Mikey and his friends are just about to graduate from high school. It's their final couple of weeks before the summer holidays and then they're off on their separate ways to university. But there are a few problems :
1) Mikey has OCD - it's so bad he thinks the loop won't break and he'll die;
2) His older sister Mel has an eating disorder and needs constant monitoring;
3) His dad is an alcoholic;
4) His mum is running for Congress and everyone has to appear normal;
5) He loves Henna, but hasn't told her, but Henna loves new boy Nathan, who seems very suspicious;
6) His best friend Jared is part God of feline animals;
7) The town they live in is about to be taken over by Immortals - they come in the guise of police officers with blue rays coming out of their eyes. But it's OK, the indie kids are around to save the day;
8) The indie kids are being killed off one by one;
9) There are zombie deer.
I know, sounds weird. It definitely seems that way when you start reading it, but strangely the main theme of teens struggling with emotions, exams, anxieties, sexual preferences, whether someone's your friend or not, whether someone fancies you or not, parents - all the usual teen angst stuff - makes the story seem more normal than it actually is. Many of you will spot throw-ins from other top-selling kids' novels - vampires (check), Greek Gods (check), cancer victims (check), zombies (check). I loved all the characters, and I think many teens will find something from each of them to identify with. I did spend rather a large amount of time wondering whether there was an underlying meaning to the Immortals and the indie kids. Were the Immortals just authority figures trying to run the kids' lives? Were the indie kids just synonymous with people being different and that it was ok to be different, that they matter too and are just as important as everyone else, in fact they can be the heroes? However in the end, I just enjoyed it for what it is - something a little bit different and a little bit wonderful by one of my favourite authors.
Amy & Matthew - A Love Story
by Cammie McGovern
Amy has cerebral palsy. She can't talk, so she types her words into a special voice machine that says them for her. She has to use a special walker to get around. Matthew has OCD. They are both students at the same high school and neither have any friends. Amy and her mother decide to allocate school peers to help Amy around school during the day and to introduce her to their friends. Matthew becomes one of the peers. They quickly realise that though they have different illnesses and handicaps, they are very similar people - they are both looking for friendship and love. But the path to love is not always a smooth one, and Amy in particular has to go through a huge upheaval in her life to realise that what she is looking for has always been there.
The book tackles the two disabilities quite well but I didn't like Amy's character very much. She was self-centred and secretive and I'm not surprised Matthew was so very frustrated with her. I did feel very sorry for him. He starts to make friends on his own and gets a job and even finds that a girl has a secret crush on him, but his love for Amy stays with him, even when she does something that no other boyfriend would forgive.
If you are interested in other books which tackle disabilities, then try Wonder by R.J. Palacio which tackles facial disfigurement, The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison which tackles OCD, and Colin Fischer by Miller and Stentz which concerns autism.
The Butterfly Clues
by Kate Ellison
I have been reading far too many young adult dystopian novels - it was time for a change. And here it was. A superb thriller which sucks you in until you can't put it down. I filled up in a few places, and then felt a warmth of happiness and a smile on my face during the romantic parts. I was slightly irritated at the beginning by the main character's obsessive compulsive behaviour - all her little routines, words and actions she had to carry out - but as I continued through the book, it was accepted that was part of her behaviour, part of her coping, and it didn't bother me after that.
While trying to find out her late brother's last whereabouts, Penelope becomes involved in an incident which draws her into the world of Neverland - a place of homelessness, drug addicts, strip joints, and the charming Flynt. Yet Penelope is learning to trust nobody, not even the police. When she is hunted down and threatened by murderers, Penelope resolves to solve the mystery herself - with terrifying results.
A hard-hitting thriller, with language and themes to suit the higher end of teenage - I'd recommend 14/15yrs.
If you like this, try The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant.
