TBR Tuesday (3)

I have this book in my apartment, ready to go.



Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

The wrong angle

Trina: "Hey," I say, though I don't really know them. The boyed-up basketball girl barely moves. The others, her girls, step aside. It's okay if they don't speak. I know how it is. They can't all be Trina.

Dominique: Some stupid little flit cuts right in between us and is like, "Hey." Like she don't see I'm here and all the space around me is mines. I slam my fist into my other hand because she's good as jumped.

Leticia: Why would I get involved in Trina's life when I don't know for sure if I saw what I thought I saw? Who is to say I wasn't seeing it from the wrong angle?

Acclaimed author Rita Williams-Garcia intertwines the lives of three very different teens in this fast-paced, gritty narrative about choices and the impact that even the most seemingly insignificant ones can have. Weaving in and out of the girls' perspectives, readers will find themselves not with one intimate portrayal but three.

I first learned about this book from Paula's Diversity Roll Call post and I knew I wanted to read it. Rita Williams-Garcia is an author I admire for her gritty stories yet tender writing. School violence is an important topic that should be explored in YA literature. I like that she's taken us away from the guns and more sensational manifestations of violence and brought it back to more of an everyday level, something that is a reality for many students.

I read an interview with Rita and she said it took about 4 years from start to finish for this book. I'm looking forward to enjoying her hard work. I'm sure the words will seem effortless.

I've been reading a lot of heavy books later. I think next week I'll go for something lighter!

Upcoming reviews:

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia
Undone by Brooke Taylor
Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

TBR Tuesday (2)

Have you had a Coldstone Cupcake? Well you should have one, it's good.

This week on To Be Read Tuesday I'm featuring...

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

The year is 1985. Benji Cooper is one of the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs, playing too much Dungeons and Dragons, and trying to catch glimpses of nudity on late-night cable TV. After a tragic mishap on his first day of high school—when Benji reveals his deep enthusiasm for the horror movie magazine Fangoria—his social doom is sealed for the next four years.

But every summer, Benji escapes to the Hamptons, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals have built a world of their own. Because their parents come out only on weekends, he and his friends are left to their own devices for three glorious months. And although he’s just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates the rest of the year, he thinks that maybe this summer things will be different. If all goes according to plan, that is.

There will be trials and tribulations, of course. There will be complicated new handshakes to fumble through, and state-of-the-art profanity to master. He will be tested by contests big and small, by his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), by the New Coke Tragedy of ’85, and by his secret Lite FM addiction. But maybe, with a little luck, things will turn out differently this summer.

In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Whitehead—using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention—lithely probes the elusive nature of identity, both personal and communal.

This seems like one of those novels where there isn't a ton of plot jumping off. It's a book to enjoy, really relish the language and the normalcy of things while realizing some truths that you know from your own life. I like a good book like that. I also like that it's about "black boys in beach houses." Hey, black people can swim! And they tan, just so you know.

I just found out about this book today from the blog White Readers Meet Black Authors and I went to check it out from the library and I'm hold #14 of 14. So it's a popular read.

Apparently the author is a big deal. He has a bunch of awesome awards. I should probably check out his other books too. I'll just throw them on the pile. I've got so much on the back burner!

In 1985 I was one year old. But I can appreciate the 80s. So much good music came out of that especially towards the end, like New Jack Swing. Why do you think I listen to Throwback Jamz on Music Choice all the time and watch VH1 Soul? I love that type of music maybe most of all. So I'm looking forward to this book.

Well, I've got to get back on track with writing, watch American Idol and get a book read so I can post a review on here!

TBR Tuesday: Summer Edition

So I was like, I want to post today but I don't really know what to say. I started reading Korianne's blog because of Maureen Johnson's wonderful idea of Blog Every Day April. I really like her colorful blog and her feature To Be Read Tuesday. So I'm copying it. Credit goes to her. (Remember Korianne, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!)

TBR

No Such Thing as the Real World
by M. T. Anderson, K. L. Going, Beth Kephart, Chris Lynch, An Na and Jacqueline Woodson

Graduation from high school?

A senior thesis?

A betrayal by someone you love?

A loss of innocence?

The death of a parent?

Losing the family you always wished you had?

Facing a harsh reality?

What's the line that separates childhood from the "real world"? And what happens when it's nothing you imagined it would be?

Do you want to be a published author?

The editors at HarperCollins invite you to submit a short story about a character who has to face the "real world" for the first time. The story must involve a single, life-changing event. First prize is the opportunity to be published alongside your favorite authors in the paperback edition of the No Such Thing as the Real World collection. All stories must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words long, and all contributing authors must be between fourteen and nineteen years old.

That's like the only description I could find. I guess it's the inside of the book. It's sort of strange but that contest sounds really good.

Basically, it's a book of short stories. I'm a big fan of short stories, especially literary ones because I try to write them (and fail). YA short stories are always fun and this collection sounds like it can be really entertaining. I'm a big fan of the big life issues in YA fiction so this is right up my alley. Plus, look at those authors. I mean, come on. You'd have to be crazy not to want to check this out!

Well, a copy has been ordered for the library. I'm going to put that on hold immediately and then come back here and tell you all about it!

One of my fave YA short fiction collections is Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience. Actually I've seen it in both adult and YA so I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't matter because it's excellent. It's a bunch of short stories featured main characters of mixed race and not just black/white but all different kinds of combinations (haha, that sounds funny). The best part is that the writing is excellent. I've read it at least twice. It's a book you can pick up again and again and you'll just find something new to appreciate in all of the short stories. In fact, I want to read it again right now! So definitely give it a try, even if you're like, I don't know... short stories. Short stories are good! They give you a lot to think about.

Wow, it looks like it's gonna rain outside. So much for walking home today. In honor of my chosen TBR book I'm going to leave you with the possible song that brought inspiration for the title, No Such Thing by John Mayer.

John Mayer - No Such Thing
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