Monday, January 24, 2011

Jerk, California

Jerk, California is a wonderful book about a teenage boy who faces many challenges, not the least of which is Tourette Syndrome which results in such regualar tunts as Twitch, Jerk and Freak. The author, Jonathan Friesen, does a beautiful job explaing the syndrome as well as capturing the reality of high schol life for those who are "different". Mr. Friesen draws on his own experiences with Tourette to realisticly portray the disease and its impact on teen life. I especially like the realtionship that develops between Sam Carrier, our hero with Tourettes, and Naomi, the beautiful and popular girl on campus with troubling secrets of her own.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

iDrakula by Bekka Black

This parody on Bram Stoker's Dracula is told exclusively through text messages, Web browser screens, e-mails, and various photo and PDF attachments. It's a clever, humorous, 21st century spin on the classic vampire tale.