msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

A brilliant, beguiling and beautiful book set in Depression-era Seattle in the 1930s, TGOLAD tells the at once heartbreaking and hopeful love story of African American chanteuse Flora Saudade and adopted wealthy white boy Henry Bishop. Forever foes Love and Death are playing a game: Flora and Henry are their unknowing pawns. A pitch-perfect Seattle setting, an indelible ensemble cast of characters, and a hefty dose of high-stakes legerdemain all come together in a mesmerizing cacophony that will keep you turning the pages well into the night. I had the distinct pleasure of listening to Ms. Brockenbrough read at the Washington State Book Awards; the notes of her voice floating through the air were every bit as gorgeous as her words on the page. Not to be missed! Click here for a trailer and here for a full review . Grade 8+

"The war tried to kill us in the spring." So begins this unforgettable, unflinching, uncompromising look at the Iraq war and its impact on the life of a soldier from debut novelist, national book award finalist, and former soldier Kevin Powers. 21 year-old Private John Bartle unravels his story in poetic prose that shifts between his preservice days in 2003, his time as a private in Al Tafar in 2004, and his personal aftermath in 2009. The perfect addition to a study of war and not to be missed. Click here for a full review. Grade 10+

14-year-old June Elbus has only had one love in her life: her city-dwelling, sweet, super-smart rather famous artist Uncle Finn. When he dies from complications of HIV, June is left behind clutching the string of a deflated balloon full of unspoken love and admiration, and the only person who might feel her pain, Uncle Finn's partner Toby, is strictly off-limits (her mother blames him for Finn's death). Lucky for June, Toby takes the initiative and sends her an invitation tucked into the special teapot Finn used during June's visits. An at once tense and close friendship develops between the two heartsick survivors, allowing both of them to hold on yet let go of Finn. Although this is at root a coming-of-age story, it is also about AIDS in the early days, regret, art, and family secrets. Highly recommended. Click here for the author's website and here for a full review. Grade 8+

Pure poetry, The Listeners is a painfully realistic, gut-wrenching, and, lyrically written story of grief and forgiveness set in the Pacific Northwest, shifting between modern-day and the 1990s. Quinn defines herself with two tragedies: the break-up of her semi-successful band after a violent accident, and the sudden and equally violent childhood loss of her younger sister. Now in her early thirties, Quinn is the quintessential self-loathing guilt-ridden survivor, and she spares herself nary an ounce of sadomasochistic punishment. Click here for a full review . Give this to readers that like dark poetry (or just dark)and fans of The Talk Funny Girl. Grade 10+

Another sublime entry in the young adult coming-of-age-during-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it genre, TAOM stands out in part due to its original disaster scenario: the earth's rotation is slowing, resulting in erratic days and nights, changes in gravity, and a host of other unexpected changes. The Slowing is dramatic but not necessarily catastrophic. Julia and her parents learn to deal with two o'clock in the morning sunsets and fewer supplies, but the emotional strain takes its toll on their interpersonal relationships as their traditional family life breaks down. Julia is a likable heroine and teens will relate to both her romance with a neighborhood boy and the loss of her best childhood friend. Give this one to fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer's Last Survivor's series and Joelle Anthony's Restoring Harmony , and don't miss the extras (including a reading guide)Ms. Thompson Walker's website . Grade 8+

"Dead, and no one told me." Catherine Gehrig, horologist extraordinaire at the Swinburne Museum in London, arrives at her post one morning only to find that her lover of 13 years, married Matthew Tindall, Head Curator of Metals, has died. Her grief is illicit; their relationship had been a secret since it began. Eric Croft, or "Crafty Crofty," the head of her department, makes it clear that he knew all along about her affair with Matthew, and, out of kindness or simply wanting to keep the scandal under wraps, swiftly exiles Catherine to an out-of-the-way annexe and gives her 18 tea chests full of 19th-century clock parts that make up an automaton to assemble. Catherine is attempting to put the pieces back together, both in the studio and in her heart, when she finds a set of journals belonging to the original owner of the automaton, Henry Brandling, in one of the tea chests. She finds a fellow broken-heart in Henry, who has lost one child to illness, his wife to ...

A deliciously bleak story written in intricate poetic prose about one man's impact on the lives of the three people who think they love him: Ryan, a college student at Northwestern who has never met his father, Jay (and is exited to redefine himself by getting involved with him), Lucy, an intensely bored high school student who falls in love with her history teacher, George, and Miles, whose life is a series of unsuccessful searches for his schizophrenic brother, Hayden. AYR is about waking up and finding out that everything you thought you knew about your future, past, and present is incorrect, as when Lucy uncovers George's deception, "...the life she had been traveling toward - imagining herself into -- the ideas and expectations... this life had been erased. Like she stopped at a rest area on the way and the attendant said, you must be mistaken... a sense of sundering. It was the feeling you got when you woke up and everyone you loved was dead." You'll crin...

I have been eyeballing this book for several years, and finally read it in one gloriously long afternoon sitting, coffee by my side. Lydia Millet combines all of my favorites: a loveable borderline autistic loner (okay, not everyone will find him loveable - as a kid he makes money protecting the bullied), absurd hilarity presiding over grief, a strong supporting cast of societal misfits, and a wicked dose of black humour, all pulled together in a tidy little knot of human decline. T is working as a real estate developer and living in Los Angeles when his mother shows up to tell him his father has disappeared, throwing a wrench into the clockwork of T's ordered yet comfortable existence. His mother's untimely arrival coincides with the beginnings of his first real love relationship, and results in a series of tragic losses (sorry, no spoilers). T takes solace in studying rare and vanishing species at the zoo, breaking in at night to privately observe the last of their kind wh...

Booklist Review: Luke’s Inupiaq name is “hard like ocean ice grinding at the shore or wind pounding the tundra.” But at Alaska’s Sacred Heart boarding school, which Luke attends with his brother, Bunna (a third brother is effectively kidnapped and sent to Texas), his name and the nuances of his culture aren’t treated as being important. It’s the 1960s, though, and the times are a-changing. In lovely, evocative language, Edwardson weaves Luke’s story of displacement, loss, and growth into those of his fellow students’ in a story about the collision of culture and the growing awareness of civil rights. It’s a testament to her skill that even clueless priests and sisters at the school come across as rounded characters; several of them are even aware that military experiments with radioactive drinks, allowed on native students, may be suspect. Some point-of-view changes from first person to third-person omniscient are jarring; nevertheless, this is an illuminating novel of changing perspec...

I hope I haven't already said this in 2012, and if so, forgive me, but if you only read one YA novel this year , TFIOS should be it. Here are three pretty reasons why: "I disagree, but here's the rub: The dead are visible only in the terrible lidless eye of memory." "...and then we talked about Peter Van Houten's amazingly brilliant comment about the sluttiness of time, and even though I was in bed and he was in his basement, it really felt like we were back in that uncreated third space..." "There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. But... I cannot tell you how thankful I am for out little infinity. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful." You will laugh through your tears. Don't miss the opportunity to meet two of the most brilliantly funny terminally ill teens ever to grace the page. Click here for a full review and here for John Green's website . Grade 8+

A complex and moving story told by two survivors: Jill, who is stunned by her father's recent sudden death, and Mandy, who has left behind her abusive family in the hopes of making a new life for her unexpected and unborn child. Jill's mother, Robin, agrees to an open adoption with Mandy, who wants a better life for her baby. Jill believes her mother is making a life-altering mistake and simply trying to replace her beloved father. Slowly both girls move towards love and trust while redefining their respective futures. As usual, Ms. Zarr's strength lies in her believable, sympathetic, and honest depictions of troubled yet strong young women. Mandy's sweet naivete pairs perfectly with Jill's tough facade, and a robust cast of supporting characters round out the charming ensemble. Click here for Ms. Zarr's interview at ALA 2011 . Grade 8+