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  • Really good book!

    Posted by Mark Ardis, 7 months ago

    Steinhöfel’s greatest accomplishment is that he portrays homosexual relationships as the equivalent of heterosexual relationships. By demonstrating that the journey toward self-discovery of a young gay man is the same as that of a young straight man, Steinhöfel shows that discriminatory views on homosexuality are completely unfounded. In addition to vividly depicting Visible’s breath taking surroundings, his crisp and graceful prose provides insight into Phil’s complex thoughts and emotions. Satisfying the reader with Phil’s self-discovery, the author does an excellent job of balancing the scales between satisfaction and misery, having and wanting. By the end of the novel, one aches with a confused combination of happiness and grief. Steinhöfel and his novel deserve every word of praise!

    • 3 people found this helpful

    Hero

    Posted by Stephanie K, 2 years ago

    I just wrote a review for Hero, a teen novel, and thought I would bring attention to this book here as well.
    (I'll just copy and paste...)

    Hero is a captivating "fish out of water" story. You follow Thom Creed’s steps in discovering his powers, becoming a super hero, learning more about himself and those who are important in his life, and even discovering love and what it means to be gay. He must adapt to these changes while balancing the needs of his owns with the needs of others... which is not always an easy task.

    The dynamics of Moore’s characters are interesting and the plotline is punchy (no pun intended). This is the sort of book you will plough through in one sitting because it is that easy to get into. The author knew how to pace his scenes and hold the reader’s interest.

  • Steampunk Fantasy

    Posted by Stephanie K, 2 years ago

    Do we have any steampunk fans?

    I just found an interesting book on sale today called Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. What caught my attention was that Lynn Felwelling (author of the Nightrunner series) and Ellen Kushner (Swordspoint) had comments on the back, both of which I am a fan of (and write gay fantasy). I trust their opinion, so I bought it and found out that it is indeed homosexual by some online research. I was already excited to find a steampunk novel, but now I'm just overly thrilled to read this!

    It is a hardcover bargain at the moment (only $5.99) in store. Cherry on the cake... but stock is limited! I just had to share this hidden gem before it runs out.

    • 2 people found this helpful

    Rachel Cohn's Very LeFreak

    Posted by Teens Editor, 2 years ago

    I became completely engrossed in this latest book by the co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Rachel Cohn authentically explores our culture's obsession on technology in a whole new way. Very (or Veronica) is completely loosing control of her life. With all of the messages and updates she has to keep track of, plus all of the parties she organizes, it is really hard to stay on top of things like friends and homework. When her addiction goes a step too far, her friends intervene and send her to ESCAPE (Emergency Services for Computer-Addicted Persons Everywhere) where she can regroup and recover.

    Cohn treads carefully here. This book is not about how technology is bad, but a book that explores the things we do to avoid our own issues. Instead of cocaine or alcohol, the drug of choice here is an ipod, an iphone and a laptop. For example, Very is literally attached to her ipod where she comes up with a playlist for every occasion. She also keeps her iphone near her thigh so that she knows instantly when she receives a message.

    Much like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, music is a pivotal part of the novel. Not only are there the are a lot of musical references, chapter headings like, "'Jean Genie' in the Office of Dean Deanie" and play lists that "When she died, the future biographer(s) of her Very Unextraordinary Life would only have to unarchive and research her playlists to unearth the everyday secrets of her heart and mind," but Cohn subtly structures the novel in a way that we see Very's world with sound and then without. (There is also a merging of Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Blume that was LOL.)

    This novel is also about the things that we might truly fear, like not only love, but who we love. Cohn explores how Very avoids intimacy as well as her own sexual identity. Like sleeping with her best friend and then avoiding her own conflicting feelings about her friend Lavinia.

    In a recent interview Cohn talked about preparing for this book by giving up technology for a week. She says: "The week ended up very much echoing the seven stages of grief, from shock and anger, to depression and loneliness, then an upward turnaround on day five leading to ultimate acceptance." And this is why I think that Very's experience rings true for the reader.

    Click here to read the full interview:
    www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6713747.html?nid=2413&source=link&rid=17253349

    • 4 people found this helpful

    ALA Rainbow Project 2010

    Posted by Teens Editor, 2 years ago

    David Levithan is definitely one of the most influential voices in teen lit.

    The ALA Rainbow Project's bibliography for what they consider to be the best in "titles for youth from birth to age 18 that contain significant and authentic gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (GLBTQ) content" was announced.

    These books were selected by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. They tend to pick some great reads. This year's titles include David Levithan's Love is the Higher Law, Patricia Polacco's In Our Mothers’ House, Ellen Hopkins's Tricks and many more.

    For the full list check out the ALA Rainbow Project blog:

    rainbowlist.wordpress.com/rl-2010/

    • 4 people found this helpful

    Santa Olivia

    Posted by Azrael, 3 years ago

    Santa Olivia Jacqueline Carey

    I have no idea if this book has been posted before, but I looked back through the archives, and I don't think it has.

    The book is Santa Olivia, by Jacqueline Carey. If you recognize the author's name, then I will be the first to admit that I have not read the Kushiel series. I can't tell you if Santa Olivia holds up to that, or if it's anything like that (although it sounds completely different). I *can* tell you that I have absolutely no interest in that series and that what I've heard about it kept me away from it, as well as wary of this title, but Santa Olivia's plot sounded interesting, so I took a chance and picked it up.

    I was pleasantly surprised.

    I adored the main character. Loup (pronounced "Lou"; she was named after the French word for 'wolf') is unique and sympathetic and oddly sweet despite how tough she is. She's the product of a genetically engineered father, and she inherited his traits. She is stronger than any normal person, male or female. She can run faster. She's incapable of feeling fear.

    Carey incorporates the very important nature of not feeling fear into the book magnificently. She doesn't glorify it; in some ways, it acts as a hindrance to Loup. There is one situation, however, that Carey brings up that surprised me, as it was something I'd never thought of. It's an offhand remark by another character -- "You don't embarrass easily, do you?" -- that made me realize how well-realized Loup's lack of fear is. She doesn't embarrass because she has no fear of being mocked or laughed at. Carey fleshes this out beyond the usual usage of a lack of fear just in the face of danger, making one reckless and cocky. Loup is neither.

    All of the other characters are extremely well-done as well; I felt close to all of them once Loup felt close to them. They're all different, with their own dynamic, but without falling into the trap of having simply one defining feature and feeling one-dimensional because they *rely* on that defining feature to define their entire self. Most characters have a history, and those whose history we either don't know, or know little about, make up for it with their personality.

    Now, onto the element that spurred me to recommend this to a Gay Literature group.

    I was also pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of a homosexual relationship. There was absolutely no hint on the back cover of the book that there would be any romance at all, much less homosexual romance. There is no real hint for a good chunk of the beginning of the book, either. I began this book without a single thought toward whether or not the main character would be straight; it was in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, after all. I simply unconsciously assumed that she, like most characters in non-specialized fiction, would be heterosexual.

    That was not the case.

    Loup experiments with boys, as well as with a girl; the woman who becomes her lover has a more-than-healthy relationship with boys and sex. She *likes* boys and sex. The fact that she finds sex with men appealing doesn't spontaneously disappear when she begins a relationship with Loup. It just means that she finds Loup (and sex with Loup) *more* appealing.

    In short, realism.

    I think what got me about this book, beyond the characters and the plot itself, was that nothing in the plot had anything to do, really, with Loup's sexuality. It was a point in the book, but not a plot point. It wouldn't have been interchangeable with a relationship with a man, not in the least, and it wasn't treated as though it was, but it was just refreshing to read a book where the relationship was just *there*, if that makes sense. It's a lesbian relationship. Great. Back to the plot. The relationship itself was most certainly a plot point, but not because it was with a woman; it was a plot point simply because Loup was in love.

    I don't want to give the impression that the relationship is treated flippantly. That isn't at all the case. I fell just as much in love with the relationship as I did with the characters. It was emotional and realistic and passionate, and just plain wonderful.

    I suppose what it comes down to is that the relationship was treated as a normal thing. There were certainly mentions that a homosexual relationship wasn't the norm, but there wasn't this sense that it was something *different*, something worrisome, the way it is in most gay literature. I'm not saying that the way gay relationships are usually presented is bad -- it's usually very true to life -- but it was just... nice to read something where the relationship simply existed on its own merit, without the plot having to revolve around it at all.

    In short, I would highly recommend reading Santa Olivia. I loved the characters, the plot was intriguing and the pacing was spot-on, and while I won't spoil the ending, I'll just say that it was just as well-done as the rest of book.

  • How Can We Help?

    Posted by Unknown User, 3 years ago

    -Message Deleted-

> Read more posts from: July 2009

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