OCD, The Dude and Me by Lauren Vaughn

Danielle is obsessive compulsive, probably adhd and an outcast, at least in her view.  She is in counseling, yoga for relaxation, social skills therapy and is a senior in high school.  Early on the reader knows something precipitated all this but until Danielle is ready to share we do not know exactly what or how traumatic it was.  She describes all her compulsions and her obsession with hats. One such is her crush on a guy, Jacob, who treats her rather badly. She actually spends a lot of time doing this in the story.  Here is the cast of characters that see her through what looks like a terrible senior year but turns out perhaps not to be so much so.  Aunt Joyce is incredible in her wisdom and ability to see the better side of things.  She makes costumes for Lebowski Fest.  She tells Danielle she will be just fine on the Senior trip to England and insists that Danielle go, for instance.  Marv, the school counselor who is willing to let Danielle to do therapy through notes back and forth.  He is fairly wise in this.  Justine, a very elderly tour guide that Danielle meets on her Senior class trip. Ms.  Harrison, English teacher who assigns many essays and gives wise criticism.  Many of the essays, which are part of the story, have references to Shakespeare plays but not done in a way that requires one to have read and understood them.  Daniel, the boy she meets and become friends with from socials skills.  The story is told in letters to Aunt Joyce, Justine and missives to Marv.  It is told in her essays for Ms. Harrison and her journal writings.  That makes this an episodic plot with focus on problems not characters so this isn't my favorite kind of book.  But it reads quickly and Danielle comes to appreciate herself and move forward from the trauma that so affected her.  Teens who enjoy realistic fiction dealing with serious problems would undoubtedly enjoy it.
JDW1/14

I'll Be There by Sloane

This book gets it's title from the Michael Jackson song by that name. Two brothers, one an older teen and one almost a teen have been dragged all over the country by their father who hates government, laws and just about everything else. The boys are just a front to give him a look of respectability. He ran from the kids mother with them when Sam, the eldest was just a second grader and Riddle just two years old. Riddle has never been to school, Sam hasn't been since second grade. What they know they are self taught, except for the survival skills they learned watching their father. The man, Clarence Border, has post traumatic stress syndrome and probably some other problems as well, perhaps alcoholism and schizophrenia. Clarence gets enough money to survive on by stealing and fencing his loot. He concentrates on smaller easier to fence items and there are plenty of those, usually, if you know where to look. At the beginning of the story they have just arrived in a middle sized college town and are living in an abandoned house and their truck at the poor end of town. Sam has an ear for music and has taken to attending church services on Sunday just to listen. On this particular Sunday, in this particular church Sam hears a girl, about his age, do a flat solo then flee the church. Their eyes met while she was singing, he goes to her outside to comfort her then vanishes. The girl, Emily, finds Sam and they connect very deeply, truly. Her family, knows by the way he dresses, his mannerisms and so forth that he is not from the same type of life that Emily lives. Rather than alienate their daughter they set out to get to know the young man and discover his incredible musical talent. They also get involved in Riddle's life. The pair, who are devoted to each other, are living a life they didn't know was possible when their father finds out and runs again. This time things go wrong, their truck crashes, Sam is thrown down a cliff and Riddle jumps after him. Their father is also thrown and badly injured. The story becomes a survival story, the two boys down the cliff and the father in the truck he has managed to return to. They are in a wilderness area. It is some time before humans come across the survivors. The story does flash to Emily's life in the aftermath of their disappearance including trying not to go to prom with annoying classmate Bobby Ellis who tries to do everything just right but in the end hilariously does it all wrong. Finally the story comes to a happy ending, which we mostly expect all along but which is interesting and fun getting to. The devotion of the two boys to each other is especially touching. Their survival reminds me of Paulsen's book Hatchet. JDW 6/14

By the time you read this, I'll be dead by Julie Anne Peters

Suicide is never a happy topic and this book proved rather depressing. I personally did not like this novel. With such a serious topic, I felt like there needed to be powerful message and I didn't find one. The ambiguous ending left me feeling uncertain about the whole story.

Daelyn is suicidal. For years she's been bullied for her weight and, while other suicide attempts have failed, this time she'll succeed. She's discovered a website for people to talk about suicide without being discouraged from completing the task. The website offers different chat forums for people to tell their story, as well as information on ways to commit suicide. Daelyn has 23 days to complete the task and during those days, as she "purges" her pain on the website, she also meets Santana, a neighboring boy who has a keen interest in her. She, though, has disconnected with the world, not feeling anything, and struggles when she does have those moments of connection with others.

My first complaint about this book is the actual discussion of ways to commit suicide. I personally felt that breaking down suicide methods by effectiveness, time, availability, and pain is in poor taste, especially when it gives notes on ways to be most successful. I don't want to say that this book encouraged suicide, but I as I read, I didn't see any alternatives offered. To me it almost felt like if you're bullied, things are never going to get better and the only solution is suicide. I think that's part of the reason I don't like the ambiguous ending. Maybe if it was clear that she didn't kill herself, then the book wouldn't feel so "pro-death" but that's not how I'm left feeling. I can see why the author might not have wanted a black and white ending because for her to live is too "happily ever after" but to flat out say she did the deed, is insensitive. With a topic like suicide, there is a thin line but to not choose a side even with subtle hints leaves me as the reader unsettled. True this topic is completely unsettling, but I personally needed some sort of comfort and closure for Daelyn

In terms of the book creating a suicidal character, I think the author did a great job. Since Daelyn isn't speaking in the novel, there's a lot of reflection to what she'd like to say and how she'd feeling and the disconnect is definitely there. As she explores certain incidents on the chat forum, you can really feel her pain. Santana is a good contrasting character because as much as Daelyn wants to die, he wants to live. Another character, Emily - the new fat girl in school - also proves a good contrast for Daelyn.

I don't like suicide. I don't understand it and while this book did a great job getting into the mind of a suicidal character, I don't like how it handled the actual topic of suicide. Maybe I'm just too sensitive and oblivious to the clear clues for the ending but this book left me thoroughly unsettled.
MMK

Black-eyed Suzie by Susan Shaw

Although I never read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, I know enough about it to recommend Black-Eyed Suzie if you enjoyed Speak. This novel is another powerful story about facing the hard times in order to find your voice and heal.

Suzie is a young girl who feels trapped in a box and has lost the use of words. All day long all she does is sit curled up on her chair, not speaking or eating, just occasionally crying. Her mother can't stand it and frequently gets angry at Suzie but insists it's just a stage and fights getting her daughter help. Soon Uncle Elliot - her father's boss - comes and takes Suzie to the hospital where she is admitted. The long journey begins as Suzie remembers her mother's temper and violence and learns to trust the doctors and nurses, but she still can't find the words to speak, especially since it means hurting the ones she loves. She also makes friends with fellow patients and enemies with others - only to discover some problems aren't as obvious as you might think. Soon, though, when her sister's life is in danger, Suzie finds her voice and discovers that sometimes the truth hurts, but silence can be even more painful.

I couldn't get into Speak because of the choppy, snapshot format of the novel and while Black-Eyed Suzie is a little bit choppy, I felt as though it created a more fluid, detailed story. I wish it went a little bit more into the lives of the others at the hospital because Suzie's constant silence became somewhat annoying. Maybe if there was more going on around her, the silence wouldn't become so monotonous. For example, Karen finally started to develop and right when it gets good, her story is left hanging. True, some people don't recover, but don't give us a taste and then take it away.

This was a very easy novel to read, therefore making it accessible to everyone. It has a great message and definitely is a novel people should read, especially for teens living in abusive relationships - whether with parents or boyfriend/girlfriend. Silence doesn't solve anything. By not speaking, no one gets the help they need - you're only protecting the abuser and that's not right. Yes, coming out with the truth will hurt, especially if you honestly love the abuser, but in the long run, the truth will be better for everyone.
MMK