YA Pick: American Panda

American Panda
by Gloria Chao
Simon Pulse
2018
304 pages
ISBN: 9781481499101

Tender, heartfelt, and oh, so needed, American Panda delivers a sweet story about learning who you are and finding your voice even if it means disappointing your family or worse, breaking apart your bonds.

Seventeen year old Mei Lu is a freshman at MIT. She is younger than everyone she meets and she doesn't volunteer her age. Her parents have pushed her into studying medicine, but Mei is a germ-a-phobe who carries hand sanitizer everywhere. Her Chinese born parents are traditional and  have sacrificed and worked hard to give Mei and disowned older brother Xing an easier lives in a country of opportunity.

As children, Mei and Xing are expected to be dutiful and respectful. This includes following their parents' life plan for each of them. They must marry a good candidate from a Chinese family. Xing must become a doctor or other profession that can make tons of money. As a girl, Mei's spouse must be able to provide for her. This means Mei must marry a doctor or in the very least, a professor. Not as much money, but the prestige factor is enough. Mei's mother makes matchmaking her first priority (remember Mei is only seventeen). Xing makes the mistake of falling in love with a woman who may have trouble conceiving a child. It is of the utmost importance to Mei's father that his own son has a son to carry on the Lu name. Her parents disown Xing and kick him out of the house.

Living in the dorms at MIT, Mei doesn't have the privacy she had hoped for. Her parents know her school schedule by heart. If she doesn't return their phone calls or texts, they want to know where she is and who she is with. Mei's mother is the epitome of a tiger mom. Mei's roommate is Nicolette, and they start off barely tolerating each other. Mei misses her brother who is now a doctor. She longs to speak with him about her own fears: her fear of germs, her hatred of biology, her fear of speaking up to her father. Mei begins to meet Xing in secret.

When Mei finds herself having feelings for two very different, NON-Chinese boys, she keeps that secret as well. Another secret is that Mei has been teaching traditional Chinese dance classes and she loves it. Dancing is her passion, not medicine. Too many secrets are spilling over until Mei finally tells the truth.

American Panda is the story of many first generation Americans whose parents have immigrated from other countries. It is not an Asian story (although it is). It is an immigrant story that so many teens will find themselves in. Whatever country their parents came from, it is likely their parents are traditional in their thinking and customs. The American born children grow up in America and hear about their parents' struggles, but it is not the children's story.

Highly, highly recommended, American Panda is a MUST read. Grades 8 and up. Some profanity.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Adult Thriller: Wendell Black, MD

Wendell Black, MD
by Gerald Imber
Bourban Street Books/HarperCollins Publisher
2014
416 pages
ISBN: 9780062246851

Praise from the publisher's web site:

“Wendell Black, a middle-aged police surgeon for the NYPD, evolves into an action hero reminiscent of John McClane, Bruce Willis’s character in the Die Hard series, in plastic surgeon Imber’s well-written first novel.”

— Publishers Weekly

       

“A high-stakes debut…. The scenes are filled with clever language and rich descriptions…. A heck of a story, with a hero who deserves a series of books.”

— Kirkus Reviews

 

 

Fiercely crafted prose and an exciting premise will have readers racing to finish this  intriguing novel. Readers will struggle to  figure out who the good guys are and who the bad guys really are.

 

Wendell Black is a doctor who works for the New York Police Department. He does a little of everything--he stops by and makes hospital rounds to see how wounded or sick cops are doing, he sees sick police officers and places them on sick leave or gives them the  green light for duty. On a flight back to New York, Dr. Black is called upon to revive an unconscious passenger. He fights for her life, but the woman cannot be resuscitated. The police are called in when the body is taken into custody at the Medical Examiner's office. They find that the  passenger is not a female after all but a man who has had a recent breast implant operation. The implants are not normal; they are filled with heroin. The narcotics investigators call in Dr. Black for an interview.

This is no ordinary drug case; Alice Sheppard,  Black's "girlfriend" and co-worker  introduces him to a doctor she met in London--Farzan Byarshan. Byarshan tells Black that he suspects the dead passenger was a mule for a terrorist sect. When Dr. Black takes this  theory to the police, they don't buy it. Narrowly escaping an attempt on his life, Black suddenly has all sorts of company:  MI-6, the feds and Homeland Security and New York's finest  jump into the fray.

 Alice suddenly vanishes after the murder of Byarshan, and  police suspect her. They question Dr. Black again, but he denies knowing Alice's whereabouts.

Imber uses his knowledge of police work and his years working in medicine to create a believable story that will instill fear in the minds of all readers. The smuggling ring and the bio-terrorism threat are possible and plausible  in a post 9/11 world.

Readers who enjoy police/detective novels by writers Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard will love Imber's new hero Wendell Black. Here is hoping that Wendell Black will appear in  a series.

Highly recommended for adult readers and mature high school readers. Mature subject matter.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Novel in Verse: Serafina's Promise

Serfina's Promise
by Ann E. Burg
Scholastic Press
2013
304 pages

Available October 2013

(image from author's website)

Poignant, beautiful, and precious, Serafina's Promise tells the story of extreme poverty and hardship through the eyes of eleven-year-old Serafina. Serafina longs to play games and run around with her friends but her family needs her to haul water several times a day. Her Manman and Gogo depend on her. There is no one else to do all the chores. Papa works in Port-au-Prince, miles from their home.

Serafina dreams of going to school to learn how to write and read. She wants to become a doctor and save sick babies, like her little brother who died. She knows she has to convince her parents that she must go to school. There is no money for school uniforms or pencils, but Serafina decides that she will work for the money somehow.

A flood destroys their village and their home. They have lost everything but they still have each other. Serafina's dream is put on hold until the family clears land and rebuilds. A series of tragedies does little to hinder this young girl's spirit, and Serafina begins to realize her dream.

Written in verse (similar to Out of the Dust by Hesse), Serafina's Promise is an easy read for reluctant readers and sure to please those readers who love poetry. Young readers will gain insight into a country they may never have known about--Haiti--with its poverty, hunger, and tragedy. Ann E. Burk is donating a portion of her royalties to Haitian People's Support Project and Pure Water for the World.

Highly, highly recommended for middle grades 4-up. Add this to any collection of free verse and poetry.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the arc from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Classic Gothic Tale with a New Twist: Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters
by Suzanne Weyn
Scholastic
2013
250 pages

Twins Giselle and Ingrid discover that they are heirs to a fortune--their mad father, Dr. Frankenstein was so tormented, he shunned his famly and friends--dying alone but leaving the girls a castle on a small island and a large inheritance. The girls travel to the island north of Scotland, seeing their inheritance for the first time. They stand aghast at the condition of the castle. It has fallen to ruin, but Giselle intends to bring it back to its formal glory. Ingrid--always the scientific one--discovers her father's journals dating back to his early university years. She reads one after another--obsessed with knowing more about her father's work and his state of mind.

Ingrid is attracted to their eccentric reclusive sickly neighbor, too, and Giselle worries about their strange friendship. Ingrid thirsts for knowledge and for education, but being a product of her times (1815)...when women did not go to university...she has to sneak around and disguise herself as a man in order to attend anatomy lectures. Her friend Anthony "borrows" an anatomy book for her to study.

The castle hides secrets and Ingrid finds the key to her father's laboratory. What will Ingrid do in the name of love? Where is the monster that her father created and then spent his life escaping? What dark secrets does Giselle herself hide?

Fans will love this Gothic horror/love story. I was rooting for sister Giselle and disturbed by Ingrid. Plot twists then had me thinking differently.

Suzanne Weyn is a masterful storyteller who handles an old story with ease. The plot is told from each twin's viewpoint as each sister writes her diary entries. The cover has Gothic appeal and will have teens clamoring for their own copy.

Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. No language. Romance, a few kisses, gruesome laboratory.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library from the Scholastic Book Fair. This title is on middle school book fairs. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Horror Pick: The Madman's Daughter --A Must Read!

The Madman's Daughter
by Megan Shepherd
Balzer + Bray
2013
432 pages

Available January 29, 2013

Author Megan Shepherd takes on the classic The Island of Dr. Moreau giving it a sexy Gothic YA romance spin and knocks it out of the park!

Juliet Moreau works as a cleaning girl at the university's medical school. Her infamous father has fled London when his grisly experiments and medical ethics are questioned, leaving Juliet and her mother to fend for themselves. Juliet has always wondered whether her father is innocent or not and aims to clear her family name.

Following a clue, Juliet discovers her childhood friend Montgomery is in London. She begs him to take her with him to a faraway island. She has no future in London and no way to attract a good marriage. He reluctantly agrees to take her with him back to the island. After weeks at sea, they find a nearly dead man on a small boat and bring him on board. Juliet is strangely attracted to both Montgomery and her new friend--mysterious castaway Edward.

Juliet is thrilled to see her father alive, but he does not share her enthusiasm. His island is creepy and dangerous--full of weird creatures and plants. Even the natives are strange and quiet, following Dr. Moreau's rules and commandments.

Her father has continued his work in medicine away from medical ethics and manmade laws. Montgomery acts as his assistant and Juliet makes it her business to figure out just what is really going on in her father's workshop. When she finds answers that she doesn't want to believe, Juliet will have to make life changing decisions.

Henri Moreau is an evil genius with a God complex. He believes in his research above all else and will take human life if it gives him scientific answers. Everything in Juliet's life has been a lie; her father has controlled her very existence. Juliet plans to escape the island and her father if it's the last thing she ever does.

The Madman's Daughter delivers the perfect suspenseful tale. Shepherd's carefully controlled pacing, the creepy, humid wild island setting, hot and smoldering Montgomery, dangerous and mysterious bad boy Edward, spunky and wild child Juliet, Gothic appeal, rich romance, and horrible experiments make this YA novel a gem. This one's going to be HUGE!

This is a planned trilogy and the ending sets up the story flawlessly for book two. Film rights have already been sold to Paramount, so look for the YA movie in the near future.

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. The medical experiments done by the doctor are quite disgusting. There are some steamy kisses and embraces.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)