Weekly Reads: Noggin

Noggin was one of my most anticipated young adult books of the spring, and I actually shrieked outloud when it came in for me at my library. It's currently my favorite book cover of the year (so far). It's fabulous right?? It's also on the list of Mock Printz books that my book club is reading in anticipation of our Mock Printz discussion in July.

This book read as a realistic fiction book (minus the whole cryogenically frozen head attached to another person's body). But seriously. It dealt with typical teen issues--relationships, family stuff, just existing as a teen. It was a really great read.

My rating: 4 stars

Summary from goodreads:

Listen — Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t.

Now he’s alive again.

Simple as that.

The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but he can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped off and shoved into a freezer in Denver, Colorado. Five years later, it was reattached to some other guy’s body, and well, here he is. Despite all logic, he’s still 16 and everything and everyone around him has changed. That includes his bedroom, his parents, his best friend, and his girlfriend. Or maybe she’s not his girlfriend anymore? That’s a bit fuzzy too.

Looks like if the new Travis and the old Travis are ever going to find a way to exist together, then there are going to be a few more scars.

Oh well, you only live twice.

Weekly Reads: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is another book on our Mock Printz reading list and is by the same author who wrote Silver Linings Playbook. The book starts out with Leonard Peacock waking up on his 18th birthday with the intention of killing Asher Beal and himself before the day is over. Yet from the get-go, Quick crafts the story so that you are sympathetic toward Leonard and are pulling for him to fail his quest by revealing small pieces of Leonard's very large story. This is a must read.  IMO a Printz Honor, possibly.

My rating: 4.5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I'm sorry I couldn't be more than I was—that I couldn't stick around—and that what's going to happen today isn't their fault.

Today is Leonard Peacock's birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather's P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school's class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out.

Weekly Reads: Two Boys Kissing

Two Boys Kissing is the newest book from one of my favorite authors, David Levithan. This title is on my list of Mock Printz books that I'm working my way through and I had been chomping at the bit to get my hands on it to devour it. It did not disappoint. Awws, lol moments, and inevitable sobs it was a truly great read. My immediate response upon finishing was how lucky today's teens are to have quality books like this, especially those that are struggling with being different, or those that need to be more compassionate and understanding to others.

A brief review: this story is told from the perspective and narration of a generation of gay men who have died from AIDS. Their story is spent viewing the lives of seven gay boys and their varying stories, while interspersing some of their own stories and struggles as a collective whole. The main storyline is of Harry and Craig, best friends, and ex-boyfriends who are trying to set the world record for kissing, at 33+ hours. Each boy in the story gets a glimpse of the news coverage of this event, both positive and negative, while their stories are being shared.

My rating: 5 stars.

Mock Printz potential: I will be very surprised if this isn't a Printz Honor book in January. Stay tuned.

Summary from goodreads:

New York Times  bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS. 

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.