Title: Beautiful Americans
Author: Lucy Silag
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: It released in 2009, and I was in the mood for something new.

Summary: Four American teens travel to Paris for a year-long study program.

Stopped on Page: 42
Why I Stopped: I lost patience with all the points of view in this book. The chapters alternate among each of the 4 main characters telling their story. I actually gave up before I got to the first chapter for the fourth character, but I wasn’t connecting with any of the other main characters.

Probably contributing to that lack of connection was that the dialogue sounded a little stilted to me. A small example:

“So, what’s your name, anyway?”

“Penelope Jane Fletcher,” she says, putting her passport on the counter so that the clerk can type in her name and information. “But you can call me PJ. Why are you doing this for me?”

I know it’s been a few years since my teenage days, but how PJ introduces herself struck me as not so realistic.

Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.

Audience Pick!

Title: Something, Maybe
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 2.5/5
Why I Read It: Because you told me to!

Summary: 17-year-old Hannah tries not to get noticed. But with a mom who makes a living wearing skimpy clothes in front of a webcam, and an estranged 70-year-old dad with a reality TV show featuring him and scantily clad “special girls,” it can be hard not to come across as a freak. When Hannah finally wants someone to notice her—namely her crush Josh—will the right things get noticed?

Review: This was a sweet story. I really wanted to fall in love with it like other YA book bloggers are doing, but I didn’t. I didn’t dislike it, but it was just okay for me.

Putting on my YA-nnabe hat, here are the reasons I think this one fell short:

• Predictable—You can see the plot turns coming a mile away. I don’t mind that with middle-grade novels, but in YA I want to be surprised, at least once.
• Kind of slow—The first half dragged for me. It seemed like Hannah was just shuffling between work, school, and driving around with her best friend while they deconstructed her love life.

On the other hand, it’s hard to beat a first line like this!

Everyone’s seen my mother naked.

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

I’m picky when it comes to book reviews. I usually have to sneak reading them in 10-minute stints while my 1-year-old daughter entertains herself by pulling everything out of a drawer and spreading it over every square inch of the kitchen floor. Since I have to glance back every minute or so to make sure she hasn’t unearthed a plastic bag or an airplane bottle of liquor, some types of reviews get read by me and others not so much.

I know I’m not alone in this. A lot of us aren’t able to dutifully read every word of every blog we subscribe to. I try to keep this in mind when writing book reviews myself, and in the spirit of D.U.O.A.Y.W.H.T.D.U.Y., I’ve developed a list of guidelines I use to try to meet the needs of the wide range of reading needs.

1. Rate it—I want a quick way to figure out whether you loved, liked, or hated the book. With limited reading time, I’m not going to read about books you didn’t love unless it’s something I’ve already read myself or something I was considering reading already. If your reviews don’t have a rating or an overall verdict no longer than one line, I’ll leave them unread in my RSS reader until I have more time to read. Which is typically once every 3 months when all the chores are done and the bills are paid and the baby is off on a weekend errand with her dad.

   Example: 1morechapter.com

2. Summarize it—I’m just not into certain types of books, so I like to be able to tell that right off the bat before investing my time in a review. Also, if you’re a YA-nnabe like me, it’s good practice to try to sum up an entire book in a sentence or two, as you will have to do that for your own work when writing query letters and talking to editors at conferences.

   Example: Fyrefly’s Book Blog

3. Keep it short—I struggle with this one, especially for the books at either end of the spectrum. I either want to gush on and on, or defend my assertion that a book wasn’t that good so people won’t call me a big ol’ meanie. I try to stick to 5 short paragraphs or less, not counting quotes. And if that’s not possible, I try to keep the paragraphs super short and break them up by using lists, links, and bold or italic formatting to highlight key phrases.

   Example: propernoun.net

But every reader is different. What do you look for in a good book review? What guidelines do you have for yourself when writing a book review?

Photo by tm_lv.

• The Bluestocking Society: Writing a Book Review
• Book Escape: How to write a book review??
• Books on the Brain: To Rate, or Not to Rate
• Critical Mass: Reviewing 101: John Updike’s rules
• The Dark Phantom Review: The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing… to hit the stores this June!
• Problogger: Write a ‘Review’ Post

I’m down to 2 suggestions in my little Skribit box to the right—just waiting for both to come in at the library. I have a handful of 2009 releases checked out, but I’m getting dangerously low.

I’ve really enjoyed this setup whereby you tell me what to do, and no actual thinking is required of me in picking my next books. More, please!

To add your recommendation, enter a title under “What should I read next?” C’mon, how often does someone listen when you tell them what to do?

Photo by Misserion.

Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: Because everyone was raving about it, among other reasons.

Summary: Lia and her best friend Cassie made a pact to become skinny together. But then Cassie drops Lia, and a few months later Lia finds out Cassie has been found dead.

Review: I didn’t want to read this. I knew what it was about—a girl with an eating disorder—and I didn’t want to knowingly subject myself to that world of pain.

But then I went to my favorite locally owned bookstore to hear Laurie Halse Anderson speak. I got there too early and didn’t have anything to read with me, so I picked up Wintergirls and read the first 15 pages. It took all my self control to put it back on the shelf and wait for it to come in at my library.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours, on a workday no less. Lia was so real to me that when I wasn’t actually reading, she’s all I could think about: Would she pull through? How long til she hit bottom? Would it be too late?

Lia’s story haunted me because I know that countless girls out there have stories just like hers. Now that I have a daughter, this issue hits close to home. I can’t protect her from the impossible idea of “beauty” on TV, in magazines, from other kids. What can I do as a parent to foster a healthy body image? I really don’t know.

Reading Lia’s story convinced me that not knowing the answer to that question is unacceptable. So if you know of any good nonfiction books on this topic, please let me know.

I highly recommend this amazing book. And when you’re done reading it yourself, lend your copy to a parent you know.

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon