization.  It's here where Tana learns what it truly means to survive as a series of gruesome and action pact events reveal how she will risk it all to save the lives of Aidan, her sister, and herself.  She also makes new friends, and finds herself overwhelmed with many new feelings for the mysterious Gavriel.  She shows herself to be a heroine, but is still left humbled when she takes on the fight of infection so that she might someday see the sun again.

The book is definitely for the vampire romance enthusiast starting at the high school level. It's a good read for 14 years old and up.  Anyone who loved the Twilight saga will love this.  A little bit of romance, horror, action and mystery.  It definitely took some time to read, not only because it was a big book, but moved the story pace was slow.  In addition to the characteristics listed above the book is science fiction based on its explanation of how the infection or "cold" could or could not spread to create new vampires. In other words, supernatural elements were all explained by science.  It also had some historical flashbacks which took us back in time and across the world.  I loved that Holly Black kept these characters true to their time through their language and dialog even when the story was taking place in the modern setting. This book has strength in its appeal to connect to young adults today. It is no doubt intriguing because of the mix of imagination and reality. The supernatural with the truly millennial language and use of technology throughout the book including tweeting, texting, reality t.v., live feeds, blogs, etc.  to the point that there is no doubt that this book had to be written recently. But even more so its just a good read for anyone who falls in love with Vampires.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman, A. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part time indian.  New York, NY.  Little Brown and Company.

In this modern realistic fiction novel, Junior, also known as Arnold decides to leave his Spokane Indian reservation school to go to one of the best small schools in the state, Reardan, which is 22 miles away. He knows he will have a better chance of having a hopeful future and leaving the reservation if he does this.  This decision comes at a cost as he has to leave a best friend, be labeled a "traitor" by his entire community, and deal with the struggle of fitting in at a new and very different school.  Arnold also deals with more serious issues including his own health issues, family financial issues,  physical abuse (of his best friend), alcohol abuse (his Dad), racism and the death of friends and close family.  Despite many obstacles, he never seems to give up on life and doing the best that he can.

This story is a a great read for anyone dealing with similar issues and boys in particular. It's coming of age story for boys that is written with a lot of humor, matching cartoon pictures, and very straight forward content.  Sherman Alexie doesn't "beat around the bush". In fact he is so blunt about his writing that it sometimes surprises me. I feel this is the way boys think sometimes and would probably be drawn to this book because there isn't a lot of "fluff" or integrate or unnecessary writing.   It is written very much the same that boys write and think. It's an honest story that deals with so many real young adult issues including the five developmental areas- physical, social, emotional, intellectual and moral.  This is a great read for all but I would put at the top of my list for young adult males.

Invisible by Pete Hautman

Hautman, P. (2005). Invisible.  New York, NY. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. 

 

In this dark modern realistic fiction, Doug Hanson deals with the loss of his best friend by escaping reality.  He builds an elaborate model train track and miniature town in his basement.  He also talks to his deceased best friend, Andy, about everything.  Slowly the story of Andy's death is revealed and    a series of disturbing events leads Doug farther into the mental unknown.

The age range for this book is 12 and up. Similar books that I would recommend to follow up after reading Invisible are Rules by Cynthia Lord, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Marc Haddon and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  These books have similar themes, characters and points of view. Themes of being an outcast because of their mental or physical disability and dealing with death are common among these books. 

A Language Arts or English teacher might find this book valuable to teach point of view to students. We see a story unfold from the point of view of someone who is mentally disturbed but does not really think of himself as such.

This book deals with modern issues of violence, grief, dealing with traumatic events, death and mental illness.  These issues are serious but many of them are very real for today's young adult.  Hautman's story draws us in as we read about a teenage boy who seems just introverted but later reveals the very disturbing thoughts, actions, and conversations that he has as a result of loosing his best friend in such a tragic way.  Young adults are drawn to the very real issues that Hautman creates along with an intriguing plot and straightforward writing. The book will leave you a little bit disturbed yourself.