The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

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Life is full of ups and downs, life and death, love found and lost, but when cancer is brought into the mix all of these elements are compacted into a much shorter time when the ill person is still a teen. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, supplies an in depth view on what this situation might be like, as seen through the eyes of  Hazel, who's lungs are failing her, and Augustus, who lost a leg to cancer.

The two star crossed lovers' paths intersect for the first time at the cancer group meeting at a church in what they have deemed the heart of Jesus. From there a relationship develops around a love of literature, family, and the life that they want to hold onto so desperately in spite of the odds that are against them.

Hazel shares her favorite book, The Imperial Affliction, with Gus, along with the backstory of how much the book means to her and her ongoing attempt to connect with the author, Van Houten, in order to find out what happens to the characters whose stories are left unfinished. Hazel used her "Make a Wish" for Disneyland, Gus has held onto his and uses this opportunity to take a trip with Hazel and her mother to Amsterdam to meet Van Houten.

Though, the author doesn't live up to their expectations, there is so much more that surmounts the two starry eyed kids' expectations that the unfairness of their not surprising, yet horrible, fate will bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a heart.

Green more than delivers what has come to be expected of him as an author in this telling of lives that are too short. Lives that could have been remembered by many, but now will be immortalized in the hearts of a few. The reader will be left wondering if, in such a case as this, a greater memory in fewer means more. I think so. 

Rotters, by Daniel Kraus

Joey Crouch's days are fairly monotonous. He's a good student, plays the trumpet, gets along with his Mom, and has a best friend he can count on. His life is not exceptional, living in an apartment in Chicago with his single Mother and having never traveled outside of the city, but it is far from bad.

In an instant, Joey's life takes a completely different turn when his Mother fails to turn to see an oncoming bus and is hit and killed instantly. She would have heard the bus, if she weren't deaf in one ear, the result of an accident that Joey has never pried his Mother about, but he will soon discover the root of this mystery when he is sent to live with his Father in the small town of Bloughton, Iowa.

What follows, is a series of horrible and heart wrenching events that one can hardly imagine having to endure. His Father, Harnett, hardly greets him before he leaves Joey for three days without any food, transportation to school, or idea of where he had gone or when he would return. While waiting for his return, Joey endures extreme bullying from his classmates and teachers and has little hope of escape when a call to his best friend is met with laughs of disbelief before the payphone times out.

When Harnett  finally returns, Joey is determined to find out the reason for his long stints of being away with the intention of turning him into the authorities. What he finds leaves him as pale as death. Harnett digs up the dead and takes the items they were buried with, which requires chopping off appendages and slopping through rot to retrieve the treasure from the bloated bodies.

While Joey is understandably disgusted and in a shock at the discovery of his Father's means of survival, his feelings take a turn as the violence increases at school and it appears his only means of survival is to embrace his Father's penchant for digging up the dead.

From this point on, Kraus concocts a belly-turning assemblage of events and people that will leave the reader reeling. From an underground group of diggers, to a book of polaroids of the dead that is sure to be the end of them all, to Joey helping out the very person that threatened to bring down all of the diggers in a cross-country, drug induced, digging marathon. There is no end of surprises and gut-tumbling descriptions in this handily crafted horror of a book.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

When Jack happens upon the nearly dead body of his Grandfather in the backyard, he is, understandably, horrified. However, he is stunned beyond repair when he is greeted with the most nightmarish of monsters. Before he passes completely, his grandfather whispers, "Go to the island, Yakob. Here it is not safe."

These dying words stick fast with Jack as the guilt mounts in his mind with thoughts that he could have saved his Grandfather who had referenced being visited by monsters and talked often, especially with Jack, about the time he spent as a child at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. While most of the tales of floating girls and boys with extreme strength seemed completely unrealistic there was always a part of him that felt there was truth behind these tales. When he and his family are going through his Grandfather's possessions, Jack happens upon a collection of pictures, most of which he had never seen, with all of the characters from the stories displayed.

Jack is convinced that he must go the island, but first has to convince his therapist (that his parents forced him to visit) and his parents that it will help him come to terms with the horrible scene he had experienced. Jack finds what he is looking for in the exact place his Grandfather spoke of, but in a very different time. One specific time, to be exact. Miss Peregrine has found a way to protect a group of highly unusually talented children, many of whom fled the wrath of the Nazis, from a bomb raid. The group is caught in a time warp, so they never grow any older than they were on that specific day and every day the bombs fall, but the day starts over again so that their deaths never occur.

This fascinating story has too many layers to mention in a summary, but you can be sure that while you may leave this book after you turn the last page, the story will not soon leave you. Riggs has constructed a masterpiece in his wording alone that is enhanced more so by the old photographs that have actually been found throughout the years by a group of people, whose names are given at the back, that are completely obsessed with the idea of superhuman people existing and their feats being caught on camera.

Red Zone, by Tiki & Ronde Barber

Brothers, Tiki and Ronde Barber, know a thing or two about football. Tiki plays for the New York Giants and Ronde plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Red Zone gives the reader insight into where these football phenom's story started as their 9th grade football season is recounted.

The Hidden Valley Eagles are off on the right foot leading up to the most important games of the season, with a good overall record and having improved a great deal over the course of the season. As the playoffs approach Tiki, Ronde and the rest of the team are confident that they will have a good run in the playoffs...maybe even make it all the way to the championship! Disaster strikes when one of their best players comes down with a fever and spots? That's right. Chickenpox!

As one player after another becomes spotted, the teams' dreams of being district champions start to look like nothing more than just that...a dream. The brothers step up to fill the spots left empty as players drop right and left, but when they come down with the itch as well, it seems that there is no hope. The boys' hope and determination are reignited by the inspiring words and hard work ethic of their Mother and the camaraderie they share with their teammates. Will it be enough to make it all the way?

You'll be itching to get to the end of the book and find out the fate of the Eagles, as they wrangle with the ups and downs and ultimately find that teams win and lose games, not individuals.

Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick

Selznick has, yet again, woven together a seamless and wondrous story. Two children's lives overlap, though, their stories take place fifty years apart. Ben and Rose both searching for something that they are missing in their lives. Ben yearns to develop a relationship with a father he has never known and Rose tries to get the attention of her mother who always seems to be too busy for her. Rose finds distraction in collecting anything and everything about a famous actress. Each child finds clues that lead them on a journey to find what they yearn for.

Not only do they share parental difficulties, but both children are deaf. Selznick sheds light on the impact the transition from silent to talking films had on the deaf community, since it left them no longer able to enjoy the movies. Wonderstruck also melds together the world of words and pictures, as Rose's story is told in pictures and Ben's is relayed in words. There is true magic in how Selznick brings together the two stories in the end that will leave the reader flipping back through the book to rethink and revel in the story they have just experienced. 

Drawing From Memory, by Allen Say

Allen Say's Drawing From Memory is a genius recollection of his life, from when he was a young child in Yokohoma, Japan to his big move to the United States at the ripe old age of fifteen. The events that occurred during this time are that of a blockbuster fantasy, but Say actually lived this fairy tale. This is not to say that his life was easy, but his story of rising from divorced parents (in a time and place where it wasn't the norm), a parent that was not supportive of his art, and the fact that he was sent to live in an apartment by himself at twelve makes for a fairly inspiring story.

After reading a newspaper article about a fifteen year old boy, Tokida, who trekked 350 miles to Tokyo in an attempt to become a cartoonist at the newspaper and was, by chance, taken on as a student of one of the greatest cartoonist of the time, Noro Shinpei, Say was inspired to see if Shinpei would be his sensei as well. As luck would have it, he took him on and Say worked under him for the next three years while also attending a prestigious private school.

Say's visual concoction of watercolor, charcoal and pencil drawings along with old photographs and newspaper cutouts make for a tasty combination. This approach was also taken in The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, but without as much tact. While some of Fleming's pages seemed crowded with an overabundance of information, Say made good use of white space and the readers' eye easily skims from one part of the story to the next. For anyone that enjoys a good biography, art, or just a a good story for that matter, this is the book for you.

Happy Birthday, Sophie Hartley, by Stephanie Greene

Birthdays are important, but there is one birthday that is especially important and that is the tenth birthday. Double digits! You will laugh, reminisce and relate as Greene takes us through the daily mishaps and successes that Sophie Hartley encounters during the countdown to the big day.

Sophie's feelings are hurt when her older sister, Nora, jumps at the opportunity to move out of the roomed they have shared their entire lives in exchange for the attic. There are also tough times when one friendship fizzles out, but things turn around when she finds a new friend in Alice. However, the most important issue is whether or not Sophie will get her one and only birthday wish. A gorilla!

Sophie's parents are understanding, but a gorilla is simply out of the question. However, being the all knowing parents that they are, they find the perfect gift for Sophie. Sophie feels like they know her better than she knows herself.

If you have already gone through the trials of approaching ten, this book is a reminder of how all things do pass. For those that are currently or have not yet  arrived at this point, there will be much to relate to: annoying siblings, changing bodies, caring and busy parents and dreams of what the future will hold.