You Know, It.

The It Girl, by Cecily Von Ziegesar. This, apparently a spin off from the Gossip Girl series, which I haven't read, mirrors the Private novel series nearly exactly. The main character, from a somewhat modest background, transfers to a prestigious Eastern boarding school, where she is exposed to drinking, sex, and drugs at every turn. This book covers only the first week of school, but already the character has been to a number of parties, made out with one boy, has a crush on another boy, shaken her booty in front of the entire school at a sports game, and been called before the disciplinary committee. The secondary characters are also involved in a number of glamorous, inappropriate relationships, dating teachers or manipulating school boys as a means to an end. Like Reed, Jenny wants to instantly get in with the coolest girls in her dorm, she falls for an artist/painter type, she decides early that a little backstabbing and lying to the administration are alright since it will make her more popular, and we end on the cliffhanger of one of the older students returning to the school to find that Jenny has taken her place in the cool room with the big window.

My personal complaints about this book are that I don't know the difference between different fashion designers, and totally don't care. There's a lot of name dropping and outfit descriptions that are totally lost on me. These novels are for a very specialized audience-- any girl who can suspend her disbelief long enough to get caught up in these kind of stories should really be introduced to science fiction. Books like this make me sure that I will monitor what my children (should I ever have them) read-- although this book is better than the Private books in that there's only one getting-it-on scene, and they do in fact reach for the condoms, half of the angst in the novel is instigated by who is sleeping with whom, and where they did it. It is the teen book version of a soap opera (which I also don't enjoy), and while all that drama and surprises may be fun, it's not realistic. We can't function as a society using the schools portrayed in these kinds of books as education centers for our children-- no one would learn anything at all, and everyone would be dead of lung cancer and cirrhosis before they turned 30.

Wearing my librarian/English major hat, I only have 2 problems with this book: 1) they drop the F-bomb, not alot compared to other books, but more than seemed necessary. It's use didn't really fit with how the characters regularly talk. It supports my theory that either kids and/or YA authors think that the rest of the content doesn't matter: the number of swear words is an indicator of cool-ity.
And 2) there are a number of main secondary characters, but they don't seem well established: they change from scene to scene. The reader cannot really predict what will happen or how a character will respond. This may be because everyone is putting on an act, and since we see characters alone and with different groups, they are always in a state of flux. I'm not sure if this is why I couldn't get a handle on them, or if they really were just poorly written.

For fans of other similar series, this will please. I won't torture myself with the many sequels, however.

Weekend!

The Titan's Curse, by Rick Riordan. Some of my all-time top desert-island Juv and YA picks are boy books. I like the action, which is very good in this series-- quick but clear and easy to follow. I like that romance is kept to a minimum, although Percy is starting to reconsider and evaluate his friendship with Annabeth after a visit from Aphrodite. I like that I don't have to fight to get into the books-- they either grab you from the beginning or they don't.

One thing I don't like about this series is that Percy spends great swatches of time away from camp, at school or living at home, and we don't see that hardly at all. Why do monsters only attack when school is out? That's pretty considerate of them. He is 13, or something like that, but we aren't really seeing his character develop because we rarely see him at all.

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. I thought, for multiple reasons, that this would be an exciting and otherwise excellent book: 1) it's written by an anthropologist, so it will be factually correct and informative; 2) I am find anthropology interesting, so therefore, this book should be interesting; and 3) it's the basis for the show Bones which is one of the very few shows I actually try to watch, and which I absolutely adore. However, this book was neither exciting nor excellent, and I quit on page 88. This book put me to sleep. I started it five days ago! That's way fewer than 20 pages a day. We hardly spend any time in the lab, so the author's experience and knowledge doesn't come through. The story is melodramatic-- the characters and the action swing wildly between extremes. This is like the book version of bi-polar, and the main character lives on the edge of cliche-dom. The author does a good job describing things, but she chooses the wrong things to describe and I find my mind wandering for entire paragraphs. Her characters may be likeable, but her Temperance is not my Bones, and I had a hard time letting her be her own person. Her secondary characters all blend together in my mind-- even this far into the book, they haven't really established themselves as individuals yet and are indistinguishable to me. The expletives feel awkward and unnatural, and the dialog is stilted.

Down to 2 a week again :`(

Wicked Game, by Jeri Smith-Ready. I'm not sure where the title came from for this book, but I just ordered the sequel, so I thought I'd check it out. This was another in the long list of sexy mystery vampire books-- quickly replacing romance as the crack cocaine of the library-- but it was fairly well written. The characters' relationships actually progressed, instead of leaping and bounding forward with little provocation. The writing was decent, reflecting the main character well and was a comfortable read for the intended audience. The entrance toward the end of the main character's father was a little weird and undeveloped; he was brought in to serve a purpose, but the main character's evolution as a result could have been bigger.

I really enjoyed how the author 1) stayed within the bounds of vampire lore while 2) presenting aspects of the myth in a new, creative way. If you, like me, are more a fan of the fantasy-allowed universe than of the individual vampires, this is a good book to read just for that little bit of interpretation.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich. The next highly sought-after (81 holds on our system's 17 copies) installment in the series is a wee let down: the author took a page from James Patterson's (way of writing a) book, using large print, large margins, and an entire blank page (or more) at the end of every chapter to beef up to hardback size what is in reality a rather short story. Overall, this isn't a bad beach read-- the characters are fun and the writing is decent, althoug there were a few proof-reading errors. Lula's has become more of a cartoon, a charicature, over time, instead of deepening into a real character. She lives as a humorous stereotype. There's actually almost no character development for any of the characters other than Grandma Mazur, and even she declines over the last few books from a character to a charicature.

Some stuff gets blown up, some other stuff just gets set on fire. It's about a four-hour read. Actually, it's kind of a heavy book to lug around-- say to the beach or through the airport-- for such a short story. If I were going to collect these to take to the lake on future weekends, I'd honestly wait for the paperback.

If I tried to Read in the Sun, I might Melt

The Language of Bees, by Laurie R. King. I'm not always so good at following where the story is going, mysteries not being my forte, but I love love love these, and I was even able to make some good guesses about clues. I'd read these for the language alone. Some one please buy me the set-- this series would be on my Read-Every-2-Years list.
I love that in this book we are starting to see a little more intimacy between the characters. Not bedroom scenes, which would clash with the class of the rest of the novel, but moments in keeping with the characters and the writing, and with the quiet intimacy of no-longer-new marriage: leaning against each other by the window, walking arm in arm down the street. I noticed the lack of this in previous installments, and it may have helped the characters had we seen their humanity in this way a little sooner.

Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan. Another excellent book! It didn't strike out and impress me the same way the first book did, but it is still wonderful, active, informative, adventurous, and well-written, and I'd recommend it to anyone and/or everyone. While I was reading, I do remember thinking for a moment, "hey now, that is not correct," but I can't remember what it was in reference to, so I won't call Riordan on it.
I'm having to buy replacement copies for my library-- one copy went "missing" (... but let's not get started on that...), and my second copy no longer has the pages attached to the spine: the result of 9 circ's this year alone, plus we've had this one since 2006. I really enjoy spending my budget on books that need replacing-- they are a sound investment, because they will continue to be read. Complete with shiny new cover!

It's only One, but it's a Good One.

The Fold, by An Na. This was a quick read, but I recommend it for all public and school libraries. Thinking about it this morning, I realized that many of the elements the author uses to show the experiences of a girl in Korean American culture are stereotypical-- she has to work in her family's restaurant but doesn't particularly want to; she is shy and quiet, and she thinks her social barriers are because of her ethnicity instead of her fears; her older sister is perfect, overachieving at college courses, casting a shadow over her; her younger brother wants to grow up to play basketball but worries about his (lack of) height. Summing up the story this way makes it seem like it will be stereotypical and very likely dull. In the story, however, all these details seem perfectly normal and I didn't even notice in context.
Although the character has an unrealistically easy time, I feel, of resolving her problems, the author did a wonderful job of portraying a story nearly any girl can relate to-- feeling invisible and shy, worried and uncomfortable in her own skin, and struggling with her relationship with her best friend.
Although the characters are said to be high school juniors, they did feel younger, and nothing in the story makes it inappropriate for readers as young as 12 or 13.
Please interpret these ramblings as 2 thumbs up, buts and althoughs not withstanding.

i've got book blahs.

Every few months I find I feel booked-out. Nothing appeals to me, I can't even think of genre I want, no formats can catch me at all. I'm in that a little right now. Give me a few days to zone out on old DVDs and computer games, and my brain will reset itself. In the mean time, these have been my lunches:

So You Want to Be a Wizard, Diane Duane. I fought through fully half of this book, but it just wasn't worth my time. For a YA fantasy novel that's older than me, this is fantastic! For a YA fantasy novel, this bites! The story seems to jump around quite a bit, I'm not always sure what's going on or why, but if you've got insatiable readers who demand wizardly series, it might be worth a shot.

Fate, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I'm not so impressed with this as her other work. The author/narrator felt older: less like a teenager, more like an adult still trying to remember how to express like a teen.
I didn't like how we'd skipped so much time since the last book. It's the little bits of life, the learning to handle a new situation, that make me feel like I really know the character. Like other series I could name, these books focus on the big adventure that comes along infrequently without really covering the daily going-to-school-ing that lets us get a handle on the character, why she feels and why she acts the ways she does.

Airplane Reads

I flew home over the weekend to visit my family and watch my baby brother graduate from high school. I haven't seen my family since I up and moved to Indiana nearly 2 years ago. How much Jake has changed! He's going into the Air Force in the fall, and I'm so proud of him. Ok, enough of the big sister moment.
I also got to meet the boy we've been hoping to adopt, and I bribed him with mini marshmallows to sit with me. He's not much of a reader, being less than 2, but he likes the copy of Go, Dog Go! that we sent him a while back. I hope things turn around for him.

That's more personal information than I've ever shared on this blog, I think. And now to the books.

High Stakes, by Erin McCarthy. I thought I'd give this a read, since I just had to purchase a replacement copy of this, the first book in a series. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It's another one of those sexy vampire novelettes for 30-40-something women, with nothing much to recommend it. There isn't much to say about it in general-- it didn't rely too heavily on stereotypical romance conventions, the characters were likable if predictable, and the writing was decent (not too much swearing, not too many fragments). It was only a few comments, but the main female character said a few things that made me think the author may be my height-- the main character is short, and she captured very well some of the frustrations of being towered over by small children. It seems like most authors who use main characters who are short just regurgitate a few predictable devices, but this character knows the frustration of being cute-- when you're short and "cute," you feel overlooked and like you're not taken seriously. Loomers don't understand that.

The Runaway Princess, by Kate Coombs. I really enjoyed this book. It had flavors of Terry Pratchett and Cameron Dokey-- a few turns of phrase, a few unexpected plot details-- that I personally enjoyed.
Girls about 10-15 will enjoy this book-- it's about a princess, yes, and she has pretty dresses, yes, but she is very likable as a character and creates a great story, going on a real adventure.

Jane Eyre: The Graphic Novel, by Charlotte Bronte; Editor in Chief, Clive Bryant, leading a team of 8. What a great graphic novel interpretation! I've already recommended it to a friend, who's taking it home for his daughter. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the drawings are consistent and well done, not like comic book drawings, which are kind of sloppy, or manga drawings, in which characters are apt to change from cell to cell. Jane always looks the same, and her transition from child to adult is quite good. The illustrations match the tone of the novel, having a romantic gothic feel.
The text is taken directly from the original novel, with nothing added. Some of the lines that I found the most memorable aren't included-- I guess everyone reads it differently.
I didn't particularly like how half of the text is in bold, especially since the emphasis isn't needed-- the text makes it clear what's going on, and the added bolding just distracted me. Maybe if only one or two clearly important words had been emphasized, it would have made more sense to me. I thought it would also have been helpful if all the French had footnote translations. The girl doesn't have many lines, and the nurse has none, but it would have been nice.