Mini reviews: December 2012 part II

This classic boarding school tale follows Juniper, a scholarship student who starts attending the prestigious Ellsmere academy and quickly runs a afoul of the popular clique.  Jun and her roommate Cassie are likable, quirky, and fun to read about, but overall I felt like I'd read the story before.  From the popular blonde girl who picks on the new kid because she's evil to the overly cheerful best friend, the characters were all well-worn types.  When the story does stray from the normal prep school tale and bring in a fantasy element at the end it comes completely out of left field.  Still, those looking for a quick read about boarding school life will enjoy this tale.  The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks: buy it or check it out today!

 This French import will delight readers with its absurdity while making them think about their own place in the universe.  The title characters are two hapless aliens bent on taking over a planet: a feat they have not failed at due to lack of trying.  Each planet they attempt to invade satirizes another aspect of human nature as well as providing plenty of opportunity for the kind of slapstick violence to be found in a Looney Tunes cartoon.  Interspersed with the story of Kaput and Zosky are one page, wordless comics about a human cosmonaut that embodies our less attractive qualities to hilarious effect.  Fans of sci-fi and humour young and old are sure to enjoy this colorful collection. Kaput and Zosky by Lewis Trondheim: buy it or check it out today!


This collection of the popular webcomic XKCD is fun to read even if you've been through the site's archive.  Munroe adds extra jokes and annotations and even if he didn't the comic is so well done that I was thankful for an excuse to re-read some.  If you haven't read the comic yet you can access it online to get a taste of it.  I can't think of any better way to describe it than Munroe already has: a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.  Munroe used to work for NASA so when he says it's a comic about math he's serious.  Some of his comics are followed by spikes in google searches on the subject matter from his followers trying to figure out what the heck he's talking about.  But the extra research is always worth it.  Teaching people new things, sparking creativity and curiosity, driving people to research--Randall Munroe is a librarian's dream.  The comic is definitely aimed at an adult audience.  XKCD volume 0 by Randall Munroe: buy it or check it out today!

 As much as I liked the first poem in this collection, it was the second that made me decide to buy a copy for myself.  "The Straightener" describes how he was organized even as a child and would keep a lantern, a spyglass, and a tomahawk on his table and always in that order because "You could never tell when you would need them, / but that was the order you would need them in." Like all great humour there's moments of profundity and stanzas to turn over in your mind and ponder, but the humour provides a gentle reminder to the reader not to take the poem or yourself too seriously, providing a graceful exit from any labyrinths of thought the poems create. Horoscopes for the Dead by Billy Collins: buy it or check it out today!

 This comic is just as entertaining and informative as the first, but this time it's all about the role of ironclad ships in the Civil War.  What I love most about these comics is how deliciously irreverent they are--especially considering that they tell stories that are typically discussed with jingoistic rhetoric. Portraying Gustavus Fox as an anthropomorphic fox and Stephen Mallory as 'sharkface' was darn entertaining in addition to helping me to keep everyone straight.  Hale has a knack for finding historical figures that played a minor role but have engrossing stories that hardly seem believable and this time it's William Cushing. Just trust me and read the comic-you'll love him too!  (3rd grade and up) Big Bad Ironclad by Nathan Hale: buy it or check it out today!

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities Review

Book talk:  Vincent Wu knows Captain Stupendous like no one else.  Sure everyone in the city loves their caped crusader and there's four separate fan clubs devoted to him, but the one that Vincent is president of is the only one that's the real deal-even if it only has three members.  Still, Vincent takes his responsibilities seriously--he writes about Captain Stupendous for every school report, he knows all his moves, and he watches and re-watches footage of his fights.  But when he finally meets Captain Stupendous he's nothing like Vincent imagined him.  On the outside he's big, strong, and super fast but on the inside he's...a girl?  Something's gone terribly wrong and Captain Stupendous's stupendous powers have been passed on to a surly girl who doesn't even want to be a superhero.  Will Vincent and his friends be able to change her mind and whip her into shape or will Professor Mayhem take over the town?

Rocks my socks:  I love that the superman-esque hero of the story ends up being a sassy teenage girl who isn't thrilled about suddenly changing form into a burly man.  Just because she doesn't want to be a superhero doesn't mean that she can't kick butt though.  And she will kick Vincent's and his friends' butts if they don't watch what they say.  The awkward tensions that ensue among them are comedy gold and while Jung is clearly a fan of the superhero comic genre he isn't afraid to make fun of it either.  I enjoyed watching him play with superhero cliches and turn them on their heads.  I also appreciated that while there was a mad scientist there were good scientists as well.  In fact they use science to fight him and without their knowledge and quick-thinking Captain Stupendous would never be able to fight Mayhem.  I enjoyed the romantic subplot as well and the unconventional path it takes.

Rocks in my socks:  The plot is riddled with holes that nagged at me, but I was enjoying myself so much I was mostly able to ignore them.  I would have also preferred it if a bit more time was spent on character development. Hopefully we'll find out more about them in the next novel.

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to anyone 3rd grade and up looking for a humorous story.  Fans of superhero comics will enjoy the novel in particular.  The fast pacing and ample pictures make it great for those just starting to read full chapter books.  I'd also give it to anyone interested in stories that play with gender stereotypes and strong female leads.

Extras:
So there's this video of Mike Jung performing a hilarious song he wrote, just watch it:


Mike Jung also has a website with a blog, information about him, and "contact the galactic emperor" feature

Scholastic has a page for the book as well

Source: Free ARC from #ALA12

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung: Buy it or check it out today!

Super Sad True Love Story Review

Book talk: Lenny Abramov is not going to die.  He made this decision at the end of a business trip to Rome when he met the beautiful Eunice Park.  His job at Post-Human Services means that he knows all about the cutting  edge of indefinite life extension.  If he can only save up enough to make the payments, he can enter himself and Eunice into the program.  There are a few problems, though.  For one, his business trip to Rome was not exactly successful.  He didn't convince any HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals) to sign up for indefinite life extension.  The digital otter that interviewed him as part of the "Welcome Back, Pad'ner" program for  Americans who have been abroad misheard him and thought that he said he had been hanging out with Somalians and flagged him. When he does return to his country it's only to find that anyone with a low credit ranking is in danger of deportation, the war with Venezuela has escalated, the dollar is about to collapse, and the homeless and angry masses are camping out in New York and threatening to riot.  And the last major problem with his plan?  Eunice Park doesn't seem to like him.  Still, in spite of it all Lenny is determined to prevail: "That's right, I am never going to die, caro diario.  Never, never, never, never.  And you can go to hell for doubting me."


Rocks my socks: I am a sucker for a good satire and this snarky, prescient novel certainly fits the bill.  The novel takes place in the future, but is really a commentary on today's society and what will happen if we continue on the path we're going down. In Lenny's world everyone carries an äppärät around with them that they can (and often do) use for everything from shopping to communication to rating the attractiveness of everyone in the area (and seeing your own rating.) Our everyman is Lenny who has fallen behind while on his trip in Rome and is nearing 30. His half of the account is told through old-fashioned diary entries. Eunice is younger and more immersed in the culture so her half is told through GlobalTeens messages (the Facebook of the day.) I love this epistolary style and how different both their narratives are based on the method used to write them. In this world consumerism and sexuality rule with the latest fashion trend being onionskin jeans (so named because they are see-through.) At first I thought Shteyngart was a bit pessimistic and unrealistic in many of his projections--everyone can see your most recent purchases leading Eunice to be disgusted by Lenny's recent smelly paper book purchases--and I thought the idea that anyone would give up this much privacy a bit preposterous. Then I bought a new sewing machine on Amazon and the confirmation screen provided me with links to 'share your purchase' on facebook, twitter, or e-mail. Perhaps the problem isn't that Shteyngart is too pessimistic but that I'm too old-fashioned and naive like Lenny.

Rocks in my socks: I loved both this book and Absurdistan although I liked this one a bit better. I think I would have liked it even more though if I hadn't read Absurdistan first. They main characters felt too similar to me considering their different circumstances and it bugged me a bit. I kept feeling like I had already read the book even though I hadn't. I appreciated the different perspective of Eunice but hopefully Shteyngart will change things up more in his next novel.

Every book its reader: I'd definitely save this one for adults. I'd give it to fans of speculative fiction, dystopias, and satire.

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart


Buy it or check it out today!