Sweetness in the Skin

Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson, 362 pages

Pumkin Patterson does not have an easy life. She lives with her grandmother, her Aunt Sophie, and her mom, Paulette, who is mercifully rarely home, as she's often physically and verbally abusive to Pumkin. Pumkin's grandma and aunt want a better life for her, and Aunt Sophie in particular wants to escape their downtrodden home for life in Paris. But when Sophie makes the move to France without Pumkin, and her grandmother dies, Pumkin is suddenly struggling to achieve her dreams through baking and studying hard, despite Paulette's determination to hold her back.

This is a heartbreaking story to read, despite the delectable presence of Jamaican baking and culture. It does end happily, though it was not easy to read about all of the things that Pumkin had to go through to get there. That said, I could see this being a popular book for teens seeking out more literary reading.

American Rapture

American Rapture by CJ Leede, 370 pages

Sixteen-year-old Sophie has lived a very sheltered life, especially since her twin brother, Noah, was taken away at age 12. Her very religious parents forbid her to read the news, watch TV, own a cellphone, or basically do anything aside attending her Catholic all-girls high school. But when a rapidly moving virus sweeps into town, Sophie finds herself suddenly alone in a brand new world where infected people become hypersexual overly aggressive zombies. A young police officer helps her out, and soon the pair have gathered a small group of people (and one dog) that works together to flee both the virus and the religious fanatics who think that the virus is God's plan to rid the world of sin.

The idea behind this book is a solid one — sheltered teen is worried that her burgeoning sexuality is a sign of the devil's infection — and for readers who just want to read some horrific sexual zombie violence (like, the zombies raping victims while they also eat their faces), this certainly has it in spades. However, the execution is a bit off. I didn't really buy that Sophie was Catholic (Evangelical, sure, but Catholic? Nah.) and there were several things she could do that didn't really mesh with a super-sheltered life. However, if you want to read about a really gross trip to all of central Wisconsin's finest tourist traps, this is the book for you. (If you'd rather read something about sheltered people dealing with a pandemic though, pick up When the English Fall by David Williams — it's fantastic.)

Solitaire

Solitaire by Alice Oseman, 260 pages

Tori is nearing the end of her pre-university education at a largely all-girls private school (the oldest two years are coed) and she has almost completely lost interest in everything — her "friends," her schoolwork, anything outside of her blog, really. But then a post-it note with an arrow on it leads her to "Solitaire," a prankster/blog that disrupts her school in sometimes humorous, sometimes wild ways. And then there's Michael Holden, a new transfer who is weird in some of the same ways Tori is, though she can't seem to figure out why anyone would find her interesting enough to be friends with.

Written before (but released in the U.S. after) Oseman's lovely boy-meets-boy graphic novel romance Heartstopper, the book focuses on the sister of one of Heartstopper's protagonists, and the events of this book happen concurrently to the graphic novel. But this is a much darker story, with disaffected teens thinking dark thoughts. Heartstopper tackles some pretty tough topics, and so does Solitaire, though the way they're handled is a bit different, as Tori deals with things alone. It's not always an easy book to read, though it's definitely a worthwhile use of your time.

On a Sunbeam

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Waldon, 533 pages

At boarding school, Mia was an awkward outcast whose only interest was Lux, a gravity-defying game. But then she met Grace, the shy new girl, with whom she quickly fell in love. Five years later, Mia is working on an interstellar construction crew and is determined to reconnect with Grace, who left her life as quickly and mysteriously as she entered it.

Rereading the previous few sentences, I realize it's a pretty vague description for an absolutely excellent book about love, redemption, and belonging. But anything else points to big ol' spoilers, and I'm not about to try to spoil this gorgeous graphic novel. My only regret is that it took me this long to read it. SO GOOD.

High School

High School by Sara Quin & Tegan Quin, 369 pages

In 2019, the twin queens of Canadian indie rock, Tegan and Sara, published this memoir of their high school years. These were the years when they started learning to play music (by stealing their step-dad's guitar out of his office while he wasn't home and playing along to whatever grunge music they had playing at the time), write songs (many of which were spurred by their confused feelings about their best friends/girlfriends), and work together musically while fighting tooth and nail otherwise. 

This was a great book, and I can see why it's being adapted into a TV series for Amazon. It's relatable, captivating, and full of stories that are a bit more dramatic than anything I experienced in high school (of course, I was a band geek, so what do I know?). I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which is read by the the twins (thankfully they announce their name before each chapter they read, as their voices are pretty similar) and is interspersed with low-fi recordings of their first songs. More than once, I found myself humming the songs, none of which I'd heard before, despite being a big fan of theirs. It also includes a short interview between Tegan and Sara about writing the book and recording the audiobook. A great book and an even better audiobook.

The Virgin Suicides

 

The Virgin Suicides / Jeffrey Eugenides 272 pgs.

It seems a little bit silly to write a summary of this book.  I think we all know what happens just by reading the title, not to forget that this was published in '93 and most of you have already read it or watched the movie.  So why did it take me this long to get to it?  I think this is the crux of every readers problem...quite a backlist of titles that stay on the list. Glad I made time for this one.

Klara and the Sun

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, 303 pages

As a solar-powered, very human-like robot, Klara has a strong belief in what the Sun can do (and yes, Sun is capitalized when Klara refers to it). So when her owner, a sick teenage girl named Josie, begins having more and more desperate health problems, Klara is convinced that she can appeal to the Sun to intervene and provide some of its healing nutrients to Josie. But has Klara offered enough deference to the Sun? Is her plea a worthy one? Only time will tell.

Despite her amazing artificial intelligence and ability to pick up on Josie's emotions, Klara still has intellectual limitations. This book delves into that, as well as the nature of faith, love, and humanity. There are many things discussed in Josie and Klara's world that don't make much sense to the reader — What does it mean to be "lifted" as Josie is? When and where is this happening? — but given that this story is told from Klara's point of view, that is perhaps the point. An intriguing and thought-provoking tale.

Girls with Bright Futures

Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier & Wendy Katzman, 387 pages

The early admissions college application deadline is coming up fast, and the seniors of the exclusive Elliott Bay Academy are majorly stressed out in their application preparations. Well, at least their parents are. Tech mogul Alicia Stone is determined that her daughter, Brooke, will get early admission to her alma mater, Stanford. It doesn't matter how much it costs in donations to the university ($15 million, most recently) or that Brooke really doesn't want to go — Alicia has decided, and that's final. But with only one more slot for an EBA grad at Stanford, Brooke has some serious competition in Krissie (whose mom, Kelly, may not have Alicia's financial pull, but certainly doesn't mind stooping to cyberstalking and spreading rumors about other seniors) and Winnie (who legitimately wants to go and has the grades to do it, but whose mom, Maren, is Alicia's personal assistant). But when Winnie ends up in the hospital after a hit-and-run just days before the application deadline, one has to wonder: did Alicia or Kelly take things too far?

No doubt inspired by the college admissions scandals that hit Hollywood a few years back, this is a compelling plot set in the world of insanely competitive uber-rich parents...and the kids they're dragging along for the ride. Aside from Maren, it's hard to find likeable characters among the adults in this novel, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. For those who enjoy Maria Semple's books, but think that the snooty parents in those just have a few too many scruples.