Category Archives: Book Review

Awesome Day :)


I am having a fantabulous day, but first let me review Wintergirls and then I’ll tell you all about my day’s loveliness.

Summary
Eighteen year-old Lia battles her eating disorder and tries to come to grips with feeling guilty for her best friend’s death. Mature subject matter includes: eating disorders, depression, self-mutilation, drugs and alcohol, death, and ghosts.
My Review
There are certain topics and subject matter that I try to avoid in books/literature. This book pretty much had every single topic that disturbs me. I had heard buzz about this book before I read it, but then discovered what it was about and said, “I’m not reading that!” Then it was on the reading list for my grad school class, and I couldn’t avoid it. Do I regret reading it? Yeah. I hate the images I now have in my head and it is without a doubt the most depressing and darkest book that I have ever read. HOWEVER, the author is an amazing writer, and the things she does in this book (writing techniques/use of language, etc.) takes the reader on an astounding journey into the mind of a girl with an eating disorder. This is not a book you’ll want to read, but is a book that will change the way you look at eating disorders and mental illness. Is it important that this book got written? Yes. Definitely. But it is a very difficult read.
My Fabulous Day
On a lighter note, I have a had a lovely day! I was expecting to be dead tired and needing a nap about now because I was up until 2:30 am. After finishing my homework about Wintergirls, I was totally creeped out by the ghost scenes in the book and needed to dilute my mind before going to bed. (I have a very active imagination when it comes to creepy stuff and nightmares are pretty much guaranteed when my brain is on that track.) So I pulled out my laptop since I have no TV, and I didn’t bring any DVDs, so I browsed Hulu for recent junky TV, and stumbled across the Bachelorette… And after two hours of ridiculous romance, I was ready to have nice dreams instead of scary ones.
So while I should be exhausted right now, I’m not! After having a lively and engaging discussion in class about Wintergirls, we moved on to writing. My teacher told me she was so mad last night because she read my story and I left her with a cliff-hangar ending. She wanted to know what happened “after the lights went out.” She’s been saying how dark my piece is and told me I needed a hopeful ending. (Though my work is nowhere near as dark as Wintergirls. Not even within the same hemisphere.)
Our assignment today was to decide on a symbol that would reappear throughout our novel, and then write a scene where that symbol appears. I went outside to brainstorm and then was giddy when I came back in, and told her, “I’m going to write a mushy love scene.” Which definitely got her curiosity up because there has not even been the hint of romance. So she let me read first, and it was really fun. I got good feedback, applause, etc. My symbol is the blue color of a boy’s eyes and the blue color changes in meaning for the main character over the course of the book. I love the idea, and it fell into place beautifully.
After class I went to a student reading (grad students reading their work aloud to an audience). My favorite story was one about a genie, hamster, and a plastic pool full of spit. It was hilarious!
Then on my way to Panera, I discovered I had a parking ticket. Which stinks, but I’m going to contest it. I was parked in visitor parking near the library, but there aren’t any signs that say you can’t park there if you have a permit. I had only parked there yesterday because I had to run into the library when is was pouring rain, but I made sure not to park in the 30 minute only spaces. Then I forgot I left my car there and just walked back to my dorm instead of driving back. Grrr… I’ve decided I’m not going to contest it today because I’m in a very good mood and not a fiesty mood. I’ll go by the office tomorrow.
Today, I’m going to work on a PowerPoint on series books for children, or maybe write for a bit. I don’t have a lot of homework for class tomorrow since we’re doing picture books (which is probably a good thing since I’m sure I’ll pass out early tonight after I lose my energy high.

Looking For Alaska by John Green


Brief Summary

Sixteen year-old Miles Halter heads off to boarding school looking for “the Great Perhaps.” He wants to “live life to the fullest.” At Culver Creek Boarding School, he meets the sexy but screwed-up Alaska who will leave him a different person than when he arrived.
Review
This book won the Printz Award (the teen/YA equivalent of the Newbery for Children). Definitely a well written book, but full of profanity, drugs/alcohol, and sex. Think Catcher in the Rye-esque coming of age story. I liked this better than I did Catcher in the Rye, but I’d never been a Holden Caulfield fan. I wouldn’t go around recommending this book to people because I’d be wary of what people would think of the risque subject matter, plus it’s more of a boy book. But it is exceptionally well-written and I can see why the author won the Printz for this work.
Has anyone read this year’s Printz winner, Going Bovine? It sounds sooooo strange, that I haven’t made myself go read it.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Lawson


Hattie Big Sky was my favorite book so far this summer. If you want great historical fiction, you’ve got it.

Summary

In the midst of World War I, sixteen year-old Hattie Inez Brooks heads west to Montana to prove up her Uncle’s claim. She has no idea what kinds of challenges await her from farming 40 acres of land all on her own to blizzards to the Spanish influenza. While there she also witnesses the ugly side of prejudice, and stands up for what is right. Will she fall for the handsome Traft Martin or will she wait for Charlie who is fighting overseas? And finally, will she establish a home for herself and no longer be Hattie Here-and-There?
My Review

This book was a Newbery Honor and it definitely deserved it. Hattie is such a strong female character and the story is so well-knit. Every event is important to the development of the story. The format of the book is fun because the chapters start with either a letter or news article written by Hattie. Plus, I like books where the author throws huge challenges at their characters, and one after another, Hattie definitely faced some enormous challenges.

Highly recommend this book for girls! (Boys maybe not as much.)

Tiring weekend?

This weekend wore me out more than classes. Halloween Party (I know it’s July. Don’t ask.) I was kind of disappointed in the costumes. I’d heard it was a big deal, and was expecting cool, kid’s lit themed costumes– and it was a let down. There were only 3-4 cool costumes, including my own last minute Harry Potter costume. Oh well.

Then a 4th of July potluck… where there wasn’t any hotdogs or hamburgers. Just salads and dessert. Kind of lame. And then I’d heard you could see the fireworks really well from a hill on campus… not so much. Fireworks also lame.
But both were late nights and both wore me out. And today I had to drag myself out of bed to class. Luckily I love this class.
Semiprecious
Brief Summary
In the early 1960s, two daughters deal with being abandoned by their mother who feels she must pursue her dream of a music career in Nashville before it’s too late.
Thoughts on the Book
This book was written by the woman who was supposed to teach the class. And we didn’t hold back when we were discussing it… because she wasn’t there. The biggest strength of the book, in my opinion, is the conflict with the mother. There are several other subplots, but the core of the book is the protagonist, Garnet, learning to deal with the fact that her mother is not a good mother. This is pretty tough subject matter that I haven’t seen handled frequently in Children’s Lit.
Our criticism was multifaceted. My biggest criticism was that the climax came too early in the novel. Garnet goes to Nashville to confront her mother and learns just how much her mother has been lying and cheating. But after this last big moment with the mother, there is still another 100 pages in the book! Other criticisms were that there was way too much description and unnecessary detail as well as too many subplots without strong meaning. The book didn’t feel as well knit together as some of the others that we’ve read.
However, if for some reason, I had someone looking for a book with a strong mother/daughter conflict, I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. That part of the book was done very well.
Publishing Discussion

We had a discussion in class today where we began by going around the table sharing our dreams about writing. Here’s what I said:
“I read a lot of author’s blogs online, and see that they spend a lot of time traveling and talking about their books, whether at schools, conferences, or book events. I would love to be successful enough at writing that I could quit teaching, but travel the country talking to kids about my books and just reading in general.”
No one else mentioned the traveling aspect or talking to kids about books. But that is the kind of interaction I want to have, and that will be my test that I’ve made it in the publishing industry. If I can draw a crowd–I’ve made it!
Our teacher then went on and shared her own experiences in the publishing industry, which are dream-like and not realistic at all. A friend sent in her manuscript to a publishing house, who forwarded it to an editor who handled that kind of material, who called from New York City, asked my teacher to come up in the next few days to chat, and when she got to NYC they told her they were going to publish her book. A fairy tale, correct? It doesn’t normally work that way.
She went on to explain about query letters, agents, self-publishing, etc. Most of which I knew because I’ve already done a lot of reading up/research on the industry. It surprises me that so many of my peers haven’t done that.
Two big resources where I’ve learned about the publishing industry are:

#2 = the blogs of authors I enjoy.
Pretty much every author has some sort of website, and many of them keep daily blogs. My two favorites are Lois Lowry and Maggie Stiefvater. (Maggie has lots of good writer tips/advice and she’s adorable.) But I have over 20 authors bookmarked in their own folder, and when I’m having a lazy-stay-in-bed-until-noon-with-my-laptop kind of morning, I’ll often go through author websites/blogs for a few hours like I’m reading the newspaper. I highly recommend any aspiring author do the same.
In Class Writing Exercise

Inspired by today’s book discussion, we had to write a scene where our main character is disappointed or betrayed by someone. This was perfect for the story I’m working on! I had no trouble with this prompt and easily scribbled out three pages in half an hour.
Next class, we are going to have to write a scene where the setting has a prominent role in the conflict. That one I’ll have to think about, but I already have some ideas.
Ahhhh! Such a long post! Gotta go do work!

What I’ve been reading…

So I read something like 450 pages yesterday. That’s a lot. Most of which in a rocking chair. Here’s what I read:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Semiprecious by D. Anne Love
Thoughts on Bree Tanner
When I write, I always like to switch to other characters’ points-of-view. It usually becomes a problem because then I want their point-of-view in the story and I end up with 7 characters all trying to tell the same story. But it’s fun. So I understand why Meyer liked to do the same thing (with Edward in Midnight Sun and now Bree in this novella). The story actually was pretty interesting. It held my interest even though I knew the outcome. And she did create a couple of fleshed out characters that haven’t appeared in the Twilight books. I was surprised at how well thought out this was. The only thing I’m going to poke fun at is Meyer clearly wants her dream man to be her protector. Over and over again, her male love interests protect women. I don’t think she can write a romance and not put that in there. If you want to read the novella about Bree, it’s free online for the next 72 hours (until July 5th). Just google Bree Tanner.
Beginning Thoughts after reading Semiprecious
I’ll probably do another post after I discuss this book in class. The author was supposed to be my professor, but couldn’t teach the class. This is one of the books she’s published. I couldn’t help but notice LOTS of similarities between the books on the reading list she created.
-Two deal with Communists (and then a third has hate against Germans during WWII)
-Two have Native American influences
-Three protagonists who move and must deal with making new friends
-All of them take place in the past
-All but one take place in a small, rural town
-Three have a teenage older sister who is obsessed with boys, clothes, and make-up
-All have a white main character. (In fact I think the only non-white character was an Indian.)
I’m getting really bored of these types of books. I’m really sick of realistic fiction. That doesn’t mean these were all bad books. I just really think she should have had more diversity in the reading list.

Alice in Wonderland


Today’s class was finally a little better. The first hour and a half was still just the professor rambling on and not making much sense, but then after the break, all the students started talking about Alice in Wonderland and it became a lot less boring.

If you haven’t read Alice in Wonderland and only know of the Disney version, you’re really doing yourself a disservice. Disney really slaughtered the whole mood and charming bits. The best part of the story is Alice’s thought processes. She is so funny in how she thinks about the world, and she is such a charming character. You don’t get that from either the Disney movie or the Tim Burton film. I feel like the films focus more on the world of Wonderland and its inhabitants when really its Alice’s views and interactions that made the story so wonderful. For example, at one point when Alice is growing extremely tall, she has a whole conversation with herself about how she’ll be too tall to put on her shoes and stockings. And whoever shall do that for her feet now? And she even pretends that she will have to write letters to her feet now. For if she can hardly see them, she can’t speak to them. She sounds just like a 7 year old girl, and made me laugh.

I highly recommend reading Alice in Wonderland, and I hear Through the Looking Glass is even better. I was dreading reading it, but thoroughly enjoyed it once I got started.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman


Surprisingly enjoyed this book. Had to read it for a grad class. Loved the voice and style initially, but then after I’d read some of the other selections for class, the voice didn’t stand out as much.

Francine is a young teenage girl growing up during the 1950’s. She is obsessed with movie stars and likes to read. She meets the outgoing and outrageous Sophie and experiences her first best friend. She attends an all-girl Catholic school in Los Angeles where she keeps quiet and stays out of trouble with the evil Sister Basil. However, the nation is frightened and paranoid about communists and the atomic bomb. Francine is trying to figure out the truth in a confusing world where not even the adults around her know what the truth is.

My only criticism for this book is today’s teens might not have enough background to understand and relate to Francine. I can’t see any of my students getting into this book. Though, I do think my mom would love it… My favorite chapter is the one towards the beginning about paper dolls. 🙂

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe

Summary

Wataru suddenly finds his world broken apart when his father leaves his mother for another woman. But after a series of mysterious happenings at an abandoned construction site in the neighborhood, Wataru discovers that he can enter a fantasy world called Vision. In this world full of both friendly creatures and evil doings, Wataru must collect 5 gemstones in order to change his fate in the real world. If he collects the 5 gemstones, he can make one wish to the Goddess, and Wataru wants to wish for his family to be put back together. But the journey Wataru goes on will be long and difficult and may lead him to discover things about himself that he didn’t know.

This book is an amazing work of translation (originally in Japanese), and it won the Batchelder award which recognizes translations in children’s literature.

Review

Liked this book but it was sooooooo long. It didn’t fly by like a chunky Harry Potter book. I’ve passed my copy on to one of my favorite students from this past year, and I found myself wondering today if she’s started it yet.

I really liked the clarity and beauty of the author’s descriptions. You really feel like you traveled to the world of Vision by the end of the book. There were some amazing similes that I want to go back and find and write down somewhere.

Wataru was an incredibly likable character. Lots of great supporting characters. The ending was satisfying. Some people say they thought the beginning 200 pages were slow, but I flew through that part of the book and really liked it.

My brother is reading this book right now too, and really likes it. The book has lots of similarities to a fantasy video game plot, and anyone familiar with video game storytelling would probably really enjoy this book. And my brother isn’t complaining about the book being so long, so maybe he’s more engrossed by the fantasy. Maybe Tolkein lovers would enjoy this one?

Today’s Class and Season of Gifts


A Season of Gifts was my first encounter with proclaimed author Richard Peck, and supposedly it’s not his finest work, but I enjoyed it just the same.

Summary

A preacher’s kid named Bob Barnhardt and his family move to a small southern town. The family isn’t welcomed all that warmly, and they learn that they are living next to the town kook: Mrs. Dowdel. Over time, Mrs. Dowdel plays an integral part in their being accepted into the town.

My Review

The book is brimming with Southern expressions and culture of the 1950s. Richard Peck has a tremendous voice as an author and a fantastic sense of humor. For example, here’s a line from the book: “The sorority was Iota Nu Beta, which some people said stood for I Outta Know Better.”

The one criticism of the book is that it is much more character driven and not action driven. There is no definable climax. Though the novel is character driven, the protagonist, Bob, is a very bland character and not as fleshed out as some of the others. In fact many of the other characters, such as Ruth Ann, Phyllis, and Roscoe Burdick make a much more dynamic transformation and were much more interesting characters. And then there was Mrs. Dowdel who is just such a larger than life character and known to be one of Peck’s greatest.

Overall I really enjoyed this book!

Today’s Class:

After discussing Season of Gifts, we did two writing exercises. Last class we created a character. Today we had to describe that character’s hands. It was a fun way to get your brain rolling.

Next, she let us write for 20 minutes straight and our only job was to create a scene. I love, love, love what I got out in those 20 minutes. It was suspenseful and mysterious and filled with strong imagery. They loved my first sentence which was:

Jane felt safe when she had sweat rolling down her back.

Jane actually isn’t the character’s name. I substituted for now. It won’t be any chore at all to revise/polish it up and maybe expand on it a little!

I’m kind of tired because I was up til 1:30 last night working on schoolwork, but I was having a blast doing it, so it’s all good!

Unwind by Neal Schusterman


I read this book last summer and it really stuck with me. A bunch of my more mature 7th graders read it over the school year and voted it as their favorite book of the year.

This book was nominated for the 2009-10 Maryland Black Eyed Susan award. I wouldn’t call it a light read. Very serious subject matter and there is one very disturbing chapter.

The book’s premise is that instead of abortion, children can be “unwound” between the ages of 13-18 if they have not proved themselves useful to society. Unwinding means surgically cutting the teens up into “parts” which are then used like organ donations–every part of each teen is used.

This was the kind of book that makes you think. You rooted for the characters and kept turning pages to find out if they’d make it to the end without getting “unwound.” I think it’s pretty mature subject matter for middle schoolers, but would be more appropriate for high school aged kids. However it was definitely an original sci-fi concept and I haven’t read anything like it.