If you had any doubts before, pick up some of Laurie Halse Anderson's titles – her now-classic Speak and Wintergirls, to start – and you can't help but realize that today's high schools can be utter hell. [You could also go check out the new...
Most teenagers seem to go through that 'I-hate-my-parents'-phase ...
To better appreciate this biography of tennis legend Arthur Ashe – first-ever African American Grand Slam champion, #1 tennis champion in the world – read it backwards. That is, turn to the back and first read the "Author's Note" on the last page. Why? Because author Crystal Hubbard...
Who knew blood and gore could fly off a printed page? The opening three-volume compendium of this international bestseller showcases some of the most graphic (pardon the pun) violence in pen and ink … don’t read this alone at night. Those unblinking corpses hacked to...
I'm not so sure about my tween son reading this sooner than later (it's part of his English curriculum this school year) ...
If you're of a certain age (like me), you probably still remember some of the titles that made you wide-eyed those many decades ago ...
Natsume Ono is one versatile manga artist. She can go from contemporary lost souls (not simple) to an estranged mother/daughter relationship (Ristorante Paradiso) to a cozy Italian restaurant (Gente) and then effortlessly tackle feudal Japan's wandering warriors. Welcome to the uncertain world of Akitsu Masanosuke who...
While the story of abandoned Nicoletta in search of her wayward mother was a single-volume deal fully contained in Ristorante Paradiso, the staff of said Ristorante, the charming Casetta dell'Orso, merit their very own series. And why not ...
Nicoletta arrives in Rome with a very specific goal: she's determined to confront the mother who abandoned her 15 years ago. The reason her mother gave then remains just as inexcusable now: "'There's a man I'm destined to be with. But he'll never marry a...
Words of warning ...
Two things are keeping me up at nights ...
At 40, Shizuo Oguro lives with his cranky father, his helpful teenage daughter, and has had the same job for 15 years. He couldn't exactly say "what was wrong with [his] life." But his sudden need to "find [him]self" means quitting his job, starting up...
Tending toward contrary (ahem!) means I can't seem to read ubiquitous bestsellers when everyone else does. Nope, haven't read a single Stieg Larsson (one the last hold-outs, I'm sure) or Evanovich or Cussler or Patterson. I know, like an ostrich am I. So while Time Traveler's Wife was...
In spite of the "A Work of Fiction" disclaimer on one of the front pages of Tim O'Brien's Vietnam War classic, you'll probably close the book believing every word contained between the covers to be true. That O'Brien the author names his narrator Tim O'Brien...
I rarely ever say this: skip the book, and go see the film version of The Blind Side (which got Sandra Bullock her much-deserved Oscar win). The story of Michael Oher – a massive young man estranged from his addict mother, his dysfunctional siblings, and lost to...
What timing ...
As I discovered manga in so-called mid-life, I'm especially illiterate in the shōjo genre – manga marketed specifically to young girls ages 10 to 18-ish with pages that seem to show a plethora of starry eyes, fluffy costumes, talking animals and such. The Japanese characters for 'shō-jo'...
True stories about kids with tragic endings are undoubtedly effective in fueling parents' worst nightmares. This one proves especially haunting. Six years ago today, "Yummy" Sandifer made the cover of Time magazine. Along with his mugshot were the words, "The Short, Violent Life of Robert 'Yummy'...
Marcelo marks quite a memorable moment in our family's dynamics: For the first time ever, our daughter actually shut us out with her headphones (I realize it's coming relatively late in modern teenage life), demanding that she be able to finish this book right now (it was...
María Luz's family is in trouble. Their land in the hills of Honduras, which provides them with the corn and beans they need to live, has "lost its goodness." In order for the family to survive, María Luz's father must leave home and find work....
