Jess is convinced she is unattractive and undesirable. She is, however, quite clever. Her self-deprecating humor and funny critical analysis of self, friends, teachers, and parents follows her from home, to school, to hanging with her chums. Will her goddess-like friend Flora win the affection of every boy in school, even the ones Jess fancies? Will everyone in school find out what she did to make her boobs look bigger? Will Jess’s Dad, who lives on the coast hours away, come to see her, instead of sending daily text messages? GIRL, 15, CHARMING BUT INSANE, is quirky and unpredictable. Author, Sue Limb ties things up nicely in the end, but not too tidily. Questions are answered and problems solved, but one thing always leads to another with Jess. A few strands are left dangling, enough to entice the reader back for more. Bauer, Joan. 2000. HOPE WAS HERE. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 0399231420
HOPE WAS HERE is a book full of, well, hope; and Hope. Hope is a teen-age girl being raised by her aunt, Addie. The story starts with the two of them moving from New York to Wisconsin after Addie’s business partner in the diner they owned ran off with all the money. This isn’t the first move they have had to make. Addie is a cook, a very good one; and Hope is a waitress, also quite experienced, especially for her age. Wherever they go, they work together, Hope and Addie. Wherever they go, there is the hope that this will be the place they settle. Too many times, things hadn’t worked out and they had had to move on. Hope keeps a scrapbook of all the places she’s lived and worked. If she ever meets her father, she’ll use the book to tell him all about herself. When they wind up at Welcome Stairways Cafe, they discover the owner, GT has cancer; and that’s not the only battle he’s fighting. To fight corruption and help the community, he challenges the mayor in the upcoming election. A cast of characters gets behind him, including Hope and Addie. The food they cook is as comforting as the story itself. Throw in a little romance and political intrigue and what comes out is a very satisfying story.Reinhardt, Dana. 2006. A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE. New York: Random House, Inc. ISBN 0385909403
Sixteen year old Simone has known she was adopted all of her life. Her parents are open and loving. They, along with her younger brother Jack, are a happy family. Simone’s life is going along just fine when her parents let her know that her birth mother Rivka, whom she has never known, wants to meet her. As much as Simone wants to resist, she just can’t. After Rivka is invited to spend Thanksgiving with the family, Simone begins to spend time with her. She learns about her Jewish heritage, and she also learns that her biological mother is dying of cancer. Ironically, Simone, the self-professed atheist, asks Rivka, who has doubts about her own faith, "Do you ever think God is punishing you? Do you ever think that maybe if you hadn't turned your back on your faith this wouldn't be happening?" Simone has much to work through in this story, including the issues surrounding her family, faith, and loss. There are happy moments, too. In fact, she goes back and forth between joy and sorrow, anger and guilt. In the end she finally finds peace. The end of the story, though, is really a beginning for Simone. She has found a wonderful boyfriend, has aced the college entrance exam, has her choice of colleges, and has a promising high school senior year ahead of her. She also has the memory of her birth mother, who in the short time they were together, taught one another so much.
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