Losing Elizabeth – Tanya J. Peterson

Pages: 154

Source:  I received a copy to review, the opinions expressed are my own.

Genre:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

I think all teens, both boys and girls should read this book.  Boyfriend, Girlfriend abuse is something that is often ignored by both teens and adults alike.  In this book Elizabeth is a junior in high school.  She is excited that Brad, the captain of the football team seems interested in her. When his former girlfriend comes up to her and tries to talk with her about Brad, she just assumes the former girlfriend wants him back.  She could not be more wrong.  Everything seems to go along fine for a while.  Brad becomes more and more controlling.  He finally manages to separate her from all of her friends.  Then he starts to abuse her.  Like many teens she thinks that it is okay because he apologizes and says he loves her.  There are so many lessons to be learned.  Will Elizabeth learn them in time?  This book deals with a boyfriend abusing his girlfriend.  What isn’t usually talked about is that there are abusive girlfriends who beat up on their boyfriends.  We hear less about this because it is an embarrassment to boys to be abused by a girl.  This really should be required reading in all middle and high schools.  I’ve had to help students through this at school.  The girl said her boyfriend was shoving her around.  After the meeting it was discovered he shoved her away because she was beating on him and he was too embarrassed to say anything.  Girls who think this is okay become women who think this is okay and end up marrying abusive husbands.  This is a realistic problem that needs to be addressed not hidden.  The author did a great job of that.

About the Author:

Tanya J. Peterson was born and raised in the Midwest. Looking for adventure, she recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. While she is embracing new experiences, she is continuing to pursue her life-long passion of working closely with young adults to help them learn and thrive. Tanya has degrees in secondary education and school counseling and has worked with youth in schools and other settings throughout her adult life. Currently, she teaches in a school for homeless and runaway adolescents where she helps them remove barriers and find success. Tanya enjoys spending time with her family in the outdoors. She loves to hike, bike, and kayak. She also enjoys the arts and is delighted to live in a city with many diverse venues for music, theater, dance, and the visual arts. Her personal artistic pursuit is the written word. She has published the short story Challenge!, a book review in a national counseling publication, and the novel Losing Elizabeth. She has more novels on the way

Pieces of Me – Darlene Ryan

Publisher: Orca

Pages: 240

Source:  Won a copy from LibraryThing, the review is my own opinion of the book

Gere:  Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Every now and then I read a book that just tears my heart open.  As a teacher I have had students who were abused or were homeless.  It seems to be a problem that is growing daily.  Darlene Ryan has crafted a story that we could watch on the news any night. Maddie comes from an abusive home.  Her step-dad is the abuser and her mother sides with him.  I really disliked the mother for this reason. Maddie decides it would be better if she ran away.  Out on the street she meets a boy named Q.  She agrees that they stand a better chance of surviving on the street if they work together.  Things are hard but manageable at first.  One day they agree to watch a homeless couple’s six year old boy.  Unfortunately the parents never come back for him.  I was so angry.  I kept wondering how they could just desert him.  Now Maddie has to try to make them all a family.  She wants to make sure that Dylan doesn’t have the kind of parents she had.  Q starts to have some issues that break the trust that Maddie placed in him.  She finally realizes she can’t do this on her own.  This is a hard story to read yet once started it is hard to put down. Your heart breaks for all of the kids out there like Maddie.  This is definitely a book that I want on my shelves in my classroom.

Aquifer - Johnathan Friesen

Publisher:  Blink (August 6, 2013)

Pages: 304

Source: Purchased

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

From Goodreads:

Only he can bring what they need to survive...

In 2250, water is scarce, and those who control it control everything. And they’ll do anything to maintain their power – deceiving, dividing families, banning love... even killing those who oppose them.

But above all, they seek to control knowledge and communication – ensuring the truth that will bring their downfall will never be known. But one person verges on discovering it all.

Sixteen-year-old Luca becomes the Deliverer, the only one allowed to contact the people called ‘Water Rats,’ who mine the essential water deep underground and bring it to the ‘Toppers’ who desperately need it above. 

But when he meets a Water Rat who captures his heart and leads him to secrets – secrets about a vast conspiracy, and about himself – the net around him tightens. Luca and those around him must uncover and share the truth needed to overthrow tyranny – even as they fight for their lives.

My Thoughts

Once I started this book I had trouble putting it down.  The only reason I did was because I was sick and had to go to bed.  I spent today in bed finishing the book.  The worlds the author created were very fascinating.  The Toppers lived in a deprived world.  Deprived of any free thought, deprived of emotions.  Lucas thought he was cursed as the son of the Deliverer, and the next in line to carry on the duties.

When forced to go underground to perform the duties his father has performed he finds a world completely different from what he has been led to believe actually exists.  He soon finds out that not everything is as beautiful as it seems and that the underground world holds just as many secrets.  These are secrets that set Lucas on a predestined path to help change the world.  This was an allegorical read.  It was one that has stayed with me all day and one that I believe  I should recommend to everyone.