January 2020 has been a phenomenal month for me in terms of young adult fiction! I have read so many books this month that have spoken to me on one level or another. I had to put in a lot of thought in order to choose my Top 5 YA Reads for January, and even though I made a decision, there were quite a few that were right up there near the top with these. There is no order to the books below, they were all fabulous in one way or another, so they are all the "TOP" read.
The Tenth Girl
by Sara Faring
CATEGORY: BOTH
The Tenth Girl is a story that will pull you in, keep you guessing, and then blow you away with its plot twist. I chose this one because it was described as a gothic thriller and it had been quite awhile since I had read one of those. Plus, the blurb on the back of the book was intriguing:
“A haunted Argentinian mansion. A family curse. A twist you’ll never see coming. Welcome to Vaccaro School.”
The year is 1977 and Mavi, a teenager from Buenos Aires, has been hired to teach English at the renowned Vaccaro School - a finishing school for young girls located in the isolated southern tip of Argentina. Legend has it that the Vaccaro School is cursed, and that all who live there will eventually succumb to illness or madness.
The year was 2020 and Angel, a typical 21st century teen has become an 'Other' - one of the creatures that exists at the Vaccaro School in 1977 and feeds on its residents' dreams. But Angel isn't like the rest of the Others. He seems to have a conscience, and he wants to understand what is going on at the school. Once he figures out how to possess the living, he enters the body of Dom and befriends Mavi, gaining her trust.
But things aren't always what they seem at the Vaccaro School, and Mavi and Angel need to figure out how to save the residents before the Others destroy it all.
The thing about this story, is that it keeps you guessing. It is intricately woven, keeping your mind moving in all sorts of directions except the right one. Author Sara Faring did an excellent job of creating a twist that will shock the reader. This is one that I will be rereading again in order to hopefully catch clues and twists I may have missed in the first read.
Recommended Grade Levels: 9th and Up
War Girls
by Tochi Onyebuchi
CATEGORY: BOTH & CURRICULUM
War Girls takes a hard look at the atrocities of war. It is intense, fast-paced, and - at times - completely horrifying. Child soldiers, bloody battles, death, augmented humans, torture, and more are all shown in brutal detail as the story of two strong young women unfolds.
Onyii and Ify are war sisters, completely dedicated to each other and the Biafran cause. When their village is attacked by the Nigerians, the girls are separated and their lives are drastically changed forever. Onyii, grieving the death of Ify, becomes the 'Demon of Biafra,' the most brutal and feared warrior in the Biafran army. Ify, taken by the Nigerians and under the belief that Onyii died in the raid, learns that she is not Biafran and that her entire Nigerian family was killed in a Biafran raid when she was a small child. The sisters are set on a collision course by unseen forces as they learn more about the war, their world, and what they must do in order to survive it.
Author Tochi Onyebuchi is the son of Nigerian immigrants and he is very clear in his Afterward, that the main reason he created this story is to hopefully bring to light the atrocities that have been committed in Nigeria throughout the years, from the Biafran War in the late 1960's to the uprisings and militias that have sprung up ever since. Even though the story is technically a Science Fiction story (it is set over 100 years in the future on an Earth where space colonization has begun), it is very relatable to today's world. The issues the sisters face are issues that many Nigerians face today. After reading the story and the author's Afterward, I felt the need to go and research the actual Biafran War, and I think any story that sparks the reader's curiosity is one to appreciate.
Recommended Grade Levels: 9th and Up
Grimoire Noir
by Vera Greentea
Category: SCHOOL
I fell in love with this graphic novel. The artwork is gorgeous and the story is one that reminds me an old-timey suspense thriller, which I'm assuming is on purpose considering the title is Grimoire Noir. The art is done in very muted tones, reminiscent of an old black-and-white film. The main character, Bucky, is a teenager who runs around dressed - and acting - like a young Sam Spade. It is a graphic novel that I think a lot of teens - especially ones who are interested in art and technique - would enjoy.
The town of Blackwell has a secret from the outside world - all the girls born in Blackwell are witches. In order to keep the witches - and the outside world - safe, a spell was cast that prevents all the girls born in the town from ever leaving. Bucky Orson is the son of the town's sheriff, and older brother to a very talented little witch who has the power to amplify the powers of others. When his sister goes missing, Bucky has to take the investigation into his own hands to figure out what happened and save her and his town.
The mystery that unfolds throughout the story expands from a simple missing person case to a search for what powers the magical aspects of Blackwell. There are witches in Blackwell who just want to live their lives and bring the townspeople joy, and there are ones who have darker motives. I am hoping there will be a sequel to the story. It is wrapped up by the end, but the author left enough hints and room for there to be more.
Recommended Grade Levels: 8th and Up
All the Things We Do in the Dark
by Saundra Mitchell
Category: SCHOOL
This story is labeled as a mystery/thriller - who is the dead girl? who killed her? - but at its heart, it is a story of a young girl (17-year-old Ava) who is suffering from PTSD due to being raped when she was 9-years-old and left with not only mental scars but a very prominent physical one down the side of her face. Every time she looks in the mirror she is reminded of what happened to her. Every time someone asks about her scar - or looks away from her because of it - she is reminded of what happened.
Since the rape, she has created a safe world for herself - she goes to school, she goes to the tattoo parlor, she goes to her best friend's house and she goes to her home. She doesn't push the limits, she doesn't push her curfew, and she is SAFE in this little encapsulated world she and her mother have created for her.
Told in first person, as the reader, you are pulled into her world and her thoughts & feelings. She is a very self-aware teen, but she is also a very damaged (and I don't use that world lightly) one. As she spirals, falls, and then finds her footing, you are there with her. Even as she begins to question her sanity (she is after all seeing the ghost of the dead girl she found in the woods - and the ghost is TALKING to her), she is searching for a way to pull herself together and fix the issue.
It is a heartbreaking yet empowering journey, one that the author Saundra Mitchell (a rape survivor herself) handles beautifully. She doesn't shy away from the sensitive topic, but faces it straight on. And throughout the entire book, she repeatedly states that rape, no matter if you are young or old, is NEVER the victims fault.
Ava is a character that I think quite a few people will be able to relate to. And the story is one that I think is important for people to read, as it could really help those who have never experienced rape themselves, understand that, as Mitchell stresses, it is something that lasts
a lifetime for the victim.
Recommended Grade Levels: 10th and Up
The Grace Year
by Kim Liggett
Category: SCHOOL
An intense take on a world where the women (who out number the men 3-to-1) are oppressed by their own superstitions and ceremonies, where women are willing to commit atrocities against each other in the name of their 'magic' and where men are willing to sacrifice their wives and children in order to remain in control. It's a brutal picture, and unfortunately, all too believable.
"I want to believe we can be different, but when I look around the church, at the women comparing the length of their braids, reveling in another woman's punishment, scheming and clawing for every inch of position, I can't help thinking the men might be right. Maybe we're incapable of more. Maybe without the confines placed upon us, we'd rip each other to shreds, like a pack of outskirt dogs."
Tierney is a character that is tough as nails and yet vulnerable at the same time. She has her own beliefs when it comes to the customs and practices of the adults in her town and she dreams (literally) of change. But how do you bring about change when even the mention of it could brand you as a heretic and send you to the stake? When even your family can't be trusted to help you, who do you turn to?
The ending of the story feels almost anti-climactic when compared to some of the scenes from the story, but it is an ending that I agree with. I think it is an appropriate ending, even if it is one that is somewhat hard to swallow.
The Afterward portion of the audiobook is one that I highly recommend listening to. The narrator is in discussion with the author, Kim Liggett, and it gives a detailed description of WHERE the idea for the book came from and its impact on Liggett as she wrote it. The emotion is sincere from both when as they discussion the hardships of being a woman, both in the story and in real life.
Recommended Grade Levels: 9th and Up
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