ghost world

Selection: Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

Genre: Graphic Novel

Annotation: In a world full of freaks and losers, two girls strive to not fit in.

Not all outcasts hate being on the outside. Just ask Enid and her friend Rebecca. This duo definitely owns their angst and approaches the world with a critical lens. Who can blame them? As they drift from day to day after their graduation, the two look for meaning in the world around them. Clowes pulls no punches demonstrating Rebecca and Enid's feelings of alienation. There is a gritty authenticity to the girls' sexual experiences, pranking of strangers, and raw emotional exposure.

Though Ghost World is a story that every young adult reader could relate to, this is not a book I'd nominate for the Printz Award. The thing that turned me off the most to the story would have to be the author's use of profanity and the almost vulgar display of sexuality would not necessarily be appropriate for the average teenage reader. Despite these apparent short-comings, this story provides a somewhat dark and jagged portrayal of life as a teen who doesn't quite fit in the heirarchy of society, but rather lives on the edges (and quite gladly at that).

a northern light

Annotation: Mattie Gokie struggles to find balance in her own life in the rural Adirondacks while uncovering the awful truth behind the death of young female tourist.

Though a sizable tome, do not be intimidated by Jennifer Donnelly's venture into young adult literature. A Northern Light interweaves a true-to-life story about the 1906 murder of Grace Brown in upstate New York with the coming-of-age experience of 16 year-old Mattie. Caught between duty and personal fulfillment, Mattie must decide what she wants to do with her life. Since the loss of her mother to breast cancer and the abandonment of her oldest & only brother, Mattie helps take care of her father and sisters on their modest farm. The harsh realities of adulthood come quickly, leaving little room for her to pursue her dream of attending college in New York City. While working at a lake resort in her community, a young tourist turns up dead after a boating incident. Unknown to those around her, the woman leaves Mattie a stack of letters, requesting she destroy them. Curiosity gets the best of her, and as she reads them one-by-one, the awful truth of her demise is revealed, along with her decision about college and her family.

I greatly enjoyed this book, given that I related a lot to Mattie's character. Mattie has a great love for language, and Donnelly titles each chapter with a different vocabulary word to coincide with the one that Mattie chooses to learn for each new day. Mattie's own desire to create stories for the things left unsaid in her life positively advances the author's tale, and give the reader a sense of discovery as they are given a deeper look into the issues Mattie faces. The central theme of following the desires of other and working for the greater good, versus following one's own self-interests is one that anyone can identify with, especially teenagers. The path to adulthood requires each of us to forge our own path, and A Northern Light illustrates that to a T.

I would highly recommend both young and not-so-young adults to give this book a read, and whole-heartedly nominate this selection for the book award.