First off, another book by Wendy Mass. This one is called A Mango-Shaped Space. It's about a girl named Mia who finally discovers that there's a name for her ability to see colors when she sees letters and numbers and hears distinctive sounds. Learning that name, synesthesia, and meeting other synesthetes empowers her to embrace her colors. Of course, it's a rocky road that leads to her own acceptance and the acceptance of friends and classmates, but the book has a definite uplifting note.
The final young adult book that I read recently is Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron. The title comes from a quote by Ovid: "Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you." This book is a great example of a specific type of uplifting material, the type where (a) you feel validated in hearing a characters struggles in life, because you've known similar feelings or struggles, and (b) the character makes something of that struggle. Here, the main character James is generally unhappy, not able to pinpoint an exact reason for it at first. He knows that his confusion around his sexual orientation, his parents' divorce, and the falling of the Twin Towers (he lives in New York) two years before the book takes place must all factor into it, but it takes the course of the book to work toward a new understanding of how to function despite these truths. Someday takes place during the summer before he's supposed to go to college, and though he doesn't have a perky personality, James nevertheless delivers a heartfelt story of subtle change.
Both of these books were as good at the beginning as they were at the end. I love a book with good follow-through. I'm looking forward to reading more by both of these authors.
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