Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan

Kyle Renneker used to be best buddies with his twin sister, Judy, until their parents separated for a year and took one of the twins each. When the family got back together again, Kyle wanted to be friends with his sister again, but she no longer seemed to like him. Now, at sixteen, the two are constantly at each others' throats. It doesn't help that they have five other siblings, all vying for their parents' attention. When Kyle announces to the family that he's gay, he's annoyed when his sister promptly announces that she's a born-again Christian.

In reality, Judy doesn't give two hoots about religion. She's just interested in getting to know a cute football player who runs a Bible study--and it doesn't hurt that she can needle Kyle with her new-found religion. But then their parents take in high school student Garret Johnson so he can finish the school year after his parents move, and both Kyle and Judy crank up the competition. Garret is a mysterious loner who says he's a vampire. And both twins are interested in him.

I think this is what you might call the highest of all high concept novels. It's a lot of fun, too. The story is told from both twins' points of view in alternating chapters. Kyle is a nice guy, and Judy is not very nice at all--but she's an oddly sympathetic character. And Garret is fascinating.

The book is sometimes funny, sometimes sad. It's not terribly deep, but it's a sweet, fast read. The Renneker parents are a little too good to be true, though, and the last chapter wraps everything up so neatly I found it kind of unrealistic. But I really like that Kyle is so okay about being gay, and in fact is better-adjusted than his sister. The way the twins use Garret to further their own agendas is clever and funny; the way Garret uses the twins in turn is even cleverer.

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Hero by Perry Moore

I think this is the first young adult novel I've seen that actually tells us on the back that the main character is gay. Good for Hyperion.

Thom Creed's father was one of the country's best-loved superheroes--despite having no superpowers--until something awful happened. Now Thom lives in the shadow of his father's disgrace, his mother took off when he was still little, and his father works at a factory and can barely make ends meet. Thom isn't allowed to talk about the League of superheroes his dad used to belong to, isn't allowed to talk about superheroes at all. But when Thom develops powers of his own and discovers some pictures of his mother hanging out with League members, he realizes he doesn't know much about his own family. And when the League finds out about Thom's superhealing abilities, they invite him to try out--and Thom wants to join the League as badly as his dad hates the League.

The book is slow-paced despite some good action scenes. I didn't exactly get bored while reading, but I did repeatedly think, "Geez, this book is so long, why is this book so long?" It's 428 pages, which seems excessive for a YA about superheroes. Then again, a lot happens. It just happens slowly with a lot of talking.

In some ways, Hero reminds me of Austin Grossman's brilliant Soon I Will Be Invincible, in that it shows some of the internal workings of a league of superheroes and in its awkward moments of character backstory infodumping. At least four times in the book, a character tells Thom his or her story at length and in decidedly literary (rather than conversational) language. I found it extremely jarring. I also found the writing rough at times, with transitions often so abrupt that I couldn't figure out what was going on. A couple of times I had to check to make sure I hadn't accidentally turned two pages instead of one.

The superhero plot is pretty good--not great, frankly, because there are too many holes. I didn't notice most of them while I was reading, but once I'd finished and was thinking about the book, I kept thinking, "Wait a minute, why did...? And what the hell did that scene have to do with...?"

Overall, though, the book is good--moving and interesting. Thom's romance with another character takes a long time to get underway, but it feels natural. I kept tearing up, too, because Thom's life really is shitty: he's terrified someone will out him to his dad, he's terrified his dad will find out he's joined the League, he's lost his place on the high school basketball team due to rumors of his being gay, his League teammates apparently all hate him, and he's trying to deal alone with superpowers he barely understands. The ending is satisfying, even if the book itself tends to be melancholy and occasionally depressing.

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Freak Show by James St. James

Billy Bloom has moved in with his father just before his senior year, after an event so cataclysmic that his mother can't deal with him anymore. Billy can't exactly remember what happened, sort of. Now he's in Florida, where his father barely acknowledges him and his only friend is the maid, Flossie, who doesn't like him all that much either. And now he's got to start his senior year of high school in an exclusive, ultraconservative school in the middle of a swamp.

That would make a great set-up for any YA novel. That Billy's a drag queen in training just makes it that much better.

Billy is a greatly likable character. He's vulnerable without even realizing it, dealing with his situation and his mood swings by designing fabulous new outfits or sometimes just hiding in a kitchen cabinet to fantasize about a better life. He can be tough when he needs to be, although he doesn't even realize it. Seeing his friendly overtures rejected is painful even when it's funny.

I won't tell anymore about the plot, since anything at all could spoiler it. I will mention the writing style, since not everyone will like it. It's written in a sort of stream of consciousness from Billy's point of view, which makes it immediate and gives the reader a straight view into Billy's brain. But sometimes I caught myself longing for a few paragraphs of ordinary prose. I found I had trouble reading for more than 50 pages at a time without feeling kind of fractured and hysterical. Your mileage may vary.

I did really enjoy the book, though. Billy's journey is an especially hard one, but I loved how he dealt with everything from gay-bashing to Homecoming. And I only mentioned in passing earlier, but the book is often hysterically funny--although sometimes I was crying at the same time as I was laughing.

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Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman

I read a review of this over at The Book Smugglers months ago, and downloaded the ebook not long after. I finally got around to reading it. I must say, this is one of those finds that makes me love the internet. I'd never have even heard of the book if I hadn't seen that online review.

The writing in Vintage is atmospheric, the prose often elegant and always slightly melancholy. It takes place in early autumn, perfect for a ghost story. I am happy to report that I read it on a dark, stormy day, which made the ghost parts that much more spooky.

The one thing I didn't like is that the main character in Vintage isn't named. The story is told in first person, so it's not too noticeable--but while I do recall a mention of the guy's last name, we're not given his first name. Why? What earthly reason is there to keep the name from us? All it takes is for one person to say, "Hi, Bennett" once and I'd be happy.

I'm going to call the main character Bennett.

Shy seventeen-year-old Bennett is living with his aunt after running away from home. It was either run away or be kicked out after his parents learn he's gay. He's afraid to talk to his aunt about why he showed up on her doorstep, but he's lucky enough to have met a friendly goth girl, Trace. He's also found a job at a vintage clothing store where he's allowed to borrow clothes. He and Trace like to hang out in the local cemetery, sometimes attending funerals for people they don't know.

But one night, Bennett walks home late and meets a handsome boy on a lonely road, a boy wearing clothes from the 1950s, including a letter jacket with the name "Josh" stitched on it. Bennett overcomes his shyness enough to compliment Josh on his clothes--and Josh disappears.

It turns out Josh is the ghost of a high school football player who died on the road more than fifty years before. And it turns out also that Bennett is the only person Josh can hear. At first Bennett is delighted: Josh is the first boy who's ever been interested in him, the first boy who's ever kissed him. But before long, Bennett discovers Josh's darker side.

That's a long description of the book, and it only scratches the surface. There's a lot going on in this book besides the ghost story. Bennett isn't happy to discover he can see and hear other ghosts--and they are drawn to him. He has to deal with his growing attraction to Trace's brother and his worries about how his aunt will react to him coming out to her. He has to consider his own future--getting his GED, facing his parents.

Bennett is an enormously sympathetic character. His loneliness feels realistic, and makes him vulnerable to the ghost Josh. He thinks a lot about his problems without coming across as whiny or self-absorbed, and his romance with Trace's brother is sweet in its awkwardness.

The plot is great, too. I was never certain where the story was going, although it ended up right where it should. Parts of it are downright scary, particularly the scene where Bennett follows Josh to an overgrown cemetery to see Josh's grave; that's where Bennett discovers other ghosts are drawn to him too. There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot, and the pacing is good--not slow, not rushed. I loved that Bennett and Trace have to dig into Josh's past to solve the mystery of his death.

I also love that Bennett doesn't have to grapple with the fact that he's gay. He's not conflicted about that; it's just what he is, and he's happy with it. It's all those other people, living and dead, that he has to worry about.

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