Young Adult Fiction: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

It seems I may be a tad late to the party when it comes to discovering the work of Talia Hibbert, the author of this week's DSN, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. Though to be fair, while I love young adult fiction, I have never been big on romance. But the premise interested me: two ex-best friends must now work together as they compete for a grand prize.

The Situation: Celine Bangura knows who she is and what wants out of life, and she even has the Steps to Success board in her room to prove it. If all goes according to plan, she will study at Cambridge, become a top corporate lawyer, and show her absentee father what she managed to do without him around. And when an opportunity comes up to compete for a full scholarship in a program put on by one of her lawyer heroes, Celine is determined to come out on top. But she was not planning on having to deal with her arch-nemesis, Bradley Graeme, while camping and hiking in the woods, and proving herself to be a capable and hard-working leader. The two of them used to be best friends, before Brad decided he would rather be with the popular kids...or at least that is how Celine remembers it.

The Problem: Brad has his own reasons for wanting the scholarship. If he does not have to worry about finances while in college, then he will not need to have a roommate, something that would greatly benefit his obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. But being so close to Celine while competing for the top prize has added a entirely new set of issues to the competition. If either of them want a real shot at winning this thing, then they will have to work together, and manage to have conversations without it breaking out into an argument. At some point, Celine starts to wonder when Brad became so considerate and thoughtful. And Brad knows Celine is annoying, but was she always this cute? The expedition is only the beginning for Celine and Brad as they look back on their past, and consider what their future may hold.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel set in present-day England. Celine and Brad are seniors who are starting to consider college and their future careers. The book explores a fairly well-known pattern of ex-best friends/enemies rediscovering each other and potentially moving their relationship into romantic territory. Both Brad and Celine have their reasons for why their friendship ended the first time, and they each have hang-ups that could easily stop them from ever being close again. And beyond that, Brad has his OCD, and Celine has her desire to prove to her father just how worthless and unnecessary he is to her life and its direction. The book is a YA romance against a backdrop of academic and familial pressures that many high school seniors have faced.

My Verdict: Many times with books with two narrators, I find myself much more drawn to one over the other, and end up speeding through the parts narrated by the one I like the least. Fortunately, that did not happen with this book, and I was able to stay invested in both storylines. And while I found myself immediately annoyed by Celine in the very beginning of the novel, the growth and development of her character over the following 300 pages was so well done and believably well-paced that I was weirdly proud of her. Brad and Celine remained the central focus of the story, but some of the side characters were also exceptionally well-rounded, even when given a short amount of time on the page, such as Celine's sister Giselle, and Brad's good friend Jordan.

Favorite Moment: When Brad stands up for Celine against one of his 'friends,' even though their truce at the time was only supposed to be temporary.

Favorite Character: Celine's roommate on the trip, Aurora, is shy but perceptive, as well as clever and smart.

Recommended Reading: Author Nicola Yoon also writes YA romance that focuses on people of color. My favorite of hers is 2016's The Sun Is Also a Star. 

Classic Fiction: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

A new year means a new novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami for me to review. This time, I have selected After Dark, initially published in 2004, with the English translation being published in 2007. A young girl reading alone in a diner is approached by a young man who remembers her and her sister. From there unfolds a night of unlikely adventures and connections.

The Situation: When unassuming and somewhat serious 19 year-old Mari is reading alone at at Denny's, she is recognized by the awkward, lanky, but earnest Takahashi. The two of them once hung out at a pool together years ago, along with Mari's sister and her then boyfriend. It is just before midnight, and the two strike up a conversation while Takahashi eats, before he heads out to band practice. The encounter seems mundane enough...the two of them catch up, though they did not really know each other well enough to have much to catch up on. Other than Mari's sister and that one day they spent at the pool together, the two of them do not have a lot of common ground. But Mari and Takahashi will see each other a few more times before the night is over, as their stories intertwine without a few others in the city.

The Problem: After Takahashi leaves and Mari spends a little more time reading at the diner, she is sought out by the manager of a nearby hotel, Kaoru. She learned from Takahashi that Mari knows Chinese. Turns out there is a young Chinese girl in trouble, and Kaoru needs Mari to help translate. This unusual situation gives Mari a few other places to spend her time as she waits for daylight, as well as a few more opportunities to meet and talk with Takahashi, whom she eventually feels comfortable enough with to reveal a secret about her sister, Eri. On the surface, it seems that Eri is simply asleep in her own bed, but it is slowly revealed that something somewhat strange, maybe even sinister, is going on.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of fiction, set in modern-day Tokyo in the middle of night. Each chapter and section is time stamped, with the book starting at 11:56pm, and ending around 6:52am. The narrator often addresses the reader directly, and sometimes describes the viewpoint as being a camera that moves around rooms, throughout the city, and even through television screens to get to the image on the other side. This brings me to the other common themes found in Murakami's works, and using a Google image of a 'Murakami Bingo' card as reference, players would be able to blot out mysterious woman, something vanishing, cats, old jazz record, parallel worlds, and Tokyo at night. And instead of simply following one character, the reader gets to follow and check-in with several characters as the night progresses.

My Verdict: This is certainly one of my favorite of Murakami's books that I have read in recent years. While I am sure it has its own loyal following, I do not think it is as beloved as maybe Norwegian Wood, or The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. As the book is on the shorter side (not quite reaching 250 pages), I recommend anyone making their way through Murakami's works to pick it up and not skip it. It is intriguing, it is haunting in places, and it is a story I will not easily forget, and I cannot say the same for every Murakami novel that I have read. This one was accessible in a way that is hard to explain. It still contained many of the elements the can make Murakami's novels seem like something just outside of our reality, but I had the sense I could access it if I really wanted to.

Favorite Moment: There is a moment where Kaoru, the hotel manager, holds her ground against a member of the Chinese mafia.

Favorite Character: Korogi works at the hotel that Kaoru manages, and there is only one chapter in which the reader has a chance to get to know her and her story. But she is encouraging and helpful to Mari in a way, but also someone with her own issues and life to work out.

Recommended Reading: I still say my favorite of all of Murakami's works is A Wild Sheep Chase, but a better follow-up for After Dark may be Norwegian Wood. 

Contemporary Fiction: Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson

While the work of writer Kevin Wilson has been well known to many readers for quite some time now, his most recent novel, Now Is Not the Time to Panic, was my first experience with his writing. I was intrigued by the idea of a small town reacting to the sudden appearance of a strange poster being put up in public areas and not knowing where it came from. The possibilities for the aftermath of such a thing are nearly endless, and I was curious as to which way the author would take it.

The Situation: It is the summer of 1996, and 16 year-old Frankie Budge is escaping the heat by hanging out at the local pool where she meets Zeke. He seems nice enough, and also just as awkward as she is, and the two of them strike up an unlikely friendship that makes sense in a weird way. She likes to write, and he likes to draw, and together they come up with an idea to create something together...her the words, him the picture. The result is a poster that, with the help of an old copier that Frankie's older, chaotic triplet brothers had stolen, they are able to make copies of and post all around Coalfield. Everywhere the townspeople go, they are greeted with the strange saying "The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us."

The Problem: Naturally, people are confused. And then curious. But things quickly spiral out of control when a few ridiculous rumors and theories as to the poster's origin begin to circulate, leading to fear and panic. Soon, Frankie and Zeke are not the only ones making copies of the posters and putting them up. Eventually, the image has gone beyond Coalfield, Tennessee and is making headlines across the country. Events occur that neither Frankie nor Zeke could have predicted, and their effects will follow Frankie well into adulthood. She has managed to keep what happened that summer all to herself, until a journalist calls her, asserting that they know she was the source of the poster. Now the well-crafted life Frankie built is in danger of falling apart. 

Genre, Themes, History: This novel is fiction, and is set largely in Coalfield, Tennessee during the summer of 1996. Sixteen year-old Frankie lives with her mother and her older triplet brothers, with her dad having moved on with his new wife and child. Zeke is also without his father, at least for the summer, due to the revelation that he has been cheating on his mom, giving him something else in common with Frankie. The poster that the two of them created leads to the kind of series of events that people would maybe read about later in a Mental Floss article. It is also a depiction of the power of art, as well as the power of mass panic, and how sometimes, obsessions can be hard to shake, even when they are not good for us, and especially if we feel like they are all we have. 

My Verdict: This is an easy and fascinating read, and since it is just under 250 pages, it is worth picking up and enjoying the brief but often wild ride. I love the idea of two teenagers creating something strange but uniquely them out of boredom on a Tennessee summer day, and then posting it around their small town - at the gas stations, movie theater, school, office buildings, you name it. And seeing how different people view the poster and react to it is beyond interesting. This is the kind of book I could see some of my instructors in college using as an illustration of the power of art, and comparing the events that unfold with similar events in history. And seeing the long-term effects of everything on Frankie, and how she feels about that summer 20 years later, definitely led me to consider what past events I feel are still a part of me, even decades later. 

Favorite Moment: There is a point when the town's curiosity officially switches to panic, and it is depicted so well and explains just how easily a small and easily contained situation can lead to chaos. 

Favorite Character: Frankie's mom is a hard-working single mother doing her best with a set of incredibly rowdy triplet boys, and awkward and somewhat withdrawn Frankie. With everything she has to deal with, she is the real hero of this story.

Recommended Reading: Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow also involves two younger people joining forces to create something. And I want to mention an episode of Daria (yes, the MTV cartoon show from the 1990s) called "Arts 'n' Crass" that deals with an image with a message that ends up causing problems for the creators. 

Young Adult Fiction: Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

Beginning a new book by Rainbow Rowell is always exciting, even if the book is a collection of short stories and not a full-fledged novel. Scattered Showers is Rowell's first short-story collection, filled with new characters, as well as a few her readers will recognize from her previous books. 

Genre, Themes, History: This gathering of nine short stories includes a young girl hiding from her best friend on New Year's Eve in order to avoid a repeat of certain events; a couple of college kids who find commonality through break-up songs; two Star Wars super fans who camp out in front of a movie theater; a prince and a troll; and several of Rowell's characters from three of her previous novels (Fangirl, Attachments, and The Simon Snow Trilogy). The short and easy description for this collection would be 'love stories,' but the characters range in age and maturity, as well as situation and circumstance. Some are grounded in the reality we know, others are creatures from fantasy, and one guy is even imaginary.

My Verdict: As is the case with most short story collections, there are some I connected with much more than others. But the ones I did connect with were incredibly compelling. When looking for a book to read, a romantic storyline is not one of the elements I check for, so I did not expect to be too enthralled with a book of love stores. Even so, of the nine stories that Rowell offers up, two of them I found to be absolutely charming, one of them included characters from my favorite of all of her books, and one of them devastated me in a way I was not expecting. Habitual readers of love stories and romance books may be left wanting more after some of these, and really, they can find it in many of Rowell's other novels.

Favorite Story: I loved "Winter Songs for Summer." Not only is it a wonderful story, but I will always maintain that there are not enough books out there written about the college experience.

Favorite Quote: Mason: You get a lot of mail? I don't get any mail.

Reagan: I'm a homeowner with a retirement plan.

I felt this couplet of dialogue way more than I care to admit. It is just so true.

Recommended Reading: My favorite of all of Rowell's books remains to be Fangirl, though Pumpkinheads is a fantastic graphic novel, and Attachments is a great book for adults.