The After Girls by Leah Konen

A small synop from the author's webpage:  Ella, Astrid and Sydney were planning the perfect summer after high school graduation. But when Astrid commits suicide, the girls’ world is shattered. Shouldn’t they have seen this coming? Couldn’t they have saved her?

As Ella hunts for answers and Sydney tries to dull the pain, a chilling message from Astrid leaves them wondering whether their beloved friend is communicating from the after world. The girls embark on a journey to uncover Astrid’s dark secrets, and the answers to the questions they never dreamed of asking will change their lives–forever.

My Take

I really loved the characters in this book.  They were so unique yet tied together through their friendship.  I'm sure when a friend commits suicide, those left behind so shoulder those feelings of responsibility or at the very least have nagging questions as to why. 

There was a line I loved in this book as well.  Sydney was talking about her long time love interest Max (not the ideal guy for her).  She said, "He wanted everything from her and nothing all at once."  I know I've been there more than once!  So perfectly said. 

The story moved along at a decent pace.  It didn't totally enthrall me, but I did like it.  I'm giving this one 4 ghostly kisses!

Brother/Sister by Sean Olin

First, let me say sorry for taking ages to post reviews here lately.  I've been busy with life's happenings though, and I appreciate everyone understanding that. :)  You're all the greatest!
Here's a quick bit about Brother/Sister by Sean Olin from it's goodreads page: Will and Asheley have a troubled past. Their father left them when they were little, and their mother has just been carted off to an alcohol treatment center. Now, they have the house to themselves, and an endless California summer stretching out before them. Through alternating perspectives, they tell the story of how and why their lives spun violently out of control - right up to the impossibly shocking conclusion you'll have to read for yourself to believe.
My Take

Will and Asheley are close siblings.  Their lives have been in the shambles pretty much from the start and things are only getting worse.  This book really makes you think about how one wrong choice ignites others and can set someone in a tailspin.  That being said, there was a fair amount of mental illness in this book as well.  Very rarely does someone escape a traumatic upbringing completely unscathed.  This is as much about the heartbreaking events as well as the undoing of these characters (heartbreaking in its own right) as anything else.
I thought it was well written and gripping.  While somewhat disturbing in the events that take place, it's gritty reality at the same time.  I'll give this one 4 shattered stars.

Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten

Here's a quick bit from the website: Single mother Danielle Parkman is at the end of her rope and she knows it. A successful attorney, Danielle works grueling hours for her clients, yet devotes every spare moment to her teenage son, Max, who has Asperger’s – high-functioning autism. Alarmingly, Max has become violent and suicidal. Danielle is frantic. None of the professionals have helped him. Desperate for guidance, Danielle brings Max to a psychiatric hospital in the hope that the best and the brightest will bring the son she loves back to her. The bizarre twists and turns that take place in the hospital force Danielle to consider the unimaginable -- that Max’s problems may be greater than anyone could have imagined.

And then the true horror begins. Danielle finds Max lying bloody and unconscious next to the bed of a murdered patient – a boy his own age. When Max becomes the prime suspect, Danielle is determined to find the killer and absolve her son. She risks everything in a race against time to find out the truth. Is her son a murderer?

My Take
 
Okay, can you say INTENSE?!  This book is the stuff my nightmares are made of.  While it's not a YA book, it was totally wicked awesome to be sure.  We're launched pretty quickly into the heart-wrenching choice of Danielle having to put her child into a psychiatric facility for diagnoses.  That in itself is difficult enough.  Then when she can't manage to get her child returned to her, scary.  Things just get worse from there. 

While I did find the fact that Danielle kept running off and taking all these crazy chances a tad on the frustrating side, I would have done the same for my child if possible.  This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.  Some of the details were a little gory, but nothing I couldn't take.

I love Doaks, the crusty old private investigator.  Every time he appeared in the book, I pictured Sam Elliott.  If they ever make a movie, I vote for him to play Doaks.

Having a child that has several diagnoses, I know that mental illness among adolescents is so misunderstood.  It was a tad scary how closely this book could have potentially mirrored reality as well.  I even found myself waking up at night, pondering how this was all going to work out in the end.

SAVING MAX is released in October 2010.  This book comes with four kisses from me!
 

Border Crossing by Jessica Lee Anderson

Here's a bit about Border Crossing from Ms. Anderson's website:  Manz is sure of one thing—he lives on the wrong side of the tracks in dusty Rockhill, Texas. Life is tough for everyone—his hard-drinking mother, her truck-driving boyfriend, even his privileged friend Jed—but especially for Manz, the mixed-race son of migrant apple pickers. If he could only get out of town, his life would be better.


When the summer heat sets in, Manz and Jed take a job rebuilding fence for a cattle ranch outside town. There he meets Vanessa, who works in the ranch's kitchen. The two hit it off, but Manz isn't sure he can trust her. As the dog days drag on, Manz must negotiate an unwieldy terrain involving an unpredictable, alcoholic mother, a best friend whose father uses him as a punching bag, and a simmering, creeping delusion that "Operation Wetback"—which brutally relocated illegal aliens deep in Mexican territory following World War II—has been put back into effect. Manz's bright and questioning mind begins to give in to its own claustrophobic temptations as he finds guidance in the voices that have been growing louder and more insistent each day.
*Note: I won this book from Nerds Heart YA.  I want to thank them.  Stop by their site sometime.

My Take

To represent a young adult with mental illness in a book can be challenging.  To depict them beautifully and with any kind of honesty is even more difficult.  However, that is exactly what Ms. Anderson winds up doing.  She masterfully writes about the frightening descent into schizophrenia.  Soon enough we feel Manz's terrifying paranoia that everyone is out to get him.  His fear of being deported, despite his being a legal citizen is crippling him.  Manz's family does not discuss their problems.  His mother drowns the grief of the loss of Gabriel (Manz's half brother) in the whiskey bottles she hides.  Tom, Manz's stepfather covers his grief in constant jokes. 

Manz wants to help Jed, his best friend and Jed's sister Sally.  Their father is physically abusive to the entire family.  Sadly, he can't seem to ignore the voices long enough to see any avenues of assistance for them. 

This book was lovely, in a heartbreaking sort of way.  It was sad to see Manz deteriorate and fall under the spells his own mind was casting on him.  As a parent, you long to be the balm that soothes, to have the hand that heals.  Mental illness is a cruel monster indeed.  You loved one often looks whole and healthy, while inside the confines of their mind, they're waging a war for their very life.  Ms. Anderson depicts that desperation, the spiral that pulls you in deeper so well.  I appreciated this book for exactly what it was, an honest story, beautifully told.  Four big kisses for the honesty and integrity of this one!

Marcelo In the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Here's a brief summary from Mr. Stork's website: Seventeen-year-old Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear, part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify.

Marcelo is tagged with a "developmental disorder" because of his pervasive interest in God and all things religious and because he does not relate to others as expected. He's always attended a special school where his differences have been protected. But the summer after his junior year, his father demands that Marcelo work in his law firm's mailroom in order to experience "the real world." There Marcelo meets Jasmine, a beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. Marcelo learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file — a picture of a girl with half a face — that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.
 
I realized while reading this book that there is a entire segment of our population, those with disabilities that are under represented in literature today.  So many young adults have ADHD, Autism spectrum disorders, OCD, etc.  Do they not deserve to read about characters who face those same challenges?  Characters who are portrayed as strong and capable, not broken and less than those without disabilities.
 

I loved Marcelo In the Real World!  He lives in a tree house and that in itself rocks.  He's thoughtful, smart, unique, naive in a beautiful sort of way.  He is pure of heart and just such a phenomenal person.  My son had his own disabilities that he grapples with and I know many other children who do as well.  It was wonderful to see a character with disabilties portrayed in such a capable, heartwarming manner.  There were times where I found myself laughing out loud at things Marcelo did or said.  I wanted to defend him against Wendell and his father.   Seeing his relationship develop with Jasmine is great. 
One of my favorites parts is when Marcelo is talking about his school, Paterson (not the real world) and says:  For all the pain I saw at Paterson, it is nothing compared to the pain people inflict upon each other in the real world....Only how is it possible to live without being numb to it or overwhelmed by it. 

I even think the cover is kinda' magical in its own way.  I enjoyed this book and give it four roses.