I'm having the hardest time putting together the energy necessary for a well thought out post these days. I'm sure that need to focus will return shortly (it darn well better), but right now I'm stuck with some short thoughts on several recent reads and titles I've seen in catalogs. To wit:

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittinger: This was fantastic. It's a classic coming-of-age/surviving high school tale in a lot of ways but the major twist is that main character Angela has realized that she is not gay, she is transgendered and decides as the book opens to change her name to Grady and begin dressing as a boy (she has also just cut her hair). The book follows how Grady's family and best friend cope with the changes as well as how she gets through the day in school. New friends are made, new revelations discovered (about more characters then Grady) and there is much discussion about what it means to be a boy or a girl. Very very well done and highly recommended. I was thinking about putting this in a column for the fall but I don't think I can wait that long; I think it will be a stand-alone review in the next month or so. (And the cover is lovely!)

Skate by Michael Harmon: I wasn't planning to review this book and just opened it for a cursory few pages read and got hooked big time. On the surface it is a rather typical story about two brothers being raised by a single parent who is a drug addict. Not common, but we've all read YA novels with a similiar premise. Older brother Ian is having trouble in school but not of the normal variety though - he feels targeted by some teachers and members of the administration - almost like he is being pushed out. His little brother suffers from slight fetal alchohol syndrome and really needs a parent. When things explode at school Ian and Sammy hit the road in search of Dad. Finding him is one of the book's big shockers (he's not at all what readers expect) and then everything that happens when the boys head back to get Mom into rehab is just one surprise after another. The big thing for me though was the twist at the end concerning the school administration and Ian. I have never read anything like this in any YA book and I'd love to hear what others think. I don't want to spoil it but it does involve standardized testing and how those scores impact schools financially. The fact that Harmon addresses that subject in a YA novel really impressed me. This one will be part of a feature I'm putting together this summer on YA books addressing important current national topics (testing, immigration, terrorism, etc.) It's an excellent read for boys or girls but especially those struggling in school.

Gilda Joyce and the Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison: This series just gets better and better. More spunky Gildaness, more crazy outfits, a bit of growing up (her first kiss!) and more ghostly visits. What I love is that the paranormal activity is real - it's not like Nancy Drew where everything is explained. I also liked seeing Gilda's best friend Wendy take center stage for a bit this go-round and the trip to Oxford was wicked cool. (Oh how I love Oxford-based books!) My only question concerns Wendy's Asian American background and her parents' constant pushing for her to succeed. Would this be considered stereotyping? I honestly don't feel qualified to answer that question, but any Asian American authors are welcome to chime in.

Wide Awake by David Levithan: Lots of folks read and loved this book last year and I kept putting it off not sure where it would fit theme-wise. I'm finishing up a piece on teenage romance for Eclectica's summer issue though and it works perfectly there. It is a political novel, about the election in the future of the first gay Jewish president, but more than anything it is really about Duncan and Jimmy navigating the dangerous waters of high school love. Duncan needs Jimmy more, he thinks, then Jimmy needs him and it's so honest and real to read about these two guys trying to make everything work as they sit in the middle of one of the biggest political moments in US history. I liked that they were struggling to fit each other (and their images of each other) into the larger picture of their need to take part in the political moment. It's a very smart look at teen romance and I loved it. (No surprise there, but I'm happy to not be disappointed.)

I just received the Harcourt fall catalogs for kids and I'm wondering why we keep seeing so many books published about WW2. There's a Holocaust story about a young Polish boy, a Norwegian resistance story and a French resistance story. I'm all for loving history (History major, remember?!) but why is it always this same damn war? What about a resistance story for Korea or Vietnam or Cambodia or the Balkans or Rwanda or the Sudan or Gaza? (And don't even get me started on Afghanistan and Iraq.) Western teens are so stuck in a western-centric way of learning history and so stunted when it comes to the rest of the world. When I got a book a couple of weeks agon on a kid involved with the Shining Path, I almost fell over. (And yes, it's on tap for reviewing.)

I'm fine with books on WW2 and I'm not suggesting we forget the Holocaust (please) but it would be nice if things evened out a bit more. I know I for one would love to read something different when it comes to war fiction.

I also received the new Thursday Next book and the new Anita Blake, both on Tuesday. (While I'm grateful, I have to wonder why publicists send out a book like the Anita Blake - it's going to sell a bazillion copies with or without my help. Why bother?) This was the universe's way of telling me to take it easy, I'm sure. After hearing Gwenda sing the praises of Always though, that one just jumped to the top of my list. I'm having trouble getting back into my serious nonfiction these days - maybe it's a summer thing, but I'm enjoying the fiction. I think the Arctic stuff is going to have a wait a little while.....