A site what reviews books....can't think of a title

Hmm, I think today's a holiday . . . Suriname Independence Day! celebrates

2010-11-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Waiting on Wednesday

2010-11-24T15:54:00.000-08:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's book I want to read is:

Description

***

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can’t be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby’s friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns home two years later, a precarious and deadly balance waits. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

Imaginary Girls is a masterfully distorted vision of family reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, laced with twists that beg for their secrets to be kept.

DOES NOT THAT SOUND AWESOME! Seriously. I love it love it love it. I've been excited about this one for . . . nearly a month. Yeah, that sounds underwhelming, but it doesn't come out until June 2011 so it's not like it's been knowaboutable (not a word!) for a while. Anyways, there are so many things awesome about this one. Plus the cover is totally freaking epic and the awesome Julie Strauss-Gabel is the editor! WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?!

Publishes with Dutton Children's Books on 14 June 2011.

I need to review more/Beautiful Creatures

2010-11-23T09:58:00.001-08:00

I need to review more.

I haven't had time this month, due to NaNoWriMo (I still have about 1500 words to write today!), and the month prior . . . well, other than school I really haven't much of an excuse. There's been a lot going on, is all I can say.

Some caveats before I start the review:

(1) I can't think of a title for this review or the blog. So for now it's titleless. I hate all the old titles, so . . . yeah.

(2) Um, my Beautiful Creatures review has some cursing in it. I don't usually curse on this blog, but I was pissed while writing this one, so . . . yeah. If you don't like it, I'll sum the book up for you at the bottom of it, swearing-free. Same with spoilers -- again, at the bottom.

(3) Said review was posted on Goodreads as well, so it may have some references to this that are weird. Disregard them.

Beautiful Creatures (mild spoilers!)

Summary

(from flap)

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate [NOTE FROM REVIEWER: Though you might not be able to tell from the summary, Ethan is actually the main character. Go figure.], who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

REVIEW

THINGS I LIKED:

Ethan. Now, I know not everyone did. Some people--many on Goodreads, as a matter of fact--are all "He's not like a real teenage boy, he likes girly stuff and sounds like a woman, blah blah etcetera" and to them, I want to say: Fuck you. Stereotype much? Because honestly. The people who are saying this are generally not teenage boys, and being one, I have to say, your attempt to distance yourself from "paranormal trash" is annoying. Because that's what many detractors of this book are all about. Not all--some people honestly don't like it/hate it/think it's bad, and I respect that, everyone should have their own opinion, freedom of speech, rah, rah, rah, people who know me know that's one of my biggest things--but many of them. They don't want to be associated with anything 'Twilighty,' so when something comes along that the Media At Large considers 'Twilighty,' they scurry over to Goodreads to post scathing reviews about how THE GUYS ARE ALL PUSSY WHIPPED AND GAY and THE PLOT IS NONEXTANT and GO READ and GRAAH GIANT SQUID OF ANGER. I call this the Schema Effect, and will in all honesty refer to it as such tons of times throughout this review so remember that.

Okay, end rant. But honestly, I think just because Ethan liked stuff that the status quo said was off-limits and had a tendency to sound rather mature doesn't mean he's 'unrealistic.' And anyone who believes that, in my opinion, is bullshitting themselves.

Okay, maybe end rant now.

But really. He was an awesome character and I liked him. On with the show.

The writing style. If you'd given me the book w/o telling me it was written by 2 authors I would never have suspected a thing. It really melded together, which was good because I LOVED IT. The writing was just . . . good. At times a bit choppy, but that was tied in with the pacing (see below). The authors, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, have a real gift for detail, and they only go into over-detail about clothes once or twice (the only part of the book I found a bit unrealistic, though that's just my opinion and you can obviously have your own). In summation, the writing just made it that much easier for me to practically inhale huge chunks of the book at a time. (And I mean huge. Like, 75 pages in one sitting. Usually I don't favor reading TONS AT ONCE but it was impossible because this book is ADDICTIVE!)

The mythology, for lack of a better word. And you know I'm lacking one because that's a really bad word to use. : ) I liked how the authors kind of did a spin on existing supernatural creatures--with Macon, for instance, and all the Sybils and Thurmaturges and whatever Aunt Del was and the Naturals and the Cataclysts. I liked it. (running out of words)

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:

The LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT thing. I mean, I'm not sure that I disliked it, but it kind of irritated me. I admit, I'm a bit guilty of the Schema Effect--HYPOCRITE, I know, but hear me out. What I mean is that this happens in many paranormal books. Twilight counts even if it's not exactly first sight, because damn, if you believe that was a realistically formed relationship, see a therapist, please, or an analyst. (But not both -- Arrested Development references FTW!) Shiver counts too, because hey, IT DIDN'T COUNT WHEN YOU WERE DIFFERENT SPECIES. And on and on and on. I really wish someone would present a realistically formed relationship in paranormal YA, one that takes time to form, with or without a Sarah Dessen Plot Arc (Boy and Girl Meet, Grow Into Relationship, Get Into Argument, 'Split Up,' Girl Learns Very Important Life Lesson, Boy and Girl Have Touching Reunion Scene, Boy and Girl are Together. I love you, SD, but don't think we haven't noticed this in--like--six of your books. Maybe more).

The length, kind of. Because in some ways it was too long. I think this was more of an issue of pacing, though. January and November were COMPLETELY skipped over, which in some ways I didn't have a problem with, but the first week takes up maybe 200 pages, and they're already IN LOVE by then. I think if the authors had taken time to set up the relationship, weaving that into the plot, it would've seemed less choppy at times.

The ending. This ALMOST ruined it for me, made it a 3.5 or 4 star instead of a 4.5 star. But I loved it too much. Still, I kind of hated it in a way. ***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS***

OVERALL:
Basically, I really loved this book, and for a first novel it was really really really really good. (Morris Award finalist FTW!) Some problems with pacing, true, but overall--

Just read it already!!!

IF YOU LIKED THIS...

Read Beautiful Darkness, out now from Little Brown BYR.

NEW RUBRIC!
Writing: 8/10
MC(s): 10/10

Other Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10

Ending: 5/10

Cover: 10/10

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Cover? 5 out of 5 - It's brilliant.

Little, Brown BYR

December 1, 2009

Hardcover

576 pages

$17.99

Bought in person at Barnes and Noble, but read the first 150ish pages in a book from my school library.

Absolute Whiteness (note: lots of parentheses here)

2010-10-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I should go out of my way to read more YA books with people of color in them. After all, I understand how important it is to show racial parity in literature (parity meaning equality in this instance, not the amount of times a woman has given birth or any of the other varied definitions). Definitely. But the truth is, I don’t consider Race/Ethnicity of Character when choosing what I read. If anything, the font the book’s set in has more impact on me deciding to read it. (Okay, bad metaphor—people who know me know that I’m obsessed with fonts and typefaces. This is the main reason I haven’t read The Dark Divine yet—what were you THINKING, Egmont?)

Now on to the story.

Earlier today, I was looking through all the books I’ve read this year (70 so far) and I started to notice something. So I opened a Notepad, clicked ‘Show side by side’ and started typing the names of the main characters of all the books into the text box.

This is what I found:

Of the seventy books I’ve read this year, seven had at least one main character (meaning a person who narrated the story if it was first, or who the story centered upon if it was third—I’ve yet to read a second person story this year) that was stated to not be white. This includes biracial, Hispanic, African-American, Asian, etc. I guessed on one of the seven (The Eternal Smile—I think Janet is Asian, though if she’s not make that six), and a further two were unstated (Grace, though I’m fairly sure she’s white, and Girl Coming In For a Landing, which actually told us nothing about the MC, not even her name). Three of the books were in the same series (Magic or Madness by the brilliant Justine Larbalestier). Two were graphic novels (one a Printz Award winner, American Born Chinese). One was a National Book Award finalist (Jumped), and the last (And Then Everything Unraveled—I believe she’s half-Indian [as in FROM INDIA, not Native American] with somewhat darkish skin, though I read the book in May so I kind of forgot some parts of it) doesn’t really have any defining characteristics other than that it’s quite good. Additionally, Katniss Everdeen (if you don't know what book series she's from, go buy The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsNow read it. Now read it again and come back and TELL ME HOW AWESOME IT IS, AND HOW, BY PROXY, THE WORLD HAS A BIT OF HOPE IN IT AGAIN. Or something) has a rather ambiguous race/ethnicity, though it's noted she has . . . not darkish skin, but . . . brownish? Olive was the word I heard used once. You hopefully know what I mean, because if not I'm seriously probably going to get massacred by the blogosphere. *gulp*

At any rate . . . the rest were white.

If I made a mistake, I made a mistake (I most probably did--I'm not too good with listmaking) but still. Seven out of seventy, give or take a few.

Just something to think about.

Giveaway!!!

2010-08-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

So the site ReadingTeen is having a great contest where you can enter to win one of many AWESOME ARCs! (Think Grace, The Mockingbirds, Beautiful Darkness. You. Nightshade (which I already have--thank you, Penguin!). The Eternal Ones!) Enter HERE! http://www.readingteen.net/2010/08/back-to-school-giveaway-bash.html

2010-08-09T12:38:00.001-07:00

The Extraordinary Secrets
of April, May and June
~

(If you're wondering AMJ is the book in the middle between Sh*t My Dad Says and Hot x: Algebra Exposed. Yeah, I know, but it's the front of the store.)

Summary

(from flap)
Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.
Review

I loved this book. I came into it with high expectations--maybe the highest ever for any book except HP7 and Will Grayson, Will Grayson--and they were all met. It's not very often you can say that. Benway has created a well-written and hilarious book that's also compulsively readable--I finished it in half a day. Each sister has her own unique personality--April's a bit of a control freak, May is sulky and sarcastic, and June's Ritalin-peppy--which is good because all too often in 2/3/4-person-narrated books the characters all sound kind of the same (I'm talking to you, you-know-who-you-are). The dialogue is always frenetically witty

(mild spoilers)

I didn't even look up from my computer. "Oh, he's just the best," I informed. "After we study together, we're gonna go to the soda fountain and share a malted. It'll be dreamy! What about you? Have you banged Julian yet?" (p. 115)

and all the characters--even the minor ones--are genuine. I can't praise this one enough. HIGHLY recommended.

(Another thing: some people may think of this one as a 'paranormal' book? It's not, not really. It's more a 'regular-girls-with-powers-that-ruin-their-lives-somewhat' book. EITHER WAY IT ROCKS.)

IF YOU LIKED THIS...
~
If you haven't already you must read Benway's debut Audrey, Wait! It's the epic as well.

NEW RUBRIC!
Writing: 9/10
MC(s): 10/10
Other Characters: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Cover? 5 out of 5 - Love it. Seriously. I just . . . love it.

Razorbill
August 3, 2010
Hardcover
288 pages
$16.99

Bought off, sorry, PREORDERED off Amazon.com.

2010-07-17T07:41:00.001-07:00

My Heartbeat
~

Summary

(from flap)
Ellen loves Link and James. Her older brother and his best friend are the only company she ever wants. She knows they fight, but she makes it a policy never to take sides. She loves her brother, the math genius and track star. She is totally, madly in love with James, his face full of long eyelashes and hidden smiles. "When you grow out of it," James teases her, "you will break my heart." Ellen knows she"ll never outgrow it. She'll always love James just the way she"ll always love Link. Then someone at school asks if Link and James might be in love with each other. A simple question. Link refuses to discuss it. James refuses to stay friends with a boy so full of secrets. Ellen"s parents want Link to keep his secrets to himself, but Ellen wants to know who her brother really is. When is curiosity a betrayal? And if James says he loves her, isn't that just another way of saying he still loves Link? My Heartbeat is a fast, furious story in which a quirky triangle learns to change its shape and Ellen, at least, learns the limits of what you can ever know about whom you love.

Review

My Heartbeat has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the, ah, least best books I read this year. Make no mistake--it is somewhat well-written. Freymann-Weyr is quite talented and I thoroughly enjoyed two of her other books: The Kings are Already Here and When I Was Older. My Heartbeat was a book I had very high expectations for (it is a Printz Honor book after all). Unfortunately, I just couldn't properly connect with it, plus a plethora of other things. The three parts:

1) It was boring. I felt much of the book lacked substance and Freymann-Weyr just didn't make me care about the characters--the exception being the scene with the bribe: it was the one truly amazing scene in the whole book!--so that when the book eventually wound down to its (weak) climax and conclusion I was relieved.

2) The characters spoke unrealistically. Ellen thought like a 34-year-old for much of the book; sometimes when used sparingly this effect works (I've only seen it done once and that was a stretch) but not here. James, Link, Ellen, even the parents were unrealistic. Some minor characters like Adena and Polly seemed realistic but also flat, 2-D and pretty much...bleh.

The whole book was 'bleh,' really.

3) The sex was completely unneccessary. Just saying. I mean, it just . . . didn't add much to the book.

Verdict? My Heartbeat could've been really good. There were a few passages that were truly well-written. But ultimately, the book just dragged. On and on and on and on. And when you can say that about a 154-page book, that's a whole new kind of sad.

IF YOU LIKED THIS...
~
Well, then you're obviously not me. In all seriousness, I would heartily recommend the other books by this author I've read (When I Was Older and The Kings are Already Here) whether you liked this book or not. Both are excellent books.

NEW RUBRIC!
Writing: 7/10
MC: 3/10
Other Characters: 4/10
Plot: 5/10
Ending: 3/10
Cover: 2/10

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Cover? 1 out of 5 - I'm just going to say it outright: THIS COVER SCARES ME.

Houghton Mifflin
April 29, 2002
Hardcover
160 pages
$15.00

Checked out from library.

2010-07-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

God Is In the Pancakes

(note: I received this book as part of 1 Arc Tours.)

Summary

(description from ARC)
No one is more surprised than fifteen-year-old Grace Manning herself that she likes her job in the local nursing home. But that has everything to do with her relationship with one of the residents, Mr. Sands, an ex-Marine with Lou Gehrig's disease. He keeps up with Grace's witty banter, teaches her to play poker, allows her to give him a mohawk, acts as a father figure . . . and one day, cheerfully asks her to help him die. Grace tries to avoid the wrenching decision, first by praying for a miracle, and then by stuffing herself with pancakes. Soon she's running away from all feelings, including the new ones she has for her best friend, Eric, who suddenly seems to have a lot of female admirers. But Mr. Sands continues to get worse, and Grace knows this decision is too important to ignore . . .

Review

First off: I mentioned it once, but I probably need to mention again that I received this book as part of the site 1 ARC Tours, where ARCs are sent around to different people and then back to the owner . . . well, just click on the link if you want to know more. Anyways, I received the book 7/10 and really need to mail it today but first I need to find a box or something because I don't think I can afford one of those bubble mailers . . . okay, rambling. On to the book.

God is in the Pancakes starts off with a jolt. The plot is set up in the first chapter, which was a bit refreshing after reading quite a few "oh, let's follow our boring characters through a whole day of, er, exploits"-type books. Like most of my reviews this one is split into 3 parts:

1. PACING

I cannot stress how important this is. When a would've-been-good-(or at least mediocre) book drags on and on, it can really make the book a lot less good (or mediocre). God is in the Pancakes moves at a quick pace and does not suffer for it.

2. CHARACTERS

For the most part, the more main characters (Grace, Mr. Sands and his wife, Grace's mother, etc.) were well-delineated, and though a couple of the more secondary characters seemed rather stock at times, it fit their roles in the book, if that makes any sense. Furthermore, the relationships in this book were amazing. Grace and Mr. Sands' friendship is well-drawn and believable, especially the passage where Mr. Sands explains to Grace why he wanted to keep her a secret from his wife. The way Epstein uses parallels to show Grace that she needs to have a better relationship with her mother, the further (romantic) dilemmas faced by Grace throughout the course of the book, all of it fits into the plot well. Grace herself is a brilliantly drawn protagonist: realistic, funny, sardonic, and unsure of herself. She's deeply flawed and has practically no clue how to operate in 'the real world' and never is it more apparent than in the scenes where she grapples with whether to 'help' Mr. Sands or not. Grace's eventual decision surprised me a little, as did the eventual conclusion, but it all felt real.

3. THIS PASSAGE

I bite down on the inside of my lip. "I don't really think handing out celebrity magazines qualifies as Christian."
"The Lord works in mysterious ways."

(p. 122, uncorrected proof. NOTE: Per Dial Books' requirements I must indicate that my review is based on an uncorrected text, etc.)

Yeah... sorry if you were expecting something deeper.

Verdict? God is in the Pancakes is thoughtful, funny, sad and ruminative, with a heroine forced to make a possibly life-altering decision. Ultimately, the book asks many questions of the reader, most importantly: How far would you go to help a friend?

IF YOU LIKED THIS...

Donut Days by Lara Zielin

I could say something like "both are about GOD" but really it's more like "this one's about donuts instead of pancakes." I mean, come on. WHO DOESN'T LIKE DONUTS?

NEW RUBRIC!
Writing: 8/10
MC: 9/10

Other Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10

Ending: 10/10

Cover: 8/10

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Cover? 4 out of 5 - The cover is okay. Nothing special, really, but the pancake is nice. And it makes me want pancakes. Mmm, pancakes...

Dial Books

May 15, 2010

Hardcover

272 pages

$16.99

ARC received from 1 ARC Tours

Giveaway!...by someone else

2010-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

First Novels Club is doing a giveaway of the much-anticipated (especially by me) The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June here:

http://bit.ly/9n0sR5.

Say the Word (aka Real! Live! Reviews!)

2010-07-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

Say the Word

Yes, I am writing an actual review. Don't adjust your television set.

Summary

Dredging up the past can knock the present right off balance.
The world expects perfection from seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher, and for the most part, that’s what they get. She dates the right boys, gets good grades, and follows her father’s every rule. But when her estranged lesbian mother dies, it’s more than perfect Shawna can take. Suddenly, anger from being abandoned ten years ago is resurfacing along with Shawna’s embarrassment over her mother’s other family. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes there’s a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing.

Shawna’s honest and relatable voice will draw readers in and hold them until the last page in this coming-of-age story. Jeannine Garsee has delivered a compulsively readable second novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Review

Like I am wont to, I loved this book. (Don't worry, I have two negative reviews being cleaned up as we speak for those of you who heart schadenfreude.) There are many reasons for this. I'll split them up:

1. SHORT CHAPTERS

This 360-page book had 121 chapters. Many of them were just one or two pages. Seriously. How can you not love that?

2. CHARACTERS

Jeannine Garsee has done something amazing with Shawna Gallagher. She has made her real. Real does not necessarily mean politically correct, or sure of anything, or even sure of herself--but she is real. Shawna has been struggling with the issues surrounding her mother for years. She doesn't think about it much, at least until the events of STW. When it all begins everything comes surfacing up and it's like an explosion of emotion. Shawna is surprisingly wont to say-- or at least think-- what's on her mind, and sometimes, thanks to all the issues she has, it's harsh, as evidenced in one scene during her mom's funeral when she says several harsh things about gay people. She does this a lot-- not really near the end but especially near the start. Yeah, she isn't perfect. But you're still rooting for her, because she is genuinely a good person-- something that becomes clear in the book's final pages when she...well, she does something I personally think is awesome.

The other characters were amazing, too. Shawna's best friend Lee Lee, Fran (aforementioned lesbian partner) and her sons Schmule and Arye, even Shawna's asshole father were all brilliantly delineated. I really, really hated Shawna's dad and with any luck you will too. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money squandered in endless pursuits of personal pleasure! (Credit to Libba Bray for that last sentence.)

3. PLOT

The plot really worked. I can't explain this without giving away tons of spoilers, but I felt as if it always had flow.

Some subplots didn't work--the romance seemed forced, for instance. And the ending! Wow. I've heard mixed reviews of it--some people loved it, hated it. Personally I loved it: I felt it was the only way the book could've ended satisfactorily.

So here's the verdict: Say the Word is a well-written, thought-provoking book filled with wonderfully delineated characters. Shawna is an awesome protag who, with any luck, you'll like from page one, despite her many (and there are many) flaws. Eventually, by the end, she learns a lot and so do we.

Come on, short chapters!

IF YOU LIKED THIS...

Wild Roses by Deb Caletti

Caletti's writing style is similar (enough) to Garsee's-- if more ruminative-- and both are about parent issues, like all of Caletti's (and Sarah Dessen's) books seem to be.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Honestly, I just wanted to take this opportunity to 'market' WGx2, per se. Seriously. READ IT.

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

Again with the parent issues. A lot shorter, though.

NEW RUBRIC!
Writing: 9/10
MC: 10/10

Other Characters: 9/10
Plot: 9/10

Ending: 8/10

Cover: 9/10

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Cover? 4.5 out of 5 - This is an okay cover. For all intents and purposes it works, and the girl facing out reminds me of Shawna's description. I don't know who the other person is, though--Shawna's mom? One of her 'personalities?' It's kind of left up to interpretation, which really works here.

Bloomsbury USA

March 17, 2009

Hardcover

368 pages

$16.99

Checked out from library.

Challenge Lists

2010-06-30T22:55:00.001-07:00

I recently joined two book reading challenges: the 2010 Debut Author Challenge and the GLBT Challenge. The Debut Author challenge challenges one to read at least 12 YA books released in 2010 by debut authors or YA debuts (for instance, if an author has an adult/kids' book already published their YA debut). The GLBT challenge challenges one to read 4/8/12 books by GLBT authors or about GLBT topics. This is an update post on both challenge lists:

Debut Author Challenge

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick (YA debut)
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Split by Swati Avasati

(Only 5 for now, but that's just debuts released in 2010 per contest rules...)

GLBT Challenge

7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman
My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about the Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee
The Less-Dead by April Lurie

Plus depending on the exact specifications of the contest rules Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont may count. If so, 8 (Pink Triangle level) and if not 7 (almost PTL).

So that's that.

FIFTY-THREE DAYS TO MOCKINGJAY!!! AAA!!!

3 Best beach reads

2010-06-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

I discovered this meme at Lost in Books, a fairly awesome site with great memes. (Find out more here: http://imlostinbooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/perfect-beach-reads.html.) Anyways, so this week's meme is 3 Best Beach Reads. The title kind of speaks for itself. Note: This is my personal opinion. Many of you will think I am crazy for what I am about to say. Good news--I do, too. I've lots of inspiration for this post, as I leave for a beach-type vacation tomorrow, so I've got the following 3 all packed up and ready to go.

1) Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

This one is the inexplicable one. Why, you might ask, is this a beach read for you? Well, I can honestly say I have no idea. All I can say is that the mind works in mysterious ways (my other Inexplicable Book I Think Of When I Think Of The Beach is Tamar by Mal Peet, which I'm reading right now--EXCELLENT: def. deserved that Carnegie--and which just evokes beach to me--maybe it's the English cover? idk--Anyways, I'm taking itto the beach. Again...????). But whenever I go to the beach this one goes with me. Longtime readers will know I love Jellicoe Road, a novel about a seventeen-year-old girl at boarding school embroiled in a territory war with neighboring teen factions, infighting in her own house, and the dramas and scandals of the past. It won the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award, which was well-deserved, and although the first, say, 100 pages are kind of confusing the first time around I really think they're worth it. Jellicoe Road is totally unforgettable.

*NOW OUT IN PAPERBACK*

2) Paper Towns by John Green...or any road trip novel that is not On the Road.

Idk why, but I've always found road trip novels really beachish. I guess it's that whole vacay aspect of the thing--call me unimaginative you can. I just put Paper Towns because a) It's the one I'm taking, b) It's John Green, ergo, it's awesome, and c) IT'S PAPER TOWNS!

PAPER TOWNS!

PAPER TOWNS!!

3) Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

This one is actually about the beach. It is, w/o a doubt, one of the best books actually @ the beach that I have ever read. Sarah Ockler's book about loss, lust, love, longing and letting go (5 L's...unavoidable and awesome :D...) is freaking awesome.

So there you have it.

...With a Little Help from the Library of Congress

2010-06-11T06:49:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I really need to write reviews. But it takes a while, and I'm really lazy, etc., and stuff like that. So I have decided to divide the books up into five categories:

Definitely Recommended

Probably Recommended

Worth a Look Through

If You Have Nothing Else To Read

Specialized

Today I will be reviewing the

Definitely Recommended books.

Despite your genre preferences, these books are, you know, epic and should be read by everyone. Because they're awesome. If I never get to the other four parts--and the risk is always there :O--you'll at least know of THESE AWESOME ONES. The reviews themselves that I have written tend towards the overuse of words like awesome. Hopefully this helps to get the point across but really it probably doesn't.

It's supposed to, anyway.

How to Say Goodbye In Robot (Natalie Standiford)

After moving to Baltimore and enrolling in a private school, high school senior Beatrice befriends a quiet loner with a troubled family history. A Junior Library Guild selection.

This is really an awesome book. I kid you not. There is a radio show, an old car with a name, ages-old family secrets, a non-romance, and a truly realistic ending. Plus it has the magic carpet!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (John Green and David Levithan)

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.

It's John Green. And David Levithan. If you need any more convincing, there are cats in boxes which belong to Schroedinger! (Well, metaphorically...)

The Sky is Everywhere (Jandy Nelson)

In the months after her sister dies, seventeen-year-old Lennie falls into a love triangle and discovers the strength to follow her dream of becoming a musician. A Junior Library Guild selection.

I've already semi-reviewed this one but it's still good nonetheless.

Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About The Grapes of Wrath (Steven Goldman)

Mitch, a shy and awkward high school junior, negotiates the difficult social situations he encounters, both with girls and with his best friend David, after David reveals to him that he is gay.

This book may have at least half of the funniest quotes ever. Plus it's just awesome.

Before I Fall (Lauren Oliver)

After she dies in a car crash, teenage Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again... (limited quote)

This is one of those books that is so much better than its summary makes it sound. DO NOT THINK Groundhog Day. (Though it is mentioned in the book...)

Sorta Like a Rock Star (Matthew Quick)

Although seventeen-year-old Amber Appleton is homeless, living in a school bus with her unfit mother, she is a relentless optimist who visits the elderly at a nursing home, teaches English to Korean Catholic women with the use of rhythm and blues music, and befriends a solitary Vietnam veteran and his dog, but eventually she experiences one burden more than she can bear and slips into a deep depression.

This is a ...wow... book. Any expectations I might've had were blown away. This book is just so. freaking. hopeful. It was creative. It was only 355 pages, which was a shame because it was awesome.

Marcelo in the Real World (Francisco X. Stork)

Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.

Everyone thought this one should've won the Printz award last year and to a point I have to agree, I guess. This is an awesome book. Seriously.

Hold Still (Nina LaCour)

Ingrid didn't leave a note. Three months after her best friend's suicide, Caitlin finds what she left instead: a journal, hidden under Caitlin's bed. A Junior Library Guild selection. A 2010 William Morris Award finalist.

This is one of those books that is inexplicably tied to another element of the book...okay, by which I mean the drawings. The whole thing is just amazing. BRILLIANT. Love the ending (okay, love all the endings of all 13 of these books, but whatever).

How I Live Now (Meg Rosoff)

To get away from her pregnant stepmother in New York City, fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins, with whom she instantly bonds, but soon war breaks out and rips apart the family while devastating the land. A Junior Library Guild selection. The 2004 Michael L. Printz Award Winner.

This one's an older book, but I hadn't read it until February or so. Word to the wise: the first time you read it read it on the audiobook because a) Kim Mai Guest does an AWESOME job with it, b) it's only like 40000 words or so; thus, it's not that long--only 4.5 hours or something like that, and c) the punctuation (or lack of it) can turn some people off. Read it on audiobook the first time. Trust me, you'll want to read it again, by which point you'll not notice the lack of quotation marks in most of the book (okay, maybe you will, but hopefully you won't care).

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin (Josh Berk)

When Will Halpin transfers from his all-deaf school into a mainstream Pennsylvania high school, he faces discrimination and bullying, but still manages to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a popular football player in his class.

You wouldn't think murder would be funny (of course, you probably would), but this book makes it so. It was really...okay, by now you've sensed a pattern. ALL these books are awesome, but it's the kind of awesome that makes it extremely hard to review. Yay.

The Less-Dead (April Lurie)

Sixteen-year-old Noah Nordstrom, whose father is the host of a popular evangelical Christian radio program, believes that the person who has been killing gay teenagers in the Austin, Texas, foster care system, is a regular caller on his dad's show. Includes bibliographical references.

Best. Suspense. Ever. (Well, except for The Shining, but that's no contest.) This is one of those intensely readable books that you can finish in, like, five hours (well, I did at any rate). A really great book.

Split (Swati Avasthi)

A teenaged boy thrown out of his house by his abusive father goes to live with his older brother, who ran away from home years ago to escape the abuse.

This is one of those books that once you get into the second chapter or so it's extremely hard to put down. Swati Avasthi has managed to make this not just an issue book but just a book that so happens to be completely freaking awesome.

American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang)

Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format. The 2007 Michael L. Printz Award winner.

There are some people who don't like graphic novels and 'visual' books. I recommend this one to them too due to the fact that its sheer awesome makes it impossible to pass up.

And so on, and so forth.

Haven't posted in a while...

2010-05-07T20:57:00.001-07:00

Okay.

So I haven't posted in a while, but I have been doing a lot lately. I've read tons of awesome books this year, including Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which I wrote and then rewrote and then rewrote and then rewrote and then posted and then rewrote and then rewrote and then commented on and then rewrote and then rewrote and then rewrote a review of until finally I just had to delete it (lesson learned: FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE SO NOT EVERYTHING!), so I definitely recommend it, one of the best books I've read all year, AMAZING!

Additionally, this (look to your left) has to be the best debut novel this year. Hands down. Even more so than Before I Fall, which I admittedly loved tons and TONS and you should definitely read it. But I swear, this one is VERY epic.

The Sky Is Everywhere is about a girl named Lennie whose sister dies of an arrhythmia and how she copes with that, romantic struggles, and just figuring out who she and everyone around her is. IT'S AMAZING. The writing is clear, beautiful, earth-shaking, and intensely quotable. BEST DEBUT THIS YEAR. Notably, Lennie plays clarinet, which makes her even more awesome.

Other reviews...

As longtime readers know, I am a huge Deb Caletti fan and was very excited for her new novel, The Six Rules of Maybe. It didn't disappoint--takes a well-deserved spot as my fourth favorite Caletti novel (after Indigo Skye, Secret Life and Wild Roses, commonly known by me only as The Untouchable Three). For all you other Caletti fans reading this, she has a new book coming probably 2011 called Stay:

Also, the Readers Choice contest kind of fizzled out due to my epically failing and losing interest...sorry...

Well!

In other news, there are TONS of epic new books coming May and June. Rounding out May 1 is Matthew Quick's Sorta Like a Rock Star, which, aside from being the only YA contemporary from Little, Brown for the first six months of the year, is hilarious, sad, funny, and hopeful, or so I am told. Susane Colasanti released a new book this week, Something Like Fate, which is about the same thing as The Unwritten Rule. I look forward to comparing the two. :) From DIAL, the epic people who brought you The Sky is Everywhere, The Vast Fields of Ordinary, My Most Excellent Year, Willow, and Impossible, come two more epic books: God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein and A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner. One's May and the other's June, I believe. There's this one I just found out about called The Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin that sounds really interesting (pubs June 15 from Hyperion); a verse book called After the Kiss from Pure author Terra Elan McVoy (two words: SECOND PERSON!!! And it doesn't seem cheesy!!!) that I read six pages of on Amazon and was hooked on; The View from the Top by Hilary Frank, who is one of those authors I Always Meant To Read But Never Had The Time To (now's my chance, I guess)...anyways, it sounds positively delicious, for lack of a better phrase; and finally, THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES! by Kristina McBride, which I have been waiting for FOR FOREVER. It sounds awesome!

Of course there are still books from Jan and Feb I still haven't gotten my hands on, but come on. DIAL! SUSANE COLASANTI! OPPOSITES! Who can resist the allure?

Viewer's Choice

2010-03-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am bored. And when I'm bored I do things like this:

I have a list of my twenty favorite books of all time. What I want you to do, semi-dedicated reader, is have you choose which one you think is best. I'll be putting them up four at a time and you can vote for your favorite of those and then I'll move on to the next part at the start of May. Round one begins today and ends April 2 around 10:00.

The books are:

GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray

AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen

After a bit of debating with myself I decided you can only vote once (sorry). Hopefully this will be more interesting than if, say, I decided, because that would be boring. Have fun!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Imbecilic Book Blogger/Psycho Type Person

OOPS I FORGOT

2010-03-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

Notable things I forgot:

WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON. This April 6. If you are a John Green fan and haven't heard of it AMAZON IT NOW./INDIEBOUND IT NOW. It is epic. I read excerpts. Trust me.

THE SIX RULES OF MAYBE. As of 56 minutes ago it is out. :D :D :D Already ordered it off Walmart.com (long story.) CANNOT WAIT!

THE UNWRITTEN RULE is also out, though I have already been reading it on Pulse It and trust me it is THE EPIC.

All 3 of these are THINGS YOU SHOULD BUY THAT ARE BOOKS.

Plus if you want a larf go here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/11/the-13-funniest-help-want_n_493654.html?alacarte=1#s72942

OKAY, END POST FOR REAL.

Lots to Do

2010-03-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

There is lots to share with you today, blog reader, and so I shall divide this post into several parts.

PART 1: The Reorganization

Exactly what it sounds like.

I am creating a new way of rating books. I call it 'The Report Card system.' Basically the way it works is...
Well, let me show you. As an example we'll use the always reliable Paper Towns.

REPORT CARD FOR PAPER TOWNS

ORIGINALITY: 9/10
ENDING: 9/10
VOICE: 10/10
CHARACTERIZATION/CHARACTERS: 10/10
PLOT: 10/10
ENJOYED?: 15/15
OVERALL THEME: 5/5
IMAGERY: 10/10
STYLE: 10/10
TONE: 5/5
TOTAL: 98/100 * A+ * OUTSTANDING NOVEL CITATION

Pretty simple. When a book gets a 95 or higher it recieves an Outstanding Novel Citation. I will keep all the ONCs in the sidebar.
And here we go...

PART 2
The Book Review

Today's review is of SCARLETT FEVER by Maureen Johnson, AKA, 'You Say Madcap Like It's A Bad Thing.'

SCARLETT FEVER by Maureen Johnson
Point/Feb 1 2010/352 pages
WAY TOO LAZY to get a link...go B&N/indies!...hint, hint...
SUMMARY:...do we really need to get into this? I mean, blogger won't let me paste so I have to type the crapping thing out every. single. time. Oh well, what I do for you all...

OKAY, HERE'S THE SUMMARY: Ever since Mrs. Amberson, the former-aspiring-actress-turned-agent, entered Scarlett Martin's life, nothing has been the same. She's still in charge of the Empire Suite in her family's hotel, but now she's also Mrs. Amberson's assistant, running around town for her star client, Chelsea--a Broadway star Scarlett's age with a knack for making her feel insignificant. Scarlett's also trying to juggle sophomore year classes, her lab partner who is being just a little TOO nice, and getting over the boy who broke her heart. In the midst of all this, her parents drop a bombshell that threatens to change her New York life forever...

THE REVIEW: Loved it. Do I really need to say more?

Apparently so. Gah.

Okay. So Scarlett's back. Loved her in Suite Scarlett, which was 353 pages of FUN and AWESOME. And strangely enough, when I sat down to write this review, I noticed one thing...I honestly couldn't compare them. They just seemed so different, despite the fact that they were both technically similar. I guess the thing is that Suite was pretty light, more so than many of MJs books. Okay, that's a lie. It was light, but not excessively so. But compared to Fever it was.
Am I making any sense? Thought not.

Hoo boy. Here we go...*MILD SPOILERS*

Scarlett Fever was great. Loved the characters. Wanted to kill Max in all the right places. The book was a gem. But when I finished i went over to my shelf and got out Bermudez Triangle, another MJ book. And that's what made me realize what SF was missing. Something that 13...Envelopes, Firebird and Suite all had, and Devilish to a point. And you know what that is? No. Because I don't either. But if I had to personify it I'd say it was kind of a spark. There was something that Fever was slightly lacking that most of MJ's other books had.

BUT FORGET MY RAMBLINGS. SF is great and MJ is brilliant. Read it. SRSLY.

And now for the report card...
*dumdumdum*

REPORT CARD FOR SCARLETT FEVER

ORIGINALITY: 9/10
ENDING: 8/10
VOICE: 9/10
CHARACTERS: 10/10
PLOT: 9/10
ENJOYED?: 14/15
THEME: 5/5
IMAGERY: 9/10
STYLE: 10/10
TONE: 5/5
COVER: 4/5
TOTAL: 92/100
A

And that's that. :D...backs away slowly...

Okay, then, fine. On to the next part.

AN AWARD.

Recently I was notified that I was a recipient of the 'One Lovely Blog Award.' Notably this is interesting and it merely appears to be a chainlettery meme that basically means I will have to find a bunch of other book bloggers to give the award to. Since it is 12:45 AM I am not up to it now but hopefully it will be addressed in an upcoming post. To the bequeather-on-me, a Non-Sarcastic 'Thanks!' :)

NEXT PART: POSSIBLE VIDEO BLOG
Notable is that there is a POSSIBLE VIDEO BLOG in the works. Stay tuned!

End post.

Elizabeth Scott

2010-02-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of favorite authors. Like, twenty: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Dessen, Jaclyn Moriarty, Lauren Myracle, Suzanne Collins, Melina Marchetta, and , to name a (many) few. If you personally have a favorite author, then you'll know that if they release a book every few years or even every other year, it can be torturous waiting. Even one a year is sometimes too much. This is one of the reasons why I first discovered Elizabeth Scott. A book review blogger noted that she writes a LOT of books, all of them good. I didn't start reading them until November, though, for some reason, when I read Something, Maybe. Readers of this blog will know that I enjoyed it greatly, and since I've read two of her other books, Love You Hate You Miss You and Living Dead Girl, and am currently reading Stealing Heaven and Perfect You. It is thus jaw-droppingly awesome that she is publishing 3 books this year, because I really like her work. Anyways, so this post is basically about her work.

It comes to you in 3 parts:

1. Love You Hate You Miss You

Today's review is Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott.

Get this, I'm supposed to be starting a journal about 'my journey.' Please. I can see it now: Dear Diary, As I'm set adrift on this crazy sea called "life," I like to think of an inspirational poem I heard not long ago... I don't think so.

LOVE YOU HATE YOU MISS YOU by Elizabeth Scott

2009, HarperTeen, 288p

buy at your local bookshoppes or at THE BIG A (link not provided, as I'm trying to break my Amazon addiction)

Notable awards: BBYA

Notable books by the author: Living Dead Girl; Stealing Heaven; Bloom; Something, Maybe; Perfect You

Summary: It's been 75 days. Amy's sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her. And she's really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia's gone now, and she doesn't want to talk about it. They wouldn't get it, anyway. They wouldn't understand what it feels like to have your best friend ripped away from you. They wouldn't understand what it feels like to know it's your fault. Amy's shrink thinks it would help to start a diary. Instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia. But as she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past wasn't as perfect as she thought it was--and the present deserves a chance too.

Review *mild spoilers*: LYHYMY was my 3rd Elizabeth Scott book, after Something, Maybe and Living Dead Girl. Those first two are, of course, vastly different, and I suppose that's why I wasn't certain what to expect from this one. After reading, I can say that it's quite close to the middle of the spectrum, because while definitely closer to the Living Dead Girl side, it doesn't get close. I mean, there's hope, you know? LHG was kind of...bleak...to say the least. Though it was good. But this isn't a LHG review in any case, so I digress.

I really liked this one. I only review books I like, it seems, partly because if I don't like a book I generally just don't finish it. You have no idea how many books fall through the cracks because a) they just don't interest me or b) they're terrible. [Hint: I check out maybe 10-15 books every time I go to the library, and I finish maybe seven to nine.] But I really did. Elizabeth Scott is an amazing writer, and I especially love the way she works delineation like a slave driver. Her characterization is eerily spot-on. The people in Amy's school could've been people from my school. Hell, during the scenes in classroom, I could picture them taking place in my English and Science classrooms, that's how real her characters are. Amy's wryly sardonic voice is strangely moving, and it's heartbreaking to read about how she blames herself for something that's not really her fault. The letters to Julia were alive with Amy's anguish and pain, and the way she blames herself for the accident is so freaking sad. The secondary characters were just as vivid, and though I would've liked to see Beth get hers, hopefully by MURDER, the ending was great.

Verdict: Painful, stark, yet ultimately hopeful, Love You Hate You Miss You is an amazing book in the vein of John Green's Looking for Alaska

Rating: 10.

Thoughts on the cover.

2.

On that note, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE UNWRITTEN RULE!

The Unwritten Rule is Elizabeth Scott's upcoming novel (March 16 from Simon Pulse) about a girl who likes her best friend's boyfriend. It's an intriguing premise, to say the least, and it's Elizabeth Scott. Who, if you haven't yet gotten it from my post, is amazing.

STUFF ABOUT THE UNWRITTEN RULE:

Here's a link to the info page: HERE

Additionally, you may want to visit Readergirlz, where Elizabeth is author in residence. I generally don't visit there much, but you might find it intriguing.

3. Mockingjay

This part isn't about ES, but it is about THG, a completely unrelated acronym.

If you haven't heard yet, it has been announced that the 3rd hunger games book will be called Mockingjay. Cover art and more info HERE.

Printzy Stuff

2010-01-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

So, publishing nerd that I am, I actually got up at, like, 6 AM to see the 2010 ALA Youth Media Awards. This is basically all that good stuff: Caldecott, William C. Morris, Newbery, Pura Belpre, Printz, etc. I was most excited about the Printz, of course, but the others interested me too.

Anyways, so, if you haven't heard yet, here's some of the highlights

As predicted by absolutely freaking everyone, When You Reach Me won a richly deserved John Newbery Medal. I'm currently reading it right now, and yes. It so deserves it.

The Lion and the Mouse wins a Caldecott. Another WYRM, that pretty much everyone knew it. Even me, though I just jumped on the bandwagon, since I haven't read it.

Flash Burnout won the William C. Morris Award for best debut YA, further cementing my knowledge that I HAVE TO READ IT.

Marcelo in the Real World was my prediction for Printz, and Going Bovine, Wintergirls, North of Beautiful, and an undisclosed book I haven't read yet and just put on there because like 4 people said it probably would get honor (Fire) for Honor. However, it didn't win. Instead, the winner was the ever-growing-in-popularity-in-my-own-mind...meaning I like it a billion times more the farther away I get from Dec 30...

GOING BOVINE!!!!
I was so freaking ecstatic when I heard about this. Mainly because the Printz Honor Books consisted of:
One nonfiction book (Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith),
One book I'd never heard of (Punkzilla),
One book I had heard of but didn't plan on reading for a few months, if then (The Monstrumologist) ,
and one book I started reading but didn't have time, it being five hundred plus pages (I'm assuming it's obvious--Tales of the Madman Underground).
So yeah. There I was, ready to hear that MITRW won, and they were all like (I watched the live webcast--yay me), "Going Bovine" by Libba Bray.
Me:
EEE
Or something like that.

So, yeah, it turns out you can trust The Printz to bring you #theawesome in YA literature:

Looking for Alaska
Jellicoe Road

and now

Going Bovine.

Not to mention the scores of yummish honor books

(

Speak much?)

that are also awesome.

But yeah. So there is much to do today, and I must retire from my Printzy duties. Have a great MLK day!

2009 Reading Overview

2009-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

So, today is the last day of the year--and, as a matter of fact, the decade. Since I could barely read at the start of this decade, I don't think I'll be doing a Best Books of the Decade list, but a Best Books of 09 couldn't hurt. Basically, this is the post where I make up for the fact that I rarely ever blog by going through a bunch of books and giving them REALLY SHORT REVIEWS a la Robin Ellen. [Minor spoilers for some books.] Here goes:

IF I STAY by Gayle Forman: This was a book I always promised to review but never did because I was lazy like that. So, here goes. A teenage girl named Mia is the sole survivor of a car accident and must decide whether to stay on Earth or go be with her family...wherever they are. This book was excellent, wonderfully crafted, witty, wise, darkly funny, beautiful. Rating: 9.
THE PRINCESS DIARIES series by Meg Cabot. I read all ten books of this series in like a month. Here's what I have to say: Wow. EXTREMELY FUNNY, like, really. Above average writing, maybe 7.5-8, but really freaking hilarious. This was just a really fun series to read and I would reccomend it highly if you're looking for a lot of light-yet-occasionally-deep books to read one after another. Note: Nothing like the movie. This is a good thing. Overall series rating: 9.
AFTER by Amy Efaw. Devon, a straight-A student and awesome soccer player, is unable to accept that she is pregnant, so when she gives birth, she throws the baby in a trash can. This book was pretty good. I liked Devon a lot, and that was really the saving grace of the novel in some parts. The writing was maybe 7.5 quality, and while I wouldn't award any *BEST BOOKS OF 09* awards to this one, I liked reading it and everything. Reccomended to fans of Sarah Dessen looking for something a little bit darker. Rating: 8.
LISA, BRIGHT AND DARK by John Neufeld. Lisa, a popular, pretty high school student, begins to go crazy, and her friends are the only ones who believe her. I admit it--if this book had been long I wouldn't have read it. At 143 pages or so it's a quick read, though, so I gave it a try. Finished it in a few hours, and the biggest problem with it is that it was published in 1969 so it's extremely dated. I could stand it, but sometimes it just dragged. The writing was pretty good, though, and I liked the MC, despite the fact that she was extremely whiny at times. The slang, by the way? WTF. Rating: 6.
NOTES ON A NEAR-LIFE EXPERIENCE by Olivia Birdsall. I read this book back in April or so, and I don't remember some of the littler details, but basically it was about a girl named Mia whose parents get divorced, thus sparking her life falling apart. A quick, thoughtful, slightly fluffy read with a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, but it sadly sinks into the background a bit if you read something 10-rated after it. Enjoyable, though. Rating: 7.5.
THE MARKET/THE TAKER by J.M. Steele. In THE MARKET three high school students discover that the guys at their school have a stock marketesque system of 'ranking' the girls at their school, so they attempt to raise one of them to the top to 'beat the system.' A light read, I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed THE TAKER, which was about a girl who tanks her SATs and hires someone to take it for her. Both are light, yet have convincingly portrayed characters, THE MARKET more so, but THE TAKER is definitely a page-turner (finished in a school day), so there you have it. MARKET-7. TAKER- 7.5.
BURGER WUSS by M.T. Anderson. Hard to explain, but this book's about a kid who works for a burger chain and, like, accidentally starts a war with a rival chain over a girl or something. Good, with realistic characters, but honestly, the plot is confusing, hard to follow, and honestly not that gripping. While I'll probably read more of this author's work in the future, this probably wasn't his best. Not by a long shot. Rating: 6.5.
AS YOU WISH by Jackson Pearce. A girl whose boyfriend dumped her when he realized he was gay wants to belong, but she's reluctant to wish for it when a 'jinn' (read: genie) appears to grant her wishes. A fun, quick read with BIG TEXT ON THE PAGE that makes you think about friendship, belonging, love, all that good stuff. I liked the characters, with their not-stereotypeness and their believability, and the MC is someone you genuinely want to have a happy ending. Believability is stretched at a couple points in the novel, but what do you expect? It's fantasy! Rating: 8.
SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr. Jennifer--now Jenna--has put the past behind her, but when her former best friend returns, how will she deal with it? Great. I've read this and Once Was Lost, and though I liked OWL better, this is by no means 'bad' or even close. A great twist on YA chick lit by an AMAZING author, I was reading maybe 20 books while reading this one, but I couldn't put this one down. Rating: 8.
BOY TOY by Barry Lyga redux. I have decided to rerank this one in light of my horrible review of it earlier. Rating: 7.75--oh, what the hell, 8. There you go. The RATING IT DESERVES. ;)
SOMETHING, MAYBE by Elizabeth Scott. Hannah's parents are both sex icons, and they both make her life miserable. Shitty summary to a great book. I've only read this one of Elizabeth Scott's works so far, but I loved it and have Living Dead Girl and Stealing Heaven lined up for 2010 already. I LOVED IT SO MUCH YES AMAZING. Hannah was a kickass protag, and the emotions this book has rise up inside you are VARIED AND AWESOME. A CAPSLOCK AWESOME BOOK THAT DEFIES RULES OF EXPLANATION. Rating: 8.5.
PANTS ON FIRE by Meg Cabot. Similar to Sweethearts--in fact, very similar. Not as well-written, but the plot was captivating enough and I liked the MC. Rating: 7.
WILD ROSES by Deb Caletti. Cassie's life took a turn for the abnormal when her mother married Dino Cavalli, a crazy world-famous violinist, and now, with his much-awaited comeback concert on the horizon and a growing romance with his first-ever student, she wonders if things can ever be normal again. Deb is one of my favorite authors, and this was a hilarious and thought-provoking look into madness, love, family, and...yeah, madness, love and family. Seriously, though, I laughed out loud SO MANY TIMES while reading this book. Beautifully written. Rating: 8.5.
LEAP DAY by Wendy Mass. Josie, whose birthday is today, February 29th, has always wanted to know what other people are thinking--which you get to do. I liked the writing style and the overall plot, which was extremely compelling. The story moves fast and furiously, and the characters are so wonderfully drawn you wish you knew them. Small glances into the characters' futures are original and occasionally tragic, and the eventual ending is hilariously bittersweet (more on the sweet side). Fans of Susan Juby and Maureen Johnson, this is for you. Rating: 8.
DEVILISH by Maureen Johnson. Another of my favorite authors, this was a hilarious book about a girl who discovers a demon attends her Catholic school. Not her best, but oddly compelling and hilarious. Even the nuns were funny, sort of. Rating: 7.5.
THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD by Maureen Johnson. After the sudden death of their father, three sisters find themselves growing apart. THIS WAS AMAZING. As usual, MJ's characterization was spot-on, and the feelings of loss, love, lust and longing were captured with extreme vividness. One of her best. Rating: 8.5.
TMI by Sarah Quigley. Becca is the queen of overshare, but after her boyfriend breaks up with her for a TMI moment, she decides she must restrict her spilling-of-the-beans to a blog...You can guess what happens next. This is actually a kind of original idea, sort of, or at least in its execution. I liked the characters, especially Becca, and I found myself screaming DON'T DO IT! several times during this novel. Rating: 7.75.
GOY CRAZY by Melissa Schorr. Rachel, a Jewish NYC teen, deals with issues about her faith (most notably the fact that her parents won't approve of her Catholic boyfriend) during her sophomore year. This was a really interesting book, and also uproariously funny at times. Rachel was a believable character, and the ending, though a little expected, fit with the book's tone. Rating: 7.5.
YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME by Rachel Cohn. After the suicide of her cousin/former best friend, Miles deals by smoking, taking drugs, and wallowing in guilt, among other things. This was a great book. First Cohn novel I'd ever read, but I instantly wanted to read more (like VERY LEFREAK, one of the most anticipated books by me of 2010) of her work. Miles' anguish was real and painful, and the DC statehood subplot was well done. Great plotting and strangely 3D characters sets this novel apart. Rating: 8.
DROP by Lisa Papademetriou. Three Las Vegas teens find themselves drawn to the high-stakes world of gambling. A great book, but I'm trying not to let the ending get in the way like I did with BOY TOY and like I will do later. Characters--Check. Plotting--Check. Dialogue--Check. Writing--Check. Ending--WTF? It seemed just thrown in so the author could finish and go on to the next SHINY idea. Really, Lisa Papademetriou? I expected better. An amazing book nonetheless. Rating: 8.
SAVING FRANCESCA by Melina Marchetta. Francesca's vivacious mother suddenly becomes depressed, leaving Francesca with no one to turn to for 'support.' My first thoughts upon reading this novel: Wow. Melina Marchetta's done it again. This is a wonderfully written novel, wise and funny and gripping and just everything a Melina Marchetta novel generally is. Wow, is all I have to say. Wow. Rating: 8.5
EVERYTHING IS FINE. by Ann Dee Ellis. Mazzy's mom won't get out of bed, but she still maintains everything is fine. This one barely misses out on the Top Books of 09 list, but trust me it's amazing. Heart-wrenching, with beautiful, almost poetic prose, this short novel's a pageturner. Rating: 8.75.
ONCE WAS LOST by Sara Zarr. Samara's faith begins to slowly unravel after her mother is arrested for a DUI and a 13-year-old girl from her church is kidnapped. Another one that barely missed the list, Zarr's prose is endlessly wonderful, with a plot that works and characterization that is seamlessly melded with it. Definitely her best so far, though I've only read 2 of the 3. Must get to Story of a Girl next year... Rating: 8.75.

More great books to read that I read this year:

anything by SUSANE COLASANTI or SARAH DESSEN (I've read everything by both of them)
Th1rteen R3asons Why by JAY ASHER
13 Little Blue Envelopes by MAUREEN JOHNSON
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by DEB CALETTI
Bliss, TTYL, TTFN, and L8R, G8R by LAUREN MYRACLE
That Book I Forget It's Title...Shit. I think it's by...crap. I fail.
Absolute Brightness by JAMES LECESNE
Fancy White Trash by MARJETTA GEERLING
If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by GENNIFER CHOLDENKO (some may say it's not YA, but read it anyway)
Hero by PERRY MOORE
Geography Club by BRENT HARTINGER
Lemonade Mouth by MARK PETER HUGHES
Poison Ivy by AMY GOLDMAN KOSS (again, more middle-grade than YA, but it's still good)
This Is What I Did: by ANN DEE ELLIS
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by SHERMAN ALEXIE
Anything by LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON (Except Twisted, which I haven't read yet, but I'm sure it's still great)

Okay, that's that. Now, it's time for the big list...

TOP BOOKS OF 2009!

There are actually two lists: The Best Books Released This Year and Best Books I Read This Year. The Best Books I Read This Year are books from 2008 and before--combine them and you get the full BEST BOOKS of 09 list. When I figured out that this year was 1 of the best years for books ever, I came up with this format, by the way--so I'm not discriminating towards 09 books. Not really.

Here goes:

BEST BOOKS RELEASED THIS YEAR

LIAR by Justine Larbalestier. I gave this one a 10, right? I think so. Anyways, yeah. It was great.
ALONG FOR THE RIDE by Sarah Dessen. I believe I gave this one a 9. A well deserved 9 for sure.
WAITING FOR YOU by Susane Colasanti. Marisa's trying to get popular Derek to notice her amidst family struggles and struggles with former anxiety disorder. I loved this book. Maybe not the most original book ever, and not as good as TAKE ME THERE, but I loved it anyway. Marisa was one of the top 10 protags of the year, despite her flaws and her tendency to obsess over guys like 90 percent of female YA MCs, but I liked that she was a realistic character who'd discovered a way to live with anxiety disorder. As with all of Susane's books, highly reccomended. Rating: 9.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PRINCE CHARMING by Deb Caletti. Quinn's female relatives have always told her that men are no good, and when her boyfriend breaks up with her and her father's shocking secret is revealed, she wonders if maybe they weren't so wrong after all. This is a great book, funny, thoughtful and provocative (which is to say thought-provoking, but I use that word way too much, so I split it up into two parts), and one I'd highly reccomend. Fans of Elizabeth Scott and Sarah Dessen who haven't yet read Deb Caletti's books should def. pick this one up. Rating: 9.
FOREVER PRINCESS by Meg Cabot. This is definitely the best of the Princess Diaries series. While some people may be deterred by the length, most die-hard PD fans won't care--and will most likely rip through it in a matter of hours. Rating: 9.
DONUT DAYS by Lara Zielin. Emma's pastor parents want her to go to a Christian college, but Emma wants to study journalism--so she's determined to write the best article on the Crispy Dream donut campout this weekend. DONUT DAYS is funny, the quintessenial light-yet-deep read, but with a couple surprises inside. Zielin's fresh voice will captivate readers and have them flipping the 246 pages to the heartwarming, bittersweet end. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Plus, it made me want donuts. Mmm, donuts... Rating: 9.
GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray. Don't get me wrong, I love Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Elizabeth Scott, and Justina Chen Headley just as much as the next person (as evidenced in the above and below posts), but sometimes I so miss having male protags in books. Not being female myself, I find them easier to relate to. Sort of. Anyways, when I heard Libba Bray was writing a new book with a guy for an MC, I HAD TO HAVE IT. And GOING BOVINE was great. But like DROP and BOY TOY, the ending changed things. It wasn't bad or disappointing. It was just confusing. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for both GOING BOVINE and, strangely, Justine Larbalestier's LIAR.
...
...
Okay, resume the GOING BOVINE post. I loved the book, but the ending confused me. I got how it was supposed to be all Schroedinger's (spelling?) cat, two realities and all, but I STILL DIDN'T GET IT. You see, I love unreliable narrator books as much as the next person, like LIAR, but this book was different. With LIAR I got that really there was only 1 truth, it was just that Micah may not have told it to you. With GOING BOVINE, though, the theory was that there were TWO truths, which just didn't add up to me. After hours and days of thinking, though, I got it. And now I'm sort of satisfied. I gotta say, though, three more spoilery things: 1) WHAT HAPPENED TO GONZO? I can forgive Libba Bray for the ending, since it made sense. But WHAT HAPPENED TO GONZO? Making me like characters and then just having them disappear is so not cool. You're still the funniest human being ever. But WHAT HAPPENED TO GONZO? I will so not rest till I find out. 2) The last scene in the second-to-last chapter? At first I didn't get it. Then I did, and I seriously almost cried. I've only cried twice while reading, once with THE HUNGER GAMES and once with...I forget which book. Crap. Anyways, the scene at the end of the 2nd to last chapter, p 476-7, was seriously wrenching. And 3) I think this is actually better than A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY, really, despite the ending. Which reminds me, I have to read REBEL ANGELS/A SWEET FAR THING next year...Yay. (not really being sarcastic)
...
...
Okay, so end spoilers. Rating: 9.
NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL by Justina Chen Headley. Terra can't wait to escape her smothering existence in her small Washington town, so when she meets Jacob, she's intrigued by his slightly-nomadic-except-not-really Seattle existence. (Again, a really shitty summary.) A great book, amazing characters...just overall awesome. (You can see I'm delving into generalization here. God, this post has taken a long time.) AMOXING. Rating: 9
CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins. This and the Hunger Games? Epic. Rating: 9
FAT CAT by Robin Brande. Cat's a great person--funny and smart--but she's fat, which she hates, so she decides to try and lose some weight. Cat is without a doubt my favorite non-Micah female protag this year (sorry, Katniss, Marisa, Destiny, Carly, Indigo, etc.). She's just really sincere about her love of science, and even if you're a writing geek like me you can't help but get swept up in her enthusiasm. Everything about this book is just perfectly melded together. Ultimately, FAT CAT is why I read--for a book that's both funny, thoughtful, wise, and has lots of food. Rating: 9.5.
THE MILES BETWEEN by Mary E. Pearson. Destiny always keeps a distance between herself and her fellow students, but when she goes on a road trip w/ three other students, she is able to finally disclose a painful childhood secret. THE MILES BETWEEN was amazing. Genres blending, prose styles melding, torn characters mending--wow. I love road trip novels, and this has to be one of my favorites I've ever read. Destiny was a great protag, and the two things I've heard about most against this novel--I can't say one because of spoilers, but the other one was the heavy emphasis on coincidence, which, along with friendship, forgiveness, family and love, was what this novel was basically about--hardly mattered to me once I reached the end. I loved this book. A lot. I know I say that a lot, but with THE MILES BETWEEN I really mean it. Let it take a space on the shelf next to LIAR and LOOKING FOR ALASKA, THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE and JELLICOE ROAD. It's just that good. Rating: 10.
WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson. WINTERGIRLS chronicles Lia's struggles with two things--anorexia and the death of her best friend Cassie from the disease. It's haunting, gripping, and realistically portrayed. It's not light. It's not fun. It's not really enjoyable. But you have to read it. You have to, not just because you want to know what happens to Lia at the end, but because the book is just so gripping you can't let go. Takes 'thought-provoking' 'disturbing' and 'stark' to a whole new level. Rating: 10.

Now here goes for the Best non-09 books this year:

LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green. Miles "Pudge" Halter goes to a boarding school in Alabama and makes friends and then something happens. This is without a doubt THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ THIS YEAR. Seriously. WOW. Emotionally haunting, darkly funny, frighteningly (almost) realistic, LOOKING FOR ALASKA has def. earned its spot as my FAVORITE BOOK EVER. It's...wow. Rating: 10.
AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES and PAPER TOWNS by John Green. More amazingness from John Green, but funnier. I'm sure you've heard about them before, so I'll keep this short. Rating for both: 10.
JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta. I've done a post on this one before, so let me just say if you haven't read it yet it's AMAZING. Rating: 10.
THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE by Maureen Johnson. This blog's former namesake, the second novel of the extremely talented Johnson is awash with characterization, hilarity, sorrow, anguish, and awesome. A review has been written but in case you forgot since that was back in, like, April, it was great. Rating: 10. (I think I gave it a 9 earlier, but it deserves this.)
M OR F? by Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbetts. The writing is maybe 7.5-8 in this book, but it's seriously funny. I love how THE STEREOTYPE IS FREAKING SAT ON BY JABBA THE HUT, plus it's, like, a hotbed for quoting. On the lighter side, but def. a worthwhile read. Rating: 9.
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. Haven't yet reviewed it, but most of you prob. get the gist. Prequel to CATCHING FIRE. Rating: 9.
JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen. Annabel's friends are ignoring her because they think she did something she didn't, but she finds a kindred spirit in loner Owen. Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and this is definitely my favorite of her books. Hopeful, thoughtful, and romantic, YOU HAVE TO READ IT. Rating: 9.5.
SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. You've all heard about it. I finally got to it this year, and...wow. I've read it maybe twenty times since then. Rating: 10.
THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE by Deb Caletti. This was my first Deb Caletti book and ultimately her best. You might think, "Whoa, that sounds unrealistic," but she handles it so realistically, so lovingly, that you can't help but be drawn in. Character delineation is subtle yet wonderfully crafted, and Indigo is one of my fav protags ever. Amazing. Rating: 10.
AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway. Audrey becomes famous after her ex-boyfriend records a song about her. This was a really fun book. The mark of a great book, it's been said, is that one can't put it down. Personally, the mark of an AMAZING book to me is that I have to put it down because I don't want it to end, but this book, most of which I read in a few hours, was amazing. Audrey's a little whiny, but she's so relatable and so real despite the fact that she's famous that you can't help but like her a lot. Rating: 9.5.
THE MURDER OF BINDY MACKENZIE by Jaclyn Moriarty. Bindy's made enemies w/ everyone at school, but if she's going to solve her murder, she must 1st make FRIENDS. This book was great. I can't say much more. I can, but I seriously have to go somewhere like right now. It's 494 pages but I read it in like 3 days. It's that good. Bindy=another AMAZING PROTAG. Rating: 10.

And that's that. I read a total of 202 books that I can remember this year. I enjoyed many of them, some of them less than others. Some were 10s, some were 6s, some were 1s (I didn't post any 1s this year--must post more 1s next year! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA). But even LISA, BRIGHT AND DARK could be reccomended of these books, I guess.

Next year, of course, I won't be so easygoing. If a book deserves a 9 or a 10 like the ones above, then it'll get it. BUT THERE IS NO WAY SYBIL DESERVES AN 8. Just saying.

There's a lot of new books coming next year, and I'm sure many of you can't wait. I sure can't.

See you next year!

(Now Microwave Safe!)

2009-12-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

The Bermudez Bookshelf, from here on, has changed its name BECAUSE OF COPYRIGHT (ok, not really...). It will now be known as "(Microwave Safe) Book Reviews," but the URL, http://bermudezbookshelf.blogspot.com will stay the same. I apologize for any inconvenience.

J Hernandez

Long Post

2009-11-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

I feel like making a long, well-written, quality post today. This will have to suffice:

I: review one

Today's review is Peace, Love and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle.

PEACE, LOVE AND BABY DUCKS by Lauren Myracle

2009, Dutton Juvenile, 304p

buy

Notable awards: None (yet)

Notable books by the author: Internet Girls series; Winnie Perry series; Kissing Kate

Summary: Growing up in a world of wealth and pastel-tinted entitlement, fifteen-year-old Carly has always relied on the constancy—and authenticity—of her sister, Anna. But when fourteen-year-old Anna turns plastic-perfect-pretty over the course of a single summer, everything starts to change. And there are boys involved, complicating things as boys always do. With warmth, insight, and an unparalleled gift for finding humor even in stormy situations, beloved author Lauren Myracle dives into the tumultuous waters of sisterhood and shows that even very different sisters can learn to help each other stay afloat.

Review: So I'm at Barnes and Noble, right? And I'm looking through the YA section like always. I really want to read Thirteen Reasons Why, but they don't have any copies (!!!), so I'm looking for another book to buy around twenty dollars, because that's all I have to buy books. And then I see some familiar books: the 'ttyl' series and Bliss by Lauren Myracle, all four of which I've read and liked. There's a few other books surrounding it, one of which is Peace, Love and Baby Ducks. I pick it up, and the first thing I notice is that it's a lot longer than Amazon said, which is one reason why I decide to buy it (I resemble fantasy fans in one major aspect: I'm more likely to buy a book depending on how long it is.) I like the concept, too, plus I like Lauren Myracle as an author (the aforementioned Bliss and Internet Girls books rank on my top 100). So I get the book, and I read it. And the thing you most need to know about this book?Peace, Love and Baby Ducks is engrossing. Because I was going to go to the library soon and I had, like, 25 books checked out, I was trying to read six books at once. I was trying to read one chapter of one book, one of another, one of another, and then one of the first, you get the idea, but I kept going back to this one because it was so tautly written, so realistic and hilarious and all those good things that I had to keep going back to it. This is a quality that all Lauren Myracle Books have: I finished the 444-page Bliss in a day, same with ttyl and Kissing Kate. Her books are among the most frequently challenged, but that's because a) book banners are frequently cads, especially YA book banners, and b) she writes about stuff that us teens actually TALK ABOUT. I remember a scene in ttfn, the second Internet Girls book, where the three main characters, Zoe, Angela, and Maddie, are talking about a question one of their classmates asked in health that is kind of dirty. (I won't say what it was, but if you've read ttfn, you probably know what I'm talking about--"Tonnie is a case" should ring a bell.) Well, Peace, Love and Baby Ducks has a few of those, but they're not just put in there for "shock value" like aforementioned cads would have you believe. They're not just mindless smut. This is really what us disgusting teenagers of today think and talk about, and the fact that Myracle knows and presents this realistically is why her books are so popular with both teens and book banners alike. But on to the book itself: Peace, Love and Baby Ducks is about a girl named Carly and her one-year-younger sister Anna and how their relationship changes over a year. There was so much to like about this book: the characters, the story, the writing, the relationship between Anna and Carly. For lack of a better word, I liked the dynamic between the two sisters. Not a) being female or b) having a sister, I wouldn't know what it's like to have one, but you get the feeling from PLB that Myracle does. The secondary characters weren't cardboard, (no teen movie stereotypes here) and Carly's complicated romantic relationship type things were portrayed uber-realistically. Carly herself was a really, really, really, really likable main character, and although she sometimes talked about the hypocrisy and material obsessiveness and printed little whales of everyone around her, she wasn't openly whingeing. Although I couldn't be more different than her, I felt as if I could relate. This is just as amazing as previous Lauren Myracle novels, but it's even better, if that makes any sense.

Thoughts on the cover: I like the cover. Kind of. It's very simple, which I really like about it, and despite the white background, it's eye-catching. I've seen the paperback cover recently (Summer 2010 Penguin Young Readers Group catalog--I am such a nerd), and I have to say, I think I like it better. Sort of. (No image available, because I'm too lazy to do the Powerpoint crop-and-Photobucket thing.) Overall rating: 8.

Verdict: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks is a realistically written, funny, crisp, and witty story about the (l.o.a.b.w.) dynamics of sisterhood, friendship, and family.

Rating: 9

II: What I'm reading.

I have a problem: I READ TOO MUCH. This isn't a problem, you say? Well, you're right, it isn't. So here's the problem: I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO READ ALL THE BOOKS I OBTAIN.

Right now I'm reading:

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier

Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine

Scat by Carl Hiaasen

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

To Be Mona by Kelly Easton

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

Marly's Ghost by David Levithan

and the list goes on and on. That's just an excerpt.

See what I mean?

part 3: next year's books part i

Because I NEVER LEARN MY LESSON, these are some next-year books I really want.

JANUARY

Freefall by Ariela Anhalt

Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn

The Less-Dead by April Lurie

FEBRUARY

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

MARCH

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

APRIL

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

MAY

Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

AUGUST

(warning: big picture)

FALL

Hunger Games series book 3 by Suzanne Collins

and on and on and on.

See what I mean?

LIAR /NEW MOON

2009-11-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

This video comes to you in 2 parts.

I: Liar

Today's review is Liar by Justine Larbalestier.

My father is a liar and so am I.

But I'm going to stop. I have to stop.

I will tell you my story and I will tell it straight. No lies, no omissions.

This time I truly mean it.

LIAR by Justine Larbalestier

2009, Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 384p

buy here

Notable awards: None (yet)

Notable books by the author: How To Ditch Your Fairy, Magic or Madness Series

Summary: Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing? Taking readers deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them—and herself—that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

Review: I told you in a previous post how much I love this book, so feel free to tune this part out if you did, because I can't really tell you anything about Liar other than that it is gripping, fast-paced, original, has a character that is--despite her flaws--completely emotionally investing, and a book that is FREAKING AWESOME without spoiling it. For instance, in the words of Cory Doctorow:

Indeed, if this book has a failing, it's that it's nearly impossible to explain what's so great about it without risking some important spoilers. So you'll just have to trust me -- this is worth the price of admission and then some.

I couldn't have put it more eloquently, mostly because, as is obvious by now, I so don't have a way with words when it comes to book reviews.

Thoughts on the cover (which I just realized I forgot on Boy Toy): This has to be one of my favorite covers. I'm truly quite happy that they changed the Liar cover (if you haven't yet heard of the cover controversy, then click here for a post by the author about it), although some people are a bit iffy on it (Steph Su has an interesting and very well-justified take on the matter here). Overall, though, I love it. Rating on the cover? 9.

Verdict: Liar? It's a top ten pick that will--and I say this at risk of sounding like School Library Journal--grab you from the first page and spit you out 371 pages later, wondering if you even truly know who you are.

Rating: 10

II: NEW MOON

This is where I admit it:

I liked the Twilight series.

...

Still here? Haven't run away in disgust? Good.

Anyways, so yeah, I liked it. Twilight in itself was below subpar, and Eclipse was merely okay (I will not disclose my Breaking Dawn opinion), but New Moon was awesome. You began to see the kind of person Bella really was without Edward, even if her every thought was still tinged with him. I liked the relationship between her and Jacob, what with the "friends" thing and all. I wasn't disappointed when Edward came back, mostly because you knew he would, considering there were two more books and all. Anyways, so New Moon was a top 30 pick and I liked it and the movie comes out in 26.5 hours or so. (Not that I'm counting.) Will probably go see it this weekend,

Hardcover vs. Paperback!

2009-11-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

in which I attempt to decide which of the upcoming paperbacks for 2008/9 hardcover releases I like

thanks to Alea at Pop Culture Junkie for the idea

you rock

PANEL 1:

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Simon and Schuster, April 2009, 336p

Read it: Yes

Hardcover

paperback

I can't decide. Seriously. I mean, I like the paperback better overall, but the Quinn on the hardcover is just...Quinn. You know? (Probably not, especially if you haven't read the book.) The one on the paperback is just not Quinn. At all.

Overall, though, I like the paperback better. But just barely.

AUSTIN TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL

2009-11-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

Sooo...
A week from yesterday I went to the Austin Teen Book Festival in Austin, TX (duh). In one word, it was awesome. I got to meet all the authors I wrote about in the previous post, plus many more. Got to buy JL's Liar (more on her later) and was photographed with the awesomeness Deb Caletti. Libba Bray's keynote speech? Awesome!
So, yeah. It was a lot of fun.
AND I GOT LIAR!
While I was reading Liar, I kind of fell in love with the book, in a creepy, mildly stalkerish way. I started referring to the book by "Micah" instead of Liar (Micah is the MC's name) and carried it everywhere. Eventually, I was obsessed with it. Has anyone ever seen that TV show on Cartoon Network, Ed, Edd n Eddy? (Last good show on CN. The network is dead.) Anyways, if you have, Micah kind of became my Plank, and I vowed to take her everywhere for as long as I could. Creepy? Yes. Good idea? That's up to you.
I have pictures of the ATBF on my camera, which I lost the cord to. I will upload as soon as I can find the cord!

(Be on the lookout for:

Liar review
"The Liar and I" post, which elaborates on me taking Micah/Liar everywhere. Includes pictures!
Going Bovine review
Gimmiques, including Hardcover vs Paperback/I WANT THIS DAMN BOOK!/Quotes on Friday.")

An Unprecedented Turn of Events/Boy Toy/Quotes on Friday/YA Festival

2009-10-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

This blog postcomes to you in four parts (and yeah, I totally stole that line):

PART ONE An Unprecedented Turn of Events

In an unprecedented turn of events that no one saw coming, I actually wrote two blog posts in one week! Hospitals, prepare for stroke patients.

***

******

***

PART TWO Boy Toy

Today's review is Boy Toy by Barry Lyga.

"Lucky thirteen," my dad said when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake, and my mom shot down his lame attempt at humor with a disgusted "Oh, Bill!" But honestly, that's not the important part. Not at all.

BOY TOY by Barry Lyga

2007, Houghton Mifflin Company, 416p

buy here

Notable awards: None I can think of

Notable books by the author: Goth Girl Rising, Hero-Type

Summary: Josh Mendel has a secret. Unfortunately, everyone knows what it is.Five years ago, Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand. But they don’t—they can’t. And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces. First there’s Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. She’s back, and she’s determined to be part of his life, whether he wants her there or not.Then there are college decisions to make, and the toughest baseball game of his life coming up, and a coach who won’t stop pushing Josh all the way to the brink. And then there’s Eve. Her return brings with it all the memories of Josh’s past. It’s time for Josh to face the truth about what happened.If only he knew what the truth was . . .

Review: I was really excited about this book. Seriously. I was so excited to read it. AS soon as I got home from the library I sat down and started reading. And the first 175 or so pages? Amazing. And the next?...

Well, that's the thing. I'm not really so sure about what happened after that. I mean, Boy Toy was fun to read and all, but I don't know. Things didn't turn out the way I thought they would. At all. Not that the way they did turn out was bad, but still.

The book was good, there's no denying it. I liked the plot and really liked the premise. The characters were real and funny and even when I was supposed to hate them, I couldn't. Not even Eve. I don't know if that was what the author intended or not, but that's how I felt about it. In fact, if it wasn't for the ending, this book would've gotten an 8.

But the ending...

It wasn't that the ending was bad or anything. It was just really unsatisfying. I felt that so much more could've been done. The baseball subplot was tied up nicely and effectively, and while I'm sure it wasn't the author's intent, I felt it was the best done of all the plot endings. The others just didn't come together so well. I felt like...well, I felt kind of cheated.

Verdict: Overall, Boy Toy is pretty good. The author uses elements like foreshadowing and past-and-present-tense-switching (I have no idea what the real name for it is) to great acclaim. But really? I felt cheated. And that's never a good thing to feel when you finish a book. But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself and see what you think.

Rating: 6.75

***

******

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PART THREE Quotes on Friday

I don't particularly care how many calories it has, anyway. I love those butterscotch things, and besides, I'm too skinny. My mom says it's nervous energy, and I'm thinking she's right. I've probably burnt the calories I've set on the table just by worrying about the grade I'm going to get on the Faulkner paper I've just turned in.

The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

***

******

***

PART FOUR YA Festival

Excitement is filling the air here at Random High School Gym. Or at least, here in my corner it is. Tommorrow I'm going to Austin, Texas for the Austin Teen Book Festival. Several amazing authors will be there: Libba Bray (author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy and the recent Going Bovine), Justine Larbalestier (author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, How to Ditch Your Fairy, and the recent Liar), and Deb Caletti (author of tonnes of books, including Wild Roses, The Nature of Jade, and the extremely excellent The Fortunes of Indigo Skye. I am extremely excited for this event, which promises to be at least mildly kickass. I plan to get my recently acquired copy of Going Bovine signed by Libba Herself, as well as attend panels, eat food, and do other stuff. I'll tell you how it goes Sunday.

END

Catching Fire

2009-10-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

"In that one slight motion, I see the end of hope, beginning of destruction of everything I hold dear in the world. I cant guess what form my punishment will take, how wide the net will be cast, but when it is finished there most likely be nothing left.So you would think that at this moment, I would be in utter despair."

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins
2009, Scholastic Press, 400p
buy here

Notable awards: None so far

Notable books by the author: The Hunger Games

Summary: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Review: Sometime in March or April of this year, I read The Hunger Games, which, for any YA fan who's taken up residence under a rock, is the first in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins about 24 teenagers who battle to the death on live TV. It may sound kind of stock, but trust me, Collins' brilliant handles on suspense and plotting is not. The Hunger Games was one of the 20 best books I've ever read.

So Catching Fire came out on Sep. 1, and I really wanted to read it except that I was seriously broke, so I put a library hold on it and waited 1.5 months, and finally it came in about two weeks ago. I retrieved it from the library that Saturday, waited until Monday to started reading it (a torturous task), and then eventually started reading it.

I was a little worried before I read it. After all, we've all heard stories about how the second book in a series just doesn't measure up. I'm glad to report, though, that there was none of that here, for me at least. Catching Fire took me three days to read, and while that's nowhere near the fifteen hours it took me to read Hunger Games (sleeping's included in that), it's not because I couldn't get into it. It's just because I was really busy, it being October, a procrastinator's least favorite month. Anyways, CF was excellent. Collins is in top form in this book, ratcheting up the suspense like nobody's business. Katniss was just as...ah, illogical as in the last book, but I couldn't help but like her anyway. I gasped a lot while reading this book, though I don't gasp in real life, and I laughed a lot too (esp. on page 256--ha ha). Some people may feel that CF is a rehash of the events of HG, but I disagree--after all, the main focus wasn't supposed to be the Games, but instead the looming threat of possible rebellions AS NOTED ON THE SUMMARY, SO DON'T SAY I SPOILED YOU.

VERDICT: CF was really, really good. Being a person who can't write book reviews for squat, that's really all I have to say.

Really, really good.

RATING: 9

Thoughts on the cover: The cover gets a 9. Simple, yet effective. It gets the job done.

Note: I know it seems I only review books I like, and I guess that's true now, but trust me, that's going to change. I check out way too many books from the library for me to like them all.

Jellicoe Road (Top Ten Pick!)

2009-09-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

"What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I tell him. More.

JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
2008, HarperTeen, 432p
originally published in 2006 by Penguin Books Australia under the title ON THE JELLICOE ROAD
buy here
Notable awards: Michael L. Printz Award; Cybils 2008 finalist
Notable books by the author: Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca
Summary: Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeenm is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all. In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids w ho lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.
Review: Okay, I have to admit it. I have to be honest here, because if I'm not honest, what good does that do you, the reader? It does you a disservice, in fact. So the truth must be told. I was originally drawn to Jellicoe Road because of--of all things--the cover. Yes, the cover. I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover and all that crap. But I loved it, for some reason. Anyways, so Jellicoe Road was duly checked out and read. I read it in four parts during the summer, each part on four different days. The following is a description of the thoughts in my head as I read this book:
part one (first 100 pages): "Okay, this is pretty good. A little confusing, but good...okay, that makes no sense...(laughs)...this is excellent..."
part two (100-200): "...hah...(laughs)...(silent in awe)...this is just...wow...okay, that was stupid...(You get the idea.)"
part three (up to page 240): "...Oh. My. God....No, really? (laughs)...She's what?...oh, crap...wow...I HAVE to finish this now!..."(I didn't, by the way. I waited until the next day.)
part four (rest of the book): "Wow...what?...that's a shocker...(doesn't talk for thirty minutes while reading)...oh...crap!...ONSD...wow...*cries*...that was amazing."
I didn't really make myself clear there, so I'll do that now: Jellicoe Road was one of the best books I've ever read.
I will go on to repeat myself on that several times, but there you have it: it WAS. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the characters. Taylor was probably one of my favorite protags ever, because I just felt like I could relate to her. The writing itself was amazing. Essentially, the way I knew this book was good was that I wanted to savor it, really savor it. It took me all summer to read this book, because I wanted to make sure that there would always be more of Marchetta's bittersweet prose and heartfelt plotting to come. And although the last 170 pages or so were the best, it's not like the other parts sucked. They were better than 99 percent of the books I read. And I read a lot, so that's saying something. Plus, I cried during one part, which I've only done twice while reading a book, ever. Again, greatness.
Thoughts on the cover: The cover gets an 8, being not as good as I originally thot (although the poppy is, I admit, extremely significant). I much prefer the Australian cover. Still, pretty good.
Verdict: Jellicoe Road is beautifully written and extremely funny--thus it is the seventh best book I've ever read and the best Australian-author book I've ever read (beats out The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, which is impressive, seeing as Bindy used to be in the top 5).
Rating: 10

MAJOR decision about the blog/All We Know of Heaven

2009-08-14T19:16:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I've been thinking, and I've decided something major about this blog.

About fifteen minutes ago I was watching a review video about Gayle Forman's If I Stay (good book, BTW--I think I'll review it next week when I've had the chance to reread it), and I was thinking, "I like how she doesn't only review new books, just the ones she's just read." (I'd watched a few videos by the reviewer in question.) So then I thought, "I wish I could do that." Not only review older books when I read them, but also review books in a way that doesn't have to sound all scripted-School-Library-Journal-Booklist-professional-MBA-type. And then I thought, Well, you do have a blog, where you REVIEW YA BOOKS.

Thus, two major changes:

I will review whatever (YA) book I am reading at the time, and it will probably not be professional. If this bothers you in any way, sorry. (If anyone actually reads this.)

Now on to the review.

All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard

This book is about two girls who have been best friends since grade school, Bridget Flannery and Maureen O'Malley. They are really close and look very much alike. One December night, when they're driving home after cheerleading practice, they get into a horrible accident. Both girls are criticially injured, and one dies on arrival. The other is in critical condition. The girl dead is identified and buried (I can't tell you who's who, because I have a no-spoiler-unless-it's-on-the-book-jacket rule).The dead girl is is mourned, and the community rallies around the other as she eventually wakes up and begins a slow transition back into normal life (and I mean slow).

But the story doesn't end there. One day, a dental specialist comes to the hospital where the alive girl is at and checks her teeth. Everything seems perfectly normal, but as the doctor checks the records against the girl's teeth before the accident, he slowly comes to realize that the hospital has made a horrible mistake...

Basically, I have to say that I really liked this book. Mitchard--who is the author of many bestseller adult novels--tells the story of Bridget and Maureen without sounding boring, blase, repetitive, or extremely cliche. The characters seem real enough that even when they're doing something completely wrong, stupid, mean, or just evil, you understand what they're doing and their reasoning behind it. The dialogue doesn't seem forced, nor does the ending. Basically, this is a book that you really should read. And, like, it's good, and all. Yeah.

Rating: 8

312p

HarperTeen

2008

$16.99 / buy here

TODAY'S QUOTE:

Jamie and Lance arrive at play practice with matching hickeys on their necks. I've never understood the appeal of hickeys. It's like, "Hey, I'm into you, so let me give you a bruise. I'll just latch onto your neck like a leech and suck on your skin until I break enough blood vessels to leave a mark. That way everyone will know just how much I care about you."

from TMI by Sarah Quigley (Dutton, 2009) (will probably be my next review)

Oops, I did it again.../Along For The Ride

2009-08-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Again, I forgot to review. So here is a review of a book that's sort-of new (yeah, you'll have to expect that:)

Along for the Ride

by Sarah Dessen

(I actually wrote this review upon reading the book, but I forgot to post it.)

High school is finally over, and the extremely studious Auden is facing three blank calendar pages before she starts at the prestigious Defriese University. What to do? In an unusual turn of events, she decides to spend the summer with her father, his new wife, and her new baby sister in Colby, a town by the beach. She makes several critical mistakes upon her arrival, most notably hooking up with a random guy and then running into his girlfriend the next morning. This does nothing to help her reputation, by the way. A little while later, she gets a job at her stepmother's boutique. The other girls who work there attempt to interact with her, but believing that they are all just "fluffy and insubstantial," Auden mostly ignores them. Soon enough, however, she finds herself drawn to a strange boy with a bicycle who encourages her to relive her lost childhood. In doing so, she discovers that "being a girl could be about interest rates and skinny jeans, riding bikes and wearing pink. Not about any one thing, but everything."

I've read several of Sarah Dessen's books, and by far this is one of her best. She uses her gifts of pathos and initiative to great affect to create another story that no one will want to end. (I certainly didn't.)

Rating: 9

383p

Viking Juvenile

$19.99

buy here (Amazon.com)

or here (Barnes and Noble.com)

2009-06-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Interested in winning a copy of an ARC of Suzanne Collins' CATCHING FIRE? Just go to Confessions of A Wandering Heart and follow the instructions to enter!

http://confessionsofawanderingheart.blogspot.com/2009/06/contest-win-catching-fire-by-suzanne.html

Bermudez Triangle/ TBB Rules and Regulations.

2009-06-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to THE BERMUDEZ BOOKSHELF. I hope your needs have been met so far. If not, feel semi-free to comment.

Obviously, the first book I should review is Maureen Johnson's THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE (Razorbill, 2005). The reason for this is, well, look at the title of the blog.

So here goes...

(UK cover. Presumably 2005, Puffin.)

Avery Dekker, Melanie "Mel" Forrest, and Nina Bermudez have been best friends for years, and it seems like nothing short of a nuclear bomb could take the "Bermudez Triangle" (name bestowed upon the three now-seniors by a jealous peer back in grade school) out of commission. But one summer, two things happen: Nina goes to precollege across the country for a summer, and Avery and Mel fall in love. When Nina comes back to New York, she notices something's up-but nothing could have prepared her for this.

Will Nina ever come to accept them? (Okay, I have to spoil this one for you: yes.) Will Avery finally come to terms with her sexuality? Will Mel gather the courage to tell her parents? Will Carter (oops, spoiler) ever figure out which of the BT girls he actually likes? And finally, will PJ Mortimer's ever become an actual good restaurant? (Another neccesary spoiler: probably not.) You'll find all the answers to the previous questions (I think) and more when you read Ms. Johnson's excellent sophomore offering, THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE.

Overall rating: Worth all eight hearts on the cover, along with all the ones inside. (Read--excellent.)

(US First Edition, 2005, Razorbill.)

Well, that wasn't too bad, was it? (SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: COMMENT. DON'T FLAME, JUST COMMENT.) Okay, now on to rules. Credit to Karin's Book Nook for some of these ideas, by the way.

Sometimes I will get bored and not post just reviews. I will also do other things. For instance, every Monday I'm going to post some information about a book I really want (hence, Must Have Monday.) Fridays will be quotes (see below for Quotes on Friday), YMR--You Must Read--will be on Wednesday (WYMR), and Sunday will possibly play host to (really crappy) contests. (More on that later.)

For now, enjoy this quote from my fifth-favorite book of all time...

Quotes on Friday

THIS WEEK'S BOOK: Looking for Alaska by John Green

PAGE 64
"I am suffering from the nausea and dizziness typically associated with a mild concussion," I recited. While Takumi went to go get the Eagle and Lara changed pants, I lay on the concrete sidewalk. The Eagle came back with the school nurse, who diagnosed me with --get this--a concussion, and then Takumi drove me to the hospital with Lara riding shotgun. Apparently I lay in the back and slowly repeated the words "The. Symptoms. Generally. Associated. With. Concussion."

Ah, a classic. If you haven't read Alaska, you really should--it's even better than Bermudez Triangle. And that's saying something.

JAH

A site what reviews books....*can't think of a title*

Hmm, I think today's a holiday . . . Suriname Independence Day! *celebrates*

Waiting on Wednesday

I need to review more/Beautiful Creatures

Absolute Whiteness (note: lots of parentheses here)

Giveaway!!!

Giveaway!...by someone else

Say the Word (aka Real! Live! Reviews!)

Challenge Lists

3 Best beach reads

...With a Little Help from the Library of Congress

Haven't posted in a while...

Viewer's Choice

OOPS I FORGOT

Lots to Do

Elizabeth Scott

Printzy Stuff

2009 Reading Overview

(Now Microwave Safe!)

Long Post

LIAR /NEW MOON

Hardcover vs. Paperback!

AUSTIN TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL

An Unprecedented Turn of Events/Boy Toy/Quotes on Friday/YA Festival

Catching Fire

Jellicoe Road (Top Ten Pick!)

MAJOR decision about the blog/All We Know of Heaven

Oops, I did it again.../Along For The Ride

Bermudez Triangle/ TBB Rules and Regulations.

A site what reviews books....can't think of a title

Hmm, I think today's a holiday . . . Suriname Independence Day! celebrates