"My heart and other black holes" by Jasmine Warga - Review

Aysel is 16, depressive and plans to kill herself. Some may think that this is the typical melodramatic behaviour of a teenager. But Aysels problems are pretty atypical: She is the daughter of a convicted murderer, and no one in Langston, a small town in Kentucky, fails to remind her of that, not even her family who she feels left out of, and she herself. She fears that she might have inherited the „gene for evil“, for the rage and aggression of her father, and one thing is clear – waiting and seeing what happens? Not an option.

But Aysel is also scared that she might not follow through, that she might back down in the last second. A partner is needed, and she finds that partner online at „Smooth Passages“.

This partners name is Roman, respectively FrozenRobot, is 17 and lives in the nearby town Willis, even though „living“, in his case, means „existing“. Roman has to live with a whole different problem: He didn't watch his younger sister carefully enough and she drowned. He feels responsible for that. He, too, fears he might not actually do it, and thus he advertises at Smooth Passages and is found by Aysel.

Except for the shared wish for death, Aysel and Roman are quite different. While Aysel is more of a weirdo with her interest in classical music and science plus her Turkish heritage which is pretty uncommon in conserative Kentucky, Roman is popular, athletic, normal and somewhat fitting in. What they share is April 7^th, the day they chose to jump off a cliff into Ohio River together. But can you plan a suicide with someone you don't even know? Even if you just want to die instead of live together?

„My heart and other black holes“ is Jasmine Wargas well-made first novel. You don't wish upon her that she got inspired by her own life, yet, she started writing after a good friend of her died in 2013. Thematically, this young adult book is incredibly important. In a world where the rates of teenagers in therapy rise steadily it is a great approach to offer a reflection in the character of Aysel that touches the reader, may it be the reader that is affected themself or the happiest person in the world. And we follow this reflection, we understand Aysels emotions, her grief, her fear, her suspicion, and we witness her developement, see a possible progress of an illness that is hidden and ignored so easily. Still, „My heart and other black holes“ isn't meant to scare people. It's meant to help feeling understood, and this intention is met with bravour.

I'd recommend „My heart and other black holes“ to fans of John Greens „The fault in our stars“, to readers who like to sympathise, and of course to everyone who wants to feel understood in their sorrows just once.

"Masterminds" by Gordon Korman - Review

Imagine growing up in a small town in New Mexico. There is no crime, no one is unemployed, no poverty, everyone is peaceful, share everything justly and are completely honest with each other.

Sounds good, right? Almost too good.

Serenity is such a paradise. Although a bit boring. Except for the plastic factory that no one can enter without working there and the Serenity trophy, a gift from Roosevelt himself, there’s not much to see. Eli Baris still feels pretty good about living there, and most of his classmates agree with him. That’s why hardly anyone of them ever crossed the city borders, not even for a vacation with their parents. Why should they? Serenity holds everything you need, and out there you only get violence and hate.

And an old car that Eli and his best friend Randy want to explore, somewhere in the forest just beyond the city limits. But Eli never gets there because when reaching the border he suddenly collapses with pain and nausea. What fist seems to be a coincidence turns out to be a complex plan to keep Eli and ten other kids inside the city. But why them? And why does it seem as if in this peaceful idyll so much is a lie or even life-threatening?

“Masterminds” by Gordon Korman is an exceptional novel for young readers 12 years or older. In about 330 pages happens so much that would actually be part of a dystopian novel like “Hunger Games” or “Divergent”, and yet while reading you realize quickly that what’s happening in this book could happen just as well in real life. To be honest it is not easy to review this book without spoilers – and there’s much to spoil given the loads of revelations and plot twists “Masterminds” has to offer. Thus, there’s not much more to do than simply express a clear recommendation: For everyone who likes mystery, for everyone who’s flirting with the thought of reading “Divergent” but would prefer less death – and for everyone who likes to question right and wrong.

"The Rain" by Virginia Bergin - Review

We look for it on other planets, consist of it approximately two thirds, and the prognosis is that in a future not too far away we may have to fight wars about it: Water is THE premise to sustain life, from the smallest organism to the biggest. But what happens if such an important substance suddenly turns into the most dangerous thing in the world?

In Virginia Bergins Thriller „The Rain“ the teenager Ruby Morris has to make just that experience. So far, living well-protected in sleepy Darthbridge in south-west England, her only worries are her stepfather she often fights with, her crush Casper and iffy Saskia who tries to take him away right in front of her. Puberty. The fact that a few years ago a giant meteorite was bombed right before hitting Earth atmosphere isn't exactly bothering her either. But this exact meteorite brought a diabolic bacterium when it rained down in tiny pieces all over the planet. It is hyperresistent, it links with water, it multiplies rapidly, and it kills its victims within just a few hours.

Ruby has to realize quickly that this tiny thing from outer space is able to turn her whole world around. Friends? Dead. Family? Propably also dead. Energy? Blackout. Showering? Forget it. And the biggest problem, of course, is thirst. The supplies of safe drinks are drained quickly, and other, stronger, armed people are not going to share anything.

Virginia Bergin describes this extreme situation, this postapocalyptic chaos vividly and realisticly. With great care she considers every consequence of such a plague and does't fear partly unsavoury scenes. That the protagonist is a 15-years-old girl is a well-made effect (because in no phase of life the own problems seem to be so much more important than others), but sometimes a bit exhausting (same reason). But that doesn't disturb the appeal of the story as a whole at all – I won't leave my home without a umbrella for some time.