When I heard Neil Patrick Harris was going to write an autobiography, I fangirled hard. When I heard his autobiography was going to be in the form of the classic “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, I was…skeptical. It sounded cool, but how could it possibly work for a memoir? I’ve read it now, and once again I feel ashamed for doubting NPH’s creativity and genius. This was one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read! Continue reading
Books
Hope in Lord of the Rings
When I was in seventh grade, my older brother invited me to see The Fellowship of the Ring on opening night with a group of his friends. They invited one other younger sibling in an attempt to set us up. I did fall in love that night, but not with the other seventh grader. My heart was 100% stolen by the beauty and power of The Lord of the Rings. Continue reading
Prophecies, Libels, & Dreams by Ysabeau Wilce
YES! More Califa stories! The California/Aztec world created by Wilce is one of my absolute favorites, so when I stumbled across the existence of this compilation of short stories (cleverly compiled by a “historian” who comments on the likely historicity of each one in chapter Afterwards), I jumped at getting my hands on it. I’m so glad I did! Although the last two stories didn’t quite grab my attention–they take place after the events of the Flora series–the first five are wonderful.
We get the background of Springheel Jack in a flashy, hyper-descriptive little story. But no contest, my favorite stories were the three about Hardhands and Tiny Doom. Flora’s father was always one of my favorite characters, and it was so fun to read about him as an arrogant, powerful teenager. Tiny Doom as a toddler was also hilarious fun, and as always, Pig is a scene-stealer. Continue reading
Marking Time by April White
A friend suggested I download Marking Time while it was free on Kindle. I did, though I was not super won over by her texts about how embarrassed she was to love the series. It took a while for me to get into the plot–it jumps around quite a bit–but soon I was also hooked. It’s a clever premise, as White creates a mythology that explains popular YA tropes, from time travel to vampires. And the writing is occasionally really witty and clever.
You can sense the “but,” right? But, the plot ambles or accelerates at an unwieldy pace. It tries to be too much–a boarding school book, a secret powers book, a supernatural romance book, etc. I never quite got totally hooked, although full disclosure, I am prejudiced against ebooks. They don’t seem real (even if they are actually published in print but I’ve just happened to read an e-version) and I don’t give them the same leeway I would a book with pages.
Continue reading
Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres
If you ever want to fall apart in an emotional wreck, this is the book for you. I sped through the first 200 pages, because as horrible as the story is, it’s addicting. I got distracted by vacation, and it was a good two weeks before I was brave enough to pick up Jesus Land again. I wanted desperately for Julia and David to have a happy ending, but I was terrified they wouldn’t. I won’t tell you what I found out.
Jesus Land is excellently written, a first-person memoir written in present tense, so everything feels immediate and emotional. Julia’s descriptions of growing up in an emotionally, physically, spiritually abusive family with her adopted black brother is horrific. That they both get sent to the Dominican Republic to a Christian camp for rebellious teenagers that is even more abusive makes their story all the more horrifying, pitiable, and desperate. Escuela Caribe has since closed, and I can only imagine that Jesus Land is largely to thank for it. I am so glad Scheeres is speaking openly about her experiences. Christianity has always been a home to people who would use God as a means to subjugate and intimidate others, and this has got to stop. Continue reading
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
I have been scorned multiple times for the fact that I have not read Anne of Green Gables. Well, no more! I picked up a copy for $0.50 at Half Price Books and read it through.
Of the two title characters, I unabashedly loved Green Gables (and the surrounding town of Avonlea). Montgomery is almost too good of a writer, describing the ponds and woods with such magic that the place sounds almost like paradise. I’m entirely sold, ship me off to Prince Edward Island at once! Continue reading
Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A. S. King
A. S. King is the literature equivalent of a mad scientist. She puts together plots and themes that should never be mixed, but…VOILA. A masterpiece! Did I just mix metaphors and make her an artist? Whatever! She is a scientist, artist, author–everything and nothing. Just like Glory.
It takes a special book to deal with the general doubts and fears of a teenager, plus the specific doubts and fears of a teenager who’s mother committed suicide, within the context of visions brought about by petrified bat-beer. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s super weird, but somehow it all works together brilliantly. It almost doesn’t matter whether the bat-visions are true; the pictures Glory sees of the past and the future give her the courage to live in the present.
Can I say, though, how much I love that Glory’s visions of a hellish future of civil wars and nuclear explosions are the result of anti-feminists? I might have gleefully clapped my hands when I realized King had written a post-apocalyptic novel to inspire readers to give women equal rights. The visions were all-around spectacular; I was amazed at the detail and scope of people’s ancestors and descendents.
All this sounds strange, and it is. But within this bizarre plot are some really poignant messages of grief, of learning to communicate and maybe move on. There’s a wonderful depiction of a dying friendship, with all the frustrations and promises and confusion such a relationship entails. And at the heart of it all, there’s Glory, a girl scared she’s doomed to die. Ironically, it’s by seeing her death that she learns how to live.
Book Jacket 
Graduation is usually a time of limitless possibilities, but not for Glory. She’s never stopped wondering whether her mother’s suicide will lead her to end her own life someday, as statistics would predict. But everything changes after a transformative night when she gains the power to see anyone’s infinite past and future. And what she sees ahead for humanity is terrifying.
Glory makes it her mission to record everything that’s coming, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she’ll do anything to make sure this one doesn’t come to pass.
With astonishing insight and arresting vision, Printz Honor author A. S. King tells the epic story of a girl coping with devastating loss at long last–a girl who has no idea that the future needs her, and that the present needs her even more.
Release Date: October 2014
Want another opinion? Check out reviews by The New York Times and The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh!
Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann
Wow. I never knew I needed a book that addressed the complexities of growing up female through the lens of poetry based on fairy tale tropes, but this book satisfied a deep part of me. The topics are sometimes uncomfortably difficult, but then, so are stories of witches eating children. The best way to advertise this amazing collection is to let it speak for itself–here is one of my favorite poems, “Blow Your House In.”
She used to be a house of bricks,
point guard on the JV team, walling out
defenders who could only huff and puff
and watch as the layups roll in.She traded for a house of sticks,
kindling in Converse high-tops and a red Adidas tent.
At lunch she swirled a teeny spoon in yogurt
that never touched her lips and said
she’d decided to quit chasing a stupid ball.Now she’s building herself out of straw
as light as the needle swimming in her bathroom scale.
The smaller the number, the closer to gold,
the tighter her face, afire with the zeal of a wolf
who has one house left to destroy.
Book Jacket 
Once upon a time…you were a princess, or an orphan. A wicked witch, fairy godmother, prom queen, valedictorian, team captain, Big Bad Wolf, Little Bo Peep. But you are more than just a hero or a villain, cursed or charmed. You are everything in between. You are everything.
In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann places fairy tales side by side with the modern teenage girl. Powerful and provocative, deadly funny and deadly serious, this collection is one to read, to share, to treasure, and to come back to again and again.
Release Date: September 2014
Want another opinion? Check out reviews by Teenreads and Elle.
In, But Not Of by Hugh Hewitt
What an fascinating book! Christians often think “meek and mild” automatically means “not influential.” Hewitt adamantly disagrees. While he admits the need for ministers and missionaries who focus on individual change, he is a huge proponent for Christians diving into American politics, finance, and entertainment. Citing examples such as William Wilberforce, he believes that Christians can, and should, affect global change.
To that end, Hewitt’s book is divided into chapters of varying length, but uniform practicality. He is refreshingly direct, advising readers to live deliberately from a very young age. I really admired his lack of BS; he doesn’t really care if people agree with him. He has seen how the world works, and he wrote this book to tell you about it. For instance, he tells readers that future politicians must live in DC, future financiers must live in NYC, and future entertainers must live in Los Angeles. Ideally, you should live in all three at some point, and before age 25. He sets a high standard, but then, world leaders have a lot to live up to.
Balancing Christian humility with ambition is seemingly impossible, but Hewitt has done it. This book is a must read for Christians who want to affect the world on a systemic level, and it probably ought to be read by everyone else too. It’s that good.
Book Jacket 
Influence is not accidental. It is earned. In, But Not Of charts the course to acquiring influence over the life of a career while remaining committed to the commands and example of Christ.
Broadcast journalist and law professor Hugh Hewitt not only challenges us to become more engaged in steering the course of history through politics, law, finance, and entertainment, but he also maps out simple, effective strategies that will enable us to bring our visions of influence to pass.
Release Date: May 2010
Want another opinion? Check out reviews at Christianity Today and Brothers Judd.
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
It’s impossible to read Keegan’s book of short stories and essays without constantly thinking about the tragedy of her too-early death. Mostly this is because the introduction to her book is essentially a well-written eulogy. But it’s also because several of her essays deal with death or a hoped-for successful life come to naught.
Keegan’s real life tragedy adds a layer of meaning to her work, but the stories stand on their own. She was a remarkable talent, and her short stories are poignant, funny, and incredibly real. She was able to slip into the skins of varying protagonists of different ages and sexes. I loved reading her work, and I so wish she had lived to write more.
Book Jacket 
Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.
As her family, friends and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.
Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assemblage of Marina’s essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.
Release Date: April 2014
Want another opinion? Check out reviews at Love and Sparkles and Susan Coventry.
It Is Trish 