Ask the Passengers

Two words: Standing Ovation

Is it just me or has the world of Young Adult literature been doing a phenomenal job with addressing tough issues?  Where oh where were these story lines when I was a teen?

A.S. King hit a home run with Ask the Passengers.  She took a very delicate issue and brought it right out into the open, giving teens a heartfelt and realistic perspective.  I can only imagine this is a very daunting (and risky) task for an author.  But not for King.  She completely nailed it and then some.

Astrid Jones is a 17-year-old girl living in squeaky-clean suburbia with her detached family.  Mom is an icy workaholic that cares too much about keeping up appearances.  Dad is a secret pothead who desperately wants to escape his mundane life (and controlling wife).  Sister Ellis is the athletic over-achiever constantly trying to please and impress.  And then there's Astrid.  A down-to-earth thinker who gleans perspective from her philosophy class, hates her judgmental small town, feels misunderstood by her family, and has a serious secret weighing heavy on her heart - she's in love with a girl.

Trusting her secret to no one, Astrid confides in the passengers flying thousands of miles above her quiet spot within the backyard.  She tells them her worries, shares her innermost feelings, and asks them the hardest questions.  They in turn share their own trials which have common threads that connect to Astrid's life.  With much hesitation Astrid finally reveals her truth to only her closest friends but soon finds herself spiraling through a string of lies in order to mask the truth from everyone else ... including herself.

In an almost desperate attempt to come to terms with the events shaping her life, Astrid, taking a cue from her philosophy class, creates an imaginary version of Socrates whom she lovingly nicknames Frank.  The two have conversations about what it means to be completely honest and why it's important to question everything. (The most brilliant literary move I may have ever seen.)

King's story is one that's been told again and again ... but never so poignantly.  It demands the answers to the age-old questions: Who am I?  What is real?  What is love?  It makes no assumptions.  The characters are forced to discover and decide for themselves what truly matters.  Laced with wit and out-of-the-box processing, King provides a sort of therapy for young adults struggling to be free.

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Quality Rating:

No Fault Here

John Green is nothing short of brilliant.  His approach to writing teen literature goes far beyond any other author of the genre that I can think of.  I am so grateful that I took the time to acquaint (submerge) myself with his novel, The Fault In Our Stars.  A story of young love so beautifully written I was in a constant state of awe.

Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters lock eyes on one another during a cancer support group meeting for teens. Definitely not the typical location for meeting your first true love but this is in no way your typical teen love story.  The bright but painfully sheltered Hazel (better known as Hazel Grace) quickly finds a deep connection with the brutally handsome and witty Augustus (better known as Gus).  Opposites in many ways, these two are unlikely magnets and thrive on conversations about books, video games, quirky philosophies of life, and of course, living with cancer.

The novel takes Hazel and Gus on a journey to Amsterdam to meet the estranged (and severely alcoholic) Peter Van Houten, the author of Hazel's favorite book, An Imperial Affliction.  However, the trip becomes more than just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Expectations are crushed, truths are told, realities come forth, and the love between Hazel and Gus intensifies and becomes almost immeasurable.

Green takes the stereotypical "cancer story" and flips it on its head.  He creates characters that are so raw and vulnerable you can't help but feel the story and emotions behind them.  This is not so much a story about kids dying from cancer as it is about kids living with cancer and what it feels like to fall in love.  The perfectly written passages of crass remarks intertwined with gut-wrenching and beautiful insights are what make this novel memorable.  Green creates a powerful blend of both the humor, pain, and beauty of being dealt a bad hand in life.

I chose to listen to the audio version of this novel and it was superb.  Kate Rudd's reading is impeccable.  She was able to capture the voice of Hazel in a way I probably wouldn't have in my own head.  Her witty cadence reminded me much of Tina Fey (weird, I know) but in the same breath she was able to express the tender and honest thoughts of Hazel just as effectively.

This is yet another example of YA literature that is enjoyable for adults.  Sometimes I think YA novels are smarter, fresher, and more relevant than adult novels.  The Fault In Our Stars would indeed be one of them.  Because of the extensive vocabulary, I would recommend this book for high schoolers and above.  This won't stop me from adding a copy to my middle school classroom collection but I predict only my more "seasoned" 7th and 8th Graders will truly understand and appreciate its content.

For more information about John Green and his novels visit: http://johngreenbooks.com

Have you read this novel or any other works by John Green?  I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.  Do share!

Driving With Scissors

Raise your hand if you have a painfully long commute to work every day.  And by painful I mean any one-way trip that exceeds the 30 minute mark and leaves you feeling stiff, anxious, and disgruntled with the world.  What an ideal way to start your work day, right?  Negative.  It can be downright torturous.  I know this feeling all too well having chosen to reside a million miles away from my workplace.  However, I have recently discovered the perfect cure for this malady: AUDIO BOOKS! 

I'll be honest.  I used to cringe at the thought of being trapped in my car with only the sound of a monotonous voice jabbering away the plot of a very, very long story - "Wah wah wah, wuh wah wuh wah." Uh, no thanks.  I'm a big music lover and I used to think the only sane way to get through a dreadful commute was to BLAST my way to my destination with some solid tunes (preferably classic rock gems like The Cars, Heart, and Zeppelin) and when traffic got really tense I could always zen out with a little Yanni (don't judge).  What I didn't know was that the perfect audio book could actually produce the same effect as listening to the heart thumping Barracuda.  And this my friends, is where I stumbled upon the in-your-face memoir, Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.     

Now let's see ... how could we best sum up Augusten's childhood?  A warm and fuzzy recollection of growing up with a loving and doting family?  No.  Enduring the typical growing pains of a young boy punctuated with periods of teenage dilemmas like failing an algebra test and getting caught with a pack of cigarettes?  Not quite.  Being abandoned as an infant only to be discovered by a pack of wolves who raise him to hunt for food and howl at the moon?  If only he'd been that lucky.  No.  I think the best way to describe Augusten's early life is complete and total IN.SAN.I.TY!  And not just a little bit of insanity but layers upon layers of it.  There was not a single minute of his entire childhood that could be considered "normal."  He was never given the chance to experience normal.  

Augusten grew up with an emotionally unstable mother and an absent father.  His mother's whack-a-doodle lifestyle caused Augusten to find himself living with and being raised by her lunatic psychiatrist, Dr. Finch.  While his mother takes a slow nose-dive into the depths of mental illness, Augusten is stuck in the whirlwind of the Finch family and the comings and goings of Dr. Finch's numerous mental patients.  On top of all of this, Augusten is trying to come to terms with his homosexuality but unfortunately receives disturbing and sometimes abusive lessons in love from a nasty little character named Neal Bookman.  Ew.  Despite his horrifying and often illegal home environment, Augusten somehow makes it through and eventually discovers what he was meant to do - write.

And boy oh boy is he a fabulous writer!  No doubt about it - Augusten's life story is blow-your-hair-back kind of stuff.  But the way he retells the events with a dry wit and a complete level of self-awareness made me appreciate his journey and had me rooting for him throughout the story.  I can see where many readers would be turned off or perhaps downright offended by the scenes of Augusten's life.  Some may even question the truthfulness of his memoir.  I admit I even asked myself once or twice, "Did he make this up?"  But now I think, "Dang - you have to be pretty courageous to share a memoir like this."  It was an added bonus that I listened to the audio version.  I felt I was able to connect with his story much more having heard it retold in his own voice.  What would have  become of Augusten Burroughs had he lived that warm and fuzzy "normal" childhood?  I'm not so sure but I'm grateful for his cracked upbringing because it made one hell of a good story.

Have you read this book?  What are your thoughts?  Have you also found the joy of audio books?  Do share!