The Pain Tree: And Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry

An accessible and visually appealing collection of poetry culled from teen Web sites and magazines. Throughout the 25 selections, the young people address a wide range of emotions while coping with the trials of growing up, sometimes under less than ideal circumstances. The poetry is timely and timeless, but uneven in quality. Some selections are well-written expressions of adolescent experience and frustration, while others show less inspiration and are not as convincing in their imagery. The accompanying paintings, both colorful and creative, are abstract rather than exact representations of the narratives associated with them. While some selections are suitable for reading aloud, the majority are introspective accounts of personal experiences.

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Starred Review. Gr 9 Up–Karl Shoemaker, in group therapy at school since fourth grade, turns a new leaf on the first day of senior year, 1973. His goal is to be normal and avoid therapy while still keeping his friends, who are all part of the Madman Underground. Karl's widowed mother is an alcoholic, hippie, conspiracy-theorist slut who steals his earnings (he has five jobs) for benders. At one time or another, most Madmen are locked out of their houses by drunk or absent parents, or don't go home to avoid getting beaten, or felt up. They depend on one another's hospitality by way of empty basements, open windows, and unlocked cars. Barnes writes with amazing ease and clarity. He has a light, immediate feel for character, and the ensemble of Madmen, teachers, parents, and crotchety townspeople is distinct and fully formed. Dialogue between Karl and this motley crew is mostly hilarious, expletive laden, and consistently flawless. Karl's conversations with Marti, the newest Madman, are among the most heart-melting in teen literature. Barnes's descriptions of small-town Ohio defy the usual pitfalls of the back-when-the-author-was-a-teen setting–Lightsburg is so believably backward it seems timeless. While a moral dilemma may seem an underwhelming plot device, Karl's psychological journey is consistently gripping. His narration is so easy and engaging, so sweet and funny, so astonishingly truthful that teens will rip through these 500-plus pages and want more.

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Starred Review. Gr 9 Up—Smithson experienced the events of 9/11 while in high school and responded by enlisting in the Army Reserve after graduation. He married his high school sweetheart before being deployed to Iraq. Once there, he worked as an equipment operator in an equipment platoon, and while mortar fire was a regular occurrence, the missions he describes were all about bulldozing berms, filling craters created by IEDs, and convoying lumber. Some of the author's most poignant passages are his descriptions of interactions with Iraqi children. Where he was expecting rock-throwing, he encountered barefoot, dirty children grateful for the water the soldiers gave them. It is these children and the villagers he met that help explain for him the purpose of the war. The book ends with Smithson's return home, his almost magical escape from night terrors, and his work with children in his own hometown. Writing proves to be his therapy for PTSD. There are mixed metaphors aplenty, crude and morbid humor, and other evidence of a young author, but it all works together to create a tough but powerful look at one man's experience.—

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

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Circuit-bending : build your own alien instruments

Here's a book on the latest craze!

Start turning throw-away audio electronics into magical music engines and discover a freedom of expression that comes straight from your dreams. All you need to know about electronics is how to solder—an how to read these instructions from the guy who accidentally started it all. Limitations? Only your imagination.
Inside you'll find detailed instructions for turning ANY circuit you find into an alien music engine overnight, along with never before revealed secrets to bent instruments.

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