Jessica Blank

The Story
Fourteen year old Tessa is NOT impressed when her mother uproots them (yet again) in order to move to a religious compound – especially when it turns out their new home is very similar to a cult, where the members don’t seem to want to think for themselves and follow their leader blindly. In order to cope with this new situation, Tessa starts to hang out with Colin, a guy who works in the compound as a mechanic, and Colin introduces Tessa to a completely different way of life show more (including sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll) than the one she is surrounded with at the compound.

The Review
I’m going to start by saying that there were parts of this book that made me very angry – but not angry because it wasn’t good. Angry because the characters were doing some really stupid things and I couldn’t reach into the pages and slap them across the backside of the head. And because some things in the book disturbed me A LOT.

And I think those “some things” mostly center around the fact that 14/15 year-old Tessa is in a relationship (and sleeping) with a 20 year-old boy. Uh, can we say dumb on both their part? First – hello statutory rape! Second – at that age, there is a HUGE difference as far as where they are in their lives. And it’s just like … wrong and gross on so many levels. The fact that he introduced her to drugs didn’t bother me as much, because teens get into that stuff. It’s realistic that you’d find a high school student doing that stuff. But the fact that the two of them are sleeping together bothered me a lot. And that his friends thought it was cool and would hit on her – and that he didn’t do much to prevent his friends from taking advantage of her in one specific situation.

But then there was a lot that was awesome about this book. The fact that it was able to cause such a strong reaction in me, and the fact that I needed to keep reading it even though it was making me this angry, well! And I totally couldn’t put it down – needed to know what happened next and needed to know that Tessa and her mother would get through the book okay.

Music was such a vital part of this book. Especially once the relationship between Tessa and Colin (the 20-year old) start to develop. I loved the music in Audrey, Wait!, but the music included in this book was SO MUCH BETTER. This was more like my music – the Stones, Violent Femmes, Led Zeppelin, ah! And it added the right atmosphere to the book, set the stage perfectly for events and feelings.

One thing that really makes this book stand out for me is the fact that while it was published this year, it takes place in the 80’s. There are so many young adults and children’s books that are being updated and republished to be more appealing to current audiences. While Karma For Beginners does take place in the 80’s, I have no doubt that it would be completely releatable to current readers nonetheless because there are some issues that remain the same, no matter when you are growing up – there’s still issues with parents, falling in love for the first time, experimenting with the forbidden (sex, drugs, whatever). And it’s awesome that Blank was able to take a story set in a time about 20 years in the past and make is still so resounding.

The Bottom Line
Highly recommend this book, and not just to readers of YA books. Yes it has disturbing parts that made me angry, but it was a very powerful read (and perhaps is made more powerful because of those disturbing parts). However, for younger teen readers, I would definitely recommend that parents read this before deciding whether this is suitable for their daughter/son. It does deal A LOT with sex and drugs in the last half of it, and some may not feel it is appropriate for their children. show less

Seven teenagers take turns telling their stories of the reasons they ended up on the streets of Los Angeles. From familial abuse to unsettled dreams to questions of identity, these teens may or may not find what they’re looking for from each other.

ALMOST HOME is the kind of dark, gritty, and painfully real contemporary YA novel that I don’t find myself reading often. Yet if that’s what you’re looking for, then you should read this book. If we’re lucky, most of us will never find show more ourselves in these teenagers’ situations, but the way Jessica Blank writes about them and their conflicted emotions and desires is mesmerizing. The words on the page are brutally honest, yet lyrical, kind of like seeing a devastating scene in the glow of dazzling dawn light. And what the characters all want are things we can relate to: belonging, love, understanding. ALMOST HOME is compelling, and while you may not even like it while you’re reading it, afterwards you will feel glad that you did. show less

I found this book about the making of the play to be rather insufferable. The best parts were the stories of the exonerated people themselves (originally 20 interviews, cut to eleven and then to six in the final play). The narrative about the authors that joined these interviews was incredibly self-serving.

I was especially irritated by the New York City authors’ assumptions and generalizations about the South and about Texas in particular. They also came across as hypocritical spoiled show more brats and holier-than-thou, especially in their cross-country travels, at one point trying to get their ill-trained animal into a hotel by falsely claiming it was a service dog. show less

It's hard to sum up this play, but I'm going to try since it's not a read I've seen listed here as of yet. It's a simple play that attempts to document the true stories of men and women who were falsely accused and convicted of crimes that set them on death row until they were eventually, years later, exonerated and released. I strongly suggest taking the time to read the intro. even if you wouldn't normally, as the authors give you an idea of all the men and women they spoke too, their show more interviews and hours of research, and how meticulously truthful this full work is.

Charles Isherwood wrote the following in Variety: "An artful and moving evening of documentary theater...The play is on the one hand a devastating memorial to injustice, but it also pays handsome tribute to the resilience of human hearts and minds." I can't say much more than that. This is a one-sitting read that I'm thankful to have read--its' moments of humor and moments of hate (yet, never coming from the exonerated themselves) make you remember for yourself what is important, and why we survive through the worst we face. You find yourself slipping through a few pages easily, and then you realize that someone said these words, that this happened, and you stop. It is an emotional read, worth taking the time for. I also want to add that in a strange way I'm glad to have read this rather than seen it, as I think it sank in more strongly with the pictures I created for myself. Having said that, and recommended its reading, I will also say that I'll hope at some point in the future to see it performed. As a work of documentation and emotion, this work is powerful and worth looking into. I wish in a way it had been longer, but it is perfect for what it is. show less