Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty October 30, 2007

In this conclusion to the Jessica Darling series, Megan McCafferty brings back old characters and ties up loose ends for a satisfying conclusion to the Darling-Flutie romance.  As you can tell by the innuendo on the cover of the book, Marcus proposes to Jessica just when she wants to break up with him.  Jessica’s left with is a week of contemplation and writing that reveals her thoughts on numerous situations from the past and present that lead her to her ultimate decision.  Will she marry Marcus who seems to have yet again reinvented himself as a Princeton freshman, just as Jessica’s emerged as a full-fledged quasi-adult trying to find employment ala Reality Bites, or will she finally break up with him? 

As in the case with Charmed Thirds, in Fourth Comings McCafferty seems to be writing for a mature audience.  She’s grown up with her reader base which is cool.  There are certain situations that definitely put this title in the older teen/adult arena.  Being in the school of: if you’re a senior planning on going away to college or living in a dorm and you don’t want a rude awakening, you probably should be aware of some things that will inevitably happen in your college experience, I have kept this gem of a title in my young adult section.  The adults can come over to my side to pick up this title.  This title will no doubt appeal to a wider audience including adults, not just high school females.   McCafferty expertly recaps much of what happens in this coming of age story and captures the local flavor of New York and New Jersey within her witticisms.   

*Spoilers ahead*

Jolene’s October Round-Up October 30, 2007

 

*Unfortunately I didn’t read any spooky tales for Halloween this year, but I am in the middle of reading Marked, which Trisha reviewed earlier. I just realized the three out of my four selections are sequels or part of a series, it was unconsciously done.

Breaking Up: A Fashion High Novel by Aimee Friedman

A “girlie” graphic novel which centers around the friendship of of four teen girls.  Chloe the artist/dreamer/nerd, MacKenzie the pretty social climber, Isabel the dancer with over protective parents, and Erika the musician with the horny boyfriend.  Overall, a fast read and I loved Christine Norris’s cute artwork.

The Extras by Scott Westerfield

Westerfield’s fourth novel in the Uglies series set in a post-apocalyptic world after Tally’s destruction of the Specials.  New characters and gadgets are presented in a fame-obsessed Japan.  Basically Westerfield’s novel is a commentary on societies current obsession with media and fame, and the downfall it may bring to future civilizations.

Kiki-Strike: The Empress’s Tomb by Kristen Miller

The second book in the Strike series focuses on the mysterious Oona Wong, who has all of sudden reunited with her father.  Oona’s father turns out to be the head boss of the asian gang who previously tried to destroy the Irregulars.  Ananka and the rest of the Irregulars must decide whether they can can trust Oona.  In my opinion, not as exciting as the first novel but still enjoyable for readers who like the characters.

All-In by Pete Hautman

Hautman’s fast paced novel a follow up to No Limit, takes you on a journey through the professional poker circuit.  Denn Doyle is a 16-year old poker prodigy who decides to try his luck in Vegas.  It is there Doyle falls in love with Cattie a teen-runaway who has a fast hand when it comes to dealing.  In the end Doyle loses it all and winds up in an all-in poker showdown with a bitter casino owner.  Will he lose it all or has he already lost everything? Hautman has a style of writing that is smooth and fast; with that in mind this it might remind some readers of a western.  There’s even a quote from Kenny Roger’s the Gambler somewhere in there.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen October 27, 2007

The cover of Anna Godbersen’s The Luxe is eye-catching, gorgeous, and guaranteed to get noticed. It’s too bad the writing inside is not as beautiful as the cover because the plot is as addictive as any guilty pleasure.

Elizabeth Adora Holland is the golden girl of New York’s social set. Beautiful, kind, and from an old money family, she is admired by everyone but those who should be there for her when she needs them most—because Elizabeth has a secret that will stand in the way of her happiness if she puts her family’s welfare ahead of her heart, and this is 1899, when scandals can devastate not just a person, but a family.

The setting and plot are the main reasons to read The Luxe. Godbersen’s writing style is rather pedestrian; it gets the job done but is nothing to rave about. Nor are the characters well-developed or their motivations sufficiently explored. They seemed more like placeholders, stock characters merely there to fill a role and propel the story. There’s the backstabbing best friend, Penelope Hayes, who is Elizabeth’s best friend only because she decided that becoming friends with her greatest competition would make it easier to defeat her. The polar opposite younger sister, Diana, a romantic, determined to not conform to society’s strictures like other girls, until she finds herself fascinated by the one man she should never want. The jealous girl, Lina Broud, Elizabeth’s maid, once her friend and playmate, now resentful because of Elizabeth’s money and, most of all, the man who loves her. As for Elizabeth, we’re told her secret, but not exactly how it happened or why we should believe it’s so important to her. Yet, somehow, I was still caught up in the story, anxious and impatient to find out what, if anything, Penelope, Diana, and Lina had to do with Elizabeth’s death.* There was no way I was not finishing this book.**

The Luxe will no doubt draw comparisons to Gossip Girl (and like Gossip Girl, it was developed by Alloy Entertainment). At one point, HarperTeen was marketing it as “Gossip Girl meets the Gilded Age,” which is actually a pretty accurate representation, though I can’t find the comparison on the website or in the book description now. The Luxe is the first book in what I believe is a planned trilogy, and you can bet I’ll be reading the next book when it’s published.

The Luxe will be published on 11/20.

* No, this is not a spoiler. The prologue takes place during Elizabeth’s funeral.

** Which makes me wonder if I’m not giving Godbersen enough credit. Yet as I was reading, I was cognizant of not being impressed by the writing even as I was hooked on the plot.

Meg, meet Merry October 25, 2007

I was checking the publication date of Long May She Reign at Amazon.com earlier today when I noticed the book it is paired with in the “Better Together” section.

Yeah, that’s right. LKH’s A Lick of Frost (Merry Gentry, Book Six). So not the book that first comes to mind when thinking of potential pairings. Though I’ve only read the first Merry Gentry book, so who knows? Maybe what I’ve read about the rest of the series is wrong, and she actually does more than sleep with a bunch of different men. I mean, male faeries. Can I still call them men?

The only possible connection I can think of is that Merry is the daughter (or was it niece?) of a queen, for the younger-female-relation-of-a-powerful-woman angle. Which still does not make it a good match.

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher October 25, 2007

What if someone you knew committed suicide and then sent you a recording explaining the role you had in their suicide. Would you listen to the recording? This is Clay Jensen’s dilemma when he recieves an unlabeled package containing seven tapes and a map. The voice on the tape is Hannah Baker a classmate of Clays who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s instructions are to listen to the tapes, follow the map, and then pass them on to the next person on her list. Afraid of what role he played in Hannah’s suicide, Clay is reluctant to listen any further. However, once Clay starts the tapes he is compelled by Hannah’s honest and often painful narrative on the events that lead to her death. Through Hannah’s eyes Clay learns that one small action can tear a person’s life apart, and uncovers truths that change his life forever.

Thirteen Reasons Why is Jay Asher’s first novel, and the premise for the novel was conceived after he took an audio tour at a museum. (Apparently the woman’s voice on the audio tour was “eerie,” and it was unsettling for him to hear an unseen voice describe something in front of him.) From the very first chapter I was hooked into the characters and found the two perspective narrative to be riveting and fresh. The plotline was suspenseful and I wanted to know, like Clay, how he played a role in Hannah’s death. Overall, Asher does an excellent job weaving a story that is gut-wrenching and true to teen life.

Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White October 25, 2007

Let me get this out of the way first: don’t be turned off by the length of Long May She Reign. The book is worth it. When I first saw the page count, I was shocked and a little apprehensive. I like long books, but 720 pages? In a YA book? But after reading it, I’m glad Long May She Reign is so lengthy. A shorter book may still have been enjoyable, but it would not be as satisfying.

The plot of Long May She Reign is deceptively simple, about the challenges a young woman faces over the course of her first year of college. But Meg Powers is no ordinary college freshman. If she were any other freshman, a book of this length would be interminably boring. Meg, however, is the daughter of the country’s first female president, still recovering from the physical and emotional damage inflicted while she was kidnapped and tortured by people her mother refused to negotiate with.

Long May She Reign is a character study you can really sink into, a smart book that respects readers’ intelligence and that of its characters. Meg is strong, smart, and somehow managed to retain her sense of humor. The length allows Ellen Emerson White to explore Meg’s psyche in depth, and she is such a complex, nuanced character that adults will also find much to appreciate here. (In fact, White says it “is very much an adult book”).

This is the fourth book in Ellen Emerson White’s President’s Daughter series. While there were references to past events—besides the kidnapped and tortured part, I mean—and what I assume were in-jokes, it does stand on its own. I haven’t read the other books in the series but still found it easy to follow what was going on in this one. (If, like me, you haven’t read the first three books, read Liz B.’s Under the Radar post while you wait for them to be republished next summer.*) That said, I do think the reading experience would have been richer had I read the books in order, and that’s saying something, because this was a brilliant read on its own. We’re told enough about past events to understand the circumstances in Long May She Reign, but actually reading about them in depth, as they happened in the first three books, would likely make the impact of what Meg must now deal with that much stronger.

Long May She Reign will be published on October 30.

* Though I must admit to wanting to read Susan’s story, Friends for Life, even more.

HIFF October 22, 2007

The Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) is going on this week.  I’m only planning on catching a couple of films this year.  At $10+ a ticket, film screenings have become somewhat of a luxury item for me.  Jolene had mentioned a couple of films earlier that were showcased at previous film fests.  Taste of Tea even won the Golden Maile award which is top honors here.  In case anyone is interested there are multiple copies of the Taste of Tea dvd in the library system–that’s how I came to view it.  Anyway back to HIFF.  HIFF is gaining in popularity and recognition for having quite a few notable premiers.  I think Snow Falling on Cedars and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon were pre-screened at the film fest although Toronto no doubt beat Hawaii to the punch.  Granted HIFF is nowhere in the realm of Toronto, Cannes, or Sundance, it’s still nice to have the option of seeing non-blockbuster films in a theater bigger than the Doris Duke Theatre at the Academy of Art.

I have to have to plug one of the films I saw last year and totally adored: The Grace Lee Project.  It’s basically a film about the self discovery and exploration of an individual named Grace Lee who after growing up in Missouri thought she was unique being one of the few Asians in town only to realize as an adult that Grace Lee is a fairly common name in the Asian community.  She goes on to interview other Grace Lees and to talk about their similarities and uniqueness.  It was one of those cool bits you either catch it by chance on PBS or see it at a film festival type films.

I didn’t really get into HIFF until a college student, but I know some friends who started going when they were in a certain rival high school that had a film class.  *Ehem Trisha, geez, I can’t believe you guys had glass blowing and a film class!  I’m so jealous!* So here’s my little plug to the teens out there who no doubt worship my opinions on this blog: Go broaden your horizons and see a film festival flick.  It’s a good way to get in good with your teachers and you might even get extra credit for reviewing one of them.

Gay Wizards? Oh my! October 22, 2007

So I was watching the Today Show this morning and they announced that J.K. Rowling professed to a group of fans that Professor Dumbledore is gay. I wonder if they will reveal this information in the movie version of the book? Will there be a broke-back version of Dumbledore’s lovestory? For more information on the subject here’s a link to the newsweek article.

Care of Magical Creatures October 21, 2007

How to Live with a Unicorn: The Fantastic Guide to Keeping a Mythical Pet by Jane Moseley
Say you’re looking for a pet. Something exotic, something that no one else has. Something…mythological. Look no further than How to Live with a Unicorn, which will help you select the right mythological creature for your circumstances.

How to Live with a Unicorn is a tongue-in-cheek (”One mermaid captured by a Dutch ship in the 17th century CE refused to speak for thirty days before making her escape”) examination of 27 different mythical creatures. Each creature gets four pages, beginning with a brief description, then moving on to character, what you need to care for it, feeding habits, veterinary care, companion pets, and a “Fun things to do with your…” section. It’s in full color, with lots of graphics and enough snark to make it appropriate for teens and adults instead of children. An entertaining, diverting book, but best in small doses.

The Monster Hunter’s Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Saving Mankind from Vampires, Zombies, Hellhounds, and Other Mythical Beasts by Ibrahim S. Amin
If you’ve read How to Live with a Unicorn, you know that mythological creatures can be persnickety or unfriendly. But what about those creatures that are downright evil? The Monster Hunter’s Handbook is your B(asilisk)-to-Z(ombie) source to figuring out the best way to attack over twenty kinds of monsters, plus the weapons and armor that can help you in your battle. Too bad this wasn’t in Sam and Dean’s library, or the information in their father’s journal, because I would have loved to see them defeat the djinn in the way described on page 25.

Each entry on monsters begins with a description and killing methods, and concludes with a summary of its dangers, weaknesses, souvenirs you can get from it, and selected sources that discuss said monster (like Ovid’s Metamorphoses and The Epic of Gilgamesh). Weapons and armor each come with their own history, description and combative applications, as well as selected sources. The entries vary in length and all are accompanied by illustrations; however, I found the illustrations too modern looking compared to the cover and gothic font used in the chapter headings. The Monster Hunter’s Handbook won’t appeal as widely as How to Live with a Unicorn. It’s less amusing, with fewer graphics, and in black and white. For fans of the supernatural. Or “Supernatural.”

Wordless Graphic Novels October 18, 2007

*Here are two graphic novels from First Second Publications that have no dialog, but convey a whole lot of universal themes.

Dog and Robot are best friends who do everything together, until Robot breaks down at the beach and Dog must leave him behind.  As the months pass Dog goes through a string of unlikely friendships with a bunch of ducks, a couple of anteaters, a penguin, and a snowman.  While Robot is stranded he is mutilated by a pack of rabbits, and later becomes a surrogate tree for a bird.  Through it all Dog and Robot dream for their lost best friend. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon is a touching tale that chronicles the everchanging cycle of friendship. Readers of all ages will be delighted by Varon’s picture book-like style and the plotlines playful charm. (Sara Varon is also the author of the graphic novel  Sweaterweather and the children’s book Chicken and Cat.)

A.L.I.E.E.E.N (short for Alien of Lost Issues and Earthly Editions of Extraterrestrial Novelties) by Lewis Trondheim is wordless with bits of generic alien language.  In the intro Trondheim claims that he found the comic in the Catskills while picnicing, and that it is truly an extraterrestrial comic book.  Essentially, the graphic novel is a bizarre mix of interwoven stories featuring characters who look like they would appear in a wacky Japanese toy store.  I’m not exactly sure what the universal themes were in this novel, but it was apparent to me that aliens know a lot about pooping and torture.