Evolution of a Great YA

Yeah, I said I was done with YA for a while...but Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature is the kind of book that changes minds.

It's absolutely one of the best YAs I've read in years; right up there with Rules, but longer, with a much more involved plot.

The premise of the story is interesting enough: After the youth group of a very conservative (read: over-the-top) church torments a boy to the point he attempts suicide, one remorseful teen (Mena Reece) writes letter of apology to the boy, which naturally becomes the basis of his parents' lawsuit against the church. The book follows Mena through a year of hell as a high school freshmen ostracized by her church, tormented by said youth group (and former friends) while she deals with more mundane high school stuff - including a wildly interesting biology teacher, having a crush on her lab partner, and questioning everything her parents ever taught her.

But what's really cool about Evolution... is that Brande doesn't explain how things unfold - she just lets them unfold. The author is so stingy with backstory, in fact, basic info about the lawsuit isn't revealed until halfway through the book. For the first 100 pages, all we get to go on is this, from the book's second paragraph:

When you're single-handedly responsible for getting your church, your pastor, and every one of your former friends and their parents sued for millions of dollars, you expect to make some enemies. Fine.

For an author to withhold further details/explanation not only shows serious restraint, it's also brilliant. Brilliant because Brande packs those first 100 pages with enough action/progress/subplots to keep us reading, even if Mena wasn't in the middle of a civil lawsuit.

Evolution has so many positive features, I'm struggling to list them all, let alone in an organized fashion.

It reminded me how exciting high school was. Seriously. Remember how a really great teacher could present a really big concept (like democracy, or evolution) and really blow your mind?

Brande's book was realistic, but realistic with a dash of humor and imagination. For example, the motto at New Advantage High School is, "Let brilliance find you." I laughed out loud. Then I sighed even louder when she described second period: yoga. Ahhhh. I might be willing to go back to high school if I could get credit for yoga class! That's brilliant.

Of course, I haven't yet stated the obvious: Evolution takes on a great philosophical/scientific/religious debate with a realistic, energetic tone that never, ever sounds contrived.

Bravo, Robin Brande. Please, keep writing.
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(Unlike Brande, I can't resist a little backstory. Evolution... is Brande's first novel, and according to her website, "she is or has been ...[a] lawyer, yoga instructor, entrepreneur, community college instructor, Wilderness First Responder, insurance agent, outdoor adventurer, Girl Scout leader, and Sunday school teacher." Obviously, I'm a total slacker, so I'll stop here.)

Dear Diary: Why is this a NYT Bestseller?

I don't get the appeal of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Having just finished the second title in Jeff Kinney's string of runaway bestsellers, I think the books sales may be driven by adults who don't read themselves. I'm talking about misinformed shoppers, who say at the bookstore or kiosk at the airport, "Oh, this is a bestseller and it's got pictures! My Johnny/Suzie would love that." Add one bad decision to another and pretty soon you've got a multi-book contract.

Sigh.

I don't mean to dog Mr. Kinney; obviously, some kids really do like his books. What I question is - why? where's the substance? the biting wit? the laugh-out-loud slapstick?

I see no real hook here, folks.

Main character Greg is likable enough, but he's not lovable. Older brother Rodrick is a pesky older sibling, but not even bad enough to waste a real diary page on, as far as I can tell. The illustrations/cartoons are good, but not great.

I usually like books for the Middle Grade/YA audience because, frankly, they're not just kids' stuff. They're real stories with pretty significant plots, storylines, and emotion. (They just happen to be a little shorter, a little more to the point, and in my opinion, lacking too-heavy description.)

Harry Potter, for example. Artemis Fowl, for another. The Twilight series. Reaching back a few years, remember Nancy Drew? Real stories. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series isn't as involved as a good comic book.

I know the New York Times probably won't reconsider its ranking based on my opinion, but I hope you will. Unless you've got a dedicated reluctant reader on your hands who won't read anything but this series, don't buy 'em. And for heaven's sake, when you do buy a book for your kid, open it and read a few pages first.

Grumblings aside, if your kid seems to love these literary candies, check out the Family Education reading guide, and interview with the series' author, here.

Listen Up!

Sound Reporting: The NPR guide to audio journalism and production is primarily a textbook, however, I think it also deserves a spot on many readers' 'for pleasure' lists.

As intelligible as anything heard on NPR, Sound Reporting (paperback, $20) is a meaty 334 pages, plus a nice glossary and index. (You know I love a good index!)

Jonathan Kern is listed as the author, however, he's quick to share credit with the "hundreds" of NPR reporters and editors who contributed to the book.

Why read it?

Obviously, reporters/writers/journalists of all kinds and wannabes should dive in and start dog-earring the book immediately. As I said, I sure hope it's required reading in many journalism schools.

I sincerely hope it's also assigned reading in high school English classes - particularly those focused on writing. The book does as good a job as any I've read in teaching us how to WRITE WELL and listen/read (to news and other supposedly factual information) critically.

Not surprisingly, the intro was packed with info, mostly about NPR. I was surprised to find out that NPR listeners, numbering about 22 million (each week) are a very diverse bunch! According to "independent surveys,"

the audience self-identifies as 32 percent liberal, 23 percent moderate, and 29 percent conservative. ... And 28 percent of NPR news listeners agree with this statement: Just as the Bible says, the world literally was created in six days.

So far that's the only statement that had me gasping for air.

The biggest takeaway from the book - I think; I have to admit I haven't finished it yet! - is that good journalism must respect its audience. And I guess that would be the most succinct answer I could give to the question, why do you listen to NPR?

NPR stations, for the most part, don't tease their listeners by withholding the lead; they don't try to entertain or surprise so much as they try to impart information in an interesting way. No more, no less. No gimmicks.

And sadly, they have no serious competition.

For example, I simply cannot imagine any Fox News reporter - or even the uber-popular Anderson Cooper, for that matter - allowing the SUBJECT TO BE THE SUBJECT of this exchange, from an All Things Considered interview shortly after Hurricane Katrina:

Belinda Bruce: I really can't explain it, except just say maybe it was for the best.

Michele Norris (host): For the best.

Bruce: Yes, because I'm more happier when I can stay homeless.

Norris: Help me understand that. You're sitting at a shelter. Your house is most likely underwater. And you're happier here than you were back home.

Bruce: Because there was so much going on in my neighborhood. Even though I was comfortable in my house - in my house- blocks up where the kids went to school, it was horrible. They always had shootouts. They just didn't respect the kids. They were selling drugs. The good thing is I'm away from that with my kids. And maybe they'll get into a better school, a better neighborhood.

Kern included this exchange as an example of writing the way people speak. But it tells us a lot more than how to write for radio, doesn't it?

OK. Here's my completely unbiased review: buy it! This book is excellent! And please, buy it from NPR, where you'll be asked if you want a portion of your purchase to support your local NPR station(s).

Thanks for listening.