Waiting on Wednesday (111)

Well, everyone, I'm finally back online, without the aid of scheduled blog posts! I decided that 10 days of voluntary social networking isolation was good enough of a break, and installed a VPN last night. Not only can I access Facebook and Twitter now (and GOODREADS. Can you believe that China had blocked Goodreads? What's it gonna do to the government?), but Google also runs dozens of times more smoothly, and I don't get kicked off of Gmail or Gchat half so often. *grins*

I will regale you soon with my Chinese adventures, but for now I leave you with a WoW (or two, since I've been not blogging for weeks and am justifying it to myself):

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.

Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out. [summary from Goodreads]

My main reason for wanting to read this book? Carolyn Mackler. I grew up on that lady's books and I will read every book she ever writes until she dies or I go deaf and blind and have no way to read anymore... uhh, whichever comes first. I'm not entirely sure where the book is going, since the summary doesn't say much in terms of plot, and that cover is not exactly one of my favorites, either, but WHATEVERRRR it's Carolyn Mackler I will read her whatever the plot and cover!

The Future of Us will be published in hardcover by Razorbill on November 21, 2011.

Irises by Francisco X. Stork

Two sisters discover what's truly worth living for in the new novel by the author of MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD.

TWO SISTERS: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. -- if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

THREE YOUNG MEN: Then three men sway their lives: Kate's boyfriend Simon offers to marry her, providing much-needed stability. Mary is drawn to Marcos, though she fears his violent past. And Andy tempts Kate with more than romance, recognizing her ambition because it matches his own.

ONE AGONIZING CHOICE: Kate and Mary each find new possibilities and darknesses in their sudden freedom. But it's Mama's life that might divide them for good -- the question of *if* she lives, and what's worth living for.

IRISES is Francisco X. Stork's most provocative and courageous novel yet. [summary from Goodreads]

Francisco Stork is another auto-read for me ever since I came across his stunning book Marcelo in the Real World. I was really excited when I heard that he had a new book coming out, and doesn't it sound like it will be so very powerful?

Irises will be published in hardcover by Arthur A. Levine Books on January 1, 2012.

Review: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Tags: YA, contemporary, Asperger's, law

Summary

Scientists don’t know exactly what 17-year-old Marcelo Sandoval has, but they believe it’s a form of Asperger’s Syndrome in which Marcelo can “hear” music that no one else can. For his part, Marcelo is perfectly content to spend the summer before his senior year of high school working as a stablehand at his alternative school, but his father has other plans. Arturo believes there’s nothing wrong with Marcelo, and wants him to work at his big-time law firm for the summer.

In the law firm’s mailroom, Marcelo befriends the beautiful and striking Jasmine, and struggles to work out his relationship with Wendell, his father’s partner’s sleazy law student son. At first Marcelo just wants to succeed at his job so that he can go back to Paterson for his senior year. But the discovery of the discarded picture of a disfigured girl leads Marcelo along a journey to discover his place in the world, the decisions in his hands, and what he can do to help.

Review

MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD is an unassuming winner that’s deserving of all the praise it’s received. Sensitive, touching, and hopeful, this remarkable book will make you rethink your position in life, and the influences you can have on it.

Marcelo is an incredibly genuine protagonist. Reading his narration feels in a way like a novelization of the character of Forrest Gump: that charming, yet heartbreaking, guilelessness, the literal way with which he looks at the world, the difficult lessons he can only learn through experience. The completeness with which Francisco Stork seems to know his protagonist is astonishing, and convincingly touching as a result.

In a sense, MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD is a celebration of characters, both good and bad. A law firm is an interesting but quite genius place to set such a story, as it allows Marcelo—and readers—to come in contact with people who lie and manipulate, and yet have people they love, and dreams they aspire to. Marcelo’s changing relationship with his father is particularly well done, as it shows us the all-too-real complexities of loving people with good and bad parts.

Sometimes the plot feels slow (it took a few chapters before I got into the story), and sometimes the scenes are disjointed, but overall MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD is an amazing accomplishment. I highly recommend that everyone read this book: it might encourage you to approach the world around you differently, with a more open mind and heart.

Similar Authors
Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4.5 out of 5 - I think it's amazing. The simple flattening of the image makes it so striking, like it's part of this world, yet not quite...kind of like Marcelo.

Scholastic / March 9, 2009 / Hardcover / 320pp. / $17.99

Out in paperback in February 2011!

Copy received in trade.

Waiting on Wednesday (51)

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

When Pancho arrives at St. Anthony's Home, he knows his time there will be short: If his plans succeed, he'll soon be arrested for the murder of his sister's killer. But then he's assigned to help D.Q., whose brain cancer has slowed neither his spirit nor his mouth. D.Q. tells Pancho all about his "Death Warrior's Manifesto," which will help him to live out his last days fully--ideally, he says, with the love of the beautiful Marisol. As Pancho tracks down his sister's murderer, he finds himself falling under the influence of D.Q. and Marisol, who is everything D.Q. said she would be; and he is inexorably drawn to a decision: to honor his sister and her death, or embrace the way of the Death Warrior and choose life.


Nuanced in its characters and surprising in its plot developments--both soulful and funny--Pancho & D.Q. is a "buddy novel" of the highest kind: the story of a friendship that helps two young men become all they can be. [summary from B&N.com]

I just read Marcelo in the Real World and all I could think was, why didn't I read this sooner? It was an incredible novel. The characterization was effortless, and the story was sweet and memorable. Francisco Stork is a genius writer destined to be known among the greats such as Laurie Halse Anderson in his ability to write about tough subjects yet create reader empathy for the characters. I don't think it will be possible for me not to like this book!

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors will be published in hardcover by Scholastic on March 1, 2010.