So I am on the committee that creates the list for the Louisiana Teen Readers Choice Awards and these are two books under consideration right now. LOVED both! First up, Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back From the Dead. As you maay have gleaned from the title, this book is non-fiction. Six weeks after his high school graduation, Brian Boyle was in a near fatal car crash that he survived most likely because of his great physical shape due to swimming and body building. He woke up two months later, having no recollection of the wreck (where his car was t-boned by a dump truck on the driver's side) and unable to move but can see and hear. Put in a medically induced coma, because the pain would have been too much to bear, he lost 60% of his blood, shattered his pelvis and ribs, his heart waas moved to the other side of his body and all of his internal organs were damaged in some way, in addition to nerve damage on the left side of his body on the side of the impact. The gut wrenching account is his story from the time he woke up in the hospital to the point where he completed the Iron Man Triatholon 3 1/2 years later (2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, 26 miles walking) after being told it was highly unlikely that he would ever walk or swim again! Very inspiring story!
Next is WinterGirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. Anderson's book, Speak, was a Printz Honor Book (the Printz Award is the equivalent of the Newberry but for Young Adult Lit). She tends to deal with tough subjects and this one is no different. When the story opens, 18 year old Lia is coping with the death of Cassie, her best friend since she was 11. When they were 12 they made a pact, to be the thinnest, really it was more of a bet. Throughout the following years, each dealt with their own demons. Cassie was bulimic, Lia, anorexic. This is a very scary novel for parents with young daughters, but very timely. To get inside the head of an anorexic is heartbreaking. A must read!
