To All the Boys I've Loved Before Review

Book talk:  What would you do if everyone you've ever had a crush on got a letter from you pouring out everything you felt for them at the time?  That is exactly what happens to Lara Jean.  Every time she had a crush on a boy and she wanted to get over it she would sit down and write a letter.  She'd pour her heart into it because no one else would ever see it.  Or so she thought.  Then one day her special hat box that held her letters is taken to the Goodwill by her father on an overzealous housecleaning spree.  Someone puts them in the mailbox, and suddenly a guy she had a crush on years ago comes up to her in PE asking her about a strange letter he just received.  It gets worse.  One of the guys she had a crush on is now her older sister's boyfriend.

Rocks my socks:  The first time I heard the plot of the book described I had a visceral reaction to it.  I'm sure there are more mortifying situations than having to come face to face with every boy you've had a crush on, but I am hard-pressed to think of one.  The romance this creates is certainly unconventional and I enjoyed reading about it.  What kept me feverishly turning the pages until I finished it though was not the romantic relationships, but the ones between the sisters.  After all love triangles (or in this case, polygons) are a dime a dozen in YA fiction, but it's rare to find such well-developed relationships between sisters.  The tensions between them really drove the plot as much as the romantic tension did, which was refreshing.  I also connected with Lara Jean in a lot of ways, for example her quite sensible fear of driving (which I have overcome by moving to the Bay Area and no longer owning a car, pro tip!)  I can't wait for the next book!

Rocks in my socks:  nothing

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to anyone looking for a realistic school story with a touch of romance.  Those looking for stories about sisters or stories with Asian-American leads will also be glad to find this novel.  The romance never gets too heated.  I'd say it's fine for 6th grade and up.

Extras:

Jenny Han has her own author page with more info on her books and FAQs: http://www.dearjennyhan.com/

Source: Book Passage (I attended an event for the author and got her to sign my copy!)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

How to Catch a Bogle Review

Book talk:  Bogles are good at hiding.  You might never see one.  The only hint of where one is might be that children keep disappearing.  There are those as don't believe in bogles, but Birdie knows better.  She's been a bogler's apprentice for quite some time and she's helped her master to catch many monsters.  But how could a young girl help a man catch a bogle?  Well, bogles love children, so they make excellent bait.  All Birdie has to do is stand in a circle of salt and sing.  What could be simpler than that?  It's a lot better than many of the other jobs orphans take.  Except of course that a moment's hesitation or a stumble could very easily mean that her apprenticeship will be terminated in the jaws of bogle.

Rocks my socks:  How could I resist a story about a Victorian orphan girl fighting monsters?  Birdie is wonderfully strong-willed and independent as she fights to be recognized for the hero she is despite people constantly underestimating her.  The other characters are fun to read about as well from the artful dodger-like Ned to the indomitable Miss Eames.  The bogle-catching interludes provide plenty of suspense while the overarching story provides a mystery to be solved.  The gruesome ballads that Birdie sings to attract the bogles are deliciously macabre and Jinks, as usual, finds ways to slip humor in throughout the story.

Rocks in my socks:  I enjoyed the story and all the period details immensely, but the characters didn't come alive for me on a visceral level.  They felt more like archetypes than fully fleshed out humans.

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to fans of supernatural stories and historical fiction set in Victorian London.  For a story about child-eating monsters it isn't particularly gory and there's little romance.  I'd say it's fine for fourth graders and up looking for a scary story.

Extras:

Catherine Jinks has a website with more information about herself and her books: http://catherinejinks.com/

The publisher has a book for the series complete with lyrics to one of Birdie's bogle-catching songs: http://hmhbooks.com/boglebooks/index.html

I love the trailer for this book:



Source: school library

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks: buy it or check it out today!

Sir Gawain the True Review

Book talk:  Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be one of King Arthur's knights?  Have you imagined dressing up in a suit of armor, slaying dragons, and battling giants?  If so, you'll love this story about Sir Gawain.  The Green Knight shows up at the round table one night and offers anyone the chance to hit him with an axe if he will allow the Green Knight to do the same in one year and one day.  Sir Gawain volunteers and beheads the Green Knight, but the Green Knight just picks his own head up and reminds Gawain to meet him again in a year.  Should Sir Gawain keep his promise and let himself be killed by the Green Knight, or should he use the year to run as far away as he can?  What would you do?

Rocks my socks:  This book had me laughing along to a skilled retelling of a familiar tale.  Fans of knight tales in general and King Arthur specifically will enjoy this fresh new version of the story.  In addition to all of the humor and action this story contains a lot of wonderful lessons about why vows were so important in Sir Gawain's time and why Arthur valued manners in knights as much as their fighting skills.  The ample pictures portray the action and provide additional humorous touches.

Rocks in my socks: nada

Every book its reader:  This is a wonderful early chapter book and would also make a great read-aloud.  I'd give it to fans of humor and adventure and particularly fans of knights.  2nd grade and up.

Source: school library

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris illus. by Aaron Renier: buy it or check it out today!

Snarked! Review

Book talk:  The kingdom is in trouble.  The king has been missing for three months.  People are getting restless and the king's trusted advisers have turned out to be scheming villains.  When Scarlett discovers their evil plot, she decides to take matters into her own hands and lead a rescue party to find her father the king.  But the only men she can find to help are the Walrus and the Carpenter, the infamous tricksters who lured unsuspecting young oysters onto their dinner plates.  Will the young queen, two con artists, and her baby brother Rusty be able to survive mad pirates, evil assassins, and a dreaded snark to save the king?

Rocks my socks:  Reading these comics filled me with laughter and a light-hearted sense of adventure.  They are just plain fun.  The nonsense world of Lewis Carroll is expanded in a most delightful way by Langridge.  He takes up all the portmanteaus and fantastic scenarios and blends them seamlessly while creating something quite new.  I reveled in all the Caroll references and had fun spotting them.  I enjoyed seeing the new directions Langridge took the characters while retaining the flair that made them so endearing to begin with.  The verse narration peppered throughout kept the material closely tied to the nonsense poems it is based on.  Langridge clearly had as much fun writing and illustrating it as I did reading it and it shows in the small, humorous details such as the ad for tea on the inside cover of the first volume ("you don't have to be mad to drink tea - but it helps!") and the creative panel layouts.

Rocks in my socks:  There probably were some minor flaws but I was having far too much fun reading the comics to notice them.

Every book its reader:  You'll get more of the jokes if you have a knowledge of Lewis Carroll, but even if you don't there's still plenty to entertain and amuse here.  There's abundant amounts of jokes aimed at kids, adults, and everything in-between making this great to read as a family.  I'd give it to fans of nonsense and humor.

Extras:

I always liked the Walrus and the Carpenter sequence from the Disney Alice in Wonderland movie:



Apparently there's a musical version of The Hunting of the Snark by Mike Batt starring Billy Connolly, which brings to mind two questions: Where has this been all my life, and where can I find the rest of it?




You can find an early version of the musical presented in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in its entirety on YouTube.  It stars Billy Connolly, John Hurt, and Roger Daltrey.  I feel like I have done something right and am being rewarded even though this production has apparently been around for as long as I've been alive.  Seriously, where has it been all my life?  There goes my productivity for the next hour!



Source: school library

Snarked! by Roger Langridge: buy it or check it out today!

The Madman's Daughter review

Book talk: Juliet is a maid in King's College.  She works at night, cleaning off the blood stains in the operating theatre when the halls are as dark and silent as a grave.  It would bother many ladies and many men, but she is her father's daughter and she is made of stronger stuff.  She grew up falling asleep to screams from his laboratory where he performed the experiments that disgraced him and led to Juliet's dreary circumstances.  After believing herself an orphan for many years, she is shocked to discover that her father is alive and well--performing his experiments on an island far from the prying eyes of society.  She is warned that it's no place for a lady, but when things turn from bad to worse she is forced to flee London and travel to the island of her father, Doctor Moreau.

Rocks my socks:  This book was so deliciously atmospheric that I could feel the gloomy London fog and the oppressive tropical heat even though I was on vacation in Oregon.  The hints about the full extent of her father's experiments keep the tension high and his secretive nature casts a shadow of doubt over everything. Juliet finds herself caught in a love triangle with high stakes as who she trusts may decide whether she lives or dies.  Juliet is a wonderful heroine bold enough to do what needs to be done even when the men around her quail at the task.  The Madman's Daughter is a thrilling gothic romance based on a classic Victorian science fiction story.

Rocks in my socks:  Shepherd milks the love triangle for all its worth, so if you're tired of them steer clear of this book.

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to fans of gothic romance or anyone looking for a fresh take on a classic tale.  7th grade and up.

Extras:

Megan Shepherd has a website with more info about the series

There's a trailer for the book although I can't support its oddly cavalier waste of paper (seriously only two lines per two pages?)




Source: ebook from public library

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd: buy it or check it out today!

Brief Reviews Spring 2014 part 1

 Alif the Unseen is a hodge-podge of fantasy, science fiction, religion, and politics that defies easy categorization.  It follows a Middle-Eastern hacker who goes by the handle Alif and sells his security to anyone with the money to buy it regardless of their affiliations. The story starts off in familiar terrain: Alif's world starts to collapse when the aristocratic girl he was seeing becomes engaged to an equally aristocratic man at her parents' behest. But it quickly leaves the familiar behind and soon Alif discovers a supernatural world within the city he thought he knew while evading government officials and writing code that draws on ancient magic.  I particularly enjoyed the conservative neighbor girl that ends up fleeing with Alif, Vikram the Vampire, and of course the talking cat.  Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson: buy it or check it out today!

 Marina's status as the daughter of a famed ballerina means that she's had a privileged life in the Soviet Union.  But when her mother discovers something the government wants kept secret, Marina and her father have to flee their cushy life for small flat in Brooklyn.  I like a lot of the topics this book touches on: the cold war, ballet, spies, the mafia.  Unfortunately the book's strong points were also its weaknesses.  The plot was scattered and had so many threads that none were explored in depth and I never became emotionally involved in the characters.  There's a bit of ballet at the beginning then it's mostly abandoned, the spy and mafia plots barely get off the ground, and then there's a whole other plot involving Marina and her mother having some sort of supernatural powers that is touched on but never really explored.  I wanted to like it, but I wish it was either longer or culled some of the plot threads so that it could better focus on the remaining ones.  Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy by Elizabeth Kiem: buy it or check it out today!

This sequel was just as delightful and satisfying as Assassin's Curse. This time there was the additional bonus of a sassy talking cat (a trope I will never tire of), magical islands, more high seas adventure, and the love interests finally getting together.  After reading so many series that tease the main couple for three books or more it was satisfying to read one that wraps up the plot neatly in just two.  There's only so much tension I can stand!  I really like the unusual way their relationship is handled--not your typically happily ever after, but a happy ending nonetheless.  If you're looking for a light fantasy adventure with an atypical romance then this series is perfect for you!  The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke: buy it or check it out today!

 There were many things about this novel that I liked.  First of all as someone who sews a lot of her own dresses, I enjoyed the parts that involved descriptions of the dress-making process and the history of the industry (who knew there were riots over buttons?)  I loved the rural Australian setting and the character of Edie. But despite all it had going for it, I put down the book disappointed.  The interspersed scenes from the aftermath of the crime at the climax of the novel were deliberately vague and felt disingenuous and coy to me.  That didn't prevent the ending from being predictable. I really don't mind knowing what's coming--I'm quite used to it in fact.  It does annoy me when the author makes such an effort to create a surprise and then doesn't deliver though.  Without getting into spoilers I will say that I didn't like the ending and I felt like it left things on a note where none of the characters really grew.  I turned the last page thinking "what was the point of all this?" The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee: buy it or check it out today!

What Came from the Stars review

Book talk:  In a final act of defiance and glory, the Valorim forge a necklace containing their art and send it off into the stars before they fall to a dark lord.  It travels across light years and finally reaches a planet on a distant solar system--where it falls into Tommy Pepper's lunchbox.  Tommy Pepper unknowingly absorbs the art of the Valorim and soon he starts making paintings that come to life, speaking in a strange language, and referring to events that sound like they come from a fantasy novel.  At first his friends don't know what to make of it, but when the dark forces that conquered the Valorim come to Earth, they start to believe in his crazy talk.  

Rocks my socks:  This book is a unique mix of high fantasy, science fiction, and a realistic school story unlike anything I've read before.  The parts involving the Valorim are written in a high fantasy style involving plenty of invented words and archaic language patterns.  The parts involving Tommy and his family coping with their mother's death and getting along with his friends at school contains a lot of compelling characters and issues.  Both of them could easily make up their own story, but when the two combine it creates a fascinating hybrid.  The writing was superb in both styles and full of meaty issues, complex characters, and fantastic world-building.  I absolutely adored it!

Rocks in my socks:  none

Every book its reader:  Because this book is a combination of genres it is a bit more difficult to find its audience.  Those looking for a school story and unused to invented languages could be easily turned off by the writing in the sections about the Valorim while those looking for a fantasy adventure novel may not like the realistic sections.  But if you can keep an open mind and enjoy reading across different genres then this book is well worth reading.  I'd give it to 5th grade and up.

Extras:  

Gary D Schmidt has his own website

Source: ebook from the public library

What Came From the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt: buy it or check it out today!