review: Reckless by Cornelia Funke

pub date: September 14, 2010
publisher: Little Brown Books 
pages:391
appeals: fairy tales, adventure, family
content: some violence and a lot of harsh stuff happens to the protagonists

thoughts:
I listened to this book immediately after reading Cloaked by Alex Flinn. Both books have many fairy tales meshed into one story. Both have contemporary characters dealing with fantasy creatures that they didn't know existed. And yet these two books were completely different in their execution. I just found the juxstiposion interesting in reading them back to back.

Anyway, I enjoyed this book. I picked it up for the first time last summer (I had an ARC from ALA), but didn't get past the second chapter. At the time, I just wasn't interested. I decided to give it another shot and I'm really glad I did because it was so interesting!

Funke is great at creating these alternate worlds where her everyday, modern characters escape to or have to deal with. The Mirrorworld is so cool! I loved how she revealed things about the world as the story went along. The characters are so original and interesting. The adventure is very exciting.

However...

Funke is not a very happy writer. There is always great loss to the main character, horrible sacrifice, and her endings don't end very happy. This book had a somewhat happy ending, the ties were mostly all tied, but it was still somber and sad in several instances. I cannot pick up the next in the series because I know that though the situation these characters are left in isn't the best, it will only get worse in the next installment. And I would rather leave them where they are now then have to watch them go through worse.

summary:
For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures.


Not anymore.

His younger brother has followed him.

Now dark magic will turn the boy to beast, break the heart of the girl he loves, and destroy everything Jacob holds most dear. . . .

Unless he can find a way to stop it.

review: Cloaked by Alex Flinn

pub date: February 8, 2011
publisher: HarperCollins
pages: 342
source: library
appeals: fairy tale retelling, contemporary, romance, male protagonist,
content: none that I remember

thoughts:
This is only the second book I've ready by Alex Flinn, the first being Beastly, and that was many years ago. I remember enjoying Beastly, so I had hopes for this one. Hopes that were not realized.

I think Flinn does a good job of taking fairy tales and updating them to our modern times. It's great world building and entertaining. In Cloaked, I thought all of the fairy tales she brought in to this one story were fun and I enjoyed how they all entertwined.


However, I kind of thought seventeen-year-old Johnny was an idiot. Sorry, kind of harsh, but I really started to dislike him A LOT by the middle of the book. He lied, he stole, he was extremely dim-witted, and not a hero at all. He did such stupid things and got in such lame situations because of stupid decisions, that I had a hard time liking him, or even rooting for him to come out on top. I saw the consequences of his choices LOOOOONG before he did, as well as how to get out of situations he got himself into when he didn't, and it was annoying. I kept thinking, "this is who the princess chose to help her? She's just as dumb as he is." He was also extremely shallow.

At the end when they were praising how honest and upright Johnny was, I had to laugh. If that is the definition of honest and upright then the world is in a lot of trouble.

Overall, not a recommend.

summary:
I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.

review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

pub date: September 13, 2011
publisher: Scholastic
pages: 640
appeals: historical fiction, illustrations, adventure,
content: clean


Thoughts:
Brian Selznick is an amazingly creative person. I think this book and The Invention of Hugo Cabret are great works of art and literature. The format and the way he builds his stories is really cool. Wonderstruck takes two stories, one about a boy that is written in words, and another story about a girl that is shown by drawings. It's cool how they parallel each other, like in one story there's a lightning storm and then switches to the other story and there is also a lightening storm. Which was cool.

But...

Whereas I think the format is cool and the art is great, I was less than impressed with the actual story. I just didn't find either of them very compelling. And when the two stories actually connect, there was a great info-dump to explain all of the illustrations and what they meant and how the two stories tie together. Which takes away from the magic. It would've been cool to figure things out within the story, and not have to be told everything at the end.

Still enjoyable and I think that a lot of middle graders (and their parents) will enjoy this book.

summary:
Two independent stories—Ben's told in words and Rose's in pictures—weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder.


Ever since his mom died, Ben feels lost.
At home with her father, Rose feels alone.

He is searching for someone, but he is not sure who.
She is searching for something, but she is not sure what.

When Ben finds a mysterious clue hidden in his mom's room,
When a tempting opportunity presents itself to Rose.

Both children risk everything to find what's missing.

With over 460 pages of original drawings and playing with the form he invented in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Rich, complex, affecting and beautiful, Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

my words are precious

It's nanowrimo in November, as I'm sure you all know. It is the reason for the scant posting on this blog. I have been reading, but not feeling like writing about what I've been reading. At this time, my words are precious and I want to use them where they count.

I have been delving into a new novel this month, putting my previous one on hold while I get this one into my computer. This is my fifth year participating, and I must say, it's been my most fun year by far. I love this story, even after eighteen days (a mighty miracle!) and I love where it's heading (another mighty miracle!). I am really bad at naming things, so at the moment the story is called, "Sisters." Lamest. Title. Ever. I know. It's a work in progress.

So that is where I will be for the next twelve days. Hopefully I'll be back in December with some reviews. Hopefully.

review: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

pub date: July 12, 2011
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 416
appeals: ghosts, mystery, romance, magic, witches, family, romance, Texas, ranching, romance :)
content: some swearing, a make-out scene

thoughts:
What a fun book. Really, quite delightful.

I liked Amy, our main character, and her snarky, sarcastic, highly entertaining personality. From the very first page, she grabbed my interest and kept me reading. Her family, especially sister Phin, were great, too. Is this a series? I kind of hope so because I really enjoyed the characters and would love more of them.

I must make a separate paragraph to make mention of the "hot neighbor cowboy." He is hot! He's her neighbor! and he's a cowboy! What isn't to love? He has a great personality, too. Amy meets while wearing only her underwear which makes for a great scene. From the onset, they hate each other, but Clement-Moore is so great at building the romantic tension in the mist of all their arguing. It was sublime romance. Seriously. But also rather nice that it was just attraction, and not all consuming, I-love-you-though-I-met-you-three-minutes-ago-and-I'll-die-without-you kind of thing. It was just a sweet, nice, realistic attraction. A really good one.

The overall story was fun. It's a mystery surrounding a ghost, with a good dose of denial and witchery, and some great snarky attitude. On a Texas ranch! Really fun stuff. And a quick read, for all it's pages.

You should give this one a try. It's good.

summary:
Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

pub date: November 21, 2011
publisher: Razerbill
page: 309
source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer program
appeals: the 90s, facebook, futurish stuff, slight romance, multiple narrators,
content: swearing, it seemed that the topic of sex was brought up a lot

thoughts:
I don't really know what to write about The Future of Us. Like a lot of people, I really wanted to get my hands on this book. This was JAY ASHER. And the premise sounded really cool. But there is so much hype around this book, that in actually reading it I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. It just didn't blow me away like I thought/hoped it would. It's good, but it's not going to change the world.

And now we get to me not knowing what to write besides the general, "this was a good book" stuff. But I will try...

All the 90s references were fun. Emma and Josh are my age, I was 16 in 1996. So I laughed a lot at their lives because that was me. It's amazing how much has changed in 15 years.

To go along with that, the way they interpreted what the future was through facebook posts was also fun. My favorite was Emma in 1996 wondering why she was writing such personal information on a public forum in 2011. I wonder that all the time about others.

Whereas I liked Josh a lot, Emma really irritated me, as I'm sure she was supposed to. But I never felt like she redeemed herself, not even at the end. I hope she learned her lesson, but I still have my doubts. Mostly I was left wondering what Josh saw in the girl. 

I liked how Emma and Josh changed their future. I would write more, but every thing I try to expand on that thought, I delete it because I think it gives too much away about the plot. So just know, I liked how what they read in the future influenced their present, which in turn influenced their future. Get it?

I thought it similar to Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski which came out a few years ago.


summary:
It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.

Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

pub date: November 8, 2011
publisher: Source Books 
pages: 320
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: historical fiction, romance, painting, magic, supernatural, spiritualism
content: some steamy kissing

thoughts:
The premise for this book is so great! I wish I thought of it. I loved how the portrait was introduced to Natalie and the relationship she has with it. I loved how she crossed into the painting. It was just cool, cool, cool.

I also liked that this novel is Natalie's journal. It made it more personal, I think, and more immediate. There was a lot of dry humor that I appreciated and made me laugh. And Natalie has such a fun personality that I enjoyed reading her thoughts.

However...

I don't enjoy paranormal books that bring in Christian religious ideas. I have yet to read a fallen angel book I like for this very reason. Darker Still brings in religion and the idea of angels and devils and God, and it turns an otherwise fun book into something ridiculous (to me). Sure, have a bad guy, but does he have to use religious aspects in his evilness? I wish he hadn't. I would've enjoyed this book so much more.

That was the main complaint for me, but that is just me and my issue. There were smaller things that I wasn't such a fan of. Like the romance turned cheesy instead of sweet. I didn't like the wrap up at the end--I wish it had just ended with Natalie's diary closing, but there were some other stuff that happened outside of Natalie's diary that I didn't care for and I didn't feel were needed. And the "spell" that the evil dude creates is like a grab bag of stuff--oh, lets use religion and a pinch of hieroglyphics, maybe some Latin, and I can't forget poetry! I got confused.

And yet, it was a fun book. Just not my favorite.

The setting reminded me of the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen and the mood of the novel reminded me of Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.

summary:
The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.


New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.