Winger

“Joey told me nothing ever goes back exactly the way it was, that things expand and contract- like breathing, but you could never fill your lungs up with the same air twice.”

Winger
by Andrew Smith
439 p. Simon & Schuster. May 2013.
Gr. 9 Up

14-year-old junior Ryan Dean West, nicknamed Winger for his position on Pine Mountain’s rugby team, is a self-proclaimed loser.  Told through frenetic first-person narrative, short comics, charts, and diagrams, he relates the story of his first couple of months at school.  He’s hopelessly in love with his best friend Annie, who sees him as a little boy and stuck in Opportunity Hall, the dormitory for troublemakers, rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team.  Ryan Dean’s narrations of his missteps are laced with wit and profanity, revealing the thoughts of a 14-year-old boy authentically.  Smith’s writing displays his understanding of teenage boys and he cleverly depicts the inner turmoil of boy just trying to fit in.  Despite being 400+ pages, the book is a quick read with a fast-moving and engaging pace.  Humorous, and ultimately devastating, this moving, coming-of-age story is impossible to forget.

The Feels

I am utterly heart broken. I had heard that something happened in the end of this book that would probably make me cry–one review I read said they cried until they were dehydrated!–but I still wasn’t quite expecting the emotional gut punch.  I was laughing out loud for 400 pages to the hormonally charged humor and misadventures of Ryan Dean until the book took a dark turn.  There are subtle hints along the way, so I thought I was prepared, but I was wrong.  I was completely shocked by the climax that left Ryan Dean speechless and forever changed, and I couldn’t help but cry.  I’m glad no one was around, because I was curled into a ball crying big, ugly tears.

No, I take it back. I actually could have used a hug at that point, in all honesty.

I wish there had more attention given to the aftermath of the dark conclusion, but I am still blown away by Smith’s book.

Also, there is apparently a sequel in the works: Stand-Off.Welcome to my TBR list, Stand-Off.

The Outsiders

It would be almost impossible to talk about contemporary realism in the young adult literature without talking about Hinton’s The Outsiders. When her book was published, “there was no young-adult market.”  It was a story for teenagers, about teenagers, written by a teenager.  At the age of 15, Susan Eloise Hinton was frustrated with the lack of realistic fiction for teens and began writing a book that transcended the previously established boundaries in its portrayal of violence, class conflict, and prejudice.  With its frank depictions of adolescents, The Outsiders revolutionized the way young adult literature was written, as there was suddenly a demand by teenagers for stories that reflected their realities.  The book has gone on to sell more than ten million copies and remain the best-selling young adult novel of all time.  In 1983, it was adapted into a movie starring Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, and Ralph Maccio.  The movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
192 p. Viking Press. 1967
Gr. 6 Up

14-year old Ponyboy Curtis is a member of the “Greasers” gang, a group of underprivileged teenagers living on the east side of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The greasers are frequently under attack by the socs (short for “socals”), the rival gang of rich kids living on the west side.  Ponyboy, an orphan, lives with his brothers Sodapop and Darry.  When a fight among the two rivals goes bad, Ponyboy’s friend ends up committing manslaughter. Terrified and desperate, Ponyboy finds himself on the run to hideout.  Throughout his journey, Ponyboy discovers that “Things are rough all over” regardless of socioeconomic status.  Honest and gritty, the novel touches on many themes: bridging the gap between rich and poor, honor and loyalty, and the importance of youth and innocence.

The Feels

I have so many feels about this book.

Hinton created characters are sympathetic with their ill-fated lives facing fear and violence, poverty, and absentee, non-existent, or abusive parents.  But there is this pervading sense of camaraderie that exists among the boys.  Ponyboy’s honest and vulnerable narrative makes the story more powerful and lends credibility to teenage readers.

And don’t even say “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold,” to me, because I may very well lose it.

“Stay gold” is, of course, a reference to Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which the boys apply to the idea of youthful innocence.  Ponyboy is essentially a good and smart kid who is trapped by his environment, and his friend Johnny wanted him to remain pure.  I think the message of staying true to yourself despite your circumstances is something that probably resonates with many teens.

It’s easy to see why this book is still so popular, because it addresses so many issues that are timeless, especially the need teens feel to be accepted. Plus, everyone loves a good “rumble,” right?

And I, like Ponyboy, think we could all watch more sunsets.

See also:

• “‘The Outsiders’: 40 Years Later“
• “S.E. Hinton and the Y.A. Debate“

Sway

Don’t let the cover fool you: this isn’t a light, fun, or romantic story, it’s actually a story with a lot of grit.

Sway
by Kat Spears
320 p. St. Martin’s Griffin. September 2014.
Gr 9 Up

High school senior, Jesse Alderman, known as Sway, is a street-smart, influential, and damaged character.  He has very few close friends and doesn’t even remember what it is like to feel anymore. He lives a no-consequences lifestyle and profits from his others by running a lucrative business of making things happen.  He specializes in getting people what they want–for example, he frequently is brokering term papers and delivering “party favors” for parties.  (The principal even hires him to help him get a juvenile delinquent kicked out of school!)  But when Ken Foster, “captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming, and all-around jerk” hires Jesse to help him win the heart of angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse becomes a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac, falling hard for Bridget while still trying to manipulate her into dating Ken.  To learn the intimate details of Bridget’s life, Jesse begins following her around.  As a result, he finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s brother Pete, who has cerebral palsy, and hanging out with elderly Mr. Dunkelman, who Jesse pretends is his grandfather.  Told with unapologetic truth and humor and untempered by empathy or compassion, is it possible that Jesse can confront his quiet devastation and feel something again?

The Feels

Okay, mild feels.  What makes this story compelling is really how terrible Jesse is.  He’s so smart, and you just want to keep reading to see how much he will actually get away with.  However, the story is predictable, and I didn’t feel personally connected to any of the characters.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Technically, King’s books are classified as magical realism, a genre that walks the line between a number of genres and expectations (think Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel), but it is contemporary with realistic elements. Also, A.S. King is amazing.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
by A.S. King
326 p. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. October 2010.
Gr 9 Up

High school senior Vera Dietz knows more about the night her best friend, Charlie, died then she lets on.  Tormented by Charlie’s betrayal and the disintegration of their lifelong friendship, Vera’s not ready to face the truth about that night.  Yet she’s haunted by thousands of Charlies that she can see, hear, and feel—ghosts that seemingly steal the air out of her lungs.  The story unfolds from the varying perspectives of Vera, Charlie, Vera’s father, and the town’s landmark Pagoda thereby capturing a more complete picture of Vera’s plight.  This haunting, tragic, and ultimately redemptive book deserves a place among any YA collection.

The Feels

This is a gripping story, but it’s a hard one.  There’s a lot of bad things that have happened to Vera—a former stripper mother who left them, an emotionally absent, recovering alcoholic of a father, a neighbor who beats his wife, and let’s not forget the dead best friend—and initially Vera turns to alcohol to “cope.”  Watching the beautiful friendship of Charlie and Vera unravel through flashbacks tore at my heart, almost as much as the chapters from “the dead kid.”  But after I moved past the tears, I found Vera’s redemption powerful, leaving me feeling hopeful.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz won a Printz honor, which it rightly deserved; it’s a perfect combination of literary merit and teen appeal. I look forward to reading some of King’s other novels in the future.

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Well, I can’t not talk a little bit about Perks, I already referenced the movie in my first post.  I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a movie tie-in. I have this innate desire to see my favorite characters manifested on big screen, and watching my imagination played out on film seems to make the story even more real to me. Moreover, I maintain that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the best book to movie film adaptations (right up there with Princess Bride).  But I’m getting off track…

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
213 p. MTV Books and Pocket Books.  February 1999.
Gr 9 Up

Told through an epistolary narrative, Charlie narrates to an unnamed “friend” the events of his freshman year in high school in 1991-1992.  In the previous school year, Charlie’s best friend committed suicide, and now Charlie finds himself alone, having drifted apart from his old friends.  He soon makes friends with a group of seniors, including Patrick and Samantha.  Through his new friends, Charlies learns about the realities of life.  There is a realness to the story and the characters that is undeniable. Through Charlie’s relationships with his friends, his English teacher, and a therapist, Charlie grows from a wallflower and learns to “participate” more.

The Feels

Charlie is compulsively honest and somehow still strangely detached in his letters.  It’s obvious from the start to the readers that there is something wrong with Charlie, something that he hasn’t and isn’t dealing with it until his inevitable breakdown.  Sam and Patrick are the best.

And as a reader, I’m glad they existed to help Charlie through his freshman year.

The novel is incredibly quotable; just go on to Tumblr and you’ll find quotes scattered all over the place. For example:

• “We accept the love we think we deserve.”
• “So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”
• “I would die for you. But I won’t live for you.”
• “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”

Seriously, that’s just a sampling.  Overall, the book runs the same thread of dark and angsty realistic YA fiction about death, depression, drugs, sex, and other such things, and in my opinion, a must-read in the coming-of-age genre.