We Were Here

We Were Here
By : Matt de la Pena
www.mattdelapena.com

The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.

When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home—said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can’t even look at him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live.

But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting to the border to where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother. Forget himself.

Life usually doesn’t work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you’re running from.

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I loved this book. I picked it up ahead of the Rochester Teen Book Fest (May 15th) as de la Pena is one of the authors attending and I'm glad I chose this book. This book is written in something close to journal form, with Miguel having to fill in a journal as part of his court mandated punishment for the crime he comitted. We don't find out the exact nature of his crime until the end of the book, which I really liked, because it allowed me to really get to know Miguel without having a preconcieved notion about him related to his crime.

Miguel is a great character. He find himself a criminal, one who's actions, albiet accidental, have left him an outcast from his family and in a group home for troubled boys. Even there he doesn't fit in. He just reads books, and tries to keep to himself and finish his time. When Mong, a fellow group homer who Miguel has a negative relationship to asks him to break out with him, Miguel agrees, taking his roommate Rondell with him. The trio, each vastly different from eachother, form an unlikely bond as they try to make it down the coast to Mexico.

Throughout their trip they encounter alot of obstacles. How to get food, how to deal with people prejudices and even how to deal with death. By the time they reach Mexico, they realize that it may not be the right path and have to decide what is the best course.

I really liked this book because it didn't shy away from some really tough issues. It had damaged characters, one with a serious illness, one suffering from the long term effects of his mothers drug use, and one trying to come to grips with a horrific accident. This book never asks us to pity them though, it simply shows us who they are as they try to navigate a world in which they don't quite fit in. I thought every character was well written and in the end I was really proud of the progress they made and the way they turned out. Overall, great book.

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Matt de la Pena's next book, I Will Save You, is out October 12, 2010 and I for one can't wait.

Speak

By: Laurie Halse Anderson

http://www.writerlady.com/

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. (from goodreads.com)
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I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. I'm not a huge fan of giving a bad review to books because I think that alot of it is personal opinion and that every book out there has value to someone. This book in particular I'd imagine has a great value to alot of young girls. There were just some glaring issues for me. I'll start with what killed this book for me and then give the good parts (we can at least end on a positive note).

This book was set in Syracuse, NY circa 1999(ish)- I happen to be a born and raised Syracuse native, who was a high schooler circa 1999. Immediately I'm thinking this should be pretty good. Anderson made up a high school, which I'm okay with, but as the book goes on I realize that almost every landmark in the book is also made up. This for me was a huge distraction and literally ruined this book. Every few pages I'd be trying to place the bakery or store mentioned, trying to figure out where exactly this person lives because it certainely doesn't sound like Syracuse. Perhaps a suburb, but then she wouldn't live in Syracuse- She travels west to get to the big city...so she must be an east-sider. East Syracuse maybe, Dewitt? But wait, the prom is at the Route 11 Holiday in- Route 11 is in North Syracuse, but there's no Holiday in on Route 11 in the Syracuse area. These are the little things that went through my mind the entire time I read the book. I literally had to google just about eery landmark trying to figure this book out- what did I find? Nothing. No Fayette's bakery (could she mean Harrison's, Columbus'?), no Holiday in on Route 11, no Efferts Department store and no fountains at any of the area malls. I realize that this would not be an issue for the vast majority of the readers on Speak, but for those of us who live in this area, it is a glaring issue, and in this instance, pretty much killed this book for me.

Now on to the good stuff. Barring the Syracuse issues- this book was awesome. Her charecter of Melinda was spot on, as were the dynamics of high school. She showed the cliques and how it feels to be an outsider excellently. She also really dealt with Melinda's trauma and how she tried to live with the aftermath in a way that was relatable. The relationships in the book were well written, especially the deterioration of the relationship with her parents, who are so wrapped up in their own worlds, to realize that Melinda's is falling apart. I also loved the teachers in the book- they were spot on, especially the Art teacher, who offers a little guidance and alot of freedom to Melinda as she tries to work through her problems.

Overall, I would recommend this book to just about everyone. The issues I had with it are certainly not ones that would effect 99% of the readers out there and it would be a shame for them to miss out on a great book.