YA New York

I’ve been waiting impatiently for today. Very impatiently. Because, you see, although today is the official release day of Matthue Roth’s new book, Losers, it’s been on sale in stores for awhile. But you know the rules: No reviews before the release date.

All right. The story takes place in Philadelphia, centering around a high school kid named Jupiter. Yes, it’s a funny name for a funny kid who immigrated to the US from Russia when he was a child. It seems to me that anyone named Jupiter is destined to be bullied.

Which Jupiter is, of course. On the first day of school, a bully gives him a nice little beating and demands that he “share” his locker. But somehow, things start to get better as a result of Jupiter crashing a party and making a place for himself, one that allows him to mingle with members of just about every clique in the school. And throughout it all, we get to experience his hilarious mishaps with him.

What’s amazing about Matthue’s book is that it’s not only funny, but also a pretty decent breakdown of high school cliques. Of how the people in them are maybe not so evil. Of how everyone, even the bullies, are just trying to find a place for themselves. So yeah, it’s a little heartwarming and fuzzy, but in a good way. A really, really good way. Indeed, I was so charmed by this novel that I went out and got myself a copy of Matthue’s memoir (not YA), and am working my way through it right now.

I’ve also got an interview with Matthue that I was hoping to post today but will have to post a little later in the week. So watch for that, coming soon. And for now, go get yourself a copy of Losers, yeah?

Justine Larbalestier’s new book is totally doos. (That last word there, it’s not a typo. It’s a Justine-ism that means brilliant, awesome, and incredibly cool.)

The set-up: How to Ditch Your Fairy takes place in a world where … you know … people have fairies. And it’s a pretty regular thing. Our heroine, Charlotte Steele (better known as Charlie), was born with a parking fairy, which seems pretty benign. Like, I would totally want a parking fairy, because I live in Brooklyn — in an area that is not as accessible by public transit as I’d like it to be — and I have to move my car every morning for alternate side of the street parking. Not only is it a pain in the arse, it’s also gotten me a ton of parking tickets.

But see, Charlie hates her fairy, mostly because people are incessantly asking her to go places with them in their cars. And sometimes they don’t even really ask. They demand.

Enter Fiorenze, a classmate who is stuck with a fairy that makes all boys her age fall madly in love with her. You can imagine this would rock for about ten seconds before it drove you crazy, right? I mean, yeah, it would be great if every cool guy I met was into me, but … no, it wouldn’t actually be great. It would suck.

Both Fio and Charlie are getting into loads of trouble at school, all because of their fairies. So of course they both go looking for ways to rid themselves of these pesky parasitic creatures. (I don’t know. Are fairies parasites?)

All in all, Justine’s latest is wonderfully enjoyable, hilarious, frustrating, well-written, and just … worth every penny. Because, see, I bought it. Yes, I bought it for full price, dammit, and I’m glad I did. Otherwise I’d never have gotten the chance to read something so unstoppably fun. And I only dropped it in the bathtub once, so it’s not completely ruined, either. Just a tiny bit waterlogged.

A few things I thought of as I was reading: 1. Justine gives Libba Bray full credit for the title. 2. There is actually a character in the book with the last name Bray! 3. I want a fairy. 4. In the glossary Justine writes about a story fairy, who turns all your experiences into excellent stories. But, she says, the hard part is writing the stories, not getting the ideas. 5. This means I must have a writing fairy, and pronto. Anybody got one they’d be willing to swap for my afternoon nap fairy? If so, just drop me a line, yeah?