March 26, 2006
"Looking For Alaska" by John Green
Description: Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave "the Great Perhaps" even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything but boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.
After. And nothing is ever the same.
Note: Description taken from bn.com
Review: "Looking For Alaska" is an amazing book from a new author; it's very deserving of all the awards it's won. Pudge is a great character: he's geeky and socially awkward in a way that most teens can relate to, and his collection of last words gives him a unique quirk that solidifies his character. Alaska is also relateable - in some ways she's the stereotypical bad girl, but her underlying vulnerability and her own geeky quirks make her a very real character. All of the other characters are well-defined and distinct as well, from Pudge's side romantic interest, Lara, to the dean of students, more commonly known as the Eagle. Culver Creek is exceedingly well-done - it's obvious throughout the writing that, as is revealed in the bio, the author attended a similar boarding school. The development of Pudge's relationships with Alaska and the others at Culver Creek are the driving force behind the book, and the changes that Pudge undergoes, both Before and After, is what makes "Looking For Alaska" the incredible young adult novel that it is.
March 24, 2006
"The Blue Girl" by Charles de Lint
Description: Redding High School is filled with bullies and fairies and one lonely ghost. Imogene is a new girl in school. She has left her reputation and her switchblade behind and is making an effort to fit into her new setting. She makes friends with Maxine, a self-described smart kid who the popular kids love to hate. The popular kids also love to hate Imogene, so the two new friends work to stay out of the way of the bullies. Although small in stature, Imogene has a mouth and an attitude that allow her to maintain a survival mode, but Maxine is an easy target. The bullies are only half the problem at Redding High School. The other problem is that the school is home to faeries, not the pretty kind but the kind of troublesome creatures found in Irish legends. The faeries are living in the school with Adrian Dumbrell, the ghost of a student who fell to his death outside the building. Adrian was also bullied by students and he hangs out in the hallways, too afraid to move on to the next world. Imogene and her quick wit have attracted the notice of the ghost, the faeries and the anathimim, soul-stealing creatures of the darkness. It takes Maxine and Adrian along with Imogene's family members, boyfriend, and imaginary childhood friend to save Imogene from the supernatural bad guys.
Note: Description taken from bn.com
Review: "The Blue Girl" is an excellent urban fantasy that rather resembles Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie, only a bit less gritty. The characters are well-done and distinct. Maxine's quieter character could easily have fallen into the background, paling in comparison to the colorful personality of Imogene, but de Lint does an admirable job at keeping what could have been a boring character interesting and full of development. The only character I could never quite sympathize with is Adrian - he struck me as whiny and rather stupid. On the other hand, I loved the romantic interests of the story, Imogene's brother and her boyfriend, Thomas, and felt that they deserved a bit more stage time than they received. The plot was a bit simplistic - I thought there could have been more twists and turns - but what's there is vividly detailed and unique. "The Blue Girl" is a fantastic book for fantasy fans.
February 28, 2006
"Avalon High" by Meg Cabot
Description: Elaine "Ellie" Harrison is fuming over her parents choice to take a sabbatical from their professor duties at the beginning of the school year, just in time to make Ellie's life take a complete 360. Not only is she forced to move to Washington, DC, but she has to leave behind her closest friends, and create a new identity for herself. Hopefully one that will leave an impression on her new classmates. But Avalon High is an exact replica of every other high school in America. It's students are classified in the same way: jocks, cheerleaders, class president...But suddenly Ellie finds herself mixed up with the cool crowd. Now she's hanging with Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, and Will, quarterback and senior class president. But the more Ellie spends time with her newfound friends, the more she realizes that their lives are mimicking history. History from centuries ago. Like the time when King Arthur ruled. Now, Ellie must figure out how to stop a chain of events that is destined to leave everyone around her in tears, or worse...dead.
Note: Description from Erika Sorocco on amazon.com
Review: Meg Cabot's teen books never seem to go wrong, and "Avalon High" is no exception. As always, Cabot's characterization is fantastic; Ellie is a great character with the perfect mix of wry smarts, hormonal crushing, and eye-rolling exasperation towards her parents, and Will is yet another drool-worthy hero. The modern-day-King-Arthur thing has been done, but not in quite this way, and the premise is excellent. The plot is good too; my only criticism is that it takes way too long for the magic element to be fully introduced in the story. I would've liked that to come earlier on, or for more plot to come after the realization that yes, they're really the reincarnations of people from the time of Camelot, which is obvious to the reader right from the start. Despite that though, the romance development makes up for the lack of magical development. "Avalon High" is a great read.
January 21, 2006
"Blue is for Nightmares" by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Description: Years ago, Stacey had nightmares about a little girl she babysat for. Then the girl was murdered, exactly as Stacey's dreams had shown. Now, at boarding school, it's happening again. This time Stacy is dreaming about her roommate and best friend, Drea. And when Drea reveals that she's been getting mysterious phone calls, Stacey starts to worry for Drea's life. With the time until Drea's stalker plans to get her ticking down, Stacey must do all she can to figure out what her dreams are trying to tell her, before it's too late.
Review: I love the premise for this book, and had been trying to get ahold of a copy for quite some time (because I am too cheap to buy my own books). Well, I finally read it, and I have to say I was a little disappointed. The story is all angst and no plot. Nothing really happened to make me want to keep turning pages, except my desire for something to happen. "Maybe if I read another chapter, something interesting will occur." Stacey's character was nothing but angst and hormones, and her friends Drea and Amber never endeared themselves to me. Drea seems like a selfish brat, and Amber is just plain annoying. I couldn't stand having friends like those. I never noticed either of them doing anything very friend-like. Despite this, I still love the premise, and because of that I'll give the series another go. Hopefully the second installment will be more exciting than the first, and maybe there will actually be an interesting character.
December 22, 2005
"The Lioness and Her Knight" by Gerald Morris
Description: Luneta is tired of living in dull Orkney with her mother and father (who happens to be the most boring knight of King Arthur's Round Table). She prides herself on always getting what she wants, so when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps at the chance to stay at a family friend's castle near Camelot. Her handsome cousin, Sir Ywain - a young knight seeking adventure- arrives just in time to escort her to King Arthur's court.
Along the way they pick up a knight-turned-fool named Rhience, whose wit and audacity set many a puffed-up personality in its place. Before arriving at Lady Laudine's castle, the trio stops at Camelot, where they hear the story of the Storm Stone, a magical object deep in the forest that soon sweeps everyone into a web of love, betrayal, and more than a bit of magic.
Note: Description from the book jacket.
Review: "The Lioness and Her Knight" is a great addition to Gerald Morris's Squire's Tales series; as always, the book is laugh-out-loud hilarious with a great plot and a satisfying romance. Luneta is a little more passive than I would have liked, being dragged hither and yon by circumstances and not of her own volition, but she is still a good character, intelligent but with her own human foibles (she prizes her ability to manipulate people and loves to meddle in others' affairs). The character that really made the book for me was Rhience, whose amusing quips and sarcasm kept me giggling throughout the whole book, but whose more serious side was also apparent (but not to Luneta, unfortunately). As mentioned, I would have liked to see Luneta be more of a driving factor in the plot, but the story was decent nevertheless. One of the great things about the Squire's Tales series is that every book (except possibly the second one) can be read as a stand-alone; knowledge of the happenings of previous books is not necessary when reading a later book, though it can be amusing (for example, Luneta's parents were the stars of the third book in the series, and it was fun to see how they interact as a middle aged married couple). "The Lioness and Her Knight" is definitely worth the read, and if you like it, you'll love the rest of the series as well.
December 07, 2005
"Peeps" by Scott Westerfeld
Description: A year ago, Cal Thompson was brand new to New York City and more interested in meeting girls than attending freshman biology. Then he spent the night with a mysterious woman named Morgan. Now, biology has become, literally, Cal's life.
Cal was infected by a parasite that has a horrifying effect on its host. When you're a parasite positive, a "peep," you start to hate sunlight. You develop superhuman strength and superhuman senses. You form a strange bond with rats. You crave blood - human blood.
Cal is not a full-blown peep, but a carrier, infected but still sane, still able to control his urges. His tragedy: He can never be with a girl again. Even one kiss could turn her into a peep. Instead, he spends his time and energy working for an underground organization that tracks down peeps in the dark places of the city. But when an investigation throws him together with a beautiful girl named Lace, Cal's resolve to live his life alone is put to the test.
Note: Description from the book jacket.
Review: "Peeps" is an intriguing new take on the vampire myth, turning it from mystic horror story to hard science fiction. Readers will be engrossed - and grossed out, as every other chapter is a look into the life of a different icky virus. The unique premise (hard to find when it comes to vampires) works well; the idea of an underground bureaucracy designed to monitor peeps is almost disturbingly believable. Cal is vampirey enough to be an exciting character, but human enough to be a relatable one, and Lace is a strong character who matches, if not surpasses, Cal in personality. Most of the plot moves at a good pace, but near the end the revelations come a bit too quickly for the reader to get a good grasp on one before the next is there to supercede it. Overall, however, the book is worth the read for the fresh take on the sometimes tired idea. Vampire afficionados and biology nerds alike will love "Peeps."
