Book Log: Tyrell, The Boy Book, Magic Lessons

10. Tyrell, by Coe Booth

You can see how far behind I am on these book logs by the fact that I read this for the fabulous teen event a couple of weeks ago. But I never logged it, so I am logging it now. The strongest thing about Tyrell (which is not to say that it isn't strong in other areas) is the voice. Coe Booth (who is, interestingly enough, a woman) has managed to capture perfectly the voice of a fifteen year old Black boy growing up in the projects in the Bronx. Tyrell, the first-person protagonist, has a father in jail for the third time, a spacey mother, and a seven-year-old little brother. Since his father went to jail, his family has been kicked out of thier apartment in the projects, and they are now in the homeless shelter system and living in a horrible, roach-infested motel. Tyrell is struggling to be the man, to keep his family fed, and to try and find a way to raise enough money to get his family out of the shelter system and back into an apartment of thier own - without ending up in jail like his daddy.

This is not the sort of book I usually read. If it hadn't been part of the event, I wouldn't have read it at all. But it is haunting, and it is powerful, and it feel real. There's no cliched happy endings, no deus ex machina soaring in to rescue the characters. Tyrell reads like real life, a life that I know little to nothing about. It's painful and powerful and incredibly well written. Tyrell's voice is consistent and compelling, and you find yourself really, really caring about him and his family and his friends. It's not an easy book. But I do recommend it highly.

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11. The Boy Book, by E. Lockhart

The Boy Book, the last of the books that I read for the fabulous teen event, is teen chicklit. It is the sequal to The Boyfriend List, a book that I have, alas, not yet read (when I read The Boy Book, we didn't have The Boyfriend List in stock. We've got it now, though, and one of these days...) Ruby, our protagonist, has emerged on the other side of a horribly humiliating breakup and a plummeting of her social status from social butterfly to social leper. None of her former best friends will talk to her, and everyone in school hates her. And that's where this book begins.

It's a light, fun book. Not really my style, but still a good fun read. Ruby is neurotic and obsessive and funny, and easy to sympathise with even as you want to hit her. She has a new internship, working at the zoo, of all places. Her new friends Meghann and Noel are interesting reflections of the new Ruby. Um. It's teen chicklit. It's fun. It's a quick read. There is a Hooter Rescue Operation involved. If you like teen chicklit, this book is great for you.

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12. Magic Lessons, by Justine Larbalestier

Magic Lessons is the sequal to the fascinating and innovative Magic or Madness, and it is just as fascinating as its predecessor. Reason, our protagonist, has just discovered that she, like all the other women in her family, is magic. Unfortunately, this is not a reason to rejoice - Reason's mother has just gone mad. Because if you don't use your magic, you'll go mad. But if you do use your magic, eventually you'll use it all up, and you'll die.

In this book, Reason and her friends Jay-Tee and Tom are beginning to learn how to use their magic from Reason's mysterious grandmother Esmerelda, when the door between Sydney and New York begins to act up, and Reason is sucked back to New York again.

What's amazing to me is that Magic or Madness plus Magic Lessons takes place in a little over a week. So much changes for Reason and Jay-Tee and Tom that it feels like it must be a much longer span of time - and yet, it's only a week. These books fascinate me. I find Larbalestier's take on magic utterly fascinating, and watching her characters struggle to come to grips with how they must use thier magic - or how their magic will use them - is compelling. I am looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.