Irish Times critics review the latest batch of paperpacks for young readers.
Big Mouth and Ugly Girl. Joyce Carol Oates, Collins Flamingo, £4.99
When Matt Donagh, wise guy and class clown, is escorted out of class by two detectives for questioning, the Rocky River High School rumour mill goes into overdrive. He's eventually accused of conspiring to blow up the school and massacre all its pupils, a charge he vehemently denies. Only Ursula Riggs, loner and school outcast, recognises the ludicrous nature of the accusation and sees it for what it really is - "suburban hysteria". She alone of all his friends and peers stands up for Matt and so begins their unusual friendship. The characters of Matt and Ursula are exceptionally well drawn and their sparky, hyper-realistic dialogue is spot on. The first teenage novel from this acclaimed author is timely, provocative and deserves critical attention from teens and adults alike. It's a cracking read and I consumed it in one awestruck sitting. I can't recommend it highly enough. - Sarah Webb
Be Yourself. Michelle Magorian. Egmont.£4.99
Teenagers often suddenly find themselves in situations they're unprepared for, or that change on them swiftly. As young adults, however, they can't expect their parents to fix everything; nor do they have the experience of thinking on their feet adults (should) have. In her collection of short stories, Magorian places her characters in a multitude of circumstances - none is life-threatening, but all tax the patience, endurance and quick-thinking of their protagonists. A long-distance swimmer is ditched by his friends during a competition and finds a friend in a "wrinkly"; a girl must quickly learn how to sail in squally seas with two strangers. The stories are uplifting and reassuring, but lack a profundity of meaning and exchange that leaves them a bit superficial. They do, however, represent dilemmas teenagers can readily identify with. - Christine Madden
Three Blind Eyes. Alison Prince, Oxford University Press, £6.99
Alison Prince is best known as the writer of the cult children's television programme, Trumpton, but she also writes books and has several awards under her belt, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. This book, based in the underworld of Victorian London, is competently written and saturated with convincing historical detail. Lucy, the heroine has fallen upon "hard times" as her father has gambled away the family home. In a plot line that owes more than a little to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess she becomes a servant in the house she once lived in, making new friends from all walks of life. With a Dickensian cast of characters - from the machinating "blind" thief to the orphan brothers Tom and Finn - this is a very readable story. There are no real surprises along the way but Lucy is a likable enough heroine to drag the plot along when it becomes somewhat pedestrian. - Sarah Webb
Blinded by the Light. Sherry Ashworth, Collins Flamingo, £4.99
Books for teenagers should never set out to be "cool", this is one of the first rules of writing for this age group. And Sherry Ashworth fails at the first hurdle. What could have been an interesting book becomes simply annoying. In the first chapter the main character, Joe is "pissed off" as all his friends are away for the summer while he is left all alone, recovering from glandular fever. He's "gutted" when his girlfriend, Tasha, leaves him because he liked "saying stuff" and "doing stuff" with her. Joe meets the enigmatic Nick and Kate on a train and is invited to their farm, which turns out to be a commune run by the White Ones cult, dedicated to the achievement of "Perfection" through sensory deprivation, among other methods. The plot is compelling enough and at times genuinely unnerving, and by the end of the book the writing is almost forgotten, "man". Almost. - Sarah Webb
Love, Shelly. Kate Saksena, Bloomsbury, £5.99
The epistolary novel lives on in children's fiction. This excellent début by Kate Saksena chronicles a school-year in the life of Shelley Wright, a 14-year-old with an alcoholic white mother who is separated from Shelley's more responsible black father. Reminiscent of the heroine in The Colour Purple, Shelley, having no one to confide in, releases her few joys and many anxieties in letters to Ziggy, a pop star. The result is moving and even gripping, as Shelley tries to look after her younger brother, keep her mother sober and in a job - while avoiding her alcohol-fuelled outbursts of violence. There is also a very nasty bully at school who proves poisonous and nearly leads to destruction. Love, Shelley is an excellent story about how a young girl learns to be quick-witted and find wisdom in adversity - the character of Shelley is tremendous. I'd love to know her. - Christine Madden
The Same Stuff as Stars. Katherine Paterson, Oxford, £4.99
Eleven year-old Angel has had to be the practical, responsible one in her family. Her mother had been abandoned herself and never knew what it was to have a mother, let alone be one. Her father is in prison. In this void of parental care, Angel looks after her seven-year-old brother Bernie. When her mother follows the pattern of her life and abandons Angel and Bernie with their nearly helpless granny, Angel feels completely alone in the world - until she meets a mysterious man who teaches her about the stars, and tells her that they are made of the same stuff as she is. Award-winning author Katherine Paterson evokes the desperation of poverty and loneliness in her young heroine, and also shows how someone so young and inexperienced can still summon her strength and think on her feet to overcome apparently insurmountable obstacles. - Christine Madden