Sporadicity

Hi all. We're in the middle of moving, so please pardon the lack of updates these days. I don't get as much time on the computer as before, so there will probably be a long time before there's another review from me. Plus there is the dilemma that all my books are packed up in a little box somewhere. So...yeah.

In the meantime, check out this article on teen lit's bigger picture.

Al's Book Club!

This morning I was watching the Today Show (on NBC) and they have a segment called Al's Book Club. It's a book club where some kids discuss books with the host, Al Roker. Except...they actually get the author to come to the show. So today's book was Savvy, by Ingrid Law. Yep, that book that I blogged about earlier. So if you want to watch the video, click here. Enjoy!

The Sorceress

Now here's a book that has so much stuff in it that it kind of feels like it's made up on the spot. There is lots of adventure, magic, and crazy (sometimes literally) characters. And as a bonus, the descriptions inside have me picturing the settings with great detail. With every chapter, new plot strands start and old ones are tied up. Also, the book follows the points of view of several characters, so there's more room for plot twists, cliffhangers, and other writing tricks. Which there are plenty of. In this series, the third book picked up right after The Magician. Like RIGHT after. The Sorceress is a very good book to pick up for legend fanatics, although you most definitely need to read the first two books before you even think about this one!

Imagine that there are two very powerful immortal men trying to capture you and bring you to your death, your new best friends just got swallowed up in the age of the dinosaurs, and there is a huge and dastardly evil monster, Cernunnos, hunting you down. Then imagine that the person you trusted to find your destiny told you that he killed countless pairs of twins like you and your sibling, doing just that. That is what Sophie and Josh Newman, possibly the all-powerful Twins of Legend, have to deal with at the moment. So now they hardly know what to do in their new world of magic and myth, especially when the intrepid (of a sort) Nicholas Flamel recruits more of his famous, immortal, and just plain insane friends to teach Josh and Sophie Water Magic.
Not to mention separate them even further away from the family and life they knew just days ago.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Official series site
• Fan site
• SotINF Wiki

The Queen of Second Place

Let's all give a hand to special talents. It's nice to have one, even if it isn't really helpful. And these talents are the focus of this book. Basically the great part is that the author, Laura Peyton Roberts, mentions all these seemingly random facts about the characters, but at the end, you get to see it all combine together to make a great finish. Apart from that, this book was so predictable that you didn't know which path the author would take. The cliché one, or the so-unexpected-it's-expected-beyond-belief one? Overall, The Queen of Second Place was your average chick lit book, but maybe it goes a teeny bit above the mark.

Cassie has been many things in her life, including bad hair day victim, prime teasing target, and illegal chauffeur for her little brother. But the thing that's been consistent in her life is second place. It's a gift. She places second in EVERYTHING. Cassie's not alone, though. All her friends seem to have talents too, though theirs are much more helpful (or at least less negative). So Cassie's already figured that she'll just be the "girl+friend" instead of the girlfriend when there's a new guy at school. But just because she knows that Sterling "Fourteen-Karat" Carter will get one more boy to add to her "Possible Dates to the Winter Formal" list doesn't stop Cassie from trying.
A mistake, it turns out.

Related links:
• Author's website

Undine

My first comment about this book is that I think they picked an awesome and relevant color scheme for it. My second comment is that this book by Penni Russon puts a new edge on fantasy. The plot was full of characters that seemed to have actual feelings (for once), and I loved the way the storyline managed to revolve around the main characters, while still incorporating the supporting cast. There were tons of quotes from literary works, as well as references to chaos magic, giving the story a more realistic twist to it. It was a bit comforting to know that the magic involved wasn't of the "Alakazam!" kind.

Undine's past is a mysterious blur of supposedly dead fathers, odd houses, and some feelings inside her that she can't quite put her finger on. Then one day, Undine wishes for a cloud or two in the Australian summer sky, and deep down, something inside her turns on, and Undine creates a miniature storm. Tempted to find out where her new power comes from, and how it might be connected to her father, Undine runs away from her mother Lou and the life she knew before, with her best friend (who has a crush on her) Trout, hot on her heels. But what will Undine do when she discovers for the first time, what it's like to be a normal sixteen-year old girl?

Related links:
• Author's website
• Wikipedia article on chaos magic

Savvy

I'm always up for some good adventure stories with a supernatural aspect in them, although technically the book doesn't qualify as YA lit, leaning more towards the Children's side. In addition, people with special powers has also been something of my interest. Savvy, by Ingrid Law, fits into both of these requirements. The spunky, feel-good, and just plain different narrating was another plus factor. The book had the bare essentials of a road trip: stowaways, a loved one gone, hitchhikers, and some teenage dilemmas thrown in. However, the book wasn't as thrilling as I had expected, focusing more on muting the super-powers (of a sort) than flaunting them. Well, I guess there isn't a perfect book in existence. Yet.

Everyone suspects the Beaumont family of being "different". They're right, but no one except the family in question knows just how different they really are. When a Beaumont turns thirteen, they find out their savvy, a skill that's been blown up to epic proportions. Sometimes this new power is huge and pretty unstoppable, and for some people, it's just a small part of their daily life. Mississippi "Mibs" Beaumont is hoping her savvy will be something dramatic and wowing. But on the day before her thirteenth birthday, her beloved Poppa is gravely injured in a car crash. Now Mibs is determined to go on a cross-state jaunt with her siblings and friends, to find out for herself exactly how her father is doing. And who knows? She just might be able to learn the truth about her savvy along the way.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Official book website

Troy High

Ah, Greek mythology. Blended with modern school life, you always make a nice treat. Especially if you aren't a Percy Jackson clone. Thankfully, Troy High, by Shana Norris, focused exclusively on the story of Helen and Paris and the Trojan War instead of those gods and goddesses. The story sticks so close to the myth that the in the Author's Note, the characters' equivalents in mythology are shown. How helpful. Now someone please tell me how to pronounce Agamemnon. But although most of the main characters from the book had a definite and believable personality, some lacked...flair, and they just seemed to sit there. And, the obvious con of using an existing legend as the plot's backbone is that if you know the story then you know exactly what's going to happen in the book ("NOOOO. Do NOT accept that stupid wooden horse! Duh!"). This book should make any teen/tween Greek guru happy.

For over fifty years, the Trojans and the Spartans have kept a constant rivalry going between them.
What? Only fifty years? But these are high schools. Troy High and Lacede High. Their differences are settled every year at the homecoming football game. But this year, when the date approaches, everyone's nervous for a different reason. Some of the Lacede Spartans have transferred to Troy, including the most popular girl in the school, Elena. Meanwhile, to her horror, Cassie Prince is finding these changes to be sparking an even worse hate between the schools. So when Elena and Cassie's brother Perry fall head over heels for each other, things start to get serious. Mean pranks cross school boundaries, traitorous deeds abound, and the popular crowd (which amazingly now includes Cassie) find themselves in battle of wits, strength, and hopeless star-crossed love.

Related links:
• Author' website

Bewitching Season

This book took a really truly tedious amount of time to finish. Being set in the 19th century, the language used was very different, and the plot got a bit complicated at times, especially when the author, Marissa Doyle, had to alternate first-person viewpoints. Despite these, uh, setbacks, Bewitching Season was overall a pretty good read. The characters' personalities stayed true from the beginning, and the setting was vivid and almost realistic (but with magic factored in). The only problem for me was the cliché plot, but there really isn't much you can do with two teenage witches from the 1830s, right?

The Leland twins, Persephone and Penelope, come from a proper high-ranking London family. But what makes these sisters special is that according to a pattern in their lineage, they have magical powers, which are pretty much top secret to everyone except them and their governess, Ally. Now Pen and Persy have a different challenge: their first season in town. This is the time to go to balls and parties, where they will find a wealthy, good-looking, and just suitable in general husband to settle down with. But their time in the limelight is threatened when Ally mysteriously goes missing, and a childhood friend comes back, and is looking better than ever. On top of the pressure of meeting the Queen of England, it's more than any levitating spell can hold up!

Related links:
• Author's website
• Author's blog

Fix

Okay. I now know that I will NEVER get plastic surgery. If the goal of Fix is to make teens think twice about implants, then Leslie Margolis did a pretty good job. The book didn't, as I had feared, totally concentrate on plastic surgery, and there was an amount of focus on pre-college teen life as well, though not enough to actually classify as chick lit. As for the tone of the book, there wasn't much going on there that was so interesting. Read this book if you want to have plstic surgery but you're scared. It'll either totally make you want it more, or run home squealing out of grossness!

The Beekman sisters have always been known for their huge, crooked noses. But now only Allie Beekman is, because her glamorous older sister Cameron got a nose job, and came out of Dr. Glass' office with a nose that's since been a boy magnet. But despite Cameron's new life (and her wanting MORE surgery), Allie is still very worried about how her own upcoming nose will turn out. Will it be cute and beautiful? Or will it end up looking even worse than before?

Related links:
• Author's website

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Now that is a title to rival that Julia DeVillers book! It's the first book in a series, and I was only motivated to borrow it from the library when Amazon said that the third and newest book was selling really well. Although I found the plot to be just a tad cliché, the idea of the book itself was different from any other book I've blogged about, as spies were the main focus. The gadgetry was more realistic than, for example, Artemis Fowl, but sometimes I felt that the bits with action were fast-forwarded, the boy-related parts were stretched like taffy, and some rather important details about the characters' past were skipped. I'm not exaclty sure I want to read the next book, but since I kinda bought the new one already, I don't really have a choice. And who knows? Maybe Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy will be better.

Cameron Morgan is in training to become a spy at the prestigious Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. It's so secretive that the rest of the city thinks it's a school for genii. Cammie's in her sophomore year, and now she has to take the grueling Covert Operations class, or CoveOps for short. On her first disastrous mission, Cammie bumps into a normal boy named Josh while she's undercover. The two of them get to know each other better, and Cammie even falls for Josh. But when a sequence of particularly unlucky events take place, will Cammie reveal her true self, or will Josh remain in the dark about the truth forever?

Related links:
• Author's website
• Author's blog

Gamer Girl

Despite the fact that I've read umpteen-million books about teenage misanthropes, Gamer Girl, by Mari Mancusi, caught my attention as soon as I laid eyes on it. I read it that night, and I found the characters to be really unique, their alter egos even better, and the plot to be awesome. Even though I could figure out (correctly) where the plot was headed, the idea of incorporating a virtual reality game into a piece of chick lit was brilliant, to say the least. The writing itself was pretty good, although at times it got a little bit rant-y/fangirly (Shannon: like me!) I'd recommend this book to chick lit lovers who want something a little bit out of the box.

Maddy is in the middle of the schoolyear, the one where she has some big dreams and plans for her high school future. That's when her parents divorce and she moves from bustling Boston to some suburban town with her mom and little sister. As if losing all her friends isn't enough, the house that Maddy's family is headed to just happens to be her (unicorn-loving) grandma's. And now the Aberzombies (termed the "Haters" by Maddy) at her new school have labeled her "Freak Girl". Will the problems ever stop? Then, Maddy's dad comes back one day to give her a birthday present. It's Fields of Fantasy, the MMORPG game that Maddy has wanted to play ever since her dad started. Eager to start playing, Maddy makes her character, Allora the elf magician, and learns the ropes of her new game. Balancing her unexpected school life and her blossoming virtual one, how is Maddy going to survive her first small-town year?

Related links:
• Author's blog

The People of Sparks

My, my. I seem to be subconsciously attracted to dystopian books or something. Either that, or it's just a very popular YA subject. Anyway, The People of Sparks was a pretty strong sequel to The City of Ember. The adventure, I was glad to find out, was not as muted and abrupt as in the first book. Also, since the book was set hundreds, or possibly thousands of years in the future, I had a riot with the descriptions in the book and figuring out what they really were supposed to be in our time. The main problem for me was the language. At times the wording felt like it was for litle kids, and then it switched over to feeling geared towards a much older audience. But in the bigger picture, I'd really like to get the third book. NOW.

Thanks to Lina and Doon, the dying cave city of Ember has been evacuated, and all the Emberites have moved to a beautiful, bright land named Sparks. The natives of Sparks welcome the refugees with open arms, even supplying them with plenty of food. As the differences of the two cultures show more and more, it's a lot more obvious that Sparks may seem like paradise at first, but under the surface are problems, conflicts, and outrage that could be even worse than the ones the Emberites escaped from in the first place.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Movie site

Uglies

Yes! Finally done with Uglies! Although I kind of wish I weren't, because it was pretty good. The world that Scott Westerfeld creates is very different but still believable to an extent. The story was interesting but a little bit predictable, and you could really see the characters' personalities change throughout the book. The other great thing was that the author did a great job of combining aspects of dystopia, chick lit, and adventure into one book in a series. That's not a mix that you see every day, is it? And they had better make a movie out of this one!

Tally Youngblood lives in a world hundreds of years in the future, where the mysterious people who run the city give sixteen year-olds an operation to turn them into beautiful men and women. Tally can't wait to turn pretty, especially when her best friend goes under the knife and emerges a new person. But Shay, a girl just as old as as Tally, comes crashing into her life. Shay doesn't want to be molded into a pretty. And then, on the night before their sixteenth birthday, she runs away. Now the authorities are suspicious of Tally's involvement, and they give her a very important decision to make. Will she betray her new friend or stay a hideous, meaningless ugly forever?

Related links:
• Author's blog
• Official series site
• Series fansite

Jinx

You all should be glad that I'm not blogging about the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Ten books. Choke.
Then there are those other Meg Cabot books that about, oh, 1% of her readers know about. Jinx is an example of that. It's a very interesting mix of New Age and chick lit. It follows a new girl who learns to be more open to different ways of life. The writing is funny and entertaining (especially for a cover like the one it has), and the characters are all very well-thought-out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and seeing that I never spot it in the library anymore, I guess I'm not the only one.

Life seems to hate Jean "Jinx" Honeycutt. She even moved in with her aunt and uncle to escape an ex-boyfriend who's acting stalker-ish. But if Jinx thought that she could leave behind her problems, she's dead wrong. Cousin Tory is practicing witchcraft, and she thinks that Jinx has the same powers as she does. Now Jinx is accused of putting down Tory (by refusing to join her friends in their coven), and of stealing her boyfriend! How is Jinx supposed to get over this new problem with her life?

Related links:
• Author's site

Movies?

I was lurking around IMDb the other day because I was bored. On a whim, I searched the Percy Jackson movie and wondered if any of the other books on here are going to be made into a movie. And happy day, my quest for movie-ness proved quite fruitful!

• Will The Hunger Games work as a movie?
• Who's producing The Alchemyst?
• Q&A about the Artemis Fowl movie
• Scott Westerfeld on his book Uglies—movie or not?

If you're too lazy to skip back a few posts:
• IMDb page on The Lightning Thief

And yes, I know I haven't exactly blogged about Uglies yet. But I'm reading it and the post should come soon. Yeah!

That's it for now, and I don't own any of the articles. *rubs eyes blearily*