Books Recently Read

*THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL - Veera Hiranandani

Sonia Nadhamuni’s life is going well until her father loses his job and she’s pulled out of the private school she adores. Now in a public school, she feels out of place. Her classmates make her uncomfortable with their questions geared towards her name and looks. With an Indian father and Jewish mother, the kids focus is on who she is, what she is, and what religion she practices. Sonia tries to fit in with new friends and cheerleading tryouts, but this doesn’t mean she’s being true to herself. Meanwhile, at home, things are getting worse with her parents. Her mother, who works longer hours because of the father’s job loss, doesn’t like all the changes in Sonia’s social life and her unemployed father is going through emotional changes that will rock the family. I enjoyed all the elements of family, friendship, and diversity in this middle grade novel.

*CRACKED - K.M. Walton

Victor’s parents either ignore or belittle him, and at school he’s bullied in the worst way by Bull. His caring grandmother is far away. He has no one. When circumstances become unbearable for him, he takes a bottle of his mother’s pills and wakes up in a hospital. 

Bull, his tormentor, is cruel for a reason. He has his own bruises, being beaten by his grandfather, with a drunken mother who does nothing to support him. When he finds a gun he decides to defend himself. But instead of shooting his grandfather, he accidentally shoots himself. With people thinking it was a suicide attempt, rather than self-defense, he ends up in the same psychiatric hospital as Victor. They’re roommates! 

It was an interesting relationship to have in a book. What goes on in the hospital between Victor and Bull, as well how they interact with the other patients, was fascinating. This novel made me teary-eyed, although the authentic teenage voices, areas of comic relief, and the love and hope the boys find in the hospital add lightness to this otherwise sad story. Kudos to K.M. Walton on this amazing debut. 

YELLOW STAR - Jennifer Roy

The author took her aunt Syvia’s Nazi occupation story and turned it into this verse book. Reading about Syvia and how her family survived in a Polish ghetto during her childhood was heart-wrenching. I finished it days ago and I’m still thinking about it. YELLOW STAR is a fast read, but one that leaves a lasting impression. 

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR - Stephanie Perkins

Perkins has created another believable world and another to-die-for couple in her latest novel. I adored ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and was thinking this would be similar,but LOLA features a different world with brand new characters, although Anna and St. Clair are featured in this book (I loved seeing them again). The characters are quirkier than the ones in ANNA, but I find that Perkins knows how to write quirky without going overboard or becoming unrealistic. For several hours I was involved with Lola, her boyfriend, the boy next door she still has feelings for, her two fathers, and the mother who makes a reappearance after almost fading out of her life. This novel has plenty of conflict, and my favorite part was the romance.

*Counts toward the 2012 Debut Author Challenge