6. The Breakup Bible

The Breakup Bible (Melissa Kantor, coming May 2007)

Yikes--it's been a few weeks since I finished this one and I'm a couple more books behind.

The Breakup Bible has a bright pink cover with a breaking heart on it, so it was embarrassing to read it at the airport bar between planes. That's the downside to reading in public. I guess it doesn't bother some people, but I'm the person who, when reading a romance novel for a class, made a little cover for my mass-market paperback because I couldn't stand to have people on the bus think I actually wanted to read it. Is that librarian guilt?

Where was I? Oh, yes: The Breakup Bible. I was kind of excited when I saw that the first chapter is titled, "I am Trying to Break Your Heart" and thought maybe they'd all be named after songs. It was a little disappointing to see that the protagonist doesn't even know/like Wilco and the rest of the chapters are not musically named. Anyway, the story centers on Jennifer, a high school junior and school newspaper journalist whose boyfriend (and editor) breaks up with her. I was annoyed with the character for being so snively about the whole ordeal and couldn't really sympathize with her. Teenage breakups were never so dramatic for me, but maybe I'm an unfeeling robot. In any case, Jennifer's grandmother gives her a self-help book to help her recover (maybe Grandma thought she was a whiner, too) .

I actually did get sucked into the story. The writing is solid and the voices of all the characters rang true. It seems like everything I picked up from Hyperion has been really good, so big ups to them. Some of Jennifer's references seemed a little old for her, but I've found that to be pretty common in YA lit--probably because the people writing this stuff are closer to my age than their characters'. It's a small problem, but one that bugs me both in books and on television.

5. Firetrap

Firetrap (Earl Emerson, 2006)

As I was telling a friend the other day, I'll read just about any mystery set in Seattle, no matter how cheesy. Earl Emerson is one of the best, though. My dad lent me a couple of his books way back when I was still in high school and he always seems to give me the best book recommendations. I've read just about everything in his Thomas Black and Mac Fontana series, but Firetrap is the first stand-alone title I've gotten around to checking out.

Trey Brown, the firefighter protagonist, is a great character who I wouldn't mind meeting again. I was unsure about how well Emerson could capture the voice of an African American character, but I was impressed. Not only did Brown ring true, but Emerson was also able to really capture the complex and tenuous racial politics in Seattle. The story, centering on the investigation following a deadly nightclub fire and the resulting community tension, was gripping enough to keep me up half the night so I could finish the book in one stretch.

The one criticism I have is that Emerson used a shifting narrative, usually moving back and forth between Brown and Jamie Estevez, Brown's co-investigator and love interest. This device was effective when used for witness statements, but I would have preferred a third-person omniscient narrator for the bulk of the novel. Nitpicks about style aside, I really enjoyed the story here and recommend the book. I'm also reminded that Emerson has a few other titles I've missed, so I'll be sure to check them out.

4. Dramarama

Dramarama (E. Lockhart, coming May 2007)

Wow, this is a good book. Sadye and her best friend Demi go to theatre camp the summer before senior year and, as young adults in books always do, learn about themselves and grow from their experiences. Maybe it's because I went to a dance camp one summer--though nothing nearly as competative as Wildwood--but I really bought the story. The auditions, the classes, the end-of-summer performances were very well done and believable. I don't have a lot to say about this one except that I recommend Dramarama to adults as well as teens.

Reading all this teen lit is making me a tiny bit jealous of my YA librarian colleagues. Not that I'd trade my work. I think I'm made to be an academic librarian, but I sometimes wonder if I could have done youth instead.

3. Planet Janet

Planet Janet (Dyan Sheldon, 2002)

This one was a gift from my friend Pete a couple years back. I read the other YA title he gave me at the same time, but somehow never got around to Planet Janet until now. It's tempting to call this a teenaged Bridget Jones' Diary, except that BJ was not much more mature than this heroine. Janet is a self-absorbed sixteen-year-old girl attempting to enter her "Dark Phase," wherein she wears black clothing and tries unsuccessfully to think deep thoughts. She's rather irritatingly self-absorbed, not realizing at all what's going on in her own family. I kept thinking that she was written as a thirteen-year-old because she seemed far too naive and clueless to be in high school. Then I remembered that thirteen is probably the age of the target audience and tweens and teens like to read about kids a few years older than themselves. In any case, the diary conceit works pretty well and Janet's voice rings true.