February Pick it for Me Challenge--PAIRS POSTED

[Jo]

She's sixteen. She came out to me when she was ten or eleven. Her father and most of his family (except for a couple of cousins she trusts) don't know, though, and they're very, very prejudiced. Most of them don't visit my blog or anything, but there's always a chance, so that's the main reason I'm a little leery about leaving her name on the blog post.

It's just one line in her review of Rainbow Boys: "As a girl who likes both boys and girls..." I said, "You realize you're coming out as bi in this post. Is that okay with you?" She said, "Yeah, who cares if people know?"

[Kaje]

It's wonderful that you've given her the security and confidence to be able to say that. People you are worried about might not read it, or might not catch the reference. I guess you have to sit down with her though and do a worst-case scenario - "What if your father saw this and figured it out and got really upset? What if kids in your school read it? What if you get nasty messages from a stranger? ..." And if she thinks she could handle the consequences... well, at 16 you have to let them take wing a bit, however hard it is. Only you can decide if this is one of those times.

[Jo]

Yeah... this is one of those times when the fact that apparently no one ever actually reads my blog might be a good thing.

[Kaje]

Jo wrote: "Yeah... this is one of those times when the fact that apparently no one ever actually reads my blog might be a good thing."

Might not want to say that to me as I'm writing my post for your blog LOL. Well, I wish you and her luck with it, whichever way she chooses to go.

[Jo]

Sorry... I'm just having one of those "No one reads my stuff, why am I bothering" days. LOL. I'm sure people do read my blog, especially when I have guests; that's when I get the most comments, is on the guest posts.

[Kaje]

Jo wrote: "Sorry... I'm just having one of those "No one reads my stuff, why am I bothering" days. LOL. I'm sure people do read my blog, especially when I have guests; that's when I get the most comments, is ..."

I was teasing you - probably not the right day for that. Your book challenge book is next up for me so someone is reading your stuff :)

[Jo]

Nah, no problem. I knew you were teasing, that's why I said "LOL" :)

By the way, it occurred to me that the challenge books are supposed to be LGBT somewhere along the line... there is a character in The Black Bridge who's gay, but he hasn't come out yet in that book so the narrator isn't aware of it. (I'll give you bonus points if you guess who it is. LOL)

[Kaje]

Jo wrote: "Nah, no problem. I knew you were teasing, that's why I said "LOL" :)

By the way, it occurred to me that the challenge books are supposed to be LGBT somewhere along the line... there is a characte..."

Ahah, a challenge. I'll be looking...

[Jo]

As an extra hint: It's one of the character's who'll appear in future books... (Can't say any more than that without spoilers.)

[Randy]

So, I was asked to pick a different book for Cheryl so, here it is. Life Skills
Great book and clean to.

Randy

[Kaje]

Randy wrote: "So, I was asked to pick a different book for Cheryl so, here it is. Life Skills
Great book and clean to.

Randy"

Good choice :) Hi Randy!

[Sammy Goode]

Randy wrote: "So, I was asked to pick a different book for Cheryl so, here it is. Life Skills
Great book and clean to.

Randy"

THanks Randy--that is great!

[Jo]

Thanks, Randy :)

[Randy]

I'm glad I made a correct choice this time.
Jo: your book is very deserving and I should have thought of it the first time, my apologies.

Randy

[Randy]

My challange from Ralph was: What They Always Tell Us

Here is my review:

WHAT THEY ALWAYS TELL US
BY: Martin Wilson
I found this to be an acceptable book, well written and developed but a bit dry and well, boring. The characters were okay and the plot seemed like it might go somewhere but it never really did, at least to me. Being a YA novel there was very little physical contact between the main character, Alex and his never really determined to be boyfriend Nathen. The older brother, James seemed to drift between not much liking his brother and wanting to be there for him while still keeping him at a safe distance.
The switching back and forth between the brothers viewpoints was distracting and pulled me out of the story just as I was getting interested in what was going on each time I had reconnected with one of them.
For a first novel it was a great effort. I look forward to future book from this author.

Randy

[K]

This book Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture was chosen for me by Elci for the YA GLBT Group’s February “pick it for me” challenge – thanks Elci!!

Ok, caveat… I don’t usually do book reviews, mainly because I am never sure that my take on things will be of any use to anybody else but, here goes….

This is the story of 15 year old Collin, who moves with his family from Santa Monica to Burford, Iowa. This is apparently a terrible thing… now I am a Brit who has never been to the US and whilst I know general stuff about the Country I knew nothing about Burford and next to nothing about Iowa, not to mention why moving there might be so terrible…. cue me going off to scour the internet to try find some more info so I can make some comparisons… the best I could come up with was someone being forced to move from somewhere like the glamorous parts of Manchester to, say, Grimsby… and no I’ve nothing against Grimsby

Collin, who is gay and at the start not out to anyone but his brother, narrates his story. He admits to being flamboyant and occasionally flaming, with a love of “couture” and all things shiny, particularly belt buckles…. His dim view of his new town is brightened from the outset by the discovery of a small boutique clothing store, which he eventually locates with the help of new friend Keith and his sister Becca.

The story follows Collin as he settles into his new life and school, where he is subject to bullying, he befriends Alex, the school’s resident “psycho” (who turns out to have secrets of his own), starts a drama club and reforms the entire school’s wardrobe whilst obtaining a job working at the clothing shop. Despite the misunderstanding regarding Becca, the drama of Collin’s first relationship, his coming out and the results of the same I felt that the was somewhat predicable and for me the whole thing was a little too shiny and Glee-esque (ok, that was possibly the whole drama club thing – including the ability to find funding for and put on Moulin Rouge in a matter of weeks).

As much as I liked Collin’s character I found I had more interest in and sympathy with Alex, particularly his back story, I loved that Collin’s parents were so supportive (particularly his mother providing the book on gay relationships) but found that some of the minor characters, particularly the teaching staff were a little one dimensional. The character that shone though for me was Keith, who appears to be on the Autistic Spectrum and has OCD, his calm acceptance and tolerance not to mention his definition of friendship were spot on.

Overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to others as a light, quick and easy read that isn’t going to challenge any sensibilities.

I've rated it as 4* though it's probably closer to 3.5* (but hey, I round up)

[Kaje]

K wrote: "This book Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture was chosen for me by Elci for the YA GLBT Group’s February “pick it for me” challenge – thanks Elci!!

Ok, caveat… I don’t usually ..."

Great review - I had a similar reaction to this book, would have given it a 4; a nice story and some fun parts. I liked the MC, but some of the other characters were more interesting (especially Alex) and now and then I felt like it needed a little more grit.

[Kaje]

Randy wrote: "My challange from Ralph was: What They Always Tell Us

Here is my review:

WHAT THEY ALWAYS TELL US
BY: Martin Wilson
I found this to be an acceptable book, well written and deve..."

Wow, you were quick off the mark. Interesting review - I like stories with brothers but this sounds a little slow. Put it in my maybe category.

[Cheryl]

Life Skills by Jo Ramsey 2/14/12 4 stars My Review

[Jo]

Thanks, Cheryl :)

[Kaje]

Sorry I'm being slow with yours Jo - the first time I opened it my Nook crashed (although I bought it from B&N directly so it should be fine- it was probably low power or something.) Sill, I want to back up all my random-source epubs properly before I try it again. I am looking forward to it.

[Jo]

Thanks for letting me know, Kaje :) Can't wait to see what you think of it!

[Sammy Goode]

K I am reading--just crazy busy right now--but enjoying it --thank you for the pick!!

[Kaje]

So I finally got to Jo's book pick - I had technical Nook difficulties, and one time lost all my files off it and had to reload (Aargh.) But it's fixed now so...

The Black Bridge by Jo Ramsey

Topher is a seventeen-year-old boy who has dropped out of school and works at an arcade to help with household expenses, since he can't depend on his neglectful and alcoholic mom. He has a group of close friends and a new girlfriend, Linnette. He also has abilities.

Topher can see auras around people and sense some of their thoughts, and occasionally he knows something that there is no real-world explanation for. He mostly hides these abilities and tries to be normal, until he finds out that Linnette has some of the same talents. Only she calls them power, and she likes to use it, and is hungry for more. The Black Bridge over the river, a place of unsettling darkness, draws Linnette instead of repelling her. And when Topher breaks up with her over their differences, she hooks up with his friend Luke to boost her search for power. Topher, their friends, and Luke's sister Callie, can't break the hold that Linnette has on Luke's mind. And that hold is going to pull Luke at Linnette's beck and call back toward the Black Bridge and the waiting darkness.

This is a very good young adult paranormal book, with appealing characters and a plot that doesn't pull punches. There is no obvious LGBT content, but Jo says one of the characters will turn out to be bi - and I'm guessing Gage.

It was a fun read and I'm glad I finally got up the nerve to open it on my Nook again.

[Jo]

I'm not going to answer your guess here, but I'll PM you :) Thanks for reading it. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Ali]

Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam Cameron 1/5

I'll be blunt, this book was painful to read. I couldn't stand most of the characters, Chris was too annoying, Steven was despicable and the rest of the cast were forgettable.

The plot-line was predictable, too simplistic and sometimes unrealistic. The writing was okay but at times it was jumpy. I'm just happy, I got through it.

[Kaje]

Ahlaam wrote: "Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam Cameron 1/5

I'll be blunt, this book was painful to read. I couldn't stand most of the characters, Chris was ..."

Ouch - well congrats for sticking with it, and posting the review. Interesting how opinions vary (I don't think I've found a book on GR that doesn't have pretty much the whole spectrum of ratings from 1 to 5.)

[Jennifer]

Ahlaam wrote: "Mystery of the Tempest: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam Cameron 1/5

I'll be blunt, this book was painful to read. I couldn't stand most of the characters, Chris was ..."

Ow. I guess we have very different tastes. Glad you didn't just give up though.

[Brett]

Kaje wrote: "Brett do you have a Nook? Because I want to give you The Door Into Fire by Diane Duane but I found it as a Nook book but not as a Kindle. It's also in PB/HC but out of..."

Sorry Kaje, but I wasn't able to finish this one. Fantasy isn't my thing--I really like urban fantasy, but I just can't seem to get into the kind full of kingdoms, weird names, and a general lack of anything modern. I felt like I was getting lost in the words, rather than enjoying myself getting lost in the worlds.

The plot, or what I read of it, looked as if it was going to be some big adventure to rescue a guy, which might be interesting for fantasy enthusiasts, but, for me, I wasn't getting it. It was becoming painful to read, so I put it aside and started reading about a girl and her zombie--or as they like to be called, 'living impaired'--high school. Much more to my tastes.

I do like YA contemps though, so if you have any recs for those, I'd be happy to check them out.

[Kaje]

Ah well, it was high fantasy which is a very different thing from urban. If I'd read your story before choosing I'd have gone a different route. Next time round you need something more modern from whomever you get paired with. No problem.

I love the idea of a "living impaired" high school, although zombie fic is definitely not my thing. IDIC makes the world go round.

[Sam]

Is this still open?

[Sammy Goode]

Sam wrote: "Is this still open?"

I would love to do this again Sam--this was last year--let me post for March and see if we have takers.

[Kaje]

Sammy2006 wrote: "Sam wrote: "Is this still open?"

I would love to do this again Sam--this was last year--let me post for March and see if we have takers."

It could be a fun thing for the winter reading doldrums.

[Sam]

Haha awkward... I was confused about why it said the deadline was January 31st but it sounded like it was done... But hey, this sounds fun, if other people want to we should do this again!