The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell
Synopsis: After a supremely sheltered childhood, a young woman finds herself without her mother for the first time in her life, and tells her new lover the story of the crime that led to her emancipation.
Tag Archives: Coming of Age
The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
My review of The Last Summer (of You and Me), the new book by Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares is up at Blogcritics: Ann Brashares is the author of the beloved young adult novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequels, so it’s not a surprise that in her first novel for grown-ups her adult characters seem reluctant to leave adolescence behind. In The Last Summer (of You and Me), recent college graduate Alice returns for yet another idyllic summer…
The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits
Synopsis: When Mary was 16, she may or may not have been abducted and raped by an older man, whose life was ruined by her accusations.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
Synopsis: When a troubled teen on probation for vandalism is falsely accused by a fellow student, he comes face-to-face with the demons raised by his troubled family life. Review: My love for Laurie Halse Anderson’s books knows no bounds, and Twisted is just as good as her astonishing debut Speak. In Twisted, she steps inside the head of a young man for the first time, and she gets it dead-on, not shying away from all the things about teen guys that are icky and messy…
Blindness by Henry Green
Synopsis: A young man on the verge of university is blinded in a freak accident. Review: Henry Green’s later books Loving, Living, and Party Going were referenced quite a bit in Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer, but I chose to start with Blindness because it was listed in the infamous 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. It’s a slim volume, and I breezed through it, though Green’s marvelous turns of phrase caused me to pause and relish.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Synopsis: By refusing to sell chocolates in the annual school sale, one high school freshman learns whether or not his universe can bear to be shaken. Review: The Chocolate War is the first of my books for the Banned Books Challenge, hosted by The Pelham Library. I have read Cormier’s books a number of times since first encountering them in middle school, and I’m still amazed at the power that they have to shock, wound, and enlighten.
Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb
Synopsis: A young man’s military training is threatened by his seeming possession by a creature in thrall to an evil forest goddess. Review: Shaman’s Crossing is the first book in Robin Hobb’s newest trilogy, Soldier Son, and I ate it up with a spoon, thanks to a very long train ride to Canada. The world of Soldier Son takes place in a frontier-like environment much like the Old West at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, with Nevare, the main character, on his way to…
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Synopsis: Sorcha and her six brothers have always protected each other and their home in the heart of Ireland, but when the men come under a deadly enchantment, Sorcha must complete a grueling task and endure mute exile across the sea in Britain with the hated enemies of her kin. Review: Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of a fairy tale made famous by Hans Christian Anderson. Sorcha’s six brothers have been turned into swans, and Sorcha commanded by the Lady of the Forest…
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Synopsis: A young mage-in-training with unprecedented powers performs a forbidden spell and looses a shadow from another realm that intends to destroy him. Review: The writing in A Wizard of Earthsea is beautiful, and the world is wholly original. However, this books gets a little too fantasy-ey for me. It’s got a lot of Magic, and not that that much adventure. It’s much more about the ideas than it is about character development–which is fine. It’s just not what I prefer.
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Synopsis: A brainy high school senior narrates the events that led to the death of her charismatic and disturbed teacher. Review: I stayed up until 1:30 am last night blazing through the last 200 pages of the book, in a state of amazement (and not a little jealousy) over the superb plotting Pessl married to her delicious prose and intriguing characters.