Ashley's comments (member since Apr 29, 2009)

Ashley's comments from the Wild Things: YA Grown-Up group.

I took it as a book that isn't really a retelling of any particular fairy tale that still reads or feels like a fairy tale. The person who started the thread listed books like The Tale of Desperaux, and The Princess Bride. They aren't retellings, but they still feel like a fairy tale.

Misty wrote: That is what I love about these types of books. That's why I think more parents/adults should read what their children/young people in their life are reading. It's such a great opportunity that's often wasted.

That is a great point Misty! I totally agree with you there!

Heather wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I had braces as a teenager but only for a short period of time to make space for my molars. When they brought up putting rubber bands on my teeth to draw them down thus making them a..."

Those are some great points Heather. I find that very interesting. I'm a Psychology Major, and Social Conditioning is something I find fascinating. As people, we really are a product of our environments. I definitely think that biology and what we are born with plays a huge part in who we are, but there is so much that is added to us, and defines us that we collect from our respective cultures and lifestyles. I love these books because they bring out so many great discussion topics, and they teach us things without being overly preachy about it. I never felt that I was being condemned or preached to by this book the way that I have reading others.

I think the dentures comment was really interesting. I never thought about something like that... Good to know!

I read this book a while back. I enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't at all what I was expecting it to be, but I think that was one of my favorite things about it. I am a particular fan of fairy tale retellings that make the story feel like a completely new story I have never been exposed to before. This story made enough changes to the typical Rumplestiltskin story that it felt fresh and new, and I love it when books are able to do that.

I think it seems to be split. I know there are people who have posted that they did like it.

Beth, I personally didn't think she turned into the stupid horror movie character. In my opinion, she gets better in the second book, and then in the third book she goes a little power hungry... Which kind of makes her go backward instead of forward characterwise, but I did feel she had redeemed herself by the end of the book.
It's not the world's greatest writing, but I thought it did it's job which was to entertain.

DragonEyedOnePieceFan wrote: "i wouldn't have read them at all if it weren't for the cover art. It looked so cool that I picked up AGATB for the first time because of it."

I totally agree. The cover art is fantastic and wonderfully eye-catching.

I enjoyed this series quite a bit. I will admit, I picked them up entirely because I thought the cover art was absolutely fantastic.
One thing I noticed about these books- and it might come out confusing- I liked them because I disliked the main characters so much to begin with. To expound on that, at the beginning of the series, all of the characters were incredibly selfish and self serving. The embodied the typical teenage snob, being cruel simply because they could. I liked all three books, but I enjoyed them progressivly more as the series went on, because the characters developed. Although they all still made some stupid choices, and bad decisions, all of them grew as people and learned from their pasts. I love books that have strong character development, and I remember feeling that these books had a lot of that.

Sarah wrote: "I'm sorry to be such a bother. But I'm not sure what to do for 4.15 and 4.20.

Is there anyone that loves Sci-Fi or Historical Fiction? "

Sarah, if you want a Historical Fiction rec, I strongly recommend Ann Rinaldi. I read her in Jr. High, and I love her. My favorites are Time Enough For Drums, The Last Silk Dress, A Break with Charity, and The Fifth of March. I have really liked every book I've read by her, except one... (I didn't love Or Give Me Death...)
I reccommend all of them!

Jennifer, I don't know if they 'count' for the humor genre, but I read a few Captain Underpants books when I was younger, and recently read some of them with my little brothers and nephews, and they loved them. You could check those out...! They are silly, goofy, and in my opinion, so dumb you just have to laugh out loud, funny...

I like the totals at the bottom Linda Grace!

I spent the last month/month and a half doing very little reading, and now I can't seem to stop... :)

I finished The Callender Papers by Cynthia Voigt for task 2.15- My older sister's name is Cynthia, and she lived in my household for 16 years plus one...

I also finished 2.5 with The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. (My last name starts with B...)

That gives me 30 pts!

As mentioned above, I am moving Deerskin, because it doesn't meet all the task requirements. It is now part of a multi-task book, so I now have 10 pts.

I haven't read the original, but I really want to. Most of Deerskin was lost on me when I read it before, so I am really glad that I reread it. I think it is worth reading, especially since you liked the original.
Although, now I am kicking myself, because I forgot that the Adult to YA transfer was supposed to be a book you've never read before, so I have to switch it to a different task... Sigh. Oh well. I'm glad I reread it!

Lol. I have no idea.

Your profile is private, but mine is not. You can compare books with me if you like...

Sara, don't be put off. I loved TSFT! I liked all 3, but I think TSFT is probably my favorite of the three.

Cool! Thanks Linda Grace!

I also finished task 2.10 with Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. I was having a hard time with where to put this book when I realized totally by chance that she was a GR author!

I liked this book, but wasn't as moved or impressed by it as I expected to be. Worth reading though. It's definitely creepy and upsetting.
I did like the growth she showed toward the end of the book, even as a 'living dead girl'.

I have 25 pts!

I read Deerskin by Robin McKinley for task 4.15. It is a fairy tale retelling of a very little known tale called Donkeyskin.
This book has been classified as both YA and Adult in several places, but I think that it belongs more in the Adult section the crosses over easily.
I liked this book a lot actually, more than I had originally. I read it the first time in junior high I think, and there is a lot that I missed/don't remember. Although I think it is a book many YA readers could enjoy, I think it is a better read for an older YA audience. It deals with incest, PTSD, 'voluntary' memory loss, etc. Nothin is explicit in this book (which I was very grateful for... No one wants to read detailed incest...) but it does still mention it, and it is obvious what happened. The main character really struggles with what happened, and needs to learn to become whole again.
Reading it before, and now I definitely think the book is better left for more mature YA readers, but that it is something worth reading at either age.

Great! Thanks.

I also want to clarify something- Make sure I have it right...

For challenge 3.25, with a book published after 2006 and the corresponding Newbery, are we going by publication date, or award year?
So, if I want to read a book published in 2006, I would read a winner/honor from 2007 right? Because then they are both published in 2006.
Just double checking that one, because it seemed a little uncertain... All Newbery Awards are given for the year after they were published.

That's my last question for real...! Thanks!