#2: The Tribes of Palos Verdes by Joy Nicholson

I have been wanting to write a decent review of this book for a long time. And by decent, I mean longer than the one I wrote for my Language class. (Small word limits frustrate me. That's why blogs are great: you can write as much as you want :) ) It totally deserves it, as I hope you'll see as this entry progresses.

This book has a very special vibe to it. I'm not sure I would call it spiritual, though you could interpret it like that if you wanted it to. The author doesn't use a lot of complicated words such as pulchritudinous (look it up and be amazed), but there is no need to; the way the protagonist tells her story draws you in with a pull like that of the waves she surfs, and her honest, reliable and authentic voice will surprise, sadden and intrigue you over and over again.

Our protagonist, Medina Mason, is a teenage girl with a lot of things going against her. She is the new kid at school and in the exclusive Palos Verdes area. At school she is isolated, bullied and misunderstood. Her parents have been getting along terribly, and it doesn't look like it will get any better. Jim Mason, her twin brother, is growing distant as the days pass, changing into a completely different person thanks to his popularity at school and, later on, his experiments with drugs. Medina herself is unable to stay completely away from drugs, but unlike her brother, she is able to keep a clear head about her family's issues and her personal issues.

Unlike the other girls at her school, who are only concerned with looks and popularity, Medina is passionate about surfing. She holds to her passion, and to her unique style, in spite of the taunts and jeers of her apathetic peers and the disintegrating stability in her family. She is honest, open, even a bit cynical, but still all the way lovable.

I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a unique, deep and highly engrossing read, especially if you are a teenager, if you have been bullied and/or if you have divorced parents. Personally, I've read it three times, and could very much read it again. When I first picked it up, I was a fourteen year-old, flat-chested girl with very few friends and recently divorced parents. This book came right when I needed it to.

If you haven't read this book, I sincerely hope you do and that you enjoy it. If you have, awesome! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and choose to reread it. :)

Stay tuned for more recommendations and updates!

Thank you so much. Stay awesome :)

Courtney

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The Tribes of Palos Verdes Review by Courtney Justus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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#1: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

I finished "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell with great gusto last month. It was a very enjoyable book, and I recommend it to anyone who's interested in a sweet novel with a twinge of sadness. The writing's a bit different from most of the novels I read, since the main character is a British boy from the 1980s, but nonetheless, it's still very understandable.

The story centers around Jason Taylor, a tween living in a tiny town in England pre-Falklands War. Jason loves to write, but he is plagued by a stutter and the desperate need to fit in at school. In order to do this, Jason attempts to keep both his writing and his speech problem as hidden as possible.

One of the main reasons I liked this book so much and am recommending it here is because of what I like to think of as little moments of wisdom. A couple of these moments come from the unlikeliest character in the book: Jason's sister Julia.

At first, Julia gives the impression of being a very typical, sort of snobby teenage sister. She loves going out with her friends and meeting boys. She also picks on Jason at times, even calling him "Thing" when she gets mad at him.
However, Julia has another side to her. She can also be a very hard worker and an open person, and she is determined to make Jason feel better when she gives him the following words:

-"It'll be all right." Julia's gentleness makes it worse. "In the end, Jace."
"It doesn't feel very all right."
"That's because it's not the end.”-

Black Swan Green, David Mitchell, 2006

Let's take a better look at Jason Taylor's life. The "popular" boys at school pick on him, his parents aren't getting along and his teachers don't seem to understand him very well. But somehow Jason pushes through, even by the skin of his teeth. He may not be the most popular, but he is able to win the respect of Dean Moran, a boy once called "Moron" who turns out to be amicable and good-spirited, and surprisingly, Holly Deblin, the new girl at school. Holly is the same one who approaches Jason on one of his uglier days, and tells him:

"You're not a maggot. Don't let dickheads decide what you are."

Black Swan Green, David Mitchell, 2006

I'm not going to tell you what becomes of Jason, his family and his schoolmates, but I will say that if you can give yourself the time, this is a book well worth reading.

;)

Courtney

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Black Swan Green Review by Courtney Justus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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