legal to go on leave

...because I am again devoting all of my time to planning, plotting, cooking and sleeping, after being sick for a few days.

I vill be bach(!) as soon as I've a suitable buildup of reviews again. Currently, I have none--reading has slowed significantly for one reason or another.

Also: I need some suggestions on things to read, having completed every Maureen Johnson book ever written (still need to review a couple on Goodreads before the reviews can be posted here) and with about two books left to read in the general vicinity of the YA genre. Any suggestions?

Speak (Laurie Anderson Hale)

Ok, ok, short review, and at one am. Yes. I am a bad person. I have two books still waiting to be reviewed, even. And I don't even really have a decent excuse. Promise I'll get a better review for this book sometime soon... but for now, a minireview.



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Four and a half stars. I'll admit to having high expectations for this book. Perhaps higher than I should have. I've read too many good reviews, had too many friends swear by it. It's good. Very, very good. But through the entire novel I was stuck wondering when it would be more. Don't get me wrong, I loved Speak. Melinda is witty and sarcastic, her narritive has an almost vicious bite to it at times. Her story is undeniably brilliant, masterfully told. The author's characters are genuine and her voice is honest. I read the majority of it in a day, reading through multiple classes. It flows and it's addictive. It's good. Really, really good. But it's not that good. Read the book because it's good. Don't look for a message--the author didn't purposefully write one in {according to the interview in the back}. Don't get your hopes up; be pleasantly surprised rather than wondering what you missed.

If I Stay (Gayle Forman)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Mia loves her life. She lives for her cello, her friends and her family. She might even have a shot at Juilliard. Sure, her life's not perfect, but whose is? Today was supposed to be perfect. It was a snow day; school was cancelled. She'd go and hang out with some family friends for a while, and then go to see her boyfriend's band play in Portland.

And then there's the crash, and now: the choice.

Does Mia stay here, with both parents gone and her brother's fate hanging on the balance? Or does she go, leaving behind Adam, her boyfriend, and Kim, her best friend?

There's very little to be said about the book without giving spoilers, it's so short. What there is to say is almost only good: The narrative is beautiful, weaving in and out of past and present. Personally, I loved all of the jumps back into Mia's past, but the present was far from badly written. Adam is larger-than-life in a very real way, and Kim, warm and loving, will remind readers of their own best friends. All of the characters are neatly and perfectly drawn. Mia's parents are great; eccentric and funny, not run-of-the-mill but still not hideously unusual adults who didn't care about their own children.

Additionally, Mia is truly torn by her decision. Her life hangs in the balance for the entire book, as well as whether she even could make the decision.

All in all, it's the perfect book. Mature writing, by the way that it doesn't seem at all like a debut. Forman knew what she was doing when she wrote it.

Yet... it still lacked something for me. Everything was so perfect that it seemed there was something missing. It was too textbook. Don't get me wrong, the premise isn't textbook at all, nor is the plot. But the execution and the narrative seemed almost so well-done that they were lacking. Maybe I'm crazy and imagining things, but I couldn't give it five stars.

Cut (Patricia McCormick)

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars



Callie doesn't talk. She used to cut herself, but she can't here at Sick Minds (a.k.a. Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" a.k.a. loony bin). They can't make her speak, though. It's not that there's anything wrong with the other people here, just that they're crazy and she's not. Right? She's not crazy.
You know Callie isn't crazy, don't you? You're her therapist. If you don't believe she's sane, no one will.
Well? Is she crazy or not?

It's a short book. More of a novella than a novel. Usually 'short' is followed by 'powerful', but in the case of Cut it's really just short. It's not blockbuster, but it's so short it doesn't really matter, even. It's so short that even though I can't really think of very many redeeming factors of it there aren't enough pages for there to be something wrong.

The premise on the surface isn't particularly creative. Been there, read that, worn holes in the T-shirt. There aren't that many books about mental hospitals, but they're definitely there. There are books about self-mutilating teenagers as well, more of them than there are about the hospitals. The really creative part of the book is the narrative itself--written like a letter from Callie to her therapist. A letter written as it happens, ever-lengthening in present tense.

Callie as a character is perfect. She knows exactly why she's in the hospital, but not how she got to that point. She's simple and complex at the same time; knowing more than she realises but not understanding. But she knows she wants to get better, and that she can be helped.

If you come across it, it's worth the read. But it's not so ground breaking nor is it so beautiful that it deserves paying seven bucks plus tax plus shipping. Just seven plus tax. Or the walk to the library.

Willow (Julia Hoban)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Three and a half stars because Willow frequently pissed me off. She's so... grrr. She's rather thick and rather full of herself through much of the beginning. Guy mellows her out a bit, as do his friends. But still.

Willow is seventeen, but if you asked her what she is, that's not what she'd think of. She'd have to decide between orphan, cutter, and murderer. All of which are new, seven-month-old titles. Seven months since she moved in with her brother, David, after that March storm and the dinner party, where Willow's parents drank too much and had Willow drive. It was a dark and stormy night, and Willow didn't have her license, even. She crashed. Both of her parents died.

Since then, Willow has had to come to terms with her grief. The only way she sees fit, though, is courting a razor blade. Arms, legs, stomach, all the same--it all produces pain. And physical pain is much preferred to mental.

I had high expectations for this book. The UK title, Scarred, is probably more appropriate for those expectations. The USA title, though, is Willow, and that's exactly what it was: all about Willow. Willow's world centres around Willow. Willow's world includes no one but Willow. And that really, really annoyed me. She pretends to care about David and Cathy, and deep down it's clear she does, but she doesn't make an effort. At all. Because it's all about Willow. Does she try and make her own life better? No. Not at all.

I know I sound insensitive, and I know I don't have any basis to go on. I'm not in Willow's position. Both--well, all four, really--of my parents are in perfect health; I don't have to deal with the same kind of pain Willow does. But still. Willow's just so over-the-top. Some people call it an intimate look into a character's mind. I call it the author making their character ridiculously insensitive to everyone else in the world.

Guy annoyed me more than once as well. His tirade of "Do you know what you've done to my life?" was rather out-of-place, considering how devoted to Willow's health and happiness he generally is, as well as how caring. It's not like he says it once and then apologises because it's absurdly rude. No, he says it again, and again, and again.

The plot itself is rather good. It's a good premise, a good topic. Eventually, it gets better. There's a particular scene that I love from their simple awkwardness (you'll know it when you read it). But there's just too much foolishness where Willow and Guy are concerned for me to rate it higher than three stars.

Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater)

It isn't really the eighteenth. No, it's the seventeenth. Right? Right.



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I still want to know what's with the blue ink. But anyway.

Grace lives with wolves. Well, kind of. There are wolves that live in the forest her yard backs up into. Several of them. There's the white she-wolf, the black wolf, and her wolf--one with pale yellow eyes. Her wolf, who saved her life six years ago when she was dragged off her tire swing in the backyard by the wolves. Her wolf saved her. Ever since that day, Grace's been the slightest big obsessed with the wolves. So when a boy is reportedly killed by one, she can hardly believe it. She has to, though--especially when hunters go into the woods, hell-bent on killing some wolves.

Grace doesn't believe in werewolves, either. Until she sees her wolf on her porch, bleeding from his neck, yellow eyes fearful. Human.

It's Sam's last change, and he knows it. He's going to have to fight for every day he remains human. The wolves change forms depending on the temperature, and as it grows colder and colder, Sam is closer and closer to turning wolf again. Unless they can find a cure, and fast, Sam's days as a human may be numbered.

Tetch. Seemed too close to Twilight for my comfort. And it kept reminding me of Twilight as it went on. Yes, yes, Shiver was begun before the whole Twi-craze, but that doesn't mean they aren't remarkably similar. Still, Shiver wasn't all too bad. For one, I don't hate the protagonist. And they both joke about how it's kind of creepy that Grace is so into wolves and that wolf-Sam was in love with human Grace. Grace's parents struck me as unusually distant for a bit, but after thinking about it more, they're not too far off-base from what could be reality.

The cynical side of me, though, can't help but make fun of Sam for a moment, though. He's too... nice. Too perfect. He and Grace never argue. Ever. Maybe twice in the entire book. Sam lives with her for weeks and weeks. There's only one bed in Grace's room. Not an issue at all. Someone in a café asks how long they've been together, Sam says six years without missing a beat. It's kind of hilarious, actually, while still being very sweet. I'm tempted to say it's not realistic enough, not possible. But hey, it could be, right? So I'll just leave off with a footnote: Sam's a total softie. Didn't ruin the book for me, though. And I certainly can't wait to get my hands on the second.

Devilish (Maureen Johnson)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It all started with a cupcake...

Well, not really. It started at prom night, when Alison's date never came. Stood up by a guy off the internet, the shame! And then Jane's boyfriend of just over seven months broke up with her and started ignoring her even as a friend. And then the cupcake. And Ally's puke all over the freshman. And then Ally's new haircut. And then Jane found out that her best-and-only friend was dating her ex, but also had sold her soul to the devil.

Well, the devil likes games... the question is, who's the better player? Jane... or Satan?

Wow. I'm impressed. This is a much better book than I thought it would be. I'm not really one for the supernatural, but MJ didn't do anything weird like have a demon slayer hook up with Jane (though Owen is pretty cool for a 116-year-old 14-year-old) or have the demons really just be misunderstood... and you can never really be sure if everyone's going to die in the end or not. I mean, there's a distinct possibility through the entire thing that Ally or Jane could just die. Fun, right? YES.

Devilish is set in Providence, Rhode Island. Which, for the record, is a lot more interesting than it sounds. They have trollies. Do we have trollies where I am? No, no we do not. We don't have a subway, even. We also don't--so far as I know--have an all-female Catholic school. This book does. And it also has a heaping plate of MJ humour--the best kind. And a few dead people. And cupcakes. What more could you want?*

*Edward Cullen? You want an Edward Cullen? Much to my pleasure, nobody sparkles and the dead guys keep their hands off. So sorry to disappoint you.

Pillage (Obert Skye)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Is that a dragon carrying a mailbox on the front cover?

Yes it is! Handsome dragon, isn't it? Pity it's also barking mad and very dangerous. Because guess what? The dragons aren't the good guys again! Rather refreshing change, is it not? Back to the basics--until you get into some of the new, creative mythology Obert Skye has created for Pillage.

Beck Phillips could be what you call a "troubled kid". He's not unbalanced like his mum, but he isn't the ideal kid for a few different reasons, including the being kicked out of schools and beginning the story with a swearword said in the school ventilation system with a bag filled with bees waiting to be released to wreck some havoc.

He doesn't even get in trouble when he falls through and releases the bees. Because his mother just died. And now he's being carted off to the middle of nowhere, where his batty uncle lives. Where he can make vines drag people who threaten him out the window, and have lettuce learn to fly.

And that's just the beginning.

To start with, I love Obert Skye's Leven Thumps series. About as much as I love Pillage. It's creative, Beck is wonderful narrator, and he's completely open about his crush on Kate. The bad guys are honestly bad guys. The dragons aren't nice. The characters have depth, sure, but... well... alright, Beck and his uncle have depth. Milo, maybe. Kate, eh, kinda. The writing is basic and open, everything's out there--streamlines the process, puts more emphasis on the story. Occasionally I felt that information was skipped over in odd places, but only every now and then, and that may have been my own error from reading through so fast! It's a quick read, and a good story. The ending is great. Worth the read, and I can't wait for the library to get the second!

Girl at Sea (Maureen Johnson)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I keep wavering between four and five stars. I think the five may stick.

Six years ago, Clio and her father made a board game, and then they got rich. And then her parents got a divorce, one thing lead to another, and now Clio and her mother are deep in debt. Her father's not so well-off either.
Clio is pretty happy where she is, though. She's got a best friend, Jackson. She's sure that this summer, working at the art store, she's finally going to have her first kiss, with Ollie, who works there too.
Everything looks a-okay. Until Clio's dad calls, and says they're going to Italy. Clio's mother will be in Kansas, and her father has visitation rights after the divorce... so she doesn't have a choice. She's shipped off to Italy.
Clio knows that it makes her sound like a brat to hate the idea of going to Italy for the summer. But... what about her plans? And more importantly, what about her dad? He's insane. This summer is going to be the worst of her life. There's no way around it.
Well, okay, maybe there is. There's Elsa, the dairy goddess (or at least that's what she looks like), who's actually remarkably nice. And Martin, Clio's father's partner, who's definitely not that bad. Oh, and Aidan. Annoying, obnoxious, and incredibly arrogant. Elsa's official summer fling to get over her last boyfriend.
Oh, and Elsa's mother's assistant. Elsa's mother, Julia. Who also happens to be Clio's father's girlfriend. This is going to be one loooooong boat ride...

Incredible! Amazing! It's not love at first sight! Aidan is genuinely irritating! Clio is genuinely unhappy, but genuinely not a brat! Elsa is genuinely likable! The conflicts are genuinely... conflicting?

Maureen Johnson is a master of emotions, and weaves a surprisingly believable yarn in Girl at Sea. Every character is real. Every character is deeply developed. They all have their little quirks, even--like Elsa's fancy for wine--but it's not methodical to the point of exhaustion. The story flows. It is natural. It is smooth progression. It is beautiful. And it is a page-turner. Maybe too much so. But that's a different story.

That's it; the five stars is sticking until much further notice.

(Coming up... another Maureen Johnson. And another. And another. Because my library apparently has every Maureen Johnson book known to man.
Want something other than MJ? Make a suggestion in comments!)

Going Bovine (Libba Bray)

Oh, woe is my internet! Thankfully, though, it is back, and I can has review backlog!

First up to the plate is probably my favourite book this year... Going Bovine by Libba Bray



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Ho-hum-ho. Clearly the stars had aligned when I was in the Half-Price on Anderson (which, by the way, I hate for various reasons), and I saw--THE BOOK.

THE book. Libba's new book. The one that won the Printz. THAT book. THE book.

I had high expectations for this book. But they weren't cosmic, allowing the book to surpass them.

Cameron has mad cow. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Creutzfeldt-Jakob. His brain is being turned into a sponge.
Then again, what was he living for anyway? Getting high with the three local stoners for kicks? Listening to crappy LPs of a guy he can't help but make fun of? He doesn't have a girlfriend; he doesn't really even have a girl he likes. Well, there's Staci, but she's a rabid female dog and Cam knows it.
But when a punk-rock angel tells him that he can be cured... well...
Off he goes, dwarf gamer friend Gonzo in tow.
The question is, can he reach the mysterious Dr X, the only man capable of saving him, in time?

What is real? What is hallucination? What is life, and what is death? Why does microwave popcorn taste so good? And what the heck is with all the snow globes?

It's like candy to read after writing something without much planning. Because this book doesn't feel planned (for the most part). It's a journey. It's an epic journey, though some might disagree (mostly history buffs that love the Odyssey and say it's the only 'epic journey' just because they can). There is a full cast of incredible actors throughout: Cameron. Dulcie. Gonzo. Balder, oh gods, Balder.

It's a lengthy book. I didn't get through it in a day. I get through everything in a day. I didn't get through the book in a day. I'm almost a little sore about that, seeing as I fully expected to finish it in a day. It's only a couple inches thick.

Then again, I also didn't expect it to be so good.

It vaguely reminds me of two different stories for different reasons. One, I cannot reveal, for reasons you may or may not discover after reading. The other is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Why? It's disjointed. Everything wraps up on itself. Things repeat where you least expect them to. You're on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Of course, in this one, there's also another slight little issue--the protagonist is completely mental.

All the better for the story! Full speed ahead to the nearest bookstore or ordering website! This is a book that needs to be read.

Because everyone needs to have their head screwed with every once in a while.

Wide Awake (David Levithan)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Highly entertaining, fast-paced novel weaving one part politics, one part "the future", and one part teen love story.

Incredibly enjoyable read. The future as we may-come-to-know-it is realistic, though pleasantly different. World-wide public healthcare has come. 9/11 has been joined by many other dates. There's been a new Jesus Revolution. Phones have video.

Even more identifiable than the possible future are the characters. Duncan, Jimmy, Virgil and all the others ring with the reality of human nature--they're not perfect, but they're real. Even the bullies--frequently overdone in YA books--are (unfortunately) genuine.

The plot itself is intriguing--a presidency challenged? (Now where've we heard this in real life? Ah, but that was Florida, not Kansas.) And a teenager going with his friends to defend it? There's a wonderful blend of political action and reaction woven in; it's never dry, accredited mainly to the idea of MONUMENTALISM though the whole novel. The author has built up a kind of contagious excitement that's impossible to ignore, sucking in the reader and not letting go.

Girl in Translation (Jean Kwok)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FCC Disclaimer: I got a free advanced readers' copy and would have given this same review even if I had spent money on it.

It's been a while since I've had nothing to say flat-out about a book. Already I'm forming my argument for why my bibliophile friend should put down her (I'm sure simply fascinating ) book about... whatever she's reading right now, be it the rise of Communism or Neil Gaiman, and read this book.

I think I'll settle with force, as at eleven pm after having spent the best part of the last six hours (with breaks for insignificant things such as, you know, eating) reading, I can't properly think up a good argument other than... Well, "Blahblargblah I didn't get enough sleep. Read this book. Now. It's going to be a bestseller. When it comes out in a month." (editor's note: This review is a couple months old. The book has since been released, and indeed it DID make the New York Times Bestsellers list.)

Well, Twilight got to be a bestseller too, now, didn't it? What sets this marvellous piece of art apart from... I'm not going to say it. What argument will I have to present then?

Perhaps it is the wonderful lead character, Kimberly Chang, whose determination makes her identifiable to two teenagers taking as many advanced-placement classes in their high school years as possible to perhaps gain a good enough scholarship to go to a high-ranking school. Perhaps it is Kimberly's humanness, also, that would bring great appeal--she has high hopes and dreams, but she's not a stiff; she is actually witty and funny, despite what other characters probably would have thought, had them be real people. Perhaps it's the fact that she comes from the poorest of situations and makes it to the top, still without a ridiculous moral tacked onto the end that is impossible to believe. Maybe she is the reason I'll give my lovely bibliophile friend.

Maybe when I shove it into other friends' hands, after getting over my fear of letting the soon-to-be-priced ARC out of my sight, it'll be Matt Wu, the loveable male protagonist who seems to never learn what exactly he wants until it's too late. The heartfelt Matt, who rather than being a tribute to the swooning twelve-year-old's firm belief "Boys are SOOO much better in books!" is a tribute to real-life, seen through the eyes of a girl who never truly wanted to fall in love.

The novel is remarkably well-written, I could claim. It's true. Girl in Translation is no shoddy work, even in a, to quote the front cover "UNCORRECTED PROOF". It does not take wild, Hitchhiker's Guide-esque twists in the plot. Rather, it is a fast-moving river--it does not diminish in grace as it swirls its way around bends.

For the more cultured, I could mention its Chinese-American feel, the way the author avoids watering-down when she can. Many phrases she uses are incomprehensible before 'translating' (even from English to English), so I am driven to suppose they are genuinely of Chinese origin.

I could compare it to other works, of course. The theme rings of many. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, if it struck your fancy. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, if the previous did not. Even my prized-above-all Looking for Alaska could be used to throw some sway. The writing itself can be compared to Author Golden's best-selling, world-recognised Memoirs of a Geisha in its unmistakably biographical feel, or even Amy Tan's equally celebrated The Joy Luck Club. Perhaps the reason for the latter two is explained away easily--the author has stuck close to the truth, or at least the biographical information of her website. Memoirs is written just as a memoir would be--though it is written by an American. Joy Luck, when compared to Amy Tan's biography, includes many interesting parallels to her real life, just as Girl in Translation.

Or, if I am truly a mess of sleep deprivation, having spent about half an hour writing this review and flipping aimlessly through the thin pages, I could simply say--"Read it, because it's good. Trust me. You'll get over the prologue thing and the epilogue thing once you've read the rest of it."

Wings (Aprilynne Pike, Wings #1)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mon dieu! I was most certainly not expecting this book to be this good!

Watch out for mild spoilers ahead, as it's impossible to talk about the book without spoiling the premise...

Laurel knows she isn't isn't like most other girls. She's too pretty, she never gets hurt, she can only eat vegetables and fruits without getting sick, she's fifteen, has hit puberty without a single zit, and never got her period.
Oh, and she has suddenly sprouted a softball-sized lump on her back. Although that's not nearly as weird as it is when the lump turns into a flower.
And, naturally, all in her first year of public high school, after having moved that summer.
It gets weirder still when her best friend and science geek David looks at a sample of skin and finds plant cells. And then when trying to take a blood sample, they come up with only sap.
There's someone who knows what's going on. The mysterious Tamani, who lives on Laurel's family's property and swears she's a faerie. Laurel stubbornly resists the idea, but it all makes sense to David--and as the petals fall and the property is prepped to sell, Laurel may have to believe it, too.

Where to start, where to start... Hm. How about with the whole flower thing. Yeah. That takes prize for THE most creative faerie premise I have ever read. Ever. The idea of faeries being plants... stunningly original.

All of the characters are stunning as well, though they seem awfully convenient some of the time (David, all of the parents) or awfully inconvenient (Chelsea of the Fairy Obsession). Still, Laurel is a perfect heroine; David and Tamani are both incredibly genuine and just incredible in general; Chelsea isn't so... meh... as some other side female characters can be. And, impressively: When Laurel's got two different guys going for her, she doesn't choose both (-cough-HouseofNight), nor does she make an enormous drama out of it that eclipses the actual plot (-cough-BellaSwanCullen). No, instead, she deals with it like an actual teenager. (Although, I gotta say, Tamani's much cooler than David is. He's funny.)

The writing itself isn't the best I've ever seen, but it's certainly very, very good. The book is paced perfectly throughout, and isn't too weighty nor feather-light. There aren't any nasty sex scenes, there aren't any gory battle scenes. I don't even remember any swearing. And, the best part is... it doesn't need any of it.

Thoroughly enjoyed, highly recommended.

Impulse (Ellen Hopkins)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Keep in mind, this is Ellen Hopkins. This is not going to be a pretty faerie tale for everyone, including the faint of heart. Even if you're mocking my warning, keep it in mind.

Tony was found by a cop, passed out in a pile of vomit on the street, wishing he could have kept the pills down.
Vanessa was found in a bathtub, her grandmother's new white porcelain stained pink and scarlet, wishing her brother hadn't been the one to see her first. Wishing her Grandma wasn't a nurse.
Conner was found on his living room floor, the gun still warm in his hand. If only he'd had the guts to go for the head, not the heart.

Then, he wouldn't be here. Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for the suicidal.

The three don't know each other, hardly even know themselves. They become friends out of need, a tangled friendship knotted up in questioned feelings and unknown identities. But isn't that what Aspen Springs is for? Untangling the knots inside?

Ellen Hopkins is already renowned for her heart-wrenching novels in verse, and this one is no less. The characters are all very real, with lengthy and incredible stories behind them. Hopkins doesn't dwell on the hidden pieces terribly much; there's no need to build even more suspense. The surprises come as they do, without the 'tantalising' (irritating) warnings that there is something being hidden. After all, would the characters be dwelling on those things? Some issues are dwelled upon, some are not.

The poetry itself isn't as shaped and aesthetically beautiful as in other novels such as Burned, but the beauty of the word choice remains. As does the perfection of the characters in all their imperfect ways.

Another gripping and intensely surprising novel from Ellen Hopkins. Highly recommended, and I can't wait to read the rest of her work.

Twenty Boy Summer (Sarah Ockler)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been a year. An entire, full year. Thirteen months--more than a year! So why can't Anna move on after her best friend's brother dies? Why can't she stop writing letters to him in her journal, recording everything as his sister gradually changes into someone Anna's not sure she still knows?
Maybe it's something to do with their secret... that for a month before he died, Matt and Anna were sneaking out of the house every night to silently kiss in the dark. That before that, they'd always been in love, they just didn't know it.
Matt swore he would tell Frankie on their annual trip to California. But then he died. And now Anna is carrying the secret alone. It's going to be more difficult when she ends up going on the trip to Zanzibar Bay with Frankie's family. Harder still when Frankie volunteers a challenge--twenty days, twenty boys. Whoever gets the larger share of the twenty wins.

A novel about love and loss and finally learning to let go.

It's not as... trashy... as I thought it would be. Not at all. They don't even get past eight or so guys; the title challenge is very much so not the largest part of the plot. It's not about a bunch of guys. It's about Anna, Frankie, Matt, and ok, there are a couple other guys too. It's about lies and love, hurt and home. And it's a really, really great book.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (Rachel Cohn and David Levithan)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That's right, the dynamic duo are back--Rachel Cohn and David Levithan are at it again.

This time, the book encompasses more than a single night. This time, the characters have known each other their entire lives. (Don't worry, there's still music!)

Naomi is kind of in love with her best friend. Sucks that he's gay. But that's not a problem, right? Of course not. The sacred bond of Naomi & Ely will survive! And to help that, they've developed the No Kiss List™. Pretty simple: it's all of the people neither of them are allowed to kiss.
Naomi's boyfriend isn't on the list. Then again, it can't possibly be a good idea for Ely to kiss him--right?
Very, very, very right, as it turns out.
Now all bets are off--the jeans must all be returned. The key under Naomi's doormat (to Ely's apartment) is removed. The Starbucks are divvied up.
Will the sacred bond of Naomi & Ely be able to survive?

Pretty great book, as the first was. (There's even a brief allusion to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist!) Still a little bit... over-the-top. I almost dropped it a star, but then, as they always do, Maureen Johnson's words came back to me... Who am I to drop a star because the realistic fiction only COULD MAYBE happen? Who am I to decide that isn't enough to be realistic fiction?

It's a pretty great book. The differences between the characters' chapters were incredible and very enjoyable--I mean, you've got Naomi, who speaks in symbols part of the time, and then Robin (m), whose chapter is all one massive paragraph with no direct quotes, and then Gabriel, who speaks in mix tapes. Absolutely fantastic to read.

But honestly, the symbols in Naomi's chapters were so small it took staring to see what they were part of the time, and it's lacking a--can you hear the English teachers of the world draw their breaths?--strong theme. I can't give it five stars. I can't bring myself to do it. I'm sorry, die-hard fans. David, Rachel--you know I'm going to buy your next books anyway (or, well, check them out of the library as soon as they're available, or when I can score one on BookSwap like this one).

Recommended... but only as a casual read. Don't try and beat a weighty, profound statement out of this novel... it might hurt the book. And whatever you were beating it with.

Born Confused (Tanuja Desai Hidier)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dimple Lala is seventeen years old and Indian. And American. And severely confused.
First, there's Gwyn, Dimple's very best friend since forever. She's perfect for here in Jersey--blonde, tall, beautiful. She's the star of Dimple's best photographs and the star of Dimple's life.
And then there's Karash. According to Dimple's parents, he's a "suitable boy". Can we say matchmaking time?
Dimple doesn't want to like Karash. She doesn't want her parents to mess with her life. She's spent the past seventeen years trying to become less Indian, after all--if Karash is suitable for her parents, he's clearly not suitable for her.
...Right?

Quick! Think of three words to describe this book!
Ready for mine?
1. long
2. surprising
3. creative

It's a long book. It took me forever to read it. Yet every time I did, I would find myself curled up in bed reading for as long as I could, completely immersed in the book. It's long, but it's not painful. I read a few other books in the time I read this one as breaks (and to keep up my review blog). It's worth reading, but it's not worth pounding your head over trying to finish in a day. Born Confused deserves more than that.

It's surprising. The plot takes turns that I haven't seen in a long time. They're completely genuine, nothing so outlandish it could never happen... but not the norm for a YA novel. (Example: She doesn't end up with the first guy she meets, not everyone ends up with a soul mate.)

It's creative. There are so many wonderful metaphors and phrases... Reading this is like eating a perfectly prepared dessert, luscious and wonderful. And that's just the writing. The plot itself has so many turns (not exactly twists--think a water slide park, not a roller-coaster), each bringing you to the edge of your seat. (I feel compelled to admit, however, that the ending is slightly lackluster. It kind of makes sense. But it's also kind of strange and quick...)

Recommended, but keep in mind the length before embarking.

Infinite Days (Rebecca Maizel, Vampire Queen #1)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FCC disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads. This has had approximately the same affect on me as the typeset.

Release date: August 2010

Lenah Beaudonte doesn't want to be evil anymore. She doesn't like being an evil blood-sucking killer.
And now, thanks to Rhode, her best friend/brotha from anotha motha/lover/soulmate... she doesn't have to be anymore.
Of course, it's not that simple. First of all, it takes time. One hundred years, to be exact--setting her to become a human in a much different time than the last she'd seen. 2010 isn't exactly the same as 1910, after all. Oh, and there's the small problem she created herself: her coven is bound to kill her when they find she's regained her humanity. Her only feasible option is simple: become so human, she can hide from her bonds and the vampire world. Naturally, that's going to be easier said than done as Lenah finds herself propelled into an ultra-preppy New England high school after a hundred years' hibernation, with a looming October deadline just ahead...

I'm really on the fence about this one. On the one hand, Maizel has a fantastic premise. Her rules of vampirism are refreshingly traditional at times, but her new edge is also deliciously fresh. Lenah is a complicated character; half the time she's unfathomably cruel, the other half of the time you can't help but love her. The writing isn't bad, even if it's a little weighty. The duel narrative, present-day with flashbacks, was fantastic (I really, really enjoyed the added dimension of the flashbacks). The lack of sex scenes was very pleasing.

Then again...

**SPOILERS AHEAD. WATCH YOUR STEP.**

Lenah is too darn good at all of this. I mean, honestly. She doesn't stand out hardly at all. She gets over the language barrier remarkably quickly, only keeping her British accent (seemingly for kicks). She even swears like a 21st-century teenager--not at all like a turn-of-the-century Brit. Oh, and she's not even a real turn-of-the-century Brit. She's over 500 years old. Doesn't that call for a little bit of a problem adapting? But no.

And then there's Tony, the best friend, and Justin, the boyfriend. I don't really know what to think about that. Again, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's a nice change that she doesn't go with the best friend, the first person she meets. But then there's Justin, who is a classic example of THE HOT GUY. Except, he's... nice? What? Points for that, less for the fact that everyone's supposed to hate the popular kids (Tony even reaffirms this), and yet they're not that bad at all. There are minimal problems with relationships at all. Heck, Lenah's life is pretty perfect as a human. She steals THE HOT GUY from his girlfriend, and she doesn't even cause problems. She instead ends up dating the art kid, Tony (this, I completely and utterly think was because Ms Maizel simply needed to find a girlfriend for him).

Everything just seems so easy for Lenah. I mean, seriously. She tells her boyfriend that she's a vampire, and the same day he comes back, decides he's going to believe it, and everything's so great between the two of them that Lenah offers to, er, take their relationship to the next level, let's say.

And then all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, all bets are off as soon as Part II starts. Lenah gets special powers to make the plot work again. Rules are brought to the surface. Tony dies, for no apparent reason. Lenah gets turned back into a vampire, and, I reiterate, gets special powers. That Rhode tells her about. (Wasn't he supposed to be dead?) The pacing gets all whacked out, but it's not any more page-turning than before--I could set it down by that point.

Still... I have to give the book four stars (and not because of the typeset, which in my copy is a plain Times New Roman-esque). It's riddled with too many small mutant plot-bunnies (Tony and Tracey? What?) for a full five, but still it is, without a doubt A GOOD BOOK. If you're wanting to read a vampire book, read this one. If one more vampire book is going to push you over the edge... well... wait a while and then read this book anyway. If you're a nit-picker like I am, though--you might be better off reading something else.

On the bright side, it's a debut novel. Maybe the next ones will be better. Personally, I can't wait.

After (Amy Efaw)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My expectations have been exceeded. My expectations of the book, my expectations of the library it came from, and even to an extent my expectations of the publishing industry.

Devon is a star student. 4.15 GPA, lead keeper--er, goalie--of the varsity girls' football--er, soccer--team.
She's not the type to be in jail, especially not for the Attempted Murder of her newborn infant.
She's relying on her attorney to get her out now. But she can't bring herself to tell anyone the whole story. Dom's not even always sure she believes her client. Are you?


If the concept itself is intriguing, wait until you read the book. One of the most suspenseful page-turners I've ever read; I finished the latter half entirely in different classes over the course of a day. The characters shine through brilliantly, especially the star of the story--Devon, a fifteen-year-old protagonist that many will be able to identify with, despite what one might think. Told in the third person, the author keeps it from being overdramatic while still giving all of Devon's essential thoughts and emotions. Researched and accurate, After is borderline disturbing in its believability; an incredible read.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Rachel Cohn and David Levithan)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty darn good book, overall.

I'll start with what I disliked the book (that being the shorter list):
1. The excessive swearing. Yes, yes, I know the arguments both ways. I've heard one of the authors explain his side of it himself, even. But it's still kind of obnoxious at times.
2. The whole instant-love thing. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Highly enjoyable, and by the end was completely explained, but throughout the early-middle stars were dropping like flies as some nagging impression my parents have left upon me said How irresponsible can these people be?.

Now that that's over with...

Re-iterating: Pretty darn good book. One night, 180-some pages. Fast-paced and wholly enjoyable. Nick and Norah seem to represent the people that pretty much all teenagers, at least in the backs of their minds, want to be. They're not the popular kids--they're the kids who have friends and honestly are happy just like that.

Which, though I'd hate to disagree all of the wonderful, mature adults who have commented on the book, makes it undeniably the opposite of what many people want to say the book is. It isn't a bad influence. The main characters aren't bad people. They don't smoke or drink. And they don't expect everyone to be their friend. It's not like every teenager on the planet is going to have their mind infected with the book and go make out with some random person after reading it.
(For more on this opinion, I must turn yet again to another author, who makes the point about his own book in this YouTube video.)

The musical current throughout the book is fantastic. I love music. I am a music nerd. The amount of music in this book (pretty typical of David Levithan, as I am discovering more and more) makes me happy. If you are a music nerd, it will make you happy too. But, yeah, read the book even if you're not. Because it isn't essential to be a music nerd or to know a lot about New York City to get the book.

Final summary: It's like a trashy novel but for intelligent people, particularly the musical type. Very good novel.

Kaspar Traulhaine, approximate (Pablo D'Stair)

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

FCC disclaimer: Received free from Goodreads first reads.

Kaspar Traulhaine is a murderer who thought he got away, until a man tells him that in three days he will be turned into authorities.

Mildly interesting book, overall. There's a slight problem in that Kaspar doesn't seem like the kind who would kill a man, though he does seem severely unhinged, and we never really find out what went down. Something about strangling a man and then dumping him in a trash can...? The reasons involve a girl named Claudia, though it's never clear what Gavin was to her, much less what Kaspar was.

I really struggled to finish the book. It's not terribly long, but it's also not terribly fast. It drags on, and I couldn't find a climax anywhere. Parts of it can only be described as revolting. Not an awful book, but it lacked any real appeal. The problem wasn't even Kaspar--who I doubt anyone who reads the novel could honestly like--the protagonist who constantly falls apart at random times and then immediately goes and drinks himself sick. The book just doesn't have enough appeal to eliminate the things that detract.


High points: the idea, some very impressive metaphors
Low points: Kaspar himself, the execution of the plot

Elsewhere (Gabrielle Zevin)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Liz Hall doesn't want to be dead. Her last words were "Um", for goodness' sake! She had a life down on Earth. Not a great one, but she had a best friend and a wonderful dog and a little brother who wasn't so bad. Yet at fifteen, she forgets just one time to look before crossing the street on her bike... and is hit by a taxi cab. Liz goes where everyone goes after they die, Elsewhere. It's a lovely place--perfect weather, you can't get sick, and you won't get any older. You can even watch your friends and family with the binoculars on the Observation Decks. No, to the pleasure of most patrons of Elsewhere, you don't get older--you get younger, until Release, when you're sent back to Earth as a baby. Until then, you can just work at your dream job--if you want--and have fun until your release.
Liz doesn't want to move on, though. She wants to have her life back. She wants to get a Massachusetts drivers' license. Can she ever move on?

The book itself has an incredibly creative canon to start on, but I couldn't help but find Liz a bit annoying. Well, let's be frank--either Liz was annoyingly stubborn, or everyone else was annoyingly complacent. Liz's denial of the fact that she couldn't go back to Earth resulted in every bad thing happening to her. And then, it's all gone in a flash. The author couldn't be less subtle about what was going to happen next in every situation, unless it was something completely absurd (which happened at least once). The romance was completely ridiculous and irritating.

Still, it was creative. It wasn't badly written. Not to melodramatic, not too light and airy. The speaking Canine was a bit out-of-place, but hey, why not. It's a magic world, isn't it? Zevin's prose is quick, the dialogue wasn't disappointing.

Overall, worth the read for the world-building. Not so much for the rest.

Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Clay Jensen comes home one day to find a package on his doorstep without a return address. He opens it, and finds seven tapes. The special thing about these tapes? They contain the voice of Hannah Baker--his first and only crush, who committed suicide two weeks ago.
Clay doesn't want to listen, but he can't stop. Especially not when Hannah tells him that each side of the tapes has a story on it, a story relating to one of the thirteen people who is, in a way, responsible for her death. To have received the tapes, you must be on them.
And so Clay hits play. And he proceeds to listen through all thirteen tapes in one night, hearing Hannah's stories and following her footsteps throughout the town on a map he received before she died.

It wasn't my favourite book in the world, I'll say it honestly. I don't know what, but there was something that annoyed me when I was reading it, I know.

I can't remember what that could have possibly been now.

Hannah's narrative is beautiful and genuine, painful to read in her humour and sorrow. Her stories are heart-wrenching, and will strike a chord with everyone who reads the book because, well, they sound true. They could happen to anyone, really. Formatted with Hannah's tapes in italics and Clay's reactions in plain face, each chapter a different side, everything flows quickly and easily. This book is a true page-turner; I read straight through all day, stopping (barely) once, seeking sustenance. Hannah's story will shock you and break your heart. Clay's words, showing the repercussions of Hannah's death and the tapes, will throw salt on the wounds.

It's a wonderful book.

Listen to the tapes at the book's website here.

(Rated T for suicide and implied explicit scenes.)

Rooftops of Tehran (Mahbod Seraji)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pasha Shahed has a secret. He's in love. That alone is something that seems like it should be kept a secret in 1973 Iran, but the real kicker is that the girl he's in love with, Zari, has been engaged to another man, Doctor, since birth. Pasha even likes this man--everyone does. He's intelligent and an outspoken thinker, especially in their mid-class Tehran neighbourhood.
None of this means that they can't be friends, though. And so begins the summer of 1973, filled with nights in which Pasha and Ahmed sit on their roofs and name stars for those they love--the bigger and brighter the star, the better the person it belongs to. They talk about the government and school and above all, the girls they love. Ahmed has sworn he will marry his love, Faheemeh, and that he will help Pasha marry Zari. Faheemeh swears Zari loves him as well. Soon the four become the best of friends, spending long afternoons in Zari's yard, wondering what will happen when Doctor returns from his mysterious trip into the north of Iran.
One night, he does return--followed by the Shah's secret police. Everything falls apart, and the event leads to Zari's daring decision that will change all of their lives... perhaps permanently.

Absolutely amazing. Seraji's narrative is stunning, simple but quick. Every now and then there is a moment of purely poetic nature, loveliness matched only by the characters themselves. There's no "unexpected" romances--it's out on the table, not falsely tagged as "plot-twists" as in some other books. The two story lines running simultaneously through the beginning of the book could potentially be hard to follow, but I didn't find it so bad. The novel is in turn hilarious and heartbreaking, beautifully written. The vocabulary isn't terribly advanced or poetic on average, easily forgivable considering the author had to learn English on his own when he moved to the United States. It goes without saying, I'm very glad he chose to write this novel in English rather than any other language!

Utterly genuine, passionate, heartbreaking and gripping, Rooftops of Tehran is a stunning portrait of life in a nation on the brink of revolution.

Hidden Wives (Claire Avery)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FCC Warning: I won a free copy of the book. This has not changed my my stance on the book.

Hidden Wives centres around two teenagers named Sara and Rachel, both fifteen (though Rachel turns sixteen during the novel). They're sisters, or rather, half-sisters--Sara's mother is Anna Marx. Rachel's mother is Marylee Shaw. Both women are married to the girls' father, Abraham Shaw. They live in a polygamists' cult called Blood of the Lamb, in Utah. Both believe that marrying a man--most likely at least twenty or thirty years older, probably already with a few wives already--is the only way for them to keep from going to hell.
Sara's beginning to get skeptical. She's quickly discovering that she's too smart to ignore what she's seeing, blindly trust what she's taught. Unfortunately, others are seeing it, too.
Rachel believes in her religion with all her heart. No matter what, she is determined to always believe. Even when she's hurt, physically and mentally. Even when she falls in love. She's willing to stand by her religion until the very end...

The novels tells a gritty story, full of hurt and pain. But it's also undoubtedly a story of hope, and a story of truth. Highly emotional yet never graphic, Claire Avery (a pseudonym for the pair of sisters who wrote the book together) has brought a usually hidden reality into light with this new novel Hidden Wives. A fast-paced page turner, I read the last two hundred pages straight through. Highly recommended.

Graceling (Kirstin Cashore, The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #1)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Quite frankly, one bloody awesome fantasy novel.

Katsa is Graced; she is one of the few in the Seven Kingdoms bearing a particularly strong skill. In Katsa's case, she has a remarkable ability to kill, much to her dismay, as in her kingdom those who are Graced are at the mercy of the king. Katsa's position in the court is quickly decided, and she becomes the king's personal thug, sent to punish those who disobey the powerful King Randa. Katsa in secret has another role, however--she and friends within the court have devised what they call the Council, a band of shopkeepers, merchants, and other do-gooders whose primary goal is simply to keep people from being harmed by the hands of the kings. Katsa grudgingly has accepted these dual roles, at least until she meets Po, a Lienid prince, also Graced. Wrapped in his own quest to find his kidnapped grandfather, Po teaches Katsa about herself in ways she doesn't expect. Soon they're off together to find motive to his grandfather's kidnap, not realising the dark secrets that are just waiting to be unearthed...

Told in a story-teller's voice, Graceling is a fast-paced story, though the maintains a rather straight line all the way through. Don't worry, Po's not going to turn out to be Katsa's brother or anything: while not everything is exactly as it appears to the eye, there are no large, in-your-face surprises. Cashore's fantasy world is rock-solid, too--dragons aren't going to randomly appear--and it's all magical realism, so there aren't a million and one "OMG!" moments from characters as they learn about Katsa's Grace. It's a good, straight-forward narrative: not necessarily groundbreaking or profound, but a nonetheless a new world and concept to explore, without an irking magic that fixes all problems.

Highly recommended, especially for those who haven't read much fantasy lately or just want to read a solid magical story without frills.

(Rated Teen for non-graphic explicit scenes.)

13 Little Blue Envelopes (Maureen Johnson, Blue Envelopes #1)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ginny hasn't seen her favourite Aung Peg in months when she suddenly receives a package in the mail from her containing thirteen little blue envelopes, $1000 and instructions to fly out to London. Once there, she can open the envelopes one at a time, following the instructions on each one before opening the next. Following the instructions, Ginny sets off, expecting the adventure of a lifetime. What she doesn't expect is exactly what is waiting for her on the other side of the Atlantic, nor who she will be when she flies back home.

I know this isn't a completely believable book (Maureen herself didn't even really intend for it to be). No mother would allow their seventeen-year-old daughter to go rampaging across Europe with $1000 and thirteen letters from her aunt, who no one has seen in quite some time. What was the likelihood of Ginny finding Keith? And how did Ginny actually manage to do all of those things the letters said?

But as I read further and further, I realised I didn't care. It's a well-written book. Ginny and Keith and Peg and Richard and Carrie and everyone else are all good characters. Not good as in perfect, each of them managed to tick me off at one time or another, but good as in real.

And besides. This wasn't a completely cliché book. And that means a lot to me, especially after spending a day reading and reviewing stories on FictionPress.

I think that the thing that truly made me appreciate and love this book, though, was that I want this adventure. I want to go places. See places. I want to have Ginny's adventure. I want to have my aunt go insane and leave me thirteen little blue envelopes that send me trekking across Europe. I want to see all of those places, to meet a starving artist in London and a creep in Rome and four friends in Copenhagen. I want to get busted making out with a great guy with an awesome British accent in a graveyard.

But I don't have a crazy aunt (my aunts are all perfectly sane), and I don't have enough money to trek across Europe alone. Nor do I have that much willpower. Or freedom. So instead, I settle with just simply reading the narrative or someone who did. Maureen Johnson is an undeniably a good storyteller, and she has an undeniably good story to tell in 13 Envelopes. So call it cliché and call me a hypocrite, but I loved every page of it.

new blog! (and déjà vu)

Hm. It really seems like not too long ago I was making a new blog...

Oh right! I did make a blog not to long ago! (This one.)

Of course, that blog is essay-driven (that's one way to put it, anyway). Whereas this blog, as you may have guessed, will be entirely reviews.

Because it's about time I got a review blog so I could feel as special as all those other book-reviewer-bloggers, eh?

Kidding, of course.

stay funky and dftba--
x aneko