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Zweimal im Jahr stelle ich im Blog neue Jugendbücher vor:
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heute, wie jedes Jahr vor Weihnachten:
Young-Adult-Romane (meist aus den USA), angelesen, sehr gemocht – von denen ich mir für 2017 Übersetzungen ins Deutsche wünsche.
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- High-School-Komödie, verfasst im Stil von Studs Terkel: „Zeitzeugen“ berichten – und widersprechen sich. Charmante Unterhaltung.
„Avery is one of the most popular girls in her class. But a public breakup causes disastrous waves. Now, Avery gets to thinking about the guys that she has dated. How come none of those relationships worked out? Could it be her fault? In history class she’s learning about this method of record-keeping called „oral history“. So Avery decides to go directly to the source. She tracks down all the guys and uses thoughts from friends, family, and teachers, to compile a total account of her dating history.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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02: A.S. KING, „Still Life with Tornado“
- Seit „Please don’t hate me“, „Please ignora Vera Dietz“ und „Reality Boy“ meine Lieblings-Jugendbuchautorin. Aber: auch wieder eine sehr zerquälte und flapsige Hauptfigur, die sich selbst im Weg steht. Kein Gute-Laune-Buch.
„Sarah is several people at once. And only one of them is sixteen. Her parents insist she’s a gifted artist with a bright future, but now she can’t draw a thing. Meanwhile, there’s a ten-year-old Sarah with a filthy mouth. A twenty-three-year-old Sarah with a bad attitude. And a forty-year-old Sarah. They’re all wandering Philadelphia, and they’re all worried about Sarah’s future. Sarah might be having an existential crisis. Or maybe all those other Sarahs are trying to wake her up before she’s lost forever in the tornado of violence and denial that is her parents’ marriage.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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- Mainstream-Romance; aber deutlich besser geschrieben als nötig.
„When her best friend Charlotte died, Becca gave up on the real world and used her books to escape. Until she meets Max Herrera. He’s experienced loss, too. As it turns out, kissing is a lot better in real life than on a page. But happy endings aren’t always guaranteed.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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04: WILL KOSTAKIS, „The Sidekicks“
- Das nichtssagende Cover stieß mich ab – aber die Figurenkonstellation macht Spaß. Auch, wenn alles hier (Thema, Tonfall) etwas gestrig/angestaubt wirkt.
„All Ryan, Harley and Miles had in common was Isaac. They lived different lives, had different interests and kept different secrets. But they shared the same best friend. They were sidekicks. And now that Isaac’s gone, what does that make them?“ [Klappentext, gekürzt].
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05: JENNIFER NIVEN, „Holding up the Universe“
- Ich bin gesichtsblind – wie die männliche Hauptfigur, hier; und glaube, das Buch trägt viel zu dick auf. Und: Ich bin kein Fan von Außenseiter-Romances. Trotzdem las ich los – und hatte Lust, noch lange weiter zu lesen.
„Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin. What no one knows is that Jack can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. The two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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06: NICOLA YOON, „The Sun is also a Star“
- Noch eine Mainstream-Romance, die mich skeptisch macht. Aber: solide geschrieben.
„Natasha: I believe in science and facts. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Daniel: I’ve always been the good son. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see Natasha, I forget about all that.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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07: J.P. ROMNEY, „The Monster on the Road is me“
- Klischeehafte Figurenkonstellation, ein klischeehaft westlicher Blick auf Japan? Doch dass der Roman bei FSG erscheint, macht mir Mut. Im besten Fall: surreale, literarische All-Ages-Unterhaltung wie David Mitchell.
„Koda Okita is a high school student in modern-day Japan. He suffers from narcolepsy and has to wear a watermelon-sized helmet to protect his head in case he falls. When a rash of puzzling deaths sweeps his school, Koda discovers that his narcoleptic naps allow him to steal the thoughts of nearby supernatural beings. He learns that his small town is under threat from a ruthless mountain demon.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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08: VICTORIA SCHWAB, „This Savage Song“
- Die mittlerweile dritte (?) Trilogie von Victoria Schwab binnen weniger Jahre. Jedes Mal mag ich den Stil, doch jedes Mal langweilt mich die Erzählwelt.
„A city at war, a city overrun with monsters. Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city. Kate wants to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. August wants to be as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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09: E.K. JOHNSTON, “Exit, Pursued by a Bear”
- Hartes Thema, feministischer Blick: das Buch aus dieser Liste, auf das ich am gespanntesten bin.
“Hermione Winters is the envied girlfriend and the undisputed queen of her school. But then someone puts something in her drink at a party. Victim. Survivor. That raped girl. Even though this was never the future she imagined, one essential thing remains unchanged: Hermione can still call herself Polly Olivier’s best friend. Heartbreaking and empowering, Exit, Pursued by a Bearis the story of friendship in the face of trauma.” [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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10: JULIE BUXBAUM, “Tell me three Things”
- banales Cover, kitschiger Klappentext – doch die Leseprobe klang sehr souverän.
- Deutsch bei Boje/Bastei: „Absender: Glück“, August 2016
“Everything about Jessie is wrong. That’s what it feels like during her first week at her new ultra-intimidating prep school. It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country. Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.” [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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zehn Middle-Grade-Novels (für ca. Elf- bis Vierzehnjährige):
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- Sentimentales Cover. Baseball lässt mich meist kalt. Doch ich mag „Ms. Marvel“ (…deren Eltern, Muslime aus Pakistan, nach New Jersey auswanderten), und hoffe auf einen ähnlich klugen, warmherzigen Blick/Ton.
„Ten-year-old Bilal liked his life back home in Pakistan. He was a star on his cricket team. But when his father suddenly sends the family to live with their aunt and uncle in America, nothing is familiar. While Bilal tries to keep up with his cousin Jalaal by joining a baseball league, he wonders when his father will join the family in Virginia. Playing baseball means navigating relationships with the guys, and with Jordan, the only girl on the team—the player no one but Bilal wants to be friends with.“ [Klappentext, leicht gekürzt]
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12: JENN BISHOP, „The Distance to Home“
- Baseball, Familie, Trauerarbeit: sehr amerikanisch – doch es wirkt nicht allzu seicht oder simpel.
„Quinnen was the star pitcher of her baseball team. After the death of her best friend and older sister, Haley, everything is different. The one glimmer of happiness comes from the Bandits, the local minor-league baseball team. For the first time, Quinnen and her family are hosting one of the players for the season.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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13: ERIC DINERSTEIN, „What Elephants know“
- Mich irritiert die ‚Dschungelbuch‘-artige Hauptfigur, und mich stört, dass vor allem Autoren aus dem Westen Kinderbücher über andere Kulturkreise schreiben. Trotzdem: Ein solide recherchierter Tier- und Abenteuer-Roman?
„Abandoned in the jungle of the Nepalese Borderlands, two-year-old Nandu is found living under the protective watch of a pack of wild dogs. Fate delivers him to the King’s elephant stable, where he is raised by unlikely parents-wise, fierce and affectionate elephants. When the king’s government threatens to close the stable, Nandu, now twelve, searches for a way to save his family and community.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
- Mich langweilen „Du hast Wünsche frei!“-Plots, bei denen alle Wünsche schief gehen. Doch auf den ersten Blick wirkt das hier süffig, einladend, gekonnt.
„Charlie feels like she’s always coming in last. From her Mom’s new job to her sister’s life at college, everything seems more important than her. While ice fishing, Charlie discovers a floppy fish offering to grant a wish.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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15: M.G. HENNESSEY, „The Other Boy“
- Schön, dass statt „Wie werde ich ein Junge?“ hier „Ich bin bereits als Junge akzeptiert. Wie halte ich diesen Status?“ das Grundproblem zu sein scheint:
„A transgender boy’s journey toward acceptance: Twelve-year-old Shane loves pitching for his baseball team, working on his graphic novel, and hanging out with his best friend, Josh. But Shane is keeping something private, something that might make a difference to his teammates, to Josh, and to his new crush, Madeline. And when a classmate threatens to reveal his secret, Shane’s whole world comes crashing down.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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16: BEN HATKE, „Mighty Jack“ (Graphic Novel)
- Simple, aber sehr stilsicher gezeichnete Graphic Novel bei der ich (wie so oft) die Familienprobleme und die Alltagswelt interessanter finde als die Fantasy-Räume, die sich plötzlich darin öffnen.
„Summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves Jack at home to watch his autistic kid sister, Maddy. It’s a lot of responsibility, and it’s boring, too, because Maddy doesn’t talk. Ever. But then, one day at the flea market, Maddy does talk—to tell Jack to trade their mom’s car for a box of mysterious seeds. What starts as a normal little garden out back behind the house quickly grows up into a wild, magical jungle with tiny onion babies running amok, huge, pink pumpkins that bite, and, on one moonlit night that changes everything…a dragon“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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17: ELLY SWARTZ, „Finding Perfect“
- Die platte Comedy und die vielen Gender-Klischees auf deutschen Poetry Slams langweilen mich. US-Slams kenne ich nicht. Trotzdem würde ich lieber mehr über Zwangsstörungen lesen – als über die… befreiende Kraft von Poesie-Wettbewerben:
„Molly’s mother left the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are often broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Slam Poetry Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with table cloths. Molly’s sure her mother would never miss that. Right…?But as time goes on, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly’s world from spinning out of control.“ [Klappentext, minimal gekürzt]
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18: WESLEY KING, “OCDaniel”
- Seltsam, dass das in Deutschland noch nicht erschien: Wirkt wie ein Volltreffer fürs „Glück ist eine Gleichung mit 7“-Publikum.
“A boy whose life revolves around hiding his obsessive compulsive disorder. Daniel spends football practice perfectly arranging water cups—and hoping no one notices, especially his best friend Max, and Raya, the prettiest girl in school. His life gets weirder when another girl at school, who is unkindly nicknamed Psycho Sara, notices him for the first time.” [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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19: MELANIE CONKLIN, “Counting Thyme”
- Ein Mädchen, das nach New York zieht… und die Provinz vermisst: Ich mag, dass hier verhältnismäßig kleine Alltagssorgen sehr ernst genommen werden.
“Eleven-year-old Thyme’s little brother is accepted into a new cancer drug trial and the Owens family has to move to New York, thousands of miles away from everything she knows and loves. Thyme loves her brother—she’d give anything for him to be well—but she still wants to go home. She finds herself even more mixed up when her heart feels the tug of new friends, a first crush, and even a crotchety neighbor and his sweet whistling bird.” [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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20: LINDSAY EAGAR, “Hour of the Bees”
- Magischer Realismus, Familiengeheimnisse, ein schrulliger Opa: die Zutaten sind mir zu altbacken. Aber: sehr gut geschrieben!
“Twelve-year-old Carolina is in New Mexico, helping her parents move the grandfather she’s never met into a home for people with dementia. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge… A novel of family and discovering the wonder of the world.” [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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fünf ältere Titel (2013 bis 2015), jetzt erst entdeckt:
- Krimi (und Komödie?), bei dem ich hoffe, dass nicht nur Digby strahlen darf – sondern auch Supporting Protagonist Zoe.
- deutsche Ausgabe: „Digby“, Februar 2016 bei Oetinger
„The first time Philip Digby shows up on Zoe’s doorstep, he’s rude and treats her like a book he’s already read and knows the ending to. But before she knows it, Zoe’s allowed Digby—annoying, brilliant, and somehow…attractive? Digby—to drag her into a series of dangerous and only vaguely legal schemes all related to the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. Is Digby a hero? Or is his manic quest an attempt to repair his own broken family and exorcize his obsessive-compulsive tendencies?“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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2015: EMMA CARROLL, „In Darkling Wood“
- Märchen-Klischees und ein Klischee-Cover – doch die Geschichte wirkt behutsam, stimmungsvoll, gekonnt erzählt.
„When Alice’s brother gets a chance for a heart transplant, Alice is bundled off to her estranged grandmother’s house. There’s nothing good about staying with Nell, except for the beautiful Darkling Wood at the end of her garden – but Nell wants to have it cut down. Alice feels at home there, at peace, and even finds a friend, Flo. But Flo doesn’t seem to go to the local school and no one in town has heard of a girl with that name. When Flo shows Alice the surprising secrets of Darkling Wood, Alice starts to wonder, what is real? And can she find out in time to save the wood from destruction?“ [Klappentext, minimal gekürzt]
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- Absurder Plot, schwarzer Humor… ich bin nur skeptisch, inwieweit das „Berlin“ im Buch authentisch/stimmig wirken kann.
„Misunderstood and overmedicated, twelve-year-old Lilith finds the prospect of a grand family reunion dull… until she discovers that the rose garden surrounding her grandfather’s Berlin mansion is completely carnivorous. Armed with Panther, her talking pet whippet, and the help of the mute boy next door, Lilith must unravel the secrets behind the mysterious estate, all while her family remains gloriously unaware that they are about to be devoured.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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2014: SARA CASSIDY, „Skylark“
- Toller Tonfall, interessante Familie – nur: Slam Poetry? Ich bin skeptisch.
„Angie lives in an old car with her brother and mother. Homeless after their father left, the family tries to live as normally as possible between avoiding the police and finding new places to park each night. When Angie discovers slam poetry, she finds a new way to express herself and find meaning and comfort in a confusing world.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
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2013: MANDY HAGER, „Dear Vincent“
- Neuseeländischer Roman über Selbstmord/Depressionen. Ich weiß nicht genau, warum das Mädchen Van Gogh UND einen Professor als wichtigste Bezugsfiguren hat, und fürchte mich vor Mansplaining und romantisiertem Künstler-Bla.
„17 year old Tara shares the care of her paralysed father with her domineering, difficult mother. She’s still grieving the loss of her older sister Van, who died five years before. And she is enamoured with Vincent Van Gogh and finds many parallels between the tragic story of his life and her own. Then, she meets Professor Max Stockhamer, a Jewish refugee and philosopher and his grandson Johannes.“ [Klappentext, gekürzt]
