Like Mandarin

After finishing Imaginary Girls, I wasn't sure if I was ready for another "young girl admires wild girl" novel, which was what Like Mandarin promised to be. I'm very happy I decided that I didn't care, because Kirsten Hubbard's novel was completely different and, in my opinion, far more enjoyable.

Protagonist Grace is an awkward, bony fourteen. She is too smart for her Wyoming town full of cowboys, beauty pageants, and dead-end futures. When Grace is paired up for a project with rebellious, beautiful Mandarin Ramey, she is swept up by the prospect of getting attention and finally living. When Grace discovers the roots of Mandarin's behavior, she has to decide if this is someone she wants to follow.

Hubbard's triumph is in her characterization of Grace. Every adolescent has an older girl who she wishes to emulate. I remember an older girl at camp who wore a Colby sweatshirt. For some reason, I thought that was her name (I wasn't brilliant), and thought it was the coolest name in the world. Grace's feelings for Mandarin are similar: she knows her class schedule, she practices sauntering like her, and she keeps tabs on the many men with whom Mandarin is rumored to have affairs. This kind of infatuation is difficult to describe, but Hubbard does it beautifully, making the reader cringe while understanding that this is a part of growing up. I particularly love that Grace's younger sister has the same feelings for her...we are all the cool older girl for someone else.

There are many affecting scenes in the novel, but the one that sticks with me is when Grace is invited into Mandarin's bedroom for the first time. It is described as having scuff marks all over the bottom third of the walls. As if I was a gossipy native of their small town, I immediately assumed it was something sex-related, as Mandarin doesn't deny being promiscuous. When she angrily kicks the wall, leaving another scuff mark, I realized that the truth was so much sadder: this lonely girl is so caged by her identity and the lack of possibilities in her town that she has to lash out. Mandarin's scuff marks on the wall are the residue that remains with me after finishing this novel.

One minor nitpick: While the cover of the novel is gorgeous, it doesn't seem to be a picture of either of the two girls. Mandarin is famous for her black hair, angular cheekbones, and tea-colored eyes. Grace is too young, awkward, and plain to be the girl on the cover. Read the first chapter here and decide who you think it is.

Imaginary Girls

Imaginary Girls has some major hype behind it. With rumors of magic realism and an incredible cover, I was excited to read Nova Ren Suma's debut novel. All of the buzz was well-deserved: this is a book that needs to be discussed to be understood. Not a breezy beach read, this is one for the book club.

Chloe has always lived in the shadow of her older sister, Ruby. Growing up with only each other to count on, Ruby takes on mythical status with her sister. But maybe it isn't just Chloe that sees the magic. When a local girl is found dead, Chloe leaves town for two years and Ruby will do whatever it takes to get her back.

Imaginary Girls belongs to Ruby, the mysterious center of the story. As I started reading, I thought that she was just another Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Like most people, I am drawn to these characters; Alaska Young and Weetzie Bat. Still I have never met one in real life because girls like that don't really exist. When I read about "The store where she got her signature shade of wine red lipstick, how they held her color behind the counter so no one else could wear it" and "Ruby’s way of doing dishes—leaving them piled in the sink and on the stove for a week at a time until there was no other option but to crate them over to the bathtub for a good soaking", I thought I was in for another MPDG. Suma surprised me, though. As the novel progressed, I realized that there was a much darker side to Ruby's charisma.

For me, this wasn't a comfortable read. None of the characters were very likable and I felt myself dreading when everything would inevitably fall apart in the world of Ruby's creation. Despite this, I was satisfied with the eerie ending and will most likely read the novel again, picking up more in my second reading.

Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie

For the past twenty years, Weetzie Bat has been an icon for outcasts who choose to see the world through rose-colored glasses (preferably cat-eyed and pink). Francesca Lia Block has returned with Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie, an origin story that takes us back to 1970s Los Angeles, before Weetzie was slinkster-cool, when she was just awkward, thirteen-year-old Louise Bat.

Fans of the series know that Weetzie’s parents, Brandy-Lynn and Charlie, had a poolside fight that ended their marriage and shattered both adults forever. In Pink Smog, we get ringside seats to the collapse of their relationship and how Weetzie coped. While the novel is focused around this event, the plot is usually beside the point in Weetzie Bat novels. What we get is an escape into the glittering lives of the dangerous angels of Shangri-L.A. When it comes to magical realism, Block has got everyone beat. I wish that my brain worked like Block’s, churning out beautiful ideas like, “Once I was stung by a jellyfish and the pain felt just like the thing looked—gelatinous and cold and veined with hurt.” Block creates a mystical world of jacaranda blossoms and vintage cars that encourages readers to find the beauty in their own lives.

Pink Smog is more grounded than any of the others in the series and it suffers slightly for it. For the first time, the novel is written in the first person, so the reader knows Weetzie’s thoughts and feelings. While it might be reassuring to younger readers to know that such an amazing character has insecurities, part of the fairy tale fun of the novels is lost in the process. Another misstep is that too much time is spent in Weetzie’s high school, a setting that feels out of place and uncomfortable in Block’s world. It’s always risky to return to a beloved character, but Block has done it before with Necklace of Kisses (review), which takes Weetzie into her forties. That foray was more successful because she was still able to be the independent spirit that readers love, untethered to school and parents.

This slim volume could be read in an afternoon, but Block’s writing deserves to be savored. Her descriptions are gorgeous, particularly when describing the city that she and Weetzie love. If you haven’t read any of the books in the series, I recommend reading Weetzie Bat first, in order to understand the references at the end of Pink Smog. Once you are firmly entrenched in Weetzie’s world, you will enjoy this and the other novels in the series.

Read this and more reviews at Young Adult Books Central.

In Darkness

The 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti has trapped fifteen-year-old gangster Shorty under the rubble in the hospital where he has been recovering from a gunshot. As his hope for survival slowly fades, he maintains his sanity by telling his life story to the darkness that surrounds him.

This plot would be enough to hook me, but author Nick Lake makes In Darkness more compelling by alternating Shorty's story with a third person account of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Haitian slave who led a successful revolution against the French in the late 18th century. It is a powerful juxtaposition to pair Toussaint's hope and love for his beautiful nation and Shorty's despair in the slums of Port au Prince. Touissant's life is fascinating; as an older, unattractive, and uneducated slave, he is not the typical hero. Yet he accomplishes the seemingly impossible with wisdom and grace.

As much as I enjoyed learning more about Toussaint L'Ouverture, I found myself looking forward to Shorty's chapters. His plot feels so immediate and vital. The transformation of the character of Shorty is very clever. Initially, he comes across as an innocent victim of the earthquake, then his story slowly unfolds and the reader learns about the terrible things he has done. Just when he borders on unsympathetic, Lake deftly reminds the reader that there are few options available to youths in the slums and that Shorty manages to keep his humanity. Shorty describes his best friend, saying, "Sometimes I'd look at him and it was like he'd forgotten to put the shutters over his eyes, and I'd see right down to his soul, and see how much he was hurting. He was unprotected, is the best way I can say it. His manman died when he was little, and there was nothing about him that could keep bad stuff out." At times it is difficult to remember that the characters are children, but that is the power of In Darkness; the reality hits the reader unexpectedly.

We need more young adult literature about Haiti. This is a country that is frequently in the news for tragedies, yet there is a dearth of narratives that encourage a personal connection with the people being affected. When teaching a unit on Haitian immigration to Bahamian students, we read Frances Temple's Taste of Salt, but that was the only fiction text that was available for middle school readers. In Darkness is for older readers; the violence is explicit and the dead-end lives of the residents of the Site Soley slums weigh heavily on the reader. The publication of Lake's novel will hopefully only be the beginning of a wave of novels informing readers about life in modern Haiti.

Read this and other reviews on Young Adult Books Central.

Mameshiba: On the Loose!

I am predisposed to like Mameshiba: On the Loose! after living in Korea and Japan. After a few years in countries that idealize cuteness, one of the top ways to appeal to me is by anthropomorphizing objects. Put two cute eyes and a mouth on anything and I will buy it, sad but true. So I lit up when James Turner's graphic novel arrived in my mailbox.

"Mameshiba" comes from the Japanese words for "bean" and "dog", and the characters are basically beans with dog ears. Still, Turner manages to infuse the shapes with a lot of personality. The book begins with a guide to the mameshiba which introduces the reader to their characteristics. For example, our hero Edamame is "the brave, determined leader of the pack". It helps that artist Jorge Monlongo constantly has the mameshiba in action: running, jumping, and riding unicycles. The illustrations are detailed and colorful, which will appeal to the young readers who are the target audience.

Also appealing to young readers are the short plotlines. There are several stories in the book, involving adventures into the sewer, as well as outer space. They are interspersed with one-page "shorts" by Gemma Correll which are bizarrely random and cute. Best of all, it will be easy for readers to mimic the drawings and create their own mameshiba comics. There are enough characters and potential stories that this short book can lead to many afternoons of fun.

This graphic novel was provided by the publisher in consideration for The Cybils. This did not influence my review.

Luz Sees the Light

Hey Kids,

Want to read a black/white/brown graphic novel that lectures you about climate change?

Yes, me neither.

I dislike when agendas are shoehorned into books, hidden in the guise of "It's a graphic novel, they'll like it." I am an environmentalist and an educator, but know that for a message to be effective, it has to be appealing. Multiple pages in Luz Sees the Light feature quotes like, "If we keep relying on imports, eventually we won't be able to afford the things we need. So we should buy from local farms and businesses and produce our own stuff." This is the ultimate in telling-not-showing, which turns off readers and prevents the message from being communicated.

From electricity blackouts to rising gas prices to vegetarianism to composting, there is just too much crammed into Luz Sees the Light. While environmental issues are interconnected, author Claudia Davila should have focused on just one aspect so that her target audience could better digest these important lessons.

Classics To Consider

Does it get better than Number the Stars? Lois Lowry's novel is the gold standard for adolescent Holocaust literature. I can't think of any novel (and I have read a ton of them) that better introduces the tragedy in a gentle yet informative way. I am so happy that it continues to be read and cherished by students. I remember reading it when it was first published and my sixth graders currently list it as one of their favorite novels.

The story of Annemarie Johansen's family and their efforts to save their Jewish friends is a beautiful example of loyalty, courage, and friendship. If you haven't read Number the Stars since middle school, it is worth reading again. It definitely stands the test of time.

I would have loved The Egypt Game when I was growing up. I was fascinated by the chart of hieroglyphics on the wall of my social studies classroom, and spent way too much time trying to write my name using birds and other symbols. Protagonists April and Melanie do this, and more: they recreate Egypt in a vacant lot in their neighborhood, using research and their imaginations to make it as realistic as possible.

Published in 1967, the novel introduces readers to childhood before video games and television. While parts of the novel seemed to drag, at the same time there is so much story packed into this novel. It's interesting to note that a neighborhood child murderer was a casual plot point in the 60s, something that would be very controversial today. Still, I hope that today's readers are inspired to engage in more creative play after reading The Egypt Game.