YA New York

Okay, I’ve just finished reading Daphne Grab’s debut novel, and the tears still aren’t quite dry. Seriously, I gulped down the entirety of Alive and Well in Prague, New York in a single sitting, and I was crying for pretty much the entire second half.

Which is a good thing. I mean yes, there were some major tearjerker elements (the story is about a high school sophomore, Matisse, whose family moves from Manhattan to a tiny town upstate after her father’s Parkinson’s Disease progresses to the point where he can no longer work) but the novel is also warm and funny and a little romantic. It hurts to read, just a bit, the way a great story often does. But it’s that very pain that means you can’t take your eyes off it.

Alive and Well came out in May, but I didn’t snag a copy of my own until my discovery of the Strand’s YA review copy section. And I’m so glad that someone else parted with this book, because it meant I got to read it.

Which is why I am posting a short and hasty review at 3 a.m. on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Because it’s so good that I just want you to go out and read it right now. This instant. Yes, at 3 a.m. And hurry back to tell me what you thought. I’ll respond when I’m a bit more coherent and less (a) teary-eyed and (b) bleary-eyed.

Buy Alive and Well in Prague, New York from Amazon.com

Sasha Paley’s book, Huge, is out in a trade paperback version just in time for summer. Good thing, too, because if you haven’t already read it you have got to read it right now. Now. This minute. I insist.

Okay, honestly? The reason I first picked up the book is because I liked the cover. Almost anything with food on the cover — as long as it’s tasty-looking food — is going to suck me in. But of course, Huge is about … fat camp. Welcome to Wellness Canyon, where the goal is to fit into a pair of skinny jeans by the end of the summer.

Your companions on this journey will be Wilhelmina, better known as Wil, whose parents own an expensive gym chain and are sending her to Wellness Canyon against her wishes. She plans to be the only person to leave fat camp having gained weight. Then there’s April, who has been saving her money all year to afford this, to learn how to eat healthily and to get some time to focus on exercising and losing weight. She’s determined to remake herself, and unfortunately she gets stuck with the one girl at camp who is determined not to remake herself.

Know how I recommended Artichoke’s Heart not too long ago? I still recommend it, absolutely. But whereas that novel was definitely a drama, this one is more of a comedy. Or a dramedy, maybe. We get to see things from both perspectives, from the perspective of a girl whose parents don’t love her for what she is and from the perspective of a girl who wants to be healthy but has a very hard time doing it at home. Rich girl, poor girl, cranky girl, peppy girl. The setup is a glorious situation in which everyone is completely miserable.

But of course, and I hope I’m not giving too much away here, both characters grow and find a certain sort of equilibrium. And they get caught up in wacky hijinks. And they lose weight, too.

Reading this book is sort of like watching an entire season of The Biggest Loser in one sitting, except with more funny. And with teenagers. Note: I did once watch an entire season of the aforementioned reality TV show in one day. It made me really want to lose weight. This book? Kind of made me want to go to fat camp. Just to get totally one hundred percent fit, and like, reinvent myself. Do you think they’d admit someone who is almost thirty to fat camp? Especially when that person is merely a little overweight? Zaftig, you know. Nicely cushioned.

Right. Anyway, Huge is a fantastic read, and now that it’s out in paperback you don’t have any excuses for not buying it. Unless you already have, and you’ve already read it, in which case, why don’t you tell me what you think in comments? Let’s get a discussion going, yeah?

Buy Huge from Amazon.com.

Today is Sunday, also known worldwide as “Homework Day.” But I’ve decided to transform the phrase. In the YA Mansion, Sunday is the day to catch up on books that have been out for awhile but that you might have missed when they first appeared.

Since I was up until about 4 a.m. last night reading the works of Sarah Beth Durst, I’ve decided to begin with one of YA’s new classics: Into the Wild.

Meet Julie, daughter of Rapunzel, adoptive sister of Puss in Boots, granddaughter of a reformed wicked witch. She’ll be your guide through “The Wild,” a place where fairy tales repeat themselves again and again, with each character stuck in his or her own story.

It all starts one night when Julie, Zel and her grandmother Gothel are entertaining the seven dwarves for dinner. They’ve asked the three bears — yes, the ones from Goldilocks — to watch over a wishing well at the rundown motel Gothel runs. Problem is, someone drugs their porridge, makes a wish, and brings The Wild to life. Which is exactly what our fairy tale friends don’t want, because they spent hundreds of years trying to escape their endlessly repeating stories.

This novel is witty (at times, downright hilarious), full of references to all our favorite childhood stories, and also kind of heartbreaking. Fairy tales must have heartbreaking moments, no? It’s required.

Into the Wild came out in June of last year, so you probably think you’ve got plenty of time to read it. But you’re oh-so-wrong. Because Sarah’s sequel, Out of the Wild, comes out next month. Yes, you heard me right. It’ll be available on June 19.

Yes, yes, I know. I tell you every day to please read this book or that book. And it’s true: I do want you to read every book I recommend here. But you’ve got to prioritize. Anything with a sequel due out in less than a month? Move it up the list. If you’ve read it already, start thinking about re-reading it, because you’ll want it fresh on your mind when Sarah’s second novel hits the shelves.

Buy Into the Wild or pre-order Out of the Wild from Amazon.com.