Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle April 27, 2008

I’ve been trying to write this review for a couple of weeks, but it’s been difficult because I think what follows will make it seem like I hated Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle when, actually, I didn’t. Nor do I think it’s a bad book, just unsatisfying, a little too superficial (in an I kept waiting for the author to do more with her characters and story kind of way, not a post-Regency/pre-Victorian lemonade-at-Almack’s brand name-dropping way because the latter thankfully does not apply to this book, a point in its favor), and without the need-to-keep-reading! compulsion that elevated a book like The Luxe.

Persephone Leland is not looking forward to making her debut. She’s shy, awkward with strangers, and, she thinks, not as beautiful as her twin sister, Penelope. Sephy would rather practice magic and study instead. Even the reappearance of handsome Lochinvar Seton does not persuade Sephy that going to London for the season will be enjoyable. But when Sephy and Penelope’s governess mysteriously disappears, it seems they and their younger brother, Charles, are the only ones who can find her and stop those who are a threat to the Princess (soon to be Queen) Victoria.

So here’s what kept me from enjoying Bewitching Season. First, Sephy and Pen often call their brother Chuckles instead of Charles, which constantly made me think of the TV show Chuck, probably not the best thing to be thinking of when reading a book set in 1837. My problem, not Doyle’s, and something I would therefore overlook, except I liked Charles. I wanted more of Charles’ interactions with his sisters and less Sephy pining for Lochinvar. Because Lochinvar was a nice guy, noble and idealistic, but he also didn’t have much of a personality. I’m all for reading about nice guy, beta males*, but he was the least interesting male character in the book. Which may be nice for Sephy, but considering how essential their romance is to the story, did not make for very compelling reading. Especially when there was a secondary romance and the male character in that subplot was so much more intriguing.

Also problematic was Sephy’s use of magic. It too often seemed a convenient ploy, a vehicle merely there to advance the plot instead of providing a simple demonstration of her ability, though this was not the case with some of the other characters. However, Sephy is the main character. Her magical abilities should have been better integrated with her character and the story. Finally, the description of how Victoria became heir to the throne was confusing. It was a complicated situation but could have been explained better, especially since I don’t think most of this book’s readers will be familiar with it. (I took AP European History and I still had to go look up Victoria on, um, Wikipedia.) Otherwise, Doyle did a pretty good job with history and the setting. I’ve read better historical fantasies (like Patricia Wrede’s Mairelon the Magician and Magician’s Ward), but I’ve also read much worse novels with historical settings. Ultimately, while I don’t think too much was going on in the book, I do think Doyle didn’t explore what was going on as well as she could have.

For a completely different take on Bewitching Season, read The Book Muncher’s review.

* I don’t think Lochinvar’s role is large enough to qualify as a male protagonist and I hate referring to protagonists in romances as heroes and heroines, hence beta male.

Kawaii Kon 2008: The Recap April 23, 2008

We had another successful outreach event at the 2008 Kawaii Kon. The Kawaii Kon is basically a convention where anime and manga fans come together to meet and greet industry celebrities and other fans.  This year we were able to get funding from our Friends group for an outreach table.

At the convention we passed out free stuff (read here, leftover summer reading incentives) and talked about library services.  Many folks were happy to get goodies from us, and we were happy to bend their ear about library services.  A great idea that one of the other librarians came up with this year was a prize drawing for a gift bag.  The entry forms for the prize drawing gave a good idea of how many folks we were actually talking to amidst the hubbub.  The winners of the gift bags were quite enthusiastic about winning and those who didn’t win got other good stuff from us.  Of the goodies that we passed out, the buttons that we laboriously made were the best received.  Folks were happy to show us their library card in exchange for a 2.5 inch button featuring various manga and anime characters.

The coolest thing to me is the folks cosplaying (dressing up as anime/manga characters).

Here’s my favorite cosplayer: Kon.  I ran up to this guy and asked if I could take a picture of him.  Then I barraged him with questions about his costume.

Me: How long did it take you to make your costume?

Kon: 1 month.

Me: What is it made out of?

Kon: Foam, material, paper plate (for the bellybutton).

Me: It’s awesome!  Nice job.

Kon was really nice, and he’s already planning for his costume next year.  I can’t wait to see what it will be.

Another draw to the convention are the artists and vendors.  If you have an affinity for things anime/manga related the convention is a dangerous place to be.   You can spend your money in a multitude of ways.  I personally have a weakness for cute things and the Kawaii Kon has many a cute product.  From commissioned art pieces to t-shirts to Gothic & Lolita costumes, the Kawaii Kon has many a way for you to spend your weekly allowance or in my case my weekly allowance and a half.  I’ll be paper bagging lunch for the next couple of weeks.

I saw this table and couldn’t resist!  I bought a couple of octopi from this craftster and wish I bought a cupcake and a kitty.  I hope she’s there next year!

Photo by Cindy Ellen Russell of the Star Bulletin http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/21/news/photofinish.html

Interview: Robin Benway April 22, 2008

Robin Benway is the author of Audrey, Wait!, published earlier this month by Razorbill (my review here). It’s a fabulous, funny, music-loving book, and Robin was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book. And a lot more about music.

First things first, what are you listening to now?
Well, well, well. Right now, I’m days away from finishing my second book, so I’m listening to the playlist that I made for it whenever I’m writing or in the car. (I don’t want to say what the songs are yet, but don’t worry, I’ll post it when it’s time!) But if you look at my last.fm page, it should give you an idea of what some of them are.

Other than that, though, I’ve found that I’m in a “song” mood rather than an “album” mood lately. I’ve been listening to a lot of earlier R.E.M., and I’m especially obsessed with “Leave” off of “New Adventures in Hi-Fi”. Other songs are Saul Williams’ “List of Demands”, The Shins’ “Australia”, and What Made Milwaukee Famous’s “Prevailing Wind”. Also, it’s spring in Los Angeles, which always makes me want to listen to Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers, so those have been on rotation in between everything else.

For nighttime, though, it’s a lot of softer, folkier stuff: the Weepies, Ray LaMontagne, and AA Bondy. I have a playlist on iTunes called “Exhausted” and that serves me well.

I loved how every chapter began with song lyrics. Why/how did you decide to do this? And how did you go about picking the lyrics that ultimately appear in the book?
When I first started to edit “Audrey, Wait!”, my publisher asked if I would create titles for each chapter. I came back and said, “What about song lyrics?” because not only would that fit the theme of the book, but there were so many songs whose lyrics I felt described the book’s varying moods. So my publisher agreed, and I got started. However, I hadn’t realized that there were OVER FORTY CHAPTERS, haha!

I’ve always kept a Word document filled with my favorite song lyrics, even before I started writing “Audrey,” so I consulted that and then just started listening to even more music. As far as the different types of artists, it made me so happy that I could feature words from some of my favorite musicians. I loved the Belle & Sebastian lyrics, and the ones from Patti Smith (“amazed to stumble where gods get lost”) have always been some of my all-time favorites. When I heard the Arcade Fire song “Windowsill” that says, “MTV, what have you done to me?” I was like, “YES! THANK YOU, ARCADE FIRE!”

I just wanted to show as many different types of music as possible. What if a reader decides to listen to Belle & Sebastian or The Smiths or a band they’ve never heard before, just because they liked the lyrics? That would be amazing, I would absolutely love that!

Now that Audrey, Wait! has just been published, what song lyrics would head this chapter in your life?
Hmmm….I would have to say lyrics from the New Pornographers, “July Jones”: “Behind the daylight / Who knew what it could feel like?”

I just feel like I’m seeing a whole different side of my life, one where I get to do what I love, and it’s revealing facets that I never thought I would see. It’s like I’ve peeked behind the curtain and been able to live in a world that I had only imagined up until now. And it’s fantastic! (But for all I know, the songwriter meant the lyrics to be really depressing or something, haha).

How difficult was writing the lyrics to “Audrey, Wait!”?
Surprisingly easy! I just figured I needed a couple of rhyming words and it grew from there. I didn’t even really think about it, the lyrics just happened. Thank goodness! The last thing I am is a songwriter.

If someone were to write a song about you, what would it be about?
Hopefully, it’d be a long 12-minute rambly ballad about my life adventures. My friends would sing the chorus and Bob Dylan would write the lyrics and Neko Case would make a guest appearance. Another option would be if 50 Cent and Kanye started some sort of rap battle about who could write a better song about me. That would be awesome! Hee!

I think the plot of Audrey, Wait! could also work in an adult novel. Why write it as a YA novel?
I wrote it as YA because that seemed like the perfect audience for the book. I wanted readers who were completely limitless in their enthusiasm, and I know from personal experience that sometimes that enthusiasm gets tempered in adulthood. Also, sometimes I think that when teenagers are written about in adult novels, there’s a certain self-awareness about them that you don’t have as a teenager. I wanted “Audrey” to be written in the moment of being sixteen years old and loving music more than anything in the world and being on the precipice of having the rest of your life happen to you.

What kind of music did you listen to as a teen? In other words, was your taste in music as cool as Audrey’s?
My musical experience blew up when I was about sixteen years old for several reasons: I got “Automatic For the People” by R.E.M. for Christmas and listened to it obsessively. I also heard “The Downward Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails and could not BELIEVE what I was hearing. That album, more than any other CD, changed how I listened to music. I also used to send away for live Smashing Pumpkins bootlegs in the mail, haha!

Then my friend Anna-Lynne Williams (who’s now in the band Trespassers William) started making me mix tapes during our junior year of high school. I still have every single one of them. One the first one, she put songs by Velvet Underground, Nico, The Smiths, The Cure, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, and Patti Smith. And that was just one side of the tape! It was transformative and I’m always grateful that she gave me that music.

So I don’t know if it as as “cool” as Audrey’s, but it was certainly varied.

Audrey, Wait! is such a fun book to read. Was it also fun to write?
Definitely! After writing the first chapter, I had no idea what was going to happen to Audrey, so I just kept writing and the plot started to unfold. But there were moments & scenes (such as the part with the Lolitas and the last few chapters of the book) that were such a joy to write. I also loved listening to music and all of a sudden thinking, “That song has GOT to be in the book!” That’s how “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J snuck in there.

Guilty pleasure (music) you don’t actually feel guilty about enjoying?
This is actually a good question for me, since I’m trying to do away with referring to some music as a “guilty pleasure”. Few things annoy me more than musical elitism, so I try not to contribute to it. That being said, I really enjoy Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. I always get crap for liking them (from both teenagers AND adults) but I can’t help it! I saw both of them live last year and they were great shows. People were dancing everywhere! It was way better than going to see some “cool” band and having everyone stand there with their arms folded.

One song that I just love John Denver’s “Take me Home, Country Roads”. And I can also sing the entire “Annie” soundtrack from start to finish. I will NEVER feel guilty about that!

What is your writing routine like?
A lot of procrastination, followed by a lot of panic!

No, actually, it’s pretty good, and I’ve learned to just be patient and let the characters sort themselves out. Some days I can write 20 pages, while other times I’ll only have 2 or 3. What I try to do is get some coffee, put on some music, and re-read the last ten pages or so. Then I just say, “Okay, what would happen next? What is the very next thing they would do?” and I take it from there. I don’t write an outline until I’m about 75 pages away from the end of the book, and I never know what’s going to happen. It’s like traveling down a long road. You know you’re going to get to your destination, but you can’t see it yet. It’s the same for me & writing: I can only see so far ahead.

Thanks, Robin!

Robin Benway has also been interviewed at Teen Book Review. Visit Robin’s blog to see what’s on heavy rotation on her iPod, the five songs that are currently saving her life, and more.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen April 21, 2008

It’s been a few days since Ruby was living on her own, weeks since her mother abandoned her, and ten years since she’s seen her older sister, Cora. But after being reported to Social Services, she’s forced to live with Cora and Cora’s husband, Jamie, an internet millionaire. Ruby doesn’t want to live with them or deal with all the changes her new life entails, but now it’s not so easy for Ruby to remain as isolated as she wants to be.

Lock and Key is a very satisfying read. Though not quite as good as some of Sarah Dessen’s previous books, her many fans will not be disappointed. For longtime readers of Dessen, a plethora of characters from her previous books pop up in Lock and Key, a few by name, including one in particular that surprised me, and many more by inference (e.g., “For the really obscure ones, I had to enlist this guy one of my employees knows from his Anger Management class who’s some kind of music freak.” Awesome.), adding to the pleasure of reading Lock and Key.

The hallmarks of Dessen’s books appear in this one, with some new twists I appreciated. It’s thoughtful, understated yet powerful, with a focus on character and relationships, not plot. But while Dessen’s previous novels have centered on upper middle class protagonists (as far as I can recall, the only exception is Keeping the Moon prior to the mother becoming famous, though I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong), girls facing challenges in their relationships, Ruby has spent much of her life poor and avoiding relationships. Although Ruby may be a new type of protagonist in terms of socioeconomic status and family background, her character and voice are similar to previous Dessen protagonists, which made the book even more enjoyable to me than it might have otherwise been.

Lock and Key will be published tomorrow, April 22.

Also reviewed by:
Becky’s Book Reviews
Bookshelves of Doom
Little Willow
A Patchwork of Books
A True Reality

Kawaii Kon April 18-20, 2008 April 19, 2008

Just a little reminder folks, the Kawaii Kon is this weekend: April 18-20th.  For more information go to their website: www.kawaii-kon.org.  We’ll be posting some pictures and a recap of this year’s event on the blog sometime next week.

Craft! Make your own journal April 18, 2008

Look what I made!

Since I haven’t blogged much about crafts recently, here’s the teen craft we did on Wednesday, a National Library Week special. As usual, the teens’ journals were more creative than mine, but I still like the one I made. I think I’ll use it as a reading journal, someplace to take notes as I read and for books I don’t blog about.

And some of the pages inside:

This is an easy, fun, and creative craft for teens. I only had to buy the chipboard for the covers and one pad of 12” x 12” scrapbooking cardstock expressly for this program, so it wasn’t too expensive, either. However, it does require some special equipment, namely a Zutter Bind-it-All machine to punch holes through the chipboard covers and paper we put inside, and to put everything together. If you know someone who scrapbooks, see if they have one you can borrow. My library’s children’s librarian borrowed the machine we used from a friend, and the wire for the binding was leftover from an adult program. I had additional scrapbooking paper leftover paper from previous programs; gluesticks, paper trimmers, and other supplies on hand; as well as die cuts (which someone donated to the library) and punches, which the teens always enjoy using to add decoration.

The price of this program will vary depending on what, and how much, you need to purchase. If you’re looking for a just plain cheap teen craft program, there’s always shrink art, which we did on Monday, again, but with an entirely different set of teens than last year’s NLW, all of whom (guys and girls) enjoyed it. Or try the marbled paper—Coolest. Craft. EVER.—or make your own sticker ideas. But I am definitely doing this journal program again, probably during Teen Read Week or a future National Library Week. Next time, though, I’ll get a teen volunteer to punch holes in the cardstock before the program.

Additional thoughts about this program:

• Buy 8½” x 11” chipboard. It’s a lot easier to cut a couple of sheets of 12” x 12” scrapbooking paper to fit the chipboard than to cut your interior pages to the dimensions of the chipboard.
• Use cardstock or heavy weight paper instead of regular 20 lb. paper for the interior pages so teens can also decorate the inside of their journal. Plus, I think it makes the journal seem a little more special.
• I’ve had teen guys at other papercraft programs, but none came to this one, other than the guy who was just there watching two female friends. In any case, there are a few scrapbook paper sets, like this one, that will appeal to teen guys and girls.
• Try it as a two-day program. One day for making the journals, the other day for a journaling/writing program.

So what else did folks do with teens for National Library Week?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson April 14, 2008

Now I know why so many bloggers have been raving about this. Because The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one seriously good book.

When Jenna Fox wakes up, she has no memory of her past. She’s been in a coma for over a year and while her physical recovery seems to be progressing rapidly, her memory is slow to return. There are discs her mother gives her, hours of footage and photographs of Jenna’s life, but they don’t fill in all the blanks. What happened to Jenna? What is her family hiding from her? Why? And, most importantly, who is Jenna Fox?

In The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson has written a novel about a girl whose story seems all too believable and possible. It’s science fiction that will hook even the non-science fiction reader, like me. The story is suspenseful and the pacing excellent, particularly the way Pearson doles out information. Nothing is given away too soon, and nothing held back too long. The tension Pearson builds lasts for the duration of the book, even after Jenna discovers the truth. I could not put the book down. It also raises a lot of questions and manages to be very thought-provoking. I hesitate to say this because it’s a descriptor that sometimes makes books seem dull or boring, or worse, but it definitely applies to The Adoration of Jenna Fox and does not detract from the readability or excellence of Pearson’s writing at all. This would be a great book group selection for both teens and adults.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox will be published on April 29. In the meantime, visit http://www.adorationofjennafox.com/.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman April 12, 2008

A month ago, a teen and I were talking about books we had recently read, and she said she had just finished Carrie Jones‘ excellent Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend. After I finished going on about how Jones had written a sequel which I kind of wanted to read but kind of was afraid to read because I thought Tips was a fabulous YA romance on its own, she asked if I could recommend any YA romances. Set in the summer. And not written for younger teens. (I swear, she totally asked me this on her own.) Jody Gerhman’s Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty is very different from Tips, and although there are better books out there and I’m on the fence as to whether it really is a romance or merely realistic fiction with a large romantic subplot (as well as whether a book recommended for ages 14 and up can truly be considered “not for younger teens,” because you know they’re going to read it anyway, but as it’s not for 12 and up, I’m saying yes), it is still good enough and romance-ish enough for me to recommend to my teen. And to make things even better, it takes place over the course of a summer. So on to the book.

Geena’s two best friends have never met, but she’s arranged things so that all three of them will be working together at Triple Shot Betty’s, a drive-through coffee stand, and she just knows that they’re all going to get along and have a great summer. However, upon meeting, Amber and Hero dislike each other and are not afraid to let Geena, or each other, know it. While Hero is polite enough that she probably would have been nice to Amber anyway, Amber starts insulting Hero practically from the moment they meet. Hero, understandably, is not about to back down after being stereotyped and insulted. Not helping matters is the fact that the hottest guy in Sonoma, the guy Amber hooked up with when she first moved to town, is interested in Hero, but Hero is not interested in him. Instead, Hero’s in love with the Italian guy interning at her family’s winery, but her overprotective father refuses to let her date. And Amber does want to be a tattoo artist, and Alistair Drake, former drummer/current owner of a famous tattoo parlor did just happen to buy the place next to Hero’s home. So even if they dislike each other, maybe Amber and Hero can call a truce, making a deal that will benefit both of them without letting Geena know about it, since their plans just happen to involve her and a certain smart and cute bicyclist.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty was inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, but as I’ve never read the play or seen the movie (or the play), I can’t compare the two. However, I can say that Confessions is an enjoyable, if not particularly memorable, read. Most of the secondary characters were on the flat side and the story didn’t stick with me the way Tips did. But it was humorous, though not laugh out loud funny, and I found both the romantic and the will-they-all-become-friends? subplots satisfying—teens looking for a summer friendship story along the lines of Peaches will also find much to like in Confessions.

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty will be published on April 17.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway April 7, 2008

Audrey never thought her boyfriend, Evan, and his band, The Do Gooders, would have much of a musical career. Turns out breaking up with him was just the inspiration he needed to write the song that would take the country by storm and launch The Do Gooders, and Audrey, to fame.

So how would you react if you suddenly became famous, all because your now ex-boyfriend wrote a song about how you dumped him?

Audrey tries to deal with fame by living as normally as possible, which in her case means going to school, hanging out her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend, working at the Scooper Dooper, and generally living and breathing music. But normal is hard to do when you’re suddenly famous, even for someone as awesome as Audrey. This is her side of the story, of why she broke up with Evan and what happened to her life after Evan wrote “Audrey, Wait!” And why she didn’t wait.

Robin Benway’s Audrey, Wait! is a fun, and funny, voyeuristic peek at what life might be like for a girl who who never asked to become famous. The high concept plot alone will attract teens*, and Benway backs it up with strong writing and great characterizations. Audrey’s voice is chatty and candid, enjoyable enough that I would probably have kept reading even without the plot. Benway makes you feel how much Audrey loves music, even if Audrey isn’t a musician but only served as an unwilling muse to one. Each chapter starts with a song lyric, which made the book even more fun. And considering how central music is to the book, the musical references never feel forced or false. It’s more like the kind of taste in music you only wish you were cool enough to have.

Also great are Audrey’s parents. Unlike the YA fiction cliché of parents who are absent, neglectful, or downright abusive, Audrey’s parents, well, rock. They love their daughter and want the best for her, and if that means enforcing new rules in light of the paparazzi and random teen fans now trailing Audrey’s every move, then more rules it is. As for Audrey, she may not like the new rules, but she does like her parents, so she’s willing to go along with their rules.

Audrey, Wait! will be published on April 10. If you’re a fan of music or just plain enjoyable books (and not bothered by the swearing and references to sex, drugs, and drinking that, honestly, can only be expected in a book about rock & roll), pick this one up.

Also reviewed at:
A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Kinsmen of the Shelf
Teen Book Review
What I Blogged… (nice template! )

* I was telling my teen book group about it and all, um, four people who were there at the time (not much, I know, but it’s pretty new and I’m trying to build the group up. And considering those three months in a row when absolutely no one came, I was one happy librarian) now want to read it.

Atherton by Patrick Carman April 6, 2008

Just read The House of Power, the first book in the Atherton series by Patrick Carman. Carman is also known for his children’s series the Land of Elyon. I’ve never thought of myself as a fantasy or science fiction fan, but when I guess when you have great writing, it doesn’t matter the genre. I loved Atherton and I can’t wait for the second book in the series: Rivers of Fire.

The story in a nutshell is about a land called Atherton which is three tiered. The highest tier: the Highlands, the middle tier: the Tabletop, and the lowest tier: the Flatlands. The majority of Atherton’s residents live on the Tabletop where they raise livestock and farm fig trees. The Tabletop supplies the Highlands with food and other necessities. The Highlands are inhabited by an elite ruling group who control the world’s water supply. The residents of the Highlands do not mingle with those of the Tabletop. The Flatlands are unknown to either community. Atherton is the creation of a mad scientist, Dr. Harding, who is conducting an experiment with Atherton’s inhabitants. An adventurous orphan of the Tabletop named Edgar uncovers Dr. Harding’s experiment through an adventure of his own and makes a couple of new friends in the process. What is this mysterious experiment? And who is this Dr. Harding? To unlock the secrets, read Atherton: The House of Power and visit the series website: www.athertonseries.com.