by Justina Chen Headley
ages: 14+
First sentence: “Not to brag or anything, but if you saw me from behind, you’d probably think I was perfect.”
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At first glance, Terra is your average 16 year old. But, you get close and the first thing most anyone notices is the port wine stain that covers most of one side of her face. Her parents have spent lots of money trying to remove the stain, all to no avail, and Terra spends her time trying to hide it: through her otherwise perfect body, through make up, through pushing herself to get through high school a year early, through her art (though she doesn’t share that). She lives a half-existence, mostly because of her controlling father (it’s flat out emotional abuse — of both her and her mother — and it’s the most hateful thing I’ve read in a long, long time); she’s never good enough, beautiful enough, to satisfy him.

That is, until Terra and her mother meet Jacob and his. It was a freak accident (literally), but it was one that will change the map of Terra and her mother’s life.

The first part was incredibly difficult, emotionally, to get through: I literally wanted to scream at Terra’s dad. Headley did such a fantastic job of portraying not only an abuser — he never hit anyone, but he was an abuser all the same — but the way the victims of the abuse would react. It was real, and it was literally very heavy to read; I can’t come up with any better way to describe it.

But the second half, when Terra and her mother get brave enough to go to China, is lighter. It feels lighter, like a weight has been lifted, and it’s amazing to watch the women bloom. Headley does a masterful job with characterization in this book, and it’s not just about Terra: both she and her mother make distinct, yet similar, journeys to find themselves. It’s a treatise on beauty, and the expectations of what beauty is. It’s an exploration of abuse, but it’s a hopeful one; perhaps healing can be done in the family. But, it’s also a real story: there are real consequences, real emotions, real characters.

And a really good book.

by Brent Crawford
ages: 14+
First sentence: “On the last day of school, I’m happily strolling down the hall after Mr. Rumpford’s ridiculously hard algebra final.”
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I picked this one up, initially, because the inscription on the back made me laugh:

Warning: This book is intended for immature audiences. If you find teen guys annoying and/or disgusting, this may not be the book for you. There’s gotta be something about a cute wizard or moody vampire around here… Go find it!

I kept reading it because, like Carter Finally Gets It, this one is very guy. Very guy. And yet, it’s also very sweet. Crawford walks the line between immature and wise incredibly well, and manages to tell a good story with a lot of heart. I know: don’t tell the guys.

Carter’s made it through his freshman year, coming out in style: he’s passed his classes, starred in the musical, has a girlfriend. All he wants to do is hang with his “boys” at the pool this summer. And, of course, karma/fate/adults get in his way. Turns out that a local boy who’s made it big is filming a movie of his book in town, and he wants to cast locals as the lead. Carter tries out, and — because he’s just lucky — gets the lead opposite the famous starlet Hilary Idaho (side note: how lame a name is that? Totally obvious, but it works.). There goes the easy summer he’d planned.

At first, working on a movie and hanging out with Hilary is totally awesome, but things go sour pretty quick (because it is Carter after all). Carter’s girlfriend, Abby, breaks up with him. Hilary is a lot to manage, to say the least. The whole movie-making experience isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be. And he decided, for better or worse (generally the latter), that he’s much to “good” for his family. Of course there will be a lot of mishaps along the way. Of course things will work out for the best in the end. And of course you will find yourself rooting for Carter whole heartedly. Because, even though he’s very guy, he’s what makes this book completely worth reading. (Even if you’re a mom of four girls and are terrified by the guyness of it all.) Crawford has created a character so honest, so real, and so unpretentious (and yes, there are stereotypes in there, and yes, I like most of the girls as well, especially his sister, Lynne) that you can’t help but enjoy the journey.

And that means I’m quite interested to see what happens to Carter next.

by An Na
ages: 14+
First sentence: “Just to the edge, Young Ju.”
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Young Ju is just a small girl when her family leaves Korea for America. They are hoping for something better, a future besides fishing boats for their children. It’s not easy being in America: her father struggles for work, her mother is forbidden by her father to work, and Young Ju is walking a line between worlds: she’s neither fully American or Korean.

It’s a common story, one that I’m sure every immigrant family could tell: of the trials adjusting to a new country, of trying to hold on to the old one. Of wanting a better life for your children, and sacrificing everything you have for them. And An Na tells it well: it’s a spare book, told from Young Ju’s point of view, but it’s haunting and moving and hopeful, all put together. She shows the journey from first arriving and not knowing the language through to a Young becoming a successful high school graduate, with the world It’s an interesting look into a Korean family, though I won’t say it’s Korean culture; aside from the bits and snatches of language, I would be wary about calling it “typical”.

See, the domestic violence got to me: sure, I can understand the need for male dominance in Asian cultures, but it still grates on me. And the Apa, the father, in this story demonstrated this need, combined with and fueled from a sense of powerlessness, through abusing his wife and daughter (and to a lesser extent, his son). It was horrible, horrifying, and disturbing and disgusting.

And so, while this book was well written and important and interesting and good, I find myself not really liking it. Perhaps because it is just too raw.