Category Archives: Young Adult

Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Political fiction, Young Adult

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Scan0027 If you have problems with high school seniors smoking and drinking and with casual sex discussed (but with no overtly descriptive behavior) this book is NOT for you or your children. However, having said that, I would like to add that I recommend this book for high school and adult readers. It is a powerful, thought provoking piece that provides an in-depth discussion of states’ rights and federal laws.
The main character, Daniel Wright, is a high school senior who joined the National Guard and completed his basic training between his junior and senior year. Daniel goes home from basic to finish his senior year and play football. One night he gets a call from his commander that his unit has been deployed to protect the capital from protestors who disagree with the governor and the state legislature’s position against a federally mandated Social Security card that would allow the government to track the movements of the holder.
As the guard unit moves into position, they are increasingly threatened by the protestors until gas grenades are deployed, a rock is thrown that cracks Daniel’s gas mask, and he accidentally fires his weapon. At that, others begin shooting, both from the protestors and from the guard, and people are killed.  This sets the stage for the state of Idaho to protect its guardsmen, or to bow to popular demand and the federal government to prosecute the guardsmen involved. Of course, the biggest problem is the way the press “covers” the situation which keeps things stirred up and allows no one the freedom to tell the truth.
The incident causes discussions of the Kent State killings, and also points out the steps that President Johnson took to make it impossible for Gov. Wallace to call up the National Guard to stop the desegregation of Alabama schools.
I could not put the book down.  It seems to end with an implication that more is to come; but if the book just stops, the reader will forced to consider what will happen next. Get it, read it, and then decide for yourself, but I think it might have a place for a classroom discussion.

Friday Never Leaving by Vikki Wakefield

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Young Adult

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All of her life Friday Brown has been told by her mother that all the women in her family had died from drowning on Saturday. Her mother had named her Friday and raised her on the road – mostly in the outback to try to offset that curse.  When her mother knows she is dying of cancer, she takes Friday back to her father’s house. Friday’s mother dies by drowning in the fluid built up in her body – on a Saturday.  Friday tries, but can’t stay put, and leaves her grandfather’s home. After her mother’s death she finds out who her father was and goes to the city to find him.  Locating him was not very hard, but she can’t bring herself to tell him who she is, neither does she want to return to her grandfather’s home.

After she sees a strange young boy save a child from being hit by a train (an event in which she was credited with saving the child), she tries to find him. She runs into Arden, a cross between Fagan and Jim Jones. Arden is the leader of a gang, of which the boy, Whisper, is a part. Arden rules the group with a heavy hand and will not tolerate any type of disobedience to her wishes.  Friday doesn’t always agree with Arden, and this puts Arden’s control in jeopardy. Arden burns down the house where the gang is living and takes them to the out-back to an abandoned town to live.  Some never return.

This fast-paced story is set in Australia, but the language will not be intimidating for American readers. It will hold one’s interest right to the very end. There are some language and behavior issues, but they only serve to move the story along. I recommend it for the high school library. This was published by Simon and Schuster.

Angel Fever by L.A. Weatherly

21 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in Young Adult

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Did you ever read a series that just begs to be made into a movie?  Such are the books, Angel Burn, Angel Fever, and this, L.A. Weatherly’s latest title, Angel Fever.  Weatherly’s expertise at creating a vivid mental image in the mind of the reader makes a compelling argument for creating the actual visual image.  She practically has the scenes designed for the director.

This one tells the final story of Willow and the AK’s  fight against the vampire-like beings, the angels.  After the destruction of Mexico City, Willow and Alex now try to find the rest of the surviving angels.   Willow’s father, Raziel, one of the angels, is now in charge and has set up camps for the humans who survived the devastating earthquakes.  These “camps” are really farms to insure the surviving angels with constant food sources.

Willow learns that she must open a gateway between the two worlds to send the angels back to their home, and then close it again so they can never return to earth.  In order to do that she must destroy her father.  The author said that she had intended to write about passion, but it ”turned out to be … about forgiveness.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and I expect that it may become popular with teen readers.  Given the mature themes in the books, I think it is best suited for the high school or college/age reader. Weatherley has a good amount of sexual innuendo in the story.  Although the sex is not graphic, some may not want younger readers exposed to it.