Books for YA Ginger: Social Acceptance & Issues

As an adult who reads a lot of YA, I am constantly coming across books that I wish I would have read as a teenager.  So I thought I'd begin a feature on my blog to showcase these books, and to explain why I think they would have been important for YA Ginger to have read.  I'm hoping this feature will inspire other teens to pick up a book, or if you're an adult maybe you know a teen who might need this book in their life.

What's This Book About?
Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together. [goodreads]

Why Should YA Ginger Have Read It?
Social acceptance and the damage it has on teens.

While I was reading this book I couldn't help but think back to my high school days and wonder what happened to the kid in the cafeteria who always sat alone. Where are they now? Did they ever have a friend?  Being a teen is awkward, let's get that out there. You can be the most popular, put together person and still somewhere inside you feel that awkwardness of being a teen.  I wish YA Ginger had read this book because I know it would have caused me to seek out that loner in the cafeteria and befriend them.  Elise is THAT kid, and through this story the reader comes to realize what a beautiful person she is -- a character that so many looked over because they just never took the time to say Hi and see what she was all about.

So be that kid. Be that person. Say Hi to a stranger... you never know how it might impact their day.

Add this book to goodreads | [Amazon] [Barnes & Noble] [IndieBound] | Read my review

What's This Book About?
Sixteen-year-old, music- and sound design-obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."

Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a band after an impromptu, Portishead-comparison-worthy jam after school. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.

It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them? [goodreads]

What Should YA Ginger Have Read It?
Look past the issue and see the person.

People are quick to label themselves and others by the "issues" they have. The one with cancer. The girl who cuts herself. The boy who is fat. They're all labels, and they should never define who we are. I wish YA Ginger had read this book because it's a true example of how someone with a syndrome, in Drea's case Asperger's, does not and should not be confined to only a certain degree. A person's potential is as endless as you want it to be.

Understand the issue, but do not let it define the person.

Add this book to goodreads | [Amazon] [Barnes & Noble] [IndieBound] | Read my review

Have you read either of these books? Is there another YA that touches upon similar themes? Would you have found it valuable to read either of these books as a teen? Please share in the comments!

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Published: September 17, 2013 by BYR
Source: ARC from the publisher via netgalley - thanks!

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.

Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together. [goodreads]

When I first came across this book, the title alone jumped out at me.  Countless times I've heard music in my life, especially during my teen years, that I felt literally saved my life.  A certain lyric, a hypnotic voice, a gut wrenching guitar; whatever the melody was that captured me and freed me, I connected with it.  This particular story is about just doing that.  Finding that right tune to symbolize everything in your life, yet representing absolutely nothing at the same time.  Music can be a life source of its own, living and breathing, and we have the power to let it run in our veins.

Elise is that girl you see in the cafeteria lunch room, either eating alone, or with others who fade into the beige walls.  She's only the topic of conversation when someone needs a punching bag.  My heart immediately went out to her, but I didn't want to embrace her and tell her everything would be alright, because I got the sense she was a smart girl and would eventually figure that out.  It would just take time.

In the middle of the night, she stumbles upon an underground dance party, that invites her in to a world she never knew existed.  In this world she can be anyone she wants.  And quickly she is no longer that nobody at school, but the rising DJ of the hottest dance club in town.  Elise knows music, but not the textbook kind.  She feels music all around her, and inside her bones.  It's something she can identify with, and for the first time in a long time is something she can control.

One of my favorite aspects of Leila Sales' writing is her ability to write such fleshed out characters.  I found Elise, Vicky, Char, Mel, and even the school bullies to be real life people, their pulses vibrating off the page.  This attention to characterization truly grabbed me and pulled me into the story, creating a fictional world that I did not want to leave.  Then came the music.  I would catch myself nodding my head to some silent beat that rang in my ears as I read each song mentioned chapter after chapter.  I was having my own personal dance party, right alongside Elise and Vicky.

When a book begins with this song, and ends with that one, you know you just experienced something great.  I feel like Leila reached into my own playlists and pulled out two songs that would not only define Elise's story so well, but cause me to fall in love with it, too.

image taken from an egalley ARC

This novel will win over fans of contemporary, especially those who appreciate stories about characters overcoming hardships in life, especially involving music to fuel those leaps above and beyond.  I have so much admiration for Leila Sales, and this story in particular.  I hope others will experience it and perhaps find their song that just might save their life, too.

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Published: October 4, 2011 by Simon Pulse
Received: egalley from Simon & Schuster

A summer job is exactly the distraction that Chelsea needs in order to finally get over Ezra, the boy who dumped her and broke her heart to pieces just a few weeks before. So when Chelsea's best friend, Fiona, signs them up for roles at Essex Historical Colonial Village, Chelsea doesn't protest too hard, even though it means spending the summer surrounded by drama geeks and history nerds. Chelsea will do anything to forget Ezra.

But when Chelsea and Fiona show up for their new jobs, they find out Ezra's working there too. Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. ...or will this turn out to be exactly the summer that Chelsea needed, after all? {taken from goodreads.com}

What a cute, fun, surprisingly different contemp this turned out to be!  I had heard such great things about Leila Sales and her books, but had nothing to base it on.  So I was very eager to pick this one up.  Her writing style reminds me of a good mix between Jennifer Echols, Simone Elkeles, and Megan McCafferty - all of which are among my favorite authors!  If that comparison doesn't grab you, then perhaps my review will.

Chelsea lives in the historic town of Essex, Virginia.  Her parents work in the Colonial village of Essex that recreates what life was once like when the colonists settled on American soil.  Just across the road from Colonial Essex is Reenactmentland, or better known as the Civil War era.  The two separate attractions are constantly at "war" with one another.  Chelsea and her best friend Fiona have traded in their sneakers for colonial dresses this summer, where the two of them have joined forces with Essex to battle the employees from Reenactmentland.  Not only is Chelsea battling another century of American history from across the street, but she is also attempting to mend a broken heart from her ex-boyfriend Ezra.  To make things even more messy, Ezra has taken a summer job at Essex as well.  Just when Chelsea thought she had the summer to get over Ezra, she's reminded every day of what she's lost.

In the middle of war, Chelsea meets a boy named Dan from Reenactmentland.  He is the enemy, but the enemy has a great smile and flirtatious ways.  In secrecy, Chelsea ignores her broken heart and follows the urge to begin a relationship with Dan.  This was by far my favorite aspect of the story.  The connection between the two of these characters felt very real to me.  From the playful banter back and forth, to the heart stopping moments shared between breaths.  I couldn't get enough!  One word: trampoline :-) Oh yes.  There is a scene that involves a trampoline under a blanket of stars with roaming hands & lingering kisses.  

The swoon-worthy moments counteracted nicely with the playfulness of war between the two sides.  However it was Chelsea's character growth that stood out the most to me.  She began the summer as a broken hearted teenager living in the past and never able to move on.  By the end of the story she realizes to accept the past as it is, and live in the moment. The historical context presented through out the novel was something different, yet surprisingly I really enjoyed it.  Though this book is not published until October, I know it will be favorite among the YA contemp readers.  Be sure to get yourself a copy!

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy to read for review.