Life Skills by Jo Ramsey

March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

LIFE

Life Skills by Jo Ramsey
Publisher: Featherweight Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (66 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Brian Monahan thinks his school’s new community service requirement is ridiculous. Especially when he’s told that since he didn’t submit his own community service proposal, he’s been assigned to volunteer in his school’s Life Skills class. But despite himself, he begins to enjoy working there and likes helping the kids.
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When he sees one of the Life Skills students being bullied in the school cafeteria, Brian intervenes. He’s been bullied enough himself because of his sexuality, and he refuses to let it happen to anyone else. Using his experience in coordinating his school’s Day of Silence, supporting GLBT students, he decides to organize a “Spread the Word to End the Word” rally at his school, using the national campaign against the “R-word.” But can Brian pull it off?

Brian is called into his Guidance Counselor’s office to explain why he hasn’t turned in his community service proposal. He’s resisting doing the project because it makes high school feel even more like prison than usual. What was the point? Now, since he hadn’t thought up a plan for himself, he’s given a project instead. Every other day he has to assist the teacher in the Life Skills class – for children with special needs. Quickly calculating, Brian works out it’s only for fifteen days – not the end of the world after all. After the first few classes though, he discovers he likes the kids. More and more frequently he finds himself helping them, protecting them from bullying and becoming friends with the other students.

This is an enjoyable Young Adult book, I found it to be easily relatable to and with a good message. There is no overt profanity (though there are a few initial “community service sucks” style comments) and I feel the majority of parents won’t have any concerns with the language. Personally, I also enjoyed how Brian is testing out different things emotionally with his personal relationships. He’s openly dating both a girl – Trista – and a boy – Javier. All three of them know the score and there aren’t any secrets. While I felt this added to the realism of teenagers exploring their desires – I could also understand some parents might not be comfortable with this, particularly for their teenage children. There is nothing more heated than a few kisses shared between some of the characters, and while the challenges of dating two different people is explored, it’s a secondary plot.

I also particularly like how, while a good protagonist, Brian isn’t perfect. He’s realistic. He drags his feet over the assignment, hoping it will go away. He’s not jumping with eagerness to help in the Life Skills program – though he does admit he has nothing against the children themselves – he just doesn’t want to lose his spare class and have more work on his shoulders. When he gets to the class he’s extremely polite and tries to be as helpful as he can be. He’s a very understandable teenage boy and at heart a very good character. I enjoyed how as he came to know the students and the challenges and bullying they face Brian became far more eager and leapt in to do what he could to help and support these kids. I feel other young boys and girls will be able to relate well with him, and maybe have their eyes opened to situations outside their own personal experiences. Showing respect to others and how unthinking/unconscious some bullying can be also is a strong lesson here.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Family by Lynley Wayne

February 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

FAMILY

Family by Lynley Wayne
Publisher: Featherweight Press
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LBGT
Length: Short Story (19 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Age Recommendation: 12+
Reviewer: Astilbe

Emily Thompson is your average teenager. She goes to school, has friends, and enjoys spending time with her family. The one thing that makes her different is her definition of family. To her, family means loving and accepting those around her. The fact that her dad is gay doesn’t make him any less of a father — he is the same as other dads, with the exception of who he loves. Her family may not be traditional, but it’s hers.

Who decides when and how love can be shared? Must divorce be the end of a family or can it be the beginning of something incredible?

Emily Thompson knows other people don’t understand her family dynamics. A few years after her parent’s divorce Emily learns that her father is gay. She cheers her parents on as they fall in love with other people and the entire family comes together to celebrate her mother’s remarriage. Her father and mother even dance with one another at the reception. Some friends and neighbours think this is a little odd. How can ex-spouses get along so well with one another?
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The secret is that not all families look the same. Emily’s parents may no longer be romantically involved with one another but they are committed to raising their daughter together as a team. The best scene in this book occurs when Emily helps her shy, flabbergasted father set up a date with the man who will eventually become his life partner. Watching Emily’s dad sputter in embarrassment as she makes all of the arrangements was quite funny and it demonstrated her self-confidence and unconditional love for him in a tangible manner.

I would have preferred to see a better plot structure in this book. The stories Emily tells about the formation of her nontraditional family are inspirational but they are often interrupted by paragraphs discussing how certain events made her feel. Family reads more like a personal essay than a short story in several places. For the age group for which it is intended it would be more effective to stick with one writing style.

The biggest strength of this tale is that its message appeals to preteens living in a wide variety of circumstances. One doesn’t need personal experience with divorce or growing up with an LGBT parent to sympathize with Emily’s experiences. In fact, I could see this book being quite useful for kids who live with legal guardians, foster parents, single parents or who consider more than two adults to be their moms or dads.

I’d recommend Family to anyone in the market for an easy conversation starter for preteen loved ones who struggle with explaining their living arrangements to outsiders. Emily’s a great role model for anyone in this situation.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cluing In by Jo Ramsey

November 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Cluing In by Jo Ramsey
Publisher: Featherweight Press
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (228 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Age Recommendation: 16+
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jamey Mandel has life pretty good. But things may not be as good as they seem. Jamey and his girlfriend Tina Kane argue constantly. When Jamey finally gets tired of the fighting and ends the relationship, Tina almost immediately starts dating–and sleeping with–another guy. And then, a few weeks later, rumors start flying that Tina’s pregnant and that her new boyfriend wants nothing to do with her or the baby.Tina comes to Jamey for advice, and he brushes her off. When Tina takes drastic action, Jamey blames himself. Too late, he realizes that he might have been able to help her if he’d just listened.

What happens when high school isn’t the best time of your life after all?

Not only does Jamey genuinely like his parents but he listens to (most of) what they have to say and while he loves his girlfriend he’s in no rush to become sexually active with her. In fact, she’s the one who is pushing him for sex! Too often young adult fiction portrays guys Jamey’s age in a rather stereotypical manner. It’s refreshing to meet a character who breaks the mold without coming across as an after school special.

Unfortunately the dialogue doesn’t sound like it came from modern day high school students. Their speech patters were a little too formal and didn’t include the slang that one would expect sixteen year olds to fall back upon when out of earshot of adults. For example, in one of the first scenes Tina and Jamey argue about “making love”, a phrase that most high schoolers probably wouldn’t use in earnestness when talking about sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend.

I would have also liked to see more time spent explaining something terrible that happens to a secondary character. While she does show signs of being impulsive early on I had trouble making the connection between those scenes and what happens later on in the plot. It would have been nice to see a more nuanced treatment of this individual before pushing her in the direction the author wanted her to go. Without this information what happens to her becomes a little less believable which is a real shame as she was quite interesting.

Due to controversial subject matter and some potentially disturbing scenes I cannot recommend this story for younger teens. Some of the young adult books I’ve reviewed in the past can be enjoyed by people a few years younger than the age I end up suggesting. This is not one of those tales. With that being said, older teenagers will find kindred spirits in characters that are going through difficult social, emotional and medical issues that many young adults experience.

Even with its flaws Cluing In provides a wonderful introduction to tough conversations for people of all ages who are looking for a good way to start a dialogue. From abuse to eating disorders almost every topic is addressed with the utmost respect and compassion.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Still Alive by Kelsey Harwood

November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Still Alive by Kelsey Harwood
Publisher: Featherweight Press
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (144 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Age Recommendation: 14+
Reviewed by Astilbe

Two years after their parent’s death, siblings Cassie and John Sullivan’s lives are starting to get back to normal in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Georgia. Cassie goes to school with her friends and boyfriend while John works to put food on the table. But their world is turned upside down when a virus that is threatening civilization as we know it breaks out across America. When John hears of a place in California that is supposed to be protected from the infection, they take off with the one hope they have. While heading for their safe haven, John and Cassie’s lives change forever.

Do you know how to survive a zombie apocalypse?

Cassie is intelligent, level-headed and reacts quickly in even the most unexpected situations. When she drives into a seemingly abandoned town her vehicle is suddenly surrounded by zombies. Despite not having a driver’s license she out manoeuvres them and delivers all of her passengers to safety. This was by far my favourite scene in the book because it was such a tantalizing glimpse into the woman she will evolve into as a result of her experiences in a post-apocalyptic world.

Ms. Harwood’s interpretation of what a zombie is and how it behaves is a little out of the ordinary for the genre. This decision breathes new horror into some of the scenes and moral dilemmas that zombie fans have learned to anticipate.

John and Cassie are too trusting for two people described as knowledgable about zombie movies. While it comes from a good place, their willingness to help others is somewhat out of place in a world where surviving is already so difficult. As much as I admire their altruism it would have been more realistic for them to temper that urge over time as they realize how dangerous day-to-day life remains even long after the outbreak began. With that being said they are two people I’d love to run into in the event of a disaster. The world would be a much better place if everyone shared their moral code.

I would have also preferred to learn more about a guy named Paul who is introduced a little later on in the plot. What we are told about his background is almost as interesting as the questions that aren’t answered and it would have been simple to include this information in the conversations the main characters share or as a flashback.

While working on this review I learned that Kelsey Harwood wrote Still Alive when she was just fifteen years old. There’s definitely something to be said for young adult novels written by people in that demographic! Ms. Harwood’s knowledge of teenage slang and culture shines through in the dialogue and I’m looking forward to what she comes up with next. This would be a good choice for reluctant readers in particular as it’s a fast-paced, action-heavy tale that spends a minimum amount of time on characterization before the plot thickens.

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