Staff Picks: Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Legranis

In the last year, several young adult novels that explore the experience of veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan., but none quite so heart-wrenching as Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Legranis.

Told in three parts—before, during, and after—this is the story of a young man who decides to enlist in the army reserves after high school, though he had opportunities elsewhere and is leaving behind a loving family, his autistic brother, his best friend, and his fiancee. When he suffers traumatic brain injury after an IED explosion, he is in a coma for several months and when he wakes up, doesn’t remember anything about his past. Though the story revolves around his accident and recovery, it’s more about how his deployment and condition change the lives of everyone who cares about him. Read More..

Teen Picks: “Flipped” by Wendelin Van Draanen

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

What is it about?  Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. Read More..

Teen Picks: “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” by John Green & David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

What is it about? One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

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Teen Picks: “Charly’s Epic Fiascos” by Kelli London

Charly’s Epic Fiascos by Kelli London 

What is it about?
Charly St. James is a famous television star that is living it up in the Big Apple…Or, at least, she will be. If she can escape from Bridgette, her lazy mother who steals all her money to spend gambling, and get to New York City in time to be cast in the auditions for a new reality T.V. show. Seems a little impossible, right? Not for Charly. She is game for anything if it means achieving her dreams. Even if it includes leaving behind all her friends and her sister Stormy, getting her money stolen countless times, crashing a car, sneaking into an audition, and overall turning her life into one, big fiasco!

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Staff Picks: “Personal Effects” by E. M. Kokie

Personal Effects by E. M. Kokie gets you in your heart with its very simple and real story. Matt is full of anger. Frustration. Even young men who have not experienced the devastating loss of a brother dying during combat will relate to this character.

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Staff Picks:” Fingerprints of You” by Kristen-Paige Madonia

Admittedly, I was drawn to the book because of the gorgeous tattoo cover art (I admit that I tend to judge books by their covers). After reading, I was pleased to discover that Kristen-Paige Madonia’s debut, Fingerprints of You, is an excellent example of the rare category of YA literary fiction.

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