Two from the R.I. Teen Book Award List

posted Jul 5, 2011 4:46 PM by D. Carlino   [ updated Jul 5, 2011 4:48 PM ]

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick is, in many ways, the story of many young adults who enter eighth grade with insecurities about girls, athletic ability, family changes, and being “different.”  However, the protagonist of this novel also must contend with the fact that he is a cancer survivor.  How does his childhood cancer and subsequent treatments affect his middle school years?  After Ever After is a touching and realistic story of a teen playing the cards that life has dealt him and doing it with a “beau geste.”  (To find out what a “beau geste” is…read the book!)             After a little realistic fiction, I decided to read one of the historical fiction titles on the Award shortlist. Sources of Light by Margaret McMullen is set in Mississippi in 1962, a key year in that state’s struggle with the Civil Rights Movement.  Sam, the young girl who is the protagonist of this novel, uses her newfound skills as a photographer to chronicle the cruelty of the era.  What I really liked about this book though was that while the author did not romanticize the cruelty of the South around the issue of racism, she also managed to remind the reader about what was good in Southern values.  It reminded me very much of something I discovered after living for three years in Texas.  While I never fully embraced the Texas “frame of mind,” I came to very much appreciate Texas and Texans for who they were.  The same will be true here.  Rhode Island readers in 2011 will probably never fully understand Mississippi in 1962 and certainly (I hope!) will reject the fear and hatred that spurred the Civil Rights Movement, but they will get a realistic taste of the South, both the good and the bad.

Split by Swati Avasthi (2010)

While this was one of those novels that I just could not put down, I did find the ending a little disappointing...perhaps a little too hopeful in the end to be realistic.  That said, there is a lot to recommend this novel to young adults.  First, I commend the author for giving us a sympathetic male protagonist...such a rarity!  Second, the novel touches on child abuse and how it can create a cycle of abuse in families.  When children see their fathers abuse their mothers, they are much more likely to repeat that kind of abuse in their dating relationships and with their own children.  Since Jace Witherspoon, the protagonist, has the childhood baggage that he does, I really wanted him to seek some professional help to   help him overcome his anger.  Finally, the author gives us a riveting plot; Jace has secrets--a lot of secrets--that just might keep him from being able to re-create his once close relationship with his older brother.

Recommended for teens grades 8 and up since there are some issues with language and sexuality.