Being a young adult is to inhabit a complex and confusing world. When books address this phase of life beautifully, they can be breathtaking. Here are my top ten YA books of 2019.StargirlWriter: Jerry SpinelliPublisher: Laurel LeafThinking about Stargirl makes me smile, for the character of Stargirl is impossibly sweet, impossibly wonderful. Leo loves her, but unlike her, he is bound by this world. He seeks the approval and acceptance of people around him and he wants Stargirl to be normal, even though he assures her that he loves how not-normal she is.For a while, Stargirl tries, for she loves Leo too. But that is not who she is. How can Stargirl be normal? In a different context, I could ask, how do you keep a wave upon the sand?Read my review of StargirlBuy StargirlWolf CryWriter: Julia GoldingPublisher: Frost WolfFrom an author I love comes … [Read more...]
Pig Heart Boy
Cameron's heart is weak. He does not know how long he has to live. But there's a doctor who believes that a heart transplant from a pig will give him a chance. And Cameron decides to take the chance.Pig Heart Boy is an incredible story, overwhelming me with all the ideas it encompasses. Life and death, family, friendship, betrayal, economic hardship, incomprehensible greed, animal rights ... The nuances of the story took my breath away.Cameron's parents fight all the time, and the thirteen-year-old boy hates it, especially as he knows he is central to many of their quarrels. Even when it comes to the idea of going through a 'procedure' and getting the heart of a pig, his mother isn't convinced, unlike his father. Worse, the entire procedure has to be hush-hush because Dr Bryce knows only too well that a transplant of this sort would attract unnecessary attention. Cameron realises … [Read more...]