LJ Best YA Lit for Adults 2010, Pt. 2
By Angelina Benedetti Jan 6, 2011Coming in just after the dawn of the New Year and just before the ALA awards are announced, here is my second (and final) installment in the Best YA Lit for Adults 2010 (click here for Pt. 1).
Best Nonfiction
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 172p. ISBN 9780618440337. $19.
In the age of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it can be easy to forget that in our nation's not-so-distant past, a homegrown terrorist organization held large parts of the country hostage. The Ku Klux Klan began with six young male members in 1866 and grew through the rest of the 19th and into the 20th centuries to include an estimated five million men and women. Bartoletti does not censor the hateful language of the Klan's threats or the depictions of their victims. From the chilling cover with a sweat-soaked hood to the picture of thousands of Klansmen marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in 1925, Bartoletti's juxtaposition of word and image brings to light a shadowy legacy that is with us still.
Fleischman, Sid. Sir Charlie: Chaplin, The Funniest Man in the World. Greenwillow Bks. 268p. ISBN 9780061896408. $19.99.
Charlie Chaplin was born into poverty yet became one of the richest and most successful entertainers of his age. Then his adopted nation turned on him, forcing him into artistic exile for the better part of 20 years. As he did for Mark Twain in The Trouble Begins at 8 (2009), Fleischman here treats his subject with wit and wisdom, bringing to light details that will surprise even the biggest silent film fan. For instance, did you know that Jim Henson's Muppets now occupy the studio that Chaplin built? Published posthumously, this last book from a master storyteller humanizes a Hollywood legend.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. Viking Juvenile. 130p. ISBN 9780670011872. $19.99.
Here we learn about the origins of another entertainment icon, Barbie. Love her or hate her, Barbie is so powerful that on the occasion of her 50th birthday (in March 2009) parties from "Mexico City to Paris to Sydney to Shanghai" celebrated her impact, explains Stone. Grounding the narrative is the story of Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler. Ruth, husband Evan, and a business partner founded the Mattel Company in the mid-1940s-a time when very few women worked outside of the home. Mattel would debut the first Barbie (named after the Handler's daughter Barbara) in 1959. Filled with delightful images and peppered with quotes taken from both sides of the Barbie controversy (is she an empowerment icon or unrealistic feminine ideal?), this tribute to an international superstar will entertain even the most ardent Barbie hater.
Best Claustrophobic Settings
Dogar, Sharon. Annexed. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 341p. ISBN 9780547501956. $17.
Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is sacred territory, so it is with great skepticism that I approached Dogar's retelling of the story from Peter Van Pels's viewpoint. The result is both a fresh perspective on a familiar story and a meditation on the tragedy of a lost generation of Jewish youth. While Peter strains under the annex's cramped conditions for the better part of two years, another side of Anne is revealed. It might have been annoying at times to live in close quarters with a young aspiring memoirist. Knowing how the story ends does not stay the impact of the book's final pages.
Sedgwick, Marcus. Revolver. Roaring Brook Pr. 204p. ISBN 9781596435926. $16.99.
Sig is alone with the frozen body of his father, awaiting the return of his family, when a stranger comes to the door. Gunther Wolff claims that Sig's father owes him half a fortune in gold and will not leave until it is produced. To Sig's knowledge, the only thing of value in their tiny cabin is an ancient revolver in the store room. Should he use it, knowing that bringing a gun into this game of cat-and-mouse could result in his own death? I am deeply glad that I read Revolver in August, because it would take far more than a toddy and Snuggie to warm the chill that permeates every page of this Arctic thriller.
Best Literary Showdown
Zombies vs. Unicorns. Margaret K. McElderry. 415p. ed. by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier. ISBN 9781416989530. $16.99.
Two A-list teen authors tackle an age-old question: which is the better literary device, the zombie or the unicorn? The result is a fine collection of 12 speculative stories from some of the best teen writers of our day. My own tastes run toward the postapocalyptic (go to the "Best Cannibals" section of "Best YA Lit for Adults 2010, Pt. 1"), so it was no surprise that I found myself siding with Larbalestier and her zombies. My two favorites? Carrie Ryan's "Bougainvillea," in which pirates roam the seas with captive hordes of the undead, and Libba Bray's "Prom Night," in which On the Beach meets Teenage Wasteland for one (last?) night of revelry. Margo Lanagan's "A Thousand Flowers" is also a standout, in which a princess's coupling with a unicorn (yes, in the biblical sense) changes the lives of three of her subjects. Note: the excellent audio edition (Brilliance, ISBN 9781441889225) features five readers and banter from the dueling editors.
Best Road Trips
Reinhardt, Dana. The Things a Brother Knows. Wendy Lamb Bks. 245p. ISBN 9780375844553. $16.99.
Levi's brother Boaz returns home after three years in the U.S. Marines, unrecognizable to his family. The once-popular and -outgoing athlete now stays in his room all day with the radio turned to static and won't get in a car. When Boaz announces that he will be hiking the Appalachian Trail for the summer, Levi knows that he is lying and follows his brother on a very different journey that leads from their home in Boston to Washington, DC, with stops to meet the families of Boaz's comrades. One of my all-time favorite books is Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country (1985; the 1989 film version stars a youngish Bruce Willis), so naturally, the story's conclusion at the Vietnam Memorial had me sobbing uncontrollably. Nevertheless, the power of this story is in the brothers' journey and their relationship, which builds step by step and mile by mile.
Stork, Francisco X. The Last Summer of the Death Warriors. Arthur A. Levine Bks: Scholastic. 352p. ISBN 9780545151337. $17.99.
Don Quixote comes alive for modern readers in this story of two young men who choose to live with grace and courage. Pancho meets DQ at St. Anthony's orphanage in Las Cruces, NM. DQ is not an orphan, but he is dying of a rare form of cancer and has chosen to live according to his own "Death Warrior Manifesto," an inspiring life philosophy for all its name. The two journey to Albuquerque, ostensibly to seek treatment for DQ. Pancho has another goal: revenge on the man who murdered his older sister. Will DQ's positivity change Pancho's angry heart? Stork's follow-up to last year's most excellent Marcelo in the Real World has me hoping that the Printz committee can see its way to rewarding Don Quixote lovers once more (after Libba Bray's 2010 winner, Going Bovine).
This article originally appeared in the newsletter BookSmack! Click here to subscribe.
