2008 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (3)

Skulduggery Plesant
By Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is an excellent adventure for students who like to escape to a world of fantasy. The turns and twists along with humor and witty dialogue will keep teenage readers on their seats with every turn of the page. Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective with mystical powers, cunning skill, and a sharp edge for a skeleton with no brain. The main character, Stephanie Edgely alias Valkyrie Cain, became involved with Skulduggery when she determines that her uncle’s books were more than frightening fiction. I think it was an indication of what was to come. This book is a blend of fright, horror and odd images to keep adolescent readers laughing and squirming from page to page.

The Arrival
By Shaun Tan

This wordless graphic novel depicts an immigrant man who leaves his family in order to find a better life for them. The panels of illustrations show the people and places he discovers in the course of finding a place to call home. This book not only tells the story of this particular man, but represents the vast number of immigrants who preserved to find an improved life for their families. Readers will be able to sympathize with this man as he experiences the oddness in new surroundings. I felt a sigh of relief as he met other immigrants who told their own stories of hardship and escape to show he was not alone in his quest. Although this may appear as a picture book, I would not suggest it for younger readers. The concept may escape them due to the symbolism of the man’s journey. In addition, this book could be a good tool to remind us that change is hard and sometimes necessary but the results can be wonderful.

Before I Die
By Jenny Downham

Let me begin by saying, this is not an easy book to read. The main character, Tessa, is a teenager with terminal leukemia. She decides to refuse treatment in order to take advantage of her remaining time and therefore makes a list of things she’d like to do before she dies. This list is that of a typical teenage consisting of sex, drugs, and criminal behavior for which consequences would not have to be endured. However, Tessa’s illness forces her to appreciate things in a different way and to look for the things that truly matter. Ultimately when our last days arrive as some day they will, we should be as lucky as Tessa to be allowed a death that is comfortable, meaningful and surrounded by the love of friends and family.