A+E 4Ever by ilike merey

A+E 4Ever by ilike merey
Stars: 3/5

Length: 214 pages
Blurb
Asher Machnik is a teenage boy cursed with a beautiful androgynous face. Guys punch him, girls slag him and by high school he's developed an intense fear of being touched. Art remains his only escape from an otherwise emotionally empty life. Eulalie Mason is the lonely, tough-talking dyke from school who befriends Ash. The only one to see and accept all of his sides as a loner, a fellow artist and a best friend, she's starting to wonder if ash is ever going to see all of her.... a + e 4EVER is a graphic novel set in that ambiguous crossroads where love and friendship, boy and girl, straight and gay meet. It goes where few books have ventured, into genderqueer life, where affections aren't black and white.

Overall
A touching story of high school romance that involves character growth, thoughts on sexuality and gender, and bullying. Aside from an overall enjoyment, the story had some gaping holes that left me blinking in surprise, wondering where the rest was.

Strengths
The art style won't be to everyone's liking, but the rawness felt appropriate for the characters who are edgy and fringe. The construction of the pages was sometimes hard to follow, but never confusing enough to disrupt the story or confuse the reader about what was happening. The writing and dialogue both fit well with the artistic style, unifying the elements of the book.

Some thing about the stye reminded me of Jhonen Vasquez, despite the very different topic matter.

There are strengths and weaknesses of the content of this story. Looking at it from Eu's perspective, the story feels pretty self contained and satisfying and, although I didn't really want their relationship to happen, the story and its ending pleased me. Ash's growth from the boy who won't talk into Eu's equal is interesting and dynamic. The story as a whole touches upon issues of sexuality and gender without dragging it into the main focus.

Weaknesses
Ash, who is my favorite character in the book, is too much of an enigma. The narration is mainly from Eu's perspective, but not solely, which created a sense that too much information about Ash was brought up and pushed aside. Very important information is mentioned (repeatedly) but never resolved, including potential incest, potential eating disorders, and the almost blasé way rape/pseudo-rape is handled. Ash has huge issues with being touched but after one encounter it seems to fade to the point where he can get a girlfriend.

I think my biggest issue with these gaping holes is that those elements are what made Ash so interesting and I wanted to know more about them, how they came about, and how they get resolved. Instead the story focuses more on Eu, who is okay, but not nearly as interesting. Some readers may not have a problem with the focus being on her, but most readers will probably be confused--and feel a bit cheated--by the shocking content that is brought up and never really dealt with.

Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy, an anthology

Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy, an anthology
Stars: 4.5/5

Length: 176 pages
Blurb
What does “being a guy” actually mean? Some of the most talented writers are about to show you. In this diverse and original collection of short stories, ten well-known writers, including Mo Willems, Walter Dean Myers, Ron Koertge, René Saldaña, Jr., David Levithan, and David Lubar, share their stories about the trials and tribulations of being a guy. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always honest, each story portrays the reality of being an everyday guy who gets a few life lessons and still manages to come out on top.

Overall
I really enjoyed these stories, which came from a variety of authors, most of whom I wasn't familiar with. However, while it's subtitled as "Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy," it could just as appropriately be called "Ten Short Stories About Being a Person." Because honestly, how big of a difference is there between guys and gals? Not much (beyond biologicals), since it all breaks down on an individual level. That aside, this was a good collection of stories and I think it'd be great for young "guys" to read, although I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. In answer to the blurb above's question: Being a guy is different for everyone.

Strengths
These stories had a good variation of topics that sometimes touched on heavy subjects but never lingered too long or too heavily and often the heavy subject wasn't the main focus of the story either, which was refreshing. Some of the topics include race issues, sexuality, changing friendships, family roles, and identity/cliques.

The writing was solid through out, and each author took a slightly different voice/approach, with one story presented in the form of a comic. And while each story was individual and different, there was never a jarring switch between stories, either. A good compilation.

Weaknesses
I think my biggest peeve with this book is the idea that men are so different from women that young men/boys need a guide to being a guy. As if they couldn't figure it out themselves. This annoyance is slightly placated by the fact that the stories aren't grossly "This is how you're a Man," and instead show a variety of how to be a man (or, you know, a decent human being). Feels like a sales ploy to me, much like all products "sold" to "men" or "women."

Bullied by Jeff Erno

Bullied by Jeff Erno
Stars: 5/5

Length: 158 pages
Blurb
Every day, all over the country, teenagers struggle with the realities of bullying. Tormented, ridiculed, and beaten—simply for being who they are—these teens face alienation, humiliation, and even the explicit assertion that they have somehow brought this upon themselves, that they should just blend in. Bullied is a series of short stories exploring the world of these teens from several different viewpoints: the victim, the bully, the gay bystander, the straight friend, the concerned parent.

Closeted Bryan wonders why Christian Michaelson doesn't just try to blend in if he hates being bullied so much. Star athlete David isn't a homophobe—after all, he's not afraid of anything. Jonathan, a Christian fundamentalist, must weigh the Bible against peer pressure and what he knows is right when he discovers his childhood friend is gay. Bully victim Chase Devereaux finds an unexpected ally in a brave fellow student. A single mom struggles to accept the reality that her only son is gay. Two tough gay teens are forced to confront their own inner demons when tragedy befalls a classmate they failed to help. And overweight Kirby finds the strength of character to make a friend, which leads to a lifestyle change and a chance at love. Each character grows as an individual as he or she comes to terms with what it means to be a gay teenager in America.

Overall
Let me start of with a warning: This book is written with a purpose, an agenda, and a message to get across. If you didn't know about all that from the name of the book or the blurb, then the Letter from the White House and the Introduction would give it away. If you somehow started reading without getting this point, then the amount of anti-bullying might surprise you, but really you have no one to blame but yourself.

Aside from the obvious agenda and one story, which seemed weaker than the others, I have nothing but praise for this book. It's heartfelt, saddening, and hopeful. It made me want to make a difference in the world, or at least my part of it. It made me want to support my friends instead of teasing and mocking, which comes so easily. True, its messages read like an after-school special (but with better characters, plot, dialogue, and acting), but it's not trying to hide that. I'd recommend this to most everyone, but especially saps. Saps will love this. I should know.

Blending In
A sweet story about a closeted gay student who watches horrible bullying happen to a flamboyant gay student and learns how important it is to stand up against bullying. Short, meaningful, and beautifully done. It was touching.

Chuckie
This story feels unique because it takes the point of view of the bully and not the victim. It gives a good look into the head of the bully and what drives him, and also the potential for change. While the transformation happened quickly (obviously working within a limited space), it was well handled and believable.

Saved
While this story was heavily religious, I liked that it didn't use religious beliefs as the catalyst for the bullying. Instead, people were the cause, whether they came from an uber religious background or not. Another touching story of overcoming bigoted beliefs and of standing up for a person--and for yourself.

Different
While all stories of bullying are sad, this one was truly heartbreaking in its brutal honesty. It touches upon herd/peer dynamics and the fear of being "associated" with the outsider, no matter what that outsider is. The hardest part is almost everyone will know there was a time when they didn't stand up for someone who needed it.

Invisible
A touching story of a kid who is coping with being bullied--until it escalates to public humiliation. As he tries to "man up" and "tough it out," he really just wants to be left alone and stay invisible. To live his life. The character is so real--so like any other kid--that it makes his story all the more moving. The show of his strength and the necessity of an outside force to help him, is extremely telling of everyone.

Shame
Taken from the perspective of a mother, I didn't find this story as emotionally moving, but older readers--and readers with children--may be able to better relate. It was well done, even if you want to smack the mother around (which is the point).

Kirby
Poor Kirby. Fat and gay. But this story is nice because it really makes something other than sexuality the central focus of the bullying, although it's still important. Obviously obesity (which is a childhood epidemic now, according to experts) is a major issue, both for health and psychological reasons. While I encourage people to get fit, I think this story points out the important differences in getting fit because it's expected of you and getting fit because you want to. Being pressured into getting skinny isn't going to work, in most cases. It has to be something the person really wants.

Requested this book for review.

Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris

Eight Seconds by Jean Ferris
Stars: 4.5/5

Blurb
Each ride on the bucking bull is a lesson in pain. Each landing on the packed dirt is a jarring reminder of reality. Rodeo camp is a tough way to spend a summer, but John is having the time of his life. No clingy girlfriends, no nagging moms, no annoying sisters. Just him and the guys and the biggest bulls he's ever seen. All he has to do is stay on a bull for eight seconds. It may feel like an eternity to his aching body, but for once John feels in control of his own fate. Then he learns his new rodeo buddy Kit is gay. Shaken by the news, he tries to deal with the other guys' reactions and his own self-doubts.

Suddenly, riding a bull seems easy. . . .

Overall
This is not an easy or light reading, although it's not too heavy either. It's a nice balance of story and teenage sexuality drama. Although the topic is nothing new, I feel like the way the story was handled was fresh, making it a new and interesting story. While I really enjoyed this story, I can see some people taking issue with its not-completely-happy ending. I struggled with it myself, but I felt the decisions the author made were appropriate for the story and the lessons that John learns.

Strengths
The writing is pretty easy going, matching the character, who is pretty laid back most of the time, but has a temper when his buttons are pushed. It was straight forward and well paced and overall made for an enjoyable read.

John is a likeable character, although he is flawed (he has a temper, biases, and acts like the teenager he is). But he's still a young man struggling to deal with things in his life and he acts like many teenagers do, and has to face those consequences. I think what I liked most about him is that he never complained about things being unfair or trying to take things back (even if he wishes he could). Instead he focuses on where he's at and what he needs to do—and what he should do. There are various side characters that are nice and varied, all of whom help make John who he is. I also liked Kit, even though some of the things he did/choose were just as hard to deal with as what John did/choose.

While there are some difficult things that happen in this story, and some difficult decisions that the characters make (many of which I disagree with, personally), I really enjoyed the story with its different resolution and some of the "morals" it teaches (to the main character, but not in a preachy way). I also liked the bull riding/western environment, which fit into the story without being too heavy handed in its role.

Weaknesses
Not really a weakness, but I didn't like the ending. It was handled well, and I knew it was coming because of what I read in someone else's review, but … well, you'll have to see for yourself.

The cover that I had makes it seem like the main cast is young teens when they are actually all 18 or older. While I like the set up and the emotion behind it, I think it would dissuade younger people from reading it, which is a shame.

How They Met and other stories by David Levithan

How They Met and other stories by David Levithan
Stars: 4/5

Overall
A compilation of short stories, some shorter than others, crossing between straight and gay. Some are simple, some complex, some sweet, some fun, some heart breaking and beautiful, some romantic and eternal, these stories are much like all the different forms that love takes. All the stories have a happy ending of some sort, but some of the stories aren't a romance and are about a different sort of love. The style of writing varies between tale both in writing style and format, but most stick to a traditional format. This was a cute, fun collection of short stories that often peeked into deeper emotions and made me ponder the wonders of life and love.

Although some of the stories didn't "speak to me," there were no real weaknesses among them aside from the fact that they weren't good enough to earn a five-stare score, mostly because only one of them was extremely deep and emotionally touching.

The writing was excellent, most of the characters were charming and age appropriate, and the stories were sweet. Overall a good book of good stories, nice and strong but not amazing. Book cover bumped it to 4 stars.

The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell

The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell
Stars: 4.5/5

Overall
I've had this book on my to-read list for a long time, and I kept promising myself that it would be next. But I kept putting it off because I'd heard such good things and I hate when my fantasies (no pun intended) are dashed. At one point I started it, but was distracted by a sexier, faster-moving book. I didn't know what to expect from this book going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there. Although the writing isn't amazing, it doesn't distract from the story telling either, which is vital, especially to this story.

Strengths
World building. While everything in the world was relatively simple, it was also in an odd way beautifully constructed. I loved the oligarchies with their primary and secondary abilities. I wish we could have found out more about the world (like how many people have powers? We see Green's workers, but very little else), but I'm also glad the story didn't get bogged down with trying to get too much information across even though I'd love to see more in this world!

Characters/plot. There was nice variety in the types of people that our heroes meet, and there was nice mix among the heroes. In the same vein, we had the main plot (stop the big bad) and then we had some other smaller plots that tied up in the end without overwhelming the rest of the story or distracting from the main purpose.

Resolution. I won't say much, but I like how everything turned out. It felt good.

Weaknesses
The writing is probably the weakest part of this novel, and it's by no stretch of the imagination bad. It's simple and direct, which once and a while came across clunky, but for the majority was fine. I think it worked to give the book a more "young adult" feel, and whether that was intended or not, I don't know. (Note, I'm not implying young adults can only read books with simple language, I'm just saying that it gives this book that feel.)

Points of view. While it didn't bother me like it normally does, we are once again treated to somewhat random head hopping. While I can understand the reasoning behind it, and I by all means enjoyed seeing what was happening, it was inconsistent, which pokes my button. I'm torn on the matter because it was used for some good reasons, but I also wonder if it could have been worked around. And then I think about not meeting the god of cats and I'm torn again, which is why this 'weakness' didn't diminish the score.

Sprout by Dale Peck

Sprout by Dale Peck
Stars: 4/5

Overall
I both loved and hated this book--which may leave you wondering why I still gave it 4 stars. The short answer is that the book got under my skin, and any book that really gets under my skin and has me loving and hating characters (often the same character), has to rank higher than a 3. Maybe it's a 3.5 that I bumped to a 4. We'll say I liked the cover enough to do that.

Warning, some content below may be seen as spoilers

Our narrator, Sprout, is a fun guy to listen to and lead us through the story. He's honest (in a roundabout sort of way), funny, and tells plenty of anecdotes, many in the form of essays he writes for Mrs. M. He hasn't had the worst life, but he hasn't had the best one either. It's not really a surprise that he's a little unbalanced in some elements of his life. Isn't everyone? Even the other people in the story have issues...one's in the closet, one has delusions of becoming famous, two are alcoholics (at least one is especially), and one has an abusive father.

There are so many things wrong with what happens in this story (not technically, just morally). People are so extremely people that you can't help but love and hate them. You want Sprout to come out the winner because he's the hero of this narrative, but this isn't necessarily that type of story. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself.

One part that seemed technically wrong to me is the abuse. I felt like the school wouldn't handle it that way, even if the kids refuse to talk. It also made me want to know why Sprout never said anything, never tried to convince him to admit what was going on. Maybe it's part of the Teens Don't Talk About That sort of thing, and obviously some of it needed to happen to make the story progress, but it irked me a little.

The end left me frustrated, then thoughtful, then frustrated, then worried, then frustrated...and you get the idea. It makes me want to re-read it to understand something I must have missed. If you need a resolute and happy ending every time, look elsewhere. If you're willing to fly by the seat of your pants, at least this once, then give it a shot. You may find your happy ending after all.

Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby

Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby
Stars: 2.5/5

Overall:
I probably would have ranked this book as a 2, but the author did an excellent job with the horse elements, so it earns an extra half star. Otherwise I found the novel mediocre overall, mostly due to Cleo's involvement. If the story had focused solely on Alex and been from his perspective, it would have been better.

What I liked
Alex. Perhaps the sweetest boy you've ever met. Okay, he's embarrassed by his family, but who wouldn't be? He's hardworking, quiet, tries not to complain and struggles with his place in the world. He doesn't fit in in so many ways, but he does his best to get by.

Equestrian. Most people get their horse stuff wrong in books, but this author, with her obvious horse experience, gets stuff right. It was wonderfully refreshing for a fellow equestrian. I'm not sure I buy the musical kur, which seems a bit advanced for two teens, but I suppose they are advanced riders.

Dressage Coaches. I enjoyed the two male dressage coaches. Their mixed personalities were funny and tender at all the right moments.

What didn't work
Cleo. She was annoying, self-centered, complaining all the time and lazy. If she was there to be a comparison to Alex, it didn't work. Even if she "brought Alex out of his shell" a little, I could not see them being friends. She annoyed me to the extremes. I tended to skim her chapters. Since she was half the book, it did serious damage to the quality.

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
Stars: 3/5

Overall:
A good story with a easy to get along with narrator. Although there are few surprises on the content, the way it's revealed is worth reading. One reviewer compared the novel to Girl, Interrupted, which feels like a pretty good assessment (It's been a while since I've watched that movie).

What I liked
Characters: While our leading man is struggling to deny he belongs in the mental ward, he doesn't shut down completely. We learn more about him through his interactions with others than what he actually tells us, which feels appropriate for the character and his situation. I enjoy his judgment of others and how he connects with each of them (for better or worse). All the characters were fun and individual, playing into stereotypes just as often as they fought them. Also, I loved his sister.

What didn't work
Originality. The story, as I mentioned, was very similar to Girl, Interrupted, so it wasn't the most refreshingly new angle. It had it's own story and resolution and was unique in some ways, but overall, the story felt "done." It wasn't surprising or peaked my interest in anything else, although I am interested in reading more of Ford's books.

Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley

Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley
Stars: 2.5/5

Overall:
While this is a beautifully written story with several positive points, the ending really sours the entire story for me.

What I liked
Writing. The style is unique and moving, feeling abstract and distant in many cases, which works to illustrate how the main character has become closed off (although the writing style doesn't change as he opens up.

Abuse. The main character's relationship with his father is handled well. The fear is palpable without showing any actual abuse being committed, just threats (which is enough).

What didn't work
The ending. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, I didn't read carefully enough, or it's just the style of the book, but the ending was extremely confusing. I'm not exactly sure what happened, and I'm not certain if I'm supposed to know if certain things happened. I found it frustrating to feel uncertain and confused about the ending.

Boyfriend. We have an obviously limited view of what other people think and feel, but the main characters "boyfriend" had several moments where I really disliked him. He had a girlfriend, he's hot and cold, he's almost cruel in some instances. While I can understand this logically, I never felt his behaviors were satisfactorily explained or defended. It wasn't until the end that he both ruined and redeemed himself.