The Hotel Between and People Kill People

Here are some quick thoughts on two young adult novels which were published in early September.  

THE HOTEL BETWEEN by Sean Easley is an exciting fantasy centered on twins Cameron and Cassia who want to find their missing Dad. The chance comes when Cam discovers The Hotel Between, a mystical place with “four main rings that make up the trunk – Lobby Level, Elevator Bank, Mezzanine, Courtyard. Everything else branches off those by way of turners, which is just what we call doors binding one part of the Hotel to another.”  And it is through those doors that Cam and various guides like Nico and Rahki magically explore other countries, face danger and confront secrets. School Library Journal recommends this novel for middle school students and it is certainly complicated (and sometimes confusing!) enough to appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy and adventure, as Cam seeks to find both his father and a cure for Cassia’s spina bifida.

PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE by Ellen Hopkins is written in verse and focuses on six Arizona teenagers who deal with gun violence and white supremacy. School Library Journal suggests this novel for those in grades 10 and up.  In fact, Violence narrates this text, leaving the reader to guess which of the intertwined teens will kill and who will die. Hopkins explores several timely topics (brain injury, attitudes towards undocumented immigrants, depression, drug dealing, and more) which will resonate with teen and new adult readers while showing how "each [character] possesses an incentive/ to pick up a gun, pull the trigger." A powerful and thought-provoking text from an award-winning and popular novelist.

March 2017 ... YA titles ...

Other commitments have been swallowing up available reading and reviewing time this month but I wanted to be sure to comment on several new YA titles. 

THE HEARTBEATS OF WING JONES by Katherine Webber (March 14, Delacorte) is set in Atlanta and tells the story of Wing Jones and her older brother, Marcus. The local public library placed this title in their Junior High section and it does have a younger feel, beginning with a gentle, lovely swing ride for Wing and Marcus as children. Once high school age, he is a popular football star while she feels like a misfit, too obviously different due in part to their mixed racial heritage (half black, half Chinese). Circumstances change dramatically when Marcus has a car accident and kills two people while driving drunk.  He goes into a coma, the family faces financial concerns and Wing copes by beginning to run:  “I’m sure somehow my running is keeping Marcus alive, that my footsteps are making his heart beat, way more than the machines that he’s hooked up to.”  School Library Journal recommends THE HEARTBEATS OF WING JONES for Stephanie Perkins’ fans; please see the author’s website for more review comments about this promising and affirming debut.  

THE SHADOWS WE KNOW BY HEART by Jennifer Park (March 14, Simon Pulse) appealed to me because of its beautiful cover and the mystery element it contains. Independent-minded protagonist Leah is not supposed to go into the woods, but she sneaks away anyway and is fascinated by the Bigfoot Sasquatch she sees. There is even a Tarzan-like element due to the “wild boy” who accompanies them. It is a bit difficult to believe that these creatures could exist so close to a residential area, but the suspense will pull readers in and, of course, human contact eventually produces a crisis.  THE SHADOWS WE KNOW BY HEART is also shelved locally with Junior High materials and will be an engaging, quick read for middle school and freshmen students looking for a story filled with romance and some mythical elements.  

JUST FLY AWAY by Andrew McCarthy (coming March 28, Algonquin) explores family secrets in a different way and is a very quick read.  15 year-old Lucy and her younger sister, Julie, discover that their Dad has another child: their half-brother, 8 year-old Thomas. Lucy deals with this revelation by being angry with both parents – for her Dad’s involvement with another woman and her Mom’s acceptance of it. Lucy is a very immature and certainly self-involved character who want to “just fly away” and eventually she ends up in Maine, spending time with her grandfather.  JUST FLY AWAY is a debut novel from a bestselling memoirist, actor and director recommended by Booklist and School Library Journal for students in grades 7-10.