Sixteen-year-old Hal is lazing on his friends sailboat when he capsizes. That's when Barry Gorman saves Hal's life, and the two boys start a friendshi...moreSixteen-year-old Hal is lazing on his friends sailboat when he capsizes. That's when Barry Gorman saves Hal's life, and the two boys start a friendship. Over the course of the summer, Hal and Barry have adventures throughout their British town of Southend, and their relationship slowly develops into something much more serious. In a moment of intensity, Barry makes Hal promise that if either of them dies, the other one will dance on his grave, giving no explanation. Then the unthinkable happens.
From the very beginning of Dance on My Grave, the reader knows that Barry Gorman dies and that Hal Robinson is arrested for damaging Barry's grave. What follows, then, is not the what, but the how. Through Hal's own sarcastic, pensive, and thoroughly diffuse writings, the reader is given an inside view at the thoughts behind the actions that led up to Barry Gorman's death, and even more importantly, the thoughts that went into Hal's subsequent actions. It is in this way that Aidan Chambers definitively proves that why is more important than how, and that a good author must show, rather than tell.
I personally found this book very close-hitting emotionally, but as a side effect of that, I have had a difficult time coming to a decision on how to review it. This book is certainly not for everyone, but because it spoke to me on a very personal level, it would be easy for me to claim that it was.
The writing style is dry and uses many, many large or complicated words. For example, deliquescent. The tone is also "very British"--there were terms and neologisms that I did not know. That said, there's a lot of humor going on, primarily Hal's caustic-sarcastic view of the world around him. There is a clear voice here, and it stands out as being wholly its own. Many teenage readers will find the writing either difficult or dry.
Some people are not going to like the plot structure, which is loose and lethargic. Indeed, there are times where Hal takes a few pages to wax poetic on any number of topics that strike his fancy, such as methods to "wake up" so that his father will stop harassing him each morning. Death is also a recurring theme, and Hal frequently invokes Vonnegut and other literary references in his thought processes.
Since Dance on My Grave was originally published in 1982, the content is a lot milder than what someone might expect today. There are only three or four mentions of intimacy of any kind between Hal and Barry; however, Hal does recount the two of them sleeping together, "both literally and figuratively", which is further than some modern books will go. Other than that though, the romance is mostly both implied and sanitary. The feelings of loss and betrayal that come after Barry's death are felt by the reader, but not to the extent that Hal feels them--this was likely intentional on the part of Chambers, though.
Thus, while I cried at the end of Dance on My Grave--and at a few other points as well--it is entirely possible that this is not your cup of tea, and I recommend reading it for yourself before buying it, adding it to a collection, or recommending it.(less)
Welcome back to Sanguini's: A Very Rare Restaurant. Following the events in Tantalize and Eternal, Cynthia Leitich Smith returns to Texas to tell the ...moreWelcome back to Sanguini's: A Very Rare Restaurant. Following the events in Tantalize and Eternal, Cynthia Leitich Smith returns to Texas to tell the continuing story of Quincie P. Morris, neophyte vampire and restaurateur.
Admittedly, I forgot most of the events in Tantalize, since it was published three years ago. Eternal was slightly less hazy, but there were still large gaps in my memory. However, I can say without a doubt that Mrs. Smith does an excellent job of bringing the reader up to speed on events while not slowing down the pace any.
After being turned into a vampire by the dastardly Bradley Sanguini, and after the loss of both her uncle and her not-really-boyfriend Kieren, Quincie is struggling to stay afloat. She's now under the care of Kieren's parents, including the ever-watchful werewolf mama Meara. At the same time, Quincie needs to run a restaurant, find a new chef, keep her new vampire state under control and under wraps, and oh, yeah, save the freaking world. Lucky for her, she's got a guardian angel...
The structure of the series is unique, in that Tantalize and Eternal are not inherently connected; rather, they both document different characters and different events that both end around roughly the same time. Blessed includes characters from both, and while neither of the first two novels is strictly required reading, Blessed will be infinitely more enjoyable if you know some of the back story.
Quincie is one of those rarest of rare heroines in today's YA scene. She's assertive and independent, decisive and brave; by that same token, she realizes that she is still a child with growing up to do, and sometimes she feels overwhelmed by the burden she is carrying. This is only natural, and the way that it plays out is beautiful. There is a smattering of romance throughout, centering on Quincie and her childhood best friend, half-werewolf Kieren. But, alas, as he left to join a wolf pack, they will likely never see each other again...
Also thrown into the mix is Zachary, Guardian Angel, on an assignment to protect Quincie's immortal soul. He brings some of his friends from Eternal with him to Texas, and while he's not a focus, his presence is very important thematically. Also, fanservice.
The plot revolves around Quincie's attempts to save the still-human guests who visited her restaurant when Bradley Sanguini was still its chef. Unbeknownst to her at the time, he laced the delicacy baby squirrels with his own blood, and if Quincie doesn't think of something soon, there will be hundreds of new vampires! Overall, the pace is brisk and the danger is real. About two-thirds of the way through the novel, though, a large chunk of exposition is crammed rather unsubtly down the reader's throat. Digesting the information in the last sections of the book was not an easy task, but Leitich Smith kept things moving along and the paayoff was well worth it.
In summary, Blessed, while not perfect, is a wholly satisfying conclusion to a trio of wonderful delicacies. While it suffers from some late-game sloppiness in exposition, its characters are enjoyable and the writing is superb. Leitich Smith's voice and her ability to create natural-feeling supernatural situations shine. Plus, Italian food.(less)
After the Grandmother who raised him dies, 13-year-old Davy moves to New York City to live with his mother, who is not accustomed to children, let alo...moreAfter the Grandmother who raised him dies, 13-year-old Davy moves to New York City to live with his mother, who is not accustomed to children, let alone Davy's dachshund Fred. In a strange new city, Davy copes with his mother's drinking, learning how to act towards his father's new wife, and attending a private Episcopal school where he meets Altschuler, a distant boy who is at turns friendly and moody.
Upon its initial publication in 1969, John Donovan's I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip.: 40th Anniversary Edition was hailed as being the first novel for young adults to deal with homosexuality in any form. By today's standards it is very tame, but this anniversary edition provides a glimpse at a seminal classic that has been out-of-print for years. Much as Hinton's The Outsiders launched the gritty "issues" genre, so did I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip. pave the way for later novels such as Annie on My Mind and Keeping You a Secret.
Davy is the narrator for the story's simple plot. Donovan renders the voice of a thirteen-year-old perfectly, capturing that mix of intelligence and innocence that so often eludes authors. While the story is very much formulaic, readers should remember that this book very much invented the formula to begin with (or at the very least, was one of the first to use it).
Since the book is rather short, characters are kept simple. Davy is fully fleshed out, but is naturally at a formative stage in his life and is in a state of constant confusion about who he is and where he fits into the world around him. His mother and father are the stereotypical YA parents--that is, inept, emotionally unavailable, and, at least in the case of Davy's mother, no help at all. Again, while things may have changed since the original publication, the issue of "useless parents" in YA had not been addressed yet. Altshuler is fascinating, but this is not his book, so the lack of exposure he receives is justified.
Of note is the fact that only one sentence in the entire book dates it, that being the question of whether or not Davy has a color television set. Other than that, the book is timeless and fits just as easily today as 1969. This timelessness should lend itself to those wishing to use this text in a classroom setting or recommending it as casual reading.
Finally, this 40th Anniversary Edition contains a new forward by the author's niece as well as essays by authors Martin Wilson and Brent Hartinger and Kathleen Horning.
All told, it's great to be able to have I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip. back in publication, not only because it is such an important piece in the LGBTQ canon, but also because it's just a damn good book.(less)
If you recall my review of Another Faust, also by Dina and Daniel Nayeri, you'll remember that I thought the book was interesting, but that it suffere...moreIf you recall my review of Another Faust, also by Dina and Daniel Nayeri, you'll remember that I thought the book was interesting, but that it suffered from a muddled lack of focus and the frequent switching between narrators. Unfortunately, I found that the same problems plagued Another Pan, but this companion lacked many of the interest that made me ignore the first's flaws. As a disclaimer, I will state that I did not finish this book, reading only until approximately page 150, but I feel like that is more than enough time for a book to grab my interest and make me want to read more.
Another Pan is a loose retelling of Peter Pan, in a similar vein to Another Faust's retelling of Doctor Faustus. Here we are introduced to Wendy and John Darling, who attend the prestigious Marlowe School where their father is a professor of Egyptology. Professor Darling has arranged for an exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifacts to be lent to Marlowe from the British Museum. However, the new Resident Assistant at Marlowe, Peter, seems to be causing trouble, and suddenly Wendy and John find themselves drawn into a dangerous world where forgotten Egyptian myths might just be true.
Honestly, I was hesitant about retelling Peter Pan mixed with imaginative but original Egyptian "myths". It felt as though the authors wanted to write two different novels and instead smushed them together. Compounding the issue was the multiple point-of-view system that the Nayeris seem to be fond of. Some chapters would use only one narrator, while some would switch between multiple characters; still others had mini-epilogues wherein a character remembers (or attempts to remember) a happy moment in their life. The result was confusing.
There is a tenuous tie to the previous installment, Another Faust, in one returning character. I did not read far enough to see how prominent this character's involvement was in the story, but I imagine that it's worth reading this novel to see where this character's path takes her.
So, in the end, I did not like Another Pan. However, I found Another Faust merely good, so if you thoroughly enjoyed the first, then this is likely a fitting next installment.(less)
Eva Nine lives in a Sanctuary, an underground, hermetic environment with all the technological whizbangs one expects. There, she is cared for by Muthr...moreEva Nine lives in a Sanctuary, an underground, hermetic environment with all the technological whizbangs one expects. There, she is cared for by Muthr (Multi-Utility Task Help Robot), who has raised Eva from a baby. When Eva Nine is forced to evacuate the Sanctuary, she is thrust into an alien world full of danger, beauty, and secrets. With only a scrap of paper bearing a picture of two humans and a robot and the word WondLa scrawled on the back, Eva must traverse this mysterious world and find out if there is anyone else like her out there.
Having not read The Spiderwick Chronicles, I was unsure of what to expect from The Search for WondLa. However, the two-color and black-and-white illustrations brought back strong memories of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels, and when I finished the book and found out that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was one of the inspirations I was hardly surprised.
Eva Nine is a futuristic Dorothy, thrust into a strange world by herself. All she wants to do is go home, but when one home is destroyed and you don't even know if another exists, what do you do? Over the course of the novel, Eva evolves from a young girl who is definitely not ready for the task ahead of her, to a young woman who is probably ready for anything. There is clear growth present, but in a subtle way, and it was just really wonderful.
There are several other characters, and DiTerlizzi's rich imagination runs rampant with them. Rovender Kitt, a Caerulean, is a blue, two-legged...thing. He's pictured on the cover and in the illustrations. Rovender also shows a transformation over the course of the novel, and was most definitely a pleasure to have along. Muthr, the robot that guides and nurtures Eva, is sure to be popular, and despite being a robot, also evolves. Throw in a giant buffalo-like creature named Otto that can jump long distances, a furry hunter with a "boomrod", man-eating plants, spaceships, and large crab-like csand-snipers, and there's no lack of weird and wonderful creatures.
The story is divided into four parts, and while there were times that the pace dragged a bit, overall it worked very well. Some of the big twists (and there are several) were fairly obvious, while others weren't. Still others seemed obvious, and would be revealed and you would be right; but then clues that said revelation was not actually true would be placed and you would figure something out that the characters missed. Either way, the realization of just what WondLa is will shock you. I, for one, was unsure of whether to laugh or cry.
The ending ties up the story nicely, with the guarantee of a sequel. I believe this is a new trilogy, although I may be wrong.
Illustrations are provided throughout in black-and-white and two-color. While the review copy I read only had illustrations in the first 100 pages or so, what I saw were lovely and captured the spirit perfectly. DiTerlizzi has a talent not only for words but also for images that enhance those words.
Finally, the book comes with three instances of "Augmented Reality", or WondLa Vision. Once again, my review copy only had one instance, but I did try it out. By holding up certain images in front of a webcam at the www.WondLa.com site, readers get to see illustrated, moving, 3-d maps of Eva Nine's journey. There was a bit of a long loading period for me, but the map was intricate and colorful. Probably more of a one-time thing than an actual necessity, but it was certainly cool.
Overall, The Search for WondLa is both classic and fresh, and evokes the spirit of older titles while still feeling ahead of its time. Accompanied by lovely illustrations, a colorful cast of characters, and an emotionally strong story filled with mystery, this is one of my favorite books of the year. Suitable for ages 8 and up, I can see this having crossover appeal for the whole family.(less)
After the events of Beautiful Creatures, Ethan and Lena must deal with incredible loss, while at the same time fending off an incredible danger. Their...moreAfter the events of Beautiful Creatures, Ethan and Lena must deal with incredible loss, while at the same time fending off an incredible danger. Their bond will once again be tested to the limits, and once again...someone will die.
I cannot give more of a synopsis than that. Beautiful Darkness is firmly in sequel-land, and I think you'd be hard pressed to understand any of it without having first read Beautiful Creatures.
If you remember, Beautiful Creatures was one of my favorite books of 2009. As such, I came into Beautiful Darkness with extraordinarily high expectations. I've had a lot of trouble judging this book on its own merits instead of in comparison to its precursor.
The characters from Beautiful Creatures return here, with the central focus remaining on Ethan and Lena, star-cross'd lovers if ever there were any. Oddly, it felt as if they lacked emotional development over the novel, instead basically relying on what the reader already knows of them. Ridley and Link, popular secondary characters from the first book, are promoted here and get plenty of screen-time, with the side effect that they are fleshed out and developed arguably more than the main characters.
Marian the Librarian returns with a larger role, as well, and she also has a new assistant. 16-year-old Liv is training to be a Caster Librarian, and while she proves invaluable to Ethan as he traverses the Caster world, she also throws some kinks into the system. She'll be polarizing, for sure.
The beginning of the book deals primarily with the aftermath of Beautiful Creatures. Actually, about the first half of the book does, especially with where Ethan and Lena stand with each other now. The book progresses, and towards the end it has more of a "quest" feeling to it, with Ethan and company exploring the underbelly of the South in search of a great power that can save or destroy the world.
The pacing in this later section felt very herky-jerky. If the world is about to end, would the characters really stop and talk about their feelings?
One thing I did like, however, was the new information about the Caster world, the new creatures and magics and rules. All of this information is exciting and obviously will be important in the upcoming installments.
Beautiful Darkness was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed being able to spend time with the characters I love, and I found the new information about the Caster world fascinating. The plot dragged at times and some characters didn't get the development I think they deserved, but overall it's a solid read. I think when it comes down to it I had to realize that this is not Beautiful Creatures, it has to take the material somewhere new. Once I realized that I enjoyed it more in retrospect, although I'm thinking the set-up this provides means that book three will be better.(less)
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