This month I read three fine YA novels:
Recently, I got to read one of the best books I've come across in some time: WINGER, by Andrew Smith. This powerful novel takes place at a boarding school, and showcases attitudes towards coming of age, dealing with dating, and issues of sexual identity. Ryan Dean West, a fourteen-year-old junior at the top of his class, is not gay and he tells us so many times. As do many of the other boys living at Pine Mountain school. But one of their rugby teammates is, and the credo is to accept anyone on the team without question. Winger tells a heart-wrenching tale with plenty of humor. Ryan Dean is far from perfect, but at least he's willing to learn.
THREATENED, by Eliot Schrefer
, describes one boy's struggle to survive in the jungle with an adopted family of chimpanzees. With his mother and sister dead, Luc is alone on the streets of Franceville, Gabon, in Africa. When Prof shows up, at first all Luc sees is an opportunity to steal a locked case full of valuables. But Luc is offered a job, and a way out of Franceville, so he agrees to help Prof study chimpanzees. Almost as soon as they enter the jungle, they encounter a family of chimps who are both endearing and aggressive. While Prof prefers to watch and take notes, Luc finds himself drawn into the dynamic of his new neighbors. He learns how to communicate with the "mock men," and finds himself becoming increasingly involved with Drummer, Mango, and the other chimps nesting nearby. The complex plot and exotic setting provide a nice background for thoughts on preservation of the species.
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