First Iskender, now this. My list of German books seem to consist of controversial titles. The book in question is Girl from Mars by Tamara Bach. And it will be a touchy topic for some as the same-sex relationship is one of the major themes of this meant-for-young-adult book. Okay, I can see why this book is so hard to find. 

Here's the gist of the story. The main protagonist is a 15 year old girl called Miriam who is fed up with her small home town. Life appears to be a routine and nothing exciting ever seems to happen. She goes through the usual doings of other girls her age – partying, socializing, drinking. However, she's not happy and wonders if there is more to life than all this. Along comes a new classmate called Laura. She is completely different from the type of stuck-in-the-mud people Miriam is used to. They become friends and as time goes on, Miriam realizes that she has feelings for Laura.

Doesn't that remind you of the type of story Judy Blume would write? That's what drew me to this book in the first place. It had that non-preachy, approachable from a teen angle feel to it. Plus, it was heart-warming to think that there were books like this, aimed at teens, out there that dealt with issues like sexual orientation. At least those kids won't have to feel alone when they start taking the first steps to being a grownup. In all honesty, I would recommend books like this for those silly folks who are homophobic. Tackle them at a teenage age I say and get them to be more tolerant of all views and lifestyles.

Something else that I noticed about the book was the reference to the small town mentality. I don't think it was not meant in a disparaging way. Rather, it is that feeling that a lot of people experience, when they want to explore the horizons, see the big world and find out more about this weird little world of ours. Again, this is a feeling that both teens and adults experience, at one time or another, and it helps to have someone give voice to such feelings of confinement.