American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese
by Gene Luen Yeng
First Second, 2006. 240 pgs.
Young Adult: Graphic Novel
Hardcover: $19.95

Annotation: Yeng explores the complexity of identity with humor and wisdom.

Summary: Across the expanse of three separate plots, Yeng examines the nature of identity. First comes the intimidating Monkey King. Born of a rock he rules a mountian of monkeys, but when turned away from a party in Heaven, decides to transform himself in order to never be rejected again. Then we have Jin Wang, the only Chinese boy in his class until the Taiwanese Wei-Chen moves in. Not only bonded by the butt of racial snears, the two find they have a love of transformers and soon become fast friends. And finally we have Danny, whose horribly stereotypical cousin Chin-Kee arrives, making Danny's life miserable as he strives to navigate highschool with a family member whose embarrassing differences might make him an outcast.

Evaluation: A graphic novel is a type of comic book, usually with a lengthy and complex storyline similar to those of novels, and often aimed at mature audiences. (So says http://www.wikipedia.org/)

My previously uninformed perception was that graphic novels were a combination of the best in illustration with a mediocre plot thrown in to make them…something more than a children’s picture book. My bad. Super cool graphics?--Check. Simple plot?--Negative. American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association's Printz Award.

The adventures of the Monkey King, Jing Wang, Wei-Chin, and crazy cousin Chin-Kee are sure to capture your attention. The three separate plots of the novel explore the difficulties of being Chinese-American in a society where stereotypes abound. Being a teenager is hard in any country, and being ‘different’ can kill your social life--especially when your accent, appearance, and relatives differ so drastically from the ‘norm’. The temptation to give in to peer-pressure and blend with the cool crowd is nearly irresistible, especially when transforming yourself would make you more acceptable. Adhering to ancient cultural traditions seems unappealing when trying to navigate the hallways of high school, or rule a mountain of monkeys. And the question is…accept it or reject it? The novel is full of a “should I really be laughing at this?” style of humor that the Politically Correct Police would be sure to censor. Yet, Yang simultaneously draws a mesmerizing tale while teaching some extraordinary values. And when the intricate plot lines magically intertwine in the last pages, the beauty of the tale is overwhelming. Deep enough for a college thesis and light enough for a young teen, this graphic novel is a masterpiece of ingenuity.

Significance: American Born Chinese addresses the difficulty of being a minority--in any sense of the word--during the formative teen years. The novel offers superb discussion points on relevant young adult issues, such as: How do you navigate social and cultural differences and if you can transform yourself, is it advisable? Should you remain true to your traditional family values? How can you integrate successfully into a new society while still honoring your native culture? These and other cultural/social quandries make this book a great read for any teens struggling with difficult identity issues.

Personal Choice: I have a strong interest in Chinese culture and had never read a graphic novel, so with that combination of variables, I had to give this new genre a try and was utterly blown away by Yeng's genius in the process.

Awards: Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2007 / Printz Winner, 2007 / ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Top Ten List / National Book Award Nominee, 2007 / San Franciso Chronicle Best Book of the Year / NPR Holiday Pick / amzon.com Best Graphic Novel/Comic of the Year / Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year / Booklist Editors' Choice Book

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
by A.S. King
Knopf, 2010. 336 pgs.
Young Adult Fiction
Hardcover: $16.99

Annotation: When Charlie dies, Vera Dietz is the only one who knows the mystery behind his death, but will she find the courage to share the truth?

Summary: Vera Dietz and Charlie Kahn have been best friends since they were four years old. They hike in the woods, climb the Master Oak and even build a tree house together. But each have their secrets to keep. Vera never tells anyone that Mr. Kahn abuses his wife and Charlie never tells anyone that Vera's mom is an ex-stripper, until they reach high school that is. Then Charlie begins hanging out with the detentionheads, falls into the evil clutches of Jenny Flick and everything changes. He starts to believe the lies Jenny tells him and soon Vera and Charlie's friendship is a thing of the past, solidified when he hits Vera--exhibiting the traits he never wanted to inherit from his father and ensuring that Vera will never talk to him again. But Vera does talk to him one last time--the night the pet store burns down and the night that Charlie dies. "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" is the history behind the mystery of Charlie's death, his acquaintance with a creepy pervert and his slow slide into loserdom and lostville. But it's Vera's story too and she must work out her own demons as she finishes up her senior year and works full time as a pizza delivery techinician, all the while trying to come to terms with Charlies' betrayal, his death and her mother's leaving when she was twelve years old.

Evaluation: King tells a horrible story in a remarkably compelling manner. She rotates chapers from alternative points of view: Vera, Charlie (now dead), the Pagoda (a town landmark) and Vera's dad. It all works amazingly well and each chapter provides another piece of the puzzle that King slowly helps the reader put together. It's dark, dark, dark and yet there are wonderful moments of humor and triumph. Vera is sarcastic, smart, tough, but emotionally fragile and trying to survive this craziness. She's a superb protagonist and someone to love, even if you can't relate to her crazy life and especially if you can. I loved Vera's use of her vocabulary words and the way she would say "Parsimonious. Here is me using parsimonious in a sentence. My dad is so parsimonious he won't buy anything without a coupon." Vera and her dad have a fascinating relationship, but all the peripheral characters are well-wrought too. We have Mr. Dietz: Zen master who can't get over his wife's leaving and reader of self-help books; James: Vera's pizza 23-year-old pizza colleague, make-out partner and booz-buyer; Marie: the pizza manager with crazy teeth but a sweet disposition; the animal lovers at Zimmermans; Bill Corso: the deadbeat jock who can't read, Mr Kahn: wife-beater and stultifier of all dreams; and then there are all the people Vera delivers pizza to. King excels at character creation. In effect, "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" is pure genius.

Significance: It's a gripping story, horrifying and deadly serious as it tackles teen alcoholism, perversion, abuse, drugs, love, death and all the terrors we wish young adults never needed to know about, but sadly do. The book discusses destiny and whether or not we are forced to follow in our parent's footsteps because of our genes or whether we can break the cycle and live our own dreams. It portrays a teen-parent relationship as fallible, but ultimately salvageable and honors some adults, even when others are complete idiots. It is real, honest and definitely not for the faint of heart.

Personal Choice: One of my best friend's last name is Dietz and she urged me to read the book and tell her what I thought before she dared read it. My advice to her?...don't read it if you're in the mood for something light and fluffy because you won't find it here. It's a heavy, edgy story but stunning and eventually hopeful and one that deserves high honors.

Awards: Printz Honor Award, 2011

The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006. 560 pgs.
Young Adult Fiction
Hardcover: $17.99

Annotation: Death follows Leisel Meminger as she steals book after book during the horror and heartbreak of Nazi Germany.

Summary: Leisel steals her first book at her brother's gravesite before she even knows how to read, but The Gravedigger's Handbook becomes the satiric tome her foster father uses to teach her. Sent to the town of Molching, Germany during WWII to live with the Hubermanns, Leisel struggles with nightmares and her foster mother's caustic personality. But she finds a friend in Rudy, the German boy down the street who becomes her fast playmate and partner in crime. They steal apples from the neighbors and commit other petty acts, but it is Leisel who continues to steal book after book (including, hungering for the beauty of the words. Then Max appears, a Jewish boxer whose father Hans owes a favor. So they hide him in the basement, where he wastes away in fear and darkness, becoming friends with Leisel and ironically painting over the words of Mein Kampf to make her a comic book. Molching is caught between its citizens' desire to remain humane and the Nazi's increasingly constrictive tyranny; however, Leisel is somewhat protected by the sweetness of accordian-playing Hans. But even he cannot protect her when the Nazi's come to town and she will end up losing one of her most precious friends.

Evaluation: Juxtaposing horrific evil and resplendant beauty, Zusak writes one of the most moving novels to hit the literary world. The Book Thief is based on stories his mother used to tell of Nazi, Germany and although it began life as a 100 page novella, it blossomed into the 560 page volume we now know. The story is engrossing and the language is resplendant. Zusak's use of Death as the narrator is a brilliant, original choice and Death moves silently through the book, "haunted by humans" and his increasing death duties throughout the war, but providing an omniscient perspective and a grim wit. Leisel is a sympathetic character and the rest of the cast is well-wrought and increasingly more beloved. The book is haunting, lovely and superbly written. Line after beautiful line flows from Zusak's pen and it's difficult to choose a favorite phrase, but here are some of the choicest ones:

- "She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."

- "I am haunted by humans." (Death)

- "Five hundred souls. I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases. Or I'd throw them over my shoulder. It was only the children I carried in my arms." (Death)

- "So much good, so much evil. Just add water." (Death)

- "It was a Monday and they walked on a tightrope to the sun."

- "I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant." (Death)

I listened to the audio version and was mesmerized by the narration of Allen Corduner, whose performance even brought Zusak's hard-bitten parents to tears.

Despite being set during the most apalling time period in history, the book celebrates hope. The New York Times writes that,  "hope is embodied in Liesel, who grows into a good and generous person despite the suffering all around her, and finally becomes a human even Death can love."
Significance: It's difficult to enumerate the power this book wields. Leisel teaches us that books have power. They have the power to hate and the power to heal. This is a title about Nazi Germany told from the somewhat rare perspective of the Germans who resisted the Nazi's pervasive influence.

Personal Choice: I have a fascination with books about the Holocaust and after reading several good reviews, this one caught my eye. I'm proud to say I began my literary love affair with Markus Zusak after reading this book.

Awards: Printz Honor Award, 2007 / ABA - Book Sense Book of the Year, 2007

Jellicoe Road

Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta
HarperTeen, 2008. 432 pgs.
Young Adult Fiction
Hardcover: $17.99

Annotation: On the Jellicoe Road, the Townies, Cadets and the Jellicoe School children all vie for supremacy in the territory wars.

Summary: Abandoned by her mother on the Jellicoe Road, Taylor Markham is found by Hannah and taken to the Jellicoe School. Now coming upon her senior year, Taylor has just been named a House Leader at the boarding school and commander of the unoffical organization that runs the children's clandestine after-hours activities--translation, the territory wars. What the adults don't know is that the territory wars are serious business and began nearly 20 years ago when the cadets first came to camp next to the Jellicoe School for a 6 week outdoor education program. Then began a war of territory between the school, the townies and the cadets. Each year the children vie for trail rights, make boundary negotiations and try to win back key landmarks, such as the Prayer Tree or the clubhouse. But neither Taylor nor the rest of the house leaders think she's actually up for this monumental leadership role and her continually deteriorating emotional state make her less and less capable. When Hannah leaves the school without word, Taylor grows even more upset and when she finds the story Hannah's been working on the line between fact and fiction blurs until she's not sure what to believe anymore. And through it all the wars continue, with violent skirmishes, unlikely friendships and the complexities of first love forming between Jonah, Santangelo, Raffaela and herself.

Evaluation: Told from alternating chapters of present day and the past of 20 years ago, Jellicoe Road is a difficult story to unravel. But the tantalizing bits Marchetta slowly divulges keeps the interest high and the mind working frantically to decipher the story within the story. Once you figure out what's actually going on in the story Hannah's writing, it's difficult not to want to go back to the first of the novel and re-read it with this newfound perspective and even the most sophisticated teen readers will likely struggle with the past/present connection. As for characters, Taylor Markham is a complicated soul, but her goodness of heart, exterior toughness and her ultimate vulnerability will win the reader's heart. Hannah's relationship with Taylor is a continuing mystery and when you finally hit upon the truth the answer seems like it was always there. The war between the three factions is always riveting and their constant battles and increasing closeness is a beautiful testament to the power of friendship and comraderie. The novel tackles deeper themes and can be melancholy, but there are spots of humor and resiliency of character that lighten it's overall feel. There are bouts of strong language and casual teen sex makes an appearance so it's not for everyone. However, I loved the book for its complexity and for the masterful way Marchetta reveals the intricate threads that bind the characters to each other.

Significance: The title explores the journey adolescents take as they make their way through the perils of death and abandonment and learn to trust their peers while discovering the complex nature of family.

Personal Choice: My best friend raved about the book, so trusting her discerning taste I, along with my bookclub, had to give it a try we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

Awards: Printz Winner, 2009