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TABLE OF EVERYTHING

Name: TABLE OF EVERYTHING
Author: Trudy White
ISBN: 1-86508-135-3

by Trudy White ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2001

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In a hard-to-categorize debut, Australian White lets her imagination run free with 17 short first-person . . . well, pieces, for lack of a more specific term: one introduces a friend who adds a wing to her house for her pencil collection; another pictures memory as a labyrinthine archive run by scurrying sugar ants; in another, she presents the sounds on her street as a “Concerto For Autumn” (“Section two is punctuated by sudden door slams—house and car . . .”), then describes the “concerto’s” CD cover. Here, an open-hearted couple restores a “Very Slow Train” to service, with mixed success; there, the narrator hears a cat reciting Andrew Marvell (“Poetry Ambush”), or explores the “Topography of Wishes” in the mountain of discarded intentions that fills her back yard. Smudgy black-and-white paintings and smaller ink sketches add a casual air to the collection. Young creative writers and fans of the unconventional will be amused, entertained—and maybe even inspired by—these quirky vignettes. (Short stories. YA)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2001

ISBN: 1-86508-135-3

Page Count: 132

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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SOME MISTAKES WERE MADE

by Kristin Dwyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2022

A powerful tale of found family and first love.

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After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past.

Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up spending her senior year with her aunt in California. In Indiana, Ellis practically grew up with the Albrey family and their three tightknit sons, Dixon, Tucker, and Easton. Now, Tucker wants her to return home for matriarch Sandry Albrey’s 50th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July—but Ellis is dreading seeing Easton, as they haven’t talked since she left. Chapters alternate between past and present, and much of the story unravels slowly: How did she come to live with the Albreys? What caused Ellis to then end up in San Diego? What happened in her relationship with Easton? Patient readers will find the heartfelt tension pays off. With her father in and out of jail and an absent mother, socio-economic differences separating Ellis from the middle-class Albreys don’t go unnoticed, and Ellis’ down-to-earth journey shows how she unpacks her feelings about her relationship with her parents. The slow-build romance is swoonworthy, and young adult fans of Colleen Hoover seeking emotional devastation and unforgettable characters will find much to enjoy here. Characters read as White.

A powerful tale of found family and first love. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: May 10, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-06-308853-5

Page Count: 384

Publisher: HarperTeen

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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THE WAY I AM NOW

by Amber Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023

Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma.

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In this follow-up to 2016’s The Way I Used To Be, a high school senior comes to understand that surviving rape is only the first part; what comes next is hard, too.

Eden is learning how to live after coming forward and publicly naming her rapist following three years of self-loathing and destructive behavior. In counseling, she’s working to understand who she is now, while also maintaining relationships with friends who don’t know what happened and family members who are dealing with guilt and anger in their own ways. Others’ reactions often leave Eden feeling like her honesty was more burdensome than helpful. She awaits the trial and reconnects with Josh, the boy she loved even when she couldn’t love herself and the only person outside her family who knew the truth. While Eden and Josh want love to be enough, both come with emotional baggage that must be dealt with before they can truly give themselves to each other. This emotional story about learning to take back control explores the fraught journey back to self for survivors and those who love them most. It is well paced and well executed and effectively shows how the legal system can make victims feel pressured and lonely. Readers need to be familiar with the first volume to fully understand this one. Main characters are cued white.

Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)