Countdown to YALC: The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

In this awesome YA book, Lisa Williamson encourages her readers to consider what is normal? This is a particularly significant question for the intended audience - teenagers - where the pressure to conform in one way or another is huge. Whether it's conforming to your parents' ideals and expectations, fitting in at school or following the fashions of whichever social sub-culture you and your friends belong to, even the unconventional kids have their own conventions to adhere to.

So what is normal? The title of this book suggests a certain level of performance - being normal is an 'art' - which I thought was really interesting, as lots of theorists suggest that gender norms are just social constructs that we put on and play the part. The idea of social and gender norms is developed on the cover of the book where the traditional male and female icons (typically seen on the doors of public toilets around the world) are used to depict a girl breaking out of her masculine mould.

Close Your Pretty Eyes by Sally Nicholls

 
What's it all about?

Eleven-year-old Olivia has just moved into her sixteenth placement home, having grown-up in the care system. She is clearly a troubled child, damaged by the abuse she suffered at the hands of her own mother, and by her experiences of being 'given up on' by everyone who has looked after her so far. Nicholls uses her first person narration to weave several narrative threads together into one compelling storyline: flashbacks of Olivia's relationship with her mum, a history of her foster carers, and the present-day story of her latest home. This home is a secluded farm house that she shares with Jim, his own two children, an older fostered girl and her baby daughter. Oh, and the ghost of a notorious Victorian murderess.

She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

What's it all about?                                                                                                                                                                     Sixteen-year-old Laureth kidnaps her "slightly strange" little brother, Benjamin, and embarks on a transatlantic journey to New York to find her missing father, the famous author, Jack Peak. Laureth suspects that something terrible has happened after receiving an email from a Mr Michael Walker, saying that he has found her father's notebook in Queens - Jack is supposed to be in Switzerland.  Compelled by her mother's apparent lack of concern, Laureth hatches a plan to track down her father, convinced that he needs her help. It is only when Laureth and Benjamin arrive at the airport that we realise why she is 'abducting' her little brother: Laureth is blind and will need him to help her navigate around the unfamiliar territory of the airport and of New York.

Tinder by Sally Gardner

What's it all about?

As the title suggests, this is a dark re-working of Hans Christian Anderson's frivolous and amoral tale, 'The Tinder-box'. Gardner's version is a much more harrowing account told by a traumatised young soldier, Otto Hundebiss, during the Thirty Years War. On his travels he encounters a beautiful young princess called Safire, werewolves, and the truly terrifying witch, ‘The Lady of the Nail’.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

What’s it about?

Cather (Cath) and he twin sister Wren set off for college at the University of Nebraska. Whilst Wren is looking forward to embracing student life, and all the friends, parties and boys it has to offer, Cath is altogether more anxious about this new chapter in their lives.  This is the first time in eighteen years that she won’t be sharing a room with her twin (Wren reckons the whole point of college is to meet new people), and she’s terrified about how their bipolar single father will cope without his two girls to keep an eye on him.  Furthermore, Cath is much happier functioning online in the realm of fanfic, rather than interacting with real-life human beings. Her alter-ego Magicath is the prolific and popular writer of Carry On, Simon, an extended fanfic based on the fictional Simon Snow series (a bit like Harry Potter).  With tens of thousands of online fans herself, Cath has to juggle her writing, her studies and her family issues.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

What's it all about?

Daisy, an anorexic 15-year-old girl from Manhattan, is sent away to live with her Aunt Penn in an idyllic part of rural England. This suits Daisy just fine, as she is glad to escape her father's new wife and the spawn she will soon be delivering! Daisy's mother had died in childbirth, so going to say with her late mother's sister also gives her an opportunity to find out more about the woman she 'murdered'.

GEEKHOOD: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind by Andy Robb

What's it all about?

In the Game, Archie is a level 5 Mage, and the storyteller to his merry band of geeks; in reality, he is battling much more serious things than vampires and evil warlocks. His world is full of conflict: his parents have separated and are not even speaking to each other, he is bullied by Jason Humphries and his grunts, and he is constantly fighting with his IM (interior monologue).