YA Book Review: Trevor, A Novella by James Lecesne

Hardcover
112 Pages
Release date: Sept. 25, 2012
Publisher: Triangle Square
Author: James Lecesne
Thank you to RandomHouse Canada for providing this book for review!

Trevor is an exuberant, sociable, and witty thirteen year old. So how come, when he takes that nerve-wrecking turn toward his locker at school, does he feel scared and alone? Shunned by his friends, misunderstood by his parents, and harrassed at school for being different, Trevor goes from wondering what color glitter to choose for his Lady Gaga costume at Halloween, to wondering why some feelings "are so intense it makes you just want to lay down and die rather than go on feeling it," and making an attempt on his life. Trevor mixes humor and realism in an urgent look at what it is like to feel alienated from everything around you. And more importantly, what critical ties can step in at the most unlikely moment, to save you from despair, and give you reason to go on living.  Trevor is an update of the film version of the story, directed by Peggy Rajski, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 1994. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth. As the recent attention to youth suicides has received increased media attention, and Dan Savage's IT GETS BETTER campaign has gone viral around the world, the public is finally beginning to face hard facts. Thirty-three percent of suicides among teenagers involve LGBTQ youth, one-third of all LGBT kids report having attempted suicide, and nine out of ten report overt harassment at school. Trevor is an effort to make those kids feel loved and supported, so they will find the strength to go on living.

What is it like to be a LGBTQ teen these days? To be bullied and insulted and alienated every day of your life? To be misunderstood by even your parents?

Trevor explores these issues in a funny, touching and very real way.

It's a short book, but it's written well and it might appeal to more reluctant readers. Yes, yes, there are books out there that are longer and probably better-written, but Trevor is a good 'stepping-stone' book for LGBTQ kids.

I truly hope that ALL parents and all school libraries will keep this book on hand. It just might save a life.

Book Review- One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

Paperback
160 pages
Release date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: ECW Press
Author: Joey Comeau
Thank you to Nikki at ECW press for sending this copy for review!

Jackie has a map of the city on the wall of her bedroom, with a green pin for each of her trees. She has a first-kiss tree and a broken-arm tree. She has a car-accident tree. There is a tree at the hospital where Jackie’s mother passed away into the long good night. When one of them gets cut down, Jackie doesn't know what to do but she doesn't let that stop her. She picks up the biggest rock she can carry and puts it through the window of a car. Smash. She intends to leave before the police arrive, but they're early. Ann is Jackie’s best friend, but she’s got problems of her own. Her mother is chained up in the basement. How do you bring that up in casual conversation? "Oh, sorry I've been so distant, Jackie. My mother has more teeth than she’s supposed to, and she won't eat anything that’s already dead." Ann and her sister Margaret don't have much of a choice here. Their mother needs to be fed. It isn't easy but this is family. It’s not supposed to be easy. It'll be okay as long as Margaret and Ann still have each other. Add in a cantankerous old man, his powerfully stupid dog, a headless ghost, a lesbian crush and a few unsettling visits from Jackie’s own dead mother, and you'll find that One Bloody Thing After Another is a different sort of horror novel from the ones you're used to. It’s as sad and funny as it is frightening, and it is as much about the way families rely on each other as it is about blood being drooled on the carpet. Though, to be honest, there is a lot of blood being drooled on the carpet.

It's been a long time since the last line of a book had me laughing so hard I was crying. Flat-out howling with laughter--so hard I couldn't catch my breath.
Granted, it could have been because I was overtired--I WAS up until 4am reading this book. Yep, it's THAT good! (And also short.)

One Bloody Thing After Another is weird and wild and just plain awesome.
I can honestly say I've never read such a touching, horrific book....It was a pleasure to do so!

Jackie was a fascinating character. Insane, sad and REAL, but Charlie and Mitchie were my favourites. That old man and his old dog wormed their way into my heart at the word, 'ghost'. ;)

This is my first Comeau book, and now I'm dying to read more. His writing is wonderful. Evocative and slightly twisted.
Perfect for me, really.

Of course, I'm a strange person, so this book won't be for everyone. If you like weird, off-beat  horror/humour with a touch of LGBT romance, this is right up your alley!