"Jumper" by Steven Gould

Annotation:

While being abused by his father, Davy Rice discovers that he can jump. That is, he can teleport. He discovers that even with the ability to jump, the world is still a dangerous place. Even more so once the Government discovers him.


Justification For Nomination:

Davy Rice discovers that he can jump to anyplace he’s ever been, and uses this ability at first to escape his father’s abuse, and later to escape being raped by a truck driver. He moves to New York, to make it on his own, but due to his status as a minor, finds it difficult to make a living honestly. So he uses his ability to rob a bank, and gets away with it, though he is plagued by guilt and fear afterwards.

Davy at first uses the ability to jump to get ahead financially, for petty revenge, to play tricks on his father, and as a cheap alternative to airfare. He tests his abilities numerous times, and discovers that his powers do have limits. During his stay in New York, he eventually meets a girlfriend, Millie, a few years older than he, and they fall in love, but as his life progresses, he seems to be attracted to individuals intent on harming him. Davy jumps his neighbor to stop a domestic abuse, which gets the NYPD on his trail. While people at parties randomly pick fights with him.

He uses his ability to jump to find, and meet his mother, but after she dies in a terrorist bombing, Davy slumps into depression, and uses his gifts to track down the terrorists. He soon becomes the hunted though as the NSA discover that he can teleport and they hunt him down, popping up in unexpected places with tranquilizers. As they pursue him, he jumps his hunters all over the globe as revenge of sorts. Davy turns the tables by capturing his mother’s murderer, kidnapping a high ranking NSA official and negotiating the release of his girlfriend, and reaches an accord with the NSA. All while still a teenager.

Jumper gets a nomination because this book grabbed, me pulled me in, and jumped me all around the world with Davy. Written in first person perspective, the reader gets to see and feel everything that Davy does. The author crafted these internal events well. This is a character novel, not a superhero novel. In fact the author made Davy so real; I almost believed that I could teleport too. In this respect, it is a great vehicle for a teen to experience independence, as well as what it may be like for someone like them to have super powers.

The book is not only a great thrill ride, but it hits upon some developmental points, and puts Davy, a teen, into a position where he is in power. Davy gains independence from his father at 17, moving to New York. He does steal food, and messes with his father, but realizes that he’s on his own now, and should be more self sufficient. Davy resolves to take nothing else from his father’s house, unless it’s from his own room. He establishes his independence. He even paid his father back for money he took from him.

Davy also enters into a relationship with a woman a few years older than he, defying the sexist opinion of society that the man should be older. He convinces her that if he were older than her, it would be acceptable to society, but since she is older it’s not. His feelings of attraction are normal for a teenager, and his emotional reaction is believable when he reveals to Millie that he is a virgin. They have sex, and later on the relationship grows into something real. They break up briefly, which is complicated by his mother’s death, but in a very adult like fashion, he eventually makes up with her, and they continue the relationship.

He doesn’t seem to be terribly idealistic, except in his morality about killing, and in trying to avoid becoming his father. Early in the book, he had a chance to kill his father, but didn’t. He also could have killed many terrorists, but subdued them instead, and in fact felt guilty when one terrorist committed suicide by bomb. He also was tempted to jump his enemies into rough neighborhoods, but had mercy enough to merely inconvenience them. In fact, he seemed to take some pleasure at just irritating his enemies rather than harming them. One great moment of one-upmanship by Davy: he is surrounded by 5 NSA agents, they want to know who he is, and how he’s doing what he does, he says “We mean no harm to your planet.” I have never laughed so hard in my life.

The power of jumping is also kind of an allegory for the development process, whether done willingly by the author or not. Physically teens are testing out their bodies, Davy tests out his powers. Davy at first doesn’t know the limit of his powers, so throughout the book, he tests their limits, much like a teen tests the limits of what is possible for them to get away with. Once he has mastered one aspect of his ability, he comes up with another way to pioneer a new use for it. He also searches periodically for others like him; much like a teen would search out others like themselves for a sense of identity.

I would classify this more as thriller than Sci-Fi mainly because a Sci-Fi novel, would have delved deeper into the how’s and why’s of jumping. The book spends more time describing Davy’s feelings about things he has done, or considers doing, and he also is incredibly paranoid of people watching and catching him. From robbers and police, in the beginning and middle, to the NSA and terrorists at the end, someone is always after Davy.

One additional note about the book, though published in 92-93, it is incredibly relevant today, with mentions of Shiite and Sunni Muslims, terrorist hijackings and Davy’s personal war on terror, and Government officials illegally wiretapping citizens. I was surprised this book was written in 92 after reading it, because 15 or so years later, these issues have only grown in importance.

Suggestions for Improvement: none. a practically flawless novel.


Genre: Thriller, Science fiction, adventure

"Red Scarf Girl" by Ji Li Jiang

Annotation:

Caught up in a tempest of conflicting political, familial loyalties, and moral ambiguity Ji Li Jiang must decide right from wrong during China’s Cultural Revolution. Will she choose loyalty to her family, or loyalty to her country?


Justification for Nomination:

12-year-old Ji Li Jiang wants to help her country’s revolution against capitalism by joining the Junior Red Guard, and helping them rid their community of “The Four Olds.” The Four Olds are: “Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas.” She is quite zealous at first, suggesting ways to rename “Old” store names, with new revolutionary names. She has good reason to, she and her family had supported previous edicts given by their “Beloved Chairman Mao,” And she feels that his most recent revolutionary idea, getting rid of the Four Olds, is by far the most relevant. Until she realizes that her family’s class status is looked down upon in the new order of things.

To back up a bit, for those who don’t know, in the early days of Chinese Communism, Chairman Mao was practically deified by the people, especially so during the Cultural Revolution. Much of the populace followed him and his orders more or less blindly. Many read his famous quotations the “Red Book” as though it were a religious scripture. This is the dangerous power that he held. His goal, as stated in Red Scarf Girl was to elevate the working class, to an equal, or even higher status than those of the upper class. In particular disdain was capitalists, “rightists,” and landlords. Ji Li’s grandfather (who died when her father was 7) was a landlord, which makes her unfit in the eyes of many to participate in the new regime, much to her dismay.

As Ji Li finds out, the class status of her long dead grandfather impacts their family’s status during this reign of terror. Her Grandmother is labeled as a “landlord’s wife,” and her father as a “rightist.” Her class-mates chastise her class status as well, and exclude her from many activities. Ji Li begins to hate her family and class status, but she soon grows to disagree with the Red Guards and Communist system as it begins to impact the people she cares about. Her family’s friends are detained for political reasons; her neighbor’s houses are searched. She soon despises, and fears just about everything going around her, once her house is searched, and her father is eventually jailed as a rightist. Her longing for a normal life has been thwarted by the government and people around her. She is utterly powerless. Taking care of her family makes her a landlord, following the government means she must break ties with her family.

This book has been nominated because it shows the idealism of the young people, but more particularly what happens when that idealism has been corrupted by a absolute power given by the government. Students rebel against teachers, and their parents all in the name of a “higher purpose,” the revolution. All curriculums in the schools have been replaced with subjects of use to the government. It’s also great because Ji Li is caught up in it in the beginning, but even as she participates in the revolution, she feels something is wrong. She does things she doesn’t necessarily agree with to fit in, and support the “crusade,” but as the revolution strikes closer to home she makes a stand of sorts to stand with her family, who truly need her.

Her quest throughout the story is to support the revolution, but as the world around her spirals out of control, and her class status comes into question, her desire is to escape everyone’s notice and to be normal. Her enthusiasm is evident when she sees a “wicked landlord’s” house searched, and the occupant degraded, but this enthusiasm changes to fear, anger, and resentment as the searches target those close to her and eventually her own family. Her identity, and quest to find who she is, is called into question and changed at every step in the story. She ultimately decides that her class status will always be a barrier to being accepted in society, and chooses to remain identified with her family.

Ji Li further takes on adult responsibilities, she takes her grandmother to the doctor, she cares for her younger siblings, she shops for the family’s food, and when her mother falls ill and her father is arrested, she further takes on a more adult introspective process, along with the responsibilities. She also perseveres through uncertainty, solves many problems on her own, and she always attempts to be socially responsible until it conflicts with her family.

This book not only hits many of the teen development areas, but the author does it well. She also shows also shows clearly what happens when a society is turned upside down, when rights are infringed upon, and shows how that can affect a developing person’s decision process. A very well written book, which I cannot find any faults with. The closest thing to a perfect 10 young adult book that I have seen yet.

Suggestions for Improvement:

The ending is a little bit abrupt, but the author makes up for it with a great epilogue. It's the author's first book, so this is hardly a matter to pick apart.

Genre: Historical Fact, Autobiography, Multicultural

“If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” By Bruce Campbell

Annotation:

B-Movie Actor, Bruce Campbell reveals “the man behind the curtain,” the dark side of the film industry, and shows that making it even as a B-actor is not as easy as you might think.

Justification for Nomination:

Bruce starts his autobiography with his childhood in Michigan, and the many adventures he had alone and with his brothers. He and his brothers burned, flooded, and other wise destroyed plastic green army men, they built forts, and shot bottle-rockets at their alcoholic neighbor. The coup-de-grace of their pranks, in my opinion, was the fake UFO they created from balsa wood, candles, and laundry bags which actually alarmed several locals. Adolescence comes not long afterwards, and he not only deals with the normal awkward teen issues, but falls in with a group of friends who have an affinity for making homemade movies.

Bruce gets bit by the acting bug while making movies with his friends that are well received by the community, and while doing local theater. His big coming of age moment is when he and friend Sam Raimi (Director of Spider-Man) procure funds, and actually make their first movie, Evil Dead. Much time is spent describing the whole Evil Dead experience. Thanks to word of mouth, and some lip service from Stephen King, the movie recoups the debt they owed. Bruce gives great details about his difficulties finding work as an actor, how difficult that really is, and the affects that this had on his marriage and personal life. After the success of Evil Dead, he had a life filled with uncertainty for several years. Despite the uncertainty of income, and livelihood, he gained roles in commercials, Coen brothers films, and films such as Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Maniac Cop, Congo, Mchale’s Navy, and other movies. He also describes his meetings with various actors, such as Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Tom Arnold, French Stewart, and Liam Neeson. He wraps up the book with his experiences doing TV shows, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and Xena: Warrior Princess, as well as a summary of what it means to be an actor in that crazy pseudo-world. It’s his behind the scenes tales of movies and the people who make them.

Teens will love this book, because he starts where they have been, childhood, and then moves through his adolescence, and his change in interests. He also embarks on a quest, to be an actor and make his living by this craft. He is joined by some friends who are able to help him in this quest to become an actor. He has a coming of age moment on the quest, which is to successfully make and market his first film with his friends, and they succeed. He has failures after this, but successes too. The book is really about his ongoing quest to be an actor that can make a living, while at the same time staying sane, in an insane business. He doesn’t pull any punches, and shows that making it as an actor is incredibly tough, but rewarding in its own way. His book portrays how one man found himself, and achieved his own identity.

Bruce also depends on adults early on into his twenties to finance Evil Dead, but then later removes himself from that need. He and his friends also solve the problem of financing, making, and selling a film against steep odds anddo it successfully. The importance of his relationships with his friends is emphasized throughout his story, mainly because they usually make movies together. Finally, teens may think that becoming an actor is an easy way to make a life; sadly this is rarely the case. By reading Bruce Campbell’s autobiography teens can “try on” this life style, and see if it’s right for them, or at the very least learn more about it.

Suggestions for improvement:

In some spots his writing is confusing. At the start of one paragraph he’s doing odd jobs in Michigan, but at the end he’s a security guard in California with no real clarification as to how he had arrived there.

Genre: Auto-Biography, Film, Acting

The Last Mall Rat by Erik Esckilsen

Annotation:

Tired of rude, obnoxious customers? Hire local teens to harass them! Guaranteed revenge, or your money back! Caveat Emptor!

Justification for Rejection:

Mitch, too young to work at the mall, hangs out there instead, hence the mallrat of the title. He has sort of befriended “The Chair,” an extremely successful, and sycophantic (to the customers anyway) shoe salesman. One customer though, pushes him over the edge, and The Chair hires Mitch to get revenge by uttering the phrase, “Caveat Emptor” (buyer beware) and creep her out as she enters her car. It works, and before Mitch can realize what has happened, he has become popular at school, and the go-to-guy for revenge on customers throughout the whole mall.
Soon, Mitch gets his friends involved, including one, Jimmy Biggins. Jimmy is a trouble maker, and relishes his new “job” to torment customers. Things get out of hand quickly, as the number of incidents sky rockets, and Jimmy accidentally assaults a man and ends up wanted by the whole town. Soon, Jimmy becomes a martyr to all of the teens when he goes into hiding, which causes many teens to wonder about the mall chanting Big-gins, and freaking out customers. Mitch soon comes to the conclusion that the only way to put a stop to it is to turn himself in. He and his friends are sentenced, with Jimmy’s fate left unknown, though Jimmy may end up in juvenile detention.

OK, so why does this book get a rejection you may ask? Well, it is an entertaining read, and a good book, but it doesn’t quite meet my expectations. Although Mitch is quasi-idealistic, and takes up a quest to plague customers. The book is told in first person narrative, which starts out OK, but doesn’t really delve into the character, Mitch’s emotions. First person would be a great way to get into Mitch’s head, but the author doesn’t do it much. Instead, we get quasi-elaborate explanations of the secretary’s hair color, which he notices in the principal’s office. He suspects the principal of knowing about his “business,” and tries to look innocent in the office, and this is all that’s described. He thinks about how likely it is that he has been caught, but there is no mention of his emotions the whole time he is in the office, just descriptions of scenery. Another example is when he enters the interrogation room at the police station, we get a great description of how the room compares to those seen on TV, and what the table and lighting are like, but nothing about say, a gut wrenching, sweaty palm feeling upon entering. He then negotiates with the police captain like a grownup/seasoned criminal, which is a little hard to swallow given his circumstance. Young adult novels should show empowered teens, but this is not realistic (which the story is). To contrast, earlier in the novel, he talked about the uneasy feeling, and the excitement he got from scaring customers when he started.

The author also does little to address the character’s morality. He does get a little bit into how Mitch wonders if he’s wrong, or if his parents found out, but Mitch really has no internal conflict when he does these things. He does realize later on that he’s in trouble, and seeks to put a stop to it, before it escalates, but something is lacking. His thoughts on the matter are not portrayed that well. The first half of the novel, we get a sense of increasing danger, and thrill, but then suddenly Mitch stops the train, and the rest of the novel deals with the school kids harassing the mall, how can he help Jimmy, discussions with his father about what he should do, and how does he stop it. The remainder of the novel doesn’t really deal with the repercussions of what he did, and the thrill element is gone. I would expect the thrill to turn into panic, or something, but the story just coasts to the end. It ends with kind of a Deus ex machina ending, with the character getting off with a slap on the wrist for his crimes, and things are really no different than in the beginning.

Overall, this book is mildly entertaining to read in the beginning, but after the “let’s turn ourselves” bit, it falls short of a satisfying ending. Even after Mitch gives his statement to the cops, the drama of a trial, and Jimmy’s fate is skipped, and left open. The epilogue instead focuses on his father’s lecture about urban sprawl, and the community coming together, which was a very loose theme throughout the novel. Teens may be confused what the point of the story is, and may even think it’s a good way to earn money, especially since the kids got away with it (mostly).

In short, decent story for fun, hits a few points of teen development, but not that well. It falls short of being worthy of a nomination, because it is average. Read it for fun, enjoy it, but don’t expect award material. The one thing you should take away is be nice to the people working in the mall, you never know when someone will follow you to your car and say, “Caveat Emptor.”


Genre: Fiction, Problem Novel

Record of Lodoss War by Ryu Mizuno, and Yoshihiko Ochi

Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch: A Gathering of Heroes

Annotation:

Lord of the Rings meets Manga. Young Parn talks some strangers into following him on a damn-fool-idealistic crusade.

Justification For Nomination:

Lodoss, the Accursed Island, has know peace for some time after the six heroes defeated a great evil. Emperor Beld of the island of Marmo, formerly one of the six heroes, leads an army of ogres, goblins, and dark elves to conquer Lodoss. He is aided/manipulated by Karla, the Grey Witch to do so.

Parn, a young teenage-ish type of guy, starts off his quest by trying save his village from goblins. Being still a youth, the townsfolk disregard his warning. He then gets into conflict with the goblins who actually were ready to invade (imagine that, no one listens to the kid!). Parn is saved from the goblins by Etoh (his childhood friend), Ghim (a cantankerous dwarf), Deedlit (a young looking but ancient high-elf), and Sorcerer Slayn. Parn talks them all into joining him on his quest to be a holy knight, like his father before him. The party arrives in the city of Allan where they uncover a Marmo plot to kill the local royalty. In this town the thief Woodchuck joins their party. Soon fate uncovers the fact that Marmo is invading Lodoss with a sizeable army. Idealistic Parn, incensed that the Allanians will not fight, decides to lead his party to Valis to raise help there.

This graphic novel will grab teens’ attention on page 1 with great character designs, and an idealistic young hero. Teens will also relate to Parn’s quest to become a knight, because that will basically allow him to be seen by the world as trustworthy grownup, and not the child everyone sees now. Parn’s also jumps headlong into action, which is what many teens do, and when it gets him into trouble, his friends save him. This further emphasizes the importance of friendships during teen years. To sum it all up, Parn serves as an archetype for teen development. Even his wiser/older friend Deedlit the Elf, can serve as an icon for teen girls, though to a lesser extent. She is smart and thinks things through, and is also more mature than Parn, but still possessing a youthful enthusiasm despite her great age. In other words, girls mature faster than boys. Many teens will identify with these two characters at least, if not the story. It has everything teens love: heroes to identify with, romance, great character designs, a quest/fantasy story, clearly defined good vs. evil (grays are just starting to come into focus though), lastly, it is manga (teens love it right now!)



Suggestions for improvement:

Some scenes/motives aren’t that clear. Sometimes dialogue will be there, but not really apply to anything. Only upon re-reading, or looking at the pictures can some things be fully understood. Also, the lack of narration boxes is unusual, even for manga. Asied from that, this is a pretty good story, and a quick read. There are also some mini-series on DVD that are phenomonal.

Genre: Manga, graphic novel, fantasy

Bronx Masquerade, by Nikki Grimes

Annotation:

Bronx teens with little love for each other discover a common bond and empathy for each other through poetry.


Justification for Nomination:

Tyrone is a high school student at an unnamed Bronx high school；he is the central character that provides a central point for readers to identify with. Each character in Mr. Ward’s English class is given a chance to do an open-mic poetry slam every week. Each poem is read by a different student, and before they read their poem, they share their internal thoughts with the reader. Though the characters start out indifferent, or overtly hostile towards each other, through the hearing of the poems they grow to respect one another’s differences.

What makes this such a great book is that there are so many characters that get to tell their story. Each person has their own quirks, things they can’t stand about themselves, and things they think will make them happy. Lupe considers getting pregnant to become happy, because she sees how happy her friend Gloria (who is a single mom) is. It is then revealed that Gloria is not as happy as Lupe thinks. Some characters like Raul are idealistic, he wants to become an artist. Others are uncomfortable with how they look, and try to fit in with the other kids. Sheila Gamberoni, an Italian wants to be black. Another student who is a mixed race African-American wishes she was darker, and had less perfect hair so she could fit in.

Each character in this book seems like a living, breathing person. They bare their soul to the reader, and then tell a poem to the class about their feelings. The teens are idealistic, searching for an identity, trying on different roles, and becoming introspective in their thoughts and poems. The book also gets points for combining poetry/verse, with internal monologues, and inter-character dialogues. The book also addresses race relations, and does so with the characters learning to respect and accept each other. By the end of the book, color has been blurred. Lastly, these teens are in an inner city school, of various ethnic backgrounds, and I think all of them are portrayed in a positive light. It is an interesting read, that doesn’t dwell on the bitterness of inner city life, and offers hope.


Suggestions for improvement:

This book is great, I only wish that the teens’ self reflections were longer.

Genre: Poetry/Verse,

Street Love, by Walter Dean Myers

Annotation:

The acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers weaves an updated Romeo & Juliet-esque tail of forbidden romance by means of verse.

Justification for Nomination:

Damien, a youth in Harlem with a promising future; falls in love with Junice. Junice is not the average young lady, however since her mother was just sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling drugs, and she and her sister move in with their grandmother.

Damien and Junice fall in love, and begin dating each other. Damien’s mother thinks he should pursue his childhood friend Roxanne, and his friend Kevin tries to talk him out of his “infatuation” with Junice. Junice’s mother feels betrayed that her daughter isn’t trying to get her out of prison and instead is focusing on her relationship with Damien. The ending is more cheerful than Romeo & Juliet, in that they end up together, however the reader can be lead to believe that the future will not be easy.

Myers’ characters use poetic verse throughout the novel, this is done extremely well. I can almost feel the words flowing off of the page the words are so smooth. The characters feelings are dealt with through verse, as are their conversations with one another. Each character also has a different style of flow which works to convey that character’s mood. Junice’s rhymes feel unsure, while Damien’s spew forth confidence that his love for Junice is real. Junice’s social worker’s lines don’t really flow and come off as cold and uncaring.

The reason that this book deserves a nomination is because it has teens dealing with their very real feelings. Their uncertainty for the future. Damien’s idealism is so strong, it could only come from a teenager; while his disagreement with his mother’s view of Junice is ripe for testing the adult boundaries. Junice’s uncertainty about living with her grandmother, and Damien’s intentions is also conveyed. Junice is also embarrassed that she lives in the bad part of town, and that her mother is in prison, and wonders how this will affect Damien’s feelings for her. Damien’s passion for Junice puts him at odds with his mother, and gets him into a fight with a local thug.

We also have the teens stepping into the role of grownup, and not being able to go back. Junice ends up raising her younger sister because her grandmother is senile. She also tends to do the grocery shopping for the family. In many ways, Junice is more adult than most of the grownups in the story. Damien too steps up into an adult role by pursuing the runaway Junice to the Greyhound stop enroute to Memphis (from Harlem). He steps into the role by promising to provide for, and protect Junice, and her sister. Both Damien and Junice are more grown up than their parents, who offer cheap excuses, and immature viewpoints. Their parents are oblivious to the whole situation of the kids.

This book is also great because the teens in the story are so alive, and real. This is a story about African-American teens trying to get by through all of the crap society throws at them, and turn out alright. Teens will also identify how both sets of parents are out of touch with the situations of the protagonists.

Suggestions for improvement: I give the author credit for not ending on a bleak note. Although Damien, and Junice end up together, I don’t see a happy future for them, only one paved with bitterness and resentment.


Genre: Poetry/Verse