pub date: originally 1998 (republished 2009?)
publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
pages: 240
appeals: mystery, suspense, realistic fiction, contemporary
content: there is violence off page and some references to sex
thoughts:
Wow. I loved this book.
I began by listening to the audio in my car. By the middle of the fourth disc (it was only five discs long) I couldn't deal with the suspense any longer. Each time I turned on my car (which is where I was listening to it) my heart rate would speed up, my stress levels would rise, and I'm sure my blood pressure did, too. So I got the book from the library and read it during my lunch break on Friday. The suspense was killing me.
What I loved about this book:
1) the characters. They were so well drawn! David, his cousin, his parents, his aunt and uncle. They all frustrated me at different times and for different reasons, but I totally understood why they behaved they way they did. I felt empathy for them, even when I really didn't want to. And I really, really, liked David.
2) the story. I don't do horror, but wow do I love suspense. Especially when it's so well done. Like I wrote above, I was freaking out while listening. I was so worried for David--the possibilities of what would happen with him kept running through my mind and they just got worse and worse. Which is why I finally just read it.
3) the end. That is all I will say on that.
4) it's retro! Okay, so it was only written in the later 90s and I don't think that really qualifies as retro, but I loved the mention of CDs (no digital!) and his VCR and only being able to call on land lines.
summary:
After being accused and acquitted in the death of his girlfriend, seventeen-year-old David is sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and young cousin to avoid the media frenzy. But all is not well at his relatives' house. His aunt and uncle are not speaking, and twelve-year-old Lily seems intent on making David's life a torment. And then there's the issue of his older cousin Kathy's mysterious death some years back. As things grow more and more tense, David starts to wonder - is there something else that his family is trying to hide from?
pub date: May 3, 2011
publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
pages: 400
appeals: contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, family
content: clean (I think. I don't remember anything that would make it otherwise)
thoughts:
I enjoyed this story. It was not what I expected, and I love to be surprised. I thought it was interesting and well written with great descriptions and characters.
However, I felt Sloan's writing style was more of a summary. I felt too much of the story was skimmed over. Emily and Sam supposedly have a deep relationship, but as a reader I wasn't ever privy to the building of the relationship. I just was told by the narrator that they talked and spent time together. I wanted to read about it, not just be told about it. So the fact that this relationship was so important to the story kind of put a kink in my love for the book because I didn't buy into it.
This novel was written from multiple perspectives, and I really enjoyed that. I thought it opened up a lot of the characters by seeing them through anothers eyes.
Though I did like the multiple perspectives, at times it got annoying. Mostly I wanted the story to focus on Sam and Riddle and Emily, but a few characters went off on tangents that took away from the main story. And that bothered me because I didn't care about the tangents, I cared about the main three characters. Bobby was the worst offender. I didn't like him and though he was important to certain plot points, he got old really fast. I wanted out of his head, especially when it came to the prom. Too many pages were wasted on him.
So I did like the book, I thought the story and characters were compelling. I just didn't love it like I wanted to.
summary:
Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn't been in a classroom since the second grade. He's always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It's said that the two boys speak with one voice--and that voice is Sam's.
Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell's home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it's too good to last.
Told from multiple perspectives, Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut novel offers readers fresh voices and a gripping story, with vivid glimpses into the lives of many unique characters. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a story about connections both big and small, and deftly explores the many ways that our lives are woven together.
pub date: June 14, 2011
publisher: Random House
pages: 349
source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer
appeals: sisterhood of the traveling pants
content: a little swearing including f-word, off-page sex
thoughts:
I was a huge fan of the first three Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. I loved Tibby and Bee and Lena and Carmen's friendship and their growth as characters. I loved the arc of their individual and shared stories through those first three books.
I pretend the fourth Sisterhood book never happened. It was unwrapping the perfect package that the third book left for me and throwing the contents all around and leaving the Sisters in utter upheaval. Worse, it was as if the lessons learned in the first three books had never been learned. All four girls were back to where they were at fifteen, dealing with their college problems as if they hadn't grown at all. As if they hadn't learned anything. All of them took five huge steps backward and it was irksome. Maybe that's realistic, but then heck, I wanted fantasy.
Fourth book? There never was any fourth Sisterhood book...
So I approached this fifth book in the series with some trepidation. Though I loved high school Bee and Lena and Carmen and Tibby, did I really want to read what Brashares had in store for them as adults?
This is definitely an adult book, and not because of content. It was the way it was written. There is very little outside action. So much of this book is introspection. And though introspection is great (in small doses), I am a plot person and I wanted more action to keep the story moving, not more thoughts and feelings and internal sorrows. I thought the middle was slow and dull because of it.
The following might be considered slightly spoilery...I don't think so, but maybe...so I'm giving you warning...
Near the beginning of the book there was a catastrophe. I cried. The Sisters felt guilt and grief and a little bit of blame towards each other. And they allowed the catastrophe to isolate them from each other. I found that hard to believe. After being through so much and helping each other through so much in 30 years of friendship, I was utterly shocked at their behavior. And I didn't believe that they would really respond that way. I expected them to rally together, not pull apart. So that was irritating. And to me, unbelievable. But maybe that's just me in denial. And wanting the fantasy, not the reality.
Part of the reason I thought it was a little slow was because I understood the catastrophe in a way that the Sisters didn't, and I'm not sure why. Was it written so the reader would understand? Or was it supposed to be a surprise to the reader and I am just uncommonly brilliant? Not sure, but I knew what really happened right when it did and it took the Sisterhood until the end to discover the truth. And since I knew most of the truth for most of the book, it felt like a long time for the Sisters to figure it out.
But, for my complaining above, in the end I did enjoy the book. I closed it on the last page, then opened it and reread the ending again. The ending I believed (though it's probably the most improbably aspect of the whole book). And it stuck with me. I thought about it the whole next day. I liked the Sisterhood grown up and responsible (for the most part) and succeeding. It left me with a feeling of hope. And let's face it, I love these girls. How can I not love their story? (with the exception of the fourth book that never was).
So yes, a good book that I recommend for Sisterhood fans.
summary:
Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.
Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.
Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.
As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.
pub date: June 7, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux
pages: 320
appeals: humor, romance, friendship, queen bees, contemporary, realistic fiction
content: Sex was mentioned briefly a few times, there were also a few swear words, not many.
thoughts:
I really enjoyed Brody's sense of humor, in this book as well as in her first YA, The Karma Club. I love books that make me laugh, and this one definitely did that.
What I liked the most was Brooks voice. It was intelligent, self-deprecating, humorous (as stated earlier), and likable. I liked her and was rooting for her success the whole book.
The progression of the plot was great. Brooks is horrible at making wise decisions and has gotten into much trouble because of it. So she starts a blog where she will post every decision she needs to make and let her readers decide what she should do. Her readers don't see things the way she does and Brooks ends up doing a lot of things she doesn't want to do, but does them because she promised she would. It was great. I loved how her reader's responses affected her life.
This story has a love triangle, which has become a turn off for me of late, but it was wonderful in this book. This love-triangle was done right. There was no lightning bolt of love. There was no overboard passion. There were two boys that liked the same girl. The relationships developed naturally and over time. It was a fun romance without the characters needing to kiss each other every page or long expositions on why Brooks needed the boy(s). Good stuff.
At one point Brooks was asked how many boys she'd had sex with. Everyone was surprised that she hadn't slept with anyone. She's only fifteen. I'm was surprised they thought she'd slept with one person, the fact they thought she'd slept with multiple boys kind of horrified me.
If you like realistic romance then pick up this book!
summary:
PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!
Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.
Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.
But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!
Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.
But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
pub date: May 3, 2011
publisher: Simon and Schuster
pages: 512
format: audio from library
appeals: awesome and exciting and mind blowing and suspenseful and completely rocked my world
appeals (for real): friendship, adventure, death, adventure,
content: violence--a lot of kids die in this book. so sad
thoughts:
I love Neal Shusterman!
Let me say that again: I LOVE NEAL SHUSTERMAN!
Passionately. I've read seven of his books and I've loved every one. There are very few authors I can say that about. If you haven't read his books, you're missing out. I'm just sayin.
Everfound is the third in the Skinjacker trilogy, following Everlost and Everwild. The ending of Everwild was seriously wild. It was disturbing (in a good way...sorta) and I could not wait until Everfound. It was worth the wait. Everfound is complete awesomeness.
The limbo between life and death that is the world of Everlost is SOOO very original. There are rules that govern the world and they are so cool and twisted and surprising. I never knew what was going to happen next. It was exciting to listen to with all the surprises and twists and turns in the plot.
One thing I really respect about Shusterman's villains is that they don't know they're villains. They think they are doing the right thing, and that is how it is with this series. The fact that Evil Hightower in Everfound is so convinced that she is right and all the horrible things she does is for the benefit of all mankind, makes her beyond wicked. Much more than if she knew she was wrong. She gave me the shivers. I listened to this book while driving and I screamed so much at Evil Hightower I went hoarse.
The ending was perfect. Perfect. But that didn't make it any less sad when it ended. Though I impatiently listened until I discovered how it would all resolve, once I'd reached the end I wanted more.
I loved all the original characters (even if they were evil, I loved how evil they were!). But I especially loved Allie and Nick and Mickey. My favorite new character was Clarence. He was awesome. Saying goodbye was hard.
Okay, so after all that rambling, I don't think I actually wrote much of the particulars, just gushed about how much I loved this book. It was just that good.
And if you like listening to books, you should get this series on audio. Nick Podehl is an awesome reader. He gave me the shivers, too.
summary:
I'm not pasting in the summary. Unless you've read the first two, it gives spoilers. And spoilers should not be allowed where this series in concerned.
Hey! It's the first day of summer! YAY!
To celebrate, I'm having a giveaway.
I went through my bookshelves the other day and picked out 9 books I want to pass along to someone new. I packed them into a box with some bookish bookmarks, postcards, and tattoos. I will mail them to one lucky winner with a US mailing address after the contest ends on June 30. I'm keeping the books secret so that when they arrive on the doorstep of this one lucky winner, they will be surprised (and possibly because I'm lazy and don't want to list them all). 3 are paperback, one is signed, 6 are ARCs.
To enter, simply add a comment with your favorite summer activity or book and your email address.
Good luck!
This past week I participated in the Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers event. 40 hours of small group critiques and afternoon classes.
The lead up was terrifying (other people are going to read my writing and tell me what's wrong?!?!) The actual experience was exciting, fun, intense, extremely helpful, and exhausting. I read hundreds of pages to critique for writers in my group and my group offered a lot of insight into my novel that is sure to improve my writing and my story. Afternoon classes with Holly Black and Katheen Duey and Martine Leavitt completely blew my mind. They are brilliant.
I am still exhausted (and rather cranky) (especially since I had to work today) but very excited to dig back into my novel and make it better.
In that context, I've been thinking about this blog. I've actually been thinking about this blog a lot since I first started it (one year ago July 1!). (When did that happen?).
Part of me really wants to get involved in the blogging community. I want to participate in book memes, readreadreadread, write amazing book reviews and insightful blog posts, sponsor contests, do author interviews, comment on other bloggers posts, participate in readathons, be active on twitter, (get free books). The list goes on (and on).
But ultimately, I don't. I might for a week or two, but then I let other things take precedence, and I stop. I have quite a few followers (actual readers, not so many) and I feel this guilt when I'm not blogging regularly, or when I'm not visiting or commenting on other blogs (or commenting on comments from my own blog), or reading like I want to, or ignoring my twitter account (for months at a time).
I sorta feel like I'm not holding up my promise as a book blogger. Seriously, it stresses me out.
I started a book blog because I love reading, I love book blogs (not necessarily commenting on them) and because I wanted to be a part of the conversation. I wanted my book opinions out there on the web (and people to care what my opinion was).
After this week I admit to myself and the world (which is rather scary) that I want to finish a complete book, one that someone else could (and would choose to) read. And giving my all to the blogger world just isn't going to happen. Even if I didn't want to focus on writing a readable novel, it wouldn't happen (at least not well).
I have decided I am okay with that. This is me giving permission to myself to:
- Take weeks off from blogging if I choose (WITHOUT GUILT).
- Not comment on other book blogs or even read them if I don't want to or don't have time.
- Post reviews, and only reviews, even if it does make my blog boring.
- Not be upset or embarrassed or disappointed when no one reads (or comments) on my posts.
I've thought seriously about deleting this blog. Erasing this endeavor since I'm obviously not doing such a good job at it. But that would just be stupid. Even if no one cares but me, that's still one person.
I love books. I love talking books. I love writing book reviews. I love book blogging (even if I don't do it well). So the blog stays. Just without the stress.
the end
