A World Below

 by Wesley King

Scott County Library paperback 258 pages

Published: 2018

Genre: YA fantasy . . . sort of

This is one of this year's Maud Hart Lovelace nominees. It's told from three main characters' POV - Eric, Carlos, and Silvia. In some ways, I really liked the individual characters' growth (especially Silvia). In other ways, it just wasn't a book that captivated me. 

I thought about Shusterman's Downsiders and DuPrau's The City of Ember as I was reading this. The idea of a group of people living underground is not new. How did they get there? Why do they live there now? How do they get the raw materials for life? There are lots of questions to answer.

King does a fine job; his story just didn't resonate for me personally. I liked how Eric's isolation was challenged and how he and Carlos became friends. The ending leaves the possibility open for a sequel.

Ask the Passengers

by A.S. King
Hennepin County Library hardcover 293 pages
genre: YA coming-of-age, GLBTQ

Astrid Jones isn't sure of a lot of things. Feeling unloved (by her parents, friends, etc.), she sends her love to the airplanes that pass overhead as she lies on the picnic table in her back yard. Her "best friend" Kristina is popular and cute in the small town culture of Unity Valley. Her dad gets stoned. Her mom is a perfection / control freak. Her little sister Ellis just wants to fit in. Her co-worker Dee is sometimes too aggressive, but Astrid loves kissing her. Her philosophy class is really challenging her to think about truth, life, and her paradox: Nobody's perfect.

My favorite scene: when Astrid and Ellis finally talk to one another about life toward the end of the book.

I didn't like this one quite as much as Everybody Sees the Ants, but King is an amazing writer who captures the thoughts and moods of teenagers. The small-mindedness and gossip of this small town will resonate with lots of kids.

Duma Key

by Stephen King
loaned by Jeff Beaudoin audioCDs 18 discs
read by Joe Slattery
genre: paranormal mystery

I usually don't like King's work that much; it tends to be too creepy. This one, though still full of the F-word and a bit scary, had some really interesting components. Edgar Freemantle is horribly injured in a construction accident. Though his life has been spared, his right arm is amputated, his right hip has major reconstruction, and his marriage is in a shambles. Struggling to regain his ability to do things and articulate his thoughts, he takes a year to go to the Florida Keys to begin his "next life." Duma Key has some very strange effects on Edgar, particularly in enhancing his artistic ability. His neighbors, Jerome Weyrman and Elizabeth Eastlake, make a tremendous difference in Edgar's life. "Perse" is sheer destructive evil. Intriguing story and not as violent as other King books I've read.

Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King
Hennepin County Library hardcover 280 pages
genre: Teen realistic fiction

Lucky Linderman is a 15-year-old who has been terrorized by bully Nader McMiillan most of his life. His parents don't deal with problems directly and Lucky dreams himself into Vietnam where he tries to rescue his grandpa (MIA/POW).

Complex, harsh, beautiful, awful. This book is amazing. Some of my middle schoolers could definitely handle it, but it should absolutely be in high school collections.