If you haven't heard the scuttlebutt on Ellen Hopkins being "uninvited" to the Humble ISD Teen Lit Festival in Texas, you can read up on it here. Our reviewer calls Fallout, Hopkins's most recent title, "an excellent conclusion to a powerful series dealing with important issues." Which is exactly why the author should be available and accessible to teens, don't you think?
HOPKINS, Ellen. Fallout. September 2010. Margaret K. McElderry. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-1-41695-009-7. Gr 9 up–First of all, I'm slightly disappointed that Ellen Hopkins's famed "Crank/Glass" series became a trilogy. Kristina's story of her addiction to meth and its effect on her life was far from finished after the second book, but every book seems to lead to a trilogy these days! Rest assured, however, that my dismay at a third volume only lasted as long as it took me to start reading the book. Truly, Fallout is my favorite of the three.
Unlike Crank and Glass, Fallout is narrated by three of Kristina's children, in alternating chapters. This change in narrator refreshes the story of Kristina's family, making it much more accessible and interesting than if the novel had been purely another of Kristina's episodes with the monster. Besides being the uniting factor between the three originally disparate narrators, Kristina plays only a small role in the story. Her evocative presence in her children's lives comes through their opinions and thoughts about her far more often than through her actual presence in their lives.
Similar to Hopkins's Impulse, the three separate storylines alternate every few pages, giving an overall picture of each narrator rather than covering every detail of his or her life. I generally enjoy this format and the puzzle of fitting the stories together that comes with it; however, for some reason, I struggled keeping these stories straight in my mind. Each narrator was unique, but partway through their stories they began to run together in my head, leading me to wonder if she was the one with the boyfriend or if he had left, and so on. I'm not sure what could have been done to correct this, seeing as each character had a specific font and his name at the start of his section. For the record, it wasn't their names that I couldn't keep straight, it was their specific life stories.
Overall, Fallout is an excellent conclusion to a powerful series dealing with important issues. The story may seem a tad long in the middle, but the ending is well worth the wait. Walking the balance between hopeful and realistic without being cheesy, it provides a fitting ending to the compelling series.- Emily L., age 17
KEPLINGER, Kody. The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. September 2010. Poppy. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-31608-423-9. Gr 9 up–Bianca Piper, perpetual Debbie Downer, would like nothing more than for Wesley Rush, hottie of Hamilton High, to fall off the face of the planet, especially when he nicknames her "Duffy." But with her home life slowly falling apart, Bianca finds Wesley an oh-so-tempting distraction, even considering him possibly a decent guy. While The Duff explores what it's like to be considered the Designated Ugly Fat Friend, Bianca must come to terms with how she really feels about Wesley and still hang onto the life she knows.
The Duff is definitely a stereotypical "summer read," and most of the details are self-explanatory. The ending was too perfect, as easy as a four-piece jigsaw puzzle, because the outcome would seem too far-fetched in reality. Even so, I found it intriguing that Keplinger wrote it based on her personal experience with the word "duff." The fact that the word is actually out there added something to the book and made it stand out more, which is especially important since the cover is unoriginal and too comparable to that of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. The characters' personalities were very well developed and I got a clear picture of each lifestyle without it seeming like a book of descriptions. Because the definition of "duff" was constantly changing, however, I was never quite sure of Bianca's physical description, which I often found annoying.
The Duff is definitely a book that will be most relatable for high school students and up. There were a lot of references to The Scarlett Letter (references that I loved), but readers younger than 14 may not enjoy them as much as I did, especially if they haven't read Hawthorne's classic. In the end, I'd say The Duff is a fair book, especially for a debut novel, but not necessarily a title that's needed in a personal library.–Elyse O., age 15
DEUTSCH, Barry. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword. November 2010. Amulet. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-81098-422-6. Gr 5-8–Hereville is a story about a young Jewish girl who desperately wants to slay dragons. Unfortunately, such things are discouraged in her culture. So Mirka skips school, meets a talking pig, has a run in with a witch, and battles a troll. All of her adventures culminate in her acquiring a sword with which to really slay dragons.
This was a really good book about going against the grain and following your dreams. I really liked how Mirka never gave up, even when her stepmother told her outright that she wouldn't be allowed to slay dragons.
I didn't really like the illustrations in the story, which was unfortunate especially because it was a graphic novel. I felt like the drawings were slightly childish, but then, the entire book seemed like it was aimed toward a much younger audience than myself. There were some places in the book when I felt like I was supposed to be laughing or learning but I simply wasn't.
Hereville was a quick read, and it was enjoyable enough. I liked learning about Jewish culture, especially because I have many Jewish friends. That, however, might have been the peak of the interest that I had in the book.
I would recommend this book to girls a few years younger than myself. These girls would really need to like reading and learning about different things. I wouldn't recommend this book to a boy, or anyone around the age of 17. I think that Hereville appeals to a very restricted audience, although it's not a bad read for those people outside of the select group.–Hilary L., age 17
WHITTENBERG, Allison. Tutored. December 2010. Delacorte. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-38573-869-9. PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90742-2. Gr 9-12–I picked up Tutored hoping it would be like some of my favorite books by Simone Elkeles. The cover drew me in and from the description on the back cover, the story sounded good. This book had a "Romeo and Juliet" feel, but reading it disappointed me. It took me three weeks to finish it, which is a really long time for me. I was bored by the plot, and there was NO passion or romance between the characters. The whole dynamic about "African-American" thought left me confused. I felt the book was full of strong opinions from the author but she sometimes contradicted herself, which I didn't like.
I was hoping the book was a love story; even one full of fairytale fluff would have been more fulfilling and entertaining than Tutored,which just left me bored and longing for a better book to read.–Margaret Kathryn L., age 14
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