Review: The List by Siobhan Vivian

Title:  The List
Author:  Siobhan Vivian
Pages:  332
Genre:  Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher:  Push
Obtained:  Purchased
Summary:  An intense look at the rules of high school attraction--and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year.  A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest.  Nobody knows who makes the list.  It almost doesn't matter.  The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly."  And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection between the two.

The Dish:  Siobhan Vivian has crafted a remarkable and haunting story that will stay with readers long after they've closed the book.  I know that's what happened to me after I finished it and woke up the next morning still thinking about it.  With Vivian's easily flowing prose, I was carried through The List and then left to ponder on all eight girls.

The characters are phenomenal as readers see them transition over the course of a single week starting with the Monday when the list is posted.  A week seems so short a time to explore an entire book, but Vivian makes use of these 6 days in exploring the lives of all eight girls on the list.  It's amazing at how much one label can change the way people think about a person and what that person thinks about themselves.  For some of the girls, the change is almost instantaneous while for others more gradual, but by the end of the book, each of them is not the same girl at the beginning whether better or worse.

What I really noticed was the behavior of the people surrounding the eight girls whether family, friends, or boyfriends and how that shifted as well.  Those closest to the girls suffered an impact as well, not always from knowing about the list but in seeing how the girls change.  I was moved by several side characters and their actions towards their friends on the list.  It was fascinating to learn how they viewed being on the list and how those views changed throughout the week.

The List is definitely a contemporary story to have in a collection, and I'm eager to see what new stories Siobhan Vivian will share with her readers.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: Born at Midnight

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's "Waiting On" Wednesday selection is:

Born at Midnight

By: C.C. Hunter

Published on: March 29, 2011 by St. Martin's Griffin

From Amazon.com~

Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen… One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.  Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.  Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

This has the makings of a fascinating and amazing book.  Paranormal and supernatural books have always been one of my favorite genres, and the added element of a camp dedicated to these paranormal teenagers is an even bigger plus.  Also, I'm amused to say that for once the love triangle doesn't involve a vampire and werewolf as rivals!  I can't wait until we add this to the library's collection!

Forced into silence...no more.

 

Title:  Speak

Author:  Laurie Halse Anderson

The Dish:  Outcast.  Loser.  Freak.  These are terms that are always familiar with the ostracized teens in high school, those that everyone else seems to shun entirely for some reason.  Melinda Sordino is one such teen at her high school, cast out of the crowd because of calling the police at a party over the summer.  Those who were her friends have dropped her entirely while everyone else whispers about her, thinking she's a loser in breaking up the party.  But there was a reason Melinda called the police...a reason that she just cannot admit to, not even herself and thus locks her voice away. 

Everyone has seen something similar to this situation.  Someone is treated poorly for a shallow reason whether that person doesn't wear the "right" clothes or doesn't look the "right" way or doesn't behave in the "right" manner.  The person's peers either look upon them with scorn or don't even bother looking at them, let alone notice them.  That is Melinda's life in high school, and Anderson captures that high school mentality so very well in Speak.  Melinda has to go through all of the scorn and the lack of sympathy from her peers and even her former best friend.  And the teachers are really just a presence of authority as they don't take notice of how Melinda is treated, though there is that one teacher, Mr. Freeman, that seems to get it.  

What I found intriguing in the overall story was the journal style in which Anderson writes through Melinda.  There are no set chapters, instead it is written in pieces throughout the different high school terms starting with the fall term.  This makes Melinda and those she writes about in her day-to-day life all the more realistic and much more empathizing.  It feels somewhat like a tragic triumph when she finally confronts those who have shunned her and when she is able to tell her story to the one who seems to understand her.  Sadly, the realism that Anderson has written into this story is all too real, and though that makes the story even more powerful, it is also a sign of how important such a text like Speak is to both teens and adults.  As one of the most challenged books of its time due to controversial subject matter involving adolescent issues, I feel that as a librarian and a reader it is a book that needs to be read now more than ever.  

What banned/challenged books speak to you and why do you think they are challenged?