Wednesday, October 18, 2017

In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner

I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of Gae Polisner's (author of The Memory of Things and others) upcoming novel In Sight of Stars.  While heartbreaking at times, it is a beautiful story about the things that tear us apart in our lives, but also about the things that help to put us back together.

This story is filled with wonderful characters that help teach Klee, whose father has recently committed suicide, that the world doesn't always have to be working against us.  They teach him that we get to choose who we will become.  They teach him about forgiveness.  And maybe most importantly, they teach him that when we encounter a chute in our lives, there is always a ladder there waiting for us to climb back up.

This novel will not be released until March 13, 2018, but if you are interested I can pass it on to you.

From Amazon:

"An achingly fierce exploration of the way the world wounds us and heals us. If you love exquisitely written coming-of-age stories that will leave you breathless, In Sight of Stars is for you." - Jeff Zentner, William C. Morris award-winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days

Seventeen-year-old Klee’s father was the center of his life. He introduced Klee to the great museums of New York City and the important artists on their walls, he told him stories made of myths and magic. Until his death.

Now, forced to live in the suburbs with his mom, Klee can’t help but feel he’s lost all the identifying parts of himself―his beloved father, weekly trips to the MoMA, and the thrumming energy of New York City. That is until he meets wild and free Sarah in art class, with her quick smiles and jokes about his “brooding.” Suddenly it seems as if she’s the only thing that makes him happy. But when an act of betrayal sends him reeling, Klee lands in what is bitingly referred to as the “Ape Can,” a psychiatric hospital for teens in Northollow.

While there, he undergoes intensive therapy and goes back over the pieces of his life to find out what was real, what wasn’t, and whether he can stand on his own feet again. Told in alternating timelines, leading up to the event that gets him committed and working towards getting back out, Gae Polisner’s In Sight of Stars is a gorgeous novel told in minimalist strokes to maximal effect, about what makes us fall apart and how we can put ourselves back together again.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I had heard about The Hate U Give for a long time, had seen it at #1 on the NYT YA Bestseller list forever, but I hadn't yet picked it up and read it.  I finally decided to give it a read.

This is a story about so many things.  It is a story about racism in our country and the ugliness that comes with it.  It is a story about bravery and being willing to stand up when things are tough.  It is a story about families and the support they give one another when it is most needed.  It is about community and being proud of where you came from.   It is so many things, and Angie Thomas does a masterful job of making these points through the character of Starr Carter and all those characters who are a part of her life. 

I'm glad I finally picked this up, just disappointed it took me so long. 

From Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.