March 2007 books

[dirtylibrarian]

Breaking Up (Fashion High)
Aimee Friedman
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
High school. Friendship. Popularity. Dating. Secrets. Emotions.
Good, solid, entertaining and heartfelt graphic novel for high school girls.

Sardine in Outer Space (Volume 3)
Emmanuel Guibert
Kids Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Adventure. Kids. Friendship. Spaceships. Wacky high jinks. Boxing. Movie making. Retirement homes. Bands. Evil babies. Fast food. Planets.
Lively and colorful kids comic from France.

Best Foot Forward
Joan Bauer
Teen Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Shoe sales. Al-Anon. Family. Corporate secrets. Dating. Second chances.
Nice, and very earnest.

Real Spirit: Fun Ideas for Refreshing, Relaxing, and Staying Strong
Elizabeth Chobanian
Tween Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Stress management. Relaxation. Yoga.
Great introduction to these concepts for girls.

Mei Mei Little Sister: Portraits from a Chinese Orphanage
Richard Bowen
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Yes.
Orphans. China. Girls. Portraits.
Very sweet and somewhat sad book of girls with no families and little hope of finding one.

Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs
Adult Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Crazy families. Bad therapists. Squalor. Friendship. Homosexuality. Statutory rape. Memoirs.
A real train wreck of an adolescence. Not recommended for sharing with carpool buddy, due to painful sex scenes.

Sexy Girls: How Hot Is Too Hot?
Hayley Dimarco
Teen Non-Fiction
Recommend?: No.
Teen girls. Sexuality. Clothing. Body modification. Flirtation. Christianity.
To sum up this book: sexy is for your husband. Save it. And don't tempt boys.

Reckless (Rush Hour - A Journal of Contemporary Voices - Volume 4)
ed. Michael Cart
Teen Short Stories
Recommend?: Shrug.
Teens. Danger. Rash behavior. Suicide attempts. Deportation. Shoplifting. Reform school. Break-ins. Revenge.
Solid collection of short works, interviews, poetry, and even a graphic novel bit. But not terribly exciting.

It's All Good
Boogie
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Yes.
Ghettos. Drug addiction. Poverty. Children. New York City. Gangsters.
Very raw and depressing collection of brutally honest photos. Well done.

The Schwa Was Here
Neal Shusterman
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Brooklyn. Middle school. Guys. Urban legends. Disappearing people. Invisibility. Friendship. Family. Romance. Dogs. Grouchy old men.
Great read…lots of fun!

Ouran High School Host Club 1
Bisco Hatori
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Manga. Japan. Private school. Wealth. Cross dressing. Social clubs. Homoerotic tension. Comedy.
Amusing. Teens who love boy love mangas will be amused by this.

Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything
E. Lockhart
Teen Audiobook
Recommend?: Definitely!
High school. Art students. NYC. Comic books. Gherkins. Nudity. Sexuality. Crushes. Dating. Romance. Friendship.
An absolute delight! Highly recommended.

My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up
Stephen Elliott
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Shrug.
S&M. Short stories. Semi-memoirs. San Francisco. Chicago. Drug addicts. Abuse. Sex. Relationships.
Great cover, ok book. About finding one's own version of happiness.

The Professor's Daughter
Joann Sfar
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Victorian London. Romance. Mummies. Accidental murder. Queens. Plots. Reincarnation.
Unique and fun.

Psyche in a Dress
Francesca Lia Block
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Shrug.
Novel-in-Verse. Mythic retelling. Romance. Los Angeles. Self-discovery. Mothers. Film-making. Musicians.
Solid Block, will appeal mostly to goths.

Casey at the Bat
Ernest L. Thayer
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Classic poetry. Baseball. Urban retellings. African-Americans.
Fun retelling with hip-hop stylings by Joe Morse.

Arresting Time: Erich Lessing, Reportage Photography, 1948-1973
Erich Lessing
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Shrug.
Black and white. Photography. Europe. Post-WWII.
Good stuff, but I found it uninspiring.

Rules
Cynthia Lord
Tween Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Autism. Brothers. Family. Summer. Responsibility. Friendship. Disabilities. Stigma. Art.
Wonderful read about the frustrations of having to be the responsible sibling.

Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies)
Justina Chen Headley
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Asian-Americans. Mixed heritage. Missing fathers. Domineering mothers. Fortune Tellers. Math camp. Friendship. Romance. Freedom. Self-discovery.
Terrific book for high school girls.

Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir
Graham Roumieu
Adult Picture Book
Recommend?: Yes.
Humor. Bigfoot. Outcasts. Violence. Filth. Legends. Fame. "Autobiography".
Amusing, but not hilarious.

Bambi and Her Pink Gun (Volume 1)
Atsushi Kaneko
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Manga. Grrl power. Guns. Violence. Kidnapping. Evil pop stars. Assassins.
Cool in concept and style, but overall too nauseatingly violent for my taste.

Sold
Patricia McCormick
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Novel-in-Verse. Nepal. Poverty. Ignorance. India. Slavery. Prostitution. Friendship. Hope.
Amazing verse novel. Will break your heart to realize this is played out constantly with thousands of children every year. Inspiring, though sad.

Body of a Journalist (DMZ - Volume 2)
Brian Wood
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Future America. Civil War. Journalism. Military plots. Deceit. Friendship. Truth.
Excellent series about ordinary New Yorkers caught up in the middle of other people's battles.

The Last Christmas
Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Christmas. Post-apocalypse. Violence. Santa. Loss. Zombies. Depression. Elves. Revenge.
Definitely NOT for kids. Gory, outrageous, appalling, and fun.

Devilish
Maureen Johnson
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Private high schools. Friendship. Popularity. Self-esteem. Demons. Souls. Romance. Rhode Island.
Fun and exciting, should be a good booktalk (except at schools where Satanism might raise eyebrows).