Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz - Deep Character (And Narrative) Flaws Don't Prove Fatal

Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer is written in a breathy, staccato voice that allows for the protagonist to bear his feelings and emotion and puts it several notches above average YA faire, especially for an alleged beach read - but certain readers may find the depiction of certain characters and events surrounding them extremely problematic or even triggering.

Invincible Summer, published in 2011, is like many YA titles from the SimonPulse imprint advertised as a fun, sexy and seductive teen/young adult beach read with promises of heady, alluring romances. In many respects Invincible Summer fails to deliver on that promise - but also proves that often a bait-and-switch, at least in literature, can deliver much more than what the reader was expecting. Moskowitz's narrative style is terse, hard-hitting and effective in its mood, not unlike writers currently dominating the YA marketplace like Rainbow Rowell, Matthew Quick or John Green. The plot moves far beyond the sultry confines of most romance beach reads and asks hard questions of the protagonists' relationships with family, lovers and what he's really searching for. Progressing through the protagonist's developmental teen years (specifically each summer), the reader feels a part of his journey and with a complete picture of his growing up, thoughts, tribulations and all. The reader's biggest takeaway is a very satisfying yet tragic conclusion to a young boy's memories and sentimental teenagehood in his mother's beach getaway.

That is not to say Moskowitz's narrative is without flaws - indeed, the sexy, seductive and sultry contribution is fulfilled by the protagonist's encounter with his brother's girlfriend, and the experience for the reader can become questionable and confusing, with conflicting and nonsensical attitudes shared between the brothers and the depiction of the girlfriend in question becoming potentially disturbing and troubling for some readers after the revelation of what happened to her in college. However, this doesn't mar the narrative enough to deny it from being a top-shelf pic.

Grade: 5/5 stars, Goodreads.com scale (an exemplary reading experience that the reader will find highly satisfying with extremely memorable plot, narrative or characters and will likely carry for some time to come, with a very high likelihood of returning to reread).

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott - Not Up to Par

Elizabeth Scott has authored many excellent books covering a wide range of topics and narrative, from simple romantic comedies to harder-hitting material. I've particular enjoyed two other novels by her: Bloom, a romantic comedy with a Judy Blume-like twist, and Living Dead Girl about a victim of a kidnapping. I've also enjoyed two other of her romantic comedies, Something, Maybe and Perfect You. I had high expectations for her 2010 novel The Unwritten Rule but sadly those expectations were not met.

In comparison to her other works, The Unwritten Rule comes across both more disorganized but also more formulaic. The protagonist has a love interest, and another girl serving as a barrier to that love interest - not exactly original. The fact that the other girl is a friend or relative is also not newly-treaded ground. Too much of the narrative is spent following the protagonist agonizing over her indecision, and a more interesting sideplot involving "the other girl" is present only at the absolute bare minimum that it needs to be. The biggest let-down is a conclusion that feels greatly unsatisfying, incomplete, and with the character coming off as perhaps more smug than she deserves.

Grade: 3/5 stars, Goodreads.com scale (an average reading experience that is worthwhile for entertainment value or for completing a series, but readers may be feeling little of value to take away from the reading experience).

A Really Nice Prom Mess by Brian Sloan - A Product of its Time

2005's A Really Nice Prom Mess by Brian Sloan is clearly a sign of its time - although a (relatively) early YA novel depicting LGBTQ+ positivity with a gay protagonist, it also shows just how far values have come since then. The novel is rife with arguable examples of slut shaming and body shaming; alcoholics are portrayed in a humorous manner and alcoholism closely tied to slut-shaming; certain negative gay stereotypes are reinforced (namely gay men being attracted to underaged teens) and abusive relationships and partners are portrayed positively until near the end of the book.

A Really Nice Prom Mess has a relatively short read at just 266 pages (1st HC edition), and even then the page count (and adult themes/narrative) belies an overestimation of the reading difficulty. Teens, young adults and even older readers who appreciate farcical reads and even "ironic reading" especially when it comes to prom-related subject matter or extremely busy comedic plotlines akin to The Hangover might appreciate this book enough to overlook its faults, but parents might find the content offensive to modern sensibilities. That said, most actual readers, even pre-teens, will probably feel well-insulated from any offense and appreciate the book either in an "ironic" fashion or simply to pad out book reading list counts.

Grade: 3/5 stars, Goodreads.com scale (an average reading experience that is worthwhile for entertainment value or for completing a series, but readers may be feeling little of value to take away from the reading experience).

Mr. Lemonchello's Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein - A Good Message In Nonetheless The Weakest of the Series

Escape From Mr. Lemonchello's Library by Chris Grabenstein is one of the bigger hits in the middle school-level market right now, with Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race expanding the series into a trilogy and the first book being (very loosely) adapted into a Nickelodeon Original Movie that premiered last month. The reasons are clear: the writing features an excellent pace, the plots are imaginative, engaging and exciting and the stories have satisfying, thrilling conclusions. And while all three books feature excellent messages especially for younger readers; and while the message of Mr. Lemonchello's Great Library Race is not only loud and clear and a very important one to take to heart, the story becomes somewhat of a predictable let-down lacking the excitement and high stakes of the previous two installments. While still a good story, in comparison to the first two books, Mr. Lemonchello's Great Library Race comes off all too much like thumbing through the 900s section for a last-minute class research project.

The hallmark of Escape from Mr. Lemonchello's Library and Mr. Lemonchello's Library Olympics are the puzzles which do a great job of presenting the narrative as a board game in novel form. They're legitimately clever, challenging and satisfying for readers of all ages to solve, and of course the answers lie just a few paragraphs away (except for the ultra-secret puzzle which Mr. Grabenstein only alludes to as a note at the end of every novel, which he challenges all his readers to solve and submit answers to via email). In Mr. Lemonchello's Great Library Race the puzzles feel simpler if not outright phoned in, and seem much less frequent. The build-up and promise of a globe-trotting adventure for recurring protagonist Kyle and a potential new international team of junior librarians as setup by the previous entries, if not Great Library Race's very cover, is let down with a substitution of having previously established characters look up answers through the Dewey Decimal System, often with characters instantly recalling answers out of their heads. Sadly, the effect is too close to the actual experience, minus the whimsical banana-shaped jets and burnout-peeling bookmobiles. The major plot twist and the consequent stakes being raised fall flat too, mainly due to twists and developments even younger readers can seem coming, and the twists and developments seem inserted only to serve as reminders towards the importance of research and source verification - which sadly does not make for engaging reading. 

Between the two competing messages of the book - the importance of research and fact-checking, and never giving up - it's hard to determine which messages are secondary to each other, but it's hard to deny that the "never give up message" is well-presented, especially through the appearance of important historical figures and famous celebrities who got to where they are or were in history by never giving up, despite countless failures. Among these stories includes an important sidenote of Chris Grabenstein's own story of how Mr. Lemonchello almost never came to be after multiple rejections. Unfortunately, there are no doubt better stories that effectively deliver that same message, and after two excellent adventures Mr. Lemonchello's Great Library Race comes off as more a casual library-bound stroll.

Grade: 3/5 stars, Goodreads.com scale (an average reading experience that is worthwhile for entertainment value or for completing a series, but readers may be feeling little of value to take away from the reading experience).