I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Ed Kennedy is a 19-year-old cab driver whose life has settled into a pattern of playing nightly card games, having depressing encounters with his mother, and mooning over his best friend Audrey, whom he secretly loves. He is very self-centered and feels quite sorry for himself. The day the mysterious playing card with its cryptic instructions arrives in the mail, it forces him to think about someone else, and eventually to do good deeds. The cards that follow have similar assignments of good tasks for him to carry out. His assignments are not always completely clear; he must research and observe each person. For some, he just needs to give them the push they need to achieve what makes them happy, for others he must show them how to take responsibility, for some he must show other people the value of that person, and still others he just has to be a positive figure in their lives. In the end, he begins to see the effect of his actions, especially on those closest to him. And only one mystery remains, who sent the cards?

The voice of the narrator is the strongest element of this book. He seems to be honest, and the way he speaks is modern and without any sense of forced “coolness.” He is who he is, and doesn’t make apologies for that. The plot is interesting and keeps a reader focused. I think the idea is original, and well executed. The mystery included in the plot saves the book from being too much of a lecture on seeing the problems of the world around you.

I enjoyed this book, but must admit that the ending confused me. I think it ended with some elements of a less than realistic nature which conflicted with the majority of the book. In spite of this, it was a really fun book to read. I think that it would appeal to most Young Adults regardless of gender. The narrator is endearing without being sappy, and I think he tells the story particularly honestly. I also think that his narration is the element of the book Young Adults would appreciate the most. I would recommend it.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

When Evie Spooner’s step-father, Joe, returns from the World War II, she and her family fall back into their old patterns pretty quickly. Joe is doing very well at his business, her mom and grandmother are back to fighting for his attention, and Evie is herself, only in a more grown-up way. In a moment of apparent restlessness, Joe takes the family for a vacation in Florida during the off-season. While staying at a hotel that is almost empty, the Spooners meet Mr. and Mrs. Grayson. Like the Spooners, they are also from New York, and are looking to purchase a hotel in Florida. Joe and Mr. Grayson recognize that they could have a business partnership, and work towards it until it is discovered that the Graysons are Jewish. The hotel staff insists that the Graysons leave, and the deal falls through. Meanwhile, the Spooners have also been confronted by Peter Coleridge, a soldier who knew Joe in the war. Evie begins to fall in love with Peter, despite the obvious discomfort he causes Joe and the less obvious, but equally tense relationship between Peter and her mother. Evie slowly recognizes a web of lies surrounding the three but chooses to ignore it. She is able to avoid the situation for a while, but after a sailing accident, Evie is forced to take someone’s side. Whose will she take?

There’s something about this book and the characters that is so intriguing and different from other young adult books that makes it stand out. The setting for the book is described only as far as is needed to continue the story, but the details are true to the era. The storyline devoted to the Graysons illustrates the alienation of Jewish families even on this side of the war. Evie’s relationship with her mother is complicated—she admires her mother’s beauty, her feminine qualities, and has a strong bond with her, but she also recognizes that her mother is her competition for Peter’s attention. She longs to be like her, but wants to be completely separate too. This dynamic creates almost palatable tension in the final scenes before Evie makes her decision of whose side she will take. In fact, the complexity of her relationship with her mother makes Evie’s decision completely unpredictable.

I find the title really intriguing too, because it seems to imply that there is one single instance that influences Evie’s choices, but instead, I think that there are several things that she sees that sway her decisions. I thought this book was very thought provoking. Would I have reacted in the same way? What about you?

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Separated into four sections, this futuristic story follows Titus and his friends as they travel to the Moon to party at a nightclub, meet Violet, and live their lives connected to the Feed. In the future, nearly all humans have a transmitter implanted in their heads that provides a constant feed of information, not unlike having a ticker tape constantly running. The Feed also allows them to look up information on the spot, and to converse without spoken words, much like instant messaging. After a strange event at a nightclub, Violet and Titus begin dating. Titus soon finds that her points of view tend to be unique from the norm. Violet openly challenges the Feed by purposefully trying to confuse it. She also has a habit of saying socially inappropriate things to Titus’s friends. She encourages Titus to fight against the Feed. Eventually her Feed becomes defective, causing her to be disconnected from Titus, and the rest of the world. Although Titus sees her goal of challenging the norm, and truly loves Violet, he's not sure he can break away from the Feed.

At first I was frustrated by the futuristic language of this book. I didn’t enjoy trying to figure out the “new” words Anderson had created. But as I read further, it became much less obtrusive. The story itself deals with important topics like conformity, thinking for oneself, challenging the norm, love, and independence. Anderson handles them all by providing a character whose internal monologue is blunt and honest. The reader sees all of his internal struggle without censoring. The book illustrates Titus’s struggles with peer pressure and his quest to fit in, even as he can fully appreciate Violet’s goal of identity independent of the feed. I think that all teens can relate to these issues in some way.

I ended up liking this book a lot, even though I didn’t think that I would. I’m not usually much of a science fiction fan, but this book was written incredibly well. The book forces the reader consider the prevalence of media and pre-fabricated information. Even if this seems to be an ambitious goal for a YA book, it succeeds. I absolutely recommend reading it.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

Ben Wolf discovers that he has an incurable illness, and has one year left to live--his senior year of high school. He makes two important decisions. First, he decides to live every day to the fullest, doing things he never expected of himself before. He goes out for the football team, even though he's a cross-country running star. He sets his sights on Dallas Suzuki, a girl who doesn't know he exists, yet. And he befriends an outcast in the town who has trouble with alcohol, and a secret Ben wouldn't have guessed. And for his second major decision, Ben decides that he's not going to tell anyone that he's sick.

I loved this book. Ben Wolf is an easy character to cheer for, and his attitude towards his disease, and the choices he makes are rationalized in such a way that it's easy to agree with him. The story isn't just about Ben. Crutcher deals with so many serious issues and characters all in one story, yet it all fits together like a puzzle. Dallas Suzuki isn't just the girl from the volleyball team that Ben wants to date, she's got issues of her own, and their relationship isn't as easy as a television movie might be. The town outcast Ben befriends has a secret so serious and shocking that it almost stalls Ben from creating the friendship. The relationship between Ben and his parents is painful and hard to read, but it's made up for by his relationship with his coach and his brother. The town bully even has a dark secret, and in the end becomes a character you have sympathy for. The only criticism I had of the book as a whole was the epilogue. I felt that it was unnecessary and took away from the seriousness and depth of the book. Overall, Crutcher does not disappoint. I highly recommend this book.