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Teens Review the Latest from Holly Black, Novelized Bio of Malcolm X, and More
Teens share their thoughts about upcoming YA books that feature faeries, whales, and pickup lines along with a fictionalized account of the life of Malcolm X.
BLACK, Holly. The Darkest Part of the Forest. Little, Brown. Jan. 2015. 336p. Tr $18. ISBN 9780316213073. Gr 8 Up—In Fairfold, faeries are common, and deadly. On a routine basis, tourists seeking the faeries and snapping pictures with the boy in the glass coffin in the woods are stolen, and killed brutally. The residents are used to this and know how to protect themselves. After all, anyone killed who was one of them must have been acting like a tourist. But when the boy in the glass coffin in the woods wakes up, things start to go downhill and everyone is feeling the pressure. This book was well-written and eloquent. I really enjoyed the exploration of the need for a scapegoat and how that was sort of a main theme. However, it was kind of hard to get into. The characters were all very well-rounded and well-developed. Anyone who read and loved the “Spiderwick Chronicles” would like this.—Alexandra, age 15 
ELLIOT, Jenny. Save Me. Macmillan/Swoon Reads. Jan. 2015. 336p. pap. $9.99. ISBN 9781250061478. Gr 7 Up—During a whale watching trip, Cara discovers some transient orcas that are harassing her beloved gray whales. She also discovers a relationship with her new teacher who conveniently just moved to town. Also, she meets an enigmatic new boy. Then the drama starts to unfold at school when Cara's best friend Rachel starts ignoring her for a boy she’s interested in. Cara's relationships are all under strain and then a supernatural element is introduced and the readers realize that this book is actually awful where before, they were holding out the hope that it could be salvaged. There are way too many plot lines here: 1. Cara's strained relationship with David 2. David's relationship with his father 3. the orcas 4. Cara's strained relationship with Rachel 5. the supernatural 6. who is Garren? 7. Amber Seriously? Who thought that it would be possible to fit all that into one book? This book is completely set up as a teen romance with whales as a subplot. But then you throw in the supernatural and everything goes to hell. With all these plots whirling around one completely insufficient character, how can any of them end satisfactorily? The answer is: it can't, as evidenced by this book. The supernatural comes to an end with exorcisms by a priest that is just a little too conveniently vacationing in the middle of nowhere. Rachel and Ethan just magically end up happy and completely forgiving of each other; where is the character development? Both of these characters are completely static and irrelevant. The relationship between Cara and David comes to a head in the most cliche ending ever. The whales are just miraculously fine after being beached and attacked. And Garren is an angel. This is completely unacceptable; the author erased a perfectly good chance for asexual representation in order to explain away all the coincidences and plot holes that drive this book. I only picked this up because I like whales. I was so disappointed. I was expecting a teen angst romance and I got one that completely exceeded my expectations of how awful it would be. The only reason I kept reading was to see how the author decided to wrap this one up. I felt this book was an utter failure. That may be mean, but it's true. You can't end a book with someone being an angel and they all lived happily ever after.—Alexandra, age 15 
SHABAZZ, Ilyasah & Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel. Candlewick. Jan. 2015. 384p. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780763669676. Gr 7 Up—Malcolm is torn from his home after his mother loses her job and can no longer support the family. He takes this opportunity to move to Boston, where he gets caught up in a dangerous crowd. However, he's now in love with danger and will do whatever it takes to get more of it. I didn't know a lot about Malcolm X other than that he was the second biggest name in the civil rights movement. I also heard his name more commonly associated with physical violence in the civil rights movement as well, and after reading this, I understand so much more as to why he took that approach. I couldn't imagine going through all of the things that he did, and at the very end when he completely got stabbed in the back. That's a kind of heartbreak no one should ever have to experience. It was unfortunate what happened to him, but it was also fascinating to learn more about this interesting man. The book was written in such an especially fluid way; I loved the way it flowed and pieced itself together. The authors did an amazing job and I am hopeful that he influenced his daughter in a positive way. The very end was honestly the most impacting part. I loved hearing of Malcolm’s change of view and his final decision to become something more than he was. It takes a lot of courage to admit something like the fact that you're wrong. He took control of his life and turned things around greatly. Anyone who loves history but hates reading things put together like a nonfiction book will adore this, especially those who enjoy black history but are bored of Martin Luther King Jr.—Sophie, age 15 
SONDQUIST, Josh. We Should Hang Out Sometime. Little, Brown. Dec. 2014. 336p. Tr $18. ISBN 9780316251020. Gr 7 Up—Josh is a boy who is good with math, but not with girls. He has the best pickup line—“We should hang out sometime”—but he never really gets a relationship out of it. Now, after many girlfriend-less years, he tries to figure out why. I really enjoyed this book. The author’s sense of humor is spot-on, and the pages have occasional quasi-mathematical diagrams relating to the story. The most compelling aspect of the book was its personality. It was written in a way that you could feel close to the author, and it was so easy and fun to read. Fans of John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines (Dutton, 2006) will enjoy this book.—Peyton, age 17 
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