Confessions of a Bibliovore

Book Review: Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

2009-07-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Book: Wherever Nina Lies
Author: Lynn Weingarten
Published: 2009

Nina was the kind of girl who captivated everyone, especially her own younger sister. Ever since her sister disappeared, Ellie has floated through life, clinging to the belief that one day she will know what happened. But now, two years later, everyone but Ellie has stopped believing that Nina will ever return.

When Ellie finds one of her sister's sketches in a box of junk at a second-hand shop, nobody believes her that this is The Clue--the one that will eventually lead to Nina, to how and why. The only one willing to help her is a boy she's just met. Together, they set off cross-country, following a tenuous trail of clues in a quest for answers--even the answers Ellie might not want to hear.

Okay, I admit it. I read the end, so I knew the great twist. (You think I'm going to tell you? Pft!) But I have to say that knowing it didn't weaken the story, except that I read a number of things differently. It'll be a great read both times.

A great deal of the plot hinges on unlikely coincidences--Ellie happening to look at the right ad on a lamppost while recalling the right memory, for instance. For me, this contributed hugely to the charm of the book. There's something quixotic about their tenuous trail through tattoo parlors and underground indie concerts. But if you need to be able to bounce a quarter off your plots, this may not be the book for you.

It may seem like a contradiction in terms that the process of following the trail of an overshadowing sibling will teach a young woman exactly who she is, but that's just what happens in Wherever Nina Lies, with captivating results.

BBYA Goes Bye-Bye?

2009-07-09T22:41:00.000-07:00

(I'm going to pre-emptively apologize for any inaccuracies or oversights made in this post. The first thing I did this morning was remove a Bugzilla from the children's area, and the day kinda went from there. But I wanted to post my thoughts on this hot topic.)

Currently, there's a bit of a kerfuffle around the news that YALSA may be moving away from their longtime Best Books for Young Adults list (picked by YALSA members) and toward a more reader's-choice model.

Hmmmmm.

Truly, I fear that the first four books on the list will be the Twilight series. This is not more of my good-natured Twilight bashing. I have nothing against kids reading these books; really, I don't. It's the very point that every-damn-one is reading them that gives me pause.

Surely the purpose of these Best Books lists is to expose librarians and teachers (and through them, the kids) to the really excellent books they might not be aware of. Nobody's unaware of the popular books. That's the whole point of being popular. Alix Flinn posts a wonderful discussion of popularity contests in publishing and the pitfalls of same in today's glutted YA market.

Now, the YALSA memo that Flinn linked to doesn't mention doing away with the current BBYA totally, although it does state that YALSA members aren't satisfied with the list as it is. They cite issues of list currency and workload for the BBYA deciders--both concerns I can get behind. Even I'm a little floored by the amount of work that BBYA folks have to put in. It also doesn't say that the contributors to the readers' choice list will be thrown wide open--only to YALSA members. People who presumably work around a lot of teen books and a lot of teens every day.

Still a lot of folks in the kidlit arena are pretty concerned.

May I suggest? The Cybils works in a readers' choice/judging format and the results for the past three years have been pretty spiffy. Perhaps a combination would work best. What do you think?

Quitting is for the Weak

2009-07-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Over at YAnnabe, Kelly posts 7 Tips for Quitting a Book. Yes, my children. Quitting. It's okay.

When it comes to books, a lot of people seem to feel that it reflects on them morally if they don't finish every book they start. As if they're Bad People because they couldn't make it through a book. As if books, unlike movies and TV shows and webpages, don't vary wildly in their quality and content. No, you must Finish the Book. Otherwise you are weak. Weak! They tell their kids the same thing, and what's the result? Reading is a chore. Moooo-ooom, don't make me reeeeeeead. It goes hand in hand with the idea that books are Good For You, like broccoli.

I quit eating broccoli a long time ago.

Meg Cabot occasionally reiterates her own personal motto that quitters actually do win, because they've tried it, discovered that it wasn't for them, and gone on to something better. Awesome.

I recently computerized my TBR list on LibraryThing and was amazed that I have over 1500 books on my list that I want to read. Granted, many of them are picture books, and I read fast, but . . . 1500?! And with the number of blogs I read, more gets added than subtracted. I've had a fifty-page rule for years, but it's only been recently that I even started weeding my TBR list, glancing at plot summaries and reviews to decide whether I really want to spend my reading time on this book, I mean really.

I've quit a book for all sorts of reasons--"who really talks like that?" dialogue, "as you know, Bob" infodumps, plots with all the twistiness of a block of wood. A few months back, I quit a book because the romantic interest was too damn perfect. (Author, please. He's a teenage boy. He can make a fart joke or something. It's allowed.)

What's your personal tipping point?

Newsweek, I'm Gonna Kick Your Butt

2009-07-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

So last week, Newsweek did a gathering of nine authors' favorite books in their own genre. I was nodding along--Melissa Gilbert on Hollywood memoirs, Bob Woodward on political scandal, Jenna Bush on children's books--

*sound of needle screeching across record*

Jenna Bush?

Undoubtedly they were going for a little star power, a recognizable name. We all know Bob Woodward knows his political scandals, after all. But Jenna Bush? Granted, she's not a totally moronic choice. She did write a nonfiction YA book (more on the fundamental difference between kids and YA later) and is currently a sixth-grade teacher. So presumably she has a waving acquaintance with children's lit. But seriously, Newsweek, with all the amazing children's authors out there, this was the best you could do?

The list itself is perfectly serviceable, hard to disagree with, but the kind of thing you would find on any summer required-reading list.

Who would you have picked instead? And if they'd picked you, what would your list have looked like?

Chaos Walking Prequel Story!

2009-07-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Bless his little heart, Patrick Ness wrote a prequel story to The Knife of Never Letting Go and posted on the Booktrust website for all of us. You can read it without having read the book first--it spoils only a very little bit. But I'd still read Knife first.

Thanks to the adbooks listserv for the link.

Book Review: Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega

2009-07-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Book: Fact of Life #31
Author: Denise Vega
Published: 2008

Kat Flynn is sick of her job in a home-birth midwife's office. Her boss, Abra, never listens to a word she says and delivers improving lectures constantly. After a disastrous episode at a birth, Kat's not even being allowed to think about helping out at deliveries anymore. She's got to quit. Too bad her boss is also her mom.

Then Kat finds out that the most popular girl in school is pregnant. Now Libby Giles is hanging around constantly, bonding with Abra in a way Kat's never been able to manage. To Kat's surprise and resentment, she finds that she can't exactly hate Libby. Under the popular gloss, there's a girl who's just as confused and confusing as Kat herself.

In fact, she's realizing that a lot of her peers, girl and boy, popular and pitiful, are more than they seem. But the one person whose outer shell she can't seem to pierce is her own mother. As Libby gets closer and closer to delivery, the gulf between Kat and Abra widens until it seems impossible that they'll ever understand each other.

From the description, I thought this was going to be a much fluffier book. It's fun, but underneath there were more serious themes of Kat growing into herself and her own abilities, as well as coming to understand the complexities of other people underneath their labels.

What I loved about this book was the way that Denise Vega told the whole story. In places where other authors would have stopped (the adorable crush finally asks pining girl out, jerky boyfriend is roundly dumped for being, y'know, a jerk, daughter finally tells her mother what she thinks), Vega went on, taking us through overlapping series of character and relationship arcs that wind up telling a much more complete story.

Also, Kat is quirky, but not in that, "Look at me, I am sooooo quirky!" way. She does yoga in the halls and genuinely doesn't take offense at the way people snicker and mock. At the same time, she's not the Amazing Zen Girl. She gets mad and scared and confused about her feelings. You can see how much she is like her mom, and how unlike, so that their constant battles ring true as the normal push-pull of a mother and her teenage daughter.

Try this one for a novel about a young woman finding her way into her own skin.

Varigated Glee

2009-07-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's Friday again, which means that we need more glee!

Jen Robinson Tweeted this one: You Know You're a Book Blogger When . . . Um. Guilty.
Doubtless you've heard of the uproar over Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop and one Wisconsin group's determination to see it burn. A teen reacts, most marvelously. Thanks to Liz Burns for the informative Tweet.
And it just wouldn't be a Friday Glee post without some manner of Twilight bashing. But this . . . is just fantabulous.

Reading Roundup June 2009

2009-07-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

By the Numbers
Teen: 24
Tween: 18
Children: 11

Standouts
Teen: TIE: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness AND Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Tween: Lucky by Rachel Vail
Children: Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman

Because I Want To Awards
Most Constant Laughs: Diary of a Chav/Diva Without a Cause by Grace Dent
Most Thought-Provoking: Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
Sorry About the Cover, Author: A Difficult Boy by M.P. Barker
Great Kickstart: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Worthy Successor: Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Most Old-Fashioned: When the Sergeant Came Marching Home by Don Lemna

Steampunk in the YA section

2009-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Every so often, with the air of tour guides through the Amazon jungle, the sci-fi-lovin' website i09 runs a story about YA sci-fi. (Watch the Uglies there; they'll eat you alive. Has everyone had their shots?)

This time, it's a snippet about sci-fi-tinged alternate histories, a genre more snappily known as steampunk. They mention Scott Westerfeld's upcoming Leviathan as well as offerings from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. (Although sadly not by name; come on, guys, let's get some titles in here!)

Unfortunately, they don't mention Phillip Reeve's deliriously fun Larklight series, or Kenneth Oppel's Airborn novels, which have been representing for steampunk for awhile. (Not to mention Reeve's Mortal Engines novels, which although they're more correctly post-apocalyptic sci-fi, always seemed to have a steampunk feel about them.)

Then again, these novels are aimed at a slightly younger crowd than Westerfeld, Black, or Clare. Still, if you're going to be honest about the upsurge of steampunk in the under-18 set, might as well be comprehensive, no?

If you give the comments a read, that's good for your heart rate, too. There's one person who comments that it's "sad" that Harry Potter and Twilight are the series that have gotten most kids into reading. I had to go and breathe into a paper bag after that one.

Silver Screen News

2009-06-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

In cleaning out my Google Reader, my Twitter favorites, and my Gmail (this blog-laziness really makes it pile up), I ran across references to a number of kidlit movie adaptions that are coming down the pike. Here they are, bundled for your convenience.

Did you know Wes Anderson was filming Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox in animated form? Due out in November--mark your calenders! Thanks for the news to a long-ago Tweet from abbylibrarian.
More new movie news: Jarrett J. Kros . . . Korc . . . gah. You know who I'm talking about. His "Lunch Lady" series is already being talked about for a movie, with Amy Poehler, no less. Not bad for a book whose pristine spines haven't even hit shelves. Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the heads-up.
Comingsoon.net, bless their little chips, got a couple of production stills from "Beastly," adapted from the Alex Flinn novel of the same name. The stills are of the main character, played by Alex Pettyfer, in before and after mode. Not bad, makeup department. Not at all bad.
Speaking of casting, we know that The Hunger Games is set to be a movie. Mitali Perkins Tweet-speculates: Would you cast this girl as Katniss Everdeen? Actually, I would. There's a look about her eyes that makes me reluctant to be in a brutal reality show fighting for my life if she's there too. Who else would you like to see in that arena? (Let me emphasize--there has no announcement about casting and I know nothing. Mere speculation.)
Ooo! Speaking of wildly popular YA novels being adapted: the lowdown from Scott Westerfeld on the progress of the possible Uglies movie.
In news of the weird, USA Today posted a first look at the Tim Burton-led Alice in Wonderland movie. It's very . . . Burton-esque. I swear I see something slithering in that foliage.
Finally, there's this very hee!-worthy post from PopWatch about the style of the new Harry Potter posters, which seem to be less about You-Know-Who and more about Gushy Stuff, Like, Ewwwwwwwww! Meg Cabot reacts hilariously here, including a not-to-be-missed discussion of brooms. Yes, really. Somewhere (I can't remember where now!), it was posited that this switch in focus is due to the popularity of the Vampires Who Must Not Be Named and their accompanying clinchy posters. You have to admit, the Potter posters are surprisingly heavy on what were, at best, some of the book's B-plots. I kinda want to poke Ron in the stomach to see if he'll deflate. I also want to take Lavender by the hand and lead her gently off a cliff. She's so busy gazing starry-eyed at Won-Won that she won't notice a thing.

Beach Reads? Okay Then

2009-06-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Examiner posted this crackerjack list of great YA novels, ranging from ones that have been touted in every corner of the land (The Hunger Games) to ones that fly slightly further under the radar (My Most Excellent Year). Have a gander. If you haven't read them all, add the new-to-you ones to your list.

The only thing that made me blink was the term "beach reads," which to me implies light, fun reading that doesn't engage the brain too strenuously--which is not the way to describe #1 on the list, If I Stay. Seriously? Beach reads? Are we thinking of the same beaches?

Book Review: Lucky by Rachel Vail

2009-06-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Book: Lucky
Author: Rachel Vail
Published: 2008

Phoebe Avery is a lucky girl. She's rich, cute, and popular. She and her four best friends are planning the most incredible party known to man for their eighth grade graduation. She has everything she could ever want.

She should remember that nothing lasts forever.

When her mom runs into bad times at work, the family starts feeling the cash crunch. Suddenly, everything Phoebe thought was important is slipping out of her fingers. The wonderful party, the amazing dress, the fantastic friends--it could all be gone tomorrow.

At first glance, I thought this would be your usual turn-of-fortune book. You know--Phoebe loses all the material things, and all her selfish, shallow friends desert her. Then she finds out who her real friends are, and it's all very heartwarming and cliched.

Thank you, Rachel Vail, for giving that book a miss and giving me Lucky instead.

The strength of this book, and the source of its uniqueness, lies in the characterization. Vail takes the people that would be stereotypes--superbusinesswoman Mom, cute ex, materialistic best friend--and makes them human. Cute ex stutters all over himself and basically acts like a recognizable fourteen-year-old boy trying to ask out a girl. Superbusinesswoman Mom does not ignore or belittle her daughters, but struggles in a very human way to acknowledge the trouble that the family is in.

And surprise, amazement, bring me my smelling salts, the materialistic best friend is actually just that--a girl, with some flaws, who nevertheless wants to be there for Phoebe. This is a book about friendship, and about how difficult it is to be the person that needs support when you've always been the one that gives.

While the front of the book looks very teen (seriously--at least a B-cup) Phoebe is only fourteen and the story mostly reflects that. Give this to older tweens or young teens.

I'm looking forward to the next in the series, Gorgeous. It features Phoebe's sister Allison and takes place concurrently with Lucky, but with a totally different storyline. I'm intrigued to see how that will work out, and delighted that there's yet another sister in the Avery family.

Summer and Scholastic

2009-06-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

So Scholastic is doing some nice stuff for summer--stuff like giveaways, author chats, even reading for the world record. The web site is pretty kid-appealing, too--at least, I think so, although admittedly I've been out of the target demographic for awhile now. If you've got bored kidkins in the house, give it a try.

Book Review: Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

2009-06-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Book: Generation Dead
Author: Daniel Waters
Published: 2008

The teenage years are a time of change. All of a sudden, for teenagers in America, those changes include going from life to death . . . and then back again. They're not hungry for brains, nor are they rotting away. They're just kids who want to live their undeaths.

American society is in a tizzy. From hucksters selling Zombie Power t-shirts to well-meaning foundations that insist on such terms as "differently biotic" to televangelists predicting the imminent apocalypse, they're all trying to fit the living dead into their lives, and to understand what it means for them.

For Phoebe, the zombie kids hold a certain fascination. She's played at death as a goth girl for so long that the existence of kids who really can tell you what it's like is both unsettling and exciting. Her best guy friend, Adam, isn't so sure. But when a charismatic and idealistic zombie boy, Tommy Williams, joins the football team and starts pursuing Phoebe, both of them have to decide where they stand.

As if the teenage years weren't confusing enough.

I wasn't expecting to like this book, at least not as much as I did. I'd heard good things about it from bloggers I trust, so I thought, "Okay, I'll put it on my list. I'll probably read it, enjoy it, and pass it on to the supernatural-loving teens at my library, and that'll be the end of it."

I fell a little bit in love with Adam (c'mon! Seriously, could you resist this guy?), I growled over the blatant prejudice suffered by the living dead kids, I held my breath to see if Phoebe was going to wake up and smell the hunk. (Short answer: not yet.)

I never really warmed up to Tommy, and I never got the feeling that Phoebe did either. While the jacket flaps insist that theirs is a doomed, Twilight-esque romance, it's more like curiosity and a certain attraction to his political ideals. Also, for a book that includes pitch-perfect civil-rights conflicts, there was a certain lack of actual gay, lesbian, or minority characters. (Okay, there was a black zombie and an Asian one. But that was about it.)

But I enjoyed the hell out of this book, and the sequel, Kiss of Life, is totally on my list.

Comic Glee!

2009-06-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have three gleeful comics this week.

Unshelved Book Club expertly talks up The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Man, now I want to read it again.
HijiNKS Ensue is after Twilight again, this time pointing out all the elements that are suspiciously similar to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." As usual, it's hi-frickin'-larious.
And finally, Lisa Chellman pointed me at a comic called ShelfCheck. This particular installment riffs on the rabid excitement over Catching Fire. Hee.

That's it for this week's glee, but I'm sure there's more to come.

This Rates an OMFG

2009-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Bookshelves of Doom, I now know about the fourth book in Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia series, titled A Conspiracy of Kings and due out in April 2010.

!!!!!!!

You may commence fannish squee-ing . . . now.

Book Review: When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton

2009-06-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Book: When the Whistle Blows
Author: Fran Cannon Slayton
Published: on shelves today

Jimmy Cannon has always thought that he would live out his life in the town where he was born--Rowlesburg, West Virginia. He would drop out of high school and work on the railroad alongside his dad, his brothers, and all the other men in his town.

His father keeps telling him to look further, that the world is changing and he'd better change along with it unless he means to die right along with the railroads. Jimmy resists with all his might, believing that if he can just follow the plan, his life will continue unchanged. But in the years immediately following WWII, America is charging headlong toward the future, and it's all too easy to get left behind.

In six short stories, each taking place on Halloween (which also happens to be his father's birthday), Jimmy grows from boy to man, struggling to accept a dying town and a changing world, and to understand the most important person in his life.

I got this ARC in a giveaway from 100 Scope Notes (thanks!) and wow, what a book. The short-story format makes it ideal for reluctant readers who falter through longer narratives. At the same time, the strong undercurrent of a boy's complex and ever-altering relationship with his father keeps you turning to the next story. Slayton tells her stories simply and honestly, but never shorts us the emotional punch. Translation? I cried. But don't make the mistake of dismissing this as a three-hanky weeper--there's also humor, suspense, and a glimpse into an America long gone. Not to mention cabbage bombs. Hey, it is Halloween.

The cover might make this a hard sell, but the right kid will remember this book a long time.

I Really Did It This Time

2009-06-09T18:20:00.001-07:00

I realized today that I'd forgotten to tally up reviews and comments to figure out how much I was donating to the American Cancer Society after the 48-Hour Book Challenge.

$10/book x 13 books = $130
$1/comment x 40 comments (including the ones on starting and finish line posts) = $40

Total = $170

Thanks for supporting me and the American Cancer Society!

48 Hour Book Challenge Wrap-Up

2009-06-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Time Stats

Total reading time: 18:26:49
Total blogging time (including this post): 4:57:42
Total networking time: 1:28:28

For a total time of: 24 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds

WHOA.

Some other statistics

Books finished: 13
Books given up on: 1
Books I will continue: 2 (one on audio which is my bribe for exercising and one that I wouldn't have finished in time but definitely will finish later)
Pages read: 3588 (plus however many that audiobook counted for)

My experience

Much more fun this year than last year. I better enjoyed more of the books. I did a few things differently. One, I gave myself a much broader range to choose from and only chose books I was excited about, and two, I paced myself--exercised, went outside, cooked, etc, in between books. Plus, thanks to MotherReader adding the networking option, I made a point of checking out 48hbc hashtags on twitter and visiting some new-to-me blogs from her Mr. Linky starting line post. It didn't feel quite so solitary.

I used a stopwatch system (which is why all my times are down to the second) and a spreadsheet to add it all up, and was surprised at my reading pace. I've always known I read fast, but had no idea how fast. This morning, I woke up and reached for my iPod (I'd been reading some non-48hbc Twitters on it before I went to sleep) and realized that at some point during the night, I'd turned it on and started the stopwatch function running. What did I think I was timing?

I read a lot of dark and depressing things, but after I read two in a row to start and wound up possibly liking the second less than I would have under other circumstances, I tried to alternate light-hearted and serious.

Finally, I'm really happy that I chose the Greater Good option. Something like this is always kind of fun, but it feels even better knowing that your energy is going to help others. Since part of my donation is dependent on comments, I'm not going to tally that up until Monday night, in order to let them accrue a few more.

Thanks once again for another great 48-Hour Book Challenge, MotherReader, and I'll be here with books next year!

ETA: to correct the number of books. Ooops.

Book Review: Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

2009-06-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Book: Greetings from Nowhere
Author: Barbara O'Connor
Published: 2008

Aggie just can't keep her motel going after the death of her beloved husband. Willow is in a deep depression after her parents' divorce and her mother's departure. Kirby has pushed his mother to the limit, and is on his way to reform school. Loretta is retracing the path of her unknown birth mother.

All these people and their families come together unexpectedly in a tumbledown motel in the middle of the Smoky Mountains, and discover that it is possible to fill the holes that loved ones have left behind.

Time: 0:37:47
Number of Pages: 200

Why Did I Hype?: I liked one of her previous novels, How to Steal a Dog.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 8/10

Aggie, Willow, and Kirby were the strongest characters for me. While Loretta, the fourth lead, was supposed to be on a quest for her birth mother, I never felt her as strongly as I did the others. She seemed to be the Pollyanna character, there for the function of perking everyone else up with her optimism and enthusiasm. I have a hard time with Pollyannas.
Although Loretta is supposed to be in fifth grade, she struck me as being younger. It could be because Willow, who is in fourth, is so quiet and sad that she looks older in contrast.

The most satisfying conclusions were Aggie's and Willow's. I wish we'd gotten more closure with Kirby, who is just starting to soften up and believe in his own likeability when his mother takes him away to the reform school. Loretta's story is so thin that it's wound up quickly and without fuss.

Still, this book was pretty good. If you're looking for a quickly readable story about the power of emotional connections to heal, try Greetings from Nowhere.

Book Review: Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

2009-06-07T00:20:00.001-07:00

Book: Shooting the Moon
Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell
Published: 2008

Time: 0:34:39
Number of Pages: 163

Jamie Dexter is almost thirteen years old and knows everything. She knows that her father, the Colonel, is the wisest and most capable man in the world, and her eighteen-year-old brother TJ isn't far behind. She knows that the war in Vietnam is justified and the U.S. Army is the finest and best organization in the world.

But to her surprise, when her brother TJ enlists, it's their dad who tries to talk him out of it. She doesn't understand why, but this disconnect between the two most important men in her life is the first chink in her certainty about life.

When T.J. does get to Vietnam, he doesn't send back descriptions of war games or adventures, at least not to her. Their parents get monotonous letters about bad food and huge bugs, but Jamie only gets a roll of film each time, with the request to develop them herself. As she learns the fine art of developing pictures, she finds pictures of jungle and soldier boys with beer and scruffy mascot pups. But she also discovers pictures of wounded soldiers, of fear and uncertainty and the grinding horrors of war. And always at least once in each roll, the moon, the ever-changing, barely understood moon.

Over the course of a summer, she begins to understand that nobody, least of all T.J. or the Colonel, has all the answers.

Why Did I Hype?: Frances O'Roark Dowell is one of those unusual authors who writes realistic boys and girls, light and serious, and yet her books never feel like a stretch. She just writes the story that's there and handles it ably.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 8/10

Like another recent read of mine, Georgie's Moon, this book deals with the Vietnam War on the home front, but not with the ferocious anti-war scene. It would be interesting to do a three-book study, combining an antiwar-protest novel with those two in order to span different views of the same tumultuous time period.

The switch from blind faith to questions happened a little fast for me, but it's a short book, and the seeds for the conversion are planted early and steadily. I thought for sure that the climax of the novel would be T.J.'s death, but I should have trusted Dowell, who chooses a quieter method to finally shatter Jamie's certainty.

Try this for a quiet, contemplative novel about the slow realization that growing up doesn't mean getting all the answers, but only more questions.

Not Really a Review

2009-06-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

So far I've had good luck with this challenge--haven't had to give up on a book yet.

But I picked up Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw, and by page 51 knew I couldn't finish the book. It's hard to stomach a passive protagonist. This one let himself be walked all over by his best friend, thrust into friends-only territory by his oblivious crush, and pretty much shoves his own light under several bushel baskets. And of course by the end of the story, he would have fixed all this, but I just couldn't make myself get there.

I was really looking forward to it too. The cooking, the love story, the fact that a guy was cooking--but the passivity killed it. Sigh. I'll probably keep the book long enough to copy the recipes. Those looked killer.

Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

2009-06-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

Book: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Published: 2009

Time: 1:41:43
Number of Pages: 308

Mary has always known never to get too close to the fence that surrounds her village. The Unconsecrated are on the other side. With just one bite, you're doomed to a slow death and then to rise as Unconsecrated yourself, mindless, heartless, soulless, nothing left but the appetite for human flesh.

Yet, unlike her friends and family, Mary wants more. She yearns to understand the Forest of Hands and Teeth, to have choices other than the ones offered her in her tiny village, to be able to marry Travis instead of his brother Harry, and most of all to see the ocean. But everyone tells her that can never be. How much will Mary risk for her dreams? And how much will she lose in pursuit of them?

Why Did I Hype?: A marvelous title (I'm such a sucker for good titles) and lots of blog buzz.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 9/10

For a book about zombies, this story had a surprisingly slow pace. There are a few gory and hideous scenes, but most of it is either trying to live life in the tenuous safety of the village or fleeing the Unconsecrated. The effect is dull constant fear, interspersed with moments of sheer terror.

But then, this is what everyday life is like for Mary's people. There's a section late in the book where Mary and her beloved Travis create a safe haven for themselves. But even as they relax a little, they can never forget that exceedingly nasty death waits just outside.

As the book went on, Mary's dream of the ocean began to seem more and more like a cuddly toy, clutched close in defense against the increasing grimness of her life. But then, it's not like her other options are so hot. Maybe it's that darkness, the sense of thousands of rocks and hard places, unceasing losses and no safe havens, that are the reason I can never enjoy zombie movies. Although the protagonist always makes it to see the dawn, there's a sense that they may have seen too much and lost too many to ever find true peace.

I'm told this is the first in a series, and depending on where Carrie Ryan takes us and how well I've recovered, I may pick up the next one. But then again, maybe I'll wait and see what others think first.

Book Review: Need by Carrie Jones

2009-06-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Book: Need
Author: Carrie Jones
Published: 2009

Time: 1:39:48
Number of Pages: 306

It's been four months since Zara's stepdad died of a heart attack right in front of her. She's been sunk deep in depression ever since, so her mom sends her to her grandmother's in Maine for a change of scenery. But Maine in winter isn't exactly the best chipper-upper, especially for a girl from Charleston.

Still, Zara manages to make a few friends, including bouncy Issie, sweet Devyn, and intriguing Nick. But things are going on in this sleepy, tiny town. Boys are disappearing, a mysterious man seems to be stalking her, and there are secrets everywhere. And somehow, Zara herself seems to be at the center of it all.

Why Did I Hype?: Hello, evil pixies? Plus, I like Carrie Jones.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 7.5/10

I've read Carrie Jones' prior three novels, which are all firmly realistic. This is a bit of a departure for her, so much so that I wonder if someone said, "Hey, Carrie, paranormal's selling like hotcakes. Give it a shot."

I was afraid this would turn out Twilighty and I wasn't happy about it. Luckily, characterization pulled it out. Zara's got points over Bella for having an inner life, some sass and sense, and an actual reason to want to save people (although that too could have been strengthened). She's also got Nick, who (while protective) works with her and mostly respects her.

There are a lot of plot holes, such as "Hello, Zara's Mom? This is common sense. We haven't talked in awhile. Let's discuss your choice to send your daughter back to a town you've been hiding from for the past fifteen years." Plus the air of pixie menace, while often discussed, never really materialized for me. And the ending felt pretty rushed.

Still, if there were a sequel, I wouldn't turn up my nose at it. In fact, I hope there is one, just to catch up some of the loose threads from this book. Give to both Twi-likers and regular paranormal fans alike.

Book Review: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

2009-06-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Book: The Chosen One
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Published: 2009

Time: 1:00:56
Number of Pages: 213

Thirteen-year-old Kyra has always lived in the compound with her three mothers, her twenty brothers and sisters (plus two more on the way), and her one father. Everyone's family is like that. They live in submission to the Prophet and devotion to God. They don't go outside the compound and they don't put themselves in the way of Satan, personified by TV, immodest clothing, and anything unrelated to the Scripture.

But recently, Kyra's discovered secret rebellions inside herself. She wants to play the piano, read books that aren't from the Bible, and choose who she wants to marry--preferably sweet and cute Joshua Johnson, only three years her senior. She hopes and prays that God will smile on her desires.

Then comes the news that she has been chosen as the seventh wife of her uncle, who is in his sixties. This isn't a request, but a command straight from the Prophet. Her father, Joshua, even the kindly bookmobile driver all do their best for her, but in the end, the only one who can save Kyra is Kyra herself.

Why Did I Hype?: Another book that's been all over. The ARC that I got had 6 full pages of assorted praise, plus the inside front cover.

Live-Up-to-the-Hype Score: 8/10

With this book, Carol Lynch Williams pretty much hits all the obligatory elements for the tale of a rebellious girl-child in an oppressive patriarchal culture. Secret reading? Check. Escalating brutality cloaked in religious dogma? Check. Unsuitable love interest that just causes more trouble when inevitably discovered? Check. Eventual rescue of self? Check.

She does it well, however, with strong characterizations and increasingly dark plot points. My favorite element was the way she shows, through the characters of Joshua and Father, how men and boys are as trapped in polygamist cultures as their mothers, wives, and sisters. Also, the warm family circle that surrounds Kyra makes her reluctance to leave and her fear of the lonely unknown more plausible than it otherwise might be. Kyra herself is a nearly pitch-perfect mixture of fear, rebellion, ambition, and love.

I could wish there would have been more examination of the element of faith in this novel, but you can't have everything, and really that's just my thing. With the current interest in polygamist cultures, this book isn't going to sit on the shelf for long.