Saturday, March 31
Book Love Plays Hooky!
Thursday, March 29
BOB: Round 2 - The Carnage
Oh, BOB Lovers... This Battle of the Kids' Books is just not good for my heart! After the first round's losses (I'm still grieving Doug Swieteck), Round 2 came back and dealt yet another blow.
What started out as better than I had dared to hope (Between Shades of Gray advances to Round 3!), quickly dissolved into more anguish over the dismissal of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Winning the other two matches were Drawing From Memory and Life: An Exploded Diagram. Both wins surprised me, but I wasn't too crazy about either of their opponents so... I chose to just keep dwelling on the carnage of DoSaB.
All of this means that the BOB Final Four comes down to:
Between Shades of Gray vs Chime (the winner of the round was actually just revealed this morning, but since this post is just about Round 2, here's a hint: Wahooooooooo!)
Drawing From Memory vs Life: An Exploded Diagram
But do you want to hear the really, really exciting part? We are only two days away from the reveal of (cue spooky music here)... The Winner of the Undead Poll. If you're not familiar with the BOB, the Peanut Gallery (that's all of us!) can vote on their favorite Contender prior to the first round. The book with the most votes comes back from the Dead for the final battle aka The Big Kahuna Round. I feel fairly confident that the Undead will arise in the form of a) Okay for Now or b) Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Then again... I've been wrong a lot lately, so I'll say a little book-prayer for them both, just in case!
What started out as better than I had dared to hope (Between Shades of Gray advances to Round 3!), quickly dissolved into more anguish over the dismissal of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Winning the other two matches were Drawing From Memory and Life: An Exploded Diagram. Both wins surprised me, but I wasn't too crazy about either of their opponents so... I chose to just keep dwelling on the carnage of DoSaB.
All of this means that the BOB Final Four comes down to:
Between Shades of Gray vs Chime (the winner of the round was actually just revealed this morning, but since this post is just about Round 2, here's a hint: Wahooooooooo!)
Drawing From Memory vs Life: An Exploded Diagram
But do you want to hear the really, really exciting part? We are only two days away from the reveal of (cue spooky music here)... The Winner of the Undead Poll. If you're not familiar with the BOB, the Peanut Gallery (that's all of us!) can vote on their favorite Contender prior to the first round. The book with the most votes comes back from the Dead for the final battle aka The Big Kahuna Round. I feel fairly confident that the Undead will arise in the form of a) Okay for Now or b) Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Then again... I've been wrong a lot lately, so I'll say a little book-prayer for them both, just in case!
Wednesday, March 28
Stupid Fast
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach, Sourcebooks Fire, 2011, 320 pp, ISBN: 1402256302
Recap:
Felton Reinstein is fast. Stupid fast.
Unfortunately, his best friend just moved to South America for the summer. And he is sprouting hair all over. And his mom is going crazy. And his brother is a fire pirate.
But Felton is still so fast. And it turns out he can catch a football pretty easily. And a beautiful girl thinks he's funny. So, this summer might not be so bad after all. Or it might be even worse than expected.
Review:
Guess what? I did not like this book. For about the first 25 pages or so. I just didn't get it. Felton's odd inner monologue never shuts up, and there is more than a sprinkling of profanity. Plus, Felton isn't shy about going into detail regarding the puberty-propelled changes his body is going through.
But. After those first 25-ish pages, I got hooked on Felton's voice. Author Geoff Herbach created a completely original character in Felton - other characters in the book described him as both "retarded" and "innocent." I wondered if he might have fallen somewhere on the autism spectrum. Really, he defies a label. Seemingly incapable of lying or sugar-coating, no one ever has to wonder what's on Felton's mind.
As Felton began to transform from a bitter, self-conscious social outcast into a self-motivated, "D1 prospect," I realized that I could not put my book down. I finished the entire second half in one sitting because I just had to know how his story turned out.
Perhaps even more captivating than Felton's personal transformation was the unraveling of his family. He father committed suicide when Felton was only 5 years old - and he was the one who found the body. His mother, who is only referred to as "Jerri," sinks into a deep depression at the beginning of the summer, and completely stops caring for either of her sons. As Felton is completely preoccupied with football conditioning and his new girlfriend, his little brother Andrew is forced to fend for himself. And that does not turn out well. Andrew - the "fire pirate" - might have been my favorite character in the entire book. He was the only one who wanted to deal with the reality of their family - and I just wanted to bring him home and feed him.
Geoff Herbach isn't shy about tackling subjects like puberty, mental illness, and realistic teen romance - and he almost always does so with a sense of humor. It's no wonder that this book won the 2011 Cybils Award for YA Fiction.
Recommendation:
Stupid Fast should be a go-to recommendation for high school age boys. When recommending this book to younger readers, just be aware that there is more than a little profanity.
Quotable Quotes:
"I stopped my scrambling and looked Aleah straight in the eye, and said, 'I like you specifically. A lot. I can't say any more without making a total dipshit of myself, okay?'"
Felton Reinstein is fast. Stupid fast.
Unfortunately, his best friend just moved to South America for the summer. And he is sprouting hair all over. And his mom is going crazy. And his brother is a fire pirate.
But Felton is still so fast. And it turns out he can catch a football pretty easily. And a beautiful girl thinks he's funny. So, this summer might not be so bad after all. Or it might be even worse than expected.
Review:
Guess what? I did not like this book. For about the first 25 pages or so. I just didn't get it. Felton's odd inner monologue never shuts up, and there is more than a sprinkling of profanity. Plus, Felton isn't shy about going into detail regarding the puberty-propelled changes his body is going through.
But. After those first 25-ish pages, I got hooked on Felton's voice. Author Geoff Herbach created a completely original character in Felton - other characters in the book described him as both "retarded" and "innocent." I wondered if he might have fallen somewhere on the autism spectrum. Really, he defies a label. Seemingly incapable of lying or sugar-coating, no one ever has to wonder what's on Felton's mind.
As Felton began to transform from a bitter, self-conscious social outcast into a self-motivated, "D1 prospect," I realized that I could not put my book down. I finished the entire second half in one sitting because I just had to know how his story turned out.
Perhaps even more captivating than Felton's personal transformation was the unraveling of his family. He father committed suicide when Felton was only 5 years old - and he was the one who found the body. His mother, who is only referred to as "Jerri," sinks into a deep depression at the beginning of the summer, and completely stops caring for either of her sons. As Felton is completely preoccupied with football conditioning and his new girlfriend, his little brother Andrew is forced to fend for himself. And that does not turn out well. Andrew - the "fire pirate" - might have been my favorite character in the entire book. He was the only one who wanted to deal with the reality of their family - and I just wanted to bring him home and feed him.
Geoff Herbach isn't shy about tackling subjects like puberty, mental illness, and realistic teen romance - and he almost always does so with a sense of humor. It's no wonder that this book won the 2011 Cybils Award for YA Fiction.
Recommendation:
Stupid Fast should be a go-to recommendation for high school age boys. When recommending this book to younger readers, just be aware that there is more than a little profanity.
Quotable Quotes:
"I stopped my scrambling and looked Aleah straight in the eye, and said, 'I like you specifically. A lot. I can't say any more without making a total dipshit of myself, okay?'"
Tuesday, March 27
Delirium
Delirium by Lauren Oliver, HarperCollins, 2011, 448 pp, ISBN: 0061726826
Recap:
"Love, it will kill you and save you, both."
Hence, the reason why everyone eighteen and older has to submit to the cure. Once you've taken the cure, you can no longer be infected with the deliria, also known as falling in love.
Lena has been counting down the days until she gets to take the cure. Her own mother was immune, and ultimately took her own life because she was so plagued by the deliria. Lena will not let that same fate come to her.
But with only 95 days left to wait, Lena meets Alex. And realizes that succumbing to the deliria isn't the worst thing that could happen.
Review:
I must regretfully report that I have not been infected with Amor Deliria Nervosa. I wanted to love this book. But I think someone slipped the Cure into my Diet Coke before I started reading, because I just feel pretty neutral.
Before I go on, I should say that rather than reading the actual book, I listened to it via audio. And I think that really tainted my whole reading experience. 1) I could only "read" for as long as it took me to get to the grocery or the library and back. 20 minute snatches is not a huge amount of time to get immersed in a story. 2) The narrator was the same one who narrated Along for the Ride, the last YA book I listened to, and I spent at least the first 4 CDs trying not to think of her as Auden. And finally 3) Scads of readers have soliloquized on Lauren Oliver's "enchanting" writing style. And yes, she is a lovely writer. But... listening to all of those flowery phrases read aloud just felt a little melodramatic sometimes.
But what of the actual story? Well, I am a HUGE fan of dystopians. As a reader, I love few things more than immersing myself in a life set in a very different future thinking, "What if... ?" But I could never actually imagine Lena's world becoming our future. A cure for love? I just don't buy it. I've had my heart broken, completely crushed even, but I would still never want to be "cured" of my ability to fall in love. And I don't think most people would either. So, I kept taking myself out of the story because of my own skepticism.
I also felt like Delirium was extremely similar to another book that I just happened to be reading at the same time. As I mentioned in that post, it didn't make me enjoy the story any less, but it did make Lena's world feel a little less special.
Finally, I did something really dumb, and read a summary for Hana before I was finished with Delirium. That essentially ruined the ending for me. Boooo.
In retrospect, I think that my neutrality regarding Delirium is completely of my own making. I mean, I can't remember my mom, a HS librarian, ever really getting into a dystopian novel other than THG, and Delirium was one of her favs of 2011! I have a copy of Pandemonium (thank you Shannon O'Donnell!!) and I am going to be very purposeful about giving Lena and Alex another chance:
- no audiobook
- no reading any other dystopians at the same time
- no reading spoilers!
What do you think, book lovers? Did any of you not fall in love with Delirium? Do you think I'll change my mind about Lena and Alex with Pandemonium?
Recommendation:
If you like romance or "dystopian light," you will probably really enjoy Lauren Oliver's Delirium.
"Love, it will kill you and save you, both."
Hence, the reason why everyone eighteen and older has to submit to the cure. Once you've taken the cure, you can no longer be infected with the deliria, also known as falling in love.
Lena has been counting down the days until she gets to take the cure. Her own mother was immune, and ultimately took her own life because she was so plagued by the deliria. Lena will not let that same fate come to her.
But with only 95 days left to wait, Lena meets Alex. And realizes that succumbing to the deliria isn't the worst thing that could happen.
Review:
I must regretfully report that I have not been infected with Amor Deliria Nervosa. I wanted to love this book. But I think someone slipped the Cure into my Diet Coke before I started reading, because I just feel pretty neutral.
Before I go on, I should say that rather than reading the actual book, I listened to it via audio. And I think that really tainted my whole reading experience. 1) I could only "read" for as long as it took me to get to the grocery or the library and back. 20 minute snatches is not a huge amount of time to get immersed in a story. 2) The narrator was the same one who narrated Along for the Ride, the last YA book I listened to, and I spent at least the first 4 CDs trying not to think of her as Auden. And finally 3) Scads of readers have soliloquized on Lauren Oliver's "enchanting" writing style. And yes, she is a lovely writer. But... listening to all of those flowery phrases read aloud just felt a little melodramatic sometimes.
But what of the actual story? Well, I am a HUGE fan of dystopians. As a reader, I love few things more than immersing myself in a life set in a very different future thinking, "What if... ?" But I could never actually imagine Lena's world becoming our future. A cure for love? I just don't buy it. I've had my heart broken, completely crushed even, but I would still never want to be "cured" of my ability to fall in love. And I don't think most people would either. So, I kept taking myself out of the story because of my own skepticism.
I also felt like Delirium was extremely similar to another book that I just happened to be reading at the same time. As I mentioned in that post, it didn't make me enjoy the story any less, but it did make Lena's world feel a little less special.
Finally, I did something really dumb, and read a summary for Hana before I was finished with Delirium. That essentially ruined the ending for me. Boooo.
In retrospect, I think that my neutrality regarding Delirium is completely of my own making. I mean, I can't remember my mom, a HS librarian, ever really getting into a dystopian novel other than THG, and Delirium was one of her favs of 2011! I have a copy of Pandemonium (thank you Shannon O'Donnell!!) and I am going to be very purposeful about giving Lena and Alex another chance:
- no audiobook
- no reading any other dystopians at the same time
- no reading spoilers!
What do you think, book lovers? Did any of you not fall in love with Delirium? Do you think I'll change my mind about Lena and Alex with Pandemonium?
Recommendation:
If you like romance or "dystopian light," you will probably really enjoy Lauren Oliver's Delirium.
Monday, March 26
Life: An Exploded Diagram
Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet, Candlewick, 2011, 416 pp, ISBN: 076365227X
Recap:
- Several generations of loveless (or at least romance-less) marriages
- Star-crossed young lovers
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- Our world on the brink of destruction
- A look at the role both politics and religion play in the end of the world
- Some pretty life-changing explosions
Review:
Oh, what to say about Life: An Exploded Diagram...
It has received all kinds of glowing reviews.
It bested Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls in the first round of the BOB.
Author Mal Peet excelled in revealing a very specific world through the use of the characters' dialect. One example: "You put that ole coat on, if yer gorn out. There's a wind'd cut yer jacksy in half."
As I read, I was struck repeatedly with the thought, "Wow. This man can write." There are tons of writers who can tell a good story, but Mal Peet has a particularly affecting way with words.
All things considered, I can appreciate Life: An Exploded Diagram.
But did I really enjoy reading Life? That's a different story. My major issue is that I sincerely feel that this is an adult novel. The vast majority of the characters are adults. The narrator is an adult, reflecting back on a certain period in his teen years. The issues and themes that many of the adults dealt with felt completely out of place in a YA novel. When the story focused in on Clem and Frankie's teenage forbidden love, it felt a little more YA, but then the ending wandered back into adult territory again.
And does the YA/Adult distinction matter so much? Perhaps not. But. It just won a round in the Battle of the Kids' Books. And this is not a book I would hand to most kids.
The overall mood of the story felt gloomy to me. Every scene I envisioned was brown, gray, and dreary. I found myself looking forward to the scenes with the different political leaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis because those were the only passages that hinted at any action. And because I thought Peet's sense of humor really came through as he described different conversations and reflections that were had by Kennedy, Castro, and Kruschhev.
And the end. What in the world happened there? Bizarre.
If you've read Life: An Exploded Diagram, I would love to talk to you about it. Please leave a comment and let me know!
Recommendation:
I would recommend Life to mature readers who appreciate adult, literary fiction or historical fiction.
- Several generations of loveless (or at least romance-less) marriages
- Star-crossed young lovers
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- Our world on the brink of destruction
- A look at the role both politics and religion play in the end of the world
- Some pretty life-changing explosions
Review:
Oh, what to say about Life: An Exploded Diagram...
It has received all kinds of glowing reviews.
It bested Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls in the first round of the BOB.
Author Mal Peet excelled in revealing a very specific world through the use of the characters' dialect. One example: "You put that ole coat on, if yer gorn out. There's a wind'd cut yer jacksy in half."
As I read, I was struck repeatedly with the thought, "Wow. This man can write." There are tons of writers who can tell a good story, but Mal Peet has a particularly affecting way with words.
All things considered, I can appreciate Life: An Exploded Diagram.
But did I really enjoy reading Life? That's a different story. My major issue is that I sincerely feel that this is an adult novel. The vast majority of the characters are adults. The narrator is an adult, reflecting back on a certain period in his teen years. The issues and themes that many of the adults dealt with felt completely out of place in a YA novel. When the story focused in on Clem and Frankie's teenage forbidden love, it felt a little more YA, but then the ending wandered back into adult territory again.
And does the YA/Adult distinction matter so much? Perhaps not. But. It just won a round in the Battle of the Kids' Books. And this is not a book I would hand to most kids.
The overall mood of the story felt gloomy to me. Every scene I envisioned was brown, gray, and dreary. I found myself looking forward to the scenes with the different political leaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis because those were the only passages that hinted at any action. And because I thought Peet's sense of humor really came through as he described different conversations and reflections that were had by Kennedy, Castro, and Kruschhev.
And the end. What in the world happened there? Bizarre.
If you've read Life: An Exploded Diagram, I would love to talk to you about it. Please leave a comment and let me know!
Recommendation:
I would recommend Life to mature readers who appreciate adult, literary fiction or historical fiction.
Sunday, March 25
Top 10 Reasons to Love Today
1. Babe Lincoln has been sleeping in his crib for naps for an entire week now. Wow. (Yes, he's almost 6 months old, but I'm a snuggling enabler)
2. Between Shades of Gray won the first match of Round 2 of the BOB!
3. I may be late to the party, but I just discovered Bookfessions. Here are some of my favorites, which just so happen to all be true:
5. The weather has been ridiculously gorgeous all week. I love flinging the windows open and eating lunch out in the yard. And so does the Lincster.
6. Finally finished my "required reading" yesterday with Life: An Exploded Diagram. After my February challenge, completing all of the BOB contenders, and reading a slew of books to choose my favorites for a MG Guest Post, I'm feeling an immense amount of FREEDOM in that there's nothing I need to be reading right now. That being said...
7. I already have a "car bag" full of books set for SB. What am I most looking forward to reading? The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
8. My parents have been visiting for the weekend and we have had so much fun. Right now I'm just waiting for the house to wake up so we can make waffles :)
9. On Thursday my sister a) met Ree Drummond and b) went to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games. Sometimes I just have to live vicariously through her.
10. "You are going to live a good and long life filled with great and terrible moments that you cannot even imagine yet!" (name that book!) And that is one of the best reasons to love today. Life is so good right now, but the best is yet to come.
2. Between Shades of Gray won the first match of Round 2 of the BOB!
3. I may be late to the party, but I just discovered Bookfessions. Here are some of my favorites, which just so happen to all be true:
(click to make it bigger!)
4. Spring Break starts Friday!5. The weather has been ridiculously gorgeous all week. I love flinging the windows open and eating lunch out in the yard. And so does the Lincster.
6. Finally finished my "required reading" yesterday with Life: An Exploded Diagram. After my February challenge, completing all of the BOB contenders, and reading a slew of books to choose my favorites for a MG Guest Post, I'm feeling an immense amount of FREEDOM in that there's nothing I need to be reading right now. That being said...
7. I already have a "car bag" full of books set for SB. What am I most looking forward to reading? The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
8. My parents have been visiting for the weekend and we have had so much fun. Right now I'm just waiting for the house to wake up so we can make waffles :)
9. On Thursday my sister a) met Ree Drummond and b) went to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games. Sometimes I just have to live vicariously through her.
10. "You are going to live a good and long life filled with great and terrible moments that you cannot even imagine yet!" (name that book!) And that is one of the best reasons to love today. Life is so good right now, but the best is yet to come.
Thursday, March 22
BOB: Round 1 - The Carnage
Well folks, the first round of the Battle of the Kids' Books is over, but not without a few heartbreakers. I admit it... I got a little bit cocky about my BoB predictions. After the first 5 battles, I was 5-5 - correctly predicting wins for:
- Amelia Lost
- Between Shades of Gray
- Chime
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone
- Drawing from Memory
But then karma came back with some pretty sharp teeth. And I am mourning the loss of both Heart and Soul and A Monster Calls. I was not too surprised by the loss of the former (that Thanhha Lai was going to be tough to beat), and can't claim too much emotional distress over the loss of the latter because I still haven't finished its opponent (I know, I know).
But the truly devastating loss was today. Wonderstruck vs Okay for Now. A beautifully illustrated book that I would ultimately declare "pretty good," vs one of my top 3 books of the BoB - and really, one of the best books I've ever read. Guess who won? Not one of the best books I've ever read. I am really pretty shocked that Okay for Now will not be moving on to Round 2. At least Doug Swieteck has a real shot at making it back from the Undead Vault!
What do you think, book lovers? Are any of you following the BoB? And if you are, how are you doing on your predictions? Are your favorites coming out on top? Were any losses particularly heartbreaking for you?
- Amelia Lost
- Between Shades of Gray
- Chime
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone
- Drawing from Memory
But then karma came back with some pretty sharp teeth. And I am mourning the loss of both Heart and Soul and A Monster Calls. I was not too surprised by the loss of the former (that Thanhha Lai was going to be tough to beat), and can't claim too much emotional distress over the loss of the latter because I still haven't finished its opponent (I know, I know).
But the truly devastating loss was today. Wonderstruck vs Okay for Now. A beautifully illustrated book that I would ultimately declare "pretty good," vs one of my top 3 books of the BoB - and really, one of the best books I've ever read. Guess who won? Not one of the best books I've ever read. I am really pretty shocked that Okay for Now will not be moving on to Round 2. At least Doug Swieteck has a real shot at making it back from the Undead Vault!
What do you think, book lovers? Are any of you following the BoB? And if you are, how are you doing on your predictions? Are your favorites coming out on top? Were any losses particularly heartbreaking for you?
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