The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin 343 pages

This book was so amazing.  I try to read a few chapters of all our new books, just so I can speak knowledgeably about them to our young patrons.  I couldn't put this one down.  The story is about a girl, Suzy, who is just in the first part of seventh grade who decided to stop speaking.  She states that small talk amounts to nothing, so she may as well say nothing to begin with.  Suzy notices that she becomes nearly invisible, a fact she thinks very interesting...do we see more with our ears than our eyes, she wonders?  The main part of the story, though is her moving through a heavy guilt and grief.  You don't find out until near the middle of the book why she feels guilty, but the grief is due to her best friend drowning while on vacation.  Suzy hates that because of something she did the last image she has of her friend was Franny walking away in tears.  Suzy doesn't want to be the bad guy in this story and becomes fixated with finding out if perhaps a jellyfish sting is really responsible for the drowning.  There were several points in this story where I felt for this kid so much, I was crying.  The author did an excellent job of giving this character a believable voice and a realistic story.  No one was over the top mean, or precocious, or exuberant.  It was a very believable story, which was why it was so moving.  I highly recommend this to all ages, but probably 5th grade and up will appreciate it the most.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty, 388 pages

Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite chick lit authors.  This is, I believe, the second book she wrote.  It was good, but not as good as her other books.  However, I learned a handy new phrase that I hope to remember "Stuffed it up, Buttercup." 

The book is set on Scribbly Gum Island, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.  Over 70 years ago a two-week old baby was found in a deserted house by two teenage sisters.  The parents, Alice and Jack Munro, had simply disappeared.  Those two sisters turned the Munro Baby Mystery into a lucrative tourist business.  The baby, they named Enigma, is now a grandmother and they all still live on the island, along with extended family. 

There are many things happening in the book.  We have aging, postpartum depression, biological clocks, nut allergies, body image issues, discovering oneself. . . . The characters weren't as dynamic as in some of Ms. Moriarty's other books but as I said, all worth it because of the fun new phrase I learned.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, 304 pages

I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. I read "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Boy 21" which are also by Matthew Quick and enjoyed them. I saw this book on the shelf at the library and the cover drew me in. (That happens to me a lot. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but really artistic ones appeal to me for some reason.)

This is the story of Leonard Peacock, a young man in high school who has decided to end his life and that of a middle school friend who has turned into a high school tormentor. He plans to do this on his birthday after giving gifts to a few people who are meaningful to him. The story plays out over the course of this day.

The main character's voice was engaging. Leonard is a kid who is sarcastic and funny and also deeply hurting. He reveals his story both in real time and flashbacks over the course of the day he has chosen to end his life. I found this to be an engaging read although the ending of the book seemed odd to me. As if the author stopped twenty or thirty pages too soon.

Regardless of that, the book that delves into the psyche of a teenager battling depression who has decided that life is too much for him and I give Matthew Quick kudos for how well he presented the character. However, I was disappointed in the strangely abrupt ending of the novel. I believe there was an attempt at ambiguity but as far as I'm concerned, it fell short.

2.5 out of 5 stars from Ethan

Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci L. Jones 200 pages

This book is a nominee for the Truman award this year.  It was an excellent handling of a very sensitive subject.  The story centers around a young girl whose father suffers from severe depression.  Her mother always held the family together and helped them coast over his bouts of depression, but we join the family 11 months after the car wreck that killed her.  Now the burden is all on Serena's 12-year-old shoulders.  Her little brother doesn't seem to understand the permanence of their mother's absence and her father has completely withdrawn from the world.  The bright spot is that Serena lands the lead in the school's production of The Wiz.  As I say, this is a beautiful and sensitive telling of Serena's day to day life, trying to keep what's left of her family afloat.  It was sadly realistic, but not depressing, believe it or not.  Serena was such a lovely character and completely believable.  I highly recommend this book, not just for the 6th-8th graders, but 4th grade to adult.  It is not heavy handed, but very thoughtful.