Book Review -- We Were Liars

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hangover rating: 5 (I want to re-read it to see what I missed!!)
Source: Library copy
Genre: YA
Objectionable material: multiple uses of the F-bomb

 

 

 

 

Cousins.

Summer vacations.

Private island.

Wealthy family power struggle.

Teen love.

Lives shattered.

Cover-up.

Totally unexpected ending.

Loved every word.

Perfect pool/summer/beach read.

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Book Review -- The Cracks in the Kingdom

The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book hangover rating: 4

Source: Library copy

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Objectionable material: None

Elliott is still fighting colors in the Kingdom of Cello; Madeleine is still hanging out in Cambridge, England. They are both still communicating via the crack in the universe that is housed in the parking meter at the end of Madeleine's street, and the search for the Royal Family of Cello continues.

Part II of Jaclyn Moriarty's The Colors of Madeleine series is just as whimsical, quirky, original, unique and fun as the first! This is the ONLY series I've continued since Harry Potter -- that's saying something!

There are some holes (pardon the pun) in the narrative -- links in the story that don't quite fit or work -- but I enjoyed both "worlds" so much and all the characters that I didn't really care.

If you are looking for a delightful and clever series, that doesn't involve dystopian death, depression, bleakness -- this should be next on your list.

Now...as with any series...I have to wait for the final book!!

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Book Review -- I'll Be There

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

My enjoyment rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 2

Genre: Young Adult

Source: Library

Objectionable material: None

 

After a chance meeting in a church sanctuary, Sam Border and Emily Bell knew instantly that each other was special. But Sam's family circumstances were mysterious -- he doesn't go to school, doesn't have a cell phone, and his little brother, Riddle, was always at his heel. After an act of vandalism at Emily's home, Sam and Riddle disappear. And Emily isn't sure she will ever see either one of them again.

After reading Holly Goldberg Sloan's 2nd novel, Counting by 7s, I knew I wanted to back track and read her first. It had great reviews -- I knew I'd love it...well...not so much.

And here's the thing -- has anyone read Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle? Well --for me -- that's what this book was -- a fictionalized, Young Adult, male version of her story. Sure there were differences: Sam was Jeannette, he only had one sibling, and there was a love story involving Emily and a happy family ending, but it was like the author decided, "wow -- what a great idea for a book!"

There were other issues -- weird characters, unbelievable coincidences, death defying injuries -- so for the most part, it just didn't work for me.

That being said, Sam and Riddle were the best parts of the book. I loved reading about their relationship and intimate bond. Beautifully done.

This was highly rated, so I'm in the minority. You may want to still give it a try.

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Book Review -- Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 2

Source: Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (but really could be YA)

Objectionable material: None

June Elbus is heartbroken when her beloved Uncle Finn dies of AIDS. What he leaves behind is a portrait, a boyfriend, and sister (June's mother) who is reluctant to accept Finn's past lifestyle and the man he left behind. June must act as the peacemaker in her family to resolve the conflict within her home, even at the risk of hurting the one she cares the most about.

I loved June. A 14 yr old obsessed with Mozart's Requiem is a girl after my own heart. She was loyal, independent, fearless and carefree. Getting on a train to Manhattan from her suburban home, without an adult knowing her whereabouts, was completely normal. She fought with her sister and loved unconditionally.

My biggest hurdle with this novel was the relationship crafted between June and Toby (her deceased uncle's surviving boyfriend). For me it was just odd, weird, creepy -- they met at his apartment after school, they got drunk together, he taught her how to smoke -- I just didn't get it. At the end of the novel -- the author uses these interactions to show the deep well of love and loyalty June had not only Toby, but Finn as well, but it still seemed unnatural to me.

That being said -- I loved the layers the author created between June, her sister Greta, her parents, school, the art world -- a very multidimensional narrative that was brilliantly executed.

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Book Review -- A Corner of White

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book hangover:  4

Source: Public library

Genre: YA fiction (with a bit of fantasy!)

Objectionable material: none

Parallel lives...parallel realities...and nothing but a crack between a broken TV set and a parking meter that divides the two.

Madeleine and her mother have started over in Cambridge, but Madeleine is wondering why.

Elliott's father is missing and he is determined to find him.

Both are leading practically normal teen lives, when they start communicating via a void in the universe that separates them -- neither one believing that the other is real.

I loved Madeleine -- she was tough, sassy, vulnerable, and trusting. Elliott was the tough guy, with the potential to break your heart.

This book was like nothing I've ever read: part fantasy, part time travel, part whimsy, part science lesson (be prepared for a primer on Sir Isaac Newton), part potential teen romance -- it was quite delightful!

One flaw: the story did take quite a bit of time to develop -- I was 3/4 through the book before anything really happened. So, it does take some patience.

However, it's the first book, in a planned series of books, that I'm actually EXCITED about reading the sequel! Take that Divergent!

I'm really happy I took a chance with A Corner of White.

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Book Review -- Eleanor & Park

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 4

Source: Personal copy

Genre: YA fiction

Objectionable material: strong language, sexual innuendo

Park rides the bus.

Eleanor is new to riding the bus.

The only place to sit on the bus is next to Park because Steve, Tina and their posse refuse to let Eleanor sit anywhere else.

With Park's quick slide toward the window, Eleanor finds a seat -- and what will turn out to be, her salvation.

Rainbow Rowell has written the pitch perfect novel of outcasts, bullying, dysfunction, abuse and frenetic, impassioned young love.

She is flawless in encapsulating Park and Eleanor's relationship -- two teens who have nowhere else to turn except to each other.

The danger and peril that exists in Eleanor's home and with her siblings is heartbreaking. But with Park's bravery they find a way to...survive.

This is a book that will linger with you a long time.

 

I will certainly be reading Rainbow Rowell's other novels!

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Book Review -- A Northern Light

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 3

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  YA; historical fiction; suspense; women's fiction

Objectionable material: Minor language

 

Mattie Gokey was born during the wrong century -- the early 1900's was not a good time to be a woman.

An aspiring writer and academic, Mattie must labor away on her father's farm or work at a local resort, instead of pursuing her dreams at Barnard.

While working at the resort, Mattie becomes intimately involved in an accident on the property -- a young woman is found drowned and her companion missing -- as a result of a capsized boat. But Mattie has in her possession letters that may prove it wasn't an accident after all.

Jennifer Donnelly's novel, A Northern Light, was a rich historical novel about Mattie's dreams and aspirations to move off the family farm and make an independent life for herself.

The author's emotionally charged dialogue and characters were a joy to read.

 

I especially liked the author's use of vocabulary words as a tool for Mattie's character.  It was effective and I learned so many new words!

However, the novel was stuck trying to do two things at once: was it a murder mystery? or women's historical fiction? I wish the author had picked one and stuck with it.

But, overall a satisfying book and I would like to read more by her.

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Book Review -- The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  3

Source:  Library copy

Genre:  Young Adult

Objectionable material: None

 

Jonas lives in a world without choice: of family, seasons, profession, longevity. But his selection by the community of Elders as, Receiver of Memory, changes forever his perception of his parents, siblings and his life. In his training as Receiver, Jonas must gain “memory” from the Elder Receiver, who is known as the Giver. Jonas’s new memories open up a vast landscape of knowledge, joy, and sorrow that was absent from his personal experience. How can he continue to live without variety, even if it comes with pain, and maintain his position as Receiver?

Lois Lowry writes a haunting story about life without options. Of any kind.

I was especially touched by the intimate relationship she developed between the Giver and Receiver. She does a magnificent job of showing how important a student-teacher relationship is (it reminded me of Dumbledore and Harry Potter).

And the empty nature of the Jonas’s family was equally well done.

However, this was an extremely bleak novel. And as brilliantly crafted as it is, not sure I can say that I actually enjoyed it.

But – it is considered one of those novels you “must read.”

So, at least I can check it off my list.

 

Has anyone read the remaining in the series?

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Book Review -- Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  4

Source: Personal copy

Genre: Fiction, fantasy, YA, dystopian

Objectionable material: Sexual illusion, but it was faint at best; I don't remember any language.

Ladies of Literature book club July pick

Summary: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My thoughts:

 

Totally. Out. Of. My. Comfort. Zone.

I feel like the Mikey commercial of the 70’s – she tried it and she liked it!

Seriously…I would NEVER have read this without prompting from my friend, Heather.

I don’t read books like this. Angels? Monsters? Teeth? Parts? Wings?

Hats off to author, Laini Taylor, for creating such an otherworld experience, and having it feel authentic. Her imagery of the “chimaera” – these monster-animal-human-like creations – is vivid, and seems almost plausible.

The relationship she builds between Karou and Akiva is like any other star-crossed/Romeo & Juliet love affair, fraught with passion, angst, longing, pain, desire. I too would run off with an angel if he looked and acted like Akiva! However, if the guy I was into was half goat, not so much.

And I think where her story was brilliantly executed – is with the character’s relationships (or lack thereof) – whether it was Karou & Brimstone, or Karou & Kaz, or Madrigal &Thiago, or Zuzana & Mik – all unique, different, emotionally charged, potent, dangerous. And, well, normal. Or as normal as can be.

I don’t do sequels unless your name is Harry, but I think I will be queuing up part 2 of the Smoke and Bone series, Days of Blood and Starlight.

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Mother Daughter Book Club -- Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
February Mother Daughter Book Club choice

Source:  Personal Copy

Genre:  YA; Dystopian (12 and up)

Objectionable material:  mild violence; use of guns

Remember Jaime Sommers? The Bionic Woman? One day, happily dating Steve Austin, on the way to being married, when she is tragically hurled to earth in a catastrophic sky diving accident. When she awakens from her injuries and surgery – she has been repaired: new ears, new arm, new legs – bigger, better, stronger.

That’s how I envisioned Cinder, Marissa Meyer’s spunky heroine, in her dystopian mashup of the fairy tale Cinderella: Cinder, hurled to earth to be saved from the Lunar people, rebuilt with mechanical parts that make her a Cyborg (was Jaime really a cyborg afterall?), trying to save her planet and her Emperor (who also happens to be super cute).

Surprisingly – I liked this.

Cinder was an easy character to embrace: she was dogged by her stepmother and step sister, bullied by the mainstream humans – but yet, she was able to rebuild robots, droids and cars, flirt with the hottie Prince, had an awesome sidekick, Iko, and was able to withstand the evil Queen Levana. She was one tough cookie.

I knew going into this that it was a series (Scarlet #2 in the Lunar Chronicles) – so the ending wasn’t really and ending. Which rots. I’m not sure I’m that invested in Cinder to read the remaining to see what happens…but I would like to know how it ends. Oh well.

This was our Mother/Daughter book club choice for February.

We haven’t met yet – and normally I wait and post my thoughts until I get feedback from the girls. But, there is a significant chance we won’t be there on Tuesday.

Daisy daughter still hasn’t finished this. It’s totally NOT in her literary comfort zone (not a single cupcake was baked). We shall see.

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Book Review -- The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  YA Fiction

For the sensitive reader:  premarital sex; some language (I think?)

Hazel and Augustus -- both with cancer, both in love, both trying to live longer than expected.

This was a smart, brave, emotional journey of two teenagers who are fighting for one more day with each other.

It was a tender love story -- with very adult situations and results.

Only complaint: their obsession with a reclusive author, whom they track down in Sweden. He is a drunk and dysfunctional. For me, it was awkward and unsatisfying.

The last few pages of the book include one of the best "love letters" ever. Cue tissues.

 

*(It's been several weeks since I finished this book -- and a vacation too -- hence the brevity -- my brain only retains so much).

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Book Review -- The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book source:  Library

Genre: Juvenile/YA fiction (won the Newbery Award (juv), but cataloged at our library in the YA section)

Sensitive reader:  the opening scene (a murder) could be difficult for young readers -- but it's something I would let Daisy Daughter (11 yrs old) read.

 

What do you get when you combine a horrific murder, an orphaned baby, and an ancient graveyard: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman -- the perfect book to read for Halloween -- ghosts, witches, ghouls, spells, caskets, crypts – and an unlikely survivor, Bod Owens.

I really enjoyed this book. Just the right amount of spooky without being terrifying. Just the right amount of sinister without being evil (except for the murder part). A group of ghosts that were amazingly creative, unique and loving – like the people they once were. The author does a great job creating an atmosphere of Dickens’ England, but set in modern day.

I think my only quibble with the book (OK 2 quibbles) is: the reason Bod survives his family’s massacre and why he has been targeted by the “Order of Jacks” is fuzzy at best. The author failed to make the correlation the least bit clear. And anytime you include an orphaned boy, the boy’s mentor, a female friend, a pit with a snake – one is immediately reminded of ANOTHER book with an orphaned boy, a boy’s mentor, a female friend, and a pit with a snake. Surely a talent like Neil Gaiman could have come up with something else. Come on. Give it a try.

That said, I still really liked the book. A good choice from my friend Liz.

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October Mother Daughter Book Club -- Stargirl

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Daisy Daughter's rating:  4 of 5 stars

Source:  Library

Genre:  YA Fiction

Objectionable material:  None

 

From Amazon: Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

This was an extremely powerful book. Such a strong message on the necessity of maintaining your personal uniqueness in the face of overwhelming peer pressure.

The story of Stargirl and Leo has resonated for generations, and is timeless for generations to come.

Staying true to yourself, your beliefs, your soul, your identity, is complicated and difficult to say the least. Not only for a high school student, but for adults as well.

But this book is an essential reminder that our distinctiveness should never be sacrificed, but revered.

 

I was unable to attend our Mother/Daughter book club meeting, but Daisy daughter reported that the girls really enjoyed this, and committed to keeping their inner "Stargirl" alive!

 

Our November Mother Daughter book club selection:

 

The School Story by Andrew Clements

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Book Review -- Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Source:  Nook (#1 reason I hate my Nook -- I can't pass this off to someone and say, "READ IT!")

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction

Objectionable material:  Graphic language and torture

Espionage. Covert military maneuvers. Torture. Nazi resistance. And a friendship that is truly gift.

There is little more to say than Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, has been my favorite book to read this year (so far!).

I’m a junkie for WWII fiction/non-fiction – and this story about Maddie (a transport pilot for the RAF) and her friend, “Verity,” a SOE (a British Special Operations Executive) operative, was unlike anything I’ve read recently.

As told from the perspective of “Verity” after she’s been captured by the Gestapo in occupied France, she tells us about her capture, her suffering, her background and training. But she also tells us about Maddie – and those with whom she trained in Britain.

It is fretful from the first page to the last. I even audibly GASPED during “Verity’s” graphic narrative.

Be patient in the beginning. It’s not an easy book to read, and the 1st person/3rd person narration is a bit tricky – but it is well worth it.

Wow.

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Book Review -- Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

My "appreciation" rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source:  Nook

Genre:  YA fiction

Potential objectionable material:  graphic descriptions of death and deplorable living conditions

For the record, “mommy porn” got nothing on Joseph Stalin...

Fourteen year old Lina and her family have been forcibly removed from their home in Lithuania and shipped via train to Siberia to work in a prison camp at the onset of WWII. Their father, having been removed by the NKVD (the Soviet secret police), is missing as well and Lina is determined to find him through her “secret messages.”

In harrowing detail author, Ruta Sepetys, brings to life the forgotten story of Stalin’s obliteration of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania) during WWII. This was an illuminating account of what happened to nearly 20 million Russians, primarily doctors, authors, professors and other intellectual and political dissidents, who were shipped to Siberia under Stalin’s fascist regime.

It’s hard to say whether I “enjoyed” this novel. It was so brutal at times I nearly stopped reading. But Ms. Sepetys does such an amazing job recreating the misery and bleakness of what Lina’s family endured (and the hundreds of thousands of those that these characters represent) that I felt I owed her the respect of finishing her novel.

Personally, most WWII historical fiction that I have read focuses on Germany or the Holocaust during WWII. I was extremely appreciative that I could learn about another “front” of the WWII story.

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Book Review -- The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


My rating: 3 of 5 stars






First there was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Then Twilight (do I need to mention by who?!). Most recently The Help. Three wildly successful, überpopular novels that I absolutely hated. I thought The Hunger Games was going to be the fourth. It didn’t end up that way, but I still have my reservations about the novel.

Panem is some post-apocalyptic version of North America. The region is divided into “districts” with a CAPITOL ruling them all. There used to be 13 districts, now only 12 – those silly rebels in district 13 got what was coming to them when they tried to revolt and were blown to bits. As a result, the CAPITOL decideded to create The HUNGER GAMES to punish the remaining districts by selecting two teenagers (tributes) from each to perform in the gladiator-like ritual where the goal is to KILL each other and survive to the end. Yeah, that’s it – teenagers killing each other in a vast arena that is televised nationally. Takes bullying to a whole new level.

I’ll save the summary of the entire book, for fear of spoilers, but here is my take:

• The thought of these kids killing each other for sport for the sake of a festival for the “country” was hard for me to swallow. I had a really hard time getting over the premise of this book.

• Once I got to section II “Games” I could see why this is immensely popular: Author Suzanne Collins has created two highly appealing characters – Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Melark. Their relationship and the way they out wit, out maneuver, and defend themselves is contagious. You can’t help but keep cheering for them – even if you are continually reminded that, “oh great, another 12 year old was murdered.”

• I was highly annoyed at the use of the word CAPITOL. Didn’t anyone tell her that CAPITAL with an A is used for a region and CAPITOL with an O is used for an actual building? Her use of CAPITOL was always (correct me if I’m wrong) used for a region – so I guess her editor had reasons for it. It bugged me and was distracting.

• The ending was predictable. I can’t say why, because, well, SPOILERS.

Once again, I’ve been the naysayer against popular opinion. I’m not sure I would recommend this book to others, but luckily I don’t have to, since others have already done if for me. Also, I’m not sure I’m that eager to read books two, and eventually three. If the “death match” with teenagers continues, I think I will find something else to read. Call me a curmudgeon.

Summation: I read it to the end, so I liked it enough to see it through, but not enough to possibly continue the series.

Book source: borrowed a copy from a friend.

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