DBRLTeen

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States for young people aged 15 to 24.  Of course the only thing many adults can think of to say about this issue is “DON’T!!!” – such a waste to end your life due to temporary circumstances or feelings.  So this book by Jay Asher is a good way to think and talk about this serious issue.  And the author had a great idea – after high school student Hannah commits suicide, her classmates start receiving a series of cassette tapes in the mail from the girl, who recorded her thoughts and feelings about how they mistreated her.  The book is a kind of dialogue between the girl’s voice on the tapes, and the thoughts of Clay, one of her classmates who receives the tapes.

It is difficult to decide whether to recommend this book or not.  Although it is thought-provoking, our concern is that some readers may feel Hannah was justified in killing herself because of mistreatment by her classmates.  Was she? Or was she just trying to hurt the people who hurt her – understandable maybe, but not really very nice. Teenagers treat each other poorly all the time – is that because they’re mean, thoughtless, and uncaring, or just young and still learning how much unhappiness their actions can cause others?  Should Hannah have tried different ways of dealing with her situation, and would they have worked?  Are there really high schools where so many students are so bad?

This is a well-written, thought-provoking, “can’t put it down” kind of book, a great basis for discussion of this important issue.  But don’t forget it’s only fiction, and no one should base critical life decisions on fiction!

Know someone who needs to talk about feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression or suicide? Suggest they call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Their website is:
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

DBRLTeen knows guys and girls often prefer different kinds of books.  Here’s a great book for the guys, made up of almost 100 writers and illustrators, writing about their boyhood or teenhood or how they got interested in reading, writing, or drawing.  DON’T WORRY!  Each author only gets a couple pages, and most of them are pretty funny.  Its an easy book to browse, skipping the authors you’re not interested in.  Lots of well-known authors contributed, including Avi, Eoin Colfer, Matt Groening, Neil Gaiman, Jack Gantos, Anthony Horowitz, Brian Jacques, Stephen King, Darren Shan, and many more.

A personal favorite is the one by Jack Gantos, telling how in his childhood his friend’s older brother would launch them through the air with a home-made catapult.  Jack’s mother could not comprehend why the boys did this when the results were always painful.  Some things mothers never do understand…

Guys Read is actually a great website (www.guysread.com) started by Jon Scieszka, writer of the Time Warp Trio series.  It recommends books that boys of all ages enjoy reading.  No girl books allowed!

This book is a Young Adult nonfiction book, so its upstairs on the 2nd floor in the Columbia Public Library – YA 810.8092.  Click this sentence to see if we have any on the shelf.

Mrs. D. is always happy to hear from authors about her little reviews, and here is what M. H. Herlong had to say about Mrs. D.’s review of The Great Wide Sea in a private and personal email communication which Mrs. D. will now share with the planet: (Mrs. D. believes privacy is overrated, unless it involves her own…)

I DID enjoy the review.  In fact, I loved it.  I was especially pleased to read your discussion of Dad’s coping problems and your comment that we all need to learn to forgive.  I enjoyed your comment about your own sailing misadventure.  You might be interested to know that when the cover of the book was first prepared, Chrysalis was portrayed as a ketch.  I explained that this was like writing a book about a thoroughbred and putting an Clydesdale on the cover.  You might also be interested to know that I know that the moment depicted on the cover is one that no sailor would allow himself to get into and that no one could survive.  Sails up in that kind of weather?!?  No way!  Sailing INTO that kind of wave?!?  Impossible!  Still it makes for an extremely dramatic painting.

Having relinquished Ben, Dylan, and Gerry to the world, it is wonderful to hear when they are well received.

- M. H. Herlong, in a private and personal email to Mrs. D.

Mrs. D. is grateful that M. H. Herlong (may we call you “M.”?) graciously declined to point out the error in Mrs. D.’s review, where she referred to the sailboat Chrysalis as a “yacht” – it was, of course, a sloop, as Mrs. D. just learned from the author’s website.  Mrs. D., wise and knowledgeable as she is, is not too old to learn new things, and neither, dear readers, are you.

The difficult thing about making a family work is deciding who gets what they want – the parents or the children?  15-year-old Ben is settled into his own life and looking forward to getting a car when he turns 16, but as so often happens in young adult novels his mother has recently and unexpectedly died.  When catastrophes happen in life the young expect adults to know how to cope, but as Mrs. D. is sure you know adults are really just people like you and often can’t cope any better than you can.  Ben’s father is devastated by his wife’s death, and hatches the scheme of selling the house and taking Ben and his brothers (Dylan, 11, and Gerry, 5) on a year-long sailing trip through the Bahamas.  Perhaps this will help him forget and move on.  All three boys hate the idea, but as you probably also know parents sometimes just won’t listen.

To make matters worse (this is a young adult novel as Mrs. D. mentioned before so matters always get worse) their father suddenly disappears (yes, disappears, it’s quite surprising) from their yacht in the middle of the Carribean, leaving Ben and his brothers to face life-threatening situations on their own.  You’ll learn the things that can go wrong on a sailboat from this book, and goodness knows there are a lot of them!  Ask Mrs. D. to tell you sometime about when she was caught in a monsoon off the Seychelles in her 30-foot ketch - she hasn’t been quite as fond of mizzenmasts since!

Ben finds himself facing great danger because of the selfish decisions of his father.  How can Ben ever forgive him?  Mrs. D. recommends The Great Wide Sea, by M. H. Herlong, because we all need to learn how to forgive.

Check out the author’s website at www.thegreatwidesea.com!

“A rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion.”  That’s what it says on the cover, and goodness knows Mrs. D. is no techno-geek, but she did enjoy this book.  Teens who follow the news may be aware there are some who feel our country went too far in violating civil liberties after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that’s the theme of this novel.  Terrorists have struck in San Francisco this time, and the response by the Department of Homeland Security is draconian (Mrs. D has helpfully supplied a link to the definition of draconian; perhaps she is a bit of a techno-geek after all).  A teen hacker named Marcus and his friends seem to be the only ones willing to challenge them.  Now some people think hackers are the bad guys, always breaking into computer systems, stealing identities and credit card numbers and military secrets, but actually hackers are just people who enjoy solving problems involving technology.  Click here to find a great description of hacking written by hackers.

An interesting sub-plot is how Marcus has to defy not only the authorities, who are trying to find and arrest him, but his own father, who believes the government’s response is appropriate.  Teens often find themselves opposing their parents’ views.  Mrs. D. remembers heated discussions with dear Papa about the League of Nations…

Cory Doctorow has written a well-researched novel – his descriptions of how to create xbox networks, encrypt communications, and disrupt security devices are accurate and Mrs. D. fears some of our teen readers may want to try some of his tricks – not at the library, please!  Find out more about Cory Doctorow on his website at craphound.com.

So Mrs. D. recommends Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, because although technology can be used to oppress us, it can also be used to set us free.