“The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan

Bad librarian.  Sick of Dystopia, I grabbed this one, thinking it was a fantasy.  Because I *judged the book by its cover*!  Yeah, it’s Dystopia.  Think “Handmaid’s Tale” meets “World War Z” and you have the gist.  Mary lives in a small, gated village where nuns and their strict adherence to religion determine nearly every aspect of life.  Betrothed to a young man she does not love (Mary longs for his brother), the girl yearns to know what is beyond the forest limiting her world.  Well, the answer, of course, is zombies.  You were going there … right?  Yeah.  Anyway, despite the weird melding of themes, Carrie Ryan’s writing is lyrical, strong, and deeply haunting.  The question is … who will read this book?  Those who like the aching/longing teen girl drama won’t like the zombie violence and bloodshed, and those who like zombies won’t like the slow pacing and meditative quality of the tale.  It is also bleak.  Bleak with a capital “B.”  There is no light here – the grays on the cover seem to imbue every aspect of the story.  It’s a zombie apocalypse and because of that it is easy to say, without spoilers, that many many people die in fairly unpleasant and graphic ways.  That’s a given.  Having never read a zombie book, I wasn’t sure what I would think, but as a topic it wasn’t onerous.  Where I struggled with the story was with Mary herself.  While curious and rebellious, she does not have the spirit of Katniss, and bows to convention more than you might think.  It is only at the end of the tale that we see the seeds of a warrior spirit.  Mary is also selfish – a point made by no less than three different characters in the book.  Given the limits of her life, she has a lot, but she continues pushing on towards a goal that is ephemeral, at best.  Her survival is so paramount that in the end, we don’t even know the fates of some of the characters.  They remain trapped as Mary moves on.  (There is also the strange question of how she fights zombies and climbs ropes wearing a skirt, but I’ll let that one go.)  She also has a fascination with the creatures … nearly obsessing over them.  I wasn’t sure what to make of this story element, understanding it and not understanding it all at the same time.  With a “Giver”-like ending I wasn’t sure where this was going, but yes, there are additional novels (although each seems to be about a different character and setting …).  So, if thoughtful introspection mixed with battling the undead is your thing, go for it!

"Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog" by Garth Stein

This one is confusing on a lot of levels.  First, it turns out there are two versions.  There is the book I read, called "Racing in the Rain:  My Life as a Dog" and there is the "adult" version "The Art of Racing in the Rain:  A Novel."  Keep in mind ... they are the ***exact same book*** but the titles and cover art have been altered to make it appear as if one is more mature. (The copy I read had an interview in the back, along with family photos.  This is not in the adult version but easily found online.)  I've recently decided, while pulling "adult" books for a teacher, that you make a book "adult" by putting the words "A Novel" after the title (just in case anyone is confused.)  Personally, I find this practice to be pretentious and unnecessary, as if doing it gives the work a level of literary quality it wouldn't have otherwise, but the bigger point is that this isn't particulalry a book for the young -- no matter how many adorable dog faces you put on the cover.  I picked it up because I wanted something light after all the dystopia.  It wasn't light.  The cover made me think there was something cute or funny about the book ... and it is in no way light or funny.  I'm not saying the book was bad.  Once I got into what it *was* I enjoyed it to a degree, but the expectation made the beginning parts difficult. 

This is a tale of Denny, a down-on-his-luck race-car driver, whose life falls apart with one challenge after another.  What makes the book intriquing, however, is that Denny's life is told through the eyes of his dog, Enzo.  Enzo has all the dry wit of a New Yorker columnist and his observations about life are nothing if not erudite.  With enough symbolism, metaphor and life lessons to thrill an English teacher to the bone (pun intended) this one makes for a high level read that takes a lot of time to absorb -- surprising, given the short chapters and succinct vocabulary.  The book spent time on the NY Times bestseller list, I think, because it is both literary and yet accessible.  Although it reads as a fictionalized autobiography, Garth Stein, the author, really "pieced" it together from a lot of different elements ... his own racing career and love of dogs, a poem he heard at a conference, the struggles of a colleague and a documentary from Mongolia that stated dogs are reborn as men.  The result is something that nonetheless feels very "real."  Those interested in car racing will also deeply enjoy the detail on that seemingly insane profession.

What I didn't care for as much was the structure of the book.  In theatre, they say that "reflection" is the worst kind of writing, because the drama is lost.  By looking back, you have a strong sense of how the story will play out, and that natural tension of "what is to come" never happens.  This is a book with few surprises, more driven by the nature of the storytelling than a sense of build and climax.  Again, it's not bad, it just had little "driving force" behind it.  There is also a theatre aphorism that you "find the humor" in everything (hence, Shakespeare's gravedigger scene in Hamlet).  There is little humor here, although there are rare moments of joy.

It is a rich novel but not, for me, a hugely engaging one given the predictability (yes, I had the kleenex ready exactly when I knew I had to have it handy).  Nonetheless, should it find the right audience (particularly if you are a pet owner), it will be greatly loved. 

"Steelheart" by Brandon Sanderson

On one hand, I am totally burned out on Dystopian fiction, on the other hand, this was really, really good.   Be forewarned ... this is dark.  Very dark.  In the first chapter we see a super-powered being blow people away, indiscriminately, with the author providing very "specific" detail.  That begins a tale of death, destruction and revenge and very, very big guns.  Teen readers will love the high action, smart deductions by our hero and unexpected twists.  This is superheroes gone bad, but told in a very engaging, clever and somewhat original way.  It's easy to see why the novel has been living on the New York Times bestseller list and is showing up on nearly every recommended list of books this year.  It is a tale that sticks with you, one that, at its core, strongly echoes the saying "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Deeply told, with an original voice and vision, there is a sequel on the way, so read it soon.