The first of many...

As promised, I'm going to start reviewing things of interest to me. So if they aren't of interest to you... too damn bad. Read another blog.

Considering that I work in a library and am currently in school to become a librarian, I think it goes without saying that I check out a lot of books. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my library card, and what better way to celebrate than to talk about a great new author I discovered at my library. Her name is Sonya Sones and she writes teen fiction. I heard about her book, What My Mother Doesn't Know, during one of my classes - it's on the American Library Association's list of the top 10 most frequently challenged and banned books in 2005. I made a mental note to read that book, but I ended up reading another book of hers first, called One Of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies. Both were excellent! Totally predictable, yes, but really fun books to read. The first is about a high school freshman that falls in love, and the second is about a girl that goes to live with her movie star father after her mother dies.

What makes them special is that they are written in poems. It's almost like reading the diary of the main character, and the poems flow so well that you end up reading the book faster than you might normally have. I also read her first book, Stop Pretending, but didn't like it as much. It dealt with a much more serious topic (the main character is a young girl that must deal with her older sister having a mental breakdown), but it was obvious from the style of writing that it was a first book. The poems were choppy at times and the whole thing seemed to skip around too much. But it was still a good book, and a must-read if you become a fan of her other books. One Of Those Hideous Books Where The Mother Dies really hit home with me - not because of the mother-dying part, but because the girl was raised by a single mom, was an only child, and because I always secretly wished that my father actually cared about me, or thought about me, or that if something *shudder* happened to my mom, he would be right there to step in and be the father he never was. Fat chance of course, but it was always a nice thought. I actually cried a little at the end of this one, if that tells you anything. (Stop laughing!)

In any case, if you care at all about teen fiction, and if you're cool with reading a book written entirely in poems, give Sonya Sones a try. Her characters are realistic and fun, and the books are well-written and a quick read.

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Speaking of library fun, I'm starting a photo set on Flickr where I post pictures of things I find at the library. I don't have much on there yet, but I find weird things all the time - I just need to remember to get pictures of them. I personally love the damaged book.