The Book Jam is pleased to introduce our first young adult guest blogger – Carly Miles. Carly is a rising eighth grader at Richmond Middle School in Hanover, NH. (Richmond Middle School is part of our small Vermont town’s school district; the cross state boundaries aspect is a long story that involves JFK.) Since one of her selections – Like No Other – is one of the Book Jam’s all-time favorite YA books, both Book Jam Lisas are looking forward to spending a few long summer days with Carly’s other well-reviewed selections. And now, we are proud to present her picture, her bio, and the four books she thinks we all need to read ASAP.
Carly loves books, summer, and, surprisingly for some people, does not like cats or dogs. Her favorite leisure activity is sleep, so she gets as much of that as possible, especially during the summer. She enjoys some aspects of school, but gets very bothered by teachers who are arrogant, unsympathetic or just plain bad. She also, along with most students, hates homework, because if we spend seven hours every day, five days a week at school, what is the purpose of homework? To stress us out even more? That’s mean.
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (2014) – Moving, yet hilarious. Beautiful, yet awkward. I don’t know how she did it, but with I’ll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson has created the perfect novel. The story hovers magically between one sixteen-year-old girl who has sworn off boys and is mourning the loss of her mother, and her 13-year-old twin brother, who is in a parallel story, and hasn’t had the harsh experiences that will soon come. When life takes a turn for the worse, both twins react differently: one hides behind an untrue identity while another hides away completely, buried under superstition and regret. The characters at sixteen are different people from who they were at thirteen. But, is there a way to return, even partially, to the people they were in the past?~ Carly Miles
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (2015) – In the world outside of novels, there are sometimes rumors, or jokes, about SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency) , but never do they come close to reaching the true meaning of being allergic to everything. Madeline suffers from SCID and has not left her house for seventeen years. But, strangely she doesn’t seem bothered by it. Then, Olly moves next door. He changes her life and opens her eyes to a world she has only read about. She doesn’t realize it at the time, but he will soon be the reason her fragile lungs may breath unfiltered air for the first time since she was a baby. ~ Carly Miles
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (2010) – Jandy Nelson has created the ultimate heartbreaker. From page one, you empathize with seventeen-year-old Lennie as she carves a unique path through love, sadness, regret and loss. She learns how to keep her late sister, Bailey, in her heart, while still moving forward with her own story; she learns how to deal with consequences and regret mistakes. This book has enough life lessons to create a new bible, plus the beautifully imagined prose and poetry of Nelson. Combined, The Sky is Everywhere is truly a miracle. ~ Carly Miles
Like No Other by Una LaMarche (2014) – This book contains the inspiring love story of the most unique characters ever invented. It’s no Romeo and Juliet, or even The Longest Ride. This novel should have it’s own genre; a category all to its own, called, “Love Stories Like no Other”. This category would include this book, and only this book. It is about a clashing of two worlds, but without the cheesy “one glance and your world is changed” scenes that accompany most love stories. Here, there’s a broken elevator and an awkward, yet beautiful moment between a boy and a girl. That moment propels the fast-food-restaurant-working boy from the streets and the yes-ma’am-no-ma’am, strictly Jewish girl to enter each other’s lives and create a story that is truly like no other. ~ Carly Miles
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