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November 07
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Emily
gave
to:
Just Listen (Hardcover)
by Sarah Dessen
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: YA girls
read in November, 2007
Emily said:
"This is a spectacular book that deals with TONS of issues important to women!!
I would highly recommend reading it if you are a girl, know a girl, might someday BE a girl!!
:)
Sarah Dessen is a great author and this is just one more example of her...more
This is a spectacular book that deals with TONS of issues important to women!!
I would highly recommend reading it if you are a girl, know a girl, might someday BE a girl!!
:)
Sarah Dessen is a great author and this is just one more example of her great mind!...less
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New comment on Abby's review of
Wicked Lovely
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Emily
gave
to:
Tantalize (Hardcover)
by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: YA and fans of vamp fiction
read in November, 2007
Emily said:
"Vampire/Werewolf fiction is always a hot seller. CLS has done some research using B. Stoker's Dracula and has made a main character (Quincie Morris) based on some information found within. Our Quincie is from Austin and she is struggling with running...more
Vampire/Werewolf fiction is always a hot seller. CLS has done some research using B. Stoker's Dracula and has made a main character (Quincie Morris) based on some information found within. Our Quincie is from Austin and she is struggling with running a family restaurant. They've decided to close down, re-model, and open a vampire diner. Recently I heard one book reviewer say "You know how you always see those 'KeepAustinWeird' shirts? Well...this certainly fits".
There are some recognizable figures and landmarks (such as Leslie, the homeless tranny that you can sometimes see walking the streets in a thong), and CLS does a decent job of creating a plot that moves quickly enough.
The problem: she has introduced you to an alternate world without adequately setting up the boundaries of the world. For example, humans are supposed to know about were-animals and they are supposed to co-exist. People know about vampires. however, the rules on the interactions are very hazy and seem to switch.
I would have liked some clearer definitions.
I am sure that this will go over well with those looking to fill a void while more vampire fiction is introduced, but to be honest, it wasn't my favorite.
It was right up there with Blue Bloods. Really? Did i just read this whole book to get zero resolution and be suckered into a sequel? I'm not having it......less
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October 31
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Emily
gave
to:
Blood Brothers (Hardcover)
by S. A. Harazin
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: YA and reluctant readers
read in October, 2007
Emily said:
"Clay and Joey have been friends ever since Clay’s family showed up on Joey’s family’s doorstep during Thanksgiving without a dime and starving almost ten years earlier.
Now the boys have graduated from high school. Joey is valedictorian and i...more
Clay and Joey have been friends ever since Clay’s family showed up on Joey’s family’s doorstep during Thanksgiving without a dime and starving almost ten years earlier.
Now the boys have graduated from high school. Joey is valedictorian and is attending Duke pre-med. Clay would love to do the same, but his family is still struggling financially. Although Clay’s dad has a job, he still relies a bit on Joey’s family. The two are like brothers. In fact, they made a pact that insured they were Blood Brothers (hence the name).
After a particularly heinous day at the hospital where he works, Clay stops by Joey’s to try and mend their relationship (they had been fighting over a girl). When he gets to Joey’s shed (a place where the boys hang out together), he finds Joey behaving frantically. Joey is also naked. When he blatantly pees on the floor, Clay realizes that something is definitely wrong. He fears for the worst and calls 911. The emergency call records the events that transpire. Joey attacks Clay with a garden hoe. Joey pushes Clay away out of protection and Joey ends up falling to the ground and hitting his head.
Throughout the course of events that transpire, Joey gets a brain bleed and goes into a coma. Clay feels primarily responsible and Joey’s parents support that guilt by turning away from him. The chief of police befriends Clay and reveals that Joey’s toxicology report revealed he had traces of PCP in his system and that the brain injury is a direct result from actions earlier in the day, not Clay’s self-defense moves.
It is a page turner that is riveting enough to keep even reluctant readers interested. You are wondering if Clay will get to the bottom of the mystery that keeps unraveling at every page turn.
Although there is drug use, alcohol use, and mild mention of sex (resulting in STDs), it is not inappropriate and I think it paints a terrifying picture of the “what if” scenario that students should see before experimenting with drugs. Joey’s death brings everyone back together in an ending that might be too pat, but at least leaves readers with satisfaction and closing the final chapter in this book.
...less
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October 30
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Emily
gave
to:
Deadline (Hardcover)
by Chris Crutcher
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: YA
read in November, 2007
Emily said:
"Chris Crutcher did an AMAZING JOB writing Deadline.
I will say upfront that you NEED a box of kleenex and some private time when you read this because you will cry. It is that good.
In the very first chapter, our main character finds out that he ...more
Chris Crutcher did an AMAZING JOB writing Deadline.
I will say upfront that you NEED a box of kleenex and some private time when you read this because you will cry. It is that good.
In the very first chapter, our main character finds out that he has a terminal illness and instead of opting to do treatments that probably won't work, he chooses to live his senior year to the fullest. That is what he does and the result is fantastic.
This is a truly amazing and touching book that is well worth the read.
...less
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Emily
gave
to:
The Decoding of Lana Morris (Hardcover)
by Laura McNeal, Tom McNeal
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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recommended for: YA
read in August, 2007
Emily said:
"Tom and Laura McNeal are the writing team who have also produced “Crooked”, “Crushed”, and “Zipped”, so they have experience in the teen drama field.
Their latest novel, “The Decoding of Lana Morris” is hard to read. The truths withi...more
Tom and Laura McNeal are the writing team who have also produced “Crooked”, “Crushed”, and “Zipped”, so they have experience in the teen drama field.
Their latest novel, “The Decoding of Lana Morris” is hard to read. The truths within are definite and our heroine has non-stop struggles, but it produces a bittersweet outcome that makes the “suffering” worthwhile for the reader.
Lana Morris is a ward of the state. She has been shuffled around and has finally landed in a household of special needs kids. Her wicked foster mother (Veronica), whom she labels “The Ice Queen” is a horrible taskmaster. Lana’s only “friends” are found next door with the normal neighbor kids- Chester. And even those friends don’t treat her right. In the very beginning of the novel, she asks to go for a ride in the car with them. They make her get in the trunk so that they won’t be seen with her. It is a degrading request, but one that the authors make obvious – is something that has happened before.
While in one of the towns along the drive, Lana is let out of the trunk. She doesn’t have enough money to go to the diner with the other kids. Instead, she wanders in to Miss Heckity’s antique shop. She and Miss Heckity talk and Miss Heckity encourages her to look around and find the thing that stands out.
Lana finds a Ladies Drawing Kit that she can afford and purchases it with the last item she has left that belonged to her father: a $2 bill.
After she returns home and has an awful encounter with Veronica, which includes Veronica accusing Lana of having designs on her husband AND Veronica producing little red pills that she says she found in Lana’s room, Lana takes out the drawing pad.
She discovers that everything she draws on the ladies drawing kit paper becomes a reality.
Veronica has a very bad accident that night and Lana is left caring for the Special Needs Kids (Snicks). She takes on the role of an adult seamlessly, but the reader feels Lana being smothered. Then the state comes in to review Veronica’s ability to care for the household.
After an accidental wish, a few selfless acts, and a Special Needs Kid using up the remaining wishes on doodles, Lana is left with just one paper.
The reader is left wondering what will come next. Will Lana be able to hold her new family together with her remaining wish?
This is a powerful book about hope and overcoming personal tragedy to succeed in life. ...less
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Emily
gave
to:
Song Of The Sparrow (Hardcover)
by Lisa Ann Sandell (Goodreads author!)
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: YA readers, those interested in Arthur and the Knights
read in August, 2007
Emily said:
"This prose-style novel ends with the disclaimer that the author has completely used artistic license based on semi-fact. I love that the author spun a fanciful and romantic tale and ended it with responsible tone and further research notes.
Sandell...more
This prose-style novel ends with the disclaimer that the author has completely used artistic license based on semi-fact. I love that the author spun a fanciful and romantic tale and ended it with responsible tone and further research notes.
Sandell, before beginning her tale, includes the poem by Tennyson entitled “The Lady of Shalott”. This poem sets the tone for the main character who Sandell speculates, is actually the true Lady.
She then spins her tale of Arthur and the Round Table. Of Gwynivere, Lancelot, Tristan (of Tristan and Isolde fame), Merlin, and Elaine (The Lady of Shalott). In it she includes intrigues of all types. Her prose style excellently frames up words that call for pause and digestion. It is masterful.
The story’s main character is Elaine. Elaine lost her mother early on in the ongoing war over Briton. Since she was a little girl she has followed her father and brothers around from encampment to encampment, living among the men, serving as a healer, mender, etc… Elaine interacts with each of the afore mentioned characters and
Elaine is getting older. Lancelot notices Elaine and she quite easily falls for him, or at least acquires a crush. Lancelot leads her on a bit, gives her hope, but then has to ride out on a mission for Arthur, the new king.
The mission is to bring back Arthur’s new betrothed queen, Gwynivere, and along the way, as legend goes, Lancelot falls irrevocably in love with Gwynivere.
Once back at camp, Elaine feels betrayed at Lancelot’s change of heart. To top it off Gwynivere has a far superior attitude and while Elaine and Gwyn should have shared a sister bond at this camp filled with all men, they now have a rivalry.
When Elaine slips off to follow Arthur’s camp to war, Gwyn follows. And when Elaine falls into enemy clutches, it is up to Gwyn to save her. The two girls must hatch an elaborate plan to save the men that they love and, in turn, form an irrevocable bond.
With several sub-plots present and the whimsical language of chivalry, this novel is a great romantic read that will entertain students who like Arthurian lore. ...less
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