Grade: A
Recommended for fans of the movie Angus, or anyone looking for a YA book with a strong male character who is handicapped. Carl Hiaasen fans too.
Huzzah! A YA book that I really liked.
Will Halpin is deaf and transitioning from a deaf school to a regular hearing school. He's also a fat kid. Two strikes right off the bat. He meets a fellow outcast Devon Smiley who could not be more opposite Will. Devon is the skinny dorky kid who jocks pick on. The two become oddball friends and find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery when a jock gets killed during a school field trip.
This book is what I had hoped Fat Kid Rules the World would have been. Will is a strong character who also happens to be fat and deaf. He isn't too fat to be of any use like Fat Kid Rules the World. Together with Devon, a dynamic duo is formed. I couldn't help but be reminded of the gem of a movie, Angus. Grossly underrated. This story is quickly paced and can easily be finished in a sitting or two. The pacing of the story is similar to a Carol Hiaasen YA title. This is an excellent book if you are looking for a character with a handicap who is a strong well written character. If you remember the movie Angus, you should definitely read this book too. Highly recommended!
Thursday
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Grade: D+
Not recommended.
Another book that I had really high hopes for. The buzz about Before I Fall is generally good and it's been on my radar for some time. YA books are still some of my favorites and I'll get to the good ones in a wee bit.
Before I Fall is the story of Sam Kingston, a high school girl who dies in a car accident. She gets to relive her last day over and over again, each time playing out a little differently . Sam and her group of friends are the popular girls, and very much like the characters in the Mean Girls movie. Sam and her bitch posse make Mean Girls look like saints and that is no exaggeration. The book is a little bit Mean Girls and Groundhog Day combined.
One beef with the book is that it's long. There were parts that could have easily been omitted seeing as they didn't add much to the story. Another beef is that the girls are truly hideous characters. They are realistic and just beyond horrible. Those girls stirred up some previously dormant emotions in me from my high school years. They were the girls who were truly awful at my school. Sam relives her last day to see if she can get it right. I never quite believed any of her actions to be genuine. The only time she seemed genuine was when she was being a snotty, conniving brat.
Lauren Oliver is a good enough writer. She hit the nail on the head with the bitch posse, perfectly capturing the awfulness that popular teenage girls embody. I think the book could have been much better with some better editing. I will still in all likelihood read another Lauren Oliver title. Delirium is another one that's been on my obscenely large to read list.
Not recommended.
Another book that I had really high hopes for. The buzz about Before I Fall is generally good and it's been on my radar for some time. YA books are still some of my favorites and I'll get to the good ones in a wee bit.
Before I Fall is the story of Sam Kingston, a high school girl who dies in a car accident. She gets to relive her last day over and over again, each time playing out a little differently . Sam and her group of friends are the popular girls, and very much like the characters in the Mean Girls movie. Sam and her bitch posse make Mean Girls look like saints and that is no exaggeration. The book is a little bit Mean Girls and Groundhog Day combined.
One beef with the book is that it's long. There were parts that could have easily been omitted seeing as they didn't add much to the story. Another beef is that the girls are truly hideous characters. They are realistic and just beyond horrible. Those girls stirred up some previously dormant emotions in me from my high school years. They were the girls who were truly awful at my school. Sam relives her last day to see if she can get it right. I never quite believed any of her actions to be genuine. The only time she seemed genuine was when she was being a snotty, conniving brat.
Lauren Oliver is a good enough writer. She hit the nail on the head with the bitch posse, perfectly capturing the awfulness that popular teenage girls embody. I think the book could have been much better with some better editing. I will still in all likelihood read another Lauren Oliver title. Delirium is another one that's been on my obscenely large to read list.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Grade: D-
Not recommended.
Apparently I'm one of the last people to read The Lovely Bones and I'm okay with that. The universe was trying to tell me not to bother. This is the rare case where the movie is better than the book. And the movie is not all that great either.
Susie Salmon is murdered by a neighborhood skeeve or Creepy Creeperton, whichever you prefer. This book is her story from what she sees in heaven. Susie watches her family grieve and the police look for her killer and body. The grisly stuff happens at the beginning and the rest of the book is full of cotton candy and glitter. Or so it feels. The ending is beyond weird.
The idea of the book and jacket summary caught my interest. That's where it ended though. The book is fluff plus glitter and sparkles and plays out like a tampon commercial.
Spoiler alert! The only redeeming part of the book was Susie's reunion with her dog Holiday. That had me in tears.
If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and watch the movie. Stanley Tucci is superb as George Harvey. He plays the neighborhood creep perfectly. Susan Sarandon is also stellar as the grandmother forever in makeup and with a drink in hand.
To those of you who liked the book, please let me know what you liked about it. I'm super curious what worked for you that clearly did not for me.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Grade: D+
Still not recommended.
I don't know that it's really any better than the first book, but at least I didn't throw an epic tantrum a la The Hunger Games. The writing is still the same (really bad) and Katniss is still a total Mary Sue. Oh and I was spot on right about how this book would play out. Seriously spot on.
The formula is the same. The character names are just as silly...Gloss, Cashmere, Wiress, Enobaria just to name a few. There are more characters who apparently are not worthy of being named (even though they were previous Games winners), this time referred to as the Morphlings. The writing is the same (lousy) and the plot "twists" completely predictable.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Katniss and Peeta find themselves thrown into another Hunger Games, except it's not called the Huger Games. Every 25 years there is something called the Quarter Quell where previous Hunger Games winners are chosen to compete against each other. Same game, different name.
The Capitol creates an arena that turns out to be a clock. There are different things that happen during each hour like poisonous fog and blood rain. There is also lightening, tidal waves and monkey mutts. That's right, in this book we have monkey mutts.
Likable characters are killed off or assumed dead because apparently they did not deserve definitive closure.
Since there is a third book, it's no secret that Katniss, Peeta and Gale survive. How else could the love triangle continue. Of course Katniss survives, since she is the mockingjay and oh such a rebel. Districts are rebelling one by one because they *finally* realize what jerks the Capitol hot shots are.
Excuse me while I wipe the sarcasm off my chin.
This time I learned my lesson. I did not buy this book. Instead this was checked out from the library. Will I read Mockingjay...eventually. That will also come courtesy of the library since I have no intentions of feeding Suzanne Collins' bank account. Also to prove that I did figure out the series ending early in the first book.
Again, flame away you Hunger Games fanatics.
Still not recommended.
I don't know that it's really any better than the first book, but at least I didn't throw an epic tantrum a la The Hunger Games. The writing is still the same (really bad) and Katniss is still a total Mary Sue. Oh and I was spot on right about how this book would play out. Seriously spot on.
The formula is the same. The character names are just as silly...Gloss, Cashmere, Wiress, Enobaria just to name a few. There are more characters who apparently are not worthy of being named (even though they were previous Games winners), this time referred to as the Morphlings. The writing is the same (lousy) and the plot "twists" completely predictable.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Katniss and Peeta find themselves thrown into another Hunger Games, except it's not called the Huger Games. Every 25 years there is something called the Quarter Quell where previous Hunger Games winners are chosen to compete against each other. Same game, different name.
The Capitol creates an arena that turns out to be a clock. There are different things that happen during each hour like poisonous fog and blood rain. There is also lightening, tidal waves and monkey mutts. That's right, in this book we have monkey mutts.
Likable characters are killed off or assumed dead because apparently they did not deserve definitive closure.
Since there is a third book, it's no secret that Katniss, Peeta and Gale survive. How else could the love triangle continue. Of course Katniss survives, since she is the mockingjay and oh such a rebel. Districts are rebelling one by one because they *finally* realize what jerks the Capitol hot shots are.
Excuse me while I wipe the sarcasm off my chin.
This time I learned my lesson. I did not buy this book. Instead this was checked out from the library. Will I read Mockingjay...eventually. That will also come courtesy of the library since I have no intentions of feeding Suzanne Collins' bank account. Also to prove that I did figure out the series ending early in the first book.
Again, flame away you Hunger Games fanatics.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Grade: D
Not recommended. Check out Lauren DeStefano's Chemical garden Trilogy instead.
Hi, my name is Shelley and I did not like The Hunger Games.
Okay my pretties, flame away! I have my big girl undies on and can take it.
Seriously, if someone would please explain what I'm missing here I would be ever so grateful.
Do I need to summarize the book? I'm assuming that if you read this blog you know what the series is about.
This has been done before. 1984, Lord of the Flies, Star Wars, Twilight just to name a few books. The movie The Truman Show also comes to mind. Hugely derivative of another little book called Battle Royale. And movie with the same title. In short story form, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. If you take parts from all of these mentions, you have The Hunger Games.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The setting is a futuristic North America called Panem. That spells me nap backwards. Coincidence I think not.
Katniss is supposed to be the strong character that teen girls can look up to. Katniss was completely unlikable to me mainly because she was so wishy washy. She could have been great had she been properly developed. She takes her sister's place in the battle but then only kills one opponent?! And only out of pity! Give me a break. I want a ruthless chick who would do anything to survive and make life better for her family. Not a girl who lets everyone else do the dirty work for her. She's a wimp just like Bella Swan. I think it's fair to call her a Mary Sue.
As for Peeta and Gale and the supposed love triangle, it's completely unbelievable. Also been done before. Hello Twilight Saga.
The suspense...what suspense? I kept reading because I was wondering when it was going to get good. Not because it was a gripping page turner.
The writing is bad. Really bad. Not that I'd ever expect Suzanne Collins to admit that she wrote the series to cash in on the Twilight craze. In the world of lousy YA lit, I much prefer Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight Saga. At least that was entertaining.
Will I read the remaining two in the series, probably. Only to prove that I have the series ending figured out. No I didn't cheat and read spoilers. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what happens. In fact Suzanne Collins gives the ending away pretty early on in the book.
Flame away guys.
Not recommended. Check out Lauren DeStefano's Chemical garden Trilogy instead.
Hi, my name is Shelley and I did not like The Hunger Games.
Okay my pretties, flame away! I have my big girl undies on and can take it.
Seriously, if someone would please explain what I'm missing here I would be ever so grateful.
Do I need to summarize the book? I'm assuming that if you read this blog you know what the series is about.
This has been done before. 1984, Lord of the Flies, Star Wars, Twilight just to name a few books. The movie The Truman Show also comes to mind. Hugely derivative of another little book called Battle Royale. And movie with the same title. In short story form, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. If you take parts from all of these mentions, you have The Hunger Games.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The setting is a futuristic North America called Panem. That spells me nap backwards. Coincidence I think not.
Katniss is supposed to be the strong character that teen girls can look up to. Katniss was completely unlikable to me mainly because she was so wishy washy. She could have been great had she been properly developed. She takes her sister's place in the battle but then only kills one opponent?! And only out of pity! Give me a break. I want a ruthless chick who would do anything to survive and make life better for her family. Not a girl who lets everyone else do the dirty work for her. She's a wimp just like Bella Swan. I think it's fair to call her a Mary Sue.
As for Peeta and Gale and the supposed love triangle, it's completely unbelievable. Also been done before. Hello Twilight Saga.
The suspense...what suspense? I kept reading because I was wondering when it was going to get good. Not because it was a gripping page turner.
The writing is bad. Really bad. Not that I'd ever expect Suzanne Collins to admit that she wrote the series to cash in on the Twilight craze. In the world of lousy YA lit, I much prefer Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight Saga. At least that was entertaining.
Will I read the remaining two in the series, probably. Only to prove that I have the series ending figured out. No I didn't cheat and read spoilers. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what happens. In fact Suzanne Collins gives the ending away pretty early on in the book.
Flame away guys.
Barrel Fever by David Sedaris
Grade: D-
Not recommended
David Sedaris is usually really really funny. Barrel Fever is not funny. Not even remotely close to funny. The only amusing entries are included in the Holidays On Ice collection. This didn't even feel like the same David Sedaris who had me laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my chubby cheeks. Clearly this is his first collection, and an odd one too. The book is split in two parts, a short story section and an essay section. His short stories are O-D-D odd to put it mildly. While I'm 99% sure that David Sedaris is quite the strange bird himself, these stories were odd even for him.
Here's how I imagine a conversation going between David Sedaris and the powers that be at his publisher's office.
Publisher Big Wig: Barrel Fever was funny, but we know you can do better.
David Sedaris: Well the folks at NPR thought the book was riotously funny.
PBW: Yeah, well they also liked The Weird Sisters.
DS: Point taken.
PBW: Maybe for the next book you could skip the short stories. You come from a pretty nutty family, right? We think they would make great essays. You know cause they're nuts and all.
DS: I think you might be on to something...
Yes I know the above imagined conversation is completely illogical seeing as the publication date of Barrel Fever is 1994 and The Weird Sisters is 2011. It was the only logical explanation of the difference between Barrel Fever and the rest of his collections.
If you have not yet read any David Sedaris, do not start with this. You will be hugely disappointed and likely would not read anything else he has written. Pick any other collection and start there. If you absolutely must read Barrel Fever, get it from the library. Thankfully I read the ebook and didn't spend any of my own money on this garbage.
Tuesday
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
ISBN: 9781565125605
Grade: A+
Recommended for: anyone and everyone
Rarely do I think a book is deserving of all its hype, but Water for Elephants is worthy of the hype and then some. This is also one of those rare books that is even better the second time around.
Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob Jankowski, a circus veterinarian, told in alternating time frames of present day and back in the 1930s. We meet the 90 or 93 year old Jacob living in a nursing home and learn about what his younger life was like and what led up to him joining the circus. Jacob was a veterinary student at Cornell when his parents were killed in an accident. His parents had spent every cent they had on his education, leaving him less than nothing after their passing. Not knowing what else to do, Jacob leaves vet school and starts walking until he stumbles upon a circus train. The circus is second rate at best, full of sleazy characters and less than ideal living standards. As if a tale of Depression era circus life wasn't enough, there's also a little romance.
The characters are so well rounded and written that you can easily picture them in your mind as you read. Sara Gruen did an amazing job researching circus life and her depictions are spot on perfect. She covers the good, the bad and the downright despicable conditions and abuse the animals and employees went through. Some people found the abuse to be too much, but it's nothing worse than what you would read in the newspaper. The romance is not overdone so as to only appeal to women and get the story shelved with the bodice ripper books.
Don't even think about asking to borrow my copy! It's so good that you should go out and buy your own copy. If anyone has read Ape House by Sara Gruen, let me know what you thought of the story.
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