Uri and Sheila let me borrow this book one day during the blizzard and I just read it yesterday. It chronicles a year in the life of the artist as sh...moreUri and Sheila let me borrow this book one day during the blizzard and I just read it yesterday. It chronicles a year in the life of the artist as she navigates graduating college, growing up, and her relationship with a pretty ok boyfriend and how that fits in with her growing up. I have to say that I do wish I had read this book when I was 23 because the main character might as well have been me at 23. I enjoyed reading this because it was like a look into a piece of me that I am not anymore. It was nice.(less)
I don't even know where to begin with this book. I feel that what I read was truly a piece of poetry. When this book was recommended to me I was mos...moreI don't even know where to begin with this book. I feel that what I read was truly a piece of poetry. When this book was recommended to me I was most interested because much of the setting is in places I know, Boston, Cambridge, NYC, and because I like reading immigration narratives. But what I most took with me from this novel is a story about how people grow both closer and further away from their parents and how their parents affect and permeate every facet of our lives without ever realizing it. I also very closely identified with the main character Gogol's struggles with identity and relationships. I particularly enjoyed the way the author changed perspectives so the reader could see inside the minds of most of the characters at their most private moments, especially when we see inside of the mind of Gogol's bride. I understood and sympathized with her own struggle for autonomy. The author's style and word choice is very deliberate, much like her characters. Highly recommended.(less)
This story takes place in a time when vampires and other supernatural beasts are real and everybody knows it, however they are still hated and hunted ...moreThis story takes place in a time when vampires and other supernatural beasts are real and everybody knows it, however they are still hated and hunted and killed. The main character is a teenage boy who is slowly turning into a vampire and he doesn't understand why or how, all he knows is that it's bad and he wants it to stop. So when a stranger offers him a cure if he does a simple job for him he takes the opportunity without ever asking any questions or verifying the truth.
The best parts about this book were the vivid descriptions of his ever growing thirst for blood. The author does a tremendous job at making the thirst feel progressively worse, and when the main character does some damage to himself as a result I was right there feeling the pain with him and I was a little disturbed. I also loved the main character's description of all his side thoughts and little teenage witticisms and fantasies about the girl he likes. Also, the author drives a pretty quick pace through the story and I was driven right him to the point that I read the last 100 pages in one sitting because I didn't feel like there was a stopping point. I had to finish. Part of that urgency came from the uncertainty in the choices the main character was making. He wasn't sure who to trust with his secret and as a result some seriously perilous things happen. Great book. Highly recommended. (less)
I can't explain this book properly. It's part immigration story, part murder mystery, part botany lesson, and part religious text. The main characte...moreI can't explain this book properly. It's part immigration story, part murder mystery, part botany lesson, and part religious text. The main character is a teenage girl who lives with her mother in isolation in rural Maine feeding on whatever they find in the forest. One of the first things we learn about these two is her mother's claim that the girl was conceived of a virgin birth. The first real contact this girl has with society is when her mother dies of a disease that's crippling her with indescribable pain and the young girl is taken into custody. She ends up locating an Aunt who is a pastor at a church in a nearby town with two children of her own. They take in their cousin refugee, but each for their own reasons: the aunt feels she must reconcile with the dead mother, the girl cousin believes the virgin birth mystery and wishes to exploit her, and the boy cousin is in love with her. Calling their relationship unhealthy would be an understatement. Three threads tie the story together. The first is the plants, the botany the characters seem to know so well. The second is the mythology that is discussed throughout. Everyone appears to be a scholar of Nordic myth and obscure aspects of Christianity that may or may not be true. The third is a murder trial that is released to the reader one cross examination at a time. The prosecutor thinks the young girl is a murderer who does not have a grip on reality and uses her extensive plant knowledge to kill the people around her. These small court interludes presented in between each chapter effectively cause the reader to question the main character's story. It becomes difficult to find the truth. I was relieved that all was revealed in the end.(less)
I started reading this book before Christmas and I just can't seem to finish it. I fell in love with Rosoff's writing with How I Live Now - what an a...moreI started reading this book before Christmas and I just can't seem to finish it. I fell in love with Rosoff's writing with How I Live Now - what an amazing book that was - but this novel is missing something.
*EDIT* I don't know what happened, but yesterday I just felt like I couldn't abandon this book and I finished it. I'm glad I did. The second half of the book picks up and slides back into Rosoff's comfortable prose. She just has a way of creating a magic bubble around her characters so for moments in their lives they exist in their idea of a perfect world. Of course that bubble can't be permanent and something has to ruin it or soil it. In the end nobody gets what they set out to want, and though things are different the character's aren't unhappy. Thee characters accept that things are what they are now, and sometimes that is the price of stealing momentary happiness.
I felt like this novel was missing something, a certain amount of heart perhaps. We weren't left with any kind of closure with the main character, known as H, who admits he is entirely unreliable as a narrator. For a minute I thought perhaps his best friend might just be some sort of invented phantom he was projecting to interact with the person he wanted to be (I'm explaining that poorly - sort of like Fight Club). H seems squishy, soft, doesn't take any personal accountability for his life, and he needs this external character to model on to make a change in his life, but then he doesn't make any change for about 2/3 of the novel so we're stuck listening to his internal monologue idolizing his best friend/hinted love interest. He is borderline obsessive and stops investing in his real life so he can sink further into his idealized life with his friend.
What really annoyed me was the twist, which I won't reveal, but I felt it took something away from H's personal struggle with his identity and reality. All in all I was disappointed with this book and I wouldn't recommend it for fans of Rosoff's writing. She doesn't really come into her voice until it's too late.(less)
An enjoyable novel about failing power in an underground city and two unlikely friends who try to save the population from what seems like certain doo...moreAn enjoyable novel about failing power in an underground city and two unlikely friends who try to save the population from what seems like certain doom. The idea of being trapped in the dark in an underground tomb after the power fails permanently was a terrifying prospect. I will eventually read the sequels.(less)
I always get reluctant readers in my classroom with this one. A teenage boy is on trial for armed robbery and murder and while he is in jail he begin...moreI always get reluctant readers in my classroom with this one. A teenage boy is on trial for armed robbery and murder and while he is in jail he begins to write a screenplay of the proceedings along with a smattering of his thoughts and feelings. The reason he writes a screenplay is because he feels like he is in a movie. The prosecutor calls him all sorts of things and puts the facts of his life on display in such a way that he doesn't even feel like it's his own life he's listening to. Is he really a Monster? In the end, the author leaves it to you to decide, which annoyed the heck out of me.(less)
Story of a high school girl who was sexually assaulted at a party over the summer between middle school and high school. She called the cops from the...moreStory of a high school girl who was sexually assaulted at a party over the summer between middle school and high school. She called the cops from the party to try to tell someone, but she couldn't speak up into the phone to say what happened. The cops showed up and the whole school hates her for being the one who called them. But they don't know why she called. She can't tell them. She feels she can't tell anyone. I did not like the resolution of this novel. I wanted bad things to happen to her attacker, but what the author wanted was for girls who have been through something horrible to know they have to talk about it, that people will support them. And this is a good lesson, but I wanted legal action.(less)
I wanted to read this book because I loved Zusak's previous title, I am the Messenger, and because it is a Printz Honor Book. This story follows a yo...moreI wanted to read this book because I loved Zusak's previous title, I am the Messenger, and because it is a Printz Honor Book. This story follows a young girl living in Germany during the Holocaust and chronicles her relationships with her friends and neighbors, her adopted mother and father, the Jew hiding in her basement, and her deep love affair with words and books. What is odd about this tale is that it is narrated by Death, who is obviously very busy, but he gives us an interesting point of view as he waits to collect his due, and you feel he has a certain affinity for the characters, and all humans, as they wade through their lives. Because Death was watching over them and telling the tale, I felt like I was reading something real, something true. The author painted a picture that felt what real life might have been like for a person living during that time and in that place.(less)
Heaven is the story of a young girl who learns a secret about her past that shakes the foundations of her identity. I picked this up the day after I ...moreHeaven is the story of a young girl who learns a secret about her past that shakes the foundations of her identity. I picked this up the day after I read The First Part Last because I tore through that book so quickly and I needed another dose of Johnson's writing. The main character of that book makes a few appearances in Heaven and helps the main character navigate her new place in her world. I finished this the same day I purchased it.(less)
Seriously, you need to read this book. Angela Johnson has delivered a piece of poetry in her characters and in her style. The narrative jumps back a...moreSeriously, you need to read this book. Angela Johnson has delivered a piece of poetry in her characters and in her style. The narrative jumps back and forth through the life of a teenage father, so one chapter will tell the story of what is happening now in his life with his daughter, and the next will explain the story of how he ended up having a baby and keeping her and the story behind his relationship with his girlfriend. She effectively tells you the first part, or the most important part, last, and builds a story so powerful I had to finish it that same day I started it.(less)
I can't review this without giving away the end because everything I want to say about it has to do with the epic resolution. Lets just say I enjoyed...moreI can't review this without giving away the end because everything I want to say about it has to do with the epic resolution. Lets just say I enjoyed the hell out of the whole thing, the resolution annoyed me a bit, but I got over it. I talked about it enough with my friends that I don't need to mention it here.(less)
Basically the same review as Still Life With Woodpecker. I'm going to have to go back and read all of them I think. There's a certain magic in that ...moreBasically the same review as Still Life With Woodpecker. I'm going to have to go back and read all of them I think. There's a certain magic in that writing, a certain flavor I can't put my finger on. Many of the characters are long winded even when they don't have to be, which gets a little annoying, but I like them so much I read on anyway. (less)
Because this was a book I remember really identifying with as a teenager, I reread it recently to see if it still had the same resonance. I can reall...moreBecause this was a book I remember really identifying with as a teenager, I reread it recently to see if it still had the same resonance. I can really see why it appealed to my teenage self, and most of it still felt triumphant, but I think my older self is so used to reading Robbins' books that I kind of had this jaded "oh look more zany characters being zany" attitude. I felt his character's politics went on too long, even though I liked the things that they had to say. I'll probably revisit this again.(less)
This tale about a young boy who moves from Boston to middle-of-nowhere Maine begins exactly as most stories of that sort do: he feels like he has no p...moreThis tale about a young boy who moves from Boston to middle-of-nowhere Maine begins exactly as most stories of that sort do: he feels like he has no place in his new town and everyone hates him. Even his own father, the new minister of the town, seems to consider his son an embarrassment, and being the minister's son isn't exactly the most popular position to be in. All seems to go wrong, until he meets Lizzie, a girl from a neighboring island that's part of the town but separate because it's the black part of the town and the townsfolk are incredibly racist. The two children become fast friends, but if you were expecting a heartwarming resolution where the children teach the adults the value of true friendship and everyone holds hands at the ends you'd be disappointed. While a valuable lesson is learned, it's at the expense of either the lives or dignity of most of the characters. This book started slow and took a sudden turn towards the end to bring us swiftly to that lesson. I never saw it coming. (less)
Fantastic piece of comic genius. The main character has such a truly genuine understanding of himself and his place in the world that you can't help ...moreFantastic piece of comic genius. The main character has such a truly genuine understanding of himself and his place in the world that you can't help but love everything about him, especially the thing he considers to be his flaws or obstacles. (less)
I am generally drawn towards Printz award winners so this was an obvious choice for me. This graphic novel was both insightful and comical. The inte...moreI am generally drawn towards Printz award winners so this was an obvious choice for me. This graphic novel was both insightful and comical. The intertwining narratives were well woven. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended. (less)
I was largely unimpressed with this book. The only reason I continued to read passed page thirty was that I felt I had to give the character's a chan...moreI was largely unimpressed with this book. The only reason I continued to read passed page thirty was that I felt I had to give the character's a chance after putting so much time and heart into the first book. What a disappointment. The main character spends the entire book bemoaning the loss of Edward even though he dumps her hard in the first section of the book. Then the author attaches the reader to Jacob Black, who is a far better boyfriend candidate than Edward due to the fact that he actually displays affection in other ways than just physical attraction, but then Edward (of course) reenters the picture and Bella drops Jacob like nothing ever happened and Edward goes back to being (as if he ever wasn't) the center of her universe. Their relationship is unhealthy (to say the least) not just because he is a vampire, but because he is cold, manic depressive, has suicidal tendencies, and he knows absolutely nothing about Bella other than the fact that she smells good. She also knows very little about his sketchy vampire history, but yet she is completely willing to leave her human family and life behind and become a vampire. It's ludicrous.
I was willing to go along with this author for the first book as an interesting teen romance novel, but the fact that the author has taken these characters to this extreme is just irresponsible. Teenagers adore this trilogy, so now this is their model of true love and romance. The author makes several parallels to Romeo and Juliet during the course of the story, linking the teenage reader's thoughts of love with suicide. I teach Romeo and Juliet, and every time I do I concentrate on the hasty nature of the whole affair and the fact that real love couldn't end in such violence because loving someone means you would never wish for a violent ending to your partner's life. This romanticism of star crossed lovers fated to death is atrocious.(less)
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