Book Blather

A shocking, heartbreaking story of taboo romance that’s as compelling as it is controversial.Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As de facto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: A love this devastating has no happy ending.

I’ve been watching my cursor blink for the last thirty minutes as I tried to decide how to write this review. All I can think over and over is that this is the hardest review I have ever attempted to write. I have so many thoughts about this book and it’s been increasingly difficult to express them coherently. How strange is it to say I completely and utterly enjoyed a book about incest. It feels so wrong to say, but Forbidden was a heart breaking story that sucked me in and didn’t let go, even after the book ended.

Lochan and Maya are the eldest of five siblings. Their father has left them, their mother has essential as well, which leaves the two of them to care for the household. At seventeen and sixteen this is no easy task. When they should only be worrying about school, they must instead also worry about bills and keeping food on the table. Oh, and they have to make sure no one finds out else they risk social services coming in and splitting them up. It’s a shaky, chaotic world to say the least; one where Lochan and Maya have only each other to rely on. At thirteen months apart, they’ve been more like best friends than siblings. Well, and maybe a little more. When an attraction blooms between them, Lochan and Maya have to face a grave decision. Can they honestly cross that forbidden line in order to follow their hearts?

I will admit this tale will make many people uncomfortable. Suzuma does not sugar coat the relationship. Nor does she glorify it. Lochan and Maya are in a constant struggle of should they or shouldn’t they, knowing that incest is illegal and even sick. They know what they feel is unnatural, but at the same time they can’t help the emotions that overtake them. Considering everything they’ve been put through, it’s hard not to understand how they ended up on that path. Suzuma will have you wishing they could somehow find the happiness they truly deserve.

My only real complaint is I have no idea how to sell this to teens. While those who have read Flowers in the Attic will have an easier time with Forbidden than others, it’s not an easy book to necessarily recommend. It’s not something like Divergent where I can put into teen hands without a second thought. I can only imagine how many I would scare away or parent complaints I would get when I say I have this amazing book on incest. However, it will be in my library. I’m still brainstorming ways I can highlight it, without wrath/challenges coming down on me. My best solution at the moment is to do an “issues” book list; one that tackles life hard and uncomfortable issues. If anyone else has a suggestion, please let me know!

A startling novel about love and grief from the author of the acclaimed memoir I Don’t Want to Be Crazy. Annaleah and Brian shared something special – Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn’t need anyone else. It didn’t matter that their relationship was secret. All that mattered was what they had with each other. And then, out of nowhere, Brian dies. And while everyone else has their role in the grieving process, Annaleah finds herself living outside of it, unacknowledged and lonely. How can you recover from a loss that no one will let you have?

On the surface You Are Not Here is merely another verse novel about death. Girl loves boy. Boy dies. Girl grieves, letting her own life disappear with his. The story is hardly new nor groundbreaking. Death and grieving is a common and slightly overused thread among the YA world.

However, go deeper and the real story begins to appear. A story of an instant connection, a secret love, and a world that is all theirs. However, when Brian dies suddenly of a heart condition, she learns that that secret bubble they created comes at a price. She realizes that she barely knew anything about him. Even worse, she’s not sure if they were really boyfriend/girlfriend or if anyone in his everyday life knew about her. A fact that forces Annaleah to remain an unknown face among the sea of his family and friends; forcing her to grieve alone and question every aspect of their relationship. She’ll have to decide if holding onto that love is worth losing everything else along the way.

While Schutz does a good job of revealing Annaleah and Brian’s story by alternating between past and present, I’m not sure I ever formed a deep connection with Annaleah. I understood what made her tick, but I still wanted to shake some sense into her. While there some sweet moments between them, it was overshadowed by the games he played and how he kept her at arm’s length. He was a jerk, a player, and mainly kept her around as a booty call. Instead of kicking him to the curb, she waited for him to call and deem her worthy of his attention. Even after his death, she is willing to throw away friends who truly care about her and while she does redeem herself in the end, it felt a little too late for me.

Teens, on the other hand, will enjoy the fast paced verse. The story is compelling and will hold their attention with ease. You Are Not Here will be well loved by those who have experienced their own loss due to death or enjoy the true-to-life stories. While not as gritty as Hopkins, this is still a nice recommendations for her fans. I would also suggest Twenty Boy Summer and I Heart You, You Haunt Me as good read-a-likes.

Note: This was my first book read from my Off The Bookshelf Challenge.  I did overall like You Are Not Here, but I will pass this one on to my teens. It’ll be a nice addition to my summer reading free book selection and I know a teen will enjoy/appreciate it even more than I did.

The first book in the breakthrough series from bestselling author Patrick Carman, featuring text and technology in an innovative new way. Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things out. . .and then email the clips for Ryan to see. In a new, groundbreaking format, the story is broken into two parts — Ryan’s text in the book, and Sarah’s videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the book.

After 6 days of school visits with 800 teens this was hands down the favorite. As a non-traditional book I don’t think this book gets a lot of push among libraries, which is a shame. Carman has created a fun interactive book that is sure to get even the most reluctant readers excited. Part journal (Ryan) and part videos (Sarah) this book has that spooky element that my kids love.

I did show one of Sarah’s videos (password: theraven, jump about half way through) during the visits, which was truly sold the book. The room erupted in talk once it was finished and they begged me to show it again, especially the boys. It was fun to see the teens get so excited and walk out talking about it as they headed back to classes(even when it was the first book talked about). In fact, they were so excited about this book that both school librarians had to go and buy it afterwards for their library so the teens could check it out next year. (End of the year = school library closed) I’ve even been told that several have already come into the public library asking to check it out.

While Skeleton Creek was the top favorite, there were several other that stood out among the 20 different books I book talked. They were: Divergent, Blood Red Road, I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets, Meanwhile, and True Meaning of Smekday. If anyone would like to know more about those books, just leave a comment and I’ll cover them on Thursday!