REVIEW: Boy21 by Matthew Quick

Title: Boy21

Author: Matthew Quick

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: March 5, 2012

Pages: 250

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in gray, broken Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish Mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, he takes care of his disabled grandfather, and at school he’s called “White Rabbit”, the only white kid on the varsity basketball team. He’s always dreamed of getting out somehow with his girlfriend, Erin. But until then, when he puts on his number 21, everything seems to make sense.

Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. A former teen basketball phenom from a privileged home, his life has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he now answers only to the name Boy21—his former jersey number—and has an unusual obsession with outer space.

As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, “Boy21” may turn out to be the answer they both need.

Review: This book has been on my radar for awhile - I’ve seen it on other bloggers’ lists, I know of other teachers who use it for a read aloud - and, yet, I’ve never picked it up. When I saw it on the 2106 Abe Lincoln list, I decided now was the time to read this book - I am SO glad I did! Since having Ella, reading hasn’t been a focus for me; Boy21 is the first book I’ve read, start to finish, in one day since becoming a mom.

I’m not quite sure what it is that drew me so completely into the story: the characters, the storyline, or the ease of the writing. I know I started the book because of the plot. I have a lot of boy readers that always want sports books. Admittedly, this is a reading gap of mine. When I saw Boy21 focused on basketball, I knew this could be a great recommendation for some of my students. Yes, it is about basketball. It’s a common thread throughout the book. But, really, this book goes WELL beyond sports (like how Winger isn’t really a book about rugby). As a reader, you feel compassion, you feel uncomfortable, you feel stunned...it’s all there.

Quick gets the reader to feel so many feels through his beautifully developed characters. I know I want a friend like Finley. Someone who will do anything for you even when he doesn’t want to. Someone who is unspeakably loyal and loves what he loves so fiercely. And, Russ/Boy21? My heart breaks for him. When you see his heartbreak on the page, you can’t do anything but want to reach in and wrap him up in a hug.

So, even though this book appeals to the sports crowd, it goes well beyond that. It teaches the reader about people, about how we handle tragedies that might come out way. Would you be like Finely and erase them from your memory, or would you be like Russ and create another world for you to exist in? Either way, we need to think about what those around us are going through before we jump to conclusions - that’s what Quick teaches us through his novel.

Who Should Read It? This book appeals to many different readers. I know my sports readers will pick this one up because of the basketball thread, but I also know fans of realistic fiction (like myself) will fly through this book. It has tension (you don’t really know Finley’s story until the very end), it has great characters, and it is a quick read - a perfect combination for readers of all kinds.

REVIEW: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

Title: Wild Cards

Author: Simone Elkeles Website Facebook Twitter

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Release Date: October 1, 2013

Pages: 342

Rating: 4 (3.5) out of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

First Thoughts: I’m really conflicted after finishing this book; I read it in a day, unable to stop at the end of each chapter, and yet, I found myself wanting more from the writing and the characters. Errr...

This is a fun, read-it-in-one-sitting kind of book. Let’s start with that. I picked it up on a Saturday afternoon and finished it, well, that Saturday night. I kept telling myself I’d stop at the end of this chapter...okay, the next chapter...well, maybe just a few more, until I turned the last page. It’s a smooth read that sucks you in from the beginning to the end.

Although I couldn’t put this book down (partially due to end of break procrastination), my inner reader was conflicted. There are parts in the book that just bothered me. At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but then I figured it out: too much telling and not enough showing. Instead of showing that  Ashtyn had trust issues, the book just bluntly said it (over and over again). Instead of showing Derek’s bad boy side (which I still don’t believe), the book just told us. There are moments where character traits are told to the reader, and honestly, I didn’t believe them. There isn’t evidence (dialogue, action, thoughts, etc…) to back up many of the statements, yet the narrator just expects the reader to believe them. (On a sidenote: I do love a dual-perspective novel; we get both Ashtyn and Derek’s side of the story, which I really enjoy.)

I also feel like there are a lot of forced moments in the story - particularly the physically romantic scenes. In my mind, this book came dangerously close to crossing the young adult to new adult (or whatever you call it) line. There are sex scenes that, although not extremely explicit, are descriptive enough to make me a bit uncomfortable to give it to readers on the young end of the young adult spectrum. These scenes disappointed me, because they are so not necessary. If anything, they turn Ashtyn and Derek’s romance into a physical thing rather than a more emotional connection.

Lastly, I wanted so much more from the characters. I liked Derek a lot, and I thought he was the most well-written of the bunch, but I still don’t believe the bad-boy side. He got expelled for a prank, and that’s about it. As for Ashtyn? I think this is a missed opportunity for Elkeles. Ashtyn had the potential to be a strong female, a tomboy not afraid to be who she was. Instead, there are too many references to how hot she is and the football piece is barely there. I still enjoyed their romance, but I just think there was so much more potential to make their story even better.

I know this sounds like a bad review, but it’s really not. It’s more like a wishful review. I enjoyed the book as it is, but I just saw a missed opportunity for a knockout. If you haven’t read a Simone Elkeles book yet, you definitely need to (she’s like a gateway drug for young adult readers). And even with my disappointment, I’m looking forward to continuing Ashtyn and Derek’s story in the second book.

Final Thoughts: I know my students will eat this book up (as they do with all of Simone Elkeles’ titles), but I found myself somewhat disappointed. It’s an addicting storyline and romance, but there’s just too much telling, rather than showing.

Who Should Read It? Fans of Simone Elkeles, obviously, need to add this to their TBR list. Also, readers of romance - especially edgy, bad-boy books (although Derek isn’t really a bad boy) - will fly through this story. Although it’s pegged as a football book, I think sports’ fans will be disappointed because there’s just not enough football in it. If you want a fun, addicting romance, this is your book. If you are looking for high-level writing, maybe not so much (sorry, Simone!).

REVIEW: Winger by Andrew Smith

Title: Winger

Author: Andrew Smith Website Twitter Facebook

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Pages: 448

Buy It! amazon

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

First Thoughts: Wow! Just WOW!

I’m writing this review weeks after finishing the book - not something I normally like to do. I’ve let this review just sit here; I don’t feel like I can perfectly formulate what I want to say, and I want to do this book justice, because WOW does it deserve it! Winger left me uplifted and yet heartbroken, it made me laugh and then cry, it left a serious imprint on my soul. My review cannot possibly do this book justice, and I’m just going to have to be okay with that.

This book is just so honest and real (something you don’t always get, even in entertaining and well-written young adult fiction). Plus, it’s not pretty; everything doesn’t fit perfectly together, and it’s definitely not tied up in a pretty bow at the end. Hence, the reality of the story. Life isn’t perfect, life isn’t pretty, and everything doesn’t resolve nicely even though our studied plot diagram would have us believe so. Smith beautifully writes in unexpected turns, lost friendships, terrible but understandable decisions and frustrating (for the reader) conclusions. Again, real life.

As for the ending, it’s heartbreaking. Smith, through his narrator - Ryan Dean, had me literally laughing out loud for the first 90% of the book (I got some weird looks from my husband and dog). Then all of a sudden...BAM! Heart officially broken. To be honest, this really upset me at first. I was so angry; why couldn’t it end tied up in a nice pretty bow? I stewed on it for days. Even though I LOVED the book and immediately recommended it to every single student, my broken heart wouldn’t mend. Then, a few days later, I realized how necessary the ending is to Smith’s story. Would it have been a wonderful book without the tear-shedding moment at the end? Absolutely! Would it have been a powerful book with a lasting, oh-so-important message for readers? No, it wouldn’t. I get it, I appreciate it, and honestly, it makes me love the book even more (although, admittedly, not at first).

As for that laugh-out-loud narrator, Ryan Dean? Add him to my list of all-time favorite fictional characters! I LOVE Ryan Dean. He’s funny yet sensitive. He’s loveable yet infuriating (I mean seriously, stick to Annie and Annie alone!). And, holy cow is he all boy; I think I learned more about the fourteen year-old “boy brain” than I ever needed to know! He dreams about girls (a lot) but is afraid to even kiss the girl he likes. He draws sometimes inappropriate sketches and cartoons on his homework and yet he is completely fine passing them to friends (even when they are the subjects of the cartoons). He is a narrator I won’t soon forget and one I loved reading and rooting for.

Although I could go on-and-on about my love for this book (while still not doing it justice), just two small side notes. One: I liked the sports aspect of the rugby team; many of the guys don’t like each other as people, but they will stand up for and defend each other until the end of time. Two: if Ryan Dean is my favorite character, Joey is an extremely close second; every crazy boy, like Ryan Dean, needs a voice of reason, like Joey, for a best friend.

Final Thoughts: It’s just a special book. Simple as that. Special.

Who Should Read It? Everyone! I enjoyed this book so much, and I really truly think everyone else will too. More specifically though, I plan to get this book into as many boys’ hands as possible. It’s a book that speaks to everyone, but I so often struggle to find the perfect boy narrator- this is it.