Breathing Underwater

Author Alex Flinn interned after law school with the state attorney and tried domestic violence cases, then volunteered at a shelter for battered women and their families. When she gives us Nick’s story -- the anger, jealousy, violence, secrecy, and heartache -- she knows whereof she speaks. But it’s Nick as the narrator who speaks most eloquently for himself.

This is the tale of Nick’s relationship with Caitlyn, related in the journal he now has to keep, by order of the judge. It’s also the story of Nick and his abusive dad and Tommy, his friend for life. Finally, it’s an account of how he struggles to pull his life together, with the help of group counseling and a certain Ms. Wiggins, after he has made his big mistakes.

He told his new girlfriend she couldn’t hang out with her friends anymore, since they didn’t like Nick’s group. “You do want me as your boyfriend, right?” He ridiculed her. “You bitch, you’re just a fat cow.” He tried to keep her glued to his side. Sounds pretty awful, right? Still, Nick managed to charm Caitlyn enough so that they began to see themselves as two of a kind, unlucky teens from seemingly perfect families. Then a long planned group trip to Key West went awry, and our boy was derisive, possessive and drunk, almost killing them both as he drove home. Played the “Don’t you trust me?” and the ”My life is nothing without you.” cards. And then he hit her… and it didn’t happen just once.

Alex Flinn returns to Nick in her novel, Diva, which is actually more Caitlyn’s story. Try it. Life goes on for the two of them, just not together. And do post a response; like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, this novel is certain to push some buttons.

Katie.com

Katie.com burst on the reading scene in 2000, just as national concern over child safety on the internet reached critical mass; since then it has remained a popular read here at HHS. In an emotional memoir of her experiences with an internet predator, 17-year-old Katherine Tarbox plunges us into the world of her 14-year-old self: wealthy and talented, lonely and naive.

So how does an 8th grader from upscale New Canaan, CT, an athlete competing at the national level, and a concert pianist, end up in a Dallas hotel room with a middle-aged groper? Easy. She falls in love.

How VALLLEYGUY met ATARBOX, paid attention to her and encouraged her in the face of troubles at home and at school, makes up the first part of the book. In what seems like no time at all, we are in that Dallas hotel, wondering just how badly Katie will be hurt.

More damage is done when Katie resumes her life in New Canaan. Her mother is wildly angry. Her step-father thinks she ruined VALLLEYGUY’s life. The folks in town who don’t think she’s a slut think she’s crazy. There’s a trial. And Katie blames herself: “I needed to say that I was guilty, maybe even as guilty as the man who was going to jail for our relationship.” Relationship.... Yikes.

Katie.com is a cautionary tale on many levels, perhaps the least of which is the threat of internet stalking. I take the “blame the victim” mentality exemplified in the second half of the book to represent the greater danger. Do you?

Peach Girl 1

Poor Peach Girl. As the first volume of Miwa Ueda’s shojo manga series begins, it looks like the book will be going out way more often than the girl. And, in fact, Peach Girl 1 is often out on loan, as reader after reader explores the turbulent world of Peach Girl’s school days.

Momo (“peach”) is our heroine. Blonde and tanned in a culture that values dark hair and pale skin, she is shy and uncomfortable around her classmates. And no wonder, since her appearance labels her as a “beach bunny” with questionable character and loose morals.

Momo loves Toji, but is afraid to tell him so. Sae, who pretends to be her only friend, is a rumor and gossip specialist who wants Toji for herself. And then there’s Kiley: handsome, older and dangerous. Here we go into a series of romantic cliff-hangers loaded with betrayal and misunderstanding -- the sort of thing that will sound a bit familiar to anyone who has ever struggled to fit in at a new school, learned the hard way that not all friends are true friends, or fallen in love.

There is wit amidst all the typical shojo melodrama. Momo, a swimmer and softball player (which accounts for the bleached hair and deep tan) slathers on the sunscreen to no avail. And in a subplot that has her coincidentally saving the lives of her love interests, Momo remarks “Why does my fate always take me to people who are drowning?” Why, indeed....

Ueda won the Kodansha Manga Award (Shojo) for Peach Girl, and no wonder. Her art is a compelling blend of realistic background scenes and fantastic, emotionally-charged character drawings.

The entire Peach Girl series is coming out on DVD, too.

If you like shojo, give this one a try -- and tell us what you think. I checked out a few collections of Peach Girl reviews, and I have to say that the reviewers either loved it or hated it. No one sat on the fence. Where do you sit?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

There may be a few teenage girls in the USA who haven’t read Ann Brashares' 2001 novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in which case, I’d better plug it now. Happy readers have worn out several copies from our library; the net is thoroughly populated with Sisterhood sites (including the Wikipedia article, Sisterhood Central, and a great author Q&A from Random House); and there was even a movie back in 2005.

The recap: four 15 year old best friends (Carmen, Lena, Bridget & Tibby) prepare to spend a first-ever summer apart. They’ve been together forever, and while they mostly look forward to spending time in South Carolina, Greece, Baja California, or (poor Tibby) right at home in Bethesda, Maryland, they also know how terribly they will miss each other.

These are no cookie-cutter friends: they have wildly different interests, personalities, backgrounds and body types. So it’s pretty weird when a pair of $3.49 thrift shop jeans fits all of them perfectly, making each one feel confident, sexy, and powerful . “These are magic pants!” And magic pants must be shared so that each girl will have the pants for one week, and then send them on in rotation, giving everyone two weeks of the magic by summer’s end.

Each girl’s summer story then unfolds, intertwined with the schedule of the traveling pants. Fear, happiness, anger, love, jealousy, suspense, grief -- it’s all there, and then some, as we experience not one, but four summertime comings-of-age.

Ann Brashares’ captivating first novel has something to offer almost any girl on the planet. The writing is witty and true to life; the characters are so well drawn you feel like you’ve known them for years; and each girl’s summer story is a page-turner in its own right. Like the movie trailer says, “Laugh. Cry. Share the pants.”

If you liked The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as much as I did -- or if you really didn’t -- please say so. (My favorite character was Tibby; who was yours?)

Startled by His Furry Shorts

If you're keeping up with current teen melodrama, then you will not be Startled by His Furry Shorts, Louise Rennison's latest installment in the hilarious English schoolgirl series. Georgia Nicolson is once more on the "rack of romance" and probably heading to the "bakery of pain." But don't worry, Georgia's antics, which began in Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, will most likely leave you howling on the kitchen floor. Watch out, that's Angus' tail you just stepped on!

If you can drag yourself off the floor and wipe away the tears of laughter, let me know what you think. Post a comment, please.

Twilight

We've hardly seen Twilight: A Novel, by Stephenie Meyer, on the shelf at all this Fall -- someone's always reading it. Not your average vampire story, Twilight blends passion, suspense, and school into a feverish stew that will have you hanging on every word. This, my friends, is a whole new take on what can happen when there's a new girl in a small town high school.

If you've read Twilight, hit the comment button and register your thoughts.