Ana's Story by Jenna Bush

I'll admit my hesitation to read this one - politics and pleasure reading aren't a good mix for me. My main pause came from seeing that the book was authored by Jenna Bush, and rose from the experiences she had as an intern for UNICEF. I was deeply afraid that I was in for heavy handed political motives.

I was pleasantly surprised (there is something to be said for low expectations!) The story, billed as a "narrative nonfiction" by the author ( in librarian land it is cataloged in 362.196 next to the AIDS titles and memoirs), introduces Ana, and young girl who is HIV positive living in relative poverty in Latin America.

Ana's story is compelling - her struggles are at times universal (love, dating, family) and at times painfully too familiar in a female world (HIV, abuse, molestation, teen pregnancy). Ana's circumstances and the resources available to her are very grounded in the Latin American culture in which she lives - and Ana is a fairly fresh voice in YA lit, very grounded and at times too mature for her age because of the life she has lived. Some of Bush's comments make it obvious that her reflections come from outside the culture - but there is a clear connection to Ana- perhaps of the similarities of the overall female condition (particularly the culture of "silence" and secrets) in the world that comes through tenderly.

Not by any means the best book I've read in recent times, but worth the time to read and definitely a unique female voice relaying with sensitivity both the difficulties of life in other parts of the world and the culture and concerns of HIV/AIDS patients - something that is underrepresented in YA lit.

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan

Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan

Maya has only a few memories left of her mother – since her parent’s death she’s been living with her rigid and controlling grandmother. Her grandmother blames Maya’s mother for causing her son’s death and does everything she can to crush any sign of “wildness” from Maya. Maya believes her mother’s family has forgotten her or doesn’t want to see her until her grandmother suddenly dies and she realizes that her grandmother was the one who broke off the contact.

Sent to live with her aunt and uncles in Wyoming, Maya must try to reconcile her memories and the reality of the having real family. She’s spent so long avoiding people and creating lies to color her world that fitting in is a struggle. Her fate is intertwined with a wild horse, Artemisia, which used to belong to her mother. Artemisia’s separated from her herd and is desperate to protect her young foal. As Maya and Artemisia grow closer to the point where their lives intertwine, both must decide on a path to survive and find hope.

There’s so much more to this story than the standard “horse” fair that young girls love – a very satisfying read.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

So... vampires are popular right now, this shouldn't be a surprise. Its up in the air as to what started it - was is Buffy? Was it the books from the last 5-10 years from folks like Stephanie Meyer, Amelia Atwater Rhodes, Melissa De La Cruz, Darren Shan? So far we've seen vampire action, vampire love, vampire hunting... now enter... vampire cooking. (There was a quasi vampire cooking-baking cross over with Sunshine by Robin McKinley)

Don't get me wrong, I groaned when I read the back of the advanced readers copy (thank you publishers... the finished cover is MUCH better than the AR) - I thought perhaps vampire campiness had gone too far. However, the reality was much better than my jaded mind allowed me - and this was skepticism born of really, really loving teen horror - even the mixed sub genre in there of horror-romance.

Quincie hasn't and still isn't living an easy life; her parents died several years ago, her younger uncle is nice - but not a real adult presence in her life, on the eve of reopening her family restaurant with a hot "vampire themed" menu and atmosphere one of her closest adult friends and mentors (and head chef at the restaurant) is murdered, and Kieran, her half-werewolf/wished for boyfriend, is about to leave to join a werewolf pack - and most likely leave her life forever.

Enter Henry Johnson, average Joe, and newly hired as head chef - unfortunately for Quincie, he doesn't exactly fit the bill as "Dark Lord" of the restaurant. Can she convincingly pass him off as a vampire and successfully reopen the restaurant, are the murders after more than she originally thought, and beyond that... is it possible that Kieran is the murderer? Or, another possibility, did a real vampire find the idea of her themed restaurant too much to resist?