YA - The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

  Can I just say that I really, really enjoyed this book?  Finally, an author creates a work for young adults that assumes they're literate, capable and open to learning.  The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy follows a group of friends (Luke, Ethan, Elizabeth and Jackson), their pet gerbil Baconnaise, and the evil force that is changing the face of their school - kTV.  kTV has created a reality program centered on a few students from Selwyn Academy called "For Art's Sake".  The program has corrupted everything that Ethan and his friends hold dear.  No longer are hallway conversations debating the merits of Monet vs. Manet, people are more interested in who Maura Heldsman made out with last week.  When one of their own crosses to the dark side, the rest of the group will stop at nothing to rid their school of kTV.
  Seriously, this book was great.  Like I said earlier, it's refreshing to see a YA author use an extended vocabulary (I had to grab a dictionary more than once).  It's also refreshing to read a book about kids that care about school, their families, and each other.  Really - you need to read this book.  It's my favorite of the year (so far).

NON FICT - Sex With Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman

  Sex with Kings is educational gossip at its finest.  It covers scandalous relationships from the past through the semi-present (the book was published in 2004, so the Charles and Camilla info is a little dated).  Herman uses what little recorded information she can get her hands on, mostly personal correspondence, to paint an extremely entertaining portrait of what royal sex lives were like over the last 500 years.  What I've learned from this book is that mistresses were an extremely powerful force at their zenith.  After that they were usually exiled, sent to covenants, beheaded, publicly derided, and subjected to the merciless gossip of those once fawning courtiers.  Some, of course, laughed all the way to the bank - raking in millions upon millions in titles, estates, and pensions.  Some, on the other hand, as I previously stated, were not so fortunate.
  If your desire is to write a research paper about the sexuality of the past royals, this probably isn't the book for you.  The content is somewhat disorganized, jumping back and forth between kings, their mistresses, and time periods.  If you're looking for an entertaining and sometimes hilarious read - this will do the job.  I found the stories to be really interesting, especially the focus on the mistresses' fall from grace.  Not to mention the money! Oh, the money!  Oh yeah - how could I forget the queen?  The poor queen.  Being queen stinks (apparently).  Give this book a read if you need to relax and enjoy.

YA - Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

  Creed centers on the total misfortune of Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and Luke's brother Mike.  Dee has planned a surprise getaway for Luke's birthday, but everything goes astray the minute their car breaks down.  In freezing cold, all three walk towards the closest town, but once there realize that the town seems to be deserted.  There's no one at the gas station, no one on the streets, and no one in the houses.  They decide to take refuge in one of the homes and what they find sets the tone for the rest of the book.
  Creed was a good book.  It's one that I'd recommend to a teen looking for a thriller/horror novel.  The plot is unusual and the pace moves quickly.  I will say YA is entering this trend where there is no "consumer satisfaction".  Part of the twist is that not everyone gets what they deserve, some things fall through the cracks, and good doesn't always trump evil.  Personally - I'm over it.  There is no shock value in it anymore.  The shine has worn off and now it's exactly what I'm expecting. 
  I was provided with an advanced reader copy of Creed via NetGalley.  Creed will be released on 11/8/2014.  Look for at the Lewes Public Library.

Bio - WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dustbowl   by Timothy Egan

  I read these books simultaneously and found an extreme juxtaposition of individual angst vs  tragedy of epic proportion. In both instances, people started out for a new life with as much baggage as they could carry. One was a voluntary personal journey of self-fulfillment, the other a necessary migration for survival.  
 
  Wild is the story of a woman who had a bad home life while young, then in her early 20's, lost her mother to cancer.  Failing to keep her family and marriage together, she embarks on a whirlwind of casual sex and drug use, ultimately deciding to hike the daunting Pacific Crest Trail solo as a purging experience. With no hiking experience, she buys gear and books from REI and starts out on her trek. Cheryl makes irresponsible life choices, taps into the luck gene, and survives relatively unscathed. This book has been viewed alternately as:  1. a self-indulgent me-fest;   2. a poignant homage to her mother;  or 3. a serious coming-of-age journey. What it assuredly is NOT - - is a guide to hiking the PCT. 

  The Worst Hard Time is a history of people who weathered the Great American Dustbowl of the 1930s. Taken from diaries, oral history, and interviews with survivors, it's a gripping story of optimistic, hardy westward-bound homesteaders.  The "Sod-Busters" or "Nesters" came to the Prairie lured by free land and a promise of better life life. It's also the story of speculators, lawmen, and desperados who killed then displaced entire nations of Indians while slaughtering millions of bison; both of whom had roamed the land in harmony for centuries. The magnitude of inexperience, hopefulness, stupidity, greed, and bad weather made for a perfect storm of desperation, poverty, and death. The lessons in responsible land stewardship were learned the hard way. 

Fict - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

We are introduced to A. J. Fikry, owner of the Island Book Store, as he meets with a publisher’s sales rep. He is extremely cranky and proceeds to tell her what kinds of books he does not like. “I do not like postmodernism, post apocalyptic settings, postmortem narrators, or magical realism…I rarely stock debuts, chick lit, poetry or translations…”  The list goes on but you get the idea.  Amy, the poor sales rep, does not have anything to sell him.  

What has made A. J. so unpleasant and unhappy? He has had a terrible tragedy in his life and is not coping well. Soon somebody leaves something in his store that will change his life and outlook forever.

I really liked this book. It has great characters, some romance, and a mystery that takes years to solve.  I also appreciated that it was less than 300 pages and not part of a trilogy or series. It also had some engaging book reviews by A. J. 

YA - Love Letters To The Dead by Ava Dellaira

  Love Letters To The Dead is a story about Laurel, told by Laurel through various letters to famous dead people.  Her deceased pen pals include Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Jimi Hendrix, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart and a couple more.  Laurel is really going through it.  Her sister May has died, her mother has moved to California to "cope", her father has pretty much checked out, and her Aunt Amy is a holy-roller who just doesn't get it.
  In an effort to distance herself from the death of her sister, Laurel changes schools and tries desperately to change herself.  She makes new friends and even starts dating her dream guy, Sky.  But as hard as she might try, Laurel can't escape the pain she has kept bottled up.      Eventually, despite her best efforts, the pain seeps out and so does the truth - not just her truth, but the truth about those around her.
  This is one of the best books I've read by a YA author in a very, very long time.  It's original, sweet, sad, and just so hopeful.  The characters voices are flawed and true.  I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old.  It's one of those stories that I'll carry with me and think of from time to time whenever I hear a Nirvana song or see a Judy Garland movie. 

Bio - Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman

Interesting non-fictional account of the life of the richest women in the world no one has ever heard of.   This is the story of Huguette Clark and her self-made father, how he amassed his fortune, and how it passed through his descendants eventually to her.  It was the Golden Age of mansions on 5th Avenue - the Vanderbilts, Carnegies - and W.A. Clark had the grandest home of all.  

Huguette, the only surviving child from a second marriage, grew up with wealth, privilege, and tragedy. Sometimes withdrawn, sometimes generous, with unoccupied fully-staffed mansions on both coasts and an eccentric habit of doll-collecting, Huguette ended up managing her fortune a la Howard Hughes - from a hospital bed. Good story for a book club discussion.