Book Review: The Titan's Curse

Title: The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Book Three)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Rating: A

Summary: The story of Percy Jackson continues in this third (of five) installment of the Olympians series. Percy now has to contend for (actually, try to shrink from) the spotlight (actually, the prophecy fortelling doom) with Thalia, another child of "the big three."

First Line: "The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school."

Review: I'm not sure quite how to keep reviewing these books in this series independently. It seems as if I'm saying the same thing over and over.

(Read Book #1's Review Here; Book #2's Review Here)

This book continues the upward trend of this series. Riordan retains his humor and good characterization of tweens/teens/young adults, and further ratchets up what we want to see. Specifically, the quest in this book is more harrowing (with some full-fledged carnage) and the god/mortal interactions continue to develop. We also get a deeper peek into the god/god interactions (which is what I've been clammoring for).

Based on some hints that my nephew has (infuriatingly) dropped, I'm sure there are even more good things to come in this series. If you've read this far, keep trucking on, my friend.

Book Review: The Hate List

Title: Hate List
Author: Jennifer Brown
Genre: YA Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Summary: Valerie's boyfriend, Nick (whom she still loves), brought a gun to school and went on a killing spree until Valerie jumped in front of a bullet--injuring herself--before Nick turned the gun on himself. Fast-forward five months and Valerie is returning to school for her senior year.

First Line: "The scene in the Garvin High School cafeteria, known at the Commons, is being described as 'grim' by investigators who are working to identify the victims of a shooting spree that erupted Friday morning."

Review: This book gave me a headache to read... because I was trying my darnedest not to cry (and failing).

Valerie is so confused and conflicted, and you can't help but think that you'd (unfortunately) be equally confused and conflicted in the same situation. Brown uses current events, coupled with flashbacks and news clippings, to paint the whole picture, and it's not pretty. Nick was bullied. It was rough to read. As much as it pains me to say, this kid's life sucked balls and you can almost (and that's a HUGE almost) see what drove him to it. Not that I'm condoning what (fictitiously) happened, but the scenes where Nick is being harassed by other boys--at the movie theatre (page 145) or in the lunch room (page 276)--were so tough to read. I cried (hard) for a fictitious character.

The book reminds you that high schools can be a scary place. And teens face a lot of crap--at school and at home. It's imperative that concerned adults get involved and start making a difference because teens need to know that they're valuable and that they're loved.

But, on the flip side, Brown gives you a look at what life is like for the victims of the shooting--before and after--and that breaks your heart too. This isn't a tidy story. Nobody was completely innocent and nobody was the sole guilty party either.

I also was gripped by Valerie's life after the shooting, trying to reconcile all the pieces of herself. Trying to come to grips with what happened, assess what (if any) part she played in it, trying to learn to trust other people again. There is a long scene (pages 309-326) where Val thinks she might be fitting in again, but then she faces a stark reality that some people think she's a monster... and she always will be.

There were a lot of other players in this book--Val's parents, her brother, her therapist, two other students--who were all interesting character studies as well. I'd have happily read this book (or portions of this book) from their perspective as well, trying to crawl into their minds. Good writing all around.

The only thing that I didn't like about this book was this off-beat community art teacher, Bea, who was just... bizarre. I think she was intended to get Val back into touching base with her art, but Val's therapist had already opened that window. (Val's therapist was AMAZING!) I thought the character was eccentric and this story just didn't call for eccentricity--it was surreal enough without theatrics.

Recommendations: If you like other "gritty" portrayals of real life (like Love Sick, Smack, lots of stuff by Lori Halse Anderson or Ellen Hopkins), then you'll probably enjoy this as well. In terms of future recommendations: I'm going to pick up, We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is another work of fiction that examines the aftermath of school shootings from the perspective of the parents of the shooter.

Book Review: The Maze Runner

Title: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1)
Author: James Dashner
Genre: YA Sci Fi/Fantasy
Category: Dystopic Fiction
Rating: A

Summary: Thomas takes an elevator ride up to a place he doesn't know, he doesn't know how he got there, and he can't remember anything that happened before he got into that elevator. When the doors open, he's greeted by a new world--The Glade. Boys fill The Glade (a new one has joined them every month), doing jobs, and trying to find a way out of the maze that surrounds them; at night, the walls seal and they're safe (if they're inside The Glade). The day after Thomas comes up, a girl (the first ever) is delivered to The Glade with the message that she'll be the last one to come. And then all hell officially starts to break loose.

First Line: "He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air."

Review: This book rocked my face off. I loved it to bits and pieces. Here are the bits and pieces that I loved:

1. The pace was quick (without skipping too much, there were sufficient details to help you keep all of the key players in The Glade separate) and the action was so well described that I cringed while reading about the night that Thomas, Alby, and Minho were stuck outside in the maze.

2. The emotions were raw. The scene where one boy is banned from The Glade at nightfall (meaning that he'll be stuck out in the maze after dark--a certain death) nearly made me cry. It was tense.

3. Dashner brings you along without beating you over the head. For example, there is a language (or slang) that is unique to The Glade, but Dashner never really explains anything--you just figure it out from context. It's helpful that Thomas is learning too because you learn right along with him.

4. Having a largely male cast in The Glade was nice because, unlike most YA, this book focused purely on plot and character--no angst. A nice switch-up from the standard fare being marketed to... well, nearly everyone.

5. The ending: total cliff-hanger. Even though I knew that this book was the first in the series, the twist at the ending got me. I almost said, "Oh, no they didn't," out loud. (I restrained myself, but it was hard.)

The only thing that was a bit off for me (and knocked this down from an A+ to an A) was the implausibility of the structure and order in The Glade. (Now, mind you, I suspended reality to allow for the fact that a bunch of teenage boys were being shipped mysteriously to a place called The Glade.) My only issue is that they referenced the constant need for order, but they never talked about how that order came about. Thomas is obviously (as second-to-last) coming to The Glade a little late, but I'd have appreciated some back story as to how the distribution of labor was set up. They do show you that they have no tolerance for disorder (see item #2 above), but I guess that I was just craving a little bit more history. Maybe we'll get more in future books...

Recommendation: Fans of Lord of the Flies (and all that other YA dystopic loveliness) will like Dashner's series. If you find that you've enjoyed this one (and can't wait for the next one), placate yourself with the Gone series for some more dystopic awesomeness.

Source: This book was an ARC that I picked up from the previously-read bin at the book store that I work at.

Book Review: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks

Title: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks
Author: Lauren Myracle
Genre: YA Commercial Fiction
Rating: A

Summary: Two sisters spend a summer apart and start to grow apart. When Sophomore Carly is joined at Holy Redeemer High School in an exclusive suburb or Atlanta, GA, by her Freshman Sister, Anna (who got mega boobs over the season), her view of herself and her sister (and pretty much the whole world) starts to change.

First Line: "I'm out by our pool with my sister Anna and my best friend, Peyton. Anna and Peyton are working on their tans; I, on the other hand, am carving a 'peace' symbol into a potato."

Review: I loved this book and sucked it down in one night of self-abandoned reading. (I even skipped watching the Gossip Girl season premiere (for shame) to read this book.)

Is that not enough enticement of how awesome this book is?

I'm afraid that anything I write won't be truly awesome and it'll make you think that the book isn't completely awesome, and that would be (for shame) too bad. I'm half-tempted to just repost the fantastic review of this book from the (fantastic) blog Forever YA (which is what I read that got me to check the book out).

But I won't.

I'll tell you the characters were entertaining (and there was a huge variety--every race and country represented in this rainbow kaleidoscope) and their dialogue was believeable. As were their interactions (for the most part). All the girls were spot-on in their jealousy; the only thing that wasn't perfect was the long-suffering Roger (who crushes on Carly). Seriously, no 15-year-old guy is that patient. He shoulda knocked some boots (do the kids say that these days?) with another chick to get Carly to be jealous (that's what a normal guy would have done). Or is Myracle trying to make a statement that the Dutch aren't normal? Could be... Rose Nylund was definitely the wackiest lady on Golden Girls.

But all that aside, the relationship between Carly and Anna was awesome to read. Maybe it's because I'm a sister (and I know that deep down, in the part that never gets talked about, you are jealous of their successes and/or popularity), but I loved this book. And I can say that from a "grown-up" place where my sister is my best friend (and annoys me endlessly sometimes, as do I to her).

Recommendations: I don't know what else to recommend because this book might be one of the first books where the relationship between sisters was the big deal. Even still, check this out.

Book Review: Jerk, California

Title Jerk, California
Author Jonathan Friesen
Genre YA Literary Fiction
Rating A

Summary Sam Carrier is about to graduate high school--the end of his torturous existence of managing his Tourette's Syndrome around less-than-sympathetic classmates. But that's only the beginning: he gets a job with the town "crazy old coot" to escape the abuse he gets from his stepfather, meets the girl of his dreams, and goes on a surprising road trip (with the girl of his dreams).

First Line "'Sam has it. Question is, how bad?'"

Review This book choked me up from nearly start to finish. I read the first five pages while standing in the book store--to see if the book was worth getting because I'd eyed it a couple of times, but never made the commitment--and decided I had to have the book. Then I had to go home and read it right then.

Sam's disease (and his efforts to control it while still suffering through the regular problems of hormones, family problems, school drudgeries, and self-discovery) was compelling to read. He was a good narrator. The other characters were pretty interesting as well. His relationships with George (the crazy old coot), his mom, and Naomi (aka, the girl of his dreams) were complex and you could feel the emotion; you could even feel the negative emotions between him and his step dad.

Sam's trip of self-discovery was fulfilling to read. The only thing that was not-quite-so-fulfilling was that, at times, Sam was obtuse (when at other times he's clearly self-aware) and is slow to figure things out that are pretty clear to the reader. It happened most often in the second half of the book, but the ending resolved well (without me knowing exactly how everything was going to sort itself out), so that's redeeming.

Recommendation Fans of YA fiction with less-than-traditional narrators that allow you to get a two-for-one (typical YA self-growth book coupled with getting to learn something about a topic they don't know much about--in this case: Tourette's Syndrome) bonus will enjoy this book.

Book Review(s): Gone and Hunger

Title(s) Gone and Hunger (Books 1 and 2 of the "Gone" Series)
Author Michael Grant
Genre YA Science Fiction
Category Dystopic Fiction
Rating A

Summary A mysterious and inpenetrable dome appears surrounding a 10-mile radius sphere of land, centered around a power plant, and all adults (and teens over the age of 14) disappear in an instant. The kids left behind in the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) have to figure out how to survive--survive their loneliness, survive the bullies scrabbling for power, survive their hunger, oh yeah, and survive the raging battle between two factions of kids that reaches epic proportions as some of the kids find out they have supernatural powers. Let the carnage begin.

First Line (of Gone) "One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone."

Review(s) And the action takes off at a gallop right off the bat. No diddling around with setting up the scene or introducing characters, all back story is woven right into the prose and dialogue. Very nice, Mr. Grant. Well played.

Here's an example of Grant's spectacular-ness: this book is 558 pages and I read it in one day (and then went back to Barnes & Noble at 9:30 p.m. to pick up the second book in the series, Hunger, because I was hooked). Very nice, Mr. Grant.

Here's another example of Grant's amazing-ness: In addition to the kids developing mutant powers, some animals around the FAYZ are mutating as well, and I couldn't help but feel that, even though the idea of flesh-eating worms was definitely science fiction, it was so well-realized in Grant's descriptions that I was creeped out for a couple of days, thinking there might be flesh-eating worms lurking in the grass. Seriously his science fiction is so real (as real as it can be) that it sinks into you. I found myself thinking about it for days afterward. It felt, to me, like reading Stephen King (most notably Needful Things).

Here's another example of Grant's awesome-ness: There were times that I wanted to cry. I read the last line of Hunger and actually thought, "Oh my God, what's she going to do?" That's not blasphemy, I was actually crying out to God (okay, maybe not really). The characters are so richly-drawn that you come to understand their inner-workings (which Grant allows to happen by using alternating POV's... tons of them... so you see each kid's thought process) and you nearly feel for them. It's almost too much to bear.

Here's the one teeny-tiny flaw in the series: Grant included back story from Gone in Hunger to catch up any late-comers who didn't read the first book in the series. I hate that. Just write them and trust that people will read the books in the series in order. I didn't need stuff re-explained and you could have probably lopped off 25 pages (of the very weighty 590-page second book in the series). I do have to hand it to Grant, though, he didn't do an information dump and just put it all in the outset--he sprinkled it throughout as needed. That made it ever-so-slightly more bearable.

One final comment on this series (of which there are two more in the works): I applaud Grant for being able to keep things pretty PG-13. The language and amorous feelings are PG and the action is pretty intense (I'll be honest, there is a lot of death in these books), but it's done well in my opinion. I'm getting the impression that Grant might be a Catholic, I could be wrong, so be advised if you hate religious parallels in your reading because they're there.

Recommendation Fans of Stephen King (and his upcoming book looks like an adult version that carries a lot of dome-related similarities) will enjoy this YA series.

Book Review: Hood

Title Hood (King Raven Trilogy, Book 1)
Author Stephen R. Lawhead
Genre Science Fiction
Category Historical Fantasy
Rating A

Summary The legend of Robin Hood gets transported to the land of Wales (the likely origin of the legend) in the King Raven series. Hood, book one, tells of how Bran (the prince of Wales) loses his father and goes on the run from the invading Normans who have seized control of England (and are beginning their push into Wales). We meet up with "Little John," "Friar Tuck," and Maid Merian and the stage is set for an uprising the likes of which the French and English have never seen.

First Line "The pig was young and wary, a yearling boar timidly testing the wind for strange scents as it ventured out into the honey-coloured light of a fast-fading day. Bran ap Brychan, Prince of Elfael, had spent the entire day stalking the greenwood for a suitable prize, and he meant to have this one."

Review I had heard a lot about this book recently, it was popping up on blogs left and right, and a co-worker leant me the first book (thereby reducing any excuses I had to not reading it), so I read it. And it was good. This isn't normally the type of book I'd read--I've only read one other mythology/historical fiction trilogy (Ted Dekker's Black, Red, and White series) and kept seeing similarities to that.

Most of my issues with the book, slow pacing at the beginning, a ridiculous number of characters that I struggled with keeping straight because their names were not familiar and/or they had a titles from the monarchy/feudal system that were hard for me to remember who was who, etc., were all problems that stemmed from my not reading enough in this genre. I think people who routinely read this type of literature would love this book.

Taking the book on face value, apart from any genre-related issues that were personal to me, this was a really good book. The story was freshened up, which avoided it being too boring to read, the characters were lively, good dialogue, rich setting. Everything you'd need for a good book. I think people who are more Celtic fanatics than me might have a better review of this book--I just feel so out of my element here--but it seemed good to me. For what that's worth.

My only drawback was that the protagonist was overly wishy-washy. Sure, it made sense for him to be wishy-washy at the beginning--he's a reluctant heir to the throne--but still on page 450? He had made a decision to be the king of his people, but when something goes wrong he wants to turn tail again and run to the north. I didn't buy that. By the end (25 pages later) he's suddenly a king full of strength and resolve. The back and forth didn't really work in this sense--it was supposed to create tension (I think) right at the climax, but just hurt the protagonist.

My co-worker has since loaned me the second book in the trilogy, Scarlet, and I'll be reading that very soon. So, if you like this kind of book (or you're willing to step out on a limb), I recommend this series, you're not too likely to be disappointed. For what that's worth.

Book Review: Stotan!

Title Stotan!
Author Chris Crutcher
Genre YA Literary Fiction
Rating A

Summary Four high school seniors, the lone members of the Frost High School swim team that is in its final season, embark on a week that will change their lives--Stotan Week. Their coach, the enigmatic and wise Max Il Song, challenges them to give up a week of their Christmas vacation to participate in Stotan (a mix of Stoicism and Spartan stylings) Week. Stotan Week ends up bringing them closer together than they've ever been, and it's a good thing because, around them, everything is falling apart.

First Line "We saw the notice about Stotan Week on the bulletin board just off the deep end of the pool after our early-morning workout today."

Review I love Chris Crutcher. Let me say it again, I love him. I read another book of his that used the bonds of a swim team (albeit a much different swim team) as the backdrop to the lives of teenagers--relationships with each other, relationships with their families, and relationships with the world at large--and loved it too. The guy's pretty much money in the bank, in my book.

You know, going in, that this isn't going to be a book about swimming. Sure, there'll be a ton of swimming going on (and I'm starting to think that swimmers may be some of the hardest working athletes), but the book is never about the swimming. It's about life. And the thing you have to assume when it comes to a Crutcher novel is that life is rarely pretty; those experiences Crutcher had as a child psychologist before becoming an author are impossible to miss.

Here's a run-down of the crappy stuff that goes on around these kids, making for a beautiful book:
1. Domestic abuse
2. Being orphaned at 17 when both parents die in a freak boating accident
3. Having an estranged brother who's known as the town drug supplier
4. Getting beaten up by "cooler" jocks at school... just because they can
5. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness
6. Unrequited love (the essence of the teenage years)

Sounds like an upper, right? Sure, it's not a shiny, happy book, but you can't put it down because you love these guys. Crutcher is so great in creating characters that you warm to, that you fall in love with, that you're sad to see go away when you finally close the book. And the best part is that rarely does Crutcher end with answers--because that's life.

This book is pretty much perfect. The only flaw for me (and hence the lack of the plus after the A) is that I didn't think the female friend of the swim team (a former swimmer herself) was used as well as she could have been. Crutcher alludes to and, at times, comes right out and says that she's really synced up with these guys, an honorary fifth member of the team, if you will, but so much happens that she's not there for, that I just didn't buy it. That should have been edited better because the way she was written (half in, half out) broke up the flow of the bonds that these guys had. That was my only sticking point.

Book Review: Love Sick

Title Love Sick
Author Jake Coburn
Genre Young Adult, Literary Fiction
Rating A

Summary Two college freshman, Ted (lost his basketball scholarship after a drunk-driving accident and now frequenly attends AA meetings) and Erica (daughter of an incredibly wealthy man who suffers from bulemia--Erica does, not the dad) go to an Ivy League college and meet and fall in love. Unfortunately, Erica doesn't know that Ted's there on a scholarship from her dad and has been tasked with keeping tabs on food intake (and output).

First Line "John leaned forward and set his Styrofoam cup in between the front legs of his folding chair. 'John L., alcoholic.'"

Review I read this book in a single day and got super irritated any time that people made me do stupid stuff (like listen to a sermon at church) because it was taking time away from my chance to read. That's a pretty good frame of reference for this book.

So, here's the nitty-gritty. I liked these characters, all of them, a lot. Coburn did such a good job with getting their experiences and their reactions nailed down tight. Loved them. Loved the way he described them--the binge/purge scenes were fantastic (literarily-speaking).

The book does start off ever so slightly slow, but the set-up was necessary, I think. You had to know that Ted's life was slow; hence, he agreed to accept the assignment.

The ending was fantastic. At first I thought it would be one thing, but it wasn't and I was disappointed, but then it was another, some more disappointment, and then still more was coming. It was really good.

There's a prologue to the book and Coburn says that this is a fictionalized account of an actual story and the emails reproduced in the book were really sent. It's hard to believe that, but (if he's telling the truth) the story is actually just that much better.

In terms of who I'd recommend this to, pretty much anybody who loves a good angsty-character-driven YA novel. If you hate reading about teens/young adults and their lack of long-term perspective, then you'd probably be annoyed. (But you'd probably also be annoyed with this blog and aren't likely to read it.)

Book Review: Breathing Lessons

Title: Breathing Lessons
Author: Anne Tyler
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Summary (from Amazon.com): "Maggie Moran's mission is to connect and unite people, whether they want to be united or not. Maggie is a meddler and as she and her husband, Ira, drive 90 miles to the funeral of an old friend, Ira contemplates his wasted life and the traffic, while Maggie hatches a plant to reunite her son Jesse with his long-estranged wife and baby. As Ira explains, "She thinks the people she loves are better than they really are, and so then she starts changing things around to suit her view of them." Though everyone criticizes her for being "ordinary," Maggie's ability to see the beauty and potential in others ultimately proves that she is the only one fighting the resignation they all fear. The book captured the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1989."

Review: I'll say it again (because I've said it before): They just don't go around giving Pulitzer Prizes to bad books. This book was soooo good (if you like character-driven novels). It was a ever-so-slightly slow going to ramp up, but it got really good. Tyler does what Tyler does best; namely, she took one day as a slice of Ira and Maggie Moran's life and painted a picture of their deep and abiding marriage.

The book was fantastic, the characters interesting, and the tale of what a solid and stable marriage looks like was fascinating. Too many books use sensationalistic tactics, but Ira and Maggie couldn't be any more "common" and that's what made their story unique. If you like reading stories that will have you walking away thankful for your life, this is the book for you.

The only reason this book got an A (rather than an A+) is that I would have liked if Tyler had used Ira's POV more often (she uses Maggie's probably twice as much). Unfortunately for me, this book was written over 20 years ago, so changes to the manuscript aren't likely. (But an A isn't an embarrassing grade for Tyler.)

Book Review: Smack

Title: Smack
Author: Melvin Burgess
Genre: YA Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Abbreviated Summary (from BN.com): "Tar loves Gemma, but Gemma doesn't want to be tied down--not to anyone or anything. Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, somehow, finally, you have to come down.

"[Told] in the voices of many individuals, of two fourteen-year-old runaways in Bristol, England, who find a home with anarchists and get involved in vandalism, shoplifting, and prostitution to support their growing addiction to heroin."

Review: I've had this book for a couple of months (maybe six or more), I'd bought it on a whim after reading Burgess' other book, Doing It (which I had found to be fantastic). However, the story line of this one wasn't something that I'd normally have gone for. But it was time to get serious about my reading and I devised a little system whereby I forced myself to rotate between YA books, literary fiction (i.e., character-driven novels)/memoirs, and genre fiction (i.e., plot-driven novels), and I required that I read the books currently on my TBR shelves by date of original publication.

That excercise in self-discipline was well worth it because this book, that I'd been consistently overlooking, was amazing. Simply put. Amazing. Over on the GoodReads.com website, there's a summary by a guy who's much more succinct then I'll ever be. He writes, "Melvin Burgess brilliantly sketches a gradual descent into drug addiction. There is no preaching here, just the artful revelation of cold, hard facts. Burgess's use of the first-person voice--for not only the main characters but those in the background as well--brings you into the mind of every character in this homeless, hooked culture, offering a (sometimes terrible) glimpse of the motivations and transitions of each person. (Tar's personality changes dramatically over the course of the book, from sweet-natured, lonely boy to hard-edged, hit-seeking addict.) ... Smack will linger in the your mind long after its haunting conclusion has been reached."

That is it in a nutshell. Smack might not be the best beach read you've ever picked up, but it definitely deserves to be picked up. The characters do stay with you and the book will change the way you see addiction. (I wrote that as if it were a guarantee because it made a big impact on me.)

Book Review: Into Thin Air

Title: Into Thin Air
Author: Jon Krakauer
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
Rating: A

Summary (from GoodReads.com): "Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions."

Review: So, I had planned to read this book for last year's Modern Classics challenge, but never got around to it. Then, after my sister incessantly berated me, I picked it up. It started kind of slow, as did Into the Wild (one of Krakauer's other books), but it got really good.

Krakauer has this way of telling a story where you already go in knowing what happens; seriously, he tells you in the preface notes that a bunch of people died in a horrible storm, but you still keep reading.

Why?

Probably because in the "tedious" set-up of the book, he has laid out the meticulous nature of these guides (whom you know end up dying in the end) and you ask yourself, "What went wrong?"

The only problem is that you can't really read this book if you're looking for answers--there aren't any. Sometimes accidents happen and the people who were in the position to anticipate and/or prevent the "accidents" are all dead, so we can't know their motivations or thought processes. Also, the people who are still alive sometimes have conflicting accounts of their own experiences.

None the less, the book does open up discussions for interesting topics such as, "If there's a point on the globe that's so high that it's nearly impossible to reach it without compressed air or the assistance of hard-working, and perhaps under-paid, sherpas, should we be going there?" Granted, there are a handful of people who have summited Everest without using canned air or the assistance of sherpas (one guy in 1996 did it... he's an all-star in my book), and maybe this mountain (a sacred part of Himalayan culture) should be left alone except for the truly exceptional people. Who knows? That's not necessarily for me to answer, but I've definitely been thinking on this for a couple of days now.

This book was so fantastic that I'd recommend for everyone I know to read it (with the up-front disclaimer that it's worth plugging through the "tedious" part so you can really get it in the end). Also, several other people who were on the trip have written their own accounts (my sister read Beck Weather's book, Left for Dead, and I'm intrigued beyond belief to read this, also Mike Groom, a guide from Scott Fisher's team who lived wrote a version based on his recollection).

All in all, this is a dynamite, fantastic, should be read by everyone in the entire world kind of book. (I only marked it down from A+ to an A because I would have preferred the "tedious" part to be a little less tedious, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible.)

Book Review: Bridge of Sighs

Title: Bridge of Sighs
Author: Richard Russo
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Summary (from the Back Flap): "Louis Charles Lynch (also known as Lucy) is sixty years old and has lived in Thomaston, New York, his entire life. He and Sarah, his wife of forty yeas, are about to embark on a vacation to Italy. Lucy's oldest friend, once a rival for his wife's affection, leads a life in Venice far removed from Thomaston. Perhaps for this reason Lucy is writing the story of his town, his family, and his own life that makes up this rich and mesmerizing novel, interspersed with that of the native son who left so long ago and has never looked back."

Review: I loved this book. Let me say that again. I loved this book. This was the February book club selection, and 8 out of 9 of us liked or really loved the book... one lady said it "didn't have enough plot." She's not a big lover of character-driven novels. I am. If you are, you'll love this book too.

Russo was kind of a genius, his two leading male characters (he uses multiple narrators/POVs, and they both get a chance in the spotlight), both take strong arcs through the story, and I went right along for the ride. I liked both of them in the beginning--I thought Lucy was funny and Bobby was awesomely irreverant--not so much in the middle--Lucy was too needy and Bobby was too selfish and immature--and they were both undeniably redeeming in the end. It's exactly what you'd hope for in characters. Both of the strong female leads (Lucy's mother and then his wife) are strong throughout, very few times do you not really like them (and when you do it's because their actions are being interpreted by somebody else incorrectly), but they're shining in their entirety.

In regard to the writing, Russo's prose is dense, you'll feel like you've been reading for hours, but you've only gotten through 10 pages. He paints an incredibly vivid portrait of this town, you're there with them experiencing it all. He also uses symbolism incredibly well--I picked up an interplay between water (which doesn't always run clean) as an ironic twist on truth woven throughout the story. Additionally, painting and impressions and images are a strong motif about perspective.

I do have to admit that I went through a period of about a week while reading the section directly leading up to and during the climax and it was a really dark time--it affected the way I was looking at things, which is what authors hope their books do, the problem being that this was a dark and heavy section. It's bleak. Life took on a different hue for me during this time. I actually uttered the phrase, "What's the point of it all?" Can you believe that? Crazy, huh?

Anyway, I loved the book, rated it an A (the only drawback was that Russo switched to Sarah's POV for the principal climax, which seemed off-kilter, she hadn't been used too much as a narrator and really important stuff seemingly goes on with Lucy that we only hear about tangentially after the fact that should have been more directly addressed).

I'll repeat my earlier sentiment, if you like character-driven novels, pick this up. Russo's a genius.

Book Review: Knights of the Hill Country

Title: Knights of the Hill Country
Author: Tim Tharp
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: A

Abbreviated Summary (from BN.com): "In a small Oklahoma town, one star linebacker must decide what kind of man he wants to be--both on and off the field. Welcome to Kennisaw--where Friday night high school football ranks right up there with God and country, and sometimes even comes in first. This year, the Kennisaw Knights are going for their fifth straight undefeated season, and if they succeed, they'll be more than the best high school team in the eastern Oklahoma hill country--they'll be legends... This unforgettable novel is the story of a boy whose choices will decide the kind of man he becomes, and raises powerful questions about sportsmanship, loyalty, and the deceptiveness of legends."

Review: I read this story over the weekend, and I found it to be really good--very Friday Night Lights (and I LOVE Friday Night Lights). Hampton Green, the afore-mentioned star linebacker is a likeable character (if you can get around his bad grammar and southern dialect and affinity for idioms like "He doesn't give a day-old donut" and "Boy Howdy!")

Also, the girls in Hampton's life (the not-so-cut-out-to-be-a-football-player's-girlfriend Sara, and the way-too-typical-football-player's-girlfriend Misty) are really well done. There's scene in which Sara and Hampton are riding with two of Hampton's friend and she puts herself out there, inviting him to do something with her family (because she eschews high school pecking orders), but his friend is blatantly rude. I felt super bad for her and felt her character really come out at this point. Plus, Misty should be a charicature, but she gets some redeeming play in the end of the book.

You want to not like Hampton's best friend, Blaine, but you have to. (Or you at least have to feel pity for him.) Either way, all the characters are well-developed. Another benefit to this book was that the conflict, albeit on a high school, still felt genuine to me. I got it.

The only drawback, what brought this from an A+ down to an A was the dialect. I understand the hill country of Oklahoma probably has a strong sense of language (use of "hisself" rather than "himself"), but it made for herky-jerky reading in my particular case. If that could have been dialed back just a touch, it would have been completely spot-on for me as a Midwestern reader. I think I'll be picking up some more of Tharp's books.

Book Review: Girls for Breakfast

Title: Girls for Breakfast
Author: David Yoo
Genre: YA Fiction (Humor)
Rating: A

Abbreviated Summary (from BN.com): "Drumstick legs, cherry-colored lips, dumpling cheeks . . . everything about them he wants to eat up. But he’s dateless and has been since he discovered girls in the third grade, and he’s convinced himself that this is solely based on the fact that he’s the only Korean American teenager in Renfield—the fifth richest (and WASPiest) town in Connecticut. In Nick’s mind, he sticks out like a banana in a wheat field. And now it’s time for him to figure it out once and for all. Is it all in his head or are his suspicions that his heritage is keeping him from a triumphant boob fest true?"

Review: This book was seriously, 100% laugh out loud funny. I have this habit of carrying my books around with me and reading them while I'm walking around on campus, to and from classes, but I couldn't do this with Girls for Breakfast because I was making a fool of myself laughing too hard. Here's an excerpt to give you a taste:

"What confused me about involuntarily visualizing Miss Hamilton with no clothes on was that she wasn’t even pretty. Her nose was pointy and her frizzy hair always looked sweaty, but I couldn’t stop picturing her naked. I also couldn’t stop picturing Martha the bus driver naked every time I stepped on the bus. I was a perverted Superman... I glared at Miss Hamilton’s breasts and shook a fist at her bare butt as she faced the chalkboard. I knew in my heart I’d beat this disease."

Seriously, this was funny. Plus, this comes after he's made up this whole new form of martial arts because his friends in WASP-y Connecticut think that because he's Asian he must be a kung fu master. Upon reading this book I realized that writing truly funny stuff is equally as challenging as writing dramatic stuff. Eliciting a visceral reaction of laughter is just as note-worthy as getting a reader to cry.

I gave the book an A, couldn't quite pull off an A+ because the story line drags at parts, in my opinion (granted the jokes keep coming), but you know where Nick Park is going to end up, but it just takes him so long to get there. It was a fast and easy read (and his parents are hilarious). I recommend this book to people that can appreciate sophomoric humor.

Book Review: The Corrections

Title: The Corrections
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Abbreviated Summary (from Inside Flap): After almost fifty years as a wife and monther, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives... Stretching from the Midwest at midcentury to the Wall Street and Eastern Europe of oday, The Corrections brings an old-fashioned world of civic virtue and sexual inhibitions into violent collision with the era of home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental health care, and globalized greed.

Review: Have you ever read a book that so thoroughly underscores the frailty and fallibility of human existence that you found yourself moved to the point of tears at the ending? If your answer is "No," then it's because you haven't taken the time to read The Corrections. Granted, this tome (at 560+ pages) takes a lot of time to read, I think I was irritated that it took me three weeks rather than the three days I'd been averaging on my reading, but some of that might have been the fault of writing simultaneously. None the less, this book is worth the investment.

Franzen is evocative (and provacative) in his writing--there's no shortage of sensory awareness in his style (the story about Chip putting an expensive fish in his pants is worth all the time in the world). Additionally, his diaglogue is enormously successful. You'll find in reading that the prose:dialogue ratio is high, although not Spartan, but what the characters are saying is exactly what you wish you would have said in a similiar situation (Gary's conversation at the medical supply store regarding the utility of the shower stool in hanging oneself, later ironic, is beautiful).

I found myself fully immersed in the book, there were only a couple of paragraphs that I skimmed because Franzen gets a little olfactory crazy (and I think he's really trying to do something thematically with the sunlight, but it got tedious, in my opinion, but that's probably because I'm not someone who is a great lover of nature and the what-not). This minor issue, which was managed through my selective skimming, is the only factor that caused me to reduce the rating from an A+ to an A.

Please (please, please) read this book. I came away gripped by the enormous influence that fallible humans have on one another's lives. Also, I really thought about the loss of power we experience as we age. The closing pages about Alfred's waning months and days were tragic (not farce, as Franzen references twice throughout the book), but truly heart-breaking.

Book Review: A Thousand Acres

Title: A Thousand Acres
Author: Jane Smiley
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: A

Book Summary (From BN.com): A successful Iowa farmer decides to divide his farm between his three daughters. When the youngest objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. An ambitious reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear cast upon a typical American community in the late twentieth century, A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity.

Review: This book was truly mesmerizing to me. I can't distinctly put my finger on what make this book entirely un-put-down-able. This story is set on a family farm in Iowa from a period between (circa) 1977 to 1980, a time and place as anachronistic to me as Japan in the 1830's; however, through Smiley's writing style I was there, I could see the beauty of the farms, smell their smells, and feel what it was like to kick dried mud off a tractor tire. Smiley is likely very faithful to farming, she used a lot of references to the art, science, and machinery of farming, but I wouldn't know at all, but I didn't get lost in those details either.

The characters are probably what made this book the most remarkable for me. The two oldest sisters (Ginny and Rose) had a relationship that is seemingly similar to that of me and my sister (without the shared sexual partners thing) with one having a dominant and angry/aggressive demeanor and the other (that would be me) being more likely to avoid confrontation at all costs and behave in a way that she knows will allow her to be accepted by her peers.

However, the characters are where she had her minor set-backs for me as well. 1) The character of Caroline (the youngest sister) was kind of a non-event for me, I never could fully understand where she was coming from, which perhaps you're not supposed to because the protagonist (Ginny) doesn't understand her sister either--a definite possibility in the first-person narration, we're subject to the knowledge and perspective of the narrator; and 2) The character of Ty (Ginny's husband). I absolutely loved Ty, I could see myself (having a personality on the Ginny end of the continuum) being comfortable with Ty, following his lead and trusting him to run the farm successfully. I didn't understand Ginny's restlessness and why she left for St. Paul; I think this was critical, and Smiley wrote it as if Ginny made decisions in regard to her relationship with Ty without ever knowing why she was making the decisions.

The plot of the story was immensely complex, and (based on the advice Smiley gives in her book 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel) I kept thinking to myself, "This climax is coming way too early," because what I thought was the climax was only rising action. Smiley had so much complexity in the interpersonal relationships that unfolded (without becoming confusing or tedious) that you just were completely immersed in the goings-on of this family. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised--she won a Pulitzer prize for this, and you don't get those from writing a human/vampire/werewolf love triangle story, it's got to be unique and teaching and entertaining and novel and wonderful (all of which this book is).

All in all, Smiley has a great lyrical writing style and a complex storyline that is totally worth the 371 pages that you'll read. She got knocked down to an A (rather than A+) because of the minor character flaws I felt.

On a side note, Smiley was living in Iowa at the time that she wrote this, I know (from reading her nonfiction work) that she was later divorced and now lives in San Francisco (remarried, I believe), and I wonder if any of that was going on around the time she was writing this and/or if that had an effect on the shape this story took.

Book Review: The Glass Castle

Title: The Glass Castle
Author: Jeannette Walls
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Rating: A


Book Summary (from the back flap): The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.


The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.


The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.


Review: I read The Glass Castle as assigned reading for a composition class, so my take on the book was more critical than normal (I know it's hard to believe) because I knew I was going to have to write a summary/strong responses to one of the themes in the work. However, I truly enjoyed reading this--Walls is a master writer. Jeannette Walls uses plot, setting, character, and theme harmoniously and, at times, ironically to captivate you and lead you to understand the inner workings of this idiosyncratic family.


One key component in the book is the parents' perspective on life and their nonjudgmental attitude, a theme that is so deftly drawn out that you find yourself being compassionate and empathetic toward nearly everyone (maybe not so much Erma Walls and Uncle Stanley, but you realize that even the darkest of people have had experiences that have shaped who they are). As a young child Jeannette was drawn to stories of suffering and triumph (i.e., A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) and she sought out experiences with others in her community that created a broad landscape of understanding hardship, suffering, coping, and survival.


The dedication of the book is probably the most succinct expression of this book's intended message, "To John [her current husband], for convincing me that everyone who is interesting has a past." Jeannette uses her life experiences to teach readers to appreciate life, understand the impact that we have on others, and the value of love and family. Walls does a good job of weaving in the experiences of her sisters, brother, and parents to compare/contrast and create a rich tapestry of life and understanding.


This book is an excellent example of writing--watch for how their homes and the various settings used throughout the book serve as symbols of their greater life experiences--and provides a great jumping-off point for exploration of other topics in modern culture such as voluntary homelessness, the effects of alcoholism, social responsibility, coping mechanisms, etc., etc., etc.


This book is destined to be an enduring work, a time capsule of life in the 1960's for the low income and rural residents of the United States. The work is clear, easy to read, and engaging. I only marked the book down slightly (from an A+ to an A) because of my skepticism of the truthfulness of the dialogue and adult motivations as interpreted by a 3-year-old. All in all, a great work and a great testimony to the capacity of the human spirit.

Book Review: The Chocolate War

Title: The Chocolate War
Author: Robert Cormier
Genre: Young Adult Literary Fiction
Grade: A

Book Summary (From Inside Flap): Stunned by his mother's recent death and appalled by his father's sleepwalking through life, Jerry Renalut ponders the poster in his locker: Do I dare disturb the universe?

Part of his universe is Archie Costello, leader of a secret high school society--the Vigils--and master of intimidation. Archie himself is intimated by a teacher, Brother Leon, into having the Vigils spearhead the annual fund-raising event, a chocolate sale. When Jerry refuses to sell the chocolate, he indeed disturbs the universe--and becomes a hero. But his defiance is a threat to the Vigils, Brother Leon, and the school. In a final, unforgettable showdown, Archie's brutal cunning turns Jerry from hero to outcast to victim, leaving him vulnerable and alone...

Review: Here's the deal people, yesterday I was heating up my lunch in the kitchenette at work and had this book with me (because I was planning to read during lunch) and another woman asks me what the book is about. I tell her it's the story of this kid who refuses to sell chocolates at his high school, and then I realize that this sounds like the stupidest book in the world--why would anyone care about reading about fund-raising? I'll tell you why ladies and gentleman--because this book isn't about a chocolate sale, it's about peer pressure, conformity, and the difference that one individual can make in any given situation.

Cormier's novel is brilliant--the dialogue and writing regarding perceptions of others' motivations is sharp and incisive. Cormier writes in third person and allows us to glimpse into the minds and hearts of characters with a myriad of motivations. Most remarkable is how nearly everyone who is an antagonist in this story (Archie and the school bully Emile Janza) use their manipulation and intimidation as a facade to hide their true personalities. The only antagonist we don't get to look inside is Brother Leon, but we're given some backstory on his motivations that is interesting.

What I appreciate about the antagonists in this story is that Cormier is unflinching in their evil--he doesn't "clean them up" in the end, they don't learn their lesson, they actually come out completely unscathed. That's a hard pill for someone like me, an eternal optimist who believes there must be something redeeming in everyone, to swallow. It makes me think about what Cormier's psychology of society must have been like, and how that affected his life. Which leads me to realize that there are people out there who have a different definition of the total depravity of man, and to consider how that influences them and their dealings with me. (I love a story that makes me think about life and interactions, which is why The Chocolate War is so much more than a story about a chocolate sale.)

There is one primary protagonist (Jerry Renault) in this story, but there are other characters who try to defy the corruption on their own level--two of the Vigils (Obie and Carter) try to impact the Universe as does Jerry's friend, the Goober, in his own way. Again, we're learning about psychology here, folks--you may not be leading the revolution, but we can all do our part to fight corruption and evil in the world. At the least, we can refuse to participate in mistreatment. I'm not talking high-and-lofty stuff like the situation in Darfur here (although that's necessary), I'm talking about the way you view others, how you judge the people you work/live/learn with and how your pre-conceived notions of their motivations and backstory influence the way you treat them. If anything, Cormier wants us to learn that we don't know why people do the things they do, what has happened in their past, and we need to develop connections with people before making unfounded assumptions about their value or worth as an individual. Pretty cool stuff for a story about candy, eh?

This story was deep and rich (kind of like the best-tasting chocolates coincidentally), and the characters were so well constructed. I wonder at the end what happens to Emile, Obie and Carter, but I don't get my answers and, surprisingly, that's okay with me.

I had to give an A rating, rather than A+, because I can't be a hypocrite... if you don't know what that's in reference to, check out my review of Looking for Alaska, and read paragraphs 4 and 5 about the language in this book. I hate to do it, but I have to for the sake of consistency.

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Genre: Young Adult Literary Fiction
Grade: A

Abbreviated Book Summary (From Back Cover): Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review: I read this book in about one day, which isn't necessarily the most reliable indicator of a book's pull on my sensibilities because I can fly through chick-lit and vapid YA books in a matter of hours, but it does serve as an independent variable in my evaluation of my impressions of this novel. (Note the descriptive use of the word "novel" to describe this story and the throw-away term of "book" used to describe the vapid stories referenced earlier in that sentence... you're starting to get where I'm going, eh?)

As predicted by all of the rave reviews and Printz awards that have been lauded on John Green, he does have a way with words and characters are putty in his hands. You feel like you love Pudge, the Colonel, Lara, and Takumi (not just Alaska). I probably loved Lara and Takumi more than any other characters in the novel because they were entirely relateable--never too much of a charicature (which can be done with ethnic characters in a Southern setting) and avoided some of the pitfalls that come from characters we become too familiar with (such as Pudge and the Colonel).

I liked the story, it was captivating to a good degree, I liked the writing style, and I liked the message the book provided--I'm such a sucker for a message. The only thing I didn't like (hence the A, rather than A+) was some of the content of the novel. Wait, before you consider me someone who is fond of censorship, just hear me out.

I thought this novel was phenomenal and totally something that should be read by those in the target audience. However, being a (relatively) mature adult, I can see how some adults would shy away from some of the content of this novel. Granted, I'm pretty understanding when it comes to blow jobs for the sake of art (how can someone watch the current "90210" re-make and not be willing to see high school students going down on one another on school property?). I'm also not too naive to know that many high school students drink, smoke, cut class, are disrespectful of authority, etc. On the other hand, what I'm also not too narrow-minded to know is that there are plenty of people who had a high school experience sans sex, alcohol, and drugs, and still found meaningful and valuable lessons in their life. I fall into the category of the "squeaky clean" who avoided typical (prosaic) high school traps, and still learned a lot through my experiences about how to transition to adult-hood, stumbling through but learning to navigate the social cliques, breaking down judgemental attitudes, and developing a self-view that disregards others' prejudices. Call me crazy, but is it not possible to write a phenomenally good book that is going to change the lives of young people (which I think Looking for Alaska is poised to do) without including content that will get it banned or censored from public school curriculum? I'm not an advocate of banning books, but I know it's an unfortunate element of our society, and am saddened that Green had to include the content that is going to keep his book out of many kids' hands because it won't be integrated into curriculum.

Looking for Alaska is exactly the type of book that many teens need to read, but it won't be accessible to the masses; rather, it will likely be read by teens who are already aware of this message--the undeniably awesome teens who have a cult following of John and Hank Green (the nerd fighters). This book, although awesome, comes across as preaching to the choir. If this book were only slightly altered (without compromising artistic integrity) this book could rock a generation. Instead, it's going to rock a subset of a generation that were already poised to be amazing teens transition to an amazing adult-hood... those teens who love to read and understand the lessons that are out there is similiar novels (Farenheit 451, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, The Chocolate War, The Perks of Being a Wallflower... this list could probably go on forever).