Bang by Barry Lyga

One of my favorite authors of young adult literature has always been Barry Lyga. I have enjoyed every book of his that I have read and his stories have a habit of consuming my life until they are finished so I was ecstatic when Bang arrived on my desk a couple months ago. Yet again, Barry Lyga has provided me with a powerful, well-written and unique story that I recommend to older teens and adults.  

This emotional roller coaster begins with the main character, Sebastian, discussing his younger sister and why there are no traces of her around the house. No photos of his sister can be found around the house, no girl clothes in the laundry baskets, no baby dolls strewn about after being played with because she was killed when she was four months old by a pistol. A pistol that was used by Sebastian.

Bang tells the story of a young man who is struggling with the loss of a sibling and with being responsible for her death. Although he was just a small child himself, Sebastian feels guilty and it encapsulates his entire existence. It was difficult to read the story as Sebastian and see how depressing his life was and the thoughts that ran through his mind while dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. How would you face your mother every single day knowing that you killed her baby? How could you accept her love and not feel horrible for what you took from her? Does she secretly hate you? These were all questions I had while thinking about his situation.

When Aneesa moves into town, Sebastian finally finds a new friend and she brings a new sense of purpose into his life by helping him make Youtube videos about making different kinds of pizza. Just when things seem to be looking up for Sebastian, the story heads into a different direction and leads to an unexpected ending that left me in tears. This story begins and ends with a bang.

Recommended for fans of Barry Lyga, young adult literature or realistic and contemporary fiction.

-Lauren

Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

October is the perfect time to read this entertaining, scary novel written by Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller. Nightmares! Is packed with monsters and other creatures only found in the Netherworld. You can read this story with your entire family and would be a great read-aloud.

Charlie and his little brother follow his father to a new house after his father remarries, after the death of his wife and Charlie’s mother. The new house is a giant, old mansion that gives Charlie the creeps. He also does not like his new stepmother, mainly because he feels that she may be a witch. After moving into the mansion, Charlie begins having the same recurring nightmare and he becomes suspicious of the house. Nobody seems to believe Charlie about his suspicions or his nightmares until his nightmare begins to terrorize the town. Already suspicious about the mansion, Charlie and his friends begin to explore when they come upon a portal to the Netherworld, which Charlie has unknowingly opened. Inside the portal are everyone’s nightmares and they can escape if the portal is not closed. Leader of the Netherworld, President Fear, works hard to make sure they cannot close the portal. Will Charlie be able to close the portal and save the town from continuous nightmares?

I recommend this story to families who have children in upper elementary to middle school. Some of the scenes can be frightening to young children or those who are fearful or do not enjoy scary stories.

This is the first book in the Nightmares! Series. The second book is The Sleepwalker Tonic. The third book, The Lost Lullaby, has not been released yet. 

-Lauren

Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

After his wife dies suddenly in an unexplained accident, a man and his two young sons are faced with a grief that threatens to consume them. Soon after, the Crow of myth comes to stay with them, promising to stay with them until he is no longer needed. Crow is just like he is in the fables: a trickster and a villain, but he is also a solace to the family struck-through with sorrow.

The publisher’s description calls Grief is the Thing with Feathers “part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief,” and I have to agree. Porter has taken a straight-forward narrative – a father and his sons work to regain themselves after suffering a tragic loss – and infuses it with the realistic unreality of fable and writes it to reflect the disjointed way we remember our lives during times we are faced with overwhelming grief. He infuses a bit of madness here, a spot of humor there, and an underlying feeling of being lost but maybe (hopefully) not forever. The wordplay and flow reminded me of beat poetry, but the content and story feel very 21^st Century.

I love both short stories and novellas. When done well, they take a story and strip away all of the extra, anything that is unessential, leaving only the truth behind. Porter has done just that.  Don’t let the small size fool you (it’s only 128 pages), this book is not light reading.

-Portia Kapraun