one-two punch

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: YA, fiction
Review:  Noah's last name isn't Hypnotik (it's Oakman), but he does have strange fascinations.  That's his own name for them, taken unashamedly from David Bowie's book.  They are: a YouTube video featuring a woman aging day by day; the man with an enormous goiter Noah passes every day on his way to school; a picture dropped by a singer; and uncovering the hidden messages in his favorite author's works.  When Noah is hypnotized (or something - he's not actually sure what happened), and he starts to notice subtle changes in the world around him, his strange fascinations remain constant.  Convinced that the answers lie in uncovering the secrets behind his fascinations, he begins a somewhat obsessive quest to get to the bottom of things.

But then, well, let's just say that I did not see that coming.  Or the other thing.  It was quite the double-whammy, and very well done.  But what really pulled me through the book was wondering whether Noah would ever figure out how to go back to being a good friend.  His two best friends, twins Alan and Val, are fantastic supporting characters and add a lot of depth to Noah's story.

FTC Disclaimer: A received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

taking a stand

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction, middle grade
Review: I really wanted to be able to give this book 5 stars, based on its portrayal of a courageous 4th grader who takes a stand against books being banned from her school library, and its top-notch discussions of the First Amendment and censorship.  When Amy Anne's favorite book (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler) is banned, along with several others, normally shy and reserved Amy Anne starts to stand up for what she believes in.  She and her friends start gathering copies of the banned books to share with their fellow students from the "Banned Books Locker Library".  Their efforts get more ingenious the more books are banned, and the conversations that are engendered because of the controversy are spectacular.  This is a great book to teach about civil liberties, without having students feel like the lessons are being shoved down their throats.

Unfortunately, as good as it is in those areas, it is equally bad in others.  Amy Anne's parents are completely oblivious to her feelings of frustration at home (her two little sisters are always right and she is always in the wrong), and whereas the First Amendment is very strong, due process seems not to exist at all.  The portrayal of the motivations of the parent behind the book banning was weak, and those of the school board non-existent.  These flaws really brought down an otherwise excellent book.

leave the past in the past

My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: All is not well in the Miller/Black household.  Mr. Miller is dead, for one thing, at the hands of his thirteen-year-old stepdaughter, Venus, who doesn't deny that she killed him, but blames her mother for not taking action to stop... something.  A few days after Venus is arrested for doing... whatever she did that resulted in her stepfather's death... her little brother Leo, who is intellectually handicapped, goes missing, but Venus, being in juvenile detention, can't do anything to help find him, which seems to be the hardest part about being in jail, as far as she's concerned.

Skip forward 6 years to when Venus is released and sets out to try to restart her life in something resembling a normal fashion.  Possibly the reader is supposed to still care about what actually happened on that fateful night in 1980 (and the events leading up to it), and I did, but I found myself much more interested in Venus as a character than as a sensationalized news story.  Rest assured, we do find out what happened and why Venus is so mad at her mother, but her current story is much more interesting, and that's what kept me turning the pages.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.