false 47 10 10 true 6311992 read 0 true 1280842 currently-reading 0 true 1280841 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37903850 to: Wide Awake (Hardcover) by David Levithan
Set in the same fabulously (and I do mean FABULOUS) forward thinking world of Boy Meets Boy, Wide Awake lacks that novels charm and humor. The jokes (A Boy Named Sue, triplets called Glen, Gary, and Ross) are more like Dreamworks cartoon pop references (see: Madagascar) than jokes, and the plot is almost entirely a vehicle for political rhetoric through a utopian look at the 200 elections.
The year is 21-something, and Abe Stein, a gay, Jewish man with a husband and two kids, has just been elected President. Or.. has he? A recount, a roadtrip, and a crod of randy gay and religious teenagers move the plot forward, but the characters can't hold their own weight. What does it all MEAN and how can we believe are great questions I hope this book will inspire in teenagers, but while pleasant, this one couldn't keep me wide awake. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37902539 to: American Wife: A Novel (Hardcover) by Curtis Sittenfeld
Oh, Curtis Sittenfeld, you totally schooled me in te ways of fiction!
American Wife, if you've been living under a rock, is the third novel from the author of Prep, and based on the life of Laura Bush. This I knew before reading, as it was reviewed EVERYWHERE, and I thought it gross and immoral to profile the first lady through fiction.
But you jknow what? Don't believe everything you read, because while the one paragraph summary of this that you'll find in a review makes it sound like Curtis got all up in Laura's business, this really and truly is a work of fiction.
Yes, there are several major plotpoints in the book taken from the life of Laura. But Curtis Sittenfeld is an accomplished novelist, and plot points are just that. Character is Sittenfeld's specialty, and Alice and Charlie are richly drawn characters with detailed inner lives. That Sittenfeld made up. These are vibrant, wonderfully realized, three dimensional individuals, and not a hackneyed, shallow portrait of a celebrity.
That said, the book's main flaw that, at 576 pages, it's too short. After getting to know Alice through her teenage years, the cataclysmic car crash, meeting and marrying Charlie, and his DUI, we suddenly jump past his entire career to the final White House years. The twenty years we skip are crucial to understanding the last part of the book, but Sittenfeld seems to assume that we'll project our knowledge of the real Bushes onto the absent lives of the Blackwells. I couldn't- the knowledge I have of the Blackwells- intimate, sympathetic, novel knowledge- couldn't align with my public knowledge of the Bushes, and so there was a gaping hole in the book's center.
The book was so enjoyable, however, that this is a minor quibble. Maybe a sequel will fill in the gaps; meanwhile, read American Wife. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37432410 to: The Young Unicorns (Hardcover) by Madeleine L'Engle
The Austins have ended their roadtrip in the wilds of NYC, where intrigue awaits in L'Engle's employer, the Cathedral of St. Paul.
This book tries to explore the same issues of a Wrinkle in Time, but in a much less well thought out way. The story's interesting but ridiculous, and not in a high quality fantasy way. The Austins, except for angelic Rob, take a back seat to native New Yorkers Dave and Emily, but it's not really clear why. Are they going to appear later? Why involve the Austins at all?
One step forward in this book is, thanks to the scattered viewpoints, we see a bit more of Dr. and Mrs. Austin and they get to have flaws. Dangerously en route to becoming caricatures, this book briefly moved them forward, but they're the only ones for whom that's true. A fun read, but a huge departure from the first two books, and not for the better. If this was from anyone else, I'd say it's fine; from L'Engle, it's a mistake. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37431653 to: The Moon by Night (Austin Family, Book 2) by Madeleine L'Engle
This charming sequel to the adorable Meet the Austins is not quite as good, but still excellent. The Austins are on a roadtrip, camping across America, and are nervous but excited to leave their New England farmhouse for tents, camp stoves, and sleeeping bags. (I could relate.) Vicky is now attracting Boys Across America, from bad-boy Zackary to good-guy Andy, and finds herself delighted by both, much to her family's chagrin. (I think this was my favorite part of this book; though Zachary and Andy are clearly drawn Types, and her family can see this and tells Vicky ALL the time that Zachary Grey is NO GOOD, Vicky herself does not much care and the author seems to enjoy that. But not in a "she likes the bad boy and will be punished' way, or a 'he has a heart of gold' way. Just in a 'she's 14 and BOYS LIKE HER' way.)
As the Austins meander across the country, making friends and seeing new things, Vicky recognizes how her small world is being broadened. She's not sure if she likes it, but observes acutely, and it's pretty fun to ride along. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37425499 to: Meet the Austins (Austin Family, Book 1) by Madeleine L'Engle
I am currently on a library binge, the library in question, of course, being the one down the hall from my office. School library, you are the best.
I read A Ring of Endless Light in elementary school, decided the Austins were no Murrays, and tossed the whole series in the pile of treacle. But this book was great! It totally reminded me of The Children of Noisy Village- a series of charming little stories about an endearing, slightly silly family. There's no real overarching plot, it just chronicles a series of days over the course of the year for the four Austin children and their new boarder. Vicky, the narrator, is very Meg Murray- bright, a little obsessed with her adorable younger brother, and Coming of Age very gently. Everything's gentle in this New England farmhouse, but no less intriguing for it. A great book for reading just before bed, whether you've children to tuck in or not.
Was my first impression of this family wrong or is this book a one off? More to come.... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36276658 to: Dramarama (Hardcover) by E. Lockhart
This is a very unusual book.
I've read and watched a number of teens-int-musicals books and movies lately, "How I Paid for College," "High School Musical 3," "My Most Excellent Year,"- it seems to be becoming a Thing. Or maybe it always was one and I didn't notice.
This boolk should be like those. Silly, funny, love story- it's about theatre camp.
But the thing is, the author actually knows something about theatre camp. She went for three years. She recommends Stagedoor, NHSMI, and IAC in the credits- I went to two out of three. So I know she has cred.
Shetells it like it is, and how it is is completely acceptable when you're 16- it has to be. That's all there is. But as an adult, realism is incredibly sad and painful. This is a sad book.
The start is the happy pastiche you'd expect- our hero, Sarah, has been renamed and reborn by her new best friend, Demi, aw talented young black man named Demi also lost in backwoods Ohio. They meet cute at auditions for Wildwood Summer Camp and it's instant love, though of course he's gay.
All's well as they head off to camp in search of glory- but this is theatre, and glory can't belong to everyone, you must submit to the director's vision no matter what it is, and opinions from actors aren't welcomed. Headstrong, lively, opinionated Sarah can dance but not act or sing, and is suddenly surrounded by Theatre People. Can she survive? And what, exactly, does that mean at theatre camp?
Sad but compelling, this is the rare YA book you'll never see coming, because it's too real to predict. I read it all in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32305326 Jaime's review of House of Many Ways
by Diana Wynne Jones

yes'm! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31044853 Denise's review of Time Enough for Love
by Robert A. Heinlein

My fave of his is Job: A comedy of justice. But I did got to religious day school. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31044794 Denise's review of Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, #1)
by David Eddings

I LOVED this book as a kid! My big cousin (he was 25, I was 9) read them together. I reread a few years ago- they have not aged well, but my images of everything in my mind far outstrip anything the books might actually say. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31772725 Molly's review of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (California Series in Public Anthropology, 4)
by Paul Farmer

ah, doing a little light reading, eh? ]]>