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June 4, 2005 10:40 pm
I'm running out of ideas of how to title these. Oh well.
Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
Science Fiction | 425pgs.
Tally lives in a world were, when you turn sixteen, you get an opperation to become pretty and enter a life were all you do is party. She can't wait, but when she makes a friend who tells her about a place without pretties, her friend trys to get her to run a way with her. Of course, it's all nonsense to Tally, but when her friend dissapears, she must find her or never be pretty. She starts her search just wanting to be pretty, but what she learns will change her life and the way she sees her society.
The premise is a good one, and the story starts quickly and is easy to read. The characters are pretty good as well, but the whole thing has very few plot turns or surprises. It still somehow keeps you wanting more and, after a clifhanger ending, waiting for the next one. Basically a good quick read but not great literature.
June 1, 2005 5:09 pm
Wormwood
by G P Taylor
Fantasy / Historical | 258pgs.
A "sky-quake" rocks eighteenth century London, as days and nights speed past and midnight becomes dawn. But this is only the begining, for the book Nemorensis tell of a comet which will soon strike the city. In the city's final days, the struggle for this book, for power and the world that will come after, and for life itself, will draw in a serving girl, her rich master, as well as spirits of the dead and fallen angels, among others.
An intricate plot is revealed to the reader only as the characters know what is happening, creating a suspenseful tale ful of danger and mystery. Full of characters driven by the strong forces of desire and duty, even the slow parts draw the reader into this world.
edited by David Levithan
Anthology | 220pgs.
Poems, Stories, Essays and Art from The Best Young Writers in America. Over fifty pieces of writing and over twenty-five pieces of artwork created by middle and high schoolers covering most any topic you could think of: childhood, maturity, love, life, death, and more. There is such variety here that it is hard to write just a short review for the whole book. Virtually every piece has a powerful impact and rings true with one's own experiences. You should also look at the previous volume from this editor and publisher, You Are Here This Is Now. my rating: 5 | amazon.com rating: NONE YET!
Talking in the Dark
by Billy Merrell
Life / Poetry | 136pgs
A poety memoir, tracing the author's life in moments as he remembers childhood, discovering he's gay, dealing with death and disease, and love, being betryaed by it and learingin to trust it again. Many of the poems start with some childhood memory or random observation and move smoothly into a later event or emotion in a way that makes them seem one and the same.
Brilliant. The poems together tell a story that has just the right amount of vaugness and details but any one can stand beautifully on its own. Merrell knows how to craft the words so they just work. My favorite poems included "Aubade to Childhood" and "From Breaking".
May 22, 2005 5:57 pm
Pieces
edited by Stephen Chobsky
Anthology | 155pgs.
A collection of fifteen short stories, covering a variety of topics. From a young girl whose fantasy is being intruded upon by here parents fighting, to a series of chance events and encounters at the Eiffel Tower, to a boy stealing pain pills from his job, each story is unique and has something new to offer.
Nearly all, if not all, of the stories are extremely effective and well done. Whether they are capturing a moment or a longer time, they make you want to savor each one but at the same time see what treasure the next one has to show.
Based on the many reviews at amazon.com, this seems to be pretty much an either you really really like it or hate it book. If you want to see what people were complaining about, click on the amazon.com link, it'll take you to their page on the book.
May 8, 2005 3:56 pm
Mira, Mirror
by Mette Ivie Harrison
Fairy Tale | 314pgs.
When she's a young girl, Mira is traded to a witch as an aprentice, but then betrayed by her new sister and turned into a mirror. Years pass and she finds herself in the company of another young girl, and plans to use her to get the magic she needs to be human again. But as she spends time with the girl, Mira starts to question what she is doing.
The first book I've ever read from the point of view of a mirror, it's a little strange, but fun and touching. Looking at a fairy tale from another way is always fun, and this one even manages to avoid the steryotypical prince-is-most-important-thing, although it is not compleatly devoid of romance.
Saving Francesca
by Melina Marchetta
Teen Life | 243pgs.
Francesca Spinelli starts year eleven at a school whith 750 boys and thirty girls, only three of whom went to her old school. Of course she wouldn't consider any of them to be her friends, but who else is there to hang out with? To top this off, her mother, once an intense activist and motivator, suddenly stops getting out of bed one day. Now Francesca must not only survive school and figure out who she and her friends really are, but try desparately to keep her family, in fact her whole life, together.
This is a book that feels real. Francesca and her mistakes and successes, as well as all the other characters, are all completely concievable, in fact, exactly as you would think they'd be outside the book. There are no cheap plot divices here. The story is very well written, touching and, like life itself, has happy and sad and funny moments and seriousness.
April 27, 2005 8:27 pm
Snow-Walker
by Catherine Fisher
Fantasy | 507pgs.
A collection of three books that were, I think, originally published separately, and are each their own story. In the first Jessa and her cousing are sent to the far north by the witch Gundrun who wrongfully rules the lands they live in. There is where the witch came from, and where her son Kari, her only fear, now is. They are sent there to die, but are determined to drive out the witch from thier lands. In the second and third, Gundrun tries to exact her revenge, and Jessa must help her friends in order to keep the witch from gaining control of that which will give her that much more power.
As I said, it's three separate stories. They don't flow into eachother seemlessly - there's time between them - but are very good on thier own. The world created by the author is unique and fascinating and the characters are for the most part all strong and individual.
March 27, 2005 2:03 pm
Cobwebs
by Karen Romano Young
Mystery / Fantasy | 388 pgs.
When Nancy walks up to a boy balancing on the rail of the Brooklyn Bridge, she can't know the series of events that talking to the Ghost Boy, as she thinks of him because he has shaved his hair and eyebrows, will lead to. Though they don't know it, their families already know eachother, and aren't on the best of terms. Thier meeting spins a tale of angels, spiders, healers, love, and secrets, both being revealed and being kept.
With wonderful characters set against the back drop of New York City, where you can find all kinds of people, this book is a delight to read as you are invited into thier world with them as they learn more about it themselves. By the end, you won't want to leave.
Confessions of a Not It Girl
by Melissa Kantor
Teen Life | 247 pgs.
Jan Miller is the best friend of a New York City "It Girl", but her life is definatley not "It". This is her story of friendship, her struggle against her gigantic butt, and her quest tho win the heart of Josh, the boy she likes who just moved from Seattle. Of course, things are never as easy as they could be, and unexpected complications pop up all over the place.
Pretty much a standard teenage girl, first-person, happy ending book, but it's well written and easy to read. The characters are likeable and plausable as well.
March 13, 2005 2:53 pm
and yes, we have a review!
Paper Mage
by Leah R. Cutter
Fantasy/Historical | 340pgs.
Xiao Yen has been training to become a paper mage, one who creates magic using paper folding, for years. Now she has graduatied and is taking on a commision to protect two foriegner brothers as they lead horses across the Middle Kingdom (China) to sell on the coast. Following a meeting with a goddes, her mission changes a bit, but the choice she has to make between her magic and the normal life she has always envied remains the same.
Told in chapters which alternate between Xiao Yen's training and her journey, the book has a strong plot and characters that are believable. They all have stories which we are given glimpses of, resulting in there being very little pure good or pure evil in the story. It's not exceptional, but still very good.
March 8, 2005 6:24 pm
yes, finally, another review
Like We Care
by Tom Matthews
Teen Life / "Issues" | 261pgs.
It starts with two high school kids wo decide that they're tired of everything the corporations are doing to get their money - and they're going to simply stop buying it. What starts as a protest among their friends in this small town grows accross the country, by means of the internet and the coverage it recieves from a popular music TV station. The young dissilusiioned executive from this starion, and a lonely but passionate Social Studies teacher are drawn into the phenomenon that will affect so many more people than the boys would ever have imagined
This book is something compleatly new. It's funny and engaging, really makes you care about the characters and their mission, and can really make you look at things in a new way. A must read for anyone who lives with the constant stream of advertising that we have in this modern world.
February 24, 2005 11:58 am
Better than Running at Night
by Hillary Frank
Romance/"Coming of Age" | 263 pgs.
Ellie Yelinksky leaves for New England College of Art and Design with plans to reinvent herself and her morbid art. Her first day, she goes to a costume party and meets a boy dressed like the devil, and they like eachother. Life however, is more than costume parties, and when Ellie finds out this boy may not be as perfect as she would like, Ellie doesn't know what to do. Choosing between two paths when niether one is really what you want can be oh so difficult, and finding the better one even more so.
The situation is pretty simple, but the author avoids giving any easy answers, which makes it feel that much more like real life. Also, the book is filled with a wide variety of wonderfully developed characters, who really enrich the story. A book that, unlike so many, really feels true.
Once Upon A Marigold
by Jean Ferris
Fairy-tale | 266 pgs.
Having grown up in a cabe with a troll as a foster father, Christian knows about some things. Love, however is not one of them. When he watches the Princess Marigold through a telescope, starts exchanging messages with her, and then leaves home to get a job at the castle, he doesn't know what to think about what he's feeling. And then of course there's the not-so-simple matter of the queen wanting to kill her own daughter so she can rule...
Funny and engaging, Christian's naivety charms, and the story keeps you turning pages and laughing out loud. The reading leval is a little lower than most of the other things I've reviewed, but this is still a book anyone would enjoy.
Have you read either of these books? Or any that I've reviewed, for that matter? If so, please, leave a comment with the appropriate entry telling what you thought.
February 13, 2005 6:50 pm
The Flip Side
by Andrew Matthews
Teen Angst | 147pgs.
A disscusion in English class ends up with Robert Hunt having to dress as a girl and act a scene from Shakespeare's As You Like It opposite his crush Milena, who is playing the boy's part. Milena agrees to go out with him, but niether of them can forget Rosalind and they are forced to question who they really are and what they really want.
The story itself starts out good, but takes a rather dissapointing direction (I'm not saying anymore as I absolutely hate spoilers). However, the book has some very interesting observations on life and society, and, considering how short it is, may be worth reading just for that.
Dragon's Gate
by Laurence Yep
Historical Ficiton | 272pgs.
Otter lives a privaliged life in the village of Three Willows in China, but he has always dreamed of being a guest in America, the Land of the Golden Mountain. His father and uncle have told many wonderful tales of that land, and the technology it has which will free China from the Manchus. However, when Otter is forced to leave home, the reality he finds in America, working on the transcontinental railroad is vastly different from what he has been told.
A well-written and easy to read account of the Chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad, this story is inspiring, even if it may be different in some ways from the typical worker's experience.
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