Remarkable Reads: On the Run
RSSBy Dodie Ownes DEAN, Carolee. Take Me There. Simon Pulse. 2009. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4487-8396-0. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-8950-9. Remarkable Reads is produced by the editors at NoveList, the leader in readers' advisory electronic resources. For more information, visit NoveList. This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
October 27, 2011
It's appropriate to have this column run now, at the tail end of National Anti-Bullying Awareness month. Bullies don't just exist in the schoolyard or classroom. There are political bullies and misogynists; there are parents and relatives that assert physical or mental control over those around them. These bullies often cause teens to feel they have no choice but to run away, to preserve themselves or protect those that they love. Each teen in the following titles has his or her own reason for fleeing, and readers will find themselves urging these characters on, hoping that they get farther away from whatever is chasing them.
Gr 9 Up-Dylan Darrow can't get a break. His life has been pretty miserable so far-he hasn't seen his alcoholic mother in years, and his father is on death row. He spends his time keeping one eye on Jess, a rich and beautiful girl, and the other on his best friend Wade, who just can't seem to stay out of trouble. When things heat up, he takes off toward the Texas prison where his father is being held in an attempt to discover more about the past that he keeps running away from. The characters are richly drawn and believable, and the plot will pull readers along for the ride, wanting to know the same secrets (and lies) that Dylan and Jess will ultimately discover.ELLIS, Deborah Ellis. No Safe Place. Groundwood. 2010. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-88899-973-3.
Gr 9 Up-No Safe Place revolves around three teens on the run-Abdul from Iraq, Cheslav from Russia and Rosalia, who is Roma and doesn't really have a country to call her own. All have escaped brutal childhoods with inexplicable cruelties and are trying to make their way to a better life. They meet in Calais late at night on a smuggler's boat, bound for England, not knowing what kind of cargo the ship is carrying. The smuggler is ruthless, and they band together to not only survive the voyage themselves, but to help their fellow passengers. A compelling and important read that tackles drug and human trafficking, racism and sexism, and the horrors of civil war.SMITH, Andrew. Stick. Feiwel and Friends. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-312-61341-9.
Gr 9 Up-What if the worst thing you had to do all day was going home? That's how fourteen year old Stark 'Stick' Maclellan and his older brother Bosten feel. Their mother is detached and uncaring, and their father is mentally and physically abusive. Nicknamed Stick because he's tall and skinny, Stark has a deformed ear that draws stares and taunts, causing his brother to come to his defense more than once. Then deep secrets are revealed, their father explodes, and Bosten takes off toward the only person that has ever shown interest in them, Aunt Dahlia. Despite the dark times these two teens endure, this is a hopeful book, with a story and dialogue that will ring true with teens.
