4 stars -- I like it.
Green Angel makes up for its slim, small size with strong storytelling and beautiful lyrical prose.
Green is a 15-year-old girl in an unspecified country, time period, or world. She has a gift with growing things. Her father has a gift of whistling, her mother of herbs and remedies, and her sister with life in general (or so it seems).
When her family goes to market to sell the produce Green grew, Green has to stay at home and watch over her crops. Resentful and angry, Green doesn't say good-bye or "I love you." And when the city is attacked and her family is presumably killed, Green is wracked with guilt and remorse and sadness.
She transforms herself into Ash--partially blinded by the embers that fell from the sky, angry and protective, covered in tattoos and spikes.
But as she loses herself, other people and creatures come to her and help her find her way back to a place where she can find healing and forgiveness.
Green Angel is a beautiful, well-told story that deserves a read, and it's a quick read that can be done in one sitting. Green/Ash is a relatable character and the transformations she undergoes are both understandable and mysterious.
The only fault I find in the book is that the tragedy, remeniscent of 9/11, talks of the collapse of large buildings from which you could see people jumping off... and then it talks about the agriculture and wildlife being affected. The book never mentions fall-out or what the tragedy was, but I would assume that a blow-up that blocks out the sun and kills trees and forests and crops miles away from where it occurred would have to be big enough that the immediate scene would be completely obliterated, ie, you wouldn't see people jumping off the building as they'd be gone instantly.
But then again, I am not a disasters expert.
So if you want a rather quick but moving read, I suggest you pick this book up. It's a modern-day fairy tale.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
5 stars -- I love this book!
So... my husband grabbed this off the library shelf (with several others I haven't read yet) and said, "I got these for you. I think you'll like them." So I read the back-ad/flap copy and took them home. And I'm glad I did!
Boneshaker (an adult book, imagine that) is a steampunk zombie book that takes place in late-1800's Seattle, Washington. But because I'm in the American midwest, I don't know the history of Seattle, and I could have believed that the book takes place in a re-imagined modern-day Seattle. After all, steampunk necessitates change in many modern conveniences... and there wasn't very much of the Victorian element in the book at all.
In the late-1800s, the Russians want to find gold in Alaska and they pay a brilliant scientist for his invention, the Boneshaker. The scientist, Levi Blue, builds it and then takes it for "a test run" under Seattle (although there are various theories about what the "test run" really was). The Boneshaker just "happens" to go underneath Seattle's financial district, which causes a lot of chaos in and of itself, but it also opens up a gas leak. The gas, hypothesized to come from Mount Ranier and called the Blight, makes people sick. And sometimes the people turn into zombies if they don't die from the Blight.
So downtown Seattle is walled in to contain the gas, and the people are evacuated to the Outskirts.
Our story begins 15 years later when Levi's widow and son re-enter the walled-in district. A small group of people have decided to live within the walls, and it is these people that both help and hinder our two main characters. They meet the Chinese, whose presence in the area is never really explained, although they are the ones who pump in fresh air; the mad scientist Minnericht, who may or may not be Levi and who has set himself up as the king of the walled-in area, and many of his cohorts; and a variety of people referred to as "Doornails" who choose to live there for no particular reason but are now in perpetual debt to Minnericht. They also meet several airship captains (pirates!) who dip in and out of the walled-in area but don't live there.
Zeke, the son, enters the district so that he can clear both his father and his grandfather's name (his grandfather, Maynard Wilkes, died due to the Blight while freeing prisoners initially left to die in their jail cells. Some people view Maynard as a hero... some don't), and Briar, our main character, comes after to find and save him.
As is wont to happen, Zeke falls into the wrong hands, and Briar falls into all the right ones.
I really, really liked this story. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in less than a day. I loved the zombies, but the book isn't so zombie-heavy as to make it seem like "just another zombie book." The steampunk comes out heavily in crazily awesome inventions, with new ones popping up all the time. Plus(this is huge for me!), a majority of the story revolves around whether Minnericht is or is not Levi Blue, and despite the fact that a majority of the story is told from Briar's POV and she appears to know the truth, the reader isn't privvy as to whether Minnericht is or is not Levi Blue until the very end.
The author did a fantastic job of keeping the who's, why's, and how's hidden without hindering the story. A lot of the time, a plot like this gets to be, "Will you just tell me already?!" or "I already know what you keep trying to hide," but in this story, neither of those things happened.
This is a fantastic sci-fi book, and if you have any interest in steampunk, zombies, Seattle, good action stories, etc., I think you should read this. It's even worth the half-day you lose trying to finish it :) Plus, the type is a reddish-brown, and I adore different-colored fonts.
So... my husband grabbed this off the library shelf (with several others I haven't read yet) and said, "I got these for you. I think you'll like them." So I read the back-ad/flap copy and took them home. And I'm glad I did!
Boneshaker (an adult book, imagine that) is a steampunk zombie book that takes place in late-1800's Seattle, Washington. But because I'm in the American midwest, I don't know the history of Seattle, and I could have believed that the book takes place in a re-imagined modern-day Seattle. After all, steampunk necessitates change in many modern conveniences... and there wasn't very much of the Victorian element in the book at all.
In the late-1800s, the Russians want to find gold in Alaska and they pay a brilliant scientist for his invention, the Boneshaker. The scientist, Levi Blue, builds it and then takes it for "a test run" under Seattle (although there are various theories about what the "test run" really was). The Boneshaker just "happens" to go underneath Seattle's financial district, which causes a lot of chaos in and of itself, but it also opens up a gas leak. The gas, hypothesized to come from Mount Ranier and called the Blight, makes people sick. And sometimes the people turn into zombies if they don't die from the Blight.
So downtown Seattle is walled in to contain the gas, and the people are evacuated to the Outskirts.
Our story begins 15 years later when Levi's widow and son re-enter the walled-in district. A small group of people have decided to live within the walls, and it is these people that both help and hinder our two main characters. They meet the Chinese, whose presence in the area is never really explained, although they are the ones who pump in fresh air; the mad scientist Minnericht, who may or may not be Levi and who has set himself up as the king of the walled-in area, and many of his cohorts; and a variety of people referred to as "Doornails" who choose to live there for no particular reason but are now in perpetual debt to Minnericht. They also meet several airship captains (pirates!) who dip in and out of the walled-in area but don't live there.
Zeke, the son, enters the district so that he can clear both his father and his grandfather's name (his grandfather, Maynard Wilkes, died due to the Blight while freeing prisoners initially left to die in their jail cells. Some people view Maynard as a hero... some don't), and Briar, our main character, comes after to find and save him.
As is wont to happen, Zeke falls into the wrong hands, and Briar falls into all the right ones.
I really, really liked this story. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in less than a day. I loved the zombies, but the book isn't so zombie-heavy as to make it seem like "just another zombie book." The steampunk comes out heavily in crazily awesome inventions, with new ones popping up all the time. Plus(this is huge for me!), a majority of the story revolves around whether Minnericht is or is not Levi Blue, and despite the fact that a majority of the story is told from Briar's POV and she appears to know the truth, the reader isn't privvy as to whether Minnericht is or is not Levi Blue until the very end.
The author did a fantastic job of keeping the who's, why's, and how's hidden without hindering the story. A lot of the time, a plot like this gets to be, "Will you just tell me already?!" or "I already know what you keep trying to hide," but in this story, neither of those things happened.
This is a fantastic sci-fi book, and if you have any interest in steampunk, zombies, Seattle, good action stories, etc., I think you should read this. It's even worth the half-day you lose trying to finish it :) Plus, the type is a reddish-brown, and I adore different-colored fonts.
Dark Visions by L.J. Smith
3.5 stars -- I sort of like this
I picked this one up off the express shelf in the library because I liked the cover. Check it out!
This book, Dark Visions is a bind-up of L.J. Smith's trilogy of the same name. Remember when I said I liked the cover? Check out the originals: The Strange Power, The Possessed, and Passion. How cover treatments change in just 15 years!
I was a bit worried about this bind-up. I know that sometimes books are bound together when the originals didn't have sales as high as initially projected. They can also be bound up if the author is really popular and the bind-up will appeal to the author's fans. They can also do bind-ups of books that are extremely popular (Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia). And finally, they can do a bind-up to boost sales by giving the books a new look and feel. I assumed this book was the first option, but now (looking at those covers *shudder*), I'm guessing it might be the last one instead.
I really like the first book in the series (or in my case, in the bind-up). The Strange Power introduces the characters and their powers, has the start of a good love story, has some really evil characters, etc. It was a decent book on its own, but it was clearly written with a sequel in mind.
However, in the second book, The Possessed, I started to lose interest... or perhaps things were getting just a bit too far-fetched. Which, when it comes to mental powers, really how far-fetched is too far-fetched? Well, survivors of Atlantis, I think, is a bit too far-fetched. Plus, I really didn't like seeing the nice love story turning all love-triangly. Granted, the back-ad assures the reader beforehand that that's how it's going to go, and really, the initial love story is just a bit sickenly sweet, but still...
And finally, the third book, Passion, just loses me completely. Our main character, Kait (she of the love triangle, corner #3), attempts to get all bad-ass and fails miserably. Corner #2 of the love triangle is this back-and-forth of love and hate, miserable self-loathing and surperiority, etc. A man of mixed signals is what I would call him. Corner #1 is clueless and helpless (but overwhelmingly GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT) and mostly not in the story at all.
The ending, I think, is what lost me. Everything is just tied up too nicely. Corner #1 gets another girl (which the author kindly hinted at throughout the third story so it wouldn't be a surprise when it happens... I found this too convenient and contrived to be believable). Corner #2 gets Kait, because they are a better match as they are not so GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT as corner #1 (he gets the girl who is WISE and PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING [and the caps are because that is how these two people are described in the books over and over and over and over again so that I can't think of them but in all caps]).
Really, though, I was pleasantly surprised with the books. They're not terrible, and I wouldn't tell you not to read them. They're just not good, so I wouldn't actually go around recommending them either. (Unlike this book, which is amazing and has a sequel coming out soon. READ IT. And I put up the kindle link, because the old cover was amazing and the new cover is NOT.)
I picked this one up off the express shelf in the library because I liked the cover. Check it out!
This book, Dark Visions is a bind-up of L.J. Smith's trilogy of the same name. Remember when I said I liked the cover? Check out the originals: The Strange Power, The Possessed, and Passion. How cover treatments change in just 15 years!
I was a bit worried about this bind-up. I know that sometimes books are bound together when the originals didn't have sales as high as initially projected. They can also be bound up if the author is really popular and the bind-up will appeal to the author's fans. They can also do bind-ups of books that are extremely popular (Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia). And finally, they can do a bind-up to boost sales by giving the books a new look and feel. I assumed this book was the first option, but now (looking at those covers *shudder*), I'm guessing it might be the last one instead.
I really like the first book in the series (or in my case, in the bind-up). The Strange Power introduces the characters and their powers, has the start of a good love story, has some really evil characters, etc. It was a decent book on its own, but it was clearly written with a sequel in mind.
However, in the second book, The Possessed, I started to lose interest... or perhaps things were getting just a bit too far-fetched. Which, when it comes to mental powers, really how far-fetched is too far-fetched? Well, survivors of Atlantis, I think, is a bit too far-fetched. Plus, I really didn't like seeing the nice love story turning all love-triangly. Granted, the back-ad assures the reader beforehand that that's how it's going to go, and really, the initial love story is just a bit sickenly sweet, but still...
And finally, the third book, Passion, just loses me completely. Our main character, Kait (she of the love triangle, corner #3), attempts to get all bad-ass and fails miserably. Corner #2 of the love triangle is this back-and-forth of love and hate, miserable self-loathing and surperiority, etc. A man of mixed signals is what I would call him. Corner #1 is clueless and helpless (but overwhelmingly GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT) and mostly not in the story at all.
The ending, I think, is what lost me. Everything is just tied up too nicely. Corner #1 gets another girl (which the author kindly hinted at throughout the third story so it wouldn't be a surprise when it happens... I found this too convenient and contrived to be believable). Corner #2 gets Kait, because they are a better match as they are not so GOOD and GOLD and LIGHT as corner #1 (he gets the girl who is WISE and PATIENT and UNDERSTANDING [and the caps are because that is how these two people are described in the books over and over and over and over again so that I can't think of them but in all caps]).
Really, though, I was pleasantly surprised with the books. They're not terrible, and I wouldn't tell you not to read them. They're just not good, so I wouldn't actually go around recommending them either. (Unlike this book, which is amazing and has a sequel coming out soon. READ IT. And I put up the kindle link, because the old cover was amazing and the new cover is NOT.)
Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda
4 stars -- I like it.
I would have been better served writing this immediately after I read this book, but a busy work schedule and spotty home internet connection make for difficulty in the blog-posting area. Plus, as I've said before, I procrastinate :)
Devil's Kiss has a female protagonist, but the author is male. And while I could tell that Billi was a little less girly than most female protagonists, I wouldn't have guessed the author was male. Mr. Chadda did a fabulous job writing from a girl's POV!
15-year-old Billi has grown up training to be a warrior for the nearly extinct Knights Templar. They exorcise demons and ghosts and kill werewolves and vampires. Every now and then, they have to banish one or more of the the three different kinds of angels. And to make a tough life even tougher, Billi is resentful of her father's treatment of her and jealous of (but possibly in love with...) the other young knight, Kay, with whom she grew up.
The culmination of the story is that Kay's new budding romance turns out to be the insane-and-banished angel of death, Michael. Kay has to defeat him herself (as Kay prophesied she would) after her dad is severely injured, her godfather is killed, and Kay sells his soul to the devil (literally). But I don't want to give away too much...
Regardless, this fast-paced story starts with a bang and continues that way. The ending is not as predictable as most YA endings, and there are a lot of terrifying new ideas (based on really old stories) that are fun to think about. Readers might get a little annoyed with Billi's angsty-ness, but that is, after all, how 15-year-olds tend to be.
If you like the sci-fi/fantasy YA that's been coming out lately, you'll probably enjoy this one too.
I would have been better served writing this immediately after I read this book, but a busy work schedule and spotty home internet connection make for difficulty in the blog-posting area. Plus, as I've said before, I procrastinate :)
Devil's Kiss has a female protagonist, but the author is male. And while I could tell that Billi was a little less girly than most female protagonists, I wouldn't have guessed the author was male. Mr. Chadda did a fabulous job writing from a girl's POV!
15-year-old Billi has grown up training to be a warrior for the nearly extinct Knights Templar. They exorcise demons and ghosts and kill werewolves and vampires. Every now and then, they have to banish one or more of the the three different kinds of angels. And to make a tough life even tougher, Billi is resentful of her father's treatment of her and jealous of (but possibly in love with...) the other young knight, Kay, with whom she grew up.
The culmination of the story is that Kay's new budding romance turns out to be the insane-and-banished angel of death, Michael. Kay has to defeat him herself (as Kay prophesied she would) after her dad is severely injured, her godfather is killed, and Kay sells his soul to the devil (literally). But I don't want to give away too much...
Regardless, this fast-paced story starts with a bang and continues that way. The ending is not as predictable as most YA endings, and there are a lot of terrifying new ideas (based on really old stories) that are fun to think about. Readers might get a little annoyed with Billi's angsty-ness, but that is, after all, how 15-year-olds tend to be.
If you like the sci-fi/fantasy YA that's been coming out lately, you'll probably enjoy this one too.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
3 stars -- It's okay.
Waiting for Normal is, like The Unfinished Angel, a bit younger than my normal reading age range. Unlike The Unfinished Angel, it didn't make me feel okay about reading so young. Don't get me wrong, it was fine for its age range. I'm sure 9-12-year-olds would enjoy, but I didn't very much.
Like Ash, I put this book down and would pick it up days later without qualms. It was slow moving; there just wasn't much going on. Granted, for a younger age range, this is probably perfectly acceptable. It's also very realistic, which I think is a plus.
The main character, Addie, is 12 years old, and she appears to be the adult in the relationship between herself and her mother. They've just moved into a trailer owned by Addie's ex-step-dad, which means Addie is starting at a new school, has to make new friends, has to explain her learning problems all over again.
Addie's mom is clearly neglectful, leaving Addie alone for days at a time and using the money the step-dad sends for her own personal uses rather than to buy, say, food or clothing. But Addie loves her mom (as most children do... for a few more years at least), and she goes out of her way to protect her and to hide the extent of the neglect... until it just can't be hidden any more.
The story does have a happy ending for Addie, although her coming sibling leaves the adult reader a tad worried (albeit for a fictional unborn character). The book addresses the issues of cancer, homosexuality, neglect, stealing, adoption, step-relationships and half-relationships, and many other things that I think the juvenile crowd would find beneficial to read about and become familiar with. It also does it very well. I was not offended by any of the issues, nor did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with them. If a reader is very young, they probably wouldn't even notice.
So my 3 stars is merely because I wasn't drawn into the story very much, and that I am, obviously, much too old for the genre. But I really feel like readers in the juvenile age range would enjoy and could benefit from reading this story. It's very well written, and Addie's story is relatable and realistic.
Worth introducing to a young reader in your life!
Waiting for Normal is, like The Unfinished Angel, a bit younger than my normal reading age range. Unlike The Unfinished Angel, it didn't make me feel okay about reading so young. Don't get me wrong, it was fine for its age range. I'm sure 9-12-year-olds would enjoy, but I didn't very much.
Like Ash, I put this book down and would pick it up days later without qualms. It was slow moving; there just wasn't much going on. Granted, for a younger age range, this is probably perfectly acceptable. It's also very realistic, which I think is a plus.
The main character, Addie, is 12 years old, and she appears to be the adult in the relationship between herself and her mother. They've just moved into a trailer owned by Addie's ex-step-dad, which means Addie is starting at a new school, has to make new friends, has to explain her learning problems all over again.
Addie's mom is clearly neglectful, leaving Addie alone for days at a time and using the money the step-dad sends for her own personal uses rather than to buy, say, food or clothing. But Addie loves her mom (as most children do... for a few more years at least), and she goes out of her way to protect her and to hide the extent of the neglect... until it just can't be hidden any more.
The story does have a happy ending for Addie, although her coming sibling leaves the adult reader a tad worried (albeit for a fictional unborn character). The book addresses the issues of cancer, homosexuality, neglect, stealing, adoption, step-relationships and half-relationships, and many other things that I think the juvenile crowd would find beneficial to read about and become familiar with. It also does it very well. I was not offended by any of the issues, nor did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with them. If a reader is very young, they probably wouldn't even notice.
So my 3 stars is merely because I wasn't drawn into the story very much, and that I am, obviously, much too old for the genre. But I really feel like readers in the juvenile age range would enjoy and could benefit from reading this story. It's very well written, and Addie's story is relatable and realistic.
Worth introducing to a young reader in your life!
Ash by Malinda Lo
2 stars -- I didn't like it.
Ash is a re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale (Cinderella=Cinders=Ashes=Ash). I usually find fairy-tale re-tellings very entertaining. I like to see how different people can either tell the old story in a new and interesting way (some people just have a beautiful way with words) or how they can take the story and make it their own. Ash definitely falls into the latter category... and I didn't like it.
I'm not going to say much, but in my defense, I didn't read the flap copy carefully enough when I checked this book out, and after I re-read the flap copy, I finished the book because I thought, "Is that really where this is going?" Reading the author bio before I had that thought would have clarified that it definitely was going that way.
Ash, to be specific, is a lesbian re-telling of Cinderella. I'm not going to get into it, because I don't want hackles raised, but I really dislike when people take fairy tales and turn them "grown-up." It just ruins the innocence and magic of the fairy tale for me.
Also, I thought (and I could be totally wrong) that the main problem the LGBT community had with most people was the assumption that sexuality is a choice. Malindo Lo is a big proponent in that community. But the message I read in this book was that Ash is in love with a male fairy, doesn't really understand sexuality, carries on in a little bubble, finds out that a woman's in love with her and decides to be in love with the woman as well. It didn't even occur to Ash that she could love a woman until, as I said, she found out a woman loved her first.
Overall, the story was slow without much action. I had no problem putting this down and picking it up days later. I also think Cinderella in its original form was just fine (sans fairies who fall in love due to curses and King's huntresses). I wouldn't recommend this book.
Ash is a re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale (Cinderella=Cinders=Ashes=Ash). I usually find fairy-tale re-tellings very entertaining. I like to see how different people can either tell the old story in a new and interesting way (some people just have a beautiful way with words) or how they can take the story and make it their own. Ash definitely falls into the latter category... and I didn't like it.
I'm not going to say much, but in my defense, I didn't read the flap copy carefully enough when I checked this book out, and after I re-read the flap copy, I finished the book because I thought, "Is that really where this is going?" Reading the author bio before I had that thought would have clarified that it definitely was going that way.
Ash, to be specific, is a lesbian re-telling of Cinderella. I'm not going to get into it, because I don't want hackles raised, but I really dislike when people take fairy tales and turn them "grown-up." It just ruins the innocence and magic of the fairy tale for me.
Also, I thought (and I could be totally wrong) that the main problem the LGBT community had with most people was the assumption that sexuality is a choice. Malindo Lo is a big proponent in that community. But the message I read in this book was that Ash is in love with a male fairy, doesn't really understand sexuality, carries on in a little bubble, finds out that a woman's in love with her and decides to be in love with the woman as well. It didn't even occur to Ash that she could love a woman until, as I said, she found out a woman loved her first.
Overall, the story was slow without much action. I had no problem putting this down and picking it up days later. I also think Cinderella in its original form was just fine (sans fairies who fall in love due to curses and King's huntresses). I wouldn't recommend this book.
Monday, January 11, 2010
King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher
4 stars -- I like it.
I read King of the Mild Frontier for a number of reasons.
Regardless, Chris Crutcher is an excellent storyteller, and the way he puts his own past together is entertaining. You get to read about pimples and masterbation; his religious upbringing; his shortcomings in sports; his gullibility and naivety; his realization that he wanted to be and became a writer; as well as his many run-ins with death. Most of the stories are self-deprecating, but not to the point where you think, "Man, this guy needs a higher self-esteem!" Because despite his many failings, you can also tell that Chris is still arrogant and confidant in his own abilities. He also seems self-assured. I certainly wouldn't want to debate him, because I get the feeling that he knows what he knows and he won't move from it.
This is a very well-put-together autobiography that doesn't really have a life lesson, though it does give some advice for aspiring writers. It's more of an explanation of why Chris is who he is, as well as just being a humorous read about someone's childhood, full of all the misjudgments and failings of which childhood is full.
If you need an autobiography on your library list, this is one I would recommend. Or if you need a laugh. Or if you're just curious about how other people have grown up and lived.
I read King of the Mild Frontier for a number of reasons.
- I like Chris Crutcher's books.
- A friend told me that I had to read this.
- Amazon recommended that I read this.
- My library has a reading contest going on right now, and I need an autobiography on my list to enter to win.
Regardless, Chris Crutcher is an excellent storyteller, and the way he puts his own past together is entertaining. You get to read about pimples and masterbation; his religious upbringing; his shortcomings in sports; his gullibility and naivety; his realization that he wanted to be and became a writer; as well as his many run-ins with death. Most of the stories are self-deprecating, but not to the point where you think, "Man, this guy needs a higher self-esteem!" Because despite his many failings, you can also tell that Chris is still arrogant and confidant in his own abilities. He also seems self-assured. I certainly wouldn't want to debate him, because I get the feeling that he knows what he knows and he won't move from it.
This is a very well-put-together autobiography that doesn't really have a life lesson, though it does give some advice for aspiring writers. It's more of an explanation of why Chris is who he is, as well as just being a humorous read about someone's childhood, full of all the misjudgments and failings of which childhood is full.
If you need an autobiography on your library list, this is one I would recommend. Or if you need a laugh. Or if you're just curious about how other people have grown up and lived.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block
2 stars -- I don't like it
Pretty Dead is, unsurprisingly, a vampire story. But it doesn't do anything to add to the topic.
The main character, Charlotte, is a vampire--and has been for 100 years (a common age for vampires). She was turned when she was 16. She's going to school to see what's it like for other people who look her age. She's fabulously rich (due to her long life), and she hates the vampire who turned her.
It's all very much, "Been there, done that."
The only possibly unique turn to the story is that it details not only the century Charlotte has lived as a vampire (and her possibly incestuous life before turning), but also her transition from vampire back to mortal.
I say possibly unique, because--though I have by no means read all vampire fiction--I haven't come across it before. But I can't imagine that it hasn't been done before.
While the writing of the story is beautiful, and it's pleasant to read, the story itself lacks much substance, and I was left thinking, "What?" many times.
Charlotte's "best friend" (in quotes because vampires are too sad and lonely to have real best friends), Emily, commits suicide. Charlotte attempts to comfort Emily's boyfriend, Jared. This quickly turns into more than comfort--as one would typically expect in a romance novel, but not so much in a YA novel. (The reason this was a "What?" moment for me is that the whole first half of the novel talks about how Jared and Emily were perfect, perfect, perfect for each other, and Jared was so distraught over her suicide that he nearly commits suicide. Yet, it only takes him a few days before he's sketching Charlotte naked...)
Anyway, the story ends by Jared nearly being turned into a vampire by William, Charlotte's creator; discovering that Emily is a vampire (and a bitchy one at that) and not truly dead; and nearly getting blown up--saved only by Charlotte, who has managed to regain supernatural mind-reading powers now that she's mortal.
Jared leaves.
And then comes back to mortal, suddenly poor Charlotte because they have found that ever-elusive "true love." (By the way why because she's suddenly mortal, does Charlotte suddenly become poor? Did she have to get rid of all of antique and expensive stuff?? She owned a mansion outright, and surely selling it would have gotten her a could million dollars to tide her over...)
Also, the cover is very cheap-looking, and I was embarrassed to read the book anywhere but at home. It doesn't relate to the interior or title at all, and I hope when the book is put in softcover (or, heaven forbid, reprinted), they choose something a little less tacky.
Pretty Dead is, unsurprisingly, a vampire story. But it doesn't do anything to add to the topic.
The main character, Charlotte, is a vampire--and has been for 100 years (a common age for vampires). She was turned when she was 16. She's going to school to see what's it like for other people who look her age. She's fabulously rich (due to her long life), and she hates the vampire who turned her.
It's all very much, "Been there, done that."
The only possibly unique turn to the story is that it details not only the century Charlotte has lived as a vampire (and her possibly incestuous life before turning), but also her transition from vampire back to mortal.
I say possibly unique, because--though I have by no means read all vampire fiction--I haven't come across it before. But I can't imagine that it hasn't been done before.
While the writing of the story is beautiful, and it's pleasant to read, the story itself lacks much substance, and I was left thinking, "What?" many times.
Charlotte's "best friend" (in quotes because vampires are too sad and lonely to have real best friends), Emily, commits suicide. Charlotte attempts to comfort Emily's boyfriend, Jared. This quickly turns into more than comfort--as one would typically expect in a romance novel, but not so much in a YA novel. (The reason this was a "What?" moment for me is that the whole first half of the novel talks about how Jared and Emily were perfect, perfect, perfect for each other, and Jared was so distraught over her suicide that he nearly commits suicide. Yet, it only takes him a few days before he's sketching Charlotte naked...)
Anyway, the story ends by Jared nearly being turned into a vampire by William, Charlotte's creator; discovering that Emily is a vampire (and a bitchy one at that) and not truly dead; and nearly getting blown up--saved only by Charlotte, who has managed to regain supernatural mind-reading powers now that she's mortal.
Jared leaves.
And then comes back to mortal, suddenly poor Charlotte because they have found that ever-elusive "true love." (By the way why because she's suddenly mortal, does Charlotte suddenly become poor? Did she have to get rid of all of antique and expensive stuff?? She owned a mansion outright, and surely selling it would have gotten her a could million dollars to tide her over...)
Also, the cover is very cheap-looking, and I was embarrassed to read the book anywhere but at home. It doesn't relate to the interior or title at all, and I hope when the book is put in softcover (or, heaven forbid, reprinted), they choose something a little less tacky.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
4 stars -- I liked it
I seem to be catching up on my series this weekend!
Front and Center is the third book in the Dairy Queen series (Dairy Queen and The Off Season being the first two books), and I liked it just as well as I liked the first two books.
D.J., our main character, is a sports-loving girl who comes from a very athletic family. In the first book, the author focuses on D.J.'s relationship with Brian, a fellow jock from a rival school. It also shows D.J.'s family and how much she gives up (basketball) for her father.
In book two, D.J. joins her school's all-boys football team, and she's great at it. Of course, tension arises when she has to play against Brian and his team, and in the end, their relationship ends.
This book follows D.J. back into basketball, into a new relationship with a likable character, and into her dilemma regarding college.
I think what I like about these stories is that D.J. is just so darn believable. She's not academically smart, and she's not cocky. She's very shy and while, as the reader of her internal dialogue, we can see how intelligent she is (and sometimes isn't), we also get how hard it is for her to communicate what she wants to others.
I also had to cheer her on regarding her relationship with Brian. She obviously still has strong feelings for Brian, but when he treats her wrongly, she lets him know it. And she desperately tries to stick to her ultimatum throughout. Just because she wants to talk to him doesn't mean she lets herself.
I don't know much about sports, so I can't critique the rightness or wrongness of how she is when she plays, but it feels right to me. And D.J.'s brutal honesty (about herself mostly) rings true for how most females feel about themselves, if only expressed more simply/bluntly.
I really like the Dairy Queen books, and I'm not even a sports fan. :)
I seem to be catching up on my series this weekend!
Front and Center is the third book in the Dairy Queen series (Dairy Queen and The Off Season being the first two books), and I liked it just as well as I liked the first two books.
D.J., our main character, is a sports-loving girl who comes from a very athletic family. In the first book, the author focuses on D.J.'s relationship with Brian, a fellow jock from a rival school. It also shows D.J.'s family and how much she gives up (basketball) for her father.
In book two, D.J. joins her school's all-boys football team, and she's great at it. Of course, tension arises when she has to play against Brian and his team, and in the end, their relationship ends.
This book follows D.J. back into basketball, into a new relationship with a likable character, and into her dilemma regarding college.
I think what I like about these stories is that D.J. is just so darn believable. She's not academically smart, and she's not cocky. She's very shy and while, as the reader of her internal dialogue, we can see how intelligent she is (and sometimes isn't), we also get how hard it is for her to communicate what she wants to others.
I also had to cheer her on regarding her relationship with Brian. She obviously still has strong feelings for Brian, but when he treats her wrongly, she lets him know it. And she desperately tries to stick to her ultimatum throughout. Just because she wants to talk to him doesn't mean she lets herself.
I don't know much about sports, so I can't critique the rightness or wrongness of how she is when she plays, but it feels right to me. And D.J.'s brutal honesty (about herself mostly) rings true for how most females feel about themselves, if only expressed more simply/bluntly.
I really like the Dairy Queen books, and I'm not even a sports fan. :)
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
3 stars -- It's okay.
Deadly Little Lies is the sequel to Deadly Little Secrets. I rated Deadly Little Secrets 4 stars on Amazon, but this book really only garners 3 from me. I don't remember Deadly Little Secrets very well, so I can't tell you what would make the difference between the 3 and 4 stars; I just know I didn't like this one as well.
Deadly Little Lies, a Touch Novel, still follows the story of Camelia and her attraction to Ben, a boy with extraordinary powers. The last novel finished with him leaving her, but now he's come back.
I think part of the problem I had with this book is that the characters are far too "Twilighty." Replace Ben's name with "Edward" and Camelia's with "Bella," and you could have scenes right out of Twilight. All about her aching for him to touch her, and he unwilling to make contact. Lips trembling with the desire as he reaches toward her wrist, only to pull back without even brushing her skin. And of course, there's the whole stalker issue with him showing up outside her house, crawling in her window, coming to her work uninvited.
It wasn't just Twilight, however, that this copied from. While I know the premise of the series is about Camelia being in danger and Ben saving her, I feel like a lot more could have been done with this book without making it such a repeat of the first.
Camelia has just recently (4 months previously) been abducted and saved, and yet, when the terrorizing notes, intimidating pictures, and threatening phone calls start pouring in, Camelia doesn't go to any real authority for help. In fact, she even lies about it to her dad once, glossing over the details. And while there is always an excuse--her mom hearing bad news about her suicidal aunt, her dad being too busy to hear her quiet voice, a friend's trouble always coming up--when it's your life in danger and you've just been traumatized, it's more believable for me to think you would get help ASAP.
On the other hand, it was nice to have a main character that did pay attention to her friends' troubles (unlike a recent book I've read).
I just don't think that this book added much to the series. We got rid of a character who didn't have to be brought in, added a love triangle that we know isn't going anywhere, and made Camelia go through another traumatizing attack (which, let's face it, if every book is about her getting traumatized, Camelia will probably end up being very untrustful of others and pretty messed up).
Hopefully the next book moves us forward and gets us back on track, because the first book was pretty good.
Deadly Little Lies is the sequel to Deadly Little Secrets. I rated Deadly Little Secrets 4 stars on Amazon, but this book really only garners 3 from me. I don't remember Deadly Little Secrets very well, so I can't tell you what would make the difference between the 3 and 4 stars; I just know I didn't like this one as well.
Deadly Little Lies, a Touch Novel, still follows the story of Camelia and her attraction to Ben, a boy with extraordinary powers. The last novel finished with him leaving her, but now he's come back.
I think part of the problem I had with this book is that the characters are far too "Twilighty." Replace Ben's name with "Edward" and Camelia's with "Bella," and you could have scenes right out of Twilight. All about her aching for him to touch her, and he unwilling to make contact. Lips trembling with the desire as he reaches toward her wrist, only to pull back without even brushing her skin. And of course, there's the whole stalker issue with him showing up outside her house, crawling in her window, coming to her work uninvited.
It wasn't just Twilight, however, that this copied from. While I know the premise of the series is about Camelia being in danger and Ben saving her, I feel like a lot more could have been done with this book without making it such a repeat of the first.
Camelia has just recently (4 months previously) been abducted and saved, and yet, when the terrorizing notes, intimidating pictures, and threatening phone calls start pouring in, Camelia doesn't go to any real authority for help. In fact, she even lies about it to her dad once, glossing over the details. And while there is always an excuse--her mom hearing bad news about her suicidal aunt, her dad being too busy to hear her quiet voice, a friend's trouble always coming up--when it's your life in danger and you've just been traumatized, it's more believable for me to think you would get help ASAP.
On the other hand, it was nice to have a main character that did pay attention to her friends' troubles (unlike a recent book I've read).
I just don't think that this book added much to the series. We got rid of a character who didn't have to be brought in, added a love triangle that we know isn't going anywhere, and made Camelia go through another traumatizing attack (which, let's face it, if every book is about her getting traumatized, Camelia will probably end up being very untrustful of others and pretty messed up).
Hopefully the next book moves us forward and gets us back on track, because the first book was pretty good.
Bunker 10 by J. A. Henderson
4.5 stars -- I like it a lot.
On the back flap of this book, J. A. Henderson says, "Bunker 10 is a dark, adult novel in which the heroes (and some of the villians) just happen to be kids."
I'm not sure that I would agree about Bunker 10 being an adult novel, but it certainly is fun to read as an adult. In his own words, the book is about "Kids trapped in an escape-proof complex that is going to self-destruct and is filled with homicidal maniacs, terrorist infiltrators, and a deadly infection..."
The author does fabulous work at leading the readers on. All of his explanations are plausible, and I, at least, was never quite sure which story to believe.
And while the list of things going on in the book sounds like a lot to pack into 272 pages, Henderson does it well. Nothing was out of place, and nothing felt like it was just too much for the story. Everything was woven together extremely well.
The only complaint that I have is that there were, perhaps, too many central characters with very common names (Simon, Dave, Jimmy) and common characteristics. It was easy for me to mix them up at the beginning of the story, especially since there were usually always four or five people conversing at once.
I also found the characters hard to like for the middle part of the story, because the reader is told that they are modeled after dictators (Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin), and I just didn't want to feel sympathy for a child who would later grow up to be Hitler.
Overall, I really liked this book. There's genius children, army compounds, time-traveling soldiers, genetic mutations...
It's just a really fun and absorbing read! I never knew where the story would end or how it would get there. In a market short of great books for teen boys, this is one that crosses the gender barrier and does it well.
On the back flap of this book, J. A. Henderson says, "Bunker 10 is a dark, adult novel in which the heroes (and some of the villians) just happen to be kids."
I'm not sure that I would agree about Bunker 10 being an adult novel, but it certainly is fun to read as an adult. In his own words, the book is about "Kids trapped in an escape-proof complex that is going to self-destruct and is filled with homicidal maniacs, terrorist infiltrators, and a deadly infection..."
The author does fabulous work at leading the readers on. All of his explanations are plausible, and I, at least, was never quite sure which story to believe.
And while the list of things going on in the book sounds like a lot to pack into 272 pages, Henderson does it well. Nothing was out of place, and nothing felt like it was just too much for the story. Everything was woven together extremely well.
The only complaint that I have is that there were, perhaps, too many central characters with very common names (Simon, Dave, Jimmy) and common characteristics. It was easy for me to mix them up at the beginning of the story, especially since there were usually always four or five people conversing at once.
I also found the characters hard to like for the middle part of the story, because the reader is told that they are modeled after dictators (Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin), and I just didn't want to feel sympathy for a child who would later grow up to be Hitler.
Overall, I really liked this book. There's genius children, army compounds, time-traveling soldiers, genetic mutations...
It's just a really fun and absorbing read! I never knew where the story would end or how it would get there. In a market short of great books for teen boys, this is one that crosses the gender barrier and does it well.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser
1 star -- I hate it
(See? I'm making up for all those blank days by reading as fast as I can for you!)
Wish You Were Dead is a really awful book. Part of my problem is that I get my books off of Amazon recommendations. Based on previous ratings, Amazon suggests other books. Sometimes the suggestions are fantastic. Sometimes they're only so-so. Sometimes I don't know why a book was even recommended to me.
But it's my fault too. When I feel like I might have a lot of time on my hands, I grab the more interesting-looking titles from my recommended list, put them on hold at the library, and take them home with nothing more than a title in my head. Sometimes I know the author. Sometimes I think the books that the recommendation is based on are stellar, and so the recommendation can't go wrong. Sometimes the cover is what convinces me to get the book. Sometimes I just want to try something a little more unusual.
In this case, the cover reminded me of Unwind, which is an unbelievably moving book. It horrified me, but it stuck in my head, which means its fantastic.
Anyway, back to this book, I checked it out without knowing a thing about it. The title could take the story any number of ways. And it was marked by the library as "Mystery," which I don't often read, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
(Bad pun...) I took the shot for you. You can remain unscathed by the awfulness of this book. I beg of you, don't read this book.
It starts off okay, and I think the only positive thing I have to say about this book is that the author manages to make everyone a possible suspect while keeping the true criminal hidden until the end.
But it was that "Everyone's a suspect" that eventually got to me. And once that started to annoy me, I noticed every other bad aspect of the book.
The writing is not phenomenal. It's very ... average. It's like reading a high school paper. Point A. Point B. Point C. Walk the reader to the conclusion with no surprises.
The plot is ... overdone. There is nothing original in this story. It's like a mash-up of a teen angsty book with a harlequin romance with a serial killer thriller. Everything you imagine in those books is in this book.
The characters are flat and lifeless. The criminal is not believable. I don't think the author did any research when he wrote this. I don't think he researched how long people take to die without water, how antidepressants work, or how bipolar disorder works and affects people. I don't think he researched multiple-personality disorder. I don't think he thought things through.
I get the feeling that the author doesn't really remember what it was like to be in high school -- or he's completely terrible at writing from a female's POV. For example, the main character, Lucy, is enamored of the new guy. She's Miss Popular, and she loves it. All of her friends are popular, and she loves them (every single one of them... she's so nice!). But she can't get antisocial trench coat-wearing Tyler out of her head. I don't know how it was in your high school, but in my high school, popular girls dated popular guys, and if a guy they were interested in treated them like shit, they moved on. And they weren't attracted to the loner Goth kid anyway.
Beside which, three of Lucy's closest friends disappear, and foul play is suspected. And she still can't get Tyler out of her head? When your longtime best friend from elementary school disappears, right after his girlfriend (coincidentally, also a longtime friend of yours) inexplicably disappeared, and then your most-recent acquisition of a best friend disappears as well ...? I don't care how hot the guy is, you have bigger things on your mind.
And the climax of the story is one of the most ridiculous things. One of the kids is found dead, with her eyes gouged out, and the police demand all kids go home from school with their parental unit, because it obviously ISN'T SAFE OUT.
So as soon as Lucy and mum get home, mum heads off to a meeting, because surely their house is safe. And Lucy? Lucy decides to go to their hot tub, in a glass pool house, NAKED.
That's right. I know that when one of my best friends is found outside my school dead from dehydration, the first thing I think about is how relaxing it would be to sit in my hot tub nude...
And of course, scary guy comes to the glass.... and of course, scary guy breaks through the glass.... and of course, stupid girl can't even call the police.
And then it turns out that scary guy isn't actually scary. He's just trying to help (of course). And he has all the answers that no one else figured out (except for one lone girl in school who wisely decides NOT to go to the police). And it makes so much sense for Lucy to just go with him (yes, she did put on clothes first) to find the killer without leaving a note for her parents and without calling the police. Why call the police when there's a serial killer on the loose?
And THEN (were you thinking the book just couldn't get worse?) when Tyler (who showed up on his own) breaks Lucy out (but not himself), and she has a pitchfork and the element of surprise on her side, she tries to SUBDUE the (multiple-personality) killer and bully her into giving herself up. And then Lucy ACCIDENTALLY stabs the killer with the pitchfork, unexpectedly (and unwillingly) killing her.
Reading this was like reading a bad horror film. Except you laugh at bad horror flicks. You expect the heroine to grab the banana instead of the cell phone. But, personally, I expect more from a book.
I wish Lucy had been killed. She certainly didn't deserve to live. And did I mention that Tyler was a 20-year-old passing as an 18-year-old on his own manhunt to avenge his sister?
I told you... this book has every element....
(See? I'm making up for all those blank days by reading as fast as I can for you!)
Wish You Were Dead is a really awful book. Part of my problem is that I get my books off of Amazon recommendations. Based on previous ratings, Amazon suggests other books. Sometimes the suggestions are fantastic. Sometimes they're only so-so. Sometimes I don't know why a book was even recommended to me.
But it's my fault too. When I feel like I might have a lot of time on my hands, I grab the more interesting-looking titles from my recommended list, put them on hold at the library, and take them home with nothing more than a title in my head. Sometimes I know the author. Sometimes I think the books that the recommendation is based on are stellar, and so the recommendation can't go wrong. Sometimes the cover is what convinces me to get the book. Sometimes I just want to try something a little more unusual.
In this case, the cover reminded me of Unwind, which is an unbelievably moving book. It horrified me, but it stuck in my head, which means its fantastic.
Anyway, back to this book, I checked it out without knowing a thing about it. The title could take the story any number of ways. And it was marked by the library as "Mystery," which I don't often read, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
(Bad pun...) I took the shot for you. You can remain unscathed by the awfulness of this book. I beg of you, don't read this book.
It starts off okay, and I think the only positive thing I have to say about this book is that the author manages to make everyone a possible suspect while keeping the true criminal hidden until the end.
But it was that "Everyone's a suspect" that eventually got to me. And once that started to annoy me, I noticed every other bad aspect of the book.
The writing is not phenomenal. It's very ... average. It's like reading a high school paper. Point A. Point B. Point C. Walk the reader to the conclusion with no surprises.
The plot is ... overdone. There is nothing original in this story. It's like a mash-up of a teen angsty book with a harlequin romance with a serial killer thriller. Everything you imagine in those books is in this book.
The characters are flat and lifeless. The criminal is not believable. I don't think the author did any research when he wrote this. I don't think he researched how long people take to die without water, how antidepressants work, or how bipolar disorder works and affects people. I don't think he researched multiple-personality disorder. I don't think he thought things through.
I get the feeling that the author doesn't really remember what it was like to be in high school -- or he's completely terrible at writing from a female's POV. For example, the main character, Lucy, is enamored of the new guy. She's Miss Popular, and she loves it. All of her friends are popular, and she loves them (every single one of them... she's so nice!). But she can't get antisocial trench coat-wearing Tyler out of her head. I don't know how it was in your high school, but in my high school, popular girls dated popular guys, and if a guy they were interested in treated them like shit, they moved on. And they weren't attracted to the loner Goth kid anyway.
Beside which, three of Lucy's closest friends disappear, and foul play is suspected. And she still can't get Tyler out of her head? When your longtime best friend from elementary school disappears, right after his girlfriend (coincidentally, also a longtime friend of yours) inexplicably disappeared, and then your most-recent acquisition of a best friend disappears as well ...? I don't care how hot the guy is, you have bigger things on your mind.
And the climax of the story is one of the most ridiculous things. One of the kids is found dead, with her eyes gouged out, and the police demand all kids go home from school with their parental unit, because it obviously ISN'T SAFE OUT.
So as soon as Lucy and mum get home, mum heads off to a meeting, because surely their house is safe. And Lucy? Lucy decides to go to their hot tub, in a glass pool house, NAKED.
That's right. I know that when one of my best friends is found outside my school dead from dehydration, the first thing I think about is how relaxing it would be to sit in my hot tub nude...
And of course, scary guy comes to the glass.... and of course, scary guy breaks through the glass.... and of course, stupid girl can't even call the police.
And then it turns out that scary guy isn't actually scary. He's just trying to help (of course). And he has all the answers that no one else figured out (except for one lone girl in school who wisely decides NOT to go to the police). And it makes so much sense for Lucy to just go with him (yes, she did put on clothes first) to find the killer without leaving a note for her parents and without calling the police. Why call the police when there's a serial killer on the loose?
And THEN (were you thinking the book just couldn't get worse?) when Tyler (who showed up on his own) breaks Lucy out (but not himself), and she has a pitchfork and the element of surprise on her side, she tries to SUBDUE the (multiple-personality) killer and bully her into giving herself up. And then Lucy ACCIDENTALLY stabs the killer with the pitchfork, unexpectedly (and unwillingly) killing her.
Reading this was like reading a bad horror film. Except you laugh at bad horror flicks. You expect the heroine to grab the banana instead of the cell phone. But, personally, I expect more from a book.
I wish Lucy had been killed. She certainly didn't deserve to live. And did I mention that Tyler was a 20-year-old passing as an 18-year-old on his own manhunt to avenge his sister?
I told you... this book has every element....
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan
4 stars -- I liked it.
I'm not a huge fan of short story collections, so I apologize if my review comes across as being less than positive. Red Spikes deserves a positive review.
The variety of stories in this book is nice (not a very good descriptive word, eh?). I read Red Spikes cover to cover like a normal book, but I have a feeling it would have been better if I had read one story at a time, taking the time to digest each story properly before moving on to the next story. The topics in the stories are such that it's hard to move easily from one story to the next. I frequently had to re-read the stories' openings to adjust my mindset and make sure I was properly in the current story.
Going back to the variety of the stories, a fantasy story about toys come to life (or perhaps dreams come to life) is followed by a very realistic story of love lost. This is followed by a story one would tell to children to scare them (and it is a fine story for that!). There is a story told from a monkey's POV; a story about faeries; a story about limbo, heaven, and hell; a story about a witch. There's a little bit of something for everyone in this collection, and every story is written very well.
Overall, for my dislike of short story collections, I was surprised at how much I liked this book. Certain stories stick out more than others, and I think a number of them lend themselves to becoming full-length novels if the author wanted. (I think part of the reason I don't like short stories is that they are, as their name implies, so short... there's so much more than needs to be said to leave a reader satisfied. But having written short stories, I realize it works much better to have that little tingle of, "What happens next?")
This would be a good book to have on your shelf. It's got a beautiful, intriguing cover, and it would be lovely for guests who come over and want something to pass the few spare minutes they have. Rather than getting stuck in the middle of novel they might never get to finish, this would be a great alternative that leaves them with having read a good story in just a few minutes (much like a magazine article, but much more entertaining, and certainly bound much better).
I'm not a huge fan of short story collections, so I apologize if my review comes across as being less than positive. Red Spikes deserves a positive review.
The variety of stories in this book is nice (not a very good descriptive word, eh?). I read Red Spikes cover to cover like a normal book, but I have a feeling it would have been better if I had read one story at a time, taking the time to digest each story properly before moving on to the next story. The topics in the stories are such that it's hard to move easily from one story to the next. I frequently had to re-read the stories' openings to adjust my mindset and make sure I was properly in the current story.
Going back to the variety of the stories, a fantasy story about toys come to life (or perhaps dreams come to life) is followed by a very realistic story of love lost. This is followed by a story one would tell to children to scare them (and it is a fine story for that!). There is a story told from a monkey's POV; a story about faeries; a story about limbo, heaven, and hell; a story about a witch. There's a little bit of something for everyone in this collection, and every story is written very well.
Overall, for my dislike of short story collections, I was surprised at how much I liked this book. Certain stories stick out more than others, and I think a number of them lend themselves to becoming full-length novels if the author wanted. (I think part of the reason I don't like short stories is that they are, as their name implies, so short... there's so much more than needs to be said to leave a reader satisfied. But having written short stories, I realize it works much better to have that little tingle of, "What happens next?")
This would be a good book to have on your shelf. It's got a beautiful, intriguing cover, and it would be lovely for guests who come over and want something to pass the few spare minutes they have. Rather than getting stuck in the middle of novel they might never get to finish, this would be a great alternative that leaves them with having read a good story in just a few minutes (much like a magazine article, but much more entertaining, and certainly bound much better).
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech
5 stars - I love it!
The Unfinished Angel is a wonderful book. It is for children or juveniles (a bit younger than I usually read), but it's really sweet.
I think what attracted me to the book is the cover... or rather, the back cover :) The front cover is a simply drawn rainbow-colored pigeon. On the back or multi-colored pigeon footprints. It's adorable. I love rainbows, and the simplicity of this cover (with its intriguing title) drew me in.
The story is told from the point of view (POV) of an angel, who readily admits he doesn't think he's all he's supposed to be. He doesn't have a mission; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do for people; nor does he have all the words he knows he needs to communicate properly. Reading from his POV is like reading a story told by someone who speaks English as a second language, but it's done well enough that you don't mind.
I really enjoyed reading his made-up words. Some of them are just so perfect. For example, "... below the mountains is a blue-green lake, and above the mountains at night is a blue-black sky all pokeled with blue-white stars." Pokeled is exactly how the sky looks at night! He describes the secondary main character, Zola, as having "crippy-croppy hair." It certainly puts a strong image in my head.
The book's plot is simple, and it doesn't end up finishing the angel or answering any of his many questions, but it's a sweet and simple story that I think would entrance younger children.
If you have a 7-10 year old, this is definitely something you can read to them or with them.
The Unfinished Angel is a wonderful book. It is for children or juveniles (a bit younger than I usually read), but it's really sweet.
I think what attracted me to the book is the cover... or rather, the back cover :) The front cover is a simply drawn rainbow-colored pigeon. On the back or multi-colored pigeon footprints. It's adorable. I love rainbows, and the simplicity of this cover (with its intriguing title) drew me in.
The story is told from the point of view (POV) of an angel, who readily admits he doesn't think he's all he's supposed to be. He doesn't have a mission; he doesn't know what he's supposed to do for people; nor does he have all the words he knows he needs to communicate properly. Reading from his POV is like reading a story told by someone who speaks English as a second language, but it's done well enough that you don't mind.
I really enjoyed reading his made-up words. Some of them are just so perfect. For example, "... below the mountains is a blue-green lake, and above the mountains at night is a blue-black sky all pokeled with blue-white stars." Pokeled is exactly how the sky looks at night! He describes the secondary main character, Zola, as having "crippy-croppy hair." It certainly puts a strong image in my head.
The book's plot is simple, and it doesn't end up finishing the angel or answering any of his many questions, but it's a sweet and simple story that I think would entrance younger children.
If you have a 7-10 year old, this is definitely something you can read to them or with them.
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
2 Stars -- I didn't like it :(
I finished this days ago and didn't post. I can blame it on several factors: the holidays; I'm a procrastinator; and I just didn't like this book and didn't want to write about it.
Bloom comes across as a typical teen love story in the back-ad and description. I had it on hold at the library for ever, which I assumed meant the book was really popular. I was rather looking forward to it, because surely a book that's hard to get a hold of should be worth it, right?
Not so much.
Lauren is an average teen girl. Except she's dating the most-popular and most-attractive guy in her school. Her relationship with him is perfect. He treats her like a perfect gentleman would. Due to his religious beliefs, he doesn't even try to pressure her to have sex.
Lauren says her best friend isn't her best friend. They don't have anything in common (except their best friend boyfriends).
And then Evan steps back into Lauren's life. They lived together once when her father was dating his mother. When that relationship went south, Evan disappeared, and now Lauren can't get him out of her head.
It's a pretty standard set-up for a teen novel.
What really, really upsets me, though, is how completely internally focused Lauren is, how self-centered and immature she comes across. Her pseudo-best friend is clearly having issues at home that any normal person, once they were clued in, would attempt to help out with. Her passion for Evan would cause a normal teen girl to drop her current boyfriend in a second. The author plays it off as Lauren being worried about what others would think, but she has also spent the entire book pointing out how Lauren doesn't really care what other people think about her. She knows she's not popular except through her boyfriend, and she doesn't let it get to her. If she doesn't really want to be popular, why would she stay with the boyfriend when she finds someone better?
There's also the storyline about Lauren and her father. Her mother (his wife) abandoned them when Lauren was six years old. This is the cause for a lot of Lauren's low self-esteem. For the majority of the story, Lauren's father is oblivious, choosing to work rather than spend time with Lauren. Except toward the end of the story, he starts coming home more. This culminates in a "heart-to-heart" with Lauren that goes nowhere. He says, "Your mother loved you," and they cry, and it's emotional--except it's not. It's a complete flop as far as heart-to-hearts go. Nothing is solved; nothing is accomplished.
I really disliked this book. It's like the author tried to bring up deeper issues and just couldn't follow through. I hated the main character, and I know that wasn't the author's intention. She wanted her to be a typical teen girl that any other girl could relate to. And while teens certainly are self-centered, immature, and oblivious, they usually don't cut off everyone they know. And if they do, the conclusion isn't that some tears and hugs make things better. You'd lose your friends.
Don't read this book... unless you want to figure out how NOT to write your teen character.
I finished this days ago and didn't post. I can blame it on several factors: the holidays; I'm a procrastinator; and I just didn't like this book and didn't want to write about it.
Bloom comes across as a typical teen love story in the back-ad and description. I had it on hold at the library for ever, which I assumed meant the book was really popular. I was rather looking forward to it, because surely a book that's hard to get a hold of should be worth it, right?
Not so much.
Lauren is an average teen girl. Except she's dating the most-popular and most-attractive guy in her school. Her relationship with him is perfect. He treats her like a perfect gentleman would. Due to his religious beliefs, he doesn't even try to pressure her to have sex.
Lauren says her best friend isn't her best friend. They don't have anything in common (except their best friend boyfriends).
And then Evan steps back into Lauren's life. They lived together once when her father was dating his mother. When that relationship went south, Evan disappeared, and now Lauren can't get him out of her head.
It's a pretty standard set-up for a teen novel.
What really, really upsets me, though, is how completely internally focused Lauren is, how self-centered and immature she comes across. Her pseudo-best friend is clearly having issues at home that any normal person, once they were clued in, would attempt to help out with. Her passion for Evan would cause a normal teen girl to drop her current boyfriend in a second. The author plays it off as Lauren being worried about what others would think, but she has also spent the entire book pointing out how Lauren doesn't really care what other people think about her. She knows she's not popular except through her boyfriend, and she doesn't let it get to her. If she doesn't really want to be popular, why would she stay with the boyfriend when she finds someone better?
There's also the storyline about Lauren and her father. Her mother (his wife) abandoned them when Lauren was six years old. This is the cause for a lot of Lauren's low self-esteem. For the majority of the story, Lauren's father is oblivious, choosing to work rather than spend time with Lauren. Except toward the end of the story, he starts coming home more. This culminates in a "heart-to-heart" with Lauren that goes nowhere. He says, "Your mother loved you," and they cry, and it's emotional--except it's not. It's a complete flop as far as heart-to-hearts go. Nothing is solved; nothing is accomplished.
I really disliked this book. It's like the author tried to bring up deeper issues and just couldn't follow through. I hated the main character, and I know that wasn't the author's intention. She wanted her to be a typical teen girl that any other girl could relate to. And while teens certainly are self-centered, immature, and oblivious, they usually don't cut off everyone they know. And if they do, the conclusion isn't that some tears and hugs make things better. You'd lose your friends.
Don't read this book... unless you want to figure out how NOT to write your teen character.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
How To Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
4.5 stars -- I like it a lot.
How To Say Goodbye in Robot left me feeling meloncholy. It's not usually a feeling I look for in books, but in this case it fits, and it might be exactly the type of feeling the author was trying to convey.
How To Say Goodbye in Robot is about a girl, Bea, who moves to a new town. Her mother becomes overly emotional and irrational after the move and calls Bea a robot when Bea doesn't react as emotionally to things as she does.
This leads to a lot of introspection on the part of Bea. She starts to believe that she might be a robot. Perhaps she isn't reacting as normal people do, isn't feeling what normal people feel. And then she meets Jonah.
Jonah is a hard character to like. He's mean to Bea and manipulative. He's got so much baggage the airlines probably wouldn't let him fly. But Bea loves him and desperately tries to help him.
I really liked how this all came together. I didn't like Jonah, but I didn't fault Bea for liking him. The main plot of the story is slightly ridiculous, but also incredibly sad, and it's easy to see how and why certain characters are affected by others.
Also, I'm a fan of the design of the book. The bright pink pages that mark the months are a fabulous way to show the passage of time, and they break up the monotony of the normal black and white interior of a book. They're unique.
Certainly a worthwhile read!
How To Say Goodbye in Robot left me feeling meloncholy. It's not usually a feeling I look for in books, but in this case it fits, and it might be exactly the type of feeling the author was trying to convey.
How To Say Goodbye in Robot is about a girl, Bea, who moves to a new town. Her mother becomes overly emotional and irrational after the move and calls Bea a robot when Bea doesn't react as emotionally to things as she does.
This leads to a lot of introspection on the part of Bea. She starts to believe that she might be a robot. Perhaps she isn't reacting as normal people do, isn't feeling what normal people feel. And then she meets Jonah.
Jonah is a hard character to like. He's mean to Bea and manipulative. He's got so much baggage the airlines probably wouldn't let him fly. But Bea loves him and desperately tries to help him.
I really liked how this all came together. I didn't like Jonah, but I didn't fault Bea for liking him. The main plot of the story is slightly ridiculous, but also incredibly sad, and it's easy to see how and why certain characters are affected by others.
Also, I'm a fan of the design of the book. The bright pink pages that mark the months are a fabulous way to show the passage of time, and they break up the monotony of the normal black and white interior of a book. They're unique.
Certainly a worthwhile read!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
5 stars -- I loved it
This book is amazing (I admit... it made me cry for a bit). It helps, of course, that it takes place in Australia, but Saving Francesca surpassed my expectations.
When my husband saw the title, his first question was, "What does Francesca need saving from?" It's a tricky question to answer in the beginning. There are so many real and serious issues Francis is facing. Her normally upbeat and pushy mother refuses to leave her bed; she has just started at a new school -- an all boys' school, but for thirty girls recently admitted; none of her friends are among the thirty girls at her school, and for a girl of 16 years, that can be huge; and the boy she likes kisses her, but then admits he has a girlfriend. It's easy to think that Francesca needs saving from her mother, her family, her school, her friends, even herself, but I'll let you read it to find out which it really is.
Depression is difficult and hurtful, and Melina Marchetta handled the issue nicely. She even brings it to a satisfactory conclusion, and it's completely believable.
The main character, Francesca, is a perfectly believable female teenager, and her angst is understandable and even mostly explainable -- although sometimes it's not. Francis admits to being angry at her dad for no reason she can find.
Overall, I highly recommend you read this book. It's simple but amazing.
This book is amazing (I admit... it made me cry for a bit). It helps, of course, that it takes place in Australia, but Saving Francesca surpassed my expectations.
When my husband saw the title, his first question was, "What does Francesca need saving from?" It's a tricky question to answer in the beginning. There are so many real and serious issues Francis is facing. Her normally upbeat and pushy mother refuses to leave her bed; she has just started at a new school -- an all boys' school, but for thirty girls recently admitted; none of her friends are among the thirty girls at her school, and for a girl of 16 years, that can be huge; and the boy she likes kisses her, but then admits he has a girlfriend. It's easy to think that Francesca needs saving from her mother, her family, her school, her friends, even herself, but I'll let you read it to find out which it really is.
Depression is difficult and hurtful, and Melina Marchetta handled the issue nicely. She even brings it to a satisfactory conclusion, and it's completely believable.
The main character, Francesca, is a perfectly believable female teenager, and her angst is understandable and even mostly explainable -- although sometimes it's not. Francis admits to being angry at her dad for no reason she can find.
Overall, I highly recommend you read this book. It's simple but amazing.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Splendor by Anna Godbersen
4 stars -- I liked it.
The fourth and final book in the Luxe novels, Splendor ends the series perfectly. It's one of the first times I can remember being perfectly pleased with a series' ending. Other series tend to tie things up too nicely or don't really have an end at all, but this one was perfect.
You definitely have to read the first three books in the series (The Luxe, Rumors, and Envy) for this one to make sense for these are not stand-alone novels. They follow the lives of several upper-class New York socialites in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
In all of the novels, the heroines are the Holland girls, but there are a number of characters that readers aren't sure how to feel about. Finally, though, readers find closure. A former maid, in the beginning petty and untrustworthy, had wormed her way into high society and was being cast in a gentler light. Unsure whether I was supposed to still hate her or whether I should begin liking her for her ingenuity and success, the way she was left was perfect. The hated rival to Elizabeth Holland is given a taste of her own medicine. Henry Schoonmaker, a cad and unlikable fellow for the majority of the series, is redeemed in readers' eyes, only to be given an appropriate ending, as well. Henry had been getting on my good side, but the way the author left him made me smile--he was a cad, after all.
There was a new twist in this story as well. Elizabeth had been remarried in a previous novel, and I felt like she was settling, because she was. But we find out that all is not as it seems in her new marriage, and Elizabeth--often weak and malleable--finds her backbone unexpectedly, and then finds happiness as well.
Like I said, I really like how this series ended. Everyone got exactly what they deserved, and for a series that I was only reading due to the pretty dresses on the cover (fabulous covers, Harper), I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciate the progression of this series and its characters. Well done.
The fourth and final book in the Luxe novels, Splendor ends the series perfectly. It's one of the first times I can remember being perfectly pleased with a series' ending. Other series tend to tie things up too nicely or don't really have an end at all, but this one was perfect.
You definitely have to read the first three books in the series (The Luxe, Rumors, and Envy) for this one to make sense for these are not stand-alone novels. They follow the lives of several upper-class New York socialites in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
In all of the novels, the heroines are the Holland girls, but there are a number of characters that readers aren't sure how to feel about. Finally, though, readers find closure. A former maid, in the beginning petty and untrustworthy, had wormed her way into high society and was being cast in a gentler light. Unsure whether I was supposed to still hate her or whether I should begin liking her for her ingenuity and success, the way she was left was perfect. The hated rival to Elizabeth Holland is given a taste of her own medicine. Henry Schoonmaker, a cad and unlikable fellow for the majority of the series, is redeemed in readers' eyes, only to be given an appropriate ending, as well. Henry had been getting on my good side, but the way the author left him made me smile--he was a cad, after all.
There was a new twist in this story as well. Elizabeth had been remarried in a previous novel, and I felt like she was settling, because she was. But we find out that all is not as it seems in her new marriage, and Elizabeth--often weak and malleable--finds her backbone unexpectedly, and then finds happiness as well.
Like I said, I really like how this series ended. Everyone got exactly what they deserved, and for a series that I was only reading due to the pretty dresses on the cover (fabulous covers, Harper), I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciate the progression of this series and its characters. Well done.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
3 stars. Or 4 fluffy bunnies. (I'm not really sure whether to rate Oh. My. Gods. as a normal book or as a fluff book. In my head, when I first started reading it, it was a normal book, but now that I've finished it, I'm not sure why it couldn't be fluff.)
Proof that when a book makes it big, all the other publishers jump on the bandwagon, Oh. My. Gods. is very similar to The Lightning Thief. . . . Except it's written for girls.
Phoebe's mom goes to Greece to meet her late husband's extended family and comes back with a fiance. Against, her will, Phoebe is forced to move to a small island near Greece where said fiance is the headmaster of a small school.
Based on the title of the book and the book I compared it to, I'm sure you've already realized that the school is a school for the offspring of the Greek gods. Differing from the Percy Jackson series, Phoebe is not half-god (at least... not in the majority of the story), and therein lies the crux of the story. Everyone hates her because she's normal, and she has a crush on the most popular guy in school, who just happens to be dating the most popular girl in school, who just happens to be a spiteful bitch.
Despite its unsurprising storyline, this was a decent read. It only took a few hours, and it's entertaining. Finding out that Phoebe's crush has a heroes' complex and literally cannot pass up someone who needs help is a welcome and funny surprise for the reader. Seeing the stepsister and Phoebe settle their differences (but not become best friends) is refreshing (although perhaps outweighed by Phoebe's new best friend throwing aside her 10-year dislike of the Phoebe's crush in a matter of minutes).
Overall, as a fluff book, this is a good read. There's romance and betrayal. Lots of teen angst. An evil stepsister. Loyal best friends. New best friends. Perfect matches. A bet reminiscent of the late '90s (think She's All That.) All the components necessary for a good teen read. But if you're looking for something life-changing and mind-altering, you might want to keep looking.
Proof that when a book makes it big, all the other publishers jump on the bandwagon, Oh. My. Gods. is very similar to The Lightning Thief. . . . Except it's written for girls.
Phoebe's mom goes to Greece to meet her late husband's extended family and comes back with a fiance. Against, her will, Phoebe is forced to move to a small island near Greece where said fiance is the headmaster of a small school.
Based on the title of the book and the book I compared it to, I'm sure you've already realized that the school is a school for the offspring of the Greek gods. Differing from the Percy Jackson series, Phoebe is not half-god (at least... not in the majority of the story), and therein lies the crux of the story. Everyone hates her because she's normal, and she has a crush on the most popular guy in school, who just happens to be dating the most popular girl in school, who just happens to be a spiteful bitch.
Despite its unsurprising storyline, this was a decent read. It only took a few hours, and it's entertaining. Finding out that Phoebe's crush has a heroes' complex and literally cannot pass up someone who needs help is a welcome and funny surprise for the reader. Seeing the stepsister and Phoebe settle their differences (but not become best friends) is refreshing (although perhaps outweighed by Phoebe's new best friend throwing aside her 10-year dislike of the Phoebe's crush in a matter of minutes).
Overall, as a fluff book, this is a good read. There's romance and betrayal. Lots of teen angst. An evil stepsister. Loyal best friends. New best friends. Perfect matches. A bet reminiscent of the late '90s (think She's All That.) All the components necessary for a good teen read. But if you're looking for something life-changing and mind-altering, you might want to keep looking.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List by Janette Rallison
3 fluffy bunnies -- It's okay for a fluff book
I agonized over whether I even wanted to post a review about Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List (besides the fact that there's a misspelling in the title, according to Merriam-Webster). See... I'm kind of embarrassed that I read it. It's one of those books that I knew was pure fluff. It took a couple hours to read, and there's nothing much to it.
So there's not much to say about it. Girl wants to be a famous actress. Famous actor's son moves into town. Of course he falls for her, even though she's self-centered and a complete ditz. They have a fight; they get over the fight. Happily ever after—ta-da!
If you want something to pass the time without getting too involved, feel free to grab this book! You won't spend hours thinking about its complexity once you put it down, and if you have to get up and do something useful during the reading, you won't agonize over having to set the book down. I certainly don't think you'll rush to pick it up again.
Several of Janette Rallison's book follow the same sort of theme. High school angst shown at only the most superficial level. None of the characters ever really get any depth added to them (not even the main character). They're pretty formulaic, and they all have the same sort of title. I would have thought they were part of series, but they're not.
Not to say Ms. Rallison is a bad writer... in fact, I enjoyed several of her other books not in this 'series': My Fair Godmother got several laughs for its witticisms; Just One Wish was rather sweet (though also rather unbelievable); and How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend was a adorable (though predictable). I think any of these three books would be a better pick for wasting your time with some fluff. Just avoid her books that have titles with lists of three.
I agonized over whether I even wanted to post a review about Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List (besides the fact that there's a misspelling in the title, according to Merriam-Webster). See... I'm kind of embarrassed that I read it. It's one of those books that I knew was pure fluff. It took a couple hours to read, and there's nothing much to it.
So there's not much to say about it. Girl wants to be a famous actress. Famous actor's son moves into town. Of course he falls for her, even though she's self-centered and a complete ditz. They have a fight; they get over the fight. Happily ever after—ta-da!
If you want something to pass the time without getting too involved, feel free to grab this book! You won't spend hours thinking about its complexity once you put it down, and if you have to get up and do something useful during the reading, you won't agonize over having to set the book down. I certainly don't think you'll rush to pick it up again.
Several of Janette Rallison's book follow the same sort of theme. High school angst shown at only the most superficial level. None of the characters ever really get any depth added to them (not even the main character). They're pretty formulaic, and they all have the same sort of title. I would have thought they were part of series, but they're not.
Not to say Ms. Rallison is a bad writer... in fact, I enjoyed several of her other books not in this 'series': My Fair Godmother got several laughs for its witticisms; Just One Wish was rather sweet (though also rather unbelievable); and How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend was a adorable (though predictable). I think any of these three books would be a better pick for wasting your time with some fluff. Just avoid her books that have titles with lists of three.
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