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Im Frühling habe ich 20 aktuelle Jugendbücher gesammelt und empfohlen.

Im Herbst 20 Jugendbücher mit queeren Figuren.

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Heute: 20 Young-Adult- und Jugendromane, erschienen 2015 – angelesen, gemocht und vorgemerkt.

Britische und US-Titel, die ich gern übersetzt sähe.

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01: JAMES RICE, „Alice and the Fly“

• Kitsch? Magischer Realismus? Psychische Krankheit? Stilistisch, literarisch macht das Spaß:
• 323 Seiten, Januar 2015

„Miss Hayes has a new theory. She thinks my condition’s caused by some traumatic incident from my past I keep deep-rooted in my mind. As soon as I come clean I’ll flood out all these tears and it’ll all be ok and I won’t be scared of Them anymore. The truth is I can’t think of any single traumatic childhood incident to tell her. I mean, there are plenty of bad memories – Herb’s death, or the time I bit the hole in my tongue, or Finners Island, out on the boat with Sarah – but none of these are what caused the phobia. I’ve always had it. It’s Them. I’m just scared of Them. It’s that simple.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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02: JASON REYNOLDS, BRENDAN KIELY, „All American Boys“

• ‚Black Lives Matter‘, Polizeigewalt, Psychologie. Ich bin gespannt!
• 316 Seiten, September 2015

„A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galuzzi, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter. But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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03: JENNY VALENTINE, „Fire Colour One“

• schräge Wohlfühl-Literatur einer eher biederen Autorin.
• 256 Seiten, Juli 2015

„Iris’s father Ernest is at the end of his life. Her mother has declared war. She means to get her hands on Ernest’s priceless art collection. But Ernest has other ideas. There are things he wants Iris to know. Things he can tell her and things that must wait till he’s gone.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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04: MIKE REVELL, „Stonebird“

• Ein „Middle Grade“-Roman für Leser*innen zwischen 10 und 14. Nicht so kitschig/seicht, wie das Cover befürchten lässt.
• 308 Seiten, Juni 2015

„Liam doesn’t remember what Grandma was like before she became ill with dementia. He only knows the witch-like old woman who snaps and snarls and eats her birthday cards. Escaping the house one evening, Liam discovers an old stone gargoyle in a rundown church. The gargoyle is alive. It moves unseen in the night, acting out Liam’s stories. And stories can be dangerous things… What if the gargoyle is the only thing that can save Liam’s family?“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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05: TIM WYNNE-JONES, „The Emperor of Any Place“

• Historienkitsch? Im besten Fall hat das hier Jonathan-Safran-Foer-/David-Mitchell-Qualitäten.
• [nicht verwandt mit Diana Wynne Jones]
• 336 Seiten, Oktober 2015

„When Evan’s father dies, Evan finds a hand-bound yellow book on his desk: the diary of a Japanese soldier stranded on a small Pacific island in WWII. Why was his father reading it? Who was the American soldier also stranded there? This engrossing mystery novel is a suspenseful, at times terrifying read.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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06: STEPHEN DAVIES, „Blood & Ink“

• einfacher, geradliniger Jihad- und Abenteuerroman – vielleicht zu simpel?
• 240 Seiten, Juni 2015

„Kadija is the music-loving daughter of a guardian of the sacred manuscripts of the ancient city of Timbuktu, Mali. Ali is a former shepherd boy, trained as a warrior for Allah. Tonight, the Islamist rebels are coming for Timbuktu. They will install a harsh regime of law. Television, football, radios, even music, will be banned. Kadija refuses to let go of her former life. And something in her defiance draws Ali to her. Which path will he choose?“ [Klappentext, minimal gekürzt]

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07: SARAH DARER LITTMAN, „Backlash“

• Cybermobbing, kompetent beschrieben und erzählt.
• 336 Seiten, April 2015

„It’s been a long time since Lara’s felt this bad, this depressed, this ugly. She’s worked really hard to become pretty and happy – and make new friends after what happened in middle school. Bree used to be best friends with overweight, depressed Lara, but constantly listening to Lara’s issues got to be too much. Secretly, Bree’s glad Christian called Lara out. Lara’s not nearly as amazing as people think. But no one realized just how far Christian’s harsh Facebook comments would push Lara. Not even Bree. As online life collides with real life, things spiral out of control, and not just for Lara. Because when the truth starts to come together, the backlash is even more devastating than anyone could have ever imagined.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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08: JONATHAN WEISMAN, „No. 4 Imperial Lane“

• stilsicher und charmant, aber selbstverliebt und vielleicht zu langsam/träge.
• 352 Seiten, August 2015

„Welcome to Brighton in 1988 and the University of Sussex, where kids sport Mohawks as conversation drifts from structuralism to Thatcher to the bloody Labour Students. Meet David Heller, an American who’s left the States to escape his own family still mourning the death of a daughter ten years later. To extend his stay, David has taken a job nursing Hans Bromwell. The son of a former MP, and playboy in his day, Hans was left paralyzed by a mysterious accident. When David moves into the Bromwell house, his life becomes quickly entwined with those of Hans, his alcoholic sister Elizabeth, and her beautiful fatherless daughter, as they navigate their new role as fallen aristocracy.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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09: STEPHANIE TROMLY, „Trouble is a Friend of mine“

• sarkastisch, süffig, interessante Figuren
• 336 Seiten, August 2015

„The first time Philip Digby shows up on Zoe Webster’s doorstep, he’s rude and he treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to. But before she knows it, Zoe’s allowed Digby to drag her into a series of hilarious, dangerous, and only vaguely legal schemes all related to the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that might be connected to the tragic disappearance of his little sister eight years ago. A contemporary debut with razor-sharp dialogue, ridiculously funny action, and a dynamic duo you won’t soon forget.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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10: JIM SHEPARD, „The Book of Aron“

• Kindheit im Warschauer Ghetto? Schon wieder? Aber: stilistisch ambitioniert!
• 260 Seiten, Mai 2015
• Deutsch: „Aron und der König der Kinder“, 21. Januar 2016, C.H. Beck

„Aron and a handful of boys and girls risk their lives by scuttling around the Warsaw ghetto to smuggle and trade contraband through the quarantine walls in hopes of keeping their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters alive, hunted all the while by blackmailers and by Jewish, Polish, and German police, not to mention the Gestapo. Jim Shepard has masterfully made this child’s-eye view of the darkest history mesmerizing, sometimes comic despite all odds. Anyone who hears Aron’s voice will remember it forever.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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11: SARA NOVIC, „Girl at War“

• eins der beliebtesten Bücher des Jahres. ich bin auf Seite 50: kompetent, aber bisher sehr brav und langsam runter-erzählt.
• 320 Seiten, Mai 2015

„Zagreb, summer of 1991. Ten-year-old Ana Jurić is a carefree tomboy who runs the streets of Croatia’s capital with her best friend, Luka. But as civil war breaks out, soccer games and school lessons are supplanted by sniper fire and air raid drills. When tragedy suddenly strikes, Ana is lost to a world of guerilla warfare and child soldiers; a daring escape plan to America becomes her only chance for survival. Ten years later Ana is a college student in New York. She’s been hiding her past from her boyfriend, her friends, and most especially herself. Haunted by the events that forever changed her family, she returns alone to Croatia, where she must rediscover the place that was once her home and search for the ghosts of those she’s lost.“ [Klappentext, minimal gekürzt]

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12: LAURA ROSE WAGNER, „Hold tight, don’t let go. A novel of Haiti“

• Auch hier bin ich auf Seite 50 – und weiß nicht, ob ich fertig lesen soll: sympathische Ich-Erzählerin – aber bisher sehr erwartbar/bekannt.
• 272 pages, January 2015

„The vivid story of two teenage cousins, raised as sisters, who survive the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. After losing the woman who raised them, Magdalie and Nadine must fend for themselves in the aftermath of the quake. The girls are inseparable until Nadine, whose father lives in Miami, sends for her but not Magdalie. As she leaves, Nadine makes a promise she cannot keep: to bring Magdalie to Miami, too.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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13: NEAL SHUSTERMAN, „Challenger Deep“

• Neal Shusterman ist Pathos-König. Das hier ist eigensinnig – aber SEHR dick aufgetragen.
• 320 Seiten, April 2015

„Caden Bosch is on a ship that’s headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student. Caden Bosch is designated the ship’s artist. Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head. Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny. Caden Bosch is torn. A captivating and powerful novel“ [„…about mental illness?“ Klapptentext, gekürzt]

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14: ROBYN SCHNEIDER, „Extraordinary Means“

• ein Gegenentwurf zu „The Fault in our Stars“ und „Red Band Society“?
• 336 Seiten, Mai 2015

„Two teens with a deadly disease fall in love on the brink of a cure. At seventeen, overachieving Lane finds himself at Latham House, a sanatorium for teens suffering from an incurable strain of tuberculosis. Part hospital and part boarding school, Latham is a place of endless rules and confusing rituals. There, Lane encounters a girl he knew years ago. Instead of the shy loner he remembers, Sadie has transformed. At Latham, she is sarcastic, fearless, and utterly compelling. Her friends, a group of eccentric troublemakers, fascinate Lane, who has never stepped out of bounds. But as Lane and Sadie begin to fall in love and their group begins to fall sicker, their insular world threatens to come crashing down.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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15: SIOBHAN CURHAM, „True Face“

• überraschend sympathisches Selbsthilfe- und Advice-Buch für junge Frauen. Ich mag den Tonfall – und hatte im Sommer Spaß mit einem ähnlichen Buch für queere Jugendliche, „This Book is Gay“
• 230 Seiten, April 2015
• Deutsch „True Face – Sei echt. Sei furchtlos. Sei du selbst“, 8. März 2016 bei cbt.

„We are living in the age of the image – the perfect image. Young women are under pressure to project a persona of perfection. True Face shows how to resist the pressure from the ‚perfection police‘ and take off the masks. In chapters dealing with body image, bullying, social media, love, sex and more, Siobhan Curham encourages young women and girls to be honest, dream big, and create lives that are happy and fulfilling. Perfect for ages 13+ – and for the Girls fan in her 20s/30s too!“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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16: AISHA SAEED, „Written in the Stars“

• „Verschleppt ins Morgenland“? So müde mich dieser Klischee-Blick auf die islamische Welt macht – hier funktioniert es stilistisch, psychologisch.
• 277 Seiten, März 2015

„Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now!“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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17: KERIS STAINTON, „Counting Stars“

• sympathisch alltäglicher, harmloser WG-Roman ohne viel Romance-Kitsch.
• 324 Seiten, September 2015

„Six ‚friends‘, one flat, big dreams… what could go wrong? When 18-year-old Anna leaves school and moves to Liverpool, she feels like her life is finally beginning. But Anna’s job quickly falls through… and it’s not long before Anna starts using her blog to talk about her experiences, from the hilarious to the ridiculous to the little-bit-scary. But when Anna spills a bigger secret than she can handle, suddenly the consequences are all too real. She’ll have to prove she has the mettle to make it in the big city, or risk losing everything she thinks she wants.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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18: THANHHA LAI, „Listen, Slowly“

• Vietnam durch die Augen einer vietnamesischstämmigen jungen Amerikanerin. Einfach, aber klug.
• 272 Seiten, Februar 2015

„Mai, a California girl born and raised, has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother, who is going back to find out what really happened to her husband during the Vietnam War. Mai’s parents think this trip will be a great opportunity for Mai to learn more about her culture. But to Mai, those are their roots, not her own. Vietnam is hot, smelly, and the last place she wants to be. To survive her trip, Mai must find a balance between her two completely different worlds.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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zwei Titel von 2014, erst jetzt entdeckt:

19: PATTY BLOUNT, „Some Boys“

• im schlimmsten Fall ist das eine billige „Dark Romance“ – doch bisher überzeugt mich die Hauptfigur: Wut, Sarkasmus, Dringlichkeit!
• 339 Seiten, August 2014

„After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But…Ian doesn’t. He’s funny and kind with secrets of his own. But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you?A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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20: TARA DAIRMAN, „All Four Stars“

• putzige Middle-Grade-Novel über eine junge kochverrückte Sechstklässlerin: Fortsetzung erscheint 2016.
• 288 Seiten, Juli 2014

„Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.) Gladys has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world. But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City—all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?“ [Klappentext, minimal gekürzt]

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…und eine Thriller-Reihe aus Deutschland, von der ich lange wusste, aber die ich mir – wegen der kindischen, nichtssagenden Cover und den altbackenen Figurennamen – viel seichter und harmloser vorgestellt hatte:

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21: MONIKA FETH, „Der Libellenflüsterer“

• das klingt SO bieder und nach „deutsches Jugendbuch“… aber Feth schreibt so plastisch und plausibel, dass ich sobald wie möglich weiterlesen will.
• 529 Seiten, August 2015

„Merle ist Tierschützerin. Ein Hund, den sie einst vermittelt hatte, starb wenige Wochen später auf grausame Weise. Der neue Besitzer wurde angeklagt und aus Mangel an Beweisen freigesprochen. Nun kreuzen sich ihre Wege erneut und Merle kommt einem weit gefährlicheren Geheimnis auf die Spur…“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]

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