“Teaser Tuesdays” is a weekly meme run by MizB over at Should Be Reading have fun with us and play along.

Here’s how it works:

1. Get the book you’re currently reading
2. Open it to any random page
3. Share 2 “teaser” sentences from anywhere on that page (Be courteous of your readers — DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS!)
4. List the title & author of the book so people can add it to any future reading lists

This week I’m pulling teasers from The Lost Sister by Megan Kelley Hall.

“Her stomach began to growl again as she thought of jelly beans and gumdrops, gingerbread and frosting.  If this were a gingerbread house in the fairy tale, she would eat and eat and eat until there was nothing left. “

Do you want to tease? If so post one of your own.

Title: Two Way Street
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Summary:
Courtney has a problem.

She’s been dumped by her boyfriend Jordan just weeks before the two are scheduled to road trip from Florida to New England. Leaving home for the first time the two were heading up North to begin their freshman year at Boston University together.

Having met at a party earlier in the year the unlikely couple built an emotional bond that delved deeper than the typical jock and the brain stereotypes assigned them by their high school peers. That’s why, when Jordan unceremoniously and unexpectedly breaks up with her. Claiming he wants to be with a girl he’s met on MySpace Courtney’s understandably hurt and confused by his sudden change.

Feeling abandoned and more than a little pissed Courtney begs her parents to relent and allow her to travel to college via any other means. Sadly, they feel she will be fine with Jordan and is ultimately forced to drive the 1,500 miles with her ex.

It is at this point that the reader experiences the young couple’s tension and comedy as they struggle against their emotions while hopping from the Sunshine State to New England. Precariously navigating the East Coast, each other, and their relationships with friends and family ends in Boston when a surprising twist is revealed. It is here that secrets are revealed and strong consequences are brought to bear on both their lives and relationships.

Opinion:
Two Way Street was a cute and quick read. As a member of the audience that is far older than Barnholdt’s target I was pleased that it kept me entertained despite the fact that my own relationship experience gave me a much different perspective of Jordan and Courtney’s situation.

Barnholdt wrote her teenage characters with great clarity and in a most believable way. The jock wasn’t too dumb, the brain too smart, and their friends were the right combination of comic relief and supportive sounding board. The situations they found themselves in for the most part were high school oriented (parties, dates, etc.) and showcased in a realistic light.

I did, however, have a small problem with the idea that Courtney’s parents made her go on a cross-country road trip with Jordan despite their break up. I found that somewhat unbelievable. I doubt a parent would add to an already stressful situation (going off to college for the first time) by requiring their child to travel with a former boy/girlfriend. Having said that, I was able to over look that aspect to enjoy the different situations Jordan and Courtney were put into. I was able to compartmentalize the parental issue, as it really was what drove the overarching plot.

The strength of Two Way Street lies in the author’s ability to write the story from both Jordan and Coutrney’s viewpoint. Going back and forth in time as well as character viewpoint is no small task and Barnholdt did so without confusing the reader. Unique visual prompts allowed us to know where we were in the story and with whom thus making it easy to follow.

Two Way Street was a good look into the minds of teenagers as they manage to navigate the relationships in their lives, become distinct individuals, and mature into adulthood.

Happy Sunday friends!

I wanted to post a quick update about the Literary Road Trip.  I spent some time yesterday creating a page that may (or may not) answer some questions participants have.  On this page I’ve also created a link to all participants blogs, a list of links to authors and publishers who have expressed an interest in providing assistance in finding local authors or having their publications reviewed, as well the steps for participation.  If anyone has any outstanding questions please comment here and I’ll happily answer and add them to the static post for future reference.

You’ll now find a link to The Literary Road Trip in the top navigation of my blog.  Click away to get information!

“Teaser Tuesdays” is a weekly meme run by MizB over at Should Be Reading have fun with us and play along.

Here’s how it works:

1. Get the book you’re currently reading
2. Open it to any random page
3. Share 2 “teaser” sentences from anywhere on that page (Be courteous of your readers — DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS!)
4. List the title & author of the book so people can add it to any future reading lists

This week I’m pulling teasers from Life As We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

“Sometimes I feel like my room is the only safe place left.  I wonder if Megan feels that way, if that’s why she doesn’t leave hers.”

Do you want to tease? If so post one of your own.

Title: Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen

Summary:
Abandoned at a young age by her mother Taylor Markham is put in the care of Hannah, a woman she’d not previously known. Left to grow up in a house that has yet to be completely constructed the young girl is now seventeen and attending a local Australian boarding school.

Sounds pretty normal right? Well, this school isn’t your ordinary institution. It’s not filled with significant amounts of snotty rich kids whose parents shipped them away. This school is attended by kids some would consider misfits, a good portion are local townies, and ultimately a ration of children are the typical good students looking for an education. School being what it is this means that all of these students are immediately judged by their peers and placed within a caste system. In this hierarchy of houses and ruling parties each has a distinct leader who in turn has a “seat” at the table as it were. No, this is not the student government table, mind you; it’s the beginnings of the mice running the cheese factory.

What’s more, there are more than a few outside forces afoot. The cadets have arrived for their yearly training exercise that means scads of military boys and their superior officers are flanking the school grounds. Then there are the local townies whose constant presence around Jellicoe Road and it’s surrounding landscape has made for a somewhat adversarial relationship even more tenuous. It is the resulting posturing and politics both on campus and off that feeds the flames of the continuing turf war between the three groups.

Opinion:
Showcasing the struggle between classes Marchetta has created a population rich in dysfunction. Children and adults alike are given deep history so wonderfully interwoven it was difficult to discern where relationships stand early on. It is, however, in this tight fabric where the reader may find some short-lived difficulty. Discerning who was what to each other was muddied by the introduction of too many characters at the outset. Recognizing the need to do so only came later in the story as the use of strategically placed flashbacks made relationships clearer over time. That issue aside, once a reader is able to distinguish the branches of the family trees the story is quite compelling and truly heartbreaking.

Marchetta takes on the subject of abandonment with sensitivity and realism showing it from multiple viewpoints until a believable resolution is arrived at. Taylor’s abandonment and subsequent caretaking by Hannah turns her into a young woman with outward facing anger, but yet with her friends and Jonah readers are still given glimpses of the overwhelming inadequacy and ultimately the longing to be part of something larger than herself that soften the hard edges.

The relationships the author has built from both age-sets add immeasurable value to the overarching story. Taylor and Jonah’s teenage love story is shaped not only by mutually troubled childhoods but is further influenced by interactions the adults in their lives have had. Despite any difficulty either had the budding romance between them was as tender as first love can be. Tentative and protective both were cautious with their hearts until their desire finally won out and took over. It was here in the story that the reader was shown the most progression.

This was not a light and fluffy read it was fraught with angst and rebellion but was so well written that even in the darkest times the reader was transported into an emotionally charged and enthralling landscape. I encourage young and old to add Jellicoe Road to their library.