A site what reviews books....*can't think of a title*
BOOK REVIEWS Reviewing quality young adult literature since 2009. Anything that's anyone else's is theirs -- books, memes, etc. Spammers, go die in a hole. : ) Due to time constraints, I don't do awards. Also, I like Community. http://twitter.com/reprisal41
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Thursday, November 25, 2010
Hmm, I think today's a holiday . . . Suriname Independence Day! *celebrates*
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Waiting on Wednesday
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.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
I need to review more/Beautiful Creatures
(from flap)
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
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
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
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!!!
Writing: 8/10
MC(s): 10/10
Plot: 9/10
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Cover? 5 out of 5 - It's brilliant.
Little, Brown BYR
Bought in person at Barnes and Noble, but read the first 150ish pages in a book from my school library.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Absolute Whiteness (note: lots of parentheses here)
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.
~
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Giveaway!!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
(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.
(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)
Writing: 9/10
MC(s): 10/10
Plot: 9/10
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
Cover? 5 out of 5 - Love it. Seriously. I just . . . love it.
Razorbill
Bought off, sorry, PREORDERED off Amazon.com.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
(from flap)
Review
Writing: 7/10
MC: 3/10
Plot: 5/10
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
Checked out from library.