Flash Burnout

Young Adult Fiction seems to be my main source of reading material recently; when I have more time, I'll read and report on either more classic literature, or something new and controversial. In the meantime, here's a quick and colorful book. It's called Flash Burnout, by L. K. Madigan. The main character is a guy in high school who's also the narrator, which is why I say it's colorful; his thoughts are what I imagine actually goes through the heads of the guys around me. If you're too young, too old, or too sheltered, you might have to Urban Dictionary some of the terms he uses.

This whole book is tied together by photography, which is the narrator/protagonist's passion. In the story, his best female friend is having trouble with her mother, a meth addict, and things are heating up with his high-maintenance girl friend. He's a pretty normal kid, and the book is fun to read, although the plot probably won't get your heart racing too often. It's written by a woman (this took extensive research to find out, since nothing in the book specified) so all it tells us is that all women (well, okay, me and her) assume the most of the same things about the thoughts and feelings of teen guys.

The one thing I got out of reading this, to be honest, was a really strong desire to either take up photography or befriend someone who already has. Or both. But if you need some entertainment, I'd recommend Flash Burnout.

You Are What You Hear

Candor, by Pam Bachorz, is a supremely creepy book. It's about a boy who lives in a special town that his father founded, where music containing subliminal messages is used to control the people who live there. Catchy phrases turn them into loose-clothing-wearing, healthy-food-eating, nonartistic, avidly academic individuals. No one wears eye makeup or nailpolish or holds hands in public, and teenagers never drink alcohol or make out in movie theatres. And if they ever leave and forget to take some of the special music with them, they will go insane and die a violent suicidal death. Oscar, the protagonist, has found a way to outsmart his father, but he's still stuck in this strange microcosm, with questions of love, control and honesty to confront. The entire book was full of suspense - will he escape? Will anyone escape? Will they all be brainwashed by the evil Mr. Banks, with no hope of free thought?

Clearly Bachorz believes that a) the media can affect us without our realization and b) our music, and the messages it contains, can define who we are. I agree that the words in songs, as well as the pictures and articles in magazines and the things we see on TV, can change both our perception and our goals more than we expect, but I think villainizing music is a pretty strong exageration of this concept. Then again, maybe the exageration is necessary to catch our attention.

Crooked, Zipped, and Crushed

These are three seperate books, by one married couple of authors. They aren't a series, but they are all "young adult" books, and they're all about pretty normal American teenagers. If I were a guy, I would probably be most interested in Zipped and least interested in Crushed, but if you like one of these, you'll probably like all of them.




Crooked was the first book I read by Laura and Tom McNeal, and it's about a girl with a crooked nose and no mother. There's a bad guy and a good guy who sometimes seem to change roles, and a really bad guy. Reading it felt like moving to a new town and getting to know new people, only probably a bit more exciting. The characters were all "round" characters, as my English teacher calls them, and I liked it a lot. This one gets 4.5 outta 5 stars.

Zipped was mainly told from a guy's point of view. It was full of questions and matters of perspective and identity, covering everything from adultery to racism to Mormon culture. It had one of the best quotes-within-a-story I've ever come across when two characters discuss the lyrics of a showtune, and no one was completely bad or completely good. 4 stars.

I honestly didn't want to read Crushed, but I liked the other two books enough to try it, and it wasn't terrible. Everyone it it was dealing with loss, whether that involved money, friends, family, or some combination thereof, and it was honestly pretty interesting. The characters, though, all seemed either naive or distrustworthy, except a few nice ones, who's importance levels fell somewhere between benchwarmers and supporting actors. So everyone likable was basically a "flat character". I think I should have stopped after Zipped, but this book isn't a total waste of time. 3 stars.

Has anyone else read any of these? Would you want to? Does the label "Young Adult Literature" affect whether or not you want to?

The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks

This book seems, at first, like one of those silly Gossip Girl-type books where everyone is wealthy, and the main character suddenly becomes popular when she becomes pretty. Actually, though, it's a book about society's expectations, feminism, and being underestimated.

The main character's name is Frankie-Landau Banks, and she attends a fancy East Coast prep school where mostly everyone is smart and wealthy. She isn't exactly a feminist, but she is very bothered by the fact that everyone in her life underestimates her. Her family calls her "bunny-rabbit", and no one notices her until she goes up a few bra-sizes.

Once that happens, though, all of the guys suddenly notice her, and the most popular guy in school asks her out. They still don't take her seriously, though. The author explains how Frankie wants to be "a force to be reckoned with," and she does this by infiltrating the all-male Basset Hound Society, an old and secretive society of the most popular upperclassmen at her prep school, of which her boyfriend is president. Once she realizes that secrets are being kept from her, and that she is second fiddle to her boyfriend's friends, she becomes determined to prove all of the low expectations wrong. She succeeds in her efforts, and everyone realizes that she matters. Naturally, though, her boyfriend holds this against her, and she suddenly is left with only her nerdy best friend as a social circle.

The author, E. Lockhart, clearly sets forth a societal conflict: can a woman be successful and popular? Frankie is beautiful, smart, wealthy, charming, and generally a nice person, yet is hated as soon as she outsmarts a few people. She constantly compares herself to guys, wants to beat them at things and have what they have, but also wants them to want her. It seems reasonable to want respect and love from people at the same time, but Frankie's situation is a common one in life. I'll say right of the bat that I don't know anything about politics or politicians, but I find it offensive that Hillary Clinton, when running for a presidential election, was mocked for things like lipstick choices and her appearance. Michelle Obama is a smart, accomplished person who is important in many ways, yet the public is fixated on her shapely arms and cute dresses. This sort of thing is exactly what Frankie stands up against; if you are going to admire someone, admire them for who they are, not what they look like. And if you're going to criticize a politician, you had better have something against her other than her gender.

This book is relatively simple in message: if you're a girl, don't be a doormat. Whoever you are, don't underestimate girls. If you can't join 'em, beat 'em, but if you succeed you will definitely not be able to join 'em.

Book Three: Paper Towns

If you have any spare time on your hands, this is probably the first book you should read. Technically it's Young Adult Fiction, but no matter how old you are, it's fabulous!

This is a book by my favorite author, John Green, who I got to meet a few months ago. I was lucky enough to have lunch with him, and he was as funny, smart, and self-depreciating as I expected him to be after reading his books.

This book, paper towns, is about a nerdy guy, a fabulous, mysterious girl, and their adventures together in the space of a few weeks. There are revenge pranks, all-nighters, and a road trip, and it all takes place at the end of senior year in high school. Reading it makes you want to be the characters, but it also makes you think. John Green attacks various archetypes, stereotypes, and preconcieved ideas, the kinds that we all carry around with us. If you don't know what an archetype is, though, you can still enjoy this book... the characters are cool and the plot's exciting, and it's honestly a really funny book.

Because I actually want you to read this book, as opposed to keep your distance (see Book One), I'm not going to give away the plot, the ending, or what I think the message is. And John Green, if you're reading this, you are So Damn Cool and it was great to meet you!