false 6 134 132 true 5702803 read 2 true 4339001 currently-reading 0 true 4339000 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76313445 The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
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The Hunger Games reminded me a lot of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Set in a dystopian future it tells the story of a teenage girl chosen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death reality TV show that is mandatory viewing for all citizens. Like the Uglies series we have two disparate worlds: The Capitol where everyone is vapid and beautiful and lives empty lives and the districts where residents live a hardscrabble survivalist sort of life. Like the Uglies series there is a girl torn between two boys both of whom have their merits. Also like the Uglies series we have a character whose rebellious acts have placed her in grave danger. Oh, and there are hovercrafts.

On the other hand the last-man-standing premise of the Hunger Games is a device that's been used before in different science fiction stories, and reminded me a lot of The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King). In some ways, this device can backfire. We are told from the start that there can only be one winner of the Hunger Games, and so I was prepared for nearly all the characters to die. That said, Collins like the organizers of the Hunger Games plays a bit fast and loose with this rule, I won't reveal any more, but will say only, don't assume that you will know how this one ends.

The Hunger Games is only the first book in a planned series. Although it's a good book, I don't quite feel myself eager to proceed to the second, Catching Fire. Teenagers who gravitate towards dark science fiction and enjoy Westerfeld's books or books like House of the Scorpion, will eat up The Hunger Games. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77146313 The January Dancer (Hardcover) by Michael Flynn
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]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76957543 to: Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore (Hardcover) by Marci Stillerman
Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore is set in 1940s era Chicago, but the time period is never mentioned directly in the text. There are some clues as to the time period, but if I hadn't read the publisher's description, I don't think I would have known for sure when the book takes place. It doesn't help that a lot of the slang used sounds too modern to my ears. It makes it one of the more readable historical fictions out there, but I'm not sure if it is entirely accurate.

The novel follows the lives of three teenagers whose lives intersect following the murder of a young girl, the terrible event referenced in the title. Told in alternating first person and third person narration styles, Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore tells the story of these teenagers as each in their own way comes into adulthood. The murder is a part of each of their lives, but is only one of the stories here.

A lot happens in this novel. Perhaps too much. A lot of the YA fiction cliches are here. There's a teen pregnancy, questions of sexual orientation, juvenile delinquents, a mentally retarded younger brother and all three of the characters have one dead parent. I think all of these tired themes could have worked in this novel with the right mix of suspense and historic color, but both are lacking.

The book is far too simplistic for a novel aimed at teenagers who will easily pick up on the not very subtle hints dropped about the murderer of the young girl. The moment of revelation will not come as a shock for any reader who has doggedly stayed with the book until that point. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76751176 to: Lucky Girls: Stories (P.S.) by Nell Freudenberger
The majority of the stories in this collection center around young women in the twentyish to thirtyish range, and are set, at least in part in Asia. Freudenberger does an excellent job of capturing both the emotional lives of the often struggling protagonists as well as the rich and vibrant settings.

The title story is told from the perspective of the American mistress of a married Indian man left behind in the home they sometimes shared after his death. "The Orphan" is told from the perspective of an American woman desperately trying to keep her family together as they visit her daughter studying in Thailand. In "Outside the Eastern Gate" a grown woman tries to understand her tendency towards depression and her now departed mother's erratic ways as she returns to India to help her father as he struggles with Alzheimer's. "The Tutor" tells the story of a young Indian man back home after going to college in the states and one of his students, a young woman who longs to return to San Francisco, the city she was born in, but can barely remember.

"Letter from the Last Bastion" was a bit different than the other stories in the collection, and my least favorite. It was told in the form of a single letter written to a college that the teenage girl writing the letter does not plan on attending. It tells the story of a famous novelist and how his life and her own intersect. Set mainly in the United States (though the famous novelist did serve in the army during the Vietnam War) the story covers far too many years and meanders too much for my taste. That and the Lancaster, PA the story is set in bears little resemblance to that city in real life.

Overall, this is is a good collection of short stories of the literary fiction sort with a very female slant. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75892841 to: The Fasting Girl: A True Victorian Medical Mystery (Hardcover) by Michelle Stacey
Mollie Fancher developed a certain amount of notoriety in 19th century Brooklyn. Bed-ridden after a streetcar accident, she allegedly existed for years without food. Science and the public's understanding of science not being quite as advanced as they are today, there were many people who took Mollie's claims as fact.

Mollie's feats did not end with her nonexistent diet. She also claimed to be clairvoyant. When she lost the ability to see through her eyes, as most people do, she claimed to see through a higher power of vision. Though fits left her body twisted in seemingly very uncomfortable positions she was able to complete embroidery projects.

The Fasting Girl goes beyond Mollie's story (which is far too thin to sustain an entire book) to explore the culture of fasting girls (yes, such a thing existed, and I was surprised to find out just how widely spread it was.) Ms. Stacey goes on to show how this fasting trend was a precursor to modern-day eating disorders. Though there are key differences, one thing is the same, in both cases it is almost exclusively women who were and are affected.

The story is an interesting one, but there were here and there some parts that felt a little bit padded. I now feel more informed about the history of Brooklyn than I really needed to be to understand Mollie's story, but for the most part the facts presented are relevant to Mollie and make for a very readable history. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76313470 to: Outliers (Hardcover) by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers completely captivated me from the very beginning. I couldn't help but be fascinated by the ideas so eloquently presented in such an engaging style. The audio book is read by the author, and Gladwell's voice has the perfect tone for the narration of his book.

Outliers is a term used to describe those people who are at the top of their game, the leaders in their various fields. The common story is that people achieve great success through innate talent and hard work, but Gladwell shows that this story doesn't quite get it. Success has an awful lot to do with luck and circumstances. Example after example is cited to show how those who succeed are the ones who are lucky enough to have access to the right opportunities early in their careers.

The other idea explored is how much culture plays a part in who we are and why we act the way we do. Beginning with the examples of two plane crashes that can be traced back to cultural differences, Gladwell goes on to explore the curious ways in which culture becomes a part of who we are.

There are lessons here for how we could improve the public education system. As it stands now, equality does not exist in public education. Certain students have access to more of those important opportunities than other students. The pessimist in me doubts that any of these lessons will ever be applied to the public education system, but there are already some private institutions that are finding success by doing things a different way.

I highly recommend this book. The ideas are thought-provoking and the examples are presented in an engaging and accessible manner that makes this a pleasure to read. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75427454 to: Going Bovine (Hardcover) by Libba Bray
For those who have read Libba Bray's earlier books (the completely awesome Gemma Doyle trilogy) Going Bovine might seem like something out of left field. It's set in the present day, the narrator is a teenage boy and it is based loosely on the Don Quixote story. It's so completely different than the Gemma Doyle books that its hard to believe that this is the same author. It shows that she is a talented writer.

Going Bovine is set in a universe that bears a striking resemblance to our own, but is just slightly off. Cameron, the teenaged narrator of Going Bovine, is diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease and as his condition worsens confined to a hospital bed. It looks like he is pretty much awaiting death. Then he is visited by a punk rock angel who sends him on a quest to save the world. Cameron convinces his hospital roommate a teenaged dwarf named Gonzo to come along with him and the unlikely pair set off on wild road trip to save the world.

Filled with alternate realities, strange snow globes, and folks obsessed with reality television, Going Bovine provides a wild ride in a book that straddles a fuzzy middle-ground between science fiction and fantasy. The humor and quirky characters reminded me a lot of Vonnegut. Listening to this audiobook was a nice accompaniment to my own (thankfully) far less eventful road trip. Going Bovine is a good book, and while I will probably take some heat for saying this, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as her earlier books.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75892785 to: Bottomless Belly Button (Paperback) by Dash Shaw
Based upon the fact that so many people assume that graphic novels are books for kids, Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw contains numerous warnings on it that it is not a book for children. What it reminds me of is a book like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections done as a graphic novel.

The premise is that after 40 years of marriage Mom and Dad Loony decide that they are going to get a divorce. Their adult children return to their beach home, some bringing their offspring with them, for one last dysfunctional family gathering. The book follows Peter, Dennis and Claire as they come to grips with their parents divorce and with their own roles in the family and life.

Perhaps most interesting is the character of Peter who is pictured throughout as a frog, and who from his very first introduction in a family car ride is shown as not truly belonging to this family. Although perhaps Peter's story could have been told with words, the images make his alienation from the rest of his family much easier to grasp.

The universal theme of dysfunctional families makes the story of the Loonys one that can be appreciated by most readers, and while the book has the thickness of a city phone book, it is a quick read, a good choice for adults who like graphic novels and would prefer something written specifically for an older audience. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75427406 to: The Mount (Paperback) by Carol Emshwiller
The Mount is told in the first person by a few different narrators, but mostly by Charley, a young teenaged mount. While it might not be at first apparent just what a mount is (OK, the cover illustration does make it pretty clear) readers will soon realize that mounts are people.

In this science fiction story, an alien race known as Hoots have crash-landed on earth and enslaved the human beings to serve as their personal transportation. Because of their physiology Hoots have a hard time getting around, but seem perfectly suited for riding around on people.

Mounts seems very much like horses from the way they run around racetracks, to the terminology used like bits and stables, even to the way they are carefully bred. In the early part of the book, with the first person narration I was actually reminded a bit of Black Beauty. That said, there are some key differences between mounts and horses 1) while people can get around just fine without the aid of horses, Hoots must scoot around on wheeled stools when not on a mount and 2) mounts are actually people who are (for the most part, anyway) far more intelligent than horses.

The novel opens several years into the Hoot occupation, and tells Charley's story through an uprising and revolution that changes not only his own life, but the entire Hoot human situation. The limited scope of the narration is sort of like the shuttered view of a horse. We see things (mostly) from Charley's perspective and his limited understanding.

If you have an interest in thought-provoking science fiction of the alien invasion variety or like your science fiction to have a sociological bent, I highly recommend taking a look at The Mount. Though written for and published for an adult audience, The Mount would also work well as a young adult novel, based upon the age of the main narrator, and it provides ample fodder for discussion. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74841437 to: Dark Entries (Hellblazer) by Ian Rankin
I didn't know what to expect with Dark Entries a graphic novel written by Ian Rankin with art by Werther Dell'Edera. I was intrigued by the idea of a graphic novel penned by a bestselling novelist as well as by the logo on the front of the book which described it as a graphic mystery.

I didn't realize until I started reading that the protagonist, a paranormal investigator by the name of John Constantine, is not an original Rankin creation, but a recurring comic book character with a back story. Although, you don't need to read earlier works to understand this story, if you haven't you will get that feeling one gets when reading a second book in a series without having read the first.

The books starts out great. It seemed like it was going to be a classic locked room mystery, with a bunch of individuals locked in a haunted house as part of new reality TV show. John Constantine gets brought in by the show's producers when there seems to be evidence of real paranormal activity. It sounds like a great premise, doesn't it?

Without throwing any spoilers out there, let me say that about halfway through the book, everything went decidedly south. The mystery element disappeared, and it turned into an absurdly goofy story. What had at first seemed like it might be a well-plotted tale became a schlocky horror type of story that just felt very lame to me.

The artwork has a very retro comic book feel to it, which is appropriate since this book really feels more like a classic comic book, and lacks the substance of a true graphic novel. ]]>