Teenage Lexicon

Honey Butter is one of those rare books that is pure magic. I don’t think any words I write can accurately capture the essence of this story, but I can certainly try to find some. Warning: (mild) spoilers ahead! The premise of the book—a somewhat overlooked child finding solace in paint chips—is endearing. Jamie is such a beautiful, well-written character. Like any seven-year-old, she is naïve, slightly aloof, and has a wondrous imagination. She makes mistakes, but she has such a good heart. The reader knows Jamie within a few pages. It is impossible to meet Jamie and not smile at least once a chapter. Laren is also a wonderful, detailed character. She remains remarkably positive, regardless of the troubles she’s endured. Jamie is entranced by her, and the sister-like relationship that emerges goes beyond heartwarming.  The setting—and the language describing it—can only be described by “ebullient ”, as Laren would say. The summertime vibes are so strong—I wanted...

Love and the Sea and Everything in Between by Brian McBride is not for the faint of heart. It deals with very difficult subjects, but it does so wonderfully. WARNING: Spoilers ahead! And mentions of suicide, depression, and assault.  Let’s start with characters, whom I loved. Adam and Liz weren’t perfect. They made mistakes, and they hurt each other because they were hurting themselves. The reader really feels as if they know Adam and Liz. I do wish we could have had a bit more exploration of Jeremiah and Oliver, though. Though the letter that Jeremiah gives to Adam towards the end does give a lot more insight into his character, we may have been able to understand his and Adam’s fallout better and sooner in the story, which may have made his confrontation with Liz a bit more emotional. (Though that scene was very emotional; it was one of my favorite scenes.) The setting was also extremely vibrant. Although I’ll admit that I’ve never been to San Francisco, it’s o...

Why Not YA is all about bringing attention to an inarguably underrated genre. Because YA (young adult) fiction is geared towards somewhat younger readers, a stigma surrounds it: can what YA has to say really be of any value?  The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan dares you to change your mind and will infallibly succeed.  Warning: This book deals with some heavy topics like suicide and depression, and this review may mention those topics. Second warning: SPOILERS AHEAD! Leigh has just lost her mother to suicide. This book follows her as she travels across the world to meet her maternal grandparents, whom she has never met before. While in Taiwan, she pieces together her family’s history from fragments of memories she can’t quite remember. She doesn’t know anything except that her mother has turned into a bird. This book pushes the boundaries of metaphor, and it does so wonderfully. Leigh feels in colors; Pan illustrates these colors with vivi...

It’s difficult to write a book like The Flames that Corrupt Us. Stories that take place in intricate universes tend to lack in either world-building or character development. Isabel Jordan has woven a story that doesn’t lack either. Warning: spoilers ahead! From the very first encounter, you are pulled into the Valley. You take that plane with Insley and Andrew through the hole in the sky, and you are there . This level of world-building surpasses some from adult authors, yet Jordan has struck genius. I cannot fathom the depth of her imagination. She details what can best be described as augmented reality: she strikes a balance between magic, science, and reality with delicacy. Her world doesn’t rely on any one aspect—it’s extraordinarily balanced. But the focus on world-building doesn’t distract from characterization. Insley and Andrew are especially developed; their tenacity is astounding without defying normal fourteen-year-old tendencies. They embark on this jour...

While I only gave the book three stars, the Dumplin’ movie deserves all five stars. I cannot get over how fantastic this movie was. Warning: Spoilers ahead! I loved Will’s character in the movie, whereas I wasn’t her greatest fan in the book. This Will, played by Danielle Macdonald, had a very strong, consistent, and lively character. She had her flaws, but she worked through them and apologized for them, much better than book Will did.  Bo, portrayed by Luke Benward, wasn’t toxic at all. He was so much happier than book Bo; he was no where near as moody or strong-and-silent, and I liked him so much more.  And Mitch didn’t exist in the movie, so it did away with the love triangle, which refocused the movie back onto the message the story was always meant to convey. I think this was my absolute favorite thing about it. Hannah, Millie, and El were also more developed. Rosie was wonderful. Even Lucy, in the few scenes we saw her, was vivacious. All of the act...

SPOILER ALERT! I went into Dumplin’ expecting a strong narrative voice, tons of body positivity, and a quick-paced pageant revolution. That’s not really what I got. I do love the message it attempts to convey: One should not be expected to change themselves to be liked or accepted by other people. Willowdean (and Julie Murphy) excel at this for the first few chapters. I run into some issues when Will starts to veer away from this mindset when Bo Larson comes into her life. Yes, Will is a teenager, and yes, teenagers are often swayed by the objects of their affection. But Will’s personality (and inner monologue) are demolished by Bo, and he doesn’t really do anything to instigate it. He touches her back, and I understand how that can be uncomfortable and formative for some people, but from that point on, Will’s whole character seems to have shifted. She is extremely inconsistent with the girl we meet in the first chapter, and not because she’s developed; she’s regresse...

I’ve got some hobbies that are pretty unusual. I like watercolor painting, I work at a science museum, and—of course—I’ve written two novels and a bunch of short stories. It’s great to have a character who does interesting things. In fact, it really can set your character apart from others.  However, have you ever met a character who's a little too unique? That they’re so quirky and original and not like everyone else that they just seem like a person who could only exist in YA fiction? I’m sure a couple of characters come to mind. It’s totally cool if your character is into Russian folk art. But then maybe she shouldn’t be named Magnolia Wren Davidson, have violet hair and vibrant green eyes, and burst into Emerson quotes at inopportune moments. Having too many things that make your characters special can ruin the verisimilitude.  As much as we like to believe that all of us are eccentric, it's just not true. The vast majority of us are pretty normal. Tho...