6: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. A graphic novel memoir of a childhood in 1980s Iran. The iconic black and white art effectively conveys a girl’s-eye view. By turns funny, thoughtful and tragic. For more information, see this Bookslut interview with the author.
7: The Best American Non-required Reading 2002 edited by Michael Cart and Dave Eggers. A high-caliber collection containing both fiction and non-. I enjoyed a high percentage of the entries, uncommon in a collection, particularly “Stop that Girl” by Elizabeth McKenzie, now part of her recently published novel of the same title, which was reviewed here at Conversational Reading. CR also did a review of a review of STG.
8: Doing It by Melvin Burgess. An English boy coming-of-age novel and the basis for the likely-to-be-cancelled series life as we know it. Funny, likeable characters with distinct voices who are realistically yearning for and agonizing over sex.
9. Rush Hour Volume 1: Sin edited by Michael Cart. Again, a very strong collection. I was mesmerized by Terry Davis’ “The Silk Ball,” which interwove Cambodian theology with a tale of modern military violence.
10: Rush Hour Volume 2: Bad Boys edited by Michael Cart. I went to see Michael Cart at a conference, which is why he is well-represented here. Yet again, a strong collection. I found “Joaquin Years” by Edward Averett haunting, and was intrigued by Robert Lipsyte’s essay on jock culture.
11: Girl by Blake Nelson. A coming-of-age novel that was published to an adult market in the mid 90s but featured a high-school senior protagonist. I skipped this book when I saw it the first time, but picked it up after reading a recommendation at Avenging Sybil, a blog that focuses on sexual themes in YA literature. Girl is somewhat dated, but engaging, and Nelson (who is male) writes a believable girl narrator in Andrea. I found the characters emotionally thin, especially Andrea; I don’t know if this was deliberate. Parts of Girl were previously published in the late, lamented Sassy magazine, including the very strong chapters in which Andrea works at a summer camp.
12: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler, which I previously wrote about here.
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