New Faith Fiction for the New Year
Marissa Creamer

Begin your new year with a novel from a new author. These three debut novels shake up the convention of the traditional faith fiction genre:

"I did not expect to meet the Angel of Death while he was extricating himself from a washing machine. Actually I wasn't really expecting to meet the Angel of Death at all. Not this soon. Not in this place. Yet there he was, slowly unwinding himself from Dixie Manufacturer's finest front-loading commercial washer, twisting and turning and pulling his full body up and over the rim and out onto the laundromat floor." With an opening like that, I had a hard time putting down "Saving Erasmus," Steven Cleaver's debut novel. And the tale only gets stranger as it proceeds. Andrew Benoit, fresh seminary graduate, encounters the Angel of Death, who informs him he has one week to save the tiny town of Erasmus from destruction. It seems the town has lost its faith, and it's up to Andrew to help them find it. He is assisted by a band of mystics who meet at the Instant Coffee Cup and is guided by visions from the Velveteen Rabbit and Homer Simpson, among others. The editor describes this wacky tale, which was recently named one of "Publisher's Weekly's" Best Books of 2007, as a sort of Angel of Death meets "It's A Wonderful Life."

Leaper: the Misadventures of a Not-Necessarily-Super Hero" by Geoffrey Wood brings us the adventures of a new superhero: James, the over-caffeinated coffee barista who suddenly develops the ability to leap through space. James is a reluctant and neurotic hero ("You can never worry too soon"). We see him grapple with controlling his new ability ("Like a butterfly in a bad breeze, I'm all over the place.") as he attempts to make sense of it all. Is this a gift from God? Is he obligated to use his power to do good deeds? (Does he need a cape?) This quirky debut novel made me laugh out loud, but its deeper message about the purpose of our gifts and the meaning of redemption and faith is thought provoking and profound.

Another "Publisher's Weekly" Best Book selection for 2007 is "Feeling For Bones" by Bethany Pierce. "At the age of sixteen, I suffered recurring nightmares. I was running as hard as I could while my destination on the horizon receded to a pinpoint and vanished like the white pop of an old television screen winking out. Awake, I lay in a trance at the bottom of a pool, suffocating beneath an invisible, silent weight: people's voices reached my ears across a great distance, and the reflection of my body was always before me, wavering in myriad and grotesque distortions." For Olivia, the year a scandal forces her father to lose his position as pastor of their church is a time of troubled dreams and distorted images. The budding artist's unhealthy self-image leads to an eating disorder. As she struggles to overcome her anorexia she learns much about faith, family, self-acceptance, and starting over.

Start out your new year with one of these new faith fiction novels. You can find them at Rowan Public Library.

Teen Read Week
Marissa Creamer
October 14, 2007


The third week of October each year is designated Teen Read Week by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. Although teens have much required reading for school assignments, this annual event encourages teens to read just for the fun of it, and this year's theme is "LOL @ Your Library."

It is encouraging to note that many teens are reading for pleasure. They are buying books at the fastest rate in decades, with sales up by a quarter between 1999 and 2005, according to one industry analysis. Booklist journal critic Michael Cart, a leading authority on young adult literature declares, "We are right smack-dab in the new golden age of young adult literature." In the Harry Potter afterglow, publishers are courting teens with new fantasy titles, but graphic novels, adventure, romance, and humor are popular as well. There is a growing sophistication in young adult literature, with many books depicting older protagonists and more complex plotting and content in books that straddle the teen and adult markets.

YALSA is joining with Readergirlz, an online book community founded by four YA authors, to present a month-long celebration of Teen Read Week. The readergirlz divas will be hosting 31 authors for 31 days. Readergirlz members are invited to chat with a different YA author each evening during the month of October at 8:00 pm EST. Authors participating in the "31 Flavorite Authors for Teens" include:
Lauren Myracle, whose "Internet Girls" series is comprised of "ttyl," "ttfn," and "l8r, g8r." These books follow the lives of three high school girls, with the entire narrative composed of their instant messages.

John Green, author of the Michael L. Printz award-winning novel "Looking for Alaska." His latest novel, "An Abundance of Katherines," tells the story of Colin, a recent high school graduate and former child prodigy who has just been dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. Colin subsequently sets off on a road trip to find some new direction in his life, and along the way tries to create a mathematical formula to predict the duration of romantic relationships.

Janet Lee Carey, whose latest book is "Dragon's Keep", an action-packed fantasy about a twelfth-century princess with a great destiny to fulfill. She must, however, prevent others from finding out her deep secret-she was born with a finger that looks exactly like a dragon's claw.
Other authors participating in the readergirlz chats include Deb Caletti, Holly Black, and Stephenie Meyer, author of "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse," the bestselling fantasy tales of star-crossed love and vampires. A complete list of the scheduled authors can be found at the Readergirlz website: www.readergirlz.com.

Visit Rowan Public Library to check out any of these books, or take a look at our New Fiction shelves for the latest from even more YA authors.