Wow! February has almost come and gone in the blink of any eye. The Olympics were such a distraction I found myself not reading as much. This month, I only finished two books and am working on finishing three others but I doubt by the end of the month.
So if any one is looking for a young adult book recommendation, here are two titles to try...
The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban
I remember ordering this book for the collection at Western Allegheny last year and wanting to read it. The story line intriqued me because it was about boarding school. I actually started reading it last year too but just couldn't get in to it. This year, I decided to listen to it on the way to work. That worked better although I was disappointed because it just was not what I had expected.
The book weaves two stories together - Tim, an albino student who comes to the Irving School for his senior year, and Duncan, the senior who inherits Tim's room the next year and with it an item that is bequeathed from the former senior occupying the room to the current. Duncan's "gift" is a collection of CDs detailing Tim's senior year, which suffered tragic results and prompt Duncan to write one of the best tragedy papers (the culminating paper of an Irving senior) Irving has ever received.
Although it was not what I had expected, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes titles with a boarding school setting or who is a fan of teen fiction. It starts a little slow but I was drawn to keep listening to find out why Duncan has disturbing memories of Tim, why Tim recorded all of these CDs for Duncan in the first place and how both boys survive the traditions of boarding school.
The book weaves two stories together - Tim, an albino student who comes to the Irving School for his senior year, and Duncan, the senior who inherits Tim's room the next year and with it an item that is bequeathed from the former senior occupying the room to the current. Duncan's "gift" is a collection of CDs detailing Tim's senior year, which suffered tragic results and prompt Duncan to write one of the best tragedy papers (the culminating paper of an Irving senior) Irving has ever received.
Although it was not what I had expected, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes titles with a boarding school setting or who is a fan of teen fiction. It starts a little slow but I was drawn to keep listening to find out why Duncan has disturbing memories of Tim, why Tim recorded all of these CDs for Duncan in the first place and how both boys survive the traditions of boarding school.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Again, I ordered this for the teen department at the old library and added it to my to-read list. It got such excellent reviews that by the time Rowell's second book, Fangirl was released I knew I had to read it. I listened to this one as well. I really had no idea what to expect when I started listening because the summaries were short.
Like The Tragedy Paper, the book weaves together the stories of two characters, Eleanor, a quiet, withdrawn girl with an abusive stepfather and Park, a music loving boy from a loving and supporting family. On Eleanor's first day at a new school, the kids on the bus are already making fun of her and Park is the only one to move over and let her sit even if it is reluctantly. Few words are exchanged at first but the two share music and comics and eventually the friendship turns into first love.
Like The Tragedy Paper, the book weaves together the stories of two characters, Eleanor, a quiet, withdrawn girl with an abusive stepfather and Park, a music loving boy from a loving and supporting family. On Eleanor's first day at a new school, the kids on the bus are already making fun of her and Park is the only one to move over and let her sit even if it is reluctantly. Few words are exchanged at first but the two share music and comics and eventually the friendship turns into first love.
I'd recommend this to almost everyone. It's one of those books that I think I appreciated mored as an adult than had I read it as a teen. It is interesting to read about he vast differences in their lifestyles and how their somewhat forbidden love survives because of how dedicated they are to each other.
Happy Reading!
