Notes From the Teenage Underground

Notes from the Teenage Underground

By Simmone Howell

A refreshing novel, going places unexpected, in an interesting and challenging way.

Gem is determined to do something special these school holidays. With her two friends, Mira and Lo, she determines to make a film that will be an expression of who she really is – a statement about art and feminism. The three friends agree to have a summer that is extreme, anti-establishment and avant-garde.

Friendship and family are the main themes of this story. Howell gives an intimate view into the break-up of a friendship, the slow journey over time where motivations are suspect, agendas are revealed, and once-shared goals become different. Gem struggles to understand her place in the group, her place in the world, and her place in her family. Her interest in Warhol’s life, and her understanding of several famous women in history, all impact on her choices and decisions.

An exciting writing style, with cleverly characterised dialogue, make this book a joy to read.

Apothecarius Argentum

Apothecarius Argentum

By Tomomi Yamashita

Argent is a former slave, once the poison tester for the royal family. Over the years, he has developed an immunity to poisons, and has trained to become a master chemist able to cure any illness. Unfortunately, his very skin has become toxic, making it impossible for others to touch him. Which is quite sad actually, for Princess Primula, who’s life has been threatened once again by assassins, resulting in Argent’s recall to the kingdom to protect her.

There’s lots of story to spin out into further volumes, and it will be interesting to follow these two characters in a larger story arc. Argent is reclusive for several reasons, and his caution in the royal palace may be well warranted. Primula is a head-strong, courageous, though somewhat impulsive princess, who has yet to use her strength developed in training in the real world.

The drawing is good, very character based though, without the richly detailed backgrounds of other series. And there’s a bit of a mismatch in the dialogue, an unsuccessful attempt to mix romanticized medieval speech styles with contemporary language. But overall, it’s a manga full of potential, worth following up on future volumes.

Geography Club

Geography Club

By Brent Hartinger

Russel thinks he’s ‘the only gay in the village’ – well, in his school, at least – until he discovers that he’s not alone. Together with his newfound gay, straight and bisexual friends, he forms the Geography Club – a club that sounds so boring that no-one else will join and thus learn the secret of the true purpose of the club.

Russel is such a likeable protagonist, his first person narrative revealing him to be a fun-loving teen, with lots of heart, on a big journey learning about friendship, love and loyalty. He travels the path with some interesting friends, including Min and her lesbian lover, and the gorgeous jock Kevin who Russel falls for.

While lots of the issues in the story reflect the main themes of gay YA fiction – such as safe sex, homophobia and coming out – Hartinger has a way of making it all seem fresh and new and interesting. And this is because one of the main themes of the book is the feeling of wanting to hide away, or to keep secret, one’s true self – a theme so many can identify with. Even if it is like calling your gay, straight and lesbian alliance group a Geography Club.

A fast-paced book filled with fun, humour, sadness and friendship.

High Crag Linn

High Crag Linn

By Margaret McAllister

A brutally harsh story, set in fifteenth century England, challenging to read – but so worthwhile.

Hawk Jankin is determined to regain ownership of his family’s castle, lost to them many years ago. With a group of rough outlaws, he lays siege to the castle, and demands to wed Anna, which will regain him his right to the castle. Anna agrees, in the hope it will bring peace to her people’s lives. But an act of revenge by Hawk results in a terrible loss, and the story goes on to examine issues of guilt, remorse, regret and forgiveness.

The historical details are deftly interwoven into the story, giving a natural flow to the narrative. The cruelty and brutality of the times is confronted boldly and can be quite difficult to read, and the tension of the story makes it a real page-turner.

Rainbow High

Rainbow High

By Alex Sanchez

An interesting and enjoyable book, I loved the characters and the way Sanchez is able to give them voices that ring true.

It is, of course, very American-flavoured for this Aussie reader, which adds another dimension to the read – understanding American high schools, and the college selection process.

But it is the characters who drive this story. Nelson, who is waiting for the results of his HIV test, is dating Jeremy, who is HIV positive. Jason has to determine what effect it would have on his basketball career if he should come out, when so much depends on his scholarship for college. His boyfriend Kyle must decide whether to accept his offer from Princeton, when it would mean being so far away from Jason.

Sanchez writes with such clarity and confidence about such issues as coming out, safe sex and homophobia, and he mixes it in with universal issues such as first love, and the doubts, conflicts and sheer joy of falling in love. The balance seems just right, resulting in a well-crafted story.

Thoroughly caught up in these boys lives, I’ll be looking for the other titles in this series.

The Tarot Cafe

The Tarot Café

By Sang-Sun Park

Pamela runs the Tarot Café, where she uses her Tarot deck to help guide those who seek her counsel. Her clients include vampires and fairies, and other fantastical creatures, such as a Wish-fulfilling Cat. Each comes to Pamela for help, with Pamela’s cards assisting to prompt more information, and to reveal hidden truths and wisdom.

There’s beautiful artwork here, with lots of gorgeously drawn characters, and detailed attention to costumes and backgrounds. The first volume has four episodes, each self-contained, though with Pamela’s continuing story linking them. The tarot cards are lovely, and are accompanied by little snippets of explanation so their relevance to the story is transparent.

A fun, dramatic and romantic manga series, with wonderful artwork.

Vampire Knight

Vampire Knight

By Matsuri Hino

Fabulous manga series – a gothic romance full of danger and suspense – with beautiful artwork and lots of angst!

Yuki attends the Cross Academy, where the humans of the Day Class are protected from the Vampires of the Night Class. It is one of Yuki’s tasks to foster understanding and tolerance between the two Classes. Complicating matters is her attraction to two of the gorgeous boys attending the Academy – Kaname, a pure blood Vampire; and Zero, her partner who hates Vampires. Zero’s story is also very complicated, and adds much emotion and tension to the story.

The artwork is lovely – and the story is full of angsty plot, great humour and blood-sucking attacks!

The Declaration

The Declaration

By Gemma Malley

An interesting story set in a future time where overpopulation has depleted the world’s resources to the point of scarcity. Added to this is the invention of revolutionary drugs that act to prevent aging. To protect their ability to survive, the old have legislated against the rising birth-rate by banning children, except those very few allowed to be born under very strict controls. Children born outside the law are labeled ‘surpluses’ and are sent to draconian institutions to be trained as servants to atone for their illegal existence.

Anna is a Surplus, who, though well-brainwashed to know her place, nurtures a small amount of self-determination. When Peter arrives at Grange Hall, he brings with him disturbing news from the Outside and the hope that Anna’s real parents are still alive. Peter’s beliefs challenge everything that Anna believes. And Anna’s life is thrown into chaos.

Malley’s dystopian world is cruel and harsh, and the premise of the story is timely. A compelling and poignant story, with themes of death, aging, nature, and social and personal responsibility – a challenging read.

Tantalize

Tantalize

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Quincie inherits a restaurant, which she reopens with a Vampire theme. She hires a new chef who may or may not be talented, and who may or may not be a Real Vampire. Her boyfriend is a hybrid werewolf, who is having trouble controlling his animalistic urges. And her school has recently suggested that she needn’t come in any more – offering homeschooling as a preferred option. Mixed into this is a murder mystery that prompts suspicions and accusations.

Despite the first person narrative, meant to draw the reader deeply into the inner characterization of Quincie, disappointingly there is no real character development or growth. In fact, overall, this novel suffers simply from a lack of depth. Never quite drawn into the drama or the romance or the mystery, it all becomes quite a shallow read, boosted every now and then by a bit of humour, but never reaching an engaging level.

Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely

By Melissa Marr

‘Never speak to invisible faeries’ – just one of the rules that Aislinn has grown up with, ensuring that she does nothing to give away the fact that she can See the faerie world. But suddenly the rules don’t seem to be working anymore, and the barrier between the worlds is breeched. Keenan, the king of the faeries, has chosen Aislinn to be his queen.

A lively plot explores themes of choices made and those passed by, and of the role of fate in matters of love. A strong urban gothic setting works nicely to ground this fantasy novel.

Keturah and Lord Death

Keturah and Lord Death

Author: Martine Leavitt

This dark fairytale is nicely crafted, and is filled with interesting characters.

Keturah follows a hart into the dark forest. After spending several days lost and at the mercy of the elements, she meets up with Lord Death, who is about to claim her. Using her exceptional storytelling skills, Keturah offers Lord Death a story to gain a reprieve.

There’s such an old-fashioned feel to this tale – the haunting atmosphere, the lovely language, and the story structure, all work well together to create the feeling of a traditional high romance.I did have difficulty falling into the story, and had several false starts, but once in, I read straight through to the end - just had to know how Keturah fairs in her challenge to Lord Death’s claim.

An insightful and thought-provoking exploration of the themes of love and death.

City of Bones

City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

This is the first in a planned trilogy – the series title The Mortal Instruments referring to three magical items that can grant power over life and death.

Clary Fray is a normal teenager in every way, until she realizes that she can see things that others around her cannot. As she begins her journey to reclaiming the heritage that has been denied to her, her view of the world expands to include the existence of demons, vampires, werewolves and Shadowhunters. Clary’s clueless-but-loveable friend, Simon, gets caught up in her adventures; and she meets the brooding-and-mysterious Jace, who is adored by his brother-in-all-but-name Alec; and Alec’s gorgeously-beautiful-but-tough-as-nails sister Isabelle.

It is the cast of characters that carry this first novel. Interestingly intriguing, they are worth the effort of trying to determine their place in the plot, their various motivations and simply enjoying their moments of uniqueness. And the gothic, urban, New York setting gives such a gritty realism to the fantasy elements of the story.

In the end though, the novel is let down by the unoriginality of the plot. It is so derivative of so much else – more than simply reminiscent - the worlds of Buffy, Dr Who, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, are all echoing around in there. I’m mindful that this is the first in a series, so there’s hope that Clare is using these worlds as a springboard to her own ideas in the next two books. The nod to Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales is nicely done, and aims for that ‘insider’ feeling for readers following two authors writing in the same urban fantasy genre.

I was too disappointed with the plot device revealed at the end of the story; it’s so cliché now, it would take a writer with extraordinary skill to make that type of plot-line fresh and believable. Unfortunately, Clare is not there yet, and it made the ending anti-climactic and wince-worthy.

Nonetheless, I will be looking forward to reading the next part, The City of Ashes, to see where Clare takes her story and these characters. I have hopes that this will be one of those series that improves enormously with each new installment, building to a trilogy seen, as a whole, as a Great Read.

The Straight Road to Kylie

The straight road to Kylie

Author: Nico Medina

Hip and savvy, fast paced and partied out, this story is absolutely dripping with pop-culture references.

Jonathan is gay, and out and proud, until the most popular girl in the school offers him a deal. If he will go back in the closet, and be her boyfriend for their final school year, she will pay for him to go to London to attend a Kylie Minogue concert. Accepting the deal is easy, but when a cute boy enters the scene, Jonathan must weigh the cost of denying his true self.

This novel is full of fun, parties, fabulous humour, rich kids, drinking, and swearing. And it’s a really interesting and clever twist on the theme of acceptance/denial of gay identity. Jonathan is a very strong character, confident and happy with how he is living his life. It is the reaction of his friends to his new found ‘straight-ness’, and his interest in a possible boyfriend, that cause him to reexamine his sense of self.

I have to say that I feel Jonathan’s life as a young gay student - totally out, totally accepted, totally confident and proud - might seem more like a fantasy story for many gay kids. That being acknowledged though, it is a fun, fabulous read.

Being

Being

Author: Kevin Brooks

This is an intriguing story; a fast-paced, gritty novel with themes of identity, self, free-will and romance.

Robert goes into hospital for a routine procedure. Mid operation he becomes aware of his surroundings, listens as the surgeons find that his very human-ness is under doubt, and hears them call in government agents to investigate. Unable to understand what has happened, Robert goes on the run, and finds unexpected romance as he tries to elude his pursuers.This sci-fi thriller is a great read. As Robert tries to determine what it would mean if he found out that he was something other than human, the reader is easily drawn into the philosophical considerations of what makes a person who they are, of how much we determine what we can actually do. The philosophy is never blatant or unwieldy though, simply revealed through Robert’s thoughts in an accessible way.

This search for the meaning of identity, and the whole chase/escape scenes, have the same edgy feel as Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity, and the themes are reminiscent of those explored in the movie Bladerunner (based on Philip K Dick’s Do androids dream of electric sheep?).

I loved it – totally got caught up in Robert’s confusion and fear, loved that he met such a gutsy girl, and though I was initially annoyed at the ending, I’ve now come round to thinking it was the best and only way for the story to have finished.