Get Well Soon
By Julie Halpern
Published 2007 by Feiwel & Friends
Having read Halpern's second novel and finding nothing at the library that caught my eye (in the 10 minutes I felt like browsing), I picked up this, her first novel. This is the story of Anna, who has been hospitalized for depression by her parents. There is an indication that much of this story is based on Halpern's own experiences. For me, having read a later novel of hers first, it's pretty clear that she is struggling to find her voice in this one. It feels a little frenetic and a little all over the place - but that could also be partly due to the situation that's taking place within the novel's pages. That being said, this book has its moments. Anna is a likable main character - she doesn't really understand why she's there or what's wrong with her but even she can admit that she hasn't felt right lately. I think she is someone a lot of teens could relate to. She struggles with her self-image and doesn't realize that it's okay to feel overwhelmed, but you should talk to someone about those feelings. There are moments of laugh-out-loud humor throughout the book - some of the situations that arise in a psych ward are just plain funny. There is a sweet building of friendship and romance and the book moves along at a good pace. A sweet and interesting read, but I preferred her other title.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Review: Evernight
Evernight
By Claudia Gray
Published 2009 by HarperTeen
The last ALA preparation book that I managed to sneak in before I left for the conference, I was hesitant about this one. I knew it was about vampires. I have always loved vampires and the supernatural, but I don't think I'm alone in saying it's not hard to get burned out on teen supernatural novels nowadays. But I remember being intrigued by this when it first came out. I have to say - I didn't think it was possible for a vampire book to surprise me anymore. But I was wrong! About halfway through this one, I can honestly say I didn't see the vampires coming. I was totally surprised by the twist in this and thought it worked wonderfully. I don't think the world Gray has created with the vampires is necessarily all that original, so I'll be excited to see how the series progresses now that the big secret has been revealed. I think I like the secondary characters, like Bianca's parents, more than the primary ones so far. But Bianca is not nearly as boring or whiny as she could be and Lucas is a nice hero for her. I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series!
By Claudia Gray
Published 2009 by HarperTeen
The last ALA preparation book that I managed to sneak in before I left for the conference, I was hesitant about this one. I knew it was about vampires. I have always loved vampires and the supernatural, but I don't think I'm alone in saying it's not hard to get burned out on teen supernatural novels nowadays. But I remember being intrigued by this when it first came out. I have to say - I didn't think it was possible for a vampire book to surprise me anymore. But I was wrong! About halfway through this one, I can honestly say I didn't see the vampires coming. I was totally surprised by the twist in this and thought it worked wonderfully. I don't think the world Gray has created with the vampires is necessarily all that original, so I'll be excited to see how the series progresses now that the big secret has been revealed. I think I like the secondary characters, like Bianca's parents, more than the primary ones so far. But Bianca is not nearly as boring or whiny as she could be and Lucas is a nice hero for her. I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Review: Shine, Coconut Moon
Shine, Coconut Moon
By Neesha Meminger
Published 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry
Oh, I so don't want to write this review. Because I feel terrible about it. Really. Truly. I feel bad about how I felt about this book. Meminger is another author that popped onto my radar because of the upcoming ALA conference. And I should preface this by saying that I actually wanted to read her other title (Jazz in Love) but couldn't find a copy at my local libraries. The premise of that book sounded more up my alley and had been well-reviewed on a book blog I follow (actually, they loved both of her titles). But I got this book instead. And I sort of wish I hadn't.
See, I really wanted to like this book. This feels like one of those "important" books - it takes place very shortly after September 11th and touches on many issues of xenophobia, race relations, and fitting in as a "brown" American after the attacks. It really seemed like good things should have been happening in this novel. BUT unfortunately, this novel is a big pile of crap. Sam is perhaps the worst female protagonist I have read in a long time. I understand she has some issues - she was raised by a single parent and her mother has cut her off from her extended family. But these pre-existing conditions, if you will, do not explain why Sam is totally unsympathetic to her mother's feelings, full of crazy mood swings, and a complete moron. Sam can best be described as reactionary - she takes every single happening and has an insanely overblown reaction to it - except for the things that she should be really reacting to. Oh, your boyfriend has turned into a semi-racist jerk who decides to stalk you after you dump him? Well, that's not as big of a deal as the fact that some girl you barely know called you a "coconut". In what world does that make sense? Not in mine. The main drive of this book is that Sam's estranged uncle Sandeep, a traditional Sikh man, reappears in her life after the terrorist attacks, compelling Sam to learn more about her Indian heritage. That is great - everyone should know about where they come from, I think. But Sam sort of gets obsessive and unreasonable - demanding her mother let her get in touch with her grandparents, who have clearly scarred Sam's mom in some way. The way Sam goes about learning her heritage is essentially through force and seems like the entirely wrong way to me. Additionally, I feel like Sam goes to the high school of the United Nations. This is an incredibly diverse school. I'm sure schools like this exist; they are just out of my realm of experience. However, what bothers me most about this is that I can tell how diverse this school is because of the names Meminger has given her characters. Every ethnic character has a name that matches their ethnicity. Now, I hope I'm not coming off wrong here by saying this. I understand that lots of people of color have names that represent their heritage. But I also know that lots of people of color have Biblical names, or European names, or names from other heritages. You would never know that from reading Meminger's novel. I don't know. It's just a small thing that, when added to every other terrible thing about this book, really bothered me. Finally, the ludicrous plot developments that occur. Sam's boyfriend, for example. And then the finale of the novel, Uncle Sandeep's accident. These things just seemed a bit much. I feel like the point Meminger was trying to make could have been accomplished without going to such extremes.
All in all, this novel was, for me, laughably bad. Poorly executed and flat, I felt terrible hating it because I wanted Meminger to do well. But I just think she failed.
By Neesha Meminger
Published 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry
Oh, I so don't want to write this review. Because I feel terrible about it. Really. Truly. I feel bad about how I felt about this book. Meminger is another author that popped onto my radar because of the upcoming ALA conference. And I should preface this by saying that I actually wanted to read her other title (Jazz in Love) but couldn't find a copy at my local libraries. The premise of that book sounded more up my alley and had been well-reviewed on a book blog I follow (actually, they loved both of her titles). But I got this book instead. And I sort of wish I hadn't.
See, I really wanted to like this book. This feels like one of those "important" books - it takes place very shortly after September 11th and touches on many issues of xenophobia, race relations, and fitting in as a "brown" American after the attacks. It really seemed like good things should have been happening in this novel. BUT unfortunately, this novel is a big pile of crap. Sam is perhaps the worst female protagonist I have read in a long time. I understand she has some issues - she was raised by a single parent and her mother has cut her off from her extended family. But these pre-existing conditions, if you will, do not explain why Sam is totally unsympathetic to her mother's feelings, full of crazy mood swings, and a complete moron. Sam can best be described as reactionary - she takes every single happening and has an insanely overblown reaction to it - except for the things that she should be really reacting to. Oh, your boyfriend has turned into a semi-racist jerk who decides to stalk you after you dump him? Well, that's not as big of a deal as the fact that some girl you barely know called you a "coconut". In what world does that make sense? Not in mine. The main drive of this book is that Sam's estranged uncle Sandeep, a traditional Sikh man, reappears in her life after the terrorist attacks, compelling Sam to learn more about her Indian heritage. That is great - everyone should know about where they come from, I think. But Sam sort of gets obsessive and unreasonable - demanding her mother let her get in touch with her grandparents, who have clearly scarred Sam's mom in some way. The way Sam goes about learning her heritage is essentially through force and seems like the entirely wrong way to me. Additionally, I feel like Sam goes to the high school of the United Nations. This is an incredibly diverse school. I'm sure schools like this exist; they are just out of my realm of experience. However, what bothers me most about this is that I can tell how diverse this school is because of the names Meminger has given her characters. Every ethnic character has a name that matches their ethnicity. Now, I hope I'm not coming off wrong here by saying this. I understand that lots of people of color have names that represent their heritage. But I also know that lots of people of color have Biblical names, or European names, or names from other heritages. You would never know that from reading Meminger's novel. I don't know. It's just a small thing that, when added to every other terrible thing about this book, really bothered me. Finally, the ludicrous plot developments that occur. Sam's boyfriend, for example. And then the finale of the novel, Uncle Sandeep's accident. These things just seemed a bit much. I feel like the point Meminger was trying to make could have been accomplished without going to such extremes.
All in all, this novel was, for me, laughably bad. Poorly executed and flat, I felt terrible hating it because I wanted Meminger to do well. But I just think she failed.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Review: Lament
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception
By Maggie Stiefvater
Published 2008 by Flux
So I fell a little bit in love with Stiefvater when I saw a book trailer she had posted (here) on the web one day. Then I had friends raving about her werewolves. But, you know, life gets busy and I didn't get a chance to read her. Now, she is another of my ALA prep authors. I couldn't get my hands on a copy of Shiver in time (because I was looking at the libraries only) but I did manage to find this one, which I believe is her debut novel. This was a bit of a weird experience for me. I really wanted to like it because, as I said, I kind of have a crush on Stiefvater. But this book is weird. There is not a whole lot of explanation as to what's going on initially, and the ease with which the main character just accepts the crazy stuff that starts to happen her is a bit mind-boggling. That being said though, she is a likable protagonist and this book is a nice balance of action, fantasy, romance and realism. I'm intrigued enough by Stiefvater and her writing to want to read more. That being said, I think she would be a blast to be friends with. Hopefully my total inability to make small talk won't inhibit me from being friendly with the authors I'm about to meet this weekend.
By Maggie Stiefvater
Published 2008 by Flux
So I fell a little bit in love with Stiefvater when I saw a book trailer she had posted (here) on the web one day. Then I had friends raving about her werewolves. But, you know, life gets busy and I didn't get a chance to read her. Now, she is another of my ALA prep authors. I couldn't get my hands on a copy of Shiver in time (because I was looking at the libraries only) but I did manage to find this one, which I believe is her debut novel. This was a bit of a weird experience for me. I really wanted to like it because, as I said, I kind of have a crush on Stiefvater. But this book is weird. There is not a whole lot of explanation as to what's going on initially, and the ease with which the main character just accepts the crazy stuff that starts to happen her is a bit mind-boggling. That being said though, she is a likable protagonist and this book is a nice balance of action, fantasy, romance and realism. I'm intrigued enough by Stiefvater and her writing to want to read more. That being said, I think she would be a blast to be friends with. Hopefully my total inability to make small talk won't inhibit me from being friendly with the authors I'm about to meet this weekend.
Review: Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards
Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Palenontology
By Jim Ottaviani and Big Time Attic
Published 2005 by G.T. Labs
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Another ALA prep title, this is a graphic novel about the race for dinosaur bones. I like the style of the illustrations and I like the use of various text forms in different instances (a big-top style font for P.T. Barnum, etc.). However, I found the story itself incredibly confusing. In fact, I'm still not sure what exactly was happening. It was really difficult for me to keep the characters straight and figure out who was working for who, who was sabotaging who, etc. Even after reading the author notes about fact versus fiction, I'm still not entirely clear on how things worked. Maybe it's just me. But I definitely would have benefited from more clarification on matters throughout the book.
By Jim Ottaviani and Big Time Attic
Published 2005 by G.T. Labs
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Another ALA prep title, this is a graphic novel about the race for dinosaur bones. I like the style of the illustrations and I like the use of various text forms in different instances (a big-top style font for P.T. Barnum, etc.). However, I found the story itself incredibly confusing. In fact, I'm still not sure what exactly was happening. It was really difficult for me to keep the characters straight and figure out who was working for who, who was sabotaging who, etc. Even after reading the author notes about fact versus fiction, I'm still not entirely clear on how things worked. Maybe it's just me. But I definitely would have benefited from more clarification on matters throughout the book.
Review: Boy Meets Boy
Boy Meets Boy
By David Levithan
Published 2003 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
A little interlude from ALA prep - I picked this up because my local library didn't have any of the books I was actually looking for and I've been trying to read all of Levithan's books. I've somehow managed to get this far without reading his best-known title. But finally, I have fixed that error.
The reason I've been trying to read all of Levithan's books is because he is an incredible talent. He has a great way with words - unique combinations and turns of phrase. He creates fantastic worlds and characters - they are all intricately crafted and surreal yet believable. This book is probably his most fantastical - this world is radically different from the world we live in. But it is a world that is possible and one that many people hope for. Ultimately, that is part of the appeal with this book - you want to believe that things can be this radical, that sexuality will not define and separate individuals and all the other notions that Levithan puts forth in novels like these.
My main criticism with Levithan's love stories (which basically all of his novels boil down to) is that the inevitable conflict that arises between the hero and his love is beginning to seem more and more convoluted to me. I mean, there really was nothing getting in these characters' way and yet they had a hard time getting together. Maybe the reason this irritates me is that it's all too reminiscent of real life - oftentimes the only thing getting in a relationship's way are the people in it.
Regardless of this issue, I love reading a Levithan novel and this was no exception. I'll continue to read and hopefully continue to enjoy his work.
By David Levithan
Published 2003 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
A little interlude from ALA prep - I picked this up because my local library didn't have any of the books I was actually looking for and I've been trying to read all of Levithan's books. I've somehow managed to get this far without reading his best-known title. But finally, I have fixed that error.
The reason I've been trying to read all of Levithan's books is because he is an incredible talent. He has a great way with words - unique combinations and turns of phrase. He creates fantastic worlds and characters - they are all intricately crafted and surreal yet believable. This book is probably his most fantastical - this world is radically different from the world we live in. But it is a world that is possible and one that many people hope for. Ultimately, that is part of the appeal with this book - you want to believe that things can be this radical, that sexuality will not define and separate individuals and all the other notions that Levithan puts forth in novels like these.
My main criticism with Levithan's love stories (which basically all of his novels boil down to) is that the inevitable conflict that arises between the hero and his love is beginning to seem more and more convoluted to me. I mean, there really was nothing getting in these characters' way and yet they had a hard time getting together. Maybe the reason this irritates me is that it's all too reminiscent of real life - oftentimes the only thing getting in a relationship's way are the people in it.
Regardless of this issue, I love reading a Levithan novel and this was no exception. I'll continue to read and hopefully continue to enjoy his work.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Review: My Swordhand is Singing
My Swordhand is Singing
By Marcus Sedgwick
Published 2007 by Wendy Lamb Books
Sedgwick is a fairly prolific author - he had a title on the Printz shortlist earlier this year. Usually, I try to read award winners and honor books, but reading the blurb for Sedgwick's title provoked no interest in me. However, this was another author on my radar for the upcoming ALA conference, so I combed through his backlist and picked this title. I'm glad I did. This is a very well-done and interesting book (I'm starting to think I should get a thesaurus - I feel like I use the word "interesting" in every review). Sedgwick provides a new take on the vampire myth, which I really enjoyed. It's no secret I'm a fan of vampires and the supernatural and Sedgwick definitely gives new life to the vampire tale. This is a short and haunting novel - very atmospheric. I'm definitely going to read the companion novel and perhaps even branch out to his other titles.
By Marcus Sedgwick
Published 2007 by Wendy Lamb Books
Sedgwick is a fairly prolific author - he had a title on the Printz shortlist earlier this year. Usually, I try to read award winners and honor books, but reading the blurb for Sedgwick's title provoked no interest in me. However, this was another author on my radar for the upcoming ALA conference, so I combed through his backlist and picked this title. I'm glad I did. This is a very well-done and interesting book (I'm starting to think I should get a thesaurus - I feel like I use the word "interesting" in every review). Sedgwick provides a new take on the vampire myth, which I really enjoyed. It's no secret I'm a fan of vampires and the supernatural and Sedgwick definitely gives new life to the vampire tale. This is a short and haunting novel - very atmospheric. I'm definitely going to read the companion novel and perhaps even branch out to his other titles.
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