YAnnabe » 3.5 Stars

Review: Fire

Kelly — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:05:09 +0000

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Title: Fire
Author: Kristin Cashore
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: I loved Graceling, so this companion novel was a must-read for me.

Summary: Fire is part-human, part-monster. The monster part of her makes men wild and full-fledged monsters crave her blood. The human part has to cope with having the power to enter people’s minds and bend them to her will.

Review: I was a tad bit bummed to find out we wouldn’t be seeing the next round of steaminess from Katsa and Po in this book. But I need not have worried because parts of this story rivaled a sauna.

This book was a little slow getting off the ground, but it picked up in the second half. Part of that is that I had trouble clearly seeing Fire’s motivation in the first half.

What saved it for me and why I kept reading—aside from the yummy bits, of course—was that the world Cashore created is completely engrossing. I mean, monsters?! But I totally bought it from page one.

Also, did I mention the romance comes in the ever-so-delicious flavor of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet?

Your Turn: That Austen chick sure knew what she was doing. What other YA books use the Darcy/Elizabeth dynamic?

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Review: Liar

Kelly — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:00:12 +0000

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Audience Pick!

Title: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: Because you told me to!

Summary: 17-year-old Micah lies to everyone. First she said she was a boy, then a hermaphrodite, then the daughter of an arms dealer. So when her secret boyfriend Zach disappears and she says she’s innocent, why should anybody believe her?

Review: Woo boy. This story sinks its teeth into your throat and gives you a good shake every few minutes just to make sure the puncture wounds are good and deep.

I couldn’t read it fast enough.

Micah doesn’t want you to root for her, to be on her side. She keeps pushing and pushing and pushing you away. But if you stick by her, if you keep listening, you’re in for quite a story.

Want a taste?

The second day Zach isn’t at school, I wear a mask. I keep it on for three days. I forge a note from my dad to say I have a gruesome rash and the doctor told me to keep it covered. I carry the note with me from class to class. They all buy it.

My dad brought the mask back from Venice. It’s black leather painted with silver and unfurls at each corner like a fern. The silver is real.

Under it, my skin itches.

They tell us Zach is dead during third period on Thursday.

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Review: The Giver

Kelly — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:00:47 +0000

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Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: It’s been on my TBR list for a while (since November 20, 2005, to be exact) but forced its way to the top after I saw it listed as a suggested title for the DystopYA Reading Challenge.

Summary: 12-year-old Jonas lives in a utopian community with no crime, no unemployment, no problems at all. But when he gets chosen as the one and only Receiver of Memories, he starts to learn the dark secrets of his small world.

Review: The world in this book reminded me a bit of the movie Pleasantville.

I loved reading about this creepy world and Jonas’s journey to uncover the truth. I think the only reason I didn’t rate this an all-time favorite is that at 12 years old, Jonas was a little young for my taste. I like my main characters to be solidly in their teens, upper if possible. Or if they’re younger, I like them to be extra sassy (like 15-year-old Daisy).

This is probably because as a teen, I was about as dynamic as a baked potato. I wish I had been cool and self-aware and sarcastic. So I like to read about characters who are all that and more—not like my boring, starchy teen self.

Still, I am glad I read The Giver. I can see now why it’s considered one of the classic YA dystopias.

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Review: Ash

Kelly — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:12:48 +0000

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Title: Ash
Author: Malinda Lo
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: A friend at work lent this to me, not to mention I love a good fairy tale retelling.

Summary: Ash’s mother is gone. Then after her father remarries, he dies too. Ash’s stepmother forces Ash into servitude to repay her father’s debt. When Ash meets the fairy Sidhean, she forgets her grief and her lack of freedom. But will forgetting be enough for Ash?

Review: I probably would have picked this up eventually, but I’m so glad my co-worker thought to lend this one to me.

I’ll let you in on a secret about this retelling of Cinderella: Prince Charming doesn’t come to Ash’s rescue. Thank God. I’ve been known to indulge in candy like Twilight as much as the next girl, but the world has way too many stereotypically weak characters like Bella and not nearly enough as strong as Ash.

The second chapter slowed the story down a bit, but after that Ash’s journey swept me away.

I did have a few questions about some loose threads of the story at the end, which made me think there would be a sequel. But according to the author’s site, no sequel. Could be I just wasn’t reading closely enough because I was so caught up in finding out what Ash would choose.

Your Turn: Did you get the sequel vibe at the end of this one?

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Review: The Carbon Diaries, 2015

Kelly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:55:18 +0000

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Title: The Carbon Diaries, 2015
Author: Saci Lloyd
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: When a Texas librarian says she really can’t recommend a book enough, you listen.

Summary: By 2015, global warming is a reality no one can ignore. And unfortunately for 16-year-old Londoner Laura, the UK becomes the first country to mandate carbon rationing. Which means cutting back on her punk rock band practice and taking the bus to school, not to mention all the fights at home about who’s been using up too many carbon credits.

Review: Props for timing on this one. This is the kind of book I’d love to write. So yeah, I was pretty much seething with jealousy when I started reading it.

But Laura’s snark soon distracted me.

We had a power outage in the night. The house is so cold now, it feels like 200 years of evil chill creeping into my bones. Reminds me of the Great Storm. Power outages give me the creeps—you know when you go to switch the light on and it’s dead? It was so freezing I went shopping to Waitrose with Mum and Dad just to keep my blood moving.

Super-strange experience. It was all dark in there cos they’d switched off loads of lights and the aircon and those fans that waft baking bread smells around. It was just like a big warehouse. It was pretty funny, all the nice middle-class people pretending they weren’t panic buying and that it was completely normal for them to be pushing six carts around, totally bulging with stuff. The staff kept making people put things back at the checkout cos they’d gone over their CO points.

My mother nearly had a fight with this other woman over a multipack of garlic and basil pasta.

Laura’s language is clever, fresh. (Or maybe that’s how all British teens talk?)

The only thing I didn’t love is that sometimes when characters were sharing information about the state of the world, I felt a teensy bit preached to. In some of those situations, I would rather see something not be 100% explained, leaving a little to the reader’s imagination.

But even so, I loved this book like a trip to Ibiza during carbon rationing. And I’m very much looking forward to the sequel coming out next year!

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Review: My Most Excellent Year

Kelly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:12:05 +0000

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Title: My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park
Author: Steve Kluger
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: This book won the Nerds Heart YA tournament, where I served as a judge in the earlier rounds.

Summary: T.C. and Augie are not only best friends—after T.C.’s mom passes away, they adopt each other as brothers. Their freshman year brings first love, a Mary Poppins-obsessed 6-year-old boy, and of course lots of baseball.

Review: Y’all know how I feel about alternating points of view. And it was a little difficult to get into this book at first as T.C., Augie, and T.C.’s crush Alejandra took turns telling their stories.

But once I got a feel for the different characters, I found myself wearing a perma-smile as I read.

It was a bit like going to a baseball game. You get settled into your seat, excited for the game to start, but it’s a little slow-going at first. Then your team gets a good hit, and you can’t help but get caught up in the fun.

That’s exactly what this book is—good, clean fun. The romances were sweet and more than enough to satisfy my girly sensibilities. Alejandra was opinionated and saucy—my kinda girl. Augie’s penchant for musicals kept everything light. And T.C. was a good kid who I never got tired of hearing from.

The novel is told in narration, snippets of instant messenger conversations, emails, and diary entries, which was kept it fresh and entertaining.

My only criticism would be that the kids sometimes seemed a little too well-adjusted for being freshmen in high school. (Or maybe I was just an exquisite little mess in high school, and these kids are closer to normal.)

Above all, this is a feel-good book. Chris and Nymeth picked a great winner for the first Nerds Heart YA tournament!

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Did You Like This Book? Try:

The Last Exit to Normal
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks—My rating: 5/5
Sunrise Over Fallujah
More Recommendations from LibraryThing

Review: Devilish

Kelly — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:42:00 +0000

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Audience Pick!

Title: Devilish
Author: Maureen Johnson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: Because you told me to!

Summary: Seniors Jane and Allison aren’t popular, but they have each other. When Allison makes a dangerous deal to gain a little popularity, can Jane save her?

Review: This was the first book I read after my month-long Harry Potter revival, so I sort of expected to be let down. But this is Maureen Johnson, so I should have known better.

What I loved:

Cupcakes—On the cover, in the story. Mmm. After I finished the book, I ran right out to our local cupcake shop to stuff my face.
Hella funny—I don’t often laugh out loud while reading, but MJ is one of the few authors who can make me.
116-year-old love interest—Maybe this is my Angel crush showing a bit, but that’s hot stuff.

The only thing I would have changed is to add one more teensy clue about how Jane was going to save the day. There’s one clue halfway through, but my dulled mama’s brain didn’t catch it.

Have a little bite and see for yourself. In this scene, Jane’s best friend Allison just had an embarrassing day at school—of the vomiting-in-public variety.

And we have trolleys in Providence. That’s how we get around if we don’t drive. It was no shock that I found Allison waiting for the trolley or that I found most of our school waiting with her. In fact, it seemed like half of Rhode Island was waiting for our trolley.

Allison barely turned as I approached. It wasn’t cold. She just looked like she wanted to be unrecognizable. I think she would have gladly erased her entire existence and embraced that happy state of nonbeing that Eastern religions are always talking about. I stood by her silently. Unfortunately, my joining her only drew attention. A clump of weedy Sebastian’s guys started chin-upping in interest.

“Hey, barf bag,” one of them said.

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Review: Along for the Ride

Kelly — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:02:30 +0000

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Title: Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: It released in 2009, and I was in the mood for something new.

Summary: Auden will start college in the fall, but she can’t stand to be around her mom for another summer. She escapes to her dad’s house, where she has to find her place among his new wife, their newborn baby, girls like she’s never known in her private-school existence…and quiet, intense Eli.

Review: The story got off to a slow start with a lot of background information. But it soon picked up, and I finished it in less than a day.

Even though it hasn’t made the top three LibraryThing recommendations, This Lullaby was similar in some ways—the summer between high school and college, an uber-responsible girl testing her self-imposed boundaries.

And satisfying banter among girlfriends. Here’s a snippet of Auden’s three new girlfriends talking:

“What I find,” Maggie said, “is that when you get gum, you always need something else. Because gum isn’t really a snack.”

“So true,” Esther agreed.

“If I do get gum, I always grab some chips, or maybe a cookie two-pack, as well. That way you know you’ve got your food and something refreshing for afterward.”

Leah shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “What about Tic Tacs? They’re like gum, but I’ve been known to eat them for a meal before.”

“Tic Tacs you actually swallow, though,” Esther pointed out. “You own a Tic Tac. Gum is just borrowed.”

Maggie turned to her, smiling. “Impressive.”

“Thank you,” Esther replied. “I always feel inspired here at the Gas/Gro.”

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Review: King of the Screwups

Kelly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:34:47 +0000

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Title: King of the Screwups
Author: K.L. Going
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: It released in 2009, and I was in the mood for something new.

Summary: Liam is a high school senior, and everyone loves him. Except his father. Somehow, no matter how hard he tries not to screw up, Liam disappoints his dad. When his dad kicks him out, Liam’s only option is to live with his dad’s cross-dressing brother. Which pisses off his dad even more.

Review: I will definitely be reading more by K.L. Going. (Can you believe I haven’t read Fat Kid Rules the World? YA sacrilege!)

I love it when a main character breaks out of tired old stereotypes. Liam is straight and yet surprisingly comfortable in his own masculinity for a guy who’s inherited the sensibilities of his supermodel mom. Still, he has to figure out how to live in the real world, where even his dad is homophobic.

And my goodness, his relationship with his father is screwed up. I sometimes wished that I had a little more insight into why his dad was the way he was, but then again parents don’t come with an owner’s manual to explain all their hangups.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I’ll be passing it along to my rarely-reading hubby.

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Review: This Lullaby

Kelly — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:38:18 +0000

Title: This Lullaby
Author: Sarah Dessen
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: This book made the YA summer reading list from Miss Shortskirt.

Summary: In the summer between high school graduation and college, Remy has a plan to tie up all her loose ends so she can start fresh. Until a clumsy musician named Dexter—the exact opposite of her type—barges in on her neat little plan.

Review: A perfect read for my summer beach vacation. This is my first Dessen book, and I will definitely be reading more.

I got so wrapped up in this romance that I stayed up two hours after my family went to bed to see how it would turn out.

Here’s where Remy meets Dexter:

I just looked at him. Wrong day, buddy, I thought. You caught me on the wrong day.

“The thing is,” he said, as if we’d been discussing the weather or world politics, “I saw you out in the showroom. I was over by the tire display?”

I was sure I was glaring at him. But he kept talking.

“I just thought to myself, all of a sudden, that we had something in common. A natural chemistry, if you will. And I had a feeling that something big was going to happen. To both of us. That we were, in fact, meant to be together.”

“You got all this,” I said, clarifying, “at the tire display?”

“You didn’t feel it?” he asked.

I also loved the banter between Remy and her closest girlfriends. Kind of like the Sex in the City gals, YA style.

Your Turn: Which Dessen book would you recommend next?

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