Where It Began - Guest Post

Guest Post - Lanora Melillo, Youth Services Librarian

From 10/5/13 - Where It Began 

This week I finished Where it Began by Anne Redische Stampler. For the month of October, my high school/teen book club is reading this book that the media specialist won multiple copies of. I purchased an ebook version of this book to support the author who sent us free copies.

I consider myself a pretty faster reader, but I spent about 4 days reading this book. I wanted to make sure since I will be having a book discussion later on this month that I had the facts straight.

!!! The below written content contains SPOILERS !!!

The novel is about a teen name Gabby who has just woken up from a severe car accident and is trying to puzzle together in her mind what happened despite forgetting the fact that she acute memory loss.

We learn quickly that Gabby is in lust with her boyfriend Billy and is eager to get back to them pleasing each other physically. We learn that Billy is a bad boy who was already on probation and now cannot see Gabby because it would break his probation. Gabby and Billy secretly talk online and on the phone.

Gabby wants to be a good and understanding girlfriend when her boyfriend tells her not to talk to any of her old friends and tells her that they cannot be together or be seen together at school.

Slowly as Gabby starts to come to terms on her new reality when she sees something happen at school that does not add up.  At this point in the story, I found out what really happened and who is responsible.

!!! The above written content contains SPOILERS !!!

My thoughts: This is a realistic fiction book and I felt the author did an excellent job getting into the head of Gabby; however, I felt that she made Gabby much more naive than she needed to be. The story reminded me of a side plot in the movie Mean Girls - except, Gabby.. doesn't remember being a Mean Girl or a Stupid Girl - she just remembers she loves Billy.

I feel teen girls will enjoy this book a little bit more than boys. Since the entire book is focused on Billy, it is difficult for the other characters to have really some substance. I did not feel Gabby develop enough for me to like her.  I give the author a lot of credit in writing a novel about drunk driving, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if Gabby and her peers were not rich and just average kids. It is hard to focus on that when her mother is pushing for her daughter to have a boyfriend, pretty hair and cool friends. In fact at one point while Gabby is still in the hospital, her mother forbids Gabby from talking to childhood friends (they are not cool) and will let her talk to a “newer” friend.

LTM Revised: 10/29/13

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Name: Naorin H. Grade Level: 11
Title & Author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Impression: Good
Recommend: Yes
Favorite part: My favorite part was reading the letters from Dante because he changes so much after he goes to Chicago but he never forgets Ari.
Favorite Character:  My favorite character was Dante because he's such a lively character and he firmly supports all his beliefs and acts on them.
Summary:

Ari has always been a loner until one summer when he meets Dante. Dante teaches him how to swim and they become best friends. One day, Dante and Ari get into a car accident. Ari saves Dante's life but nearly dies himself in the process. They're bond is as close as ever and continues to strengthen with every obstacle thrown at them.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

Name: Natalie   Grade: 11

Title & Author:  In Darkness by Nick Lake Impression: Awful

Recommend: No

Favorite part: The cover was nice...

Favorite character:   None...

Summary: It was as dry as a dessert.

In Darkness by Nick Lake

Name: Joey B.,  Grade:  11

Title & Author :  In Darkness by Nick Lake
Impression: Okay

Recommend: No
Favorite part? The part when he met the guy from the past for the first time
Favorite character? Why? Shorty because he was very outspoken
Summary:  The book is about a haitian boy trapped under the rubble of a hurricane and he dreams of a man from a long time ago
Feedback:  I didn't like the wording and it jumped around too much

In Darkness by Nick Lake

Name: Jake F. Grade: 9

Title & Author: In Darkness by Nick Lake

Impression : Okay/Awful

Recommend: Yes

Favorite part? I did not really have a favorite part because the book was quite dull, but I would have to say that I did enjoy the part when Shorty and Marguerite were traveling with the baby they found because it was somewhat of an adventure. And I really enjoy reading adventures.

Favorite character? Why?  My favorite character was Marguerite. Marguerite, according to Shorty, was a kind person and would be a kind hearted and good girl. It seemed as if she had no evil in her at all; she even took a baby out of the garbage and carried in her arms, with the help of shorty, until someone would help her. Overall Marguerite was an interesting person to read about and I wish she could have been in more of the book......

Summary:

The book takes place in three different times; the past, Shorty's past, and the present. The main character is Shorty, he is a Haitian boy who is trapped in a hospital by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He tells the tale of Haiti's past in the 18th century how Toussaint l'Ouverturefreed the slaves from the French. And how he ended up in the hospital. Shorty's tale involves gangs, adventure, true life history mixed with voodoo myths, or truths, and mystery. The gangster life had taken away Shorty's father and sister Marguerite and he doesn't stop searching for his sister and gets involved with the gangs and himself, becomes a gangster and befriends the man who killed his dad. Will Shorty ever get out of the hospital alive? Read to find out.

Additional comments:

When I first started reading this book I was interested to read it. All the summaries and reviews that I read prior were all pointing this book in a positive direction. It even won the 2013 Printz award. Despite all the positive backing this book had, I was very disappointed to find that it was a dull and slow moving story that was confusing to understand. A note that I must make before I go and trash it is that a friend explained some parts of the book, and my interest seemed to perk up again. She said she listened to it and thought it was fantastic, I don't know for sure if I was reading it wrong or the author just wrote in a dull way, but I was not interested while reading. However, if I ever get the chance, I think this book deserves on more try. :)

In Darkness by Nick Lake

Name: Hannah C. Grade: 9

Title & Author: In Darkness by Nick Lake

What was your impression of the book?: Awful

Recommend ? No

Favorite part? I don't have a favorite part because I gave up reading it after the first 40 pages. In my opinion, the book was dry and its style just didn't pique my interest or grab my attention.

Favorite character? Why? Like I said, I didn't finish the book but I did like Shorty's twin, Marguerite. A person who can find hope in the midst of poverty and violence is an automatic favorite of mine.

Summary:

Shorty is trapped under the ruins of a hospital destroyed by the 2010 earthquake. As he struggles to survive, his story begins to intertwine with that of a slave from the past named Toussaint. Toussaint's spirit sort of appears to Shorty and helps keep him alive long enough until help can get through the rubble.