Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Is the real world ready for Jessica Darling?
At first it seems she’s living the New York City dream. She’s subletting an apartment with her best friend, working for a magazine that actually cares about her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with the charismatic Marcus Flutie.
But reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés.
When Marcus proposes – giving her only one week to answer – Jessica must decide if she’s ready to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who’s gripped her heart for years. Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark* and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life.
(Summary from back of book)

I don’t think this measly review is going to succeed in summing up my immense love for this series. I adore Jessica Darling. These books have been some of the most memorable I’ve read in quite a while and possibly the only ones in recent reading history that don’t allow me to put them down. Literally. I was babysitting this past Thursday and Friday and could hardly stand to part from Marcus and Jessica’s story long enough to make mac ‘n cheese and take the push-bike to the park.

I’m surprised that I was so involved in this book out of all of them because it’s drastically different than the first three. The previous books are Jessica’s private journals – commentaries on the day-to-day events in her life. Fourth Comings was changed because this journal isn’t private, and less significantly but still importantly, Jess isn’t in school.

This one is a journal kept by Jess during the week after Marcus proposes to her in his dorm room at Princeton, until giving him her response seven days later. She’s all grown up and on her own in NYC. She’s got a much more realistic and depressing view of the world because she’s finally faced with providing for herself and living independently.

In Fourth Comings actually get to meet Hope, which I loved. In the previous three books she was alluded to and addressed indirectly through Jess’s letters and ramblings. Now there are conversations and conflicts and direct emotions. I liked it better this way. That’s the way stories about best friends should be.

I also enjoyed reading about Jess’s thoughts on personalities, relationships, and life in general. Even though I’m only around how old Jess was in Sloppy Firsts I feel like I’ve related to her more and more as the books went on. Maybe because she’s gotten better at putting words to her thoughts – something that I think I’m very bad at. And maybe because I only wish that I could experience what she’s going through. It’s a phantom world to me. I’ll get there soon enough though. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading these books, it’s to relish these years where I’m provided for and looked after.

Once again, McCafferty has succeeded in authoring a masterpiece of a novel. I don’t know how she’s hit these homeruns almost every time. The Jessica Darling series is on its way to becoming one of my all-time favorites. It’ll take a lot to remove them from that spot of honor. Because they really are phenomenal novels. I can only hope that Perfect Fifths, the conclusion to the series, doesn’t disappoint.

Another A+, of course.


*According to Microsoft Word, snark is not a word. I wish I could come up with a snarky comment about that.


Reviews of books 1, 2, and 3.

January 1, 2007 // Three Rivers Press // 336 pages
Goodreads // Amazon // IndieBound

Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Things are looking up for Jessica Darling. She has finally left her New Jersey hometown/hellhole for Columbia University in New York City; she's more into her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie than ever (so what if he's at a Buddhist college in California?); and she's making new friends who just might qualify as stand-ins for her beloved best friend, Hope.
But Jessica realizes that her bliss might not last after she lands an internship at an uber-hip Brooklyn-based magazine. As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she fall for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA...or the hot grad student she's assisting on a summer project...or the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean?
(Summary from back of book)

I would call the Jessica Darling series my guilty pleasure series but it's not all that guilty. There's wonderfully fluffy parts and then there are parts that make me want to go running to my mother and cry for hours.

Something like this:
Jane was right about one thing: Marcus's T-shirts were a schtick. But so is everything we do when we exercis the free will that Kieran held so dear. And we're all guilty. We convince ourselves that these choices declare WHO WE ARE to whe world, and we hope that others - or just one person - will see these on-the-surface signs and somehow, suddenly understand WHO WE ARE down to the depths of our souls. But the cruel reality is that these choices serve a different purpose altogether. They act as cheery distractions from the only tragic Truth-with-a-capital-T that matters: We all die alone.

I think the thing that's most provocative about Jessica Darling is how much she seems like me. Everything she does, everything people tell her, every experience that she goes through resonates with me. And I think that's one of the most amazing things about these books. Because I know that I'm not the only one who sees a bit of myself in her. I think every reader does. She's a universal kind of gal. Everyone wishes they were Jessica Darling.

One of the things that still bugs me about this series though is how much I didn't like the first book. It just doesn't make any sense how the two next books could be so awesome. Maybe I just wasn't in the mindset of the books when I read that one. Because they do require a certain mindset - a type of mentality. Maybe it really was amazing but I didn't get anything out of it because I was too busy being cynical and teenager-y. I don't know. I guess all that matters is that I'm with it now. And I'm loving that I'm with it.

This third book had a different tone than the previous two. Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings took place in high school after Jessica's best friend Hope moved away. For those books she was really sullen and moody and sarcastic. She was also sort of big-headed. Graduating from high school changed her drastically. I don't know if it's "for the better" but it's a change for sure. Jessica grew up. In Charmed Thirds she's much more contemplative and humble. The real world smacked her in the face and she knows it.

The way that she changed might be one of my favorite things about the series so far. Megan McCafferty is able to write with a different tone in each book so that you can see how Jessica is maturing and becoming a different person. That takes some mad skill - to be able to adapt your writing style with a character through a course of almost ten years. Pretty fabulous stuff.

And the cherry on top of this already grand book? Marcus Flutie. *sigh* That is all.

So the rare A+ for this novel. I adored it. Thank god I have Fourth Comings sitting on my shelf staring at me with puppy-dog eyes, begging to be read. Expect a review of that one real soon.

Review of Sloppy Firsts
Review of Second Helpings

April 11, 2006 // Three Rivers Press // 384 pages
Goodreads // Amazon // IndieBound

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.
(Summary from back of book)

When I was in New York City last month I was lucky enough to be able to see the musical, Wicked on Broadway. It's roughly based off of this novel but I'd heard from a few of my friends who read the book that the two works have almost nothing in common. Ingtrigue.

I picked up a copy to see what all the fuss was about. Also, I just really like the idea of what people see on the surface not being the reality. How perceptions are often mislead and how people are often misunderstood. I like the thought of never being able to know the whole truth. Like there's always guesswork involved and it's all we can do to try and figure out at least some of the facts.

So with that said, even though it wasn't all that similar to the musical, I adored this book. It's much darker and more political and sexual than the play but that kind of stuff worked in prose form. It wouldn't have worked as well on stage. I don't think people would want to sit there and think all of this through but when they're reading, they have the time to do that. Having that little edge of controversy and dissention there really helped to add an urgency and a seriousness to the events in the book.

Also, the characters were so amazing. Maguire knows how to give characters layers and personalities so that you never know what's going to come out of them next. Elphaba and Nessarose and Fiyero were some of the most complex people that I have ever read about. It was honestly a work of art.

The other thing that I enjoyed about Wicked is how nothing ever turns out perfect. In the play there's always little light moments and everyone ends up relatively happy but in the book it's more realistic. There's death and danger and hatred and lies and the author shies away from none of that. It's all there laid out on the table for you to make of it what you will.

Gregory Maguire knows how to capture a reader's interest. He definitely captured mine. I would recommend Wicked to anyone who's seen the play or anyone who's looking for a little excitement.

This is a monumental book.

A

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Marcelo Sandoval hears music that nobody else can hear - part of an autism-like condition that no doctor has been able to identify. But his father has never fully believed in the music or Marcelo's differences, and he challenges Marcelo to work in the mailroom of his law firm for the summer...to join "the real world."
There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it's a picture he finds in a file - a picture of a girl with half a face - that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.
(Summary from back of ARC)

After reading this review and basing my expectations off of that, I find myself slightly disappointed but still satisfied. Marcelo in the Real World wasn't the sort of edge-of-your-seat type of reading that I was expecting. It was more thoughtful and slow and deliberate. It was like an old classical piece of art as opposed to an Andy Warhol. Both beautiful, just in different ways. I think I relate more to the Andy Warhol-esque books but I still have a deep love for the classical ones. I just don't think they're as fun.

The best thing about this novel was how it was narrated. Marcelo has a mental problem that slows him down. His analyzations and conversations and reactions are all more thought out and perfectly executed than most normal people. He takes the time to make connections and figure out the best way to approach a problem. More people should be like him. I think there would be a lot less hate and a lot more love and appreciation if everyone took the time to sit down for a few minutes and think things through before acting.

I also liked how Marcelo affected the people around him. How their lives were improved and made better just by his being around. Like everything he touched turned to gold. Again, we need more Marcelos.

The only thing that didn't work for me was how slow it moved. And yeah, I realize that that totally goes against the point of the book. But to me, things are just more fun if they move fast and this book moved at a snail's pace. It took me a while to get used to. But I guess that just proves that I'm one of those people who needs to slow down once in a while.

So yeah, this was a pretty fine book. I think Marcelo will strike a chord with anyone who reads his story and cause them to take a step back and look at things from a different angle. Definitely recommended.

B

Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

Maus is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and of his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself.
Moving back and forth from Poland to Rego Park, New York, Maus tells two powerful stories: The first is Spiegelman's father's account of how he and his wife survived Hitler's Europe, a harrowing tale filled with countless brushes with death, improbable escapes, and the terror of confinement and betrayal. The second is the author's tortured relationship with his aging father as they try to lead a normal life of minor arguments and passing visits against a backdrop of history too large to pacify. At all levels, this is the ultimate survivor's tale - and that, too, of the children who somehow survive even the survivors.
(Summary from jacket flap)

Graphic novels have always been a bit iffy for me. They don't seem to have the same amount of legitimacy as a novel with lines and lines of sentences and words and letters that have been put together artfully and thoughtfully and been rearranged a countless number of times. Pictures are so un-concrete almost light-hearted.

At least that was where I stood coming into this book.

Now I'm in a completely different place. Because Maus was amazing. Truly and seriously amazing.

The pictures are well done and the dialogue and narration fits in perfectly. Being able to see the expressions of the characters gave me a whole different perspective on the story than I would've had if it had just been written in prose. It was like watching a movie but one that was intelligent and creative and sort of monumental.

Maus tells the story of the Holocaust for goodness' sake.

I've mentioned my Holocaust obsession, right? I have one. It fascinates me. I can't get enough of it. Not the death or the horror but the knowledge. I feel like in order to be a world citizen I should be as educated and informed and horrified by the event as is humanly possible. Like it's my duty to understand the whos, whats, and whys. Please someone else say they feel this way.

Not only was this an outstanding graphic novel it was a moving illustration of what life was like for some of the Jews who were in hiding for months, trying to figure out what card the Nazis were going to play next.

The bad thing is that it left off just as the main character and his wife were being taken to Auschwitz. Which means I'll have to make a trip to the bookstore and get the second book.

So yeah, this is a phenomenal book. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. A must-read. Especially if you haven't read a graphic novel yet. This is a good way to start.

A

It's Not You, It's Me by Kerry Cohen Hoffman

Zoe loves Henry.
Henry dumps Zoe.
Zoe wants Henry back - at any cost.
Zoe's two best friends come up with a plan to help Zoe get what she wants. The plan: make Henry jealous.
But the plan takes a surprising turn...
(Summary from jacket flap)

So I read this book a while ago and thought so little of it that I didn't want to write a review of it. I think it's probably worse that I'm doing it now because I remember almost nothing about the plot or the characters or really anything.

So basically, the thing I think I can say with certainty is that this book sucked. First of all it was too short to actually have any space in which to develop a story line or build any tension or emotions. Secondly, Zoe was completely pathetic and Henry was a loser and the other guy who Zoe decided to use and smooch around with was just as lifeless. It was like reading about the adventures of paper dolls.

I don't know if there's anything good to say. The cover's cute, I think. I like the little chicks and the spirals coming out of the red ones mouth. Very aesthetically pleasing.

But not memorable at all. Just a stupid book, IMO.

D - just for the cover.

Are U 4 Real? by Sara Kadefors

Kyla is exactly the kind of girl Alex could never talk to in real life. She's a gorgeous, outspoken city girl who parties to forget about her absent father and depressed mother. He's a shy ballet dancer from the suburbs who's never been kissed. Luckily, when they meet for the first time it's not if real lift - it's in a chat room, where they can share how alone and misunderstood they feel far away from the conformity-obsessed scenes at their high schools and at home. Kyla and Alex quickly forge a friendship that's far from virtual...maybe they're even falling in love.
But what happens when you come face-to-face with the soul mate you've never met? Will that person be the same? Will you?
(Summary from jacket flap)

I think the coolest thing about this book is that it came out in Sweden eight years ago and was such a hit there that it's now translated to English. I don't know how often this goes on - translating a foreign book into English. I've never heard about it being done before. I guess because the American market is so hard to get into? Maybe? But I think it was an excellent decision to make the jump with this book.

The thing that worked the most for me was how pronounced and different Kyla and Alex's lifestyles were. They each were very unique which made it memorable and special when they finally met and were able to see the world through each other's eyes. I liked reading how two opposite personalities and lifestyles came together.

The other thing I liked was how the writing seemed like it came from a different place. Like, how real can an author's voice be if it's been filtered through a translator? I found myself wondering what the original was like and how the Swedish book might have been perceived differently than the English version. I felt like I was missing out on some things but it also made me feel connected to something outside of America's exclusivity.

There were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way though. Like how fast the book moved. There weren't enough details and descriptions for my taste. I wish we could've seen Alex and Kyla's relationship evolve more slowly. Milk it for all it's worth, you know?

I also think that Kyla's character was a little awkward at some points. Like the author couldn't figure out how she wanted to portray her. My perceptions of different characters and scenes were messed with a little bit because it seemed like midway through a description the author would switch it up and decide to take it in another direction. That was kind of frustrating and confusing.

Also, when I posted about this book for a Waiting on Wednesday post a while back, I got some comments from people in Sweden who said that the English version of the book had been re-edited and that some of the dirtier parts had been taken out. Knowing that, while I was reading I kept thinking of how much deeper and edgier the book could've been if everything deemed "dirty" by the editors had been kept in. It just makes me mad knowing that I'll never be able to read the alternate version of the book. I feel sort gypped.

But other than that, I think this book came together nicely. It was a fun experience to read something that wasn't by an American author.

B-

*If you do decide to read this book, you should try and watch the movie afterwards. It's called Sandor Slash Ida and came out a little bit ago. I haven't been able to find it anywhere but I'm still looking. It looks like a fun movie.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

author // amazon // goodreads

The Tipping Point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
(Summary from back cover)

This is the first nonfiction book I've read in a while and it reminded me of what I love about the genre. I do love fiction a lot but there's something reassuring and concrete about nonfiction books. They're provable and real and tangible. Reading this book, I felt like I was learning something that would benefit me later on and improve me as an individual. There are definitely many fiction books that can have that effect but a week after reading The Tipping Point, I've brought it up in conversation and recognized its different scenarios in my day-t0-day life which is something that can't be said about any fictional book that I've read lately.

The things I found most interesting about Malcolm Gladwell's research and analyses were the little factoids about humans' interactions and natures that were tucked into the book. Like how there are three influential types of people that are the kinds who make things happen and who wield a great deal more power than anyone else in society - the Mavens, Connecters, and Salesmen. He gave examples and descriptions of people that he knew who were examples of those three types and it made me realize how I know people like this but haven't realized how much they affect my life and also the lives of my social groups.

Another thing I found applicable due to the recent turn of events my life has taken (NYC) is how Gladwell explained why the New York crime rate had such a drastic decline several years ago in comparison to other cities across the nation. The NYPD used the "Broken Windows" effect/study thing. To improve the subway system, all they did was clean up the graffiti and arrest the people who were stopping up the turnstyles. They figured out that if the environment is clean and secure then fewer people will commit crimes. It's like the dirtiness and law-breaking that was previously going on acted to give permission for other crimes to happen.

Malcolm Gladwell was able to take these complex business and social theories and break them down into simpler terms so that a 15 year old girl was easily able to grasp it. His descriptions and narrations were both funny and intelligent and this book was simply a joy to read. I feel like I learned a lot and that I will remember and apply this book many years from now.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for an easy nonfiction book. It's a memorable and fast read.

I will definitely be picking up another Gladwell book in the near future.

A+

Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-riden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can't seem to excape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany's pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.
(Summary from jacket flap)

I've been converted.

I never thought it would happen after the disappointment that was Sloppy Firsts but I'm glad I stuck it out and read the second book in the series. With this book I really think Megan McCafferty found her groove and finally figured out who she wanted Jess to be.

In the first book almost nothing worked for me. It was boring, the characters were distant, and it all seemed rather haphazard and "sloppy". Ha. I think McCafferty had a good idea - the journal of an obsessive teenage girl who has no real friends and who is falling for the totally wrong guy, but the execution was icky. Blah. Meh.

BUT. It was all stepped up a notch in Second Helpings. I found Jess to be entirely relatable and deliciously blunt. She has a way of looking at the world that I think almost anyone can identify with.

She's actually really self-centered and single-minded and what's funny is that while you're reading the book, you're drawn into that way of thinking. You're converted to her point of view because she's the one feeding it to you.

Towards the end, one of the characters points out the flaws in her perceptions and how she's been walking through her life with blinders on. As the reader, I was struck by that scene because it made me realize that it's so easy to fall into that. I wasn't concerned for certain aspects of the story if Jess wasn't. I didn't care about certain characters if Jess didn't. It made me feel sort of used and manipulated but it also made me stand back and take a look at how that proves that this is a really great narrative. That I was able to surrender myself to the story and to a character like that is a mark of greatness, I think.

So yeah, against all expectations, I'm singing the praises of this book. I read it in a day and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's sort of baffling how there could have been such a huge turnaround from the first book, but I'm not complaining. I think I've found a new series to love. We'll see if it sticks.

And hey, the more Marcus Flutie I get, the better.

A-

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Bobby Framingham is the star quarterback at Durango High School and one of the most talented high school football players in California. He's waiting on scholarship offers from big schools and hopes he'll go pro after college. On the field, his teammates are like his brothers. But off the field, he knows he's different - Bobby is gay.
Can he still be one of the guys and still be honest about who he is? And even more, if people knew, could he still get that scholarship? Bobby's not sure. After all, there are no openly gay male atheletes in any of the major college or pro sports. Can he help change that? He doesn't want to be a hero or a poster boy for gay rights - he just wants to play football - but how he handles his istuation will send a big message.
Just like in football, once Bobby's forced out of the pocket he'll have to make a play. He'll have to deal with the changing dynamics of the team and his changing relationships with his friends an family, and accept that his path to success might be more difficult, and more public, than he'd hoped.
(Summary from jacket flap)

Out of the Pocket is a surprisingly readable and relatable take on homosexuality in high school.

And I say "surprisingly" because I'm a cover judger. It looked like it might be a little too boy-ish and manly for me based on the football player and the sky and the black but it wasn't at all. It could appeal to anyone and I think that's the point. How anyone should be able to pick up a book like this and enjoy it.

I actually like the fact that the cover is marketed at guys because I know a guy or two who could stand to read a little more about homosexuality.

One of the things that really impressed me about Out of the Pocket was how realistic it was. Bill Konigsberg wasn't afraid to tackle all of the stupid stereotypes and idiot high school jock guys head on. Jokes, slurs, and crudeness, all included. It added personality and "real-ness" to the football guys and made it even more dynamic when Bobby came out and had to deal with their crap. Nothing was sugar-coated or brushed over. It was all laid out on the table and dealt with in a methodical manner.

I also like the statements that some of the characters made to Bobby.

"Bobby, you're a cool guy. Who cares if you're gay or straight? It's all the same, I mean, either way you love someone. That's all there is to it."

And amen to that.

There were a few tiny things that could have been improved about the book. I wish there had been a little more depth - I would've liked to hear more of Bobby's opinions and thoughts about the events. There wasn't enough of that. I also think that a few of the side characters, like Carrie, would've been fun to learn more about. Their backgrounds and personalities could've been hashed out more.

But overall, I think that this was a solid novel that dealt with a real life issue in a way that's simple and understandable. I applaud the author for that.

B

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her stepmother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way - thin, thinner, thinnest - maybe she'll disappear altogether.
(Summary from jacket flap)

Let's start out with a few choice quotes from the book, mmk?

"The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain o lies. For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breat everything feels better."

"We held hands when we walked down the gingerbread path into the forest, blood dripping from our fingers. We danced with witches and kissed monsters. We turned us into wintergirls, and when she tried to leave, I pulled her back into the snow because I was afraid to be alone."

And that right there is the novel summed up in a few sentences. Dark, haunting, sick, and still hopeful. It messes with your mind.

Laurie Halse Anderson really knows how to write. I actually think that Wintergirls would've worked really well if it was written in prose. The way the words are put together is almost poetic, but not quite. It's a different kind of writing style than I'm used to and it helped to lend an air of surreality to the story. I liked it.

The other thing that was great about the book was that it dealt with a harsh problem in a harsh way. There was no sugar-coating anything. How could there be when it's told through the eyes of a girl who's starving herself to death? Lia was brutally honest and seriously messed up, but she was convincing.

People exist that do things like this to themselves. It's horrible. I think that Wintergirls did an oustanding job of portraying something that's usually shoved into the closet because people are too scared to face the reality of it. But this is real. Girls like this are out there. They just need to be seen.

The only teensy thing that I took issue with was that this book actually didn't leave a huge impression on me...? Which is strange. Maybe it's just me. It was a great book but I think I read it at an inoportune time.

So a B+ for this one. Heavy stuff here.

Shelter Me by Alex McAulay

Maggie Leigh just wants to be a normal teenager, but when German bombs tear apart London during World War II, her ultra-religious mother sees the destruction as divine punishment. She sends Maggie to a remote boarding school in coastal Wales, supposedly to keep her safe, but also to keep her in line. The school is creepy, the headmistress is a lunatic, and the students range from spoiled rich girls to speechless trauma vitims. But when a tragic accident happens on the beach, Maggie and three friends are forced to flee the school, plunging into the nightmarish world of Europe during wartime. Now every decision Maggie makes is fraught with danger, and living to see another day depends on how quickly she can think and act...and how far she's willing to go.
(Summary from back of book)

To be blunt, this is one of the worst books I've read in a long time. Seriously.

I usually try and find something good to say about not-so-great books that I read but I can't with this one. It was all just weird and implausible and creepy and bad.

Gah.

I guess it was a quick read? If that's a good thing? Once I sat down to read it, it didn't take me very long to get through it.

But besides that, it was not good at all. The characters were seriously messed up, the ending was horrible, and basically, I didn't see the point to this book. Was there even meant to be a point?

I don't even know what to say.

D

One Lonely Degree by C.K. Kelly Martin

Fifteen-year-old Finn has always felt out of place, but suddenly her world is unraveling. It all started with The Party. And Adam Porter. And the night in September that changed everything. The only perosn who knows about that night is Audrey - Finn's best friend, her witness to everything, and the one person (under thirty) Finn trusts implicitly. So when Finn's childhood friend Jersy moves back into town - reckless, beautiful boy Jersy, all lips and eyes and hair so soft you'd want to dip your fingers into it if you weren't careful - Finn gives her blessing for Audrey to date him. After all, how could she possibly say no to Audrey?
With Audrey gone for the summer, though, Finn finds herself spending more and more time with Jersy, and for the first time since September, for the first time in her life maybe, something feels right - absolutely, stunningly right. But Finn can't be the girl who does this to her best friend...can she?
(Summary from back of ARC)

Ahhh...can I decline to do a review on this one please? That would be great.

Because I adore C.K. Kelly Martin and I wouldn't want to say anything less than glowing about her book. But I think I kind of have to with this one. It wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be.

The biggest thing that bothered me about One Lonely Degree was how passive it was. Her first book tackled a big issue in a big way (teen pregnancy from a guy's perspective - it doesn't get much better than that) and this book just didn't. I guess you could say that the whole Adam Porter thing was the event that was supposed to add a little bit of tension and edginess to the book, but I didn't see that at all. Nothing really jumped out at me or made me take a second look.

The other thing that bothered me was Jersy. On the surface he was the cute, idealistic guy, but, at least to me, he was a complete man ho (don't laugh at my terminology). He hooks up with Finn's best friend. Like hook-up, hook-up. And then once she's gone, he turns around and tells Finn that it was really her all along. While reading, I was just like, seriously? Really, Jersy? Because if any guy did that to my best friend or to me, I'd slap him across the face and walk away. Not okay in my book. Jersy was just a big ol' slime ball.

Other than that though, this book was quite good. After I realized that there weren't going to be any big controversial events, I resigned myself to reading it like I did Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. Like it was a fun little account of a teen's life. I listened to the voice instead of any underlying hints and meanings that there might have been. And once I got into that, I decided that the book wasn't half bad. Finn had a really great voice and the way she described things and reacted to different twists in her life struck a chord with me. She reminded me of myself.

I also loved the ending and the openness of it all. Because, really, in real life, nothing turns out perfectly. It's about finding the silver lining and making the best out of what's put in front of you.

One Lonely Degree wasn't a book about some big issue that needs to be confronted or some star-crossed romance, it was a book about life.

And I loved that.

So thanks C.K. You really can do no wrong in my mind.

B

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

*This post is a part of the first Traveling To Teens book tour*
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CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS, a four-time winner of the Utah Original Writing Competition and winner of Nebraska’s Golden Sower Award, grew up in Florida but now lives in Utah with her husband and seven children. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and helped develop the conference on Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers at Brigham Young University.

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Family or freedom? She must choose.
Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters. Or at least without questioning them much - if you don't count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her sixty-year-old uncle - who already has six wives - Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family.
(Summary from back of ARC)

Please don't stone me or dunk me in a tub of ice water, but I didn't think this book was as great as everyone else is making it out to be. I'm not saying that it was horrible or anything, I just don't think that it fully deserves all of the praise it's been getting.

Complaint #1: The writing isn't so nice. Although I guess this isn't that bad as it is told from the eyes of a thirteen-year-old who's grown up away from society and doesn't really know how everything works, but I still thought it was a little dry and flavorless. There was nothing there that would even make you want to like Kyra. She was just a boring girl. Maybe if her feelings of escape and rebellion had been a little stronger and more exciting I would've been satisfied but I thought it was kinda...meh.

Complaint #2: The book was too short! If you're going to take on the topic of polygamy then you have to make it really convincing and juicy. I would've loved to hear more about what went on at the camp, what the other families there were like, how Kyra intereacted with her siblings, etc. Out of the 20 siblings that she has, we only really encounted three of them and we never see any other families at the compound except Hyrum's briefly, and Joshua's. More of everything would've helped.

Complaint #3: The ending was too open for my tastes. I wish we could've seen how Kyra acclimated to the new world she was living in and how she changed, both for the better and for the worse. To be able to view our world through the eyes of someone who's never been there and has scorn for it built into her at a young age would've been fun to read about. We did see a little of that when she and her mothers went into town once, but there wasn't enough of it.


Positive #1: The topic was genuinely unique. I've never read a book about polygamy before - never even heard of a book about it, so for Carol Lynch Williams to tackle it was ground breaking. There's a Q&A with her in the book and it sounds like she did a lot of research and learned about what life is like on a compound and about who the people are. That thoughtfulness showed in the book through the characters and their personalities. Kyra's mothers were really intersting to me, both in their passivity and also in their drive to live. The detail that was there seemed well thought out and organized.

Positive #2: The influence of books in Kyra's life was super fun. Maybe I'm biased, but I liked the idea that the book mobile was the thing to save her and help her shed her past and move on. It demonstrated that yes, books have the power to do great things. I also just like the idea of a Book Mobile. I want one.

To sum it up: This was a decent book. Nothing amazing, but still a good plot and a unique topic. I learned a lot about something that I don't think many people know very much about and I liked getting to see behind the curtain to what really happens at a compound. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick and educational read.

C+

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Lee Fiora is an intelligent, observant fourteen-year-old when she leaves her family behind in Indiana to attend the prestigious Ault School in Massachusetts. Over the next four years, her experiences at Ault - complicated relationships with teachers, intense friendships with other girls, an all-consuming preoccupation with a classmate who is less than a boyfriend and more than a crush - coalesce into a singular portrait of the universal pains and thrills of adolescence.
(Summary from back of book)

What to say about this book? I honestly don't know where to start.

There's a book every now and then that's legitimately real. Where the author knows the teenage brain backwards and forwards and is able to express that knowledge with wit, respect, and honesty. Where the teens who are reading the book find themselves inexplicably relating to the main character even though they have almost nothing in common. Where the author is able to get everyone who picks up the book to remember it, think about it, and be scared by it. Prep is one of those books.

Don't let the incongruous title and cover mislead you. This is a book about much more then a prep school and a confused, rejected girl. It's a book about growing up and dealing with all of the crap that's shoved in your face along the way.

One of the things I appreciate the most about this book is how realistic and true-to-life Lee is. She's the character that has a little bit to offer everyone. She's not entirely likeable but you can't hate her either. No one's purely angelic or purely demonic. There's a little bit of both in everyone and Curtis Sittenfeld was able to show that through all of her characters, especially Lee. They had their flaws, yes, but they were all able to live with them and make the most of what was handed to them.

That's the beauty of the human race, I think. That each of us is a little different than everyone else. No one is perfect. I find comfort in the fact that other people have survived experiences like mine. That so far, people have turned out okay. That even though each person's life is unique and different, we can relate to each other in a broader way.

Besides that, the writing in Prep was great. Lee's voice really stood out to me. I like the way Sittenfeld wrote the book - as Lee looking back on her life years later and being able to compare where she is now to where she was then. It was as if I was listening to my grandmother or my mother tell a story about their childhood except much more detailed and personal.

And how can you not love a book with quotes like these?

"The knowledge, unfortunately, wasn't much help - I still couldn't say what I wanted to becuse it was lodged inside me like a bowel movement and all that was coming out was hot stuttering air."

"And so everything has to turn out somehow, and other things happened to me - a job, graduate school, another job - and there are always words to describe the way you fill up your life, there is always a sequence of events. Although it doesn't necessarily have a relationship to the way you felt while it was occuring, there's usually some satisfaction in the neatness of its passage. Some anxiety too, but usually some satisfaction."

Prep is a thoughtful, sincere, and heartfelt portrayal of teenage life. It takes one seemingly simple girl's experience and turns it into something to be learned from and something to be appreciated. I highly suggest this to anyone who's looking for a book that will change the way they look at themselves and even how they look at everyone around them.

A

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom (#26)

Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. As the park has changed over the years - from the Loop-the-Loop to the Pipeline Plunge - so, too, has Eddie changed, from optimistic youth to embittered old age. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret.
Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his - and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.
One by one, Eddie's five people illuminate the unseen connections of his earthly life. As the story builds to its stunning conclusion, Eddie desperately seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life: Was it a heroic success or a devastating failure? The answer, which comes from the most unlikely of sources, is an inspirational glimpse of heaven itself.
(Summary from jacket flap)

Whew, that was a long summary.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a warmly confusing book. If such a thing is possible.

After first finishing it I was left dissatisfied. It seemed like there had been too much plot for too little book. The writing seemed sparse and unemotional, and the events were logistically improbable.

But after sitting on it a while and letting my thoughts work themselves out, I've come to the conclusion that this is a really wonderful piece of literature.

The prose that I first thought was bare now seems to be simple and effortless, helping to get the story across plainly and effectively. And the improbable events just added a nice dream-like quality to the novel.

It was the way that it was written, the way everything fit together so nicely, that made it all work. Now, I can definitely see why this is a book that has been remembered.

This is the first book of Mitch Albom's that I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me think about things in a different way. It was well-written, graceful, and just an all-around good book.

B

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (#21)

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding tis breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing ooks from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
(Summary from back of book)

I have a strange fascination with the Holocaust. That human beings, my own species, are capable of something so horrendous is just beyond words. My interest in it, now that I've thought about it, stems from a need to do the memories of those people justice. I've watch The Boy In The Striped Pajamas and sobbed through the whole thing, I've spent over two hours at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and I've read books like this one. I know it sounds petty and naive, but experiencing that kind of stuff makes me feel better about what happened. It makes me feel like I'm one more person whose eyes have been opened.

I finished this book about thirty minutes ago so I'm probably not qualified to give an opinion. Let me sum it up in a few quick sentences.

This is a book everyone should read.
It's a book that displays the best and the worst of human beings.
It's a book that will tear your heart out.
This is a book that makes you feel like you really can be a part of something greater.
It's a book that shows that death may not be that scary after all.
And most of all, it's a book of hope.

A+

Willow by Julia Hoban (#13)

Seven months ago on a rainy March night, Willow Randall's parents drank too much wine at dinner and asked her to drive them home. But they never made it - Willow lost control of the car, and both of her parents were killed.
Now seventeen, Willow has left behind her home, friends, and school - numbing the grim reality of her new life by secretly cutting herself. But everything changes when one of Willow's new classmates, a boy as sensitive and thoughtful as she is, discovers Willow's secret and refuses to let her destroy herself.
(Summary from back of ARC)

The rule of thumb for professional reviewers and critics is to not read a review of something that you yourself are going to review before you actually review it. It messes with your brain and screws with your opinions. I don't really follow that. I like to see what other people think. And how weird would it be for me to be friends with all of these bloggers and just not read what they have to say? Yeah, it would be bad.

But I really wish I would've refrained from reading other reviews of Willow. With each shining and worshipful review that I read, I got more and more excited about reading this supposedly phenomenal book. And when I actually sat down to read it, I was slightly disappointed. I think I had also sort of hard-wired myself to look for flaws and imperfections in the book - to prove those other reviews wrong. Which is sad. I didn't let myself just sit back and enjoy the book.

The major thing that irked me about the book was how one-dimensional and flat the characters were. All the characters were like that. They only had one side to them. The author tried to add a little spice and a little more dimension to some of the characters here and there but her efforts fell short. While reading, I felt like I'd never meet these kind of people in real life. They'd never have these kind of personalities and they'd never act like this. They were all just unreal and sort of lifeless.

I don't know if there's anything else that was bad about Willow, but if you have bad characters, the book's already doomed, I think. It would take an amazing plot and some flawless writing to save a book like that. And I do think that Willow had that. It was definitely the story line and the execution that saved it.

I haven't read a book about cutting before. Ever. So that in itself was a plus for this novel. It's the first time I've ever experienced this subject matter so I have nothing to compare it to. But in my opinion, the topic was treated with honesty and openness. It's definitely a delicate subject and I think that Julia Hoban treated Willow and her story with respect which was nice. Also, the scenes in which the cutting takes place are amazingly well written. While reading I actually felt myself getting a little bit queasy and beyond that, I just felt so bad for Willow. I was impressed that Ms. Hoban was able to instill those emotions. In a way, it made me happy.

Also, the other thing that worked with Willow was how the book didn't focus just on cutting it also dealt with a plethora of other issues: romance, murder, being an orphan, sibling relationships, etc. This book really packed a punch.

So maybe this book wasn't as fabulous as everyone else has said, but it still deserves a spot on your reading list.


Thanks to Khy for the boook. You're awesome.

Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande (#7)

Your best friend hates you. The guy you liked hates you. Your entire group of friends hates you. All because you did the right thing.
Welcome to life for Mena Reece, whose year is starting off in the worst way possible. She's been kicked out of her church group and no one will talk to her - not even her own parents. No one except for Casey, her supersmart lab partner in science class, who's pretty funny for the most brilliant guy on eart.
And when Ms. Shepherd begins the unit on evolution, school becomes more dramatic than Mena could ever imagine as she is caught up in a controversy involving science, religion, freedom - and a heart-racing, blush-inducing, can't-stop-thinking-about-him crush.
Now Mena's own life is about to evolve in some amazing and unexpected ways...
(Summary from jacket flap)

I'm going to try to keep this short because lately it seems like all my reviews have been amazingly and drearily long. So. Mini-review:

I have mixed feelings about this book.

Bad: Lots of Christian bashing. Yes, the main character is Christian but the author used basically any and all stereotypes out there and made Christians seem like the most cruelly single-minded group of people ever. Badbadbad. If a book is going to incorporate religion, it has to be extremely well thought out and respectful. No stereotypes allowed in my book.

Good: This book is quite readable. I finished it in just a few days which is saying something for me. I've turned into a very slow reader as of late and this actually moved quite quickly.

Bad: Predictable to the extreme. Except for the big drama part. I didn't see that one coming. And when it was finally revealed, I was like, seriously? another stereotype? But yeah, pretty predictable on all other fronts.

Good: Fluffy romance = happy me. Casey and Mena made me coo (funny word). They hade nice chemistry for a nerd book couple.

Bad: Most characters were pretty one-sided. Not a lot of dimension to them. No digging under the surface was done. It all felt sort of empty.

Good: Mena had a nice, solid voice. She was a great narrator and I liked how she grew throughout the book.

Good: I agreed with Ms. Shepherd's views on evolution/science/religion. So yay!

And that's it. I'm proud of myself for being concise. Overall? EMOFN (I'm obsessed with acronyms right now) was a fine book. Nothing astounding, but readable and light and fun.

Maybe save it for a possible summer beach read?

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King (#5)

In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with the dust of one hundred dogs, dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body - with her memories intact. Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.
(Summary from back of book)

I really don't know where to start with this one. It's a book unlike any I've ever read. It's strange, compelling, and confusing. And at times I wanted to throw it against the wall. I don't think it's a YA book. But it's not adult either. It's in its own class, I guess? I'm screwing myself up just trying to analyze it.

The Dust of 100 Dogs was like this enormous jigsaw puzzle. My strategy for solving puzzles is to find all the edge and corner pieces first and complete the entire outline first. Then you get the basic outline and layout and you can move on from there. Which totally applies to D100D. An enormous chunk of the book was just set-up.

Another interesting thing about the book was that it switched between three different narrators - Saffron, Emer, and Fred, which got sort of hectic. When I first started reading I was really mixed up about what was going on. Maybe I'm just dumb (actually, most probably I'm just dumb) but I couldn't figure out what was going on in the beginning. The prologue really threw me off and I didn't catch on that the story (at least Emer's) was going back in time for about 50 pages. Which I think is dumbness on my part. But still. The beginning would have been better if a little excitement or clarity was injected.

It all connected in my brain eventually though. And that's when it got good. The main story (leading up to the big climax which was actually partially told about in the prologue) is being told by Emer while at the same time Saffron is moving towards her own climax that has roots Saffron's story. It was all very cool. The puzzle outline that you got in the beginning began to make sense and everything began to fall into place.

My least favorite part of the book? Fred's poor dog. I flinched every time I read about that. I am a complete dog lover so reading about that tore my heart out. I almost considered skipping a few pages. It was just so vivid.

But THEN, you get the big twist at the end which I totally didn't see coming and the whole sad dog/perv guy stuff makes oh so much sense. I felt like slapping myself on the forehead. Because all the pieces were in plain sight, but I didn't make the connection until Saffron did. Which is a good thing because I guess it shows I was sucked in.

Towards the end when everything began spiralling in on itself I got completely caught up. And I think that that was because of the characters. Amy's character development was flawless. They all have their own little quirks and flaws and each has something different to add to the story. Emer especially stood out to me. She was the kind of character that you remember. For me, the mark of a bad book is too many characters with too few pages to tell their stories in but Amy packed it all in and packed it in well. I loved the characters.

I think the only part of this book that I'm able to complain about is the slow beginning and the dog beating. That's really it. Everything else is amazing.

But what's interesting about this book is that it's the kind of thing that you have to put aside and let marinate for a while. Directly after finishing, I wasn't as ecstatic as I am now. There's just so much going on, so much crowding your mind after you finish the book that it's almost impossible to form a coherent opinion.

So after a night of sleep and a few hours of thinking, it's safe to say that I loved this book. It was intelligent, clever, and compelling.

Definitely recommended.

PS. Sorry that this is a totally craptastic review. But my mind's spinning around in circles right now and, honestly, I don't think that a review of a book like this is going to get any more coherent. Plus, I just wanted to get this up today. My apologies. :)