http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/129612 en-US Wed, 28 May 2008 06:15:22 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 23112082 Wed, 28 May 2008 06:15:22 -0700
author: David Levithan
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 01/04
date added: 05/28/08
shelves: queer-characters, realistic-fiction
review:

]]> 23112036 Wed, 28 May 2008 06:14:30 -0700
author: David Levithan
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/28/08
shelves: love-stories, queer-characters, realistic-fiction, short-stories
review:
Four and a half stars. Not perfect, but pretty darn close. David Levithan writes awesome love stories that happen to involve queer teens. Hooray. No one else does that really. There are a handful that are about questioning or coming out, but even those stories are still full of confident beautiful teens who just live their lives.
]]> 23112006 Wed, 28 May 2008 06:13:37 -0700
author: Rachel Cohn
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/28/08
shelves: love-stories, queer-characters, realistic-fiction
review:
This book was amazing, as most David Levithan books are. It takes place all in one night and you really follow the range of emotions of the main characters. They are intense and romantic and sexual and passionate and independent and confident and uncertain. I liked the telling from two points of view and I liked the incorporation of so much music. I knew a lot of it, but now I want to go listen to the rest
]]> 23111966 Wed, 28 May 2008 06:12:48 -0700
author: Derek Landy
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 05/28/08
shelves: adventure, fantasy, humor
review:
I listened to the audio version of this book. It's amazing. The reader is now one of my top two favorite audiobook readers (the other being the reader of the Artemis Fowl books). I loved the music between chapters and the deadpan humor. I'm not sure if I would have liked this book had I read the print version, but I listen to it over and over again
]]> 21459723 Fri, 09 May 2008 10:36:35 -0700
author: Bennett Madison
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/09/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 19088980 Mon, 05 May 2008 12:33:41 -0700
author: Rita Golden Gelman
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 05/05/08
shelves: adventure, international, memoir
review:
This was an amazing book. It makes me want to travel the world with no plans, just getting invited into people's lives and offering what I have. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to leave the safety of our lives, even if they are unhappy ones, to test the unknown. I admire her gumption and will try to capture a bit of her spirit as I start a new phase of my life in Costa Rica.
]]> 19088501 Thu, 01 May 2008 06:57:16 -0700
author: Eric Weiner
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 05/01/08
shelves: international, memoir
review:

]]> 21166980 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:52:45 -0700
author: Kathryn Erskine
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 04/28/08
shelves: realistic-fiction
review:

]]> 20232546 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:26:14 -0700
author: Anne Moody
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 01/00
date added: 04/15/08
shelves: memoir
review:

]]> 19939869 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:07:11 -0700
author: شمس الدین محمد حافظ / Khwāja Šams ud-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.74
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 01/01
date added: 04/11/08
shelves: poetry
review:
This is the most amazing poetry I've ever read and I usually hate poetry. The poetry is about his relationship with god, the divine, but it's so translatable to a million other things. Short and sweet poems, really to the point. And really gets the ecstasy of joining with the divine.
]]> 19298063 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:50:32 -0700
author: Arthur Golden
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 01/03
date added: 04/02/08
shelves: historical-fiction, international
review:

]]> 18850179 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:50:11 -0700
author: Matthew Polly
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/02/08
shelves: humor, memoir
review:
This was a fun story. I like the author's self-effacing and simultaneous self-promoting style. But I was never able to fully suspend disbelief about how successful and loved and accepted he was being the only non-Chinese in a town full of 10,000 shaolin practitioners. It wasn't too gory and only glorified violence a little. I'm only giving it three stars for quality, but it completely hooked me all the way through.
]]> 19089923 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:04:55 -0700
author: Mary Roach
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 01/06
date added: 03/31/08
shelves: humor, nonfiction, science
review:
This book was gruesomely captivating. I especially loved(?) the bit about how medical students now practice their craft on separated body parts. Plastic surgeons get the head, orthopoedists get limbs, etc. Gorey and historical, I loved reading it outloud.
]]> 19086396 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:22:14 -0700
author: Stephenie Meyer
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 03/31/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 19086374 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:22:03 -0700
author: Avi
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 03/31/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 18841581 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:40:23 -0700
author: Maureen Johnson
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/28/08
shelves: queer-characters, realistic-fiction
review:

]]> 18665843 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:08:29 -0700
author: Julie Anne Peters
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/26/08
shelves: queer-characters, science-fiction
review:

]]> 18502718 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:29:49 -0700
author: Mabel Maney
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.03
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/24/08
shelves: humor, queer-characters
review:
This book had some laugh out loud moments, especially around some queer culture stuff. James Bond is unavailable to meet the queen (tied to a bed in an asylum) and the British Secret Service won't admit defeat. So they hire Jane (James's womanizing lesbian twin sister) to impersonate him. Bloopers ensue. There's lots of lesbian relationship drama. And who doesn't love GEORGIE, a secret spy agency of women whose purpose is to prevent the men from ruining the world? The author also wrote some spoofs of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, which I can't wait to read.
]]> 17938943 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:52:35 -0700
author: Kirsten Miller
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/19/08
shelves: adventure, mystery
review:

]]> 15494875 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:01:13 -0700
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 03/10/08
shelves: adventure, fantasy, urban-fantasy
review:
I love so many of Scott Westerfeld's books that I read this one too, even though it's a bit outside my genre. It was okay. Some of the main characters had some cool supernatural abilities: anti-gravity, fire, etc. There is enough of a hook that I'll probably read the rest of the series, but I would suggest his Uglies series or So Yesterday first.
]]> 8523403 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:26:47 -0800
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 09/07
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: realistic-fiction
review:
An interesting concept to see how a teen would reinvent herself and figure out who she is if she lost a few years of recent memory. I could feel her angst and conflicting feelings. Her friends were good to her. However, there was still something missing from this book. I just didn't really care about the main character. I liked Elsewhere (by the same author) so much better.
]]> 8073447 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:22:29 -0800
author: Charles de Lint
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: magical-realism
review:
I like this somewhat new (at least to me) genre of urban fantasy. I also like sassy fairies and little people and cultures hidden from human eyes. That said, I liked The Blue Girl by the same author much better.
]]> 11190658 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:41:33 -0800
author: Catherine Jinks
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: mystery
review:
I got extremely anxious and paranoid while reading this book. The poor protagonist was manipulated his whole life to become the puppet of an evil genius. He even goes to evil genius school, where suspicion is high and the graduation rate is low (due to unfortunate "accidents"). It's a long book and more dense than many targeted toward teens. Give it to older teens.
]]> 10219223 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:38:52 -0800
author: John Flanagan
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: adventure, fantasy, historical-fiction
review:
This book completely sucked me in when I thought I wouldn't like it. I read the first three books in a week.
]]> 11190705 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:38:25 -0800
author: Mary Hoffman
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: historical-fiction, mystery
review:
Kind of a trite mystery. The who-dunnit is less interesting than the characters and the setting. I liked her Stravaganza series better.
]]> 11190674 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:37:37 -0800
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: adventure
review:
Let's just say the end of this book is so shocking that I'm glad I read the one after it first. Alex takes on an international ring of people who just enjoy being bad guys. Really they're in it for the money, but they don't seem to mind that thousands of people die or lead horrible lives because of them. This book especially reminded me of the Bourne Identity. We learn a bit about Alex's father in this one too.
]]> 12769604 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:35:30 -0800
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: adventure
review:
Yet another Alex Rider book. Most of them are the same and require some suspension of disbelief around how he gets himself into these crazy situations. I always like the gadgets and the science around his missions and he usually meets some adults who treat him well. This one even brought in some social issues around illegal immigration and human trafficking. Not bad.
]]> 13841059 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:30:58 -0800
author: Christopher Grey
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/11/08
shelves: historical-fiction, international
review:
This book was nothing special, but nice historical fiction. I liked the relationship developed between Leonardo and his servant. The plot was not obvious to the reader from the beginning and threw in a few surprises.
]]> 12769639 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:09:45 -0800
author: Libba Bray
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/22/08
shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction
review:
Third in the series and very long, but the ending is so satisfying.
]]> 11190626 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:42:29 -0800
author: John Flanagan
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves: adventure
review:

]]> 10219219 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:21:29 -0800
author: John Flanagan
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves: adventure
review:

]]> 10806865 Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:36:42 -0800
author: Brian Keaney
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/21/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
This book surprised me. Much of the plot is unoriginal (people take a drug to make them follow orders and not question authority, boy has been lied to about his parentage, teen boy and girl question their place in society then run away and join the rebel forces) but the setting makes up for it. The protagonists live at an insane asylum on an island. Dreaming is forbidden. It's all very dark. The characters are well drawn. But I dislike books with no resolution at the end. We are made to wait for the next book like it's the next chapter.
]]> 8073459 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:20:56 -0800
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 09/07
date added: 12/11/07
shelves: memoir
review:
this book was amazing. maybe it was just what i needed at the time: a book that explored personal stories of travel and spiritual practice. she is skilled at interweaving experiences and memories and beliefs. who else could connect her indulgences in italy, her asceticism in india, and her independence in indonesia? it is a beautiful story with lots of lessons learned, yet not at all preachy or self-pitying.
]]> 8523428 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:11:04 -0800
author: Ellen Wittlinger
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 09/07
date added: 12/11/07
shelves: realistic-fiction
review:
i'm tired of coming out books. sure, it's necessary to explain to folks through fiction what the life of a tranny can be like, but i'd prefer to have tranny people living real lives with other struggles who are totally okay with being tranny. same goes for other kinds of queer. let's have some good love stories or coming of age stories or fantasy stories where the characters just happen to be queer or tranny. so, this book is a good intro for beginners or teens desperate to see themselves (f2m) in a book. Otherwise you have to go to adult fiction.
]]> 8390908 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:06:37 -0800
author: Sara Gruen
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 12/11/07
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
circus trains are so romantic. this story is one man's beautiful memory of working as a vet for a train circus. it's a brutal lifestyle, but fun from a distance. i imagine this book waters it down, but a few scenes are hard to read because of animal abuse. i rarely take time to read adult books, but i really liked this one.
]]> 9550048 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:03:20 -0800
author: Robin Brande
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 12/11/07
shelves: realistic-fiction
review:
i like that this book played the conservative christians and the supporters of evolutionary theory as neither good guy nor bad guy. it's the story of how one teen comes to decide what's right for herself and how she can take her family's conservative beliefs and reconcile them with her own. it isn't very complex, but fairly realistic.
]]> 8523235 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:59:56 -0800
author: Ally Carter
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 11/07
date added: 12/11/07
shelves: adventure, chiclit
review:
so predictable. a fun read for the gadgets and gizmos and the exciting lifestyle. good if you liked the first book. wouldn't recommend otherwise.
]]> 2856437 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:04:11 -0800 ]]>
author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 11/26/07
shelves:
review:
i knew by page 6 that i already really liked the book. i'm still not that far in. it isn't a fast-paced adventure book, though the plot is fairly engrossing. but it's an adult book so it goes more slowly. the writing is amazing. strengths include descriptions of barcelona's back alleys and a young teen boy's thoughts and feelings. it's the kind of description that makes you want to read it again because it was so beautiful, not skip over the long paragraphs because you don't care about the description.

]]> 2856657 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:03:40 -0800
author: Jennifer Traig
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 07/07
date added: 11/26/07
shelves: humor, memoir
review:
a hillarious insight into a teen's obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) relating to her judaism.
]]> 8523213 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:02:50 -0800
author: Scott Westerfeld
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/26/07
shelves: science-fiction
review:
This is the fourth book in a trilogy. Fans couldn't get enough. It takes place a few years after Tallie Youngblood has liberated the Pretties in Specials. Tallie only plays a minor role in the book. It's focused on Aya Fuse, who lives in Japan, where they decided to create an economy based on fame and merits. You get points for doing service for the community or by being well-known. In this futuristic society, fame is measured by how often people mention your name, which the city interface keeps track of. Aya is not famous, but would like to be. She's a kicker (basically a news blogger) who has just found an amazing story, if only she can stay undercover long enough to get it all on film. It could mean the end of the world.
]]> 9045867 Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:57:04 -0800
author: Cassandra Clare
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/26/07
shelves: adventure, fantasy, queer-characters, vampires
review:
About halfway through reading this book (and really liking it at that point), I learned that the author is well-known in the fan fiction world. As I read I definitely saw elements of other popular fantasy books, such as Harry Potter and Twilight. Other folks say there is a lot of Star Wars as well. It didn't really bother me. It was subtle enough to push aside. It's a good adventure with likable characters. There are even a few queer characters, which basically never happens in fantasy books for teens. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
]]> 8522910 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:23:51 -0800
author: Louis A. Meyer
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/13/07
shelves: adventure, historical-fiction, native-american-characters
review:
I found this book to be borderline offensive in its portrayals of both native americans and frontier folks. The plot device of having Jaimy almost catch up over and over again gets old really fast. Plus, all of Jaimy's writings lead me to believe that he doesn't actually like Jacky for who she is and will expect her to change, yet she puts up with that. I was very much hoping that it was all leading to an ending where Jacky and Jaimy realize they are no longer good for each other and part on amicable terms. Alas, it seems like a setup for another silly adventure. I think L.A. Meyer needs to stick to nautical plotlines and not delve into culture or race, where he is not expert. I thoroughly enjoyed the first four Bloody Jack books, but could barely finish this one.
]]> 8523144 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:41:25 -0800
author: Eoin Colfer
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/08/07
shelves: adventure, fantasy, graphic-novel
review:
This graphic novel adaptation of the first book in the Artemis Fowl series packs a whole lot of story into very few words, losing very little. The illustrations are beautiful and vibrant with characters well drawn. My only real issue is with the depiction of Butler as a huge overmuscled brute. I understand Butler to be, first of all, half asian, which he doesn't look in the graphic novel, and more of a well-toned big guy whose clothes fit immaculately and who stands up very straight and who can be unseen when he wants to be. Not a slouchy linebacker whose tie is loose. Overall, I liked it quite a bit, but I can be a little obsessive over these books in general.
]]> 8391023 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:09:02 -0700
author: Terry Tempest Williams
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 01/00
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: memoir, natural-world
review:

]]> 8391153 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:07:22 -0700
author: Starhawk
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 01/00
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: magical-realism, natural-world
review:

]]> 8391177 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:06:03 -0700
author: Philip Pullman
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 01/03
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8391248 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:05:15 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 01/02
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8391289 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:01:41 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 01/05
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8567166 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:56:05 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 01/02
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8567007 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:52:32 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 01/07
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8391295 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:52:06 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: PVPA
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 01/06
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 8391481 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:51:34 -0700
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: PVPA
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 01/97
date added: 11/02/07
shelves: native-american-characters, realistic-fiction
review:

]]> 8391471 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:47:54 -0700