Three troubled teens cross paths at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital, after attempting suicide. Connor, Tony, and Vanessa all have demons that try to pull them under and get them to succumb to the temptation to try it again; this time making sure they succeed. 

Connor’s overbearing family, only concerned about his GPA, or his making the varsity football team, or getting into an Ivy League college, offer no solace during his time of need. Feeling suicide is the only answer after a deeply emotional love affair ends; he takes a gun and points it to his chest before pulling the trigger. 

Tony, after many years in a juvenile home for a crime that still haunts him, decides to ease his feelings of despair and loneliness by swallowing a handful of pills, only to vomit them up and be found by the police lying on the sidewalk unconscious. 

Vanessa is a cutter. In order to ease her mind in any time of stress she slices her skin with anything sharp enough to do the job. One day, when she was drowning in her blue ocean of sadness, she cuts too deep. She feels herself slipping into the abyss until her younger brother Bryan walks in and finds her. When he calls for their ex-nurse Grandma, she is able to hold off death. 

After arriving at Aspen Springs, Connor, Tony, and Vanessa are introduced to a life under constant surveillance, strict routines, and hours and hours or counseling. Immediately the three form a bond, feeling drawn to one another as if they might be able to save each other from death. Together they navigate the regulations of the hospital and make progress toward healing as they tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets; things they won’t even tell their counselors. 

Ellen Hopkins uses her wonderful free verse style to weave together the story of three troubled teens as they attempt to heal the terrible scars left by their lives. The consistency the author uses when alternating the points of view makes the story easy to follow. Hopkins gives away just enough information that the reader feels a part of the story while still saving a big bang for the end. IMPULSE is a great story that reveals the importance of family during the healing process and is a must read for anyone who knows a teen.

Let me start out by saying, you’ll want to read the first two books in this series before picking up PASSING STRANGE.  If you don’t, you’ll be lost on the ins and outs of the plots and characters. You can find my reviews for the first two books below:

GENERATION DEAD #1
KISS OF LIFE #2

The author, Daniel Waters, takes a different approach with PASSING STRANGE.  The first two books focus on Phoebe and her struggles as she braves the world of high school in a world where some teens are coming back from the dead.  Her heart is pulled in two different directions – she is fascinated with Tommy, a new differently-biotic boy that enrolls at school, but at the same time, has growing feelings for Adam, her long-time friend and next-door neighbor. PASSING STRANGE tells the story of an important, but side character named Karen DeSonne.

Karen is one of the most advanced/high functioning zombies anyone has ever seen. She moves with grace, speaks without hitches, and is the envy of even the traditionally-biotic girls at school.  Since the events that took place in KISS OF LIFE that led to the laws preventing the differently-biotic from being in public without a legal guardian and attending school, Karen has been the only zombie out in the open. In fact, Karen isn’t just out in the open as a zombie, but she is “passing” as a traditionally-biotic teenager.  With the help of dyed hair and blue contacts, Karen got a job at the local mall and begins to use her ability to blend in to help the differently-biotic cause.

When Karen has the chance to infiltrate the enemy to gain information that could shine light on a conspiracy to make the zombies look guilty of crimes they didn’t commit, she doesn’t hesitate. She puts herself in many dangerous situations with one of the most active anti-zombie radicals to date. Knowing she can help allows her to keep meeting Pete – even when he wants to kiss her.

The reader learns a lot about Karen in this novel. Karen has always appeared happy-go-lucky in the previous books so it was interesting to find out she isn’t very happy.  She has a lot to be sad about and you’ll sympathize with her as she explains everything going on in her life and eventually reveals a huge secret.

I’ve loved every one of the GENERATION DEAD books and PASSING STRANGE is no different. It only took me a day to finish and I was extremely happy with the hopeful ending.  I can’t wait for the next installment to this wonderfully unique series.  Thanks, Dan! Keep up the good work.

You can follow the fight for zombie rights by reading Tommy’s blog.

Visit Daniel Water’s website.

Bloomsbury – October 13, 2009

In today’s society we enjoy brutal sports like World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship – imagine, if you will, a world where we also couldn’t wait for the next gladiator match.

Lyn lives in just such a world.  In fact, she is deeply entrenched in the Glad lifestyle. Lyn’s mother has had seven husbands – all Glad fighters.  She has been widowed six times – her husbands always dying in the arena. Her latest husband, Tommy, is set to fight in a championship battle against Uber – a young up and comer in the Neo-Glad world.  When the worst possible thing happens and Tommy is killed in the fight, Lyn, her mother, and her brother are left in a desperate situation. Either Lyn marries Uber and becomes a Glad Wife or the family loses everything.

Lyn must look deep within herself to decide what she is willing to do.

I really enjoyed reading GIRL IN THE ARENA even though the writing style took a little getting used to. The only reason it didn’t get 5 glasses is the ending. It seems a little rushed and leaves too much up in the air. GIRL IN THE ARENA doesn’t seem to need a sequel so the reader will be left with their questions forever.

Simon and Schuster – January 5, 2010

This is a companion book to I LOVE YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. There is no need to read one before the other, but if you enjoy reading one, you’ll like the other just as much.

There has been a lot of death at Brooklyn’s high school. First, there was Jackson after a terrible diving accident. Then, a year ago, Brooklyn’s boyfriend, Lucca, died in a terrible car accident, and most recently, Gabe, Lucca’s best friend and driver of the car at the time of the accident, killed himself after he couldn’t take the guilt of Lucca’s death for another day.

Brooklyn is having trouble getting over Lucca’s death and Gabe’s suicide only makes it worse. Soon after Gabe’s death, Brooklyn begins having terrible nightmares where Gabe chases and torments her. She soon realizes Gabe doesn’t just visit when she is asleep, but makes his presence known during her waking hours as well. He moves things and writes messages to her in an attempt to tell her something. She just can’t figure out what he wants and the dreams are becoming more horrific as the days go by.

Nico, Lucca’s brother, is being visited by a ghostly spirit as well – Lucca’s. Nico receives the same message over and over again – day after day. “Help Brooklyn.”  Nico doesn’t know what to do and has no idea what Brooklyn needs. He decides to ask her to join him in his training for an upcoming triathlon, hoping to get closer to her and give her something to focus on besides Lucca’s death.

CHASING BROOKLYN is a fast-paced novel-in-verse. It is a story of friendship, love, and healing. The book alternates points-of-view between Brooklyn and Nico which gives the reader a great look at all sides of the story. Lisa Schroeder continues to provide thought-provoking and heart-felt stories for her readers.

If you enjoy I HEART YOU, I HAUNT YOU and CHASING BROOKLYN, be sure to check out Lisa’s other novel-in-verse, FAR FROM YOU.

Hyperion – January 5, 2010

Daelyn has suffered major psychological damage from years of being bullied. The torment and embarrassment she received because of her weight started her downhill slide into despair. Daelyn has lost her desire to live and failed at several attempts to end her life. Her latest failure has left her unable to talk and on 24-hour suicide watch. Her parents barely trust her to go to school.

Daelyn is biding her time. She only has 23 days until her Date of Determination. She discovers the Through the Light website on accident, but finds it to be a welcome change of pace to the other suicide websites and discussion boards she’s visited in the past. Instead of preaching and warning her against her decision, the website provides rational and informational posts and discussions about ending her life.

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I’LL BE DEAD is a powerful and heart-wrenching story of one girl’s life as she makes the hardest decisions of her life. How will she end her life and what will she do with her last 23 days?  Daelyn thinks she has it all figured out until she meets a strange boy while she waits for her parents to pick her up after school. Santana is persistent when it comes to making friends with Daelyn, but with only 23 days to live does she really have time?

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I’LL BE DEAD is a short book at only 198 pages. It is easily a one-sitting read and well worth the time. The author, Julie Anne Peters includes a lot of factual information at the back of the book. There are 19 Discussion Questions as well as sections about Bullying, Suicide, Warning Signs, and Prevention Hot Line Information. Your heart will break for Daelyn and the ending is thought-provoking.

Houghton Mifflin – October 19, 2009

By the time GOTH GIRL RISING hits the shelves it will have been three years since THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL was published. For those that haven’t read it, do so now!  You will probably enjoy GOTH GIRL RISING even without the backstory from TAAFGG, but not nearly as much as you could if you take the time to read it.

Unlike TAAFGG, this story is told from Kyra’s point-of-view. Six-months have passed since the last time we saw her. Because of something that happened at the end of FANBOY, Kyra was sent to stay at the Maryland Mental Health Unit. GOTH GIRL picks up on the day she is released.

Kyra is both relieved and nervous to be going home. Dealing with her father is tough and the thought of going back to school turns her stomach upside down. But, she is excited about one thing and that is seeing Fanboy. Here is a what she is thinking when she is walking into the school her first day back and she is looking for Fanboy. “I feel all light and puffy inside, like someone filled me up with a cloud or something. The Spermling doesn’t bother me. Roger doesn’t bother me. I’m going to find Fanboy and then everything is going to be fine. No wait, that’s wrong. Everything is going to be perfect.” (p. 35)

What Kyra finds is not what she expects and her world is shaken again. She begins to fill her days with plans of revenge and ways to ruin Fanboy. Thoughts of suicide find their way back into her head and she struggles to make it through each day. So many things are confusing: her feelings toward a long time friend, her relationship with her father, the way she feels about her mother’s death, and her plans for Fanboy.

Through letters she writes to her favorite author, Neil Gaiman, Kyra works through her many emotions in an attempt to be satisfied with life. She just can’t decide if it is worth all the trouble.

Goth Girl Rising

Simon Pulse – July 21st, 2009

Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae meet online while discussing their suicide attempts. The four bond quickly and start chatting on a regular basis and end up forming a pact. They will meet, take a road trip to visit the graves of celebrities that have committed suicide, and end their trip and their lives, together, in Death Valley.

The story sounded very promising and as a reader I was expecting the raw emotions of a book like IMPULSE by Ellen Hopkins, but instead it just came across as a little silly. The characters didn’t really ring true. A few important aspects, which could have used some discussion, about Audrey and Owen are left completely hanging and the conflicts in the story are too quickly resolved and leave the reader unsatisfied in the end.

St. Martin’s Griffin – December 23, 2008

CRACKED UP TO BE is the story of Parker Fadley. She once held the position of queen bee of the school. She was the Captain of the cheerleaders, always landed on the honor roll list, and had the same basketball-star boyfriend since freshman year.

After a particularly wild party at her boyfriend’s house, something happened that left Parker with major feelings of guilt. She no longer feels like she deserved to live the life of perfection and slowly starts alienating herself from everyone and everything she once thought was so important. The problem is, the people around her don’t want to let her slip into the background.

If you are in the mood for a light pick-me-up then CRACKED UP TO BE isn’t the book for you. It is filled with page after page of pain. Parker has to deal with feelings of loss and helplessness and discuss all of her painful experiences and poor decisions in therapy once a week.

You’ll read obsessively until you learn what happened to change Parker’s life so drastically. The author eludes to the event throughout the story, but only reveals the whole picture when Parker is forced to come to terms with her decisions. While the entire book is filled with painful, awkward, and difficult situations, the story still ends on a hopeful note. It is definitely a book you don’t want to miss.