false 91 825 189 true 5677112 read 6 true 1195214 currently-reading 630 true 1195213 to-read 12 false 3148837 authors-i-have-met 10 false 3148890 autographed-books 7 false 3396599 classics 7 false 3472940 ya-fiction 6 false 1211176 personal-favorites 6 false 3396602 books-i-own 4 false 3221387 social-justice 4 false 3571677 dailylit 3 false 3571191 fantasy 2 false 3472806 crafting 1 false 3311372 medical-thrillers 0 false 4601309 holocaust-fiction http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58454159 Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free (Hardcover) by Charles P. Pierce
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58371766 to: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Hardcover) by Sherman Alexie
bookshelves: social-justice, ya-fiction
I had a hard time getting into the book due to the writing style and the amount of "gross" humor. But once I got far enough in to care about the characters, I found it a much more compelling read. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35126488 to: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Library Binding) by Rachel Cohn
bookshelves: ya-fiction
I enjoyed the book, but couldn't really relate to it for the most part. The teens in the story weren't like the teens I grew up with, nor the teens I know and interact with now. They had a lot more unsupervised freedom than seemed reasonable, and they didn't seem too accountable for their actions. But this might just be me imposing my midwest values on a book set in NYC. It had been on my to-read list for a long time, but I finally got around to it so that I could watch the movie (on DVD). As much as I considered the book to be enjoyable but mediocre, I considered the movie to be absolute schlock, and couldn't even force myself to watch all of it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58359830 to: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Hardcover) by Rachel Cohn
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53667589 to: What I Saw And How I Lied (Hardcover) by Judy Blundell
This "coming-of-age story involving blackmail, adultery, and possible homicide," set in the 1940s, is written by an author who has written "many New York Times bestsellers under another pseudonym." I couldn't find out much more information on her alternative identities, but according to a few articles, she's written more than 100 books, under various names, none of them particularly famous.

Personally, I had a hard time getting into this book. The plot intrigued me enough to keep me reading, but I feel that in some ways it failed to deliver what the set-up promised. While the second half of the book was superior to the beginning, it still didn't entirely make up for the endless string of pop culture references the book began with. Yeah, it's set in the 1940s. We get that. I mentioned my annoyance at this to a YA lit professor, and she pointed out that what was bothering me was that these details weren't enough in the background. I think she's right. Here's an example from page 4: "Margie and I believe in magazines and movies more than churches. We knew that if we practiced hard enough, one day we'd smoke a real cigarette with Revlon matching lips and fingertips while Frank Sinatra sang 'All or Nothing at All' right at us."

As the plot developed further, some of the pop culture references did - finally! - fade into the background. And the book did touch on some really important issues that not enough people, especially young people, are aware of, such as the gold train looting, and the "restricted" resorts that discriminated against Jewish people here in the US even after the war was over. A lot of current books and movies about the Holocaust seem to imply that here in America, Jews were not thought of or treated as they were in Europe. (Similarly, I myself never learned of the shameful Internment of Japanese-Americans until I was in college - funny how that never came up in all of the American history courses I took in public school!)

Toward the end of the book, there were times when it seemed to have an undertone reminiscent of The Talented Mr. Ripley, shedding the cliche stiltedness it began with. Finally, as this is a coming-of-age story, one line from near the end of the book (page 267) did strike me: "Being an adult - was this it? Doing the thing you most in your life didn't want to do, and doing it with a shrug?" ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53083148 to: Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (Paperback) by Carolyn Turgeon
bookshelves: fantasy
On one level, this is a romance novel about a shy and nerdy bookstore owner and a wild and creative hairdresser who have both experienced losses and are afraid to try again until an elderly woman who works at the bookstore plays matchmaker in an attempt to reconcile a tragedy from her past. On another level, it is a fairy tale retold with a reluctant prince, a modern Cinderella, and a fairy godmother in search of redemption. Is Lil a senile (and perhaps mentally ill) old woman, scarred by a horrible crime that happened during her youth? Or is she really a fallen fairy, banished to the human world for breaking the rules? The enigmatic ending may leave you wondering... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53080532 to: Audrey, Wait! (Hardcover) by Robin Benway
bookshelves: ya-fiction
This book won't exactly change my life, but it was fun in a Lindsay-Lohan-before-the-boob-job teen movie sort of way. The plot is directly out of the imagination of every girl who's ever dated a wannabe rocker: a girl breaks up with her garage band boyfriend, who channels his pain into a song that's better than anything he's ever written before, launching both of them into instant celebrity status. The author does a good job of showing how easily things can spiral out of hand, and how ridiculous the cult of personality can be. And she pays homage to some pretty awesome "retro" bands (that weren't retro when I grew up listening to them the first time around)! However, the dialog is often stilted and, well, sounds like an adult trying to sound like a popular teen. She also tries a little too hard with the humor and the metaphors - although she does actual hit the target a few times:

"If there was one thing that Sharon knew how to do, though, it was hitch a ride on the Popularity Train and then take over as conductor." -pg. 66

"... his gaze was the kind that makes you understand how elliptical orbits occur, how one thing can pull you in so tight that you can't break away. My breath got shallow." - pg. 157

"Major tactical error. Never let on to your parents that you know more about drugs than they do. It will only end badly, possibly with you being forced into a private Catholic school and a plaid uniform, which is only attractive when worn ironically." - pg. 181 ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53079922 to: What Happened to Cass McBride? (Paperback) by Gail Giles
bookshelves: ya-fiction
I didn't enjoy the actual writing style as much as I did for other books by the same author. But the premise and execution were well done. However, the scenes with the police officers' POV seem inessential to the story, do not really advance the plot in a way that the main characters' POVs could not with slight changes, and actually detracted from the story, for me.

In some ways, the basic set-up reminded me of Terry Trueman's books a little more than of Giles' usual style. There was also another book, in which a boy takes a girl hostage and they get to know one another, that this reminded me of. Unfortunately, I can recall neither title nor author. It was a paperback that I read a few years ago.

This book is a quick read, and it does do a good job of exploring the dynamics between bully and victim - and the ways in which they are often more similar than different. Despite the intensity of the book, the characters seem two-dimensional. Perhaps this is because they are largely stereotypes (and that is the point, so it is not necessarily a flaw).

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49846526 Nineteen Minutes (Hardcover) by Jodi Picoult
bookshelves: authors-i-have-met, currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49845935 to: Hades' Daughter (The Troy Game, #1) by Sara Douglass
I tried to like this book, but ultimately, I just didn't think it was very good. It had a lot of the elements that I look for in an entertaining "get lost in the saga" kind of read. But it fell short of my expectations.

I will admit to only reading the first about 200 pages, the "London" pages at the beginning of each section, and the last 100 or so pages. But my friend Meegan, who read the book in its entirety, assures me that I didn't miss anything. Honestly, I would not have even read as much as I did if it hadn't been the March selection for my friend Michael's Words Beyond Worlds book discussion group. The group was unanimous in not liking this book; even Michael, the facilitator, was not a fan. ]]>