I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU

Carter, Ally. 2006. I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.

Ally Carter’s novel, I’d Tell You I Love You, But then I’d Have to Kill You, can be summed up in two words: highly entertaining. Suspend reality for a few hours and spend them with Cammie Morgan, a 15-year-old who is a student at Gallagher Academy—a top secret boarding school for girls who are spies-in-training. When Cammie falls for a local boy, Josh, she tries to juggle two lives because, of course, he can never know about her life at Gallagher.

For her sophomore year, Cammie and her friends are finally permitted to take on their first field experience, which is where she encounters Josh for the first time. Using her spy skills, she tracks him down and accidentally-on-purpose bumps into him. Cammie, who is known as “The Chameleon”, is excited that for the first time somebody really sees her. Unfortunately, though she wants nothing more than to confide in him, she must keep her real identity a secret.

For a novel about amateur spies, the book never quite makes it to a level that can be called suspenseful which is also noted by one reviewer: “The teen's double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense” (Doyle). Instead, it’s the comedy/romance combination that will win over the audience and have them searching for the rest of the titles in the series. The book isn’t completely lighthearted, for Cammie is also dealing with the loss of her father and her relationship with her mother, who is also the headmistress of the Academy.

Reference List:

Doyle, Miranda. 2006. Review of I’d Tell You I Love You, But then I’d Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter. School Library Journal.

DAIRY QUEEN

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. 2006. DAIRY QUEEN. Boston: Little, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

DAIRY QUEEN by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is a unique story of a teenager who basically runs her family’s farm and gets the idea in her head that she, a female, will try out for her school football team. 15-year-old D.J. doesn’t want to be a cow, which is what she is according to her sometimes friend/sometimes enemy Brian Nelson. Not literally, of course, but in the sense that she’s doing what’s expected of her, not making waves, and certainly not doing what makes her happiest.

D.J. feels stuck. With her father injured and her older brothers away at college, she’s left with taking care of the family farm along with her younger brother, who’s not always there thanks to baseball season. D.J. was once on the school’s basketball team, but she gave that up to focus more on her responsibilities at home. With that gone, going to college on a scholarship is no longer an option and that leaves her feeling uncertain of her future. Well, uncertain of whether it’ll contain anything other than milking cows and baling hay, that is.

Readers who long to break out of the mold that their family and peers have cast them in will relate to D.J. and cheer her on as she begins to realize that she’s capable of so much more than she’s ever given herself credit for. She’s a great female role model for the younger generation, not only for her strength of character, but also for her daring. Trying out for an all male football team is no lighthearted decision. She takes all of the possible hurdles into account and decides she’s passionate enough about it and strong enough to weather through it. Says one reviewer, “At the end...it is the protagonist's heart that will win readers over. Dairy Queen will appeal to girls who, like D.J., aren't girly-girls but just girls, learning to be comfortable in their own skins. The football angle may even hook some boys” (Pickett).

Reference List:

Pickett, Amy. 2006. Review of Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. School Library Journal.

IMPOSSIBLE

Werlin, Nancy. 2008. IMPOSSIBLE. New York: Dial Books, 2008.

Werlin’s IMPOSSIBLE, a National Book Award finalist, is the story of Lucy Scarborough, a pregnant 17-year-old who discovers that the women in her family are cursed. Upon conceiving they must complete three seemingly impossible tasks or succumb to madness upon their child’s birth. If certain aspects of the plot sound a little familiar it’s because it’s loosely based on the traditional ballad “Scarborough Fair,” the lyrics of which tell the tale of a woman who implores the listener (who is asked if they are going to the fair) to tell a man who was once was her true love that if he completes a series of impossible tasks that he will once again be in her good graces. The song is a beautiful one, and the novel surely does it justice.

At the beginning of the novel, Lucy’s future looks pretty bleak. Up until this point, all of her ancestors have failed. She lives with foster parents. There is a heavy tone to the novel for just that reason as well as the reason Lucy is pregnant in the first place—she was raped on prom night by her date. It’s hard enough for a young woman to come to terms with such a traumatic event, as well as accepting the fact that she is carrying her rapist’s child, without the added worry of having to race against time to break a curse. But that’s exactly the situation Lucy finds herself in.

There is a silver lining, though! Unlike those who came before her, she doesn’t have to fight this alone. Though not her birth parents, her foster mother and father love her dearly and are very supportive as is her best friend Zach, who becomes so much more than a friend to her. This novel combines romance, fantasy, and suspense in way that makes it easy to swallow the tougher topics the novel addresses. Considering the subject matter, the book is geared more towards females as one reviewer points out: “Teens, especially young women, will enjoy this romantic fairy tale with modern trappings” (Montgomery).

Reference List:

Montgomery, Jennifer D. 2008. Review of Impossible, by Nancy Werlin. School Library Journal.

ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Dessen, Sarah. 2009. ALONG FOR THE RIDE. New York: Viking, 2009.

Auden is an insomniac. Staying awake at night and studying became her way of escaping her parents arguing. Now, her parents are divorced, her father is remarried, and has a new baby. The summer before Auden goes to college she decides to stay with her father for the summer. It’s there that she meets mysterious Eli, also an insomniac, who rides his bicycle at night.

Auden is a very relatable character, at least to me. She’s somewhat socially awkward, having chosen to throw herself in to her studies over the years, and she’s always felt like an adult, even while growing up. Spending her summer in the beach town of Colby puts her out of her element, and it is fun to see how she handles each new situation: the new mother, the baby, Eli, and making friends.

ALONG FOR THE RIDE is a story of growth and find oneself, but also of romance. The chemistry between Eli and Auden will surely draw readers in and keep them on edge until they find out what happens in the end. The events unfold through Auden’s eyes, and are told in first person point of view. The writing style is detailed and easy to soak up, making it hard to put the novel down. The tone is one of discovery, as Auden struggles to keep up with the changes in her life. Debbie Carton even states in her review in Booklist, “…fans will not be deterred by the length or…cover; they expect nuanced, subtle writing, and they won’t be disappointed.”

Reference List:

Carton, Debbie. 2009. Review of Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen. Booklist.

SWEETHEARTS

Zarr, Sara. 2008. SWEETHEARTS. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

SWEETHEARTS is the story of Jennifer Harris, a quiet, overweight, picked on little girl. Jennifer—“Fattifer” to  her meaner classmates—transforms herself into Jenna Vaughn, a popular, pretty, and in shape teenager. As a child, her only friend was Cameron Quick, who suddenly moves one day with no explanation to her. She is later told by classmates that he was killed in accident and she accepts it as truth because she never hears from him again. Years later, she still thinks about Cameron, and painfully orchestrates every sentence that leaves her mouth, every action that she makes because she is afraid of going back to being that ill liked little girl. And then one day, she discovers that Cameron isn’t really dead. In fact, Cameron’s come home, and with his homecoming, Jenna must face her inner demons once and for all.

This novel is a perfect illustration of how losing weight and becoming popular doesn’t automatically make you happy on the inside. In SWEETHEARTS, Jenna discovers she is stronger than she knows, and it’s a positive message that is conveyed to readers in her age group. Jenna’s parents, especially her stepfather Alan, play an important role in the story, as they are a source of comfort for her. Cameron is pretty much still the same, though his life took a different direction than Jenna’s. While Jenna has carefully carved her niche in the world, Cameron is still searching for his place. He, too, struggles to be strong.

With Cameron’s reappearance, Jenna’s fall back on some old bad habits, such as binge eating, and I found this to be a realistic reaction. How often has someone promised they’ll eat right and get healthy only for a stressor to throw them off track? For this reason, readers will be able to relate to Jenna’s fall from grace and root for her to succeed in the end. The writing style of the novel made the words seem to flow off the page, making it easy to continue turning the pages. Kirkus Reviews says of SWEETHEARTS, “Haunting and ultimately hopeful....A convincing, fire person narrative voice....Zarr transfixes teen readers with enticing explorations of identity and enduring love.”

Reference List:

Kirkus Reviews. December 15, 2007. Review of Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr. Kirkus Reviews.

GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE

Limb, Sue. 2005. GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE. New York: Delacorte Press, 2004.

The title, GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE, refers to a spoof dating ad that our protagonist, Jess Jordan, writes one class period in lieu of doing her school assignment. Jess is your average teenage girl, with a crush on a boy who is perfect in her eyes, a best friend who is beautiful, blonde and good in school, and a boy who’s been her other best friend for years, but now she’s confused about whether she wants him to be more.

GIRL, 15, was simply hilarious in some parts! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and hated to put it down. This is book one in a trilogy, and there is even a short prequel in print that features Jess and her friends before the events of this novel take place. The story is told completely from Jess’s third person point of view. She wants to be a comedienne when she grows up and you can see why because her “voice” is definitely humorous for the most part. She gets herself into some pretty embarrassing situations and her reactions to those are realistic. I felt embarrassed for her! There was one time that I recall where I wanted to shout at her, “just say what really happened!”, but it was just the one and for the most part, I felt she dealt with her problems as best she could.

Though the book is set in England, it doesn’t really deter at all from the story. There were no obscure slang words to decipher. The events of the novel moved along at a good pace, and the ending leaves you with a cliffhanger that will undoubtedly be resolved in the sequel, GIRL, (NEARLY) 16, ABSOLUTE TORTURE. GIRL, 15, received generally positive reviews, including one by Amy Patrick in School Library Journal who praises the characters for their charm, and recommends the novel to fans of Meg Cabot, Louise Rennison, and others “who like heroines who have a little vinegar to go with their sugar.”

Reference List:

Patrick, Amy. 2004. Review of Girl, 15, Charming but Insane, by Sue Limb. School Library Journal.