"A Girl like Me" by Ni-Ni Simone

Book cover, courtesy of Tower Books

                "A Girl Like Me" by Ni-Ni Simone bills itself as a modern-day Cinderella story, starring Elite, a 17 year-old assistant manager at a clothing store whose life is changed when she enters a radio contest and wins a pair of tickets to a concert featuring her musical idol, Haneef. The contest was a singing contest and Haneef is convinced that he wants Elite to be a professional singer. However, Elite is also the primary caretaker of her brothers and sister, her mother is constantly off doing drugs, and her father is a deadbeat who abandoned the family. She and Haneef also become friends, gradually deepening their relationship, which draws the eye of the media upon her, forcing her to keep her embarrassing family life from being revealed. However, her attempts at deception are slowly revealed and Elite finds that the contest has given her more than just burdens, it has also given her a true friend in Haneef.

                "A Girl Like Me" takes the traditional Cinderella story and puts an urban spin on it just as promised in a way that is both humorous and emotional as Elite deals with the effects of her sudden fame on her family and friends and the pressures she feels to seem popular - such as stealing from the store she works at. The realistic way of life Elite has can resonate with the readers; even I felt I could relate to Elite at the beginning of the book when she readies her younger siblings for school. One thing to remember before reading this book is there is a lot of profanity, talking about drugs and drug use, instances of underage drinking, and violence.

This book is unrelated to the Rihanna single from 2006 "A Girl Like Me."

Simone, Ni-Ni. A Girl Like Me. New York: Kensington Pub., 2008. Print.

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Book cover, courtest of Wikipedia

               When I first saw Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" on the list of Fantasy titles, I questioned why it would be there and not under science fiction. The setting is mundane and modern and there isn't any magical or magical creatures - altered animals like the mockingjay and the mutant hounds are described as creation's of the capitol's science. Then I began to think about it in the sense of Star Wars: there is science and it plays a large part in the book's setting, but the book never really goes deep into how the science of the setting works, much how Star Wars had X-Wings and lightsabers but spent more time talking about how the Force works than how R2-D2 can show holograms. The setting isn't science fiction or straight-up fantasy, it's Science-Fantasy.

                If you've seen the movie, you might be wondering why you would even need to read the book. Like many movie adaptations, "The Hunger Games" film leaves out many scenes that help expand upon the setting, such as Katniss Aberdeen's past and what happened to her father, why the Mockingjays and other altered beasts exist in the world, and much of Haymitch the District 12 advisor's suggestions to Katniss and Peyta the Baker. The book also has many descriptions of the awful ways in which the capitol oppresses the districts in order to keep them in line and discusses the mysterious District 13. Reading the book allows the interested reader to learn more about characters they have come to love in the movie, especially Katniss. You also don't want to miss the goat story; it's adorable.

                "The Hunger Games" is definitely an exciting book that is sure to take a firm hold of the reader's attention. It also has a strong message, suggesting that even a seemingly simple situation like "survive at all costs" can be remarkably complex and morally ambiguous. To the reader who hasn't seen the movie though, beware that this is an extremely violent and dark story, featuring the deaths of many children and teenagers. Perhaps because it does involve young adults so intimately is why it can be especially frightening: teenagers can imagine themselves trapped in this situation and adults can easily imagine the fear of the families of the main characters. If you do enjoy this book, it is Book One in a trilogy that is available on shelves.

This book has won the following awards:

2008 Publishers Weekly "Best Books of the Year"
2008 The New York Times "Notable Children's Book of 2008"
2008 Cybil Winner
2008 School Library Journal "Best Books"
2008 Booklist Editors' Choice
2009 Golden Duck Award in Young Adult Fiction
2011 California Young Reader Medal

If you enjoyed "The Hunger Games," be sure to check out its sequels "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay".

If you enjoyed reading "The Hunger Games," you may be interested in the movie, now available on DVD. Enjoy the official trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FovFG3N_RSU

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.

"How to Kill a Monster" by R.L. Stine

Book cover, courtesy of http://goosebumps.wikia.com

  

              In the genre of horror, I selected R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps: How to Kill a Monster." If you've never heard of him, you may have been living under a rock...I mean, he is one of the most popular writers of horror fiction for young people. The back of the book's bio for Stine even goes so far as to declare him "the most popular author in America," though this has almost certainly changed in the 15+ years since this book was written.

                "How to Kill a Monster" tells the story of Gretchen and Clark, two siblings who are being left to visit their swamp-dwelling grandparents for a week while their parents to Atlanta, Georgia for business. The two children soon find that their potentially-boring trip is going to be anything but, hearing loud roaring noises in the middle of the night and finding strange, locked rooms where Grandpa has been leaving stacks of food.

                Like many Goosebumps titles, "How to Kill a Monster" wastes little time getting to the action, spending only a couple of chapters setting up the plot and ending each chapter on a thrilling cliffhanger. Another traditional Goosebumps theme that this title continues is that it lacks a strong, philosophical meaning that titles like "Almost Perfect" and "The Outsiders" have.

                I would likely not recommend this book to older teens who are looking for material that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. This book is written with older children and young teens in mind, but it can make for a short, entertaining read if that's what the reader wants. Older teens may find R.L. Stine's "Give Yourself Goosebumps" series of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories to be more to their liking or they might want to just avoid Goosebumps altogether.

"How to Kill a Monster" was one of the Goosebumps books adapted into an episode of the television series and is viewable here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTeZHYVq3VM

Stine, R. L. How to Kill a Monster. New York: Scholastic, 1996. Print.

"Almost Perfect" by Brian Katcher

Book cover, courtesy of http://inthenextroom.blogspot.com

               For the first quarter of "Almost Perfect", Logan, a teenager in a small Missouri town, and the reader are puzzled with the mystery of a new girl in town named Sage. Odd enough to Logan that she's new in town, but she's attractive, funny, outgoing, and - almost as odd as being new in town - interested in him! After finally managing to confront Sage about her secrecy, Logan finally learns the truth about the new girl: she was born a boy. As Logan struggles to reconcile his feelings for someone he was attracted to and the potential stigma of being labeled "gay" by the rest of the small town, the reader learns more and more about Sage's troubled past.

                "Almost Perfect" gives the reader a first-hand view how drastically negative people can feel about something they don't understand, from Sage's desire to simply be accepted as a girl to Logan's confusion over whether liking a feminine transgendered person makes him homosexual to Sage's father's grief over not being able to reconcile his desire to see his child be a normal son and his desire for Sage to feel comfortable and loved. "Almost Perfect" gives the reader an excellent idea how it feels to have everyone around you either actively deny how you feel or be capable of violently refusing to accept you for who you are.

                For the most part, this book is a very sad look into the life of a misunderstood transgendered person. While it has its moments of humor (such as a fourth wall-breaking "Missouri rain can be harsh, second only to (your state's name), it is a tragic story about a lack of acceptance and support in a person's life. Young readers may also want to be aware that this book contains profanity and sexual scenes.

This book has won the following awards:
A Capitol Choice Noteworthy Book for 2010
A 2011 TAYSHASH (Texas) Reading List Book
2011 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award

Katcher, Brian, and Cathy Bobak. Almost Perfect. New York: Delacorte, 2009. Print.