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Why did Devon throw IT in the Garbage?

IT was her baby only a hour old!

Devon was a straight A high school student and a soccer goalie that was heading for the Olympics - but right now she is sitting on trial for attempted murder of an infant! Her infant!

One morning a dog walker opens a dumpster and opens a bag of garbage - one with newspapers, a chip bag, a juice can, bloody towels and a living newborn baby! The police start canvasing the neighborhood for answers. Devon's mother arrives home from her night shift job to find her daughter wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa staying home from school because she was feeling sick. Mom flirts with the cute police officer that comes knocking (the police want to know if Devon heard or saw anything since she was home all night and the baby was found earlier that morning in the dumpster behind her apartment building)and lets him in. When Devon stares blankly at the officer questioning her, Devon's mother tells her to stop being rude and rips off the blanket Devon is wearing. Devon is soaked in blood and promptly passes out.

Devon awakens as she arrives in the ER and can't figure out what is going on. Everything is hazy and bloody images of IT keep floating into her mind. The next thing Devon is in an orange prison jumpsuit in court for attempted murder and sent to juvenile detention to away further judgements.

Dom, a female defence attorney takes her case and starts to help Devon piece together what happened. Throughout the story, we hear Devon's memories of the last nine months.



Was she pregnant without knowing it?

OR

Was she in denial of the pregnancy?

OR

Did Devon knowingly cover up the pregnancy and purposely try to kill IT,the evidence?



This book is told through Devon's present situation with flashbacks of events that happened over the last nine months. The three questions above are the main reason for the story of AFTER. The reader is presented information through flashbacks, Dom's courtroom evidence and is presented Devon's emotional instability/confusion over her whole situation. The flashbacks cause the reader to try to also figure out what happened - did or did she not know she was pregnant? Did she knowingly hide the pregnancy from the world AND HERSELF? What about the extra hard soccer trainings to get rid of the stomach, use of stretch clothing, faked soccer injuries, and a misleading doctor's physical!?!

In 350 pages, AFTER by Amy Efaw, shows the the emotional confusion caused by an unplanned pregnancy that resulted from one sexual encounter during a quick summer romance. Throughout this book Devon is completely confused and at times so is the reader. There are only females in this storyline, males aren't really present in this book. I also think males would be turned off by this book's discussions and flashbacks about sanitary pads, bloody birthing, oozing breast milk and uterine cramping. This book would be better as a selected read than a mandatory read. The book could be used to discussed denial, mother/daughter hardships, teenage mothers, body changes in pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, unwanted babies and dumpster babies.

I was turned off by the legal doings of Dom trying to get Devon out of her crime. Dom used the legal system to get the charges lessened and dismissed due to the way the police entered Devon's apartment. She was Devon's attorney so she was trying to get Devon's case dropped without holding Devon responsible for her actions of dumping the baby in the dumpster without remorse or concern for the baby.

I'm still deciding if I liked this book or not - there is a definite ending with moral so the reader isn't completely left hanging.


Here is a quick article and news report about a real dumpster baby and the psychological reasons as to why she might have done it:

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local_wane_auburn_psychological_reasons_for_baby_in_dumpster_200911092142



Here is an article about the misused Nebraska child dumping issue:

http://www.wowowow.com/post/dumpster-babies-law-leads-abandonment-nebraska-teens-116014



Here is the website for safe surrender laws - the law allowing newborns to be giving up to prevent dumpster babies:

http://www.safesurrendersite.com/load/safe-surrender-law



Unwanted baby stories that shock you into discussions in a classroom:

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/3151/CWA/life/index.htm

The True Enemy!

Imagine living in a dystopia society where everything is ruled with a stern iron fist. There is no such word as freedom, but instead all of your actions is monitored and controlled. Sounds terrifying right? Well, the book Truancy by Isamu Fukui explores this very concept. For Tack and his sister Susie this is the harsh reality of their life. In their chaotic society the mayor seeks full control over his city. He desires control over the way his people sleep, eat, and learn. Yes, that is right, I did say learn.

For Tack and Susie school is dreadful. The mayor uses schooling to brain wash kids to conform them into his control. At a very early age, children are taught the value of following rules and conforming to superiors. Education as we know does not exist. Instead school is embedded with dreadful laws and policies. However, the only thing that brings Tack comfort in this cruel society is his loving, sweet, and tender sister. Nonetheless, war is wedged when Susie is killed in their district 20 school that is governed by Zyid. Zyid is the leader of the Truancy. The Truancy is a group of rebels who are fed up with the mayors strict educational rules. Consequently, they decide to no longer sit, but fight back. In the mean time, Tack vows revenge on the one who killed his sister. However, things become tricky as Tack plans to conquer the enemy, especially since he does not know who the true enemy is. Unfortunately, it is Zyid who is responsible for Susie death. In trying to kill a chief Educator, Susie is caught in a car explosion created by Zyid. Unconsciously, Tack becomes a member of the Truancy, killing educators trying to revenge his sister. In fact, he becomes the leader. Eventually Track will have to cook up a new plan, but who is the enemy? Moreover who will he wage war aganist?

Overall, I thought the book was a good read. I feel that elementary kids would love this book, likening their school system to the confined one they read about. in this book All though anyone could read the book, I personally feel it is more geared toward boys because of all of the graphic fight scenes. However, though I think kids would read this book merely for fun there are some good themes within it. I think the most prevalent themes that youthful reader could learn from reading this book are fighting for what you believe in, and the tragedy of acting out of revenge.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Mudbound tells the story of two families; one white, the other black, both living in Jim Crow South's Marietta, Mississippi in 1946.

Henry McAllan chooses to move his wife, Laura, and their daughters to a cotton farm in Delta Mississippi; closer to his family. He becomes so wrapped up in maintaining his land and crops that Henry is oblivious to the fact that his family is falling apart. His wife, Laura is infuriated with him for forcing her out of urban Memphis to a rural shack in the middle of Mississippi.

Jamie is Henry’s younger brother. He feels that he is constantly living in the shadows of his older brother. He returns from World War II and goes to live with Henry and his family. His sinister and demeaning father awaits his arrival and praises his war victories, but soon turn cold; demeaning and ridiculing Jamie as he’s always done. Jamie secretly turns to liquor as an escape from war trauma and reality.

Hap and Florence Jackson live in a shack on the McAllan’s farm. Both Hap and his wife Florence work for the McAllans. Hap dreams of purchasing his own land and having his eldest son, Ronsel, helping him keep the property up. Hap can not dream of working for whites any longer than he has to. Florence is strong-willed and is the glue holding the Jackson family together.

Ronsel returns home from the war only to find that to the white folks of Marietta, he is still just another Negro. They do not seem to care that he risked his life and nearly died saving his country. Ronsel knows that rural Mississippi is no place for someone like him: educated, opinionated, and filled with ideas. Despite of the fact that his family is in Mississippi, Ronsel’s heart is somewhere else.

Ronsel and Jamie develop a secretive friendship. They are brothers; soldiers of war, who fought for the same cause. In the Jim Crow South, a friendship like this is dangerous and can even be deadly. Can people of different races really ever be friends and if so at what costs? What role will each of these characters plays into the tragic fate of these two families?

Hillary Jordan delivers a novel that brings back all the anguish, discuss, and hatred associated with the Jim Crow South. The development of each individual character is amazing. Jordan allows the reader into the mindset of each of the main characters. Readers are able to get every perspective of the same story, as Jordan creates a dialogue and analysis for each character. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, with a conclusion that resonates as all too familiar in the 1940’s.

Mudbound contains some explicit and racist language and violent content. This is an excellent book for mature teens interested in World War II, the Jim Crow South, and reading a novel that challenges people to stand strong on their beliefs.

Stitches by David Small

Ahhhhhhh!!! If he could scream, he would, but he can’t. Fourteen-year old David Small is practically unable to speak. He has awakened from what was supposed to be a routine follow-up surgery without a voice. What is even weirder is the way that everyone around him is acting. Every since the day he arrived home from the hospital, his parents have begun acting secretive. What are they hiding and why?



David Small lives with his parents and older brother. Their family is similar to the typical non-functioning family. His great grandfather tried to kill himself by drinking poison, which instead, ironically, damaged his vocal cords and caused him to be mute. His grandmother is in insane asylum for trying to kill her boyfriend by setting their house on fire. Then there’s his immediate family. His father, Edward, is a doctor who spends as much time as possible away from home, avoiding his wife and family. His absence angers David’s mother so much that she is constantly slamming doors and cabinets throughout the house. David’s mother, Betty, is bitter and stingy, replacing her problems with materialistic possessions.

David’s health problems began when he was a child. He had problems with his sinus and digestive systems. Since he was a doctor, it was not uncommon for Edward to attempt to remedy David’s sinus problems by giving him a series of countless x-rays. When David was eleven, his parents notice that he appears to have a bulging skin protruding from his neck. A trip to a specialist, one of Edward’s friends, confirms that David has cyst that needs to be removed. Betty is infuriated when she finds out that her son has a cyst that needs to be surgically removed. But her fury is not because doctors will be poking and prodding around inside her little boy; it’s because of how much money the surgery will cause. Betty decides that the surgery is unaffordable and can be put off until next year; she then goes on a shopping spree.

David is home from the hospital, recovering from his surgery. No one can hear David when he tries to speak, not because he barely has a voice, but because this is the way that it has always been. David has always been invisible to his parents and everyone else. He submerges and loses himself in his drawings, escaping into his dreams. No one has told David that the lump in his neck is cancer; he just stumbles upon a letter written by his mother to his grandmother and finds out on his own. David’s anger causes him to rebel. Can he be saved from his destructive and rebellious behavior? Will he learn to forgive his father for all of the x-rays that exposed him to the disease? What will become of David Small?

A picture really is worth a thousand words. If you have never read graphic literature before then you are in for a surprise and a well-awaited treat. David Small quickly moves you through this movie-like novel filled with vivid pictures. What is not expressed through words is shown in pictures. For those who think that picture books are just for children, think again. The graphics tell the story better than the few words used throughout the novel. Small captures expressions and actions that show emotions indescribable by words. Flipping through the pages of this novel was like a breath of fresh air

Swallow Me Whole

This graphic novel by Nate Powell, is about two step-siblings and how they cope with their debilitating mental illness. The story is told through Ruth's and Perry's eyes and experiences. Ruth is the main character in the story and suffers from delusions, paranoia, schizophrenia and OCD. Her brother Perry's illness is not as severe, but he suffers from delusions. Ruth and Perry have above average intelligence and get good grades in school, but due to their illness they seem a little weird and have trouble making friends. They are very lonely kids and have only each other to confide in. The family has a lot to deal with, two mentally challenged kids and a grandmother that has also moved in with them. She is ill and can no longer care for herself due to dementia and old age. The grandmother has also suffered with mental illness and has learned to cope with it by painting.

Ruth and Perry are aware of their condition, they've always felt different from normal children. Ruth knows that no one else can see, hear or smell the things that she does. Ruth tries to get some control of her life by collecting, and sorting her insect collection. Perry hallucinates a small gnome or wizard that appears on everything he writes with, and orders him to draw until he's exhausted. Perry tries to cope with his hallucinations by drawing. As the children get older their illness worsens. The parents seek medical help, but the medications aren't very effective. When the children are older they are able to build relationships and live a somewhat normal life, at least for a short period of time. Ruth gets a job at a museum, working in the insect section. Her obsessive behavior takes over and she ends up stealing an insect exhibit for her collection. After this incident she begins to lose control at school and home. Her condition worsens and she begins to lose grip with reality. Can Perry save his sister from losing complete control?

The black and white illustrations give us insight into Ruth and Perry's minds.

The reader is able to see the challenges that Ruth faced just to make it through the day. The tiny words in each page represent the reality that Ruth is unable to hear. The book is written in a comic style, which makes it interesting for YA readers. I found the book interesting, but a little difficult to follow.

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

“I pop back into my body then, to share this thought with myself: The world doesn’t make any sense at all. People tell you it does, try and pretend it does. But I know now what kind of place this is, what kind of world we live in. And my breath catches in my throat, and my heart rips apart not just for me, not just for Nina, but for all of us.”

- Wherever Nina Lies

Each day sixteen-year old Ellie relives her nightmare. In her dreams her and Nina, her older sister, are laughing and sharing jokes, but in reality Nina is gone. She disappeared two years ago, leaving her younger sister Ellie, with many unanswered questions. How could she just leave like this? Sure their father had abandoned them and their mother is always working, but they still had each other.

Now it is just Ellie and her mother. Her mother does not speak of Nina; she assumes that Nina has runaway with someone to start a new life. Ellie feels all alone. Nina’s presence stills feels so close. Her scent resonates throughout the bedroom that her and Ellie once shared and there are even strands of her “graduation blue” hair in the shower. Ellie still holds out hope that one day Nina will climb through their bedroom window and reappear. She knows that her sister is alive, but has no idea about where she should begin to search for her.

Amanda is Ellie’s best friend. They spend every free second together partying and hooking up with boys. Amanda has become a replacement for Nina. She and Ellie share secrets and she even give into some of Ellie’s attempts to find her sister. After two years, enough is enough. Amanda wants Ellie to stop chasing after random clues and face the fact that her sister is never coming back. Ellie begins to believe it too, she has relinquished her search for almost a year when she finds another clue as to where her sister may be. One of Nina’s drawings mysteriously appears at a used goods store where Amanda works. Ellie and Amanda follow this clue to a wrecking party where Ellie meets the mysterious and handsome, Sean.

Sean is a gorgeous and mysterious seventeen-year old. He seems so perfect and polite. Ellie confides in him about Nina and her search to find her. Sean immediately tells Ellie that he will help her find her sister. She has finally found someone who believes that she may actually have a chance at finding her sister. This chance encounter takes Ellie on a romantic cross-country road adventure that she will never forget. Together she and Sean follow clue after clue, each time getting closer and closer to where Nina may have traveled.

What if Ellie never finds Nina? What is Nina is not the Nina that she knew? What if Nina is… dead? Ellie may find more than she bargained for as she sets out in search of her older sister, Nina. Will what she uncovers be more shocking than what she has expected to find?

Weingarten keeps you on the edge of your seat as you flip through the pages of this novel. Her vivid details of Ellie’s flashbacks of Nina pull the reader into the novel. Readers become captivated by the exquisitely detailed drawings, those pictured throughout the novel as Nina’s artwork. Ellie possesses an unwavering spirit and determination to her sister. This spirit evokes sympathy from readers causing them to empathize with her pain and suffering. There was never a dull moment and the story ends with a twist that readers may never see coming. This novel may not be suitable for all audience because there are minor references to drugs, suicide, and murder. It is recommend for those ages fifteen and older.

Somebody by Nancy Springer

Ever had the feeling that something just isn’t right? That the life you are leading belongs to someone else and is not your own? Why are we always moving and why does my dad make my brother and I change our names and hair color each time?

Meet…. Um, let’s see. You can call this new girl by whatever name you like because at the moment she is whoever you want her to be. There is something suspicious about the way her father isolates her and her brother from society; how they are always moving just as they get settled into a community. They are not allowed to have friends over to their house, get on the Internet, have cell phones, or take pictures. Why is her dad being so secretive? What does he have to hide and where is her mother? Did she really run off and leave her children, like her dad said that she did? Something just does not add up.

This is the life of Sherica Suloff. One day she remembers her real name and begins to put together pieces of her past: memories that she’d been forced into forgetting. A trip to the library and an Internet search changes everything! Sherica meets Mason, a young boy who appears to be about her own age, well at least the age that she has been told she is. With Mason’s help, Sherica slowly begins to dig up the skeletons from her past: deep dark secrets hidden by her father. Is he trying to protect himself or his children?

Sherica has found out too much. There in black and white is the truth about her family. Is it too late for her to go back to her secret life?

This two-time Edgar Award winning book has just about everything that a reader could want: suspense, drama, and relativity. Springer takes you into the mind and secret life of fifteen-year old Sherica: the chubby girl with no identity. Somebody is recommended for young teens. The book is an easy read it does not contain difficult terms or a controversial subject matter. The book is very enjoyable, however the ending leaves some unanswered questions about the fate or Sherica and her family. Springer leaves the reader yearning for a follow-up book. Could this be the beginning of a series?

Dreadful Pasts Reveals Devastating Truths

Going too far by Jennifer Echols is a wonderful read. The initial start was a lot rawer than what I would expect, but it defiantly captured my attention! Immediately as a reader you are placed in the scenario where Meg, her boy toy Eric, and some friends head out to an isolated railroad bridge. As a reader, you are given hints that this decision is not the best as Meg and her friends hint on the couple who supposedly got killed by a train the prior year. Nonetheless, they go anyway. The graphic details begin right away. I was astonished to read the entire scene of Meg and her boy toy Eric making out. Meg vividly explains how Eric grabs her hair and bites her neck creating passion marks. Moreover, unlike traditional novels, Meg is totally in control. She is lured and turned on with the rush of making out in public. She is over sexualized as she brags on herself for being a sexual expert.

However, the fun soon ends as the cops show up to ruin the erotic party. The rebellious teens are soon arrested. Instantly, Meg friends, Tiffany and Brian crumble becoming overwhelmed with fear. In the mean time, Meg once again reestablishes herself as the brave heart in control, displaying no fear of authorities. However, Meg’s tough girl behavior comes to an end when she is along in the police station. This along time allows Meg to be sensitive and reveal her true nature of worry and regret. In arriving to the police station everyone parents come to pick up their children except for Meg’s parents. Consequently, Meg is forced to spend the night in the police station. During this stay, Meg does nothing more than express her desire to escape her small town. She longs to go away for college. Additionally, she expresses her excitement for going to Miami for spring break just to get away. Unfortunately, this dream is shredded as she learns that she must sacrifice her spring break get away of “drinking and flashing tits” (37) to accompany John After, the cop who arrested her, on his job for a week as punishment for getting arrested

When their lives intertwine for a week both Meg and John After are forced to face dreadful pasts and devastating truths. Was it an accident that John After just happened to be patrolling the railroad or is he invested some kind of way? Most importantly, what is the driving force that causes Meg to be this rebellious, overly sexual averted teen who wants to escape her hometown?

This is a great book, but the characters are very complicated. They slowly unfold and display inner truths. However, I know that young adult readers will appreciate the rawness of the characters, precisely Meg. Meg demonstrates the fear of love and relationships, and most importantly letting your guards down. John After reveals how the past can take over your life and torment you if you cannot let it go. Therefore, youthful readers can be entertained and learn vital reasons at the same time. Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to older mature teens. The sexual content and language is strong throughout the book so I would suggest for the reader to be 17 years of age.

Exclusive interview with Jennifer Echol on Going too far:

http://persnicketysnark.blogspot.com/2009/04/interview-jennifer-echols.html

The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and HIV Positive by Marvelyn Brown

What if the person you loved gave more than just his love; he gave you his death?

“It’s hard to explain, but I saw the two of us linked by fate. He was the only person I knew with HIV in Nashville. He was my first true love…there was part of me that believed we would end up together…”

Nineteen-year old, Marvelyn Brown thought that she had struck gold when she met the man of her dreams. After countless failed relationships, Marvelyn has given up on finding true love and being happy. But it seems that her luck has changed or has it? A trip to the park sparks a chance encounter with Prince Charming. He is perfect; polite, gentle, and mature. Marvelyn is finally happy. She has a man that she loves and who loves her back.

Marvelyn lies in the intensive care unit of Tennessee Christian Medical Center helplessly fading away. Doctors are baffled by what has caused the once lively and athletic nineteen-year-old to deteriorate so quickly. She has been in the hospital for weeks, before she got her diagnoses: HIV positive. Marvelyn knows exactly who the culprit was based on the timeline given by the doctors, but she has no idea what HIV is or what it means for her life.

Prince Charming is in complete denial and to make matters worse, he doesn’t even look or act sick, so how was Marvelyn to know he had a disease? It takes him months to admit that he has the disease and that he has infected her. Marvelyn’s life has just been turned upside down and she must now face her biggest fear, being alone and exiled from her family, friends, and community. She knows her fate and begins to plan her funeral. Marvelyn Brown is ready to die…until she finds something to live for.

Follow Marvelyn on her journey as she struggles with self-love and acceptance in her quest for the truth behind the foreign disease living inside of her.

This book is the voice of the new generation of young adults, Marvelyn's message hits home and tugs at heartstrings, without the vulgarity typically found within a story of this nature. Her story mirror the all too common behavior that many teens engage in. The Naked Truth is raw and uncut. Marvelyn is straightforward about how ignorance about the sexually transmitted disease. Her story is a haunting revelation of the increasing number of young people continuing to become infected with HIV. Brown raises awareness about the misconceptions and stigmas associated with HIV. The Naked Truth ignites arousal and a sense of wanting to promote awareness within communities. Marvelyn's story is relatable in that she is typical young adult leading an ordinary life and suddenly she has an incurable disease. Marvelyn Brown could be your daughter, your sister, your best friend, your niece or your granddaughter.