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book review: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (The Steampunk Chronicles #2)

Kady Cross (4 stars)
summary from Goodreads: "In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous. 

Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. 

One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens."

MY THOUGHTS: I've read all three of Cross's novels (well, two novels and a prequel/short story) in this series, and I think they've been a lot of fun. On the technical side of things, I think Cross's style is just average -- she's not a flowery writer, but her prose doesn't stand out much, either. Sometimes an author can really grab you with a spare style, but that's not the case here. Cross writes serviceable prose, clear enough to set the scene and make her point -- and that's about it. Character development is pretty basic; obviously more time is devoted to Finley's perspective, though we spend a good bit of time in Griffin's head too. Both of these viewpoints work in favor of the romance (though I'm a little disappointed that we don't have Jack Dandy in this book to liven things up a bit). 

This book featured a number of things I've come to expect from steampunk, as well as a bonus: Nikola Tesla, who is one of my very favorite historic characters to show up in steampunk/alternate history novels. The New York setting is a great touch, though I wish the author had spent a little more time really describing the setting.

If I had to make one complaint about this book, it would be this: the pacing was really weak, particularly when it came to the climax of the book. The big "showdown" at the end took all of three pages to happen, and the scenes cut to each other too quickly. I felt like there was a lot that was left out and it all just felt so anti-climactic, especially after a buildup of almost 300 pages. There's one big plot point that's just left flapping loosely as well -- of course, I have my suspicions about what is going on, but obviously I'll have to wait until book #3 to see if I'm right.

Still, this is a fast, fun read -- almost like a chicklit version of steampunk.

book review | Auraria: A Novel

Tim Westover (4 stars) -- expected publication date: July 2012

(taken from Goodreads): "Water spirits, moon maidens, haunted pianos, headless revenants, and an invincible terrapin that lives under the mountains. None of these distract James Holtzclaw from his employer’s mission: to turn the fading gold-rush town of Auraria, GA, into a first-class resort and drown its fortunes below a man-made lake. But when Auraria’s peculiar people and problematic ghosts collide with his own rival ambitions, Holtzclaw must decide what he will save and what will be washed away.

Taking its inspiration from a real Georgia ghost town, Auraria is steeped in the folklore of the Southern Appalachians, where the tensions of natural, supernatural and artificial are still alive."

MY THOUGHTS: It's always something of a risk, requesting ARCs from Netgalley, particularly books by authors whom you've never heard of. But the blurb contained enough interesting details to pique my interest -- this sounded like a great cross between John Crowley's Little, Big and Charles de Lint's Appalachian stories, like A Circle of Cats. 

Westover proves himself right off as a talented writer with surehanded prose, deft descriptions, and an ear for strong dialogue. I was easily caught up in the setting and time period; there are enough details to provide a sense of location and time period, but also just a tinge of vagueness so that the story takes on an almost otherworldly sense as well at times -- as though the characters have been pulled out of their actual time and location and dropped into another world. That's a hard trick to manage, but Westover does it well.

In fact, he does it almost too well from the start. While all the characters are interesting, it's Holtzclaw whom we are partnered with from the beginning, and I wasn't sure I bought into his total acceptance of the folklore of Auraria. At first, it's obviously because his character is so blindly set on obtaining the land his employer demands, but at some point his eyes are opened more clearly, and he just accepts things so naturally. I'm not sure if readers are supposed to just accept that he had acclimated to the place so quickly that he could do nothing but accept what was going on around him. His character seemed so uptight in the beginning that I really expected more of a freakout from him, but that never happened.

The various characters are amusing, interesting, and varied; the plot moves along quickly, with just a few lapses in a couple of spots. There were one or two chapters that seemed out of place -- almost like small, stand-alone chunks of folklore or old stories tucked into the larger story being told. There were wonderfully written, like everything else here, but they disrupted the flow of the story for me, and it took a bit to get back into the rhythm of things. 

Westover has written an enjoyable novel, with just the right combination of historical fiction and Georgian folklore to keep readers of a variety of genres interested. This is one that I'm glad I took a chance on at Netgalley, and I'll be recommending it to readers upon release.

Note: I received an Advanced Review Copy in e-book format from Netgalley. 

what I've been reading: April

In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood (4 stars)
I read this as part of some research I'm doing for a curriculum unit, so my brain has been in this SF track for a few weeks now. I always enjoy Atwood's voice in her essays -- it's wry, with a sense of humor that is sometimes dark, sometimes sarcastic, and always keenly observant. The first three essays are particularly good, especially if you have an interest in SF, superheroes, and speculative fiction. The middle section features a number of introductions and reviews, mostly to pieces that I haven't read, and some of the material is reused in the opening section. The "Tributes" section contains some short pieces of Atwood's work. What I love most here is that, although she's technically only written 3 works of SF, some of the same themes from those books cross over into her more realistic work, thus blurring those genre lines even more (yay for interstitial fiction!!!) Personally, the collection is worth checking out from the library just to read the letter she wrote to a school board who banned one of her books. :)

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (4 stars)
 I put this on my to-read list as soon as it was released, but I'm not sure why I was drawn to it, since I don't normally read westerns at all. But something about the description sounded appealing to me, and I'm glad that I picked it up. DeWitt's writing is terse yet still descriptive; the violence is graphic without being overly done, and Eli's melancholy voice makes for one of the best narrators I've come across in a long time. It's no secret that I don't read a lot of what's considered literary fiction, though I would if more of it were this interestingly written. This is a story that works on a couple of levels, and I've found myself coming back to the characters and their observations many times over the past couple of days.

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr (3 stars)
 Interesting readable nonfiction about the effect changing technology has on our abilities to concentrate, read, think, problem-solve, analyze, and more. I enjoyed tracking the evolution of our brains through history, from an oral storytelling culture to a highly computerized society. My only issue is that much of what's presented here isn't particularly earth-shattering and Carr doesn't offer up much of anything new, even in his synthesis of all the current research.

Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King (4 stars)
I've never read any of the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes books, but I have heard great things about them. This short story provided a nice introduction to the characters. I LOVE how it started off -- there was just something about the author's writing style and voice, combined with the plot events, that really engaged the part of me that loves a good story. It's just this sense I got of "Oh, this is really good." Which doesn't always happen in such a crystal-clear manner, especially within the first couple of pages. I will definitely have to add this series to my list of books to-be-read. (As though it needed to get any longer....argh!)

Watch Your Mouth by Daniel Handler (2 stars)
 I don't think that there's any doubt that Handler is a talented writer; his wit and wordplay can knock your socks off at times. But for me, this just didn't work. I guess I just found it less absurd and more annoying. For the most part, I skimmed through the whole thing.

Redwoodian: Wilfair Book 2 by Alysia Gray Painter (4 stars)
 Okay -- so many of the things that kinda bugged me about the first book have been toned down, particularly all the little quirks that Fair is prone to while speaking. Things aren't quite so crazy inside her head, either -- and this time around, we really get to know Fair better. The best part is that the budding romance between Fair and Gomery is just too adorable for words, and the metaphysical mystery of moving buildings has really got me intrigued now. I'm looking forward to part 3.

Underdog by Markus Zusak (3 stars)
This is Zusek's very first novel, the first of three semi-autobiographical novels about growing up in a working class family and struggling to find your voice in the world. There's a lot that's really clumsily down here, but I can't deny how endearing Cameron (read: Zusak) is. It's clear even from these rough beginnings that Zusak is talented, although it's a little awkward and even embarrassing to see just how overdone and angst-y this attempt is. Still, there's something appealing about Cameron and his family, and I found myself rooting for the Underdog.

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta (5 stars)
I wasn't really sure I could love one of Marchetta's characters more than I loved Finnikin, until I read Froi. Froi was a secondary character in Marchetta's first Lumatere novel, but he steps to the forefront in this novel and just steals the show. He is so dimensional he practically leaps off the page, and so flawed that your heart simply aches for him. It doesn't matter if you are a fan of fantasy or not, because Marchetta has crafted a story that transcends genre boundaries and makes you focus completely on the characters. I absolutely can't wait until the third book. 

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (5 stars)
Easily one of the best books I've read all year. This one will be going on my "bestbooksever" shelf as well. I love when ideas converge, and this book came at such a perfect time for me, since I've been reading a lot of dystopian fiction and nonfiction about technology and consumerism and our need for moremoremore. Mitchell's novel tackles these themes, as well as a study on humanity and what we can endure (and how) through "progress." The various genres here are masterfully done, with incredibly diverse voices and styles, as well as an inventive form. Mitchell works in so many different layers to these stories; this is a novel that is overflowingly rich with connections for the careful reader, but just as enjoyable for someone who's simply after a well-crafted novel. 

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak (4 stars)
 With each new novel in the series, I fall more in love with Cameron Wolfe, Zusak's tender-hearted idealistic alter ego. This second novel finds Zusak on firmer ground in terms of plotting and story arc; his characters are strong, dialogue is good, and he's experimenting with form, which continues in the third novel (and definitely is something that works for him in The Book Thief). This is a great novel for boys, which is a plus, but you don't have to be a teen boy to enjoy it. Again, there are places where the writing is heavy-handed and overdone but there is no denying Zusak's talent, and watching him develop through the three novels in this series is a really interesting examination.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (3 stars)
This is one of those instances where I want to definitely emphasize that my feelings for this book are in no way reflective of my feelings for this topic. The book is about date-rape, and I think Whitney handles the topic pretty well, but there's nothing really original about this book in terms of what's been written about date-rape in YA books before (but perhaps that's because I can't help but compare this to Speak, which for me is the definitive book on the topic). The idea of the Mockingbirds as a form for meting out campus judgement is interesting, but I have some issues with this concept of student justice (particularly because the author has handicapped the faculty at this prep school so handily -- I think that is overdone and way too cliche and heavy-handed for reality). Whitney's writing is not especially strong either, so I found myself skimming a lot because things were pretty repetitive and Alex just got annoying by the end. 

French Milk by Lucy Knisley (3 stars)
 A nicely drawn diary of the author's stay in Paris with her mother. I think the cover blurbs are misleading, because I don't really see the development of the mother-daughter relationship here, at least not like I was expecting. Lucy's drawings are fun and it was nice to experience Paris through her eyes, but everything was a bit flat in terms of story -- I kept wondering "What's the point?" I was told what I should expect to read here, but that's not what I actually read.

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (4 stars)
I listened to this today, on an 8 hour road trip by myself, and it was the PERFECT way to pass the time. This is an absolutely charming adventure story with a dash of magic -- plus there are spies and it's set in London and has boarding schools and all kinds of great little touches. The characters are excellently written -- just your ordinary kids who have an extraordinary adventure. Just the kind of book I loved as a younger reader, and one that still appeals to me as an older reader now.

Hana by Lauren Oliver (3 stars)
 I liked seeing the events of Delirium from Hana's point of view (particularly since Lena kind of got on my nerves once she fell in love with Alex). I like the added dimension of things not being what Hana expected them to be, and her struggle to come to terms with that. Aside from that, there's not much here that really adds to the other two novels, though the twist at the end might be a surprise for some folks.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (3 stars)
 I'll be honest, it's Oliver's writing that brings me back to this series, rather than the concept of the book itself. I think the world-building is a little weak, and I could kick her for falling back on some pretty worn-out YA tropes, but I'll admit -- Oliver can write like nobody's business, and that alone keeps me sucked into this world.

giveaway winner and new releases

Congrats to Melt003 -- she's the winner of the seat in Elizabeth Dillow's new Design Challenges class. Email me at audneal at gmail dot com and I'll get your registration information to you.

 

Just a short post today -- I'm recovering from a rough bout with the stomach bug that Chris and Cass had earlier this week, plus a case of bronchitis. I've got two new products in the shop today, at 30% off.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: OLD FAVORITES

This is what Cami is reading right now (apologies for the minor blurriness -- I moved too quickly after snapping this shot), and I am so excited. See, Cami is my reluctant reader. She enjoys reading, but as I've said before, it's not her first (or second or even third) choice of activity. I have to make her sit down to read in the evenings, normally before bed, and then (ironically) I have to make her put down the book and turn off the light. Most nights she reads past her bedtime, just because "I'm at such a good part, Mama!" and well, honestly, who am I to tell my kids that they can't read just a little bit longer?

Cami has also been the one that we've read to the longest. She really enjoys it -- especially with longer books. Cass took off on her own as soon as she could read by herself, and I think I was that way as well. At least, I don't remember being read to frequently, although I know Mama did (we had a big hardcover version of the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris). Reading for me has always been a solitary activity, something I could do on my own. I still think of it that way.

This book is one that I've been trying to get Cami to read for a while, and to be honest, I think it was the Lauren Child illustrations that finally won her over. (I mean, hello? Who doesn't love Lauren Child? The woman is a genius. Seriously.) This is one of a handful of books that I must have check out from our local library a million times when I was younger. Aside from our school library, the public library (and the bookmobile) was the key place where I could satisfy my reading urges. I literally counted down the days until I was old enough to get my library card, and then I maxed it out each and every time. Other perennial favorites included the entire Oz series (I'm always amazed at the number of people who have no clue that Baum wrote an entire series of Oz books), the Bobbsey Twins series, and much of Louisa May Alcott's works. It was here that I also came across a book called The Three Candles of Little Veronica, which I read multiple times and which always held so many layers of new meaning for me each time.

At our school library, I quickly worked my way through all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, everything that Marguerite Henry wrote, and the entire wall full of historical biographies. Ms. Katy, our librarian, was also the mother of one of my classmates, so she knew me well; she introduced me to classics such as The Secret Garden and Susan Cooper's incredible series, The Dark is Rising.

But it was through that mecca of all things bookish -- the SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR (cue heavenly choirs of angels) -- that I really felt empowered as a reader. I saved up my money and purchased my own books, which meant they were mine, which meant I didn't have to take them back, which meant I could keep them forever -- and which started my own personal library, a collection I am still building. The first purchase I remember making was a copy of The Hero and the Crown by Robyn McKinley, and to this day, that remains one of my most-loved fantasy novels of all time. The story has had something new for me every time I've gone back to it, and I still reread it on a regular basis. I truly think that it's the novel that made me the reader I am today.

What books do you remember from your childhood making a big impact on you as a reader? Let's reminisce together! :)

OH, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post to win a seat in Elizabeth Dillow's upcoming Big Picture Class, Design Challenges!

Ella Publishing's newest e-book: book crafting

Looking for fun things to do with old books? Look no further! Inspired by their Books & Crafts weekly web show, Angie Lucas and Wendy Smedley teamed up with three crafty contributors to bring you an eBook jam-packed with book crafting ideas—one of today's hottest trends.

You'll enjoy 38 brilliant crafts with old books (from pencil boxes and picture frames to canvas art and book journals), plus direct links to four Books & Crafts videos that explore four of the book craft ideas in depth.

On top of that, you'll also get 5 fabulous layout ideas about books and reading, plus 76 pages of List It! for Book Lovers printable journaling cards! The List It! section includes lists, quizzes, and reading log pages that you can print directly in either a scalloped or square shape, in either black or brown. And if you want to customize them further, your purchase includes the associated PNG files as well!

MY OPINION: There was so much great inspiration in this e-book. I am constantly finding great old books -- one of our favorite places, as I've mentioned before, is McKay's Used Books in Nashville. I'm always having to convince myself not to bring home more books since we already have more than we can store, but these projects have given me so many ideas. I really loved the variety of projects, particularly the vintage desk set (see below) and the repurposed notebooks.

I've been working on a reading journal for a while, and the List It! topics in this e-book are great prompts to include in my journal. (You can find my original post here, with a follow-up post here and a freebie to download here.) In fact, I used one of the prompts as a starting point for this layout, about one of the books that impacted my love for reading when I was in elementary school.

credits: April Foundations Template #8 by Crystal Livesay (Live Your Stories); Tell Me a Story collaboration kit (One Story Down)

Right now you can get Book Crafting for an introductory price of $10.99; if you love books and crafting, then this e-book offers you both at a great price!

what i've been reading: March

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral (4 stars)
I came across this totally by accident, just by browsing the shelves at a local bookstore. The story told via photographs and other interactive elements intrigued me, of course, and the artwork/design is masterfully done. This is one book you'll definitely want to read closely, as tiny details really do matter. Nothing is quite what it seems here, and so the open nature of the story leaves the resolution open to the reader's interpretation (reminds me of As Simple As Snow, in that sense). This is one of those books where you can't take anything literally. Well done and creative -- I recommend it.

Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter (4 stars)
This short novel contains a dreamlike quality, despite the horrors of both the World War I setting in France and the rural desolation of the Appalachian Mountains. I liked how Ritter told his two stories through alternating chapters, and the hint of magical realism gives the story the feel of a modern-day fable. Things didn't wrap up as smoothly as I think they could have, which is perhaps more a fault of Ritter's first-novel skills than anything else. Still, I breezed through this quickly and thought it was beautifully written, if a little overdone in some passages.

Feed by M.T. Anderson (3 stars)
I see a lot of opportunity for talking about technology, knowledge, consumerism, and more with students through this novel. However, for just my own personal reading entertainment, I wasn't particularly engrossed. There were parts that were done exceptionally well, but for the most part, I was just completely annoyed by the narrator and his friends.

Magic or Not? by Edward Eager (4 stars)
Cami brought this home from school; it was given to her as part of some reading initiative. The author's name was familiar to me, in the same vein as Joan Aiken or E. Nesbitt. And even though these were quite the kinds of books I would have ADORED as a young reader, I don't think I read many of them. Perhaps Half Magic? That one sounds familiar, but I'm just not sure. Anyway, this one was great fun -- it's the nostalgic kind of magic realism that seems so common to a certain type of novel for young readers, and reading it was so familiar and comforting. Just the kind of thing to pull me out of my recent reading funk.

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (4 stars)
I see that this installment of The Dresden Files is getting some really mixed reviews -- probably to be expected with the turn the series has taken. I liked going back and seeing some of the events that have shaped Dresden; those things were hinted at in previous books, but in this case, we get some nicely detailed full chapters. I also like seeing how Dresden has to adapt to what has happened to him, and the look at how other characters have adjusted to the most recent events (although a few of those glimpses are pretty perfunctory and just felt tacked on -- Thomas is the most obvious example). While it felt like it took a bit for things to get rolling in terms of moving toward some kind of resolution here, Butcher starts with the action right off the bat, so there was always something going on. I enjoyed this one more than some of the most recent contributions to this series.

Swamplandia by Karen Russell (3 stars)
I really enjoyed Russell's collection of short stories. Her writing is just as excellent here -- her prose is muscular, descriptive, stark, often witty. She excels at creating mood and atmosphere; her settings are well-drawn, and her characters are quirky and flawed, possessing voices that draw you in to them easily. You'd think that all of those things would combine for an excellent book, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. This really dragged for me; reading it felt like walking through the swamps she so easily describes. Maybe it's the bleak situation of the Bigtree family that sucks at your feet like quicksand. Maybe it's the dark sense of foreboding because you KNOW that this, this cannot be a good idea, that made me reluctant to keep reading more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time. Whatever it was, reading this book was slow going for me, which is not normally the case.

Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (5 stars)
I was a little worried when I started this book. I've been on quite a YA kick and sometimes adult literary fiction fails to grab me quickly enough after so many YA novels. And with my recent experience with Swamplandia, I just wasn't sure that I'd enjoy or appreciate this. Boy, was I wrong. Birch's narrator Jaffy is a marvelous storyteller -- his voice is authentic and immediate and so enjoyable. And Birch's style, her prose -- ahhhhh, what a treat. There's nothing here for the faint-of-heart, as other reviews have noted, but Jaffy's journey is one that you must take. Unless 2012 turns out to be a bumper crop of books, this one will definitely be on my "best of" list.

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows (4 stars)
A cute little novel from the j-fiction shelves -- Cami is a fan of Ivy+Bean and really liked this one as well. Suspenseful and even a bit unsettling, but full of good writing, strong heroines, and great action. Cami is my reluctant reader, and there were several nights in a row where I had to *make* her stop reading to go to bed. Always a good sign.

Wilfair by Alysia Gray Painter (3 stars) 
The basics of this are good -- interesting characters and setting, although the narrator seems a bit young for 19. Still, it's a fun little romance, although I didn't care for the "to-be-continued" type ending. What I liked least was the overwhelming amount of clever wordplay and general overwriting it contained -- the author could've cut about half of it out and still been left with a fun YA novel with a distinctive voice and style. Instead, there was a lot here that I just skimmed over because it felt unnecessary. 

 

 

 

what I've been reading: February

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (3 stars):
I love John Green. I'm so glad we have authors like him (and like Libba Bray, Melina Marchetta, A.S. King, and Marcus Zusek, among others) to counteract all the crap that's marketed to teen readers. With that said, I wasn't all that impressed with this book. 

It's nothing technical -- Green is a fantastic writer. Everything works here: interesting characters, great dialogue, good pacing. In fact, it reads just the way you'd expect a John Green novel to read. Which is kind of the problem, as you've probably seen from other reviews. I just didn't find anything NEW here. Honestly, I thought the Amsterdam subplot was a stretch, and it was in the transition where the trip occurs that things felt awkward and clunky. Even to the point where I felt that things were being manipulated too strongly by the author, and that's usually not something I normally think while I'm reading a John Green novel. 

Of course, there were many things that I liked, too: Hazel's dad in particular is made of awesome, and I loved seeing little things I loved sprinkled throughout the book (J. Alfred Prufrock, you will always be my favorite). I liked getting a signed copy of the book, and I especially liked my Hanklerfish. :) 

But I stick by my rating; when all is said and done, this was just a so-so read for me. I liked it; I just didn't LOVE it.  

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (5 stars):
A.S. King has been added to my list of go-to YA authors. Basically that means that whatever she writes, I'll read. She creates characters with such distinctive voices and puts them into the rawest, realest situations. Her books are heavy but hopeful. More than that, they require that you sit up and take notice and then urge you to DO SOMETHING but not in a way that's preachy or sentimental. I have a hard time writing about her books because I want to get into the details and really DISCUSS them -- and that's not what reviews are for. But that's how good her books are -- I want to talk about them and share them and act on them. This writer, she's incredible. 

Pearl Jam twenty by Pearl Jam (5 stars):
 There's so so so much PJ goodness here. Photos, interviews, set lists. This definitely isn't a book you can sit down and consume all at once. It's better to take your time...read a little bit here, a little bit there. Pearl Jam has been one of the few bands that I've consistently listened to for the last 20 years, so recounting this journey feels like walking through my own history. If you're a fan, I think you need this book.

Evermore by Alyson Noel (1 star):
 There's honestly nothing good that I can say about this book. Well, the writing was decent. But the characters drove me crazy (there was WAY too much Edward Cullen in Damen), and the plotting/pacing was just so poorly constructed. When I see adults complaining about the type of books available for their teens, I know that this is what they've seen on the bookshelves in bookstores and big box stores, and I just kind of wither and die inside, because I know that there's so much QUALITY YA fiction that's available to teens that parents never see, because there's such a surfeit of subpar work like this clogging the shelves.

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (4 stars):
Short story anthologies are notably hit or miss -- and I've found that steampunk collections are even more so. This one, however, is one of the strongest collections I've read in some time. Almost every single story was well-crafted, and they each contributed something new to the subgenre, which can be difficult to find in a subgenre already so specific (and one that has become so popular recently in YA fiction). I thought that the two comics were fairly weak, as was the Cassandra Clare story. To balance that out, however, are superb stories by Libba Bray, Kelly Link, Elizabeth Knox, and Delia Sherman.

Getting the Girl by Marcus Zusak (5 stars):
 Oh Markus Zusak, I love you. I love you because, despite the fact that I know nothing about you, Cameron Wolfe is so distinctly written in this book that I imagine he has to be you, or some part of you as you were growing up. And he is so gorgeous in his aloneness and his not-okayness that becomes okayness that I have fallen in love with him, which means that I have fallen in love with you. 
I love getting a GOOD YA book told from a male point-of-view, and this one doesn't disappoint. There's so much goodness here, about coming of age and family (particularly brotherhood) and love (not just romantic love but also self-love) and self-awareness and being hungry...you just have to read it. 

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (4 stars):
 I thought this was absolutely delightful. Being part of a superhero family but lacking powers will certainly put a strain on family relationships, and Vaughn explores that potential quite well. The action was constantly moving here, and even though I figured out some of the plot twists in advance, I was still engrossed in how Vaughn examined the underlying family and personal issues. 

movie adaptations of your favorite books

I didn't watch the Oscars yesterday evening; I spent most of the time putting together this week's coursework for a class I'm teaching at MSU. I did, however, follow along via comments on Twitter.

I've been quite interested in just how many of the Best Picture nominees this year are adapted from books. I'll admit, I haven't seen any of them. Hugo is on my list (and the girls are both excited about it as well), particularly as I think that The Invention of Hugo Cabret (and author Brian Selznick) is one of the most gloriously written/illustrated books I've ever read. Can I tell you another secret? I still haven't seen The Help either, though it's a novel that I just loved. See, that happens a lot. A novel that I love will get made into a movie, and then I'm so scared to see the movie because I'm afraid it will end up ruining the book for me. I've heard wonderful things about the movie, but I don't know -- something about it just makes me wary. I think it is because all the trailers make it look so funny and lighthearted, and that's not what I took from the novel at all. (Two of my most favorite books of all time, The Time-Traveler's Wife and Possession have both been made into movies that I've never seen, and I'll probably never work up the nerve to see them, to tell the truth.)

There are a significant number of books being adapted for the big screen this year; while I don't watch a lot of movies (I always have PLANS to watch them but I just never get around to it -- maybe I should change that?), I am looking forward to several of these.

Of course, Cass and I are excited about The Hunger Games. I think Collins' book will make for a great adaptation, like several other YA series: the Harry Potter books and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief both come to mind. Speaking of those two movies, their stars Emma Watson and Logan Lerman (who I think is just TOO CUTE) are starring in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is one of my most favorite YA novels. I think this one has so much potential, especially since Chbosky wrote the screenplay and was actively involved in the entire process.

I'm excited for The Hobbit, of course; I think LOTR was phenomenally done. There's a remake of The Great Gatsby hitting theaters at the end of year. This has always been one of my favorite books to teach, so I'm interested to see how this will stack up against Redford's Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann is directing, so it has the potential to be a hot mess, but I think most of the casting is just stellar (I'm still on the fence about Tobey McGuire, and I think I might have preferred Michelle Williams as Daisy, rather than Carey Mulligan). 

Another one I'm interested to see is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. That book has been at the top of my to-read list for ages; I'm heading to the library later this week, in fact, to finally make a point of finding it and reading it. Life of Pi is also being adapted; I enjoyed the book, but I'm just not sure I'm interested enough in seeing a movie adaptation, especially one that will be in 3D (I HATE 3D movies!)

One of the releases I'm actually most excited about is The Secret World of Arrietty, based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, which I ADORED as a young girl. (I am currently convincing Cami that she needs to read these books, and since she wants to see the movie, she knows that she needs to read the book soon). The minute we saw the trailer, we knew it had to be a Studio Ghibli film, and we were thrilled to see that Miyazaki did the screenplay. We've seen every Miyazaki film we can get our hands on (I'm waiting for the day when I can find a collection of EVERYTHING he's done); we particularly love My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle.

What about you? What are your thoughts on movie adaptions of your favorite books? What books have been adapted well, in your opinion? What adaptations have been terrible? Are there any books-turned-movie that you are excited to see this year?

what I've been reading: January 2012

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (5 stars)
I've said it before, that I'm willing to forgive a number of sins if a book is beautifully written -- and that definitely applies here. Morgenstern's prose is simply luminous, so much so that her descriptions of this amazing circus bring it to life as an additional character in the novel. In a way, that is an apt description, because the circus -- and what is created through/within it -- comes to symbolize much of what this story is about. I loved everything about this: the setting, the time period, the characters (both main and secondary), the pacing. It did seem a bit slow at first, and there are complaints about the ending, and it's been mentioned too that nothing really seems to happen. None of those really bothered me at all, although I can see where other readers might take fault with the book. This is one of those instances where I wish the author was more established, with many more novels waiting for me to catch up on. Instead, I'll just wait (im)patiently for her next novel.

Ruby Red by Kersten Gier (3 stars)
I mentioned last month that I was getting annoyed by the dearth of YA series. It seems like every book published for YA these days is the first book in a series (usually a trilogy). That would be fine if each book in the series contained enough action and plot devices to actually power a 300 page novel. However, most of the time, it seems these books are just full of filler, with a few bits of action. It's as though the authors pitched an idea for a great novel -- perhaps 400-500 pages in length -- and the publishers said, "Great! Now let's take that idea and break it into three 300-page novels instead!" That really seems applicable in this instance; nothing gets moving on the plot with this novel until almost halfway in, and then with just a couple of quick jaunts to the past, the book is over and you're left waiting on the next two to see what happens. To be fair, there's a good bit of exposition shared, but it's not enough to require breaking this story into a series. The premise is interesting, but I was annoyed by the main characters. Gwyneth seems more like a 12 year old than a 16 year old, and there are some bits that just aren't believable -- and I'm willing to suspend belief for a LOT of things. Finally, I just thought parts weren't well-written at all, though that might have more to do with the translation than with the original novel. Just a mediocre read, but (of course) I'll probably check out the next two when they're released. 

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (2 stars)
I've seen multiple good reviews for this book, but of all the recent dystopian/scifi YA novels I've read recently, this one was by far the weakest. The world-building was decent (despite some negative reviews to the contrary -- sometimes I wonder just how much people retain from what they actually read). My issues really had to do more with style and especially with characterization. I don't think Revis is a particularly strong writer, and her choice of alternating perspectives actually makes that worse. The pacing was jumpy, the transitions were poor, and the character development was inconsistent and weak. I'm not sure I've read a less likeable character than Amy all year long; the bad part is that she is not intentionally unlikeable. I mean, sure, I understand how jarring life would be if you were awakened from your cryogenic slumber years ahead of schedule, but her behavior is utterly inconsistent, her dialogue is annoying, and Revis really needs to let go of all the shouting and screeching her characters seem to do. This book -- the premise, at least -- had a lot of potential, but it was too poorly executed for me. 

 

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (4 stars)
I waffled over whether to give this a 3 star or a 4 star rating; if I split it down the middle, Goodreads would force me to round up, so I'm going with 4 stars. :)  First of all, this is another instance where I'm in love with everything that makes up the "package" of this novel: the square shape, the glossy pages, the amazing art -- so full of lush, vibrant color -- by Maira Kalman, the blurbs on the back cover from other popular YA authors, sharing their own "got dumped" stories.  I have no qualms about e-books, but this is definitely an instance where you'd miss out of much of the reading experience of this novel if you only opt for a digital copy. As for the story itself...With my taste in reading material, there's no question that I'm willing to suspend ALL KINDS of disbelief for the length of a story. But asking me to believe that this is a 300+ page LETTER written to her ex-boyfriend is stretching things. I'd have been much happier just reading Min's side of the story -- even with her speaking directly to Ed -- and would have preferred, I think, the ambiguity of not knowing if she's actually speaking to him, writing to him, etc. Asking me to believe that this was all a letter included in the box of things she's returning is just asking me to believe too much, for some reason. What I liked most about this story is that it's a story about the reality of relationships; to that end, I think Min and Ed are both portrayed authentically. I thought that Min got a little long-winded at time; sometimes those stream-of-consciousness descriptive paragraphs were quite lovely, and other times, they just were too damn long. Another reviewer commented that this is a book for adults, even though it looks like a book about and for teens, and I agree with that. This is a story for those of us on the far side of an ended romance, safely removed from the perils of high school (aww hell, who am I kidding? even college and beyond) relationships. There was so much of my younger self that I recognized in this book, and the me I am now could only symphathize all the more with Min. 

The Girl Who Was on Fire by Leah Wilson (3 stars)
The English geek in me absolutely LOVED the idea of this book; my literary criticism courses were some of my most favorite classes in college. The English teacher in me sees so much potential in this collection as well; I think the Hunger Games trilogy offers a great way to bridge current YA literature not only with classic texts but also to units in history, economics, politics, media, and more. Unfortunately, many of the essays are poorly edited with factual errors (it's Dolly the sheep, not Polly) and several of them are too "chatty." There's nothing necessarily wrong with a chatty tone, but in several cases it actually distracts from the main point of the essay. So all in all, this is a mixed bag; still, many of the ideas in these essays offer excellent discussion points for the trilogy.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (5 stars)
I always think about the term "guilty read" when I think about the Percy Jackson books. It's not that there's anything embarassing about these; it's not that they're poorly written or derivative. It's more that, regardless of any small flaws they might have, I still grab them the minute they are published and then proceed to devour them, enjoying every minute of the story. As a result, I almost always give them a 5-star rating because I can't really be objective about them. In this instance though, I think Riordan is back in top form. Characterization is top notch -- with both old and new characters facing several challenges -- and the plot zips right along, with humor and tension and thrills. Riordan knows his audience, it's clear, but he delivers a read that will entice even more readers to join them.

Abandon by Meg Cabot (1 star)
For the life of me, I cannot understand why Meg Cabot is so popular (there are a number of other authors I feel the same about: James Patterson and John Grisham top the list). I've read a few of her novels, and while the general idea is always promising enough to make me pick them up (despite what I'm almost 100% assured I'll find inside), the execution without fail makes me wish I'd never bothered. Pierce is one of the most annoying characters I've seen in some time, and like Meena Harper from Insatiable, she's weak-willed and too willing to count on the men in her life to save her. The other characters are no better -- but I can't really say much more about them because they were so minimally developed. My biggest issue, though, is Cabot's plotting and pacing; she spends too much time hinting at things to draw them out before finally just coming out and saying them. It's annoying, and my guess is that it's done to just draw the book out long enough to -- dammit! -- turn it into a series. Because nothing happens. Really. Lots of things are set up to happen, but nothing happens, except a bunch of things that happened earlier and are told in a jumble of flashbacks and disjointed scenes. It's just a mess. That's harsh, but I can't help it -- I was just so frustrated by almost everything in this novel.  

The Disappearing Spoon (and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of the Elements) by Sam Kean (4 stars)
 I enjoyed this. Chemistry was one of my favorite classes in high school; that was a long time ago, so I'm surprised (happily) at how much I remembered. Kean has a very approachable style, although some of his sentences can get a little clunky and long. Still, he has a knack for drawing out the interesting parts of these stories, as well as the humor, and I thought that he moved from element to element, story to story, nicely. 

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai (3 stars)
I really waffled back and forth on this book. My experience might have been a bit different, I think, if I had read it instead of listening to the audio version. I think the reader (who sounded just like Lea Michelle from Glee) annoyed me enough that I tied her too closely to the main character (Lucy) to remain objective. Still, I found Lucy to be obnoxious, and I'm thinking I would've been annoyed by the things she says and does regardless of a narrator's voice. Essentially, I think there are a couple of different stories going on here; the story about Lucy herself, and her background and where she comes from and how she comes to know herself, is one -- and it's the one I found most interesting. The story of Lucy's friendship with Ian and their subsequent adventure is okay -- it's a lot more telling than showing, and it requires that you ignore some pretty big plot holes and implausible choices. There's also some really clever story parodies going on, and a lot about books and how books can save you, as well as the day-to-day type stuff that takes place in a library -- and all of those things were good. It's just that those three parts didn't really come together evenly for me, and that's ultimately what impacted my opinion of this book.

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper (3 stars)
I didn't even know this book existed. I originally picked up The Fitzosbornes in Exile from the public library and noticed that it said "The Montmaray Journals #2" in really tiny print on the front cover. So I had to track down the first novel before I could read the second. I'm of mixed minds about this novel; I think the characters were interesting, although some of them just aren't developed enough to fulfill the roles in which Cooper places them. The novel is told through a series of journal entries, which works well enough, despite the intrusion of the author's hand pretty heavily in some of the more descriptive passages. The journal entries carry the plot forward nicely, for the most part; I did get a little annoyed with the "Oh no! What's that?.....(time elapses)....You won't believe what just happened. I will try to write it all down..." stylistic device. There are some twists that I'm still on the fence about, but overall this was an okay read. 

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (5 stars)
So I wrote a short little review here, but then I decided that in no way did it do credit to this book, so I'm going to sit down and write something much longer, because this book freakin' deserves it. There is so much to say -- I just don't know that I'm up to the task. But I will try. In the meantime, go find this book -- from your local bookstore, online, at your library, off your friend's bookshelf -- and read it. Then go find everything else that King has written and read those books too. Then we'll talk.
**edited 2/1/12  I have spent days -- DAYS -- trying to write this review in my head, but nothing I write does this book justice. Bullying is a difficult topic to portray honestly, I think. There's a lot of risk in getting too sentimental about it -- as adults, we sometimes talk about how we got bullied in school or how someone we know was bullied or whatever, but we forget that, no matter how terrible things might have been for us, time and distance DO alter our perspectives. We also run the risk of oversimplifying things, or looking at the issue from a limited viewpoint (which can't be helped sometimes -- it's hard not to filter stuff through your own experiences). But King writes about bullying in a way that is raw but not graphic, a way that is honest and unflinching but still somehow hopeful and gentle. She addresses this issue from so many different points of view, in such a subtle manner. The characters are skillfully drawn, the dialogue is so realistic; every sentence King writes is clear and vibrant and cuts to the bone. (And the ants, omg, the ants! They are the best!!!)
The thing that has stayed with me the most about this novel is that this is a YA novel that I think EVERY ADULT NEEDS TO READ. If you care about kids and you want to take a stand against bullying, then you read this book and you do what King suggests: you ACT. 

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (3 stars)
I could go as high as 3.5 stars for this. I realize that's just an average rating, and honestly, this is a really well-written book, in many ways much better than just average. The characters are well-developed, the setting (a dystopian Gulf Coast) is exceptionally well-drawn, and the pacing is deft. But even though I love dystopian novels -- and I appreciate the environmental theme developed so adeptly here -- the story itself just didn't draw me in. It was an okay read, but I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters. That wouldn't stop me at all from recommending this to others; it's a good book, but it just didn't hold my interest.