Slam

By Nick Hornby.

Published by in 2007 by Puffin, London.

Nick Hornby does an amazing job of creating likable characters that resonate with readers. He is especially adept at presenting the heart and soul of the modern man. His novel High Fidelity is a comedic masterpiece of heartbreak and rock music, one that I loved as a teenager and still love now. I found Slam slightly more difficult to get into. High Fidelity is about a man in his 30s (and I read it when I was probably about 18), Slam is about a young boy-man who is 15 (and I am now 27)- so it's not the fact that my age is different from the protagonist that is keeping me away from the story. Instead I think that Slam is more about the story than it is about the character, and character is the thing that really pulls me in and makes me love a novel. In this case I just, sort of, read it. It was fine, parts of it were interesting, parts of it were funny - but I didn't love it.

Slam is about 15 year old Sam. Sam's mum had him when she was 16, and will soon become a 33 year old Grandmother (although no one is pregnant at the start of the novel, but this development is far from surprising when it unfolds). Sam's father is on the scene, but at a distance, and Sam's true male role model is Tony Hawk (pro skateboarder - sorry, skater). Sam has read Tony Hawk's autobiography multiple times, and when Sam talks to his poster of Hawk he hears passages from the book that fit (or sometimes don't) his situation. The novel is a fairly straightforward account of how Sam goes from a 15 year old kid to a dad, although there is a strange phenomenon occurring wherein Sam is rushed forward in time for a few days, and then wakes up to find himself back in the present. This happens twice, and while it is odd, these passages make for the most compelling sections of the story, with Sam puzzling out how to fit into his new reality.

Overall the book makes for an interesting portrait of teen dads, and explores a side of an issue that is usually only seen from the perspective of the mother (there are lots of tales of young mothers and teenage pregnancy, but I have come across very few - if any - about young fathers).

7/10.
Ages 12-16.

Cures for Heartbreak

By Margo Rabb.

Published in 2007 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, New York.

Reading the first pages of Margo Rabb's novel, Cures for Heartbreak, I had the thought: I didn't know death could be so funny. Mia is in the ninth grade, and her mother has just died. She is left with her older sister and father to navigate the terrain of heartbreak. Mia is sharp and witty, and her keen observations make even the process of planning a funeral somewhat amusing. I came across this book via an essay by Rabb, titled "I'm Y.A. and I'm O.K." in which she details the realization (via her agent) that her novel was, in fact, Young Adult fiction. After reading it, I'm slightly surprised that there was any question. While I, as an adult, enjoyed it, it definitely fits well with a teen audience. Teen books are no longer simplistic, clichéd explorations of prom night (although those are out there); instead, they are quite often literary. Intelligent. Unique. Funny. All words that perfectly describe Cures for Heartbreak.

8/10.
14+.

American Born Chinese

By Gene Luen Yang.

Published in 2006 by First Second, New York.

The Printz award winners I have read have consistently been outstanding, and American Born Chinese is no exception. This graphic novel weaves together three seemingly disparate storylines (a young Chinese-American boy moves to a new school, a white teenager is visited by his crushingly dorky Chinese cousin, and a Monkey King struggles with his form). The stories come together in the end to form a complex, fantastical story, at the heart of which lies the truth that everyone must embrace their true self in order to find happiness. It's at times uncomfortable (which I think is the point) but also funny, true, and touching. A quick read, but one with remarkable depth.

7.5/10.
Ages 11+.

The Wackness

Ahh 1994. I remember you well. I would go home after school to watch Rapcity on Much Music (yes, this is true). I was devastated by the death of Kurt Cobain (even though before it happened I didn't even know who he was). My favourite actress was Drew Barrymore (I still wish we were best friends). I wore ridiculous baggy jeans with giant plaid shirts and white face powder with revlon's Blackberry lipstick. I was 12.

It's the summer of 1994 and Luke Shapiro is is either the most popular of the unpopular kids or the most unpopular of the popular, but that doesn’t matter anymore because high school is over. Alone in sweltering New York City, during the no-man's-land between graduation and starting college, Luke is "mad depressed, yo." He spends the summer dealing pot to, among other people, his psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley - oh sorry, Sir Ben Kingsley), who imparts this wisdom: "Don't trust anyone who doesn't smoke pot and listen to Bob Dylan." Boundaries are shifting, and Luke finds himself in love with a girl who barely spoke to him in school. But the relationship between Luke and Dr. Squires, who is himself going through a bit of a breakdown, is the real heart of the story. The Wackness is about the things men do to become the men they need to be (you can replace the word men with people, but it's really nice to have a soulful, beautiful film about men and their relationships).

The Wackness is a beautiful portrait of a young man who exists in the same state as many others, disconnected from the world and from other people, and the process by which he makes a connection and starts really living his life. It's a masterpiece of time and place and mood, centred and steady and it spins with a perfect velocity through the pure and genuine moments it holds up for study and admiration. Plus it has a dope soundtrack.

This movie doesn't shy away from drugs, sex, or "bad" language, but it's message is so positive, and it is so honest and engaging that I think many teens would both enjoy and benefit from seeing this film.

10/10.
Ages 16+.

Crush

By Carrie Mac.

Published in 2006 by Orca Book Publishers, Victoria.

I've been sort of dreading the Hi/Lo category. I've always been a reader, and I assumed that the books for reluctant readers would be too simple, not very well written, or boring. I was surprised when I started reading Crush, which was actually quite engaging. Hope is the child of hippies, raised in a commune, who is spending the summer in Brooklyn with her older sister. 17 year old Hope has been having sex since she was 15 (virginity doesn't last long in a commune, she says), but is surprised to find herself attracted to a girl, Nat. The novel is dedicated to deciding what to do with those feelings, and what they mean for her sexual identity.

Crush is only 106 pages long, so the story unfolds quickly, with little extraneous detail. From the first page, each moment in the story is designed to build towards the final climax. It was definitely not boring, nor was it overly simplistic, and it was actually fairly well written. It's not great literature, but it is a nice story that deals with queer issues simply and honestly.

7/10.
Ages 12-16.

Library Websites for Teens

Internet Public Library Teenspace

What I like:

• The IPL Teenspace has a great selection of resources, is nicely laid out, and is fairly well designed. The choices of colour (the website is primarily white with turquoise and amber accents) are good, and create a space that is gender neutral and doesn't seem to be trying too hard to appeal to a young audience (no hot pink or slime green here).

• The website has good interactive content, including a poetry wiki where teens can post their own work, homework help, and then a dazzling array of links to a wide variety of information sources on the shelves and on the web. Links are divided into Clubs and Organizations, Health and Sexuality, Money and Work, Technology, Reading and Writing, School and Homework Help, and Sports, Entertainment and Arts.

What I don't like:

• While the layout and design are straightforward and usable, the site could do with a bit more flash - it's a great resource, but a tiny bit boring to look at.

7/10.


San Francisco Public Library Teens

What I like:

• The use of photographs from real events to illustrate the website.

• That the teen health and wellness link is central on the page and stands out (although the link is inaccessible to non-patrons.
  

• A prominent link to the library's teen blog.
  

• A prominent link to library events.
  

• The main page is well laid out and doesn't contribute to the information overload that can happen so easily when web designers and contributors get caught up in trying to put everything they can at the front end of a website.
  

What I don't like:

• The San Francisco Public Library Teens page is slightly garish. I, for one, think that readability is key to good web design, and the grape kool-aid purple background with white and blue text is hard for my (non-teen) brain to navigate.

7/10.