Library Maven: culture and crafts collide

So here are my top ten books of the year. I did a little paragraph about each of the top 5 as well. As a young adult librarian, I have a slightly skewed view of the world of books. My job, which I started exactly 1 year ago yesterday, makes me read many things i would not have read previously, including manga and graphic novels. (learning how to read backwards is one of the crowning achievements of my year.) 98% of what I read is written for those in grades 8-12. But just because they’re not adult fiction, doesn’t mean they’re not enduring and powerful. In fact, I’d put my favorite book from 2006, The Book Thief, up against any adult book released. That book will haunt me for the rest of my life. As will my favorite book from 2007:

1. Unwind – Neal Shusterman

You might expect a book about the pro-life/pro-choice debate, especially one written for a younger audience, to come off simplistic and/or didactic. You might expect platitudes and easy answers. You would not expect Unwind. At least I didn’t. I am a huge fan of dystopian fiction and so I gave Shusterman’s latest a try. Set in the aftermath of a civil war over abortion rights, the book focuses on how the compromises made to create peace have created lasting effects. In this world, abortion is now illegal and the state homes are overrun with unwanted babies. Families have the chance of being “storked” by mothers who do not want their babies. But when a child is between the ages of 13-18, parents can choose to have an unwanted child “unwound,” or dismantled for transplant parts while the child is still alive. The unwound teen remains “alive” but scattered throughout hundreds of people. The overrun state homes solve their crowding problems by systematically unwinding a percentage of their teens based on intelligence and talent. The questions posed by this book are so immense that I am still thinking about them over a month later. I am also still thinking about the way Shusterman brilliantly crafted the thoughts and experiences of a teen actually undergoing the unwinding process. It, like the rest of Unwind, is deeply disturbing, haunting, and moving.

2. Before I Die – Jenny Downham

Books about dying teens are nothing new. I mean when I was a teen Lurlene McDaniel and her endless weepies full of sick teens were all the rage. But this book is different. It is not sappy or manipulative. It’s brutal and honest and real. Tessa is not a saint. She’s selfish and a bit whiny.. and well she’s pissed. But wouldn’t you be too if you were dying of leukemia at age 16? So she comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she dies. (Hence the title.) Sex, drugs, love… she’s squeezing decades into months. But in the end, thought the list provides some plot guidance, the novel is really about Tessa and her interactions with her family and friends. It’s really a wonderful book. I am not a crier, but I was reading the book at work and I had to go hide in the bathroom for the last few chapters.

3. Spanking Shakespeare – Jake Wizner

And now for something completely different. As gut wrenching and emotional as the first two books are, this one is is brilliant and funny. I had to stop reading it at work, or in public, because I laughed so loud and so often it was becoming embarrassing. Really a wonderful book.

4. Slam - Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is the only author of one of my top 5 favorite books (his entry is High Fidelity) who is still alive, a fact a mentioned to him when I got my advance copy signed at ALA in June. He quickly inquired if that was because I had killed the others. He was joking (I hope,) but he might not have been if he had seen me “stalking” him throughout the convention center before that, following him from reading to panel to event, etc. The book is awesome: teen pregnancy, random time traveling, a talking Tony Hawk poster. What’s not to love? A great mix of humor and emotion, as usual.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

When I started this list, I told myself I was not putting this on here. It doesn’t need publicity, it doesn’t need to be talked up, but then I thought… that’s not fair. Just because something is popular, doesn’t mean it’s not good. And this book was very, very good. Rowling’s improvement as a writer from the first book is extraordinary.

6. Mistik Lake – Martha Brooks

7. 13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher

8. Twisted – Laurie Halse Anderson

9. Extras – Scott Westerfeld

10. Boy Toy – Barry Lyga