Me, Him, Them, and It

Me, Him, Them, and It

by Caela Carter

 

When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow? (decsription from Amazon.com)

 

This book was just what I needed to get me out of my mini reading funk.  I think I'd read too many fantasy based book recently, so I knew I needed some good realistic fiction.  Me, Him, Them, and It fit the bill perfectly!

 

Carter depicts a teenage girl who makes a mistake and then must pay the consequences for it.  I really liked how Evelyn was not just some "bad" girl who accidentally winds up pregnant...she is a future valedictorian rebelling against her parents in the worst possible way.  She felt like a hugely well-rounded character to me.  In fact, I loved most of the characters.  They were flawed and realistic and even if some might not have been fully developed, they at least represented a really varied cast of characters.

 

Seeing the confused and scared way that Evie reacts over the nine months felt "real." I couldn't imagine what I would have done in that situation and I thought Carter did an excellent job conveying all the emotional turmoil that erupted in Evie's life.  This is a book that pulls no punches emotionally.  I cried my way through the ending.  Heartbroken, awed, and then optimistically, yet cautiously joyous. 

 

I found myself comparing this book to Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret. They both cover an unexpected teen pregnancy in a very realistic and emotionally evocative way. If you liked that one, check this one out...and if you like this one, check out that one next!

 

Full disclosure: eARC received from Netgalley for review

The Cruisers

The Cruisers
by Walter Dean Myers

Zander and his friends, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi start their own newspaper, The Cruiser, as a means for speaking out, keeping the peace, and expressing what they believe. When the school launches a mock Civil War, Zander and his friends are forced to consider the true meaning of democracy and what it costs to stand up for a cause. The result is nothing they could have expected, and everything they could have hoped for.

Zander Scott and his friends, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi are in trouble. Even though they're students at DaVinci, one of the best Gifted and Talented schools in Harlem, their grades are slipping, and Mr. Culpepper, the Assistant Principal and Chief Executioner, is ready to be rid of them.

When the school starts a unit on the Civil War, and kids split up into Union and Confederate sympathizers, Zander and his crew are given a charge - to negotiate a peace between both sides before the war actually breaks out.

That's when Zander comes up with the idea to launch an alternative school newspaper called The Cruiser. What he and his friends learn is that their writing has power to keep the peace, but that words can be weapons, too. Soon everyone at DaVinci is forced to consider the true meaning of democracy and what it costs to stand up for a cause. The result is nothing they could have expected, and everything they could have hoped for. (description from Amazon.com)

I was surprised how much I really enjoyed this book. I would never have picked it up on my own, but I'm glad it was sent to me. The Cruisers is short and relatable, but also thoughtprovoking and profound.

It manages to teach civil war history, discuss whether slavery was at all morally right, and how we all still relate to each other now. The action was interspersed with snippets of newspaper articles from the different ones published at their school which gave a really personal perspective to the different viewpoints.
Well done.

Full disclosure: Received audiobook to review for SLJ.