Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos

I just finished devouring Material Girls and have already told people how intriguing I found it.  General premise of the story: All decisions of personal taste and expression (music, movies, games, fashion, etc.) are made by tweens and early teens in society. They decide if everything is hot or not, totally prime or obsoloser.  Everyone else is shunted into a range of "less creative" roles (which is pretty much anything that a 12-year-old wouldn't be obsessed over.  The story bleeeeeds social control in a different and quirky manner. I mulled over the idea of all cultural choices in the real world being made by teeny-boppers and had a minor panic attack. The story swaps between Marla of the fashion world and Ivy, the chart-topping pop star with a bad reputation. I was expecting a lot of fluff and was nicely surprised to find interesting ideas of self-discovery, individualism, and questioning the norms. The end left me a little frustrated, but I understand it - it leaves space for a possible follow-up or gives the message that not everything can be a one-and-done quick fix. I give it 4 out of 5 alpaca fur boots.  Tell your young teen girls to check this one out!

Christianity...It's Like This

I am currently still reading Christanity...It's Like This  together with my husband. We are actually using it as a devotion. There are natural breaks every couple of pages that break the material up into manageable portions.  The conversational tone is inviting and the topics are covered in a way that opens up discussion instead of putting up barriers. My husband and I are enjoying it immensely and plan on recommending it to friends or suggesting a group study using it as a starting point. I think this book would reach an older teen to mid-adult individual, but I think there is even more benefit to reading this book with others. The discussion questions it includes facilitates this idea nicely.

The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson

You know what we need?  A chance to feel uncomfortable.   And I don’t mean the squidgy uncomfortable that comes from reading about zombies chewing on someone’s entrails.  No, this is a much more profound discomfort: the discomfort of realizing that we, as a nation, have an amazing tendency to forget about the rest of the world.  Literally. 

The Tyrant's Daughter gives readers a fantastic chance to remember that there are other people, other lives, other ‘normals’ than those we are used to: privileges, things taken for granted, and the fates of innocents on the sidelines of events that are barely a blip on our national news ticker.  A daughter of an assassinated tyrant begins a new life in America, and life here is nothing like the life she was used to. 

Give it a try.  And, yes, I think it is OK to dislike Bastian.  But his role and viewpoint add something to the realism of the story that I think is important.

My first Omololu

I read The Third Twin by CJ Omololu in two sittings.  The first ended because I really REALLY had to go to bed.  I thought it was a nice, quick mystery/suspense and enjoyed it.  Has a nice little twist at the end that I think will throw many young readers for a loop.  Can I say, though, that I am very glad the story was told from Lexi’s POV, because I think hearing everything through Ava’s filter might have made my brain melt.  Good for teens who like a little mystery in their life.  (But please advise them against after-hours water sliding in your underwear….seriously….