Because I Am Furniture, Thalia Chaltas

Anke's story is horrifying terrifying putrifying mesmorizing Satisfying Dad uses chooses abuses his older children but not Anke she is the wall she is the floor she is the furniture Anke tries out for volleyball makes team grows becomes loud sees things around her Mom does nothing Yaicha (older sister) does nothing Darren (eldest) does nothing Anke screams "My Ball" loud louder loudest Jed takes naps kisses Anke that is all Kyler soccer player cute boy keen on Anke One problem Dad Angeline Angeline Dad Anke grows like the hemlock in the yard only to be taken down when it is said to be sick Volleyball is Anke's life Home is not she grows expands expends demands depends on her team gets her voice and is taken down for it Okay, this is my horrible way of trying to review in verse (ta da!) Thalia's debut novel is beautiful as it is heartbreaking and exhilarating and disturbing. She creates a monster of a father and doesn't stop there. Anke, a freshman in high school, grows and learns to become more vocal with her volleyball ability. Even though she isn't physically abused; she feels left out. She seeks comfort in a senior who lives across the street, Jed. But it's Kyler that Anke is crushing on. This book told in poems is gorgeously written and I hope that people take the time to read it and become enriched by it. Thalia has quite a career ahead of her (and she's a friend of Sonya Sones!) I highly recommend this debut novel. I just can't say enough about it. I originally read it for the title, which I thought was really cool, but the story behind it is even better. I wonder if we'll get more Anke? 5 Bookmarks Because I Am Furniture is out in April of 2009 and is published by Viking a subsidiary of Penguin, USA