The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway YP FIC GALLOWAY

Adam Strand is bored.  So bored.  So bored that he wants to die. So he does. 39 times.  Each time he wakes up “good” as new.  Each time the people around him feel more and more devastated and he feels more and more drawn to die.  Only when another person needs him does he start to question his place in the world and what his absence would mean.

Fair warning: this is a frank and unapologetic look at the urge to die.  This is one of the least sentimental looks at suicide and suicidal thought I’v ever read, which makes it seem all too real. Adam pulls no punches and makes no apologies for wanting to die.  Thusly, he isn’t always the most likable or relatable protagonist.  However, he is clever and intelligent and his feeling of utter alienation and emptiness has been felt by a full 100% of the human population at least once during their lifetimes, so perhaps he’s so unsettling because in a dark and scary way he IS relatable. Galloway’s writing is excellent for the subject matter.  He is excellent at drawing the reader in then pushing the reader away.  This seesaw between interest and anger at Adam’s clearly selfish and devastating actions make for tough but fascinating reading.  Since we are stuck with Adam as our Point of View we have to deal with his apathy and lack of understanding.  This makes the book a character study of sadness and isolation that is hard to beat in YA literature.  I was very happy that Galloway introduced elements of self-awareness and growth slowly and organically.  You can’t have a kid kill himself 39 times and then meet a great gal or a true friend and then turn everything around.  At the same time, it would be irresponsible if the book didn’t address the harm in Adam’s actions and just reveled in bleakness and edginess. Fortunately, Galloway excels at avoiding either extreme. I think anyone that wants to read a incredibly well written book should pick this up, especially if they know someone that has or has had problems with wanting to die.  However, I don’t think anyone entertaining the thought of suicide should read this book until they’ve sought help first, because books like this can be triggering for people facing such thoughts.

As Galloway does at the end of this book I urge anyone considering harming themselves, or anyone that worries someone they know may harm themselves, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-784-2433 or visit www.suicidehotlines.com.   

You can check our catalog for The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand here.

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams YP FIC WILLIAMS

Hope and Lizzie are as close as sisters get. So when hope finds Lizzie with a shotgun in her mouth and her finger on the trigger she is left wondering why. She begins recalling their lives with their prostitute mother and realizing that Lizzie had pulled away more and more from her. When she discovers the reason why then nothing will ever be the same.

Told in verse, this novel packs the power of a sledge hammer. Hope and Lizzie are wonderful characters that you only get to know piece by piece. This leaves the reader wanting to keep going and the beautiful poetry of the novel makes it rewarding. It also works because what the book is really about is how much and little can be shown with just a glimpse. It asks the reader to look deeper to find the truth in art and in life. I’m always impressed when a book can pull that off. The reveal of Lizzie’s secret at the end is heartbreakingly sad. Know that this is a tough and gritty read, but the ending is hopeful without seeming unrealistic. If you like verse novels like this you should also check out Ellen Hopkins' books like Crank and Identical in YP HOPKINS.

Orange by Benjamin YP FIC BENJAMIN

Orange feels alone and empty, surrounded by people with small, selfish dreams. Then she meets Dashu, a young drunk with seemingly no dreams at all. She is drawn to another person for the first time and both of them drawn closer to the edge in this stunning manga about despair, hope, and the love that gets lost in between.

This might just be one of the prettiest manga I have ever read (since it is from China it is really called Manghua). It is from Tokyopop’s new full color line and it is absolutely gorgeous. Orange is fittingly filled with bright colors, but also has beautiful muted and faded colors to highlight Orange’s loneliness and isolation. The art is super detailed and Benjamin’s painting is gorgeous, but even better is how the art moves the story forward and is used to better understand character. This is definitely a very sad story. Orange is a troubled girl and there are no easy answers for her feelings of isolation in modern China. It is a deep and wonderful character portrait and should be read by anyone interested in illustration.

Hold Still by Nina LaCour YP FIC LACOUR

Hold Still covers a year in the life of Caitlin a high school girl that just lost her best friend to suicide. Things get even worse for Caitlin when she finds her friend’s journal in her room. Burdened by the weight of guilt and the feeling that she never knew her own best friend Caitlin tries to struggle through her Junior year along the way meeting new friends and even finding a possible romance, but will her guilt ruin everything she is trying to build?

 

This is without a doubt one of the best novels I have ever read about grief. Caitlin is a very realistic and likeable young girl that never seems inauthentic. This book deals with issues of depression, sex, suicide, grief, self mutilation, and many other issues teens face in a honest manner that never seems preachy. This book would be excellent for any reader that has dealt with grief or just wants a great story with strong characters. Best of all, even though the issues the book addresses are dark the book itself is very hopeful and uplifting.  It's astounding that this is a first novel and if it is a sign of things to come then readers have a LOT to look forward to from LaCour. 

Whirligig / by Paul Flieschmann

Humiliated after being jilted by a girl at a party, 17-year-old Brent decides life's not worth living and promptly steers his car into oncoming traffic, little realizing that his life isn't the only one at stake. In fact the accident leaves Brent relatively unscathed, soon allowing him back into the realm of consciousness only to learn how his rash behavior's involuntarily killed another person. The fatal victim is a first generation American girl named Lea, who at 18, was a senior in high school already accepted to a prestigious four-year university on scholarship. She would have been the first in her family ever to attend college.

Sentenced to indefinite probation and countless hours of community service, to say nothing of the permanent anguish and guilt, Brent's still not prepared for what confronts him immediately after the hearing. Lea's mother meets with Brent to discuss a court-approved 'trip' she wants him to take to honor Lea's memory. Brent is to ride a greyhound bus to all four corners of the lower United States, spending enough time in each region--Miami, San Diego, Washington and Maine--to construct a whirligig (hand-crafted object spun by wind) solely with his own hands, tools and resources. The four whirligigs are to be given as a gift to someone special at each locale in remembrance of Lea.

The book's non-linear sequence of events really allows the reader inside Brent's character. Once a self-seeking teen only interested in upward-mobility, Brent's post-accident demeanor remains absent of everything he once was, his mindset now one of quiet repose and contemplation as he meets with the opportunity for at least some restitution. Intermittent descriptions of the four individuals destined to be the gift-bearers provide a good balance to Brent's narrative, each interpreted as someone able to understand the whirligig's brevity of meaning.

Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher has been on the YA radar since his first stories and novels came out in the late Seventies. Combining rigorous athletic scenarios with emotionally charged characters confronting real life issues, Crutcher's books are widely accessible to all readers even if a more immediate audience may be found among junior high and high schoolers. Any reader can't miss with these three sure-to-entertain books, some of his most vividly dramatic works.

Staying Fat for Sarah Barnes
A senior star on his high school's swim team, Eric Calhoune still carries around emotional scars from his days as the fat kid; 'morbidly obese' to be precise, which is why he's still called "Moby" by almost everyone. Even with all that's going for him now, the experiences of scorn and derision seem destined to abide within him, constantly reminding him of past abuse and perpetually taunting his still frail well-being. Eric's never had to bear it alone, though; his life-long friend Sarah Byrnes has her own scars, albeit of a more externalized nature. Burned in an accident years ago Sarah bears wounds that can never be hidden or removed, a condition making her and Eric virtual by-proxy soulmates from childhood on. Now with Sarah back in the hospital for what could be the last time, Eric is left to confront--alone--the issues within himself, his relationship with Sarah and the truth about the "accident" which stole their innocence so long ago.

Stotan!
Walker Dupree and three of his closest friends and teammates take up the challenge offered by their swim coach to undergo a week of extreme training in preparation for their upcoming season. By the end they're bodies, not to mention they're mental stamina, will have sustained the utmost in physical exertion, each worthy to assume the title of "Stotan"--cross between stoic and spartan. Candidly, Walker narrates not only the undeniably grueling workouts each day (full 24 hrs) entails, but the mutual camaraderie and loyalty achieved amidst the near-torture-level experience. More than just bodily limitations and a winning season are at stake, however, as the power of this friendship must endure not only a brutal training regimen, but the impending fate of one among them who's currently battling leukemia.

Chinese Handcuffs
Nearly a year after his brother Preston's suicide, eighteen-year-old Dillon still can't come to grips with the absence, not to mention the details surrounding the incident in question. To cope with his grief and outlet other frustrations, he trains year round for triathlons, periodically entering competitions held near his isolated home in the Pacific northwest. Sweat can only vanquish so much though, which is why its good that Dillon can rely on girlfriend Jennifer, herself a star on the basketball court, to stand beside him in spirit if not uphold him with attitude. Ultimately resolving to seek answers regarding his brother's death, Dillon must fight through the obstinacy of his parents and apathy of authorities in finding out the real reason for Preston's "suicide". Simultaneously, he must support Jennifer as she confronts her own repressed trauma in the form of her father's abuse.