Literary Pizazz

Troy

2010-08-27T21:12:00.000-04:00

It's the time of Ancient Greece, and the Trojans are fighting a war that surpasses any other. Well to be honest, barbaric bloodshed is closer to the mark. And even behind the palace walls, rumors fly as fast as the arrows. Prince Paris has to ignore not only his growing waistline but also the stories of his possibly unfaithful (but still beautiful) wife Helen. Superhero commander Hector shows his valiant side in battle every day but leaves his wife Andromache and their son to nervously await his return. Not every problem is large-scale, though. Musician Polyxena begins to see Iason, the lowly shepherd's boy, in a totally different light, but Iason in turn wishes to spend his future with healer Xanthe. However, it's love at first sight for Xanthe when Alastor, a wounded soldier comes into her care. But her loyal sister Marpessa knows it's not a good idea to tell Xanthe exactly what happened between her and the young warrior on that night.
It's complicated enough without divine intervention. And who in their right minds would expect the all-mighty gods, especially the Greek ones, to care? I mean, really!

As a self-proclaimed enthusiast of Greek myths, Adele Geras' historically (or poetically, as it happens) accurate young-adult version of the famed Trojan War was a natural read for me. I didn't know much about it before, but Troy outlined the plot of Homer's epic in a believable fashion and contained many tweaks to make it appeal to a younger audience. Just try reading a couple sentences of the original and you'll see what I mean. Though it must be said that the book contained a storyline woven with about, oh, a hundred different threads, they were each tied up with either the appearance of some familiar mythological figures or by the captivatingly fiery end. Staying true to the saga while consistently wrapping you up in the dilemmas of each perfectly imperfect character, experiencing Troy is a wonderful way to spend a couple hours of your day.

The Atlantis Complex

2010-08-08T23:16:00.001-04:00

It looks like Artemis Fowl is back again with one of his brilliantly-made plans. He's got the perfect idea of how to save the world involving the refrigerator-lookalike Ice Cube. Fridge works, snow comes out, global warming stops. Simple, right?
What a no-brainer. It isn't really Artemis who's come up with the plot. Lately, he's been plagued by thoughts that tell him not to trust his friends and even his mother and father. Numbers force him to speak words in multiples of fives. If Artemis were a regular human, he'd be diagnosed with OCD and that would be that, but his experience with fairy magic has given him Atlantis Complex instead, a disease brought on by guilt and stress. The LEP's robots have turned on them and are attacking the fairies, so this really isn't the best time to have your alter ego pop up and profess your undying devotion to any female elves. Someone evil from the gang's past is back...no, not her...not that one either...but they're back. And dead serious.

Something was off about this book. The (previously released) first chapter sounded absolutely fine and it certainly intrigued you to find out more, but everything else seemed too fast-paced. Events passed by one after another without much explanation. At times it also was as if the author had trouble introducing new characters; only one truly important one came into being, and she was still on the mysterious, unknown side. Instead, supporting roles and sneaky references were lifted from previous books and fitted into the new installment. However rewarding this may be to someone who can actually spot all these "easter eggs", it does become a tad tiring after a while.

The Necromancer

2010-06-22T20:55:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since Sophie and Josh have seen their California home. Well, not really. Six days can go by pretty quickly when you've been semi-kidnapped by a half-millennium year-old couple and dragged around the world a couple times over while being told that you hold the fate of the world in your hands. With the magician Dee's revenge fueled by failure and defeat coming their way, Josh and Sophie are enlisting the mentoring of Prometheus, one of the first masters of Fire. The couple in question, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, are certain of the impact this could have on the twins' chance of survival. But not everyone's as optimistic. When Dee turns Josh to his side once more, Sophie, the Flamels, and even their new (and undoubtedly hesitant) allies quickly learn that upsetting a master plan is much easier than it seems.

With a shiny, busy cover, it's kind of hard not to really want to read this book. You're pulled right into the action on the very first page and a constantly shifting cast of characters ensures that you never put it down. But even though there was too much adventure swirling around to stop reading, parts of the intricate plot became tangled up and were tedious to peruse. Maybe the author meant for it to be like so, but you also just couldn't figure out which side many of the main characters were really on. As soon as you felt as though you'd skip chapters to get to the point of view of your favored side, there would be a new chapter and your little mind would think in a whole new direction. At least I had a small sense of success when there was a mythological character I was familiar with...

Extras

2010-02-07T14:45:00.001-05:00

All the way on the other side of the world lies the futuristic nation of Japan, where the whole country is run on fame and gossip. The more famous you are, the more gossip you gather, and the more privileges you earn. Aya Fuse, the 451,369th most famous person in her hometown and little brother to the mega-celebrity Hiro Fuse, finds herself not liking her anonymity one bit. Following some vague leads and pictures, Aya discovers a group of mysterious and super-dangerous young women named the Sly Girls. The Sly Girls do anything and everything dangerous, from surfing on maglev trains to shooting people out of giant energy machines. Now Aya has blended in with them and has found the perfect way to gain instant stardom. Except for the fact that this road to fame could reveal something a hundred times as deadly as any of the tricks the Sly Girls could ever do.

So I'm betting that right before Extras came out, everyone waiting for it were all hurr Special people in the forest durr hurr, only to find out that wow, we've moved to Japan and started a brand new storyline with brand new characters we've never heard of before. I can't say it sucked with the big changes (it was partially a relief from the monotonous buzz and characters), but it wasn't an...er...welcome change either. I groaned more than once at the lack of people Uglies fancs enjoyed so much. And when they did come back, their personalities seemed skewed and awkward. As far as I remember, in the last book, they were a lot less mature. Plus they seemed to be going for the clichéd "guarding secrets" thing. Which I would've enjoyed more if the "secrets" made sense. Extras wasn't as grand or glorious as I expected a (probably fan-demanded) final book in an awesome trilogy would be.

Invisible I

2010-01-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

People will do anything to get visitors to websites. Like, write books. Huh? Apparently there's this whole site thing you're supposed to join after you read the book. But all that aside, cliché level = high, cliffhanger level = high, and general enjoyability = high. There's a bit of a mystery element involved, with new clues and plot twists leading the characters around while you alternate from almost bored to SAY WHAT? and still avidly reading. Many of the characters I could relate to (sometimes I actually saw myself in them), though what will happen to them in the next few books is pretty obvious sometimes. Still, it makes a nice and happier contrast to watching dramas and such like Avatar...

Amanda moves a lot. She always picks one special person to help her get started in her new school, and the two become the best of friends. So why do Callie, Hal, and Nia all find themselves as Amanda's chosen guides? And when the three girls and boys are thrown together in detention (for something Amanda herself did, no less) and compare stories, why did Amanda lie about her life to all of them? As Callie's family (consisting of her and Dad and nobody else) and social life unravel, she and her new friends have got one more problem to solve while they follow Amanda's tracks through a path via secretive notes and hints.
Why, and how, has Amanda Valentino vanished into thin air?

Blue Plate Special

2010-01-16T22:58:00.001-05:00

If there's one thing that Madeline, Desiree, and Ariel are going to have to learn, it's that you can never take family for granted. Though the three girls are from three completely different decades of America, their stories and dysfunctional families are pretty much the same. Madeline is overweight and bordering on depression...until she meets someone who she really believes is the love of her life. Life gives Desiree a sound smack in the head when a regular car ride with her stepfather turns into the last thing anyone needs. And after a shocking and secret-spilling visit to the hospital, poor Ariel is sure she'll never see her mom (or her green mountain of a grandma) the same way again. In an absorbing tale of complicated and fateful relationships, the lives of three somewhat atypical girls are twisted and joined by decisions, fate, and a good dose of misfortune.

Spoilers, yay! So as soon as I saw that their lives are going to be intertwined, I was like, well thanks for spoiling the end of the book. Um, different decades, teenage pregnancy, three girls? They're related. Duh. Yeah.
Anyways, scorn aside, Blue Plate Special really came out as a great (if slightly depressing) read. Though prose in books usually makes me bored and biased, I was actually a bit sad that Desiree's narration was the only one in that format. Every single character, main or supporting, had personal mini-conflicts, and the storyline was quick to pick up on and quite surprising apart from the mother-daughter thing. But plot twists seem to be something Michelle Kwasney loves using...

Shiver

2010-01-03T11:48:00.003-05:00

Grace and Sam have known each other since Grace was in elementary school. But the first time they ever spoke was in Grace's senior year, when Sam was mortally wounded by a hunter. For six years, Sam and his group have been werewolves, constantly shifting between dog and man with the changing of the seasons. But this year, Sam's instincts tell him that after this summer, there'll be no more exciting peeks into the human world. He'll just be a plain wolf. And to make things even more heartbreaking, he's just met Grace, the love of his life. Now Grace must think up a way to dodge her abandoned friends and cheat fate with science while Sam fights to stay where he is.

So I bet you all have gone into Barnes & Noble and noticed the WHOLE DANG SHELF of ~~Twilight ripoffs~~ vampire novels, right? Well, I always ask myself, what happened to the werewolves? Now, we finally have a very well-written book exclusively about the canines! Although a melancholy air of losing precious time hangs about until the end of the book, there are many laugh-out-loud, absurd, and just cute moments aplenty. In my opinion, every single character is really mixed in well with their social group but still has obvious problems and conflicts. The plot alternates between laid-back narratives and nerve-racking action, so right when you're beginning to get bored of Sam and Grace complimenting/snuggling/~~kissing~~ glomping each other, there'll be a total turnaround and you're drawn right back into the pages again.

Airman

2009-11-27T19:53:00.008-05:00

Today's airplanes seem so...boring...compared to the diverse world of early flying machines created in Airman. I'd really like to spend a day in the life in Conor's time, and trust me, you would too! I loved the diverse hierarchy of characters, even the spiteful and doomed villains. The writing itself varied almost as much as the characters. In some places, it was LOL-funny, but in others, it dragged with sadness and monotony. Although the plot sometimes leaned towards becoming a parody of an epic tale, Airman is still quite an interesting fantasy read.

Legend has it that Conor Broekhart was airborne. Literally. His mother gave birth to him while taking a joyride in a hot air balloon. Perhaps this strange event has made Conor so passionate about aerodynamics. But now that a scheming group of men have executed their master Broekhart revenge/downfall plan without a flaw, he is violently introduced into a new and unpleasant world of murder, deception, and glowing algae. It seems like even Conor's sly cleverness can't get him out of trouble this time.

Catching Fire

2009-11-02T10:42:00.007-05:00

One would think that as the celebrated young victors of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta would be off living a peaceful and luxurious life. But Panem's controlling government in the Capitol is out for them, because in their eyes the two teenagers have caused quite a rebellion throughout the nation's twelve districts. As the date of the Quarter Quell, a special Hunger Games taking place every 25 years that shows everyone the Capitol's power approaches, what kind of physical and emotional torture will the government think up next to punish Katniss and her friends?

So I planned to buy my Catching Fire on Amazon right after it came out, but due to an unforeseen problem (higher prices at Barnes and Noble), I ended up waiting over a month to get it. Urgh. But anyways. I brought it to school every day and finished it almost entirely when I was in school. I win. I crack it open and find that although it's molded pretty much like The Hunger Games, the well-made returning cast of characters (and a whole lot of new ones) plus the unbelievably awesome world of Panem can totally make up for the recycled plot's backbone. Anyone with sense should read The Hunger Games and then immediately pick this sequel up!

Related links:
• Author's website
• Official series website
• Official UK site
• Fan forum

The Prophet of Yonwood

2009-11-01T10:19:00.003-05:00

At the height of tension and possible nuclear war between the United States and their enemy countries, Nicki's snazzy aunt Crystal has decided to move to Yonwood, North Carolina, a small town with some very big (but not always obvious) problems. For one, the city claims to follow God's rules to living a better life, but Nicki thinks this is just Brenda, the town's "leader", going for some power play. Then there's Nicki's list of goals. Keep Crystal from selling Greenhaven (the dilapidated mansion Nicki's attached to), fall in love, and maybe do a little something to help the whole world.

Sometimes prequels just don't make sense, as is the case here. I mean, the story itself was very nice. It's a great depiction of brave young people going against society and fat semi-dictator ladies. But...the universal modern small-town setting just doesn't fit with the rest of the City Of Ember series. The high points of the other books were the dystopian kingdom and the unique characters. Those were gone, too. Well, not until the very end where it all gets hastily tied up in the epilogue. However, some parts of the book were genuinely heartfelt and emotional. Basically, this third installment provides some (mostly) wholesome filling time before the series grand finale of a fourth book.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Movie site

Specials

2009-10-23T20:31:00.005-04:00

Sometimes Tally still remembers the days when she was fifteen; spending her boring days outsmarting the city's technology while waiting for the big surgery to make her pretty. Now, Tally has gone beyond that. She's been turned into an exclusive Special, her reflexes set to extreme. She's been under the knife with her Special friends so many times that it's just her brain left that's really hers. Then, in a bout of clear-headedness, Tally decides to get her former boyfriend Zane, the last one of her friends still just pretty, to turn Special. But what she doesn't realize is the uproar she causes when her plan goes horribly wrong. As Tally escapes and takes refuge in a free-thinking city very unlike her own, the professional Specials are ready to track her down. Again.

Let's wrap up the Uglies trilogy (plus an "Extra" book!) right now with Specials. Thankfully this was not as repetitive as the previous two books, but you can kind of tell how the plot is slightly based on the one used in Uglies. I know, I'm being so nitpicky about that. Well. We have some of the usual series wrap-up elements, including a very sneaky character mindset change, and a cliffhanger that leaves a lot to be answered. There aren't many new characters to ponder here, but all the old ones debuting on the other two books develop a new side to them. Overall, if the Uglies and Pretties ranked high on your favorite books list, you pretty much have to read this exciting yet somewhat similar conclusion.

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

Double Identity

2009-10-22T15:29:00.005-04:00

Who really are Bethany's parents? Why did they abandon her, especially when her unique past is starting to come together? Bethany tries to answer these questions when she is suddenly dropped off at her aunt's house, with no idea where her parents are headed. As she explores the rural town, she meets several people who can't help but stare at her. Bethany is sure she doesn't have an unsightly pimple forming on her nose, so what's going on?
Not all hope is lost. Her father seems to have something to say to her. It's just too bad he's nowhere to be found.

What is up with me? I'm drawn to some kinds of books (see The Goodness Gene) and repelled by others. Science Fiction being one type of "pulling" book. I loved the characters here; they seemed very alive and personified, unlike some other books I've read. Margaret Peterson Haddix's first-person narration is great. She manages to squeeze in humor between even the most suspenseful or depressing parts of the plot. I have to say, though, I was miffed by the epilogue, which was too sudden for me. Perhaps a certain author needed a coffee break and forgot about the book? Though you could kind of guess what was going on about halfway through, the characters are so naïve that you almost start being ignorant right along with them!

Related links:
• Author's website
• Simon & Schuster Author Page

What? NO WAY!!!!

2009-10-22T15:19:00.002-04:00

Wait...is that...HOLY CRAP! BYS is actually updating her blog! I thought she was dead!
Well, yes. I'm back (hopefully) every Thursday! More reviews and the works. I'm so pumped, seeing as I haven't updated since around September...

FAIL.

2009-09-26T18:24:00.006-04:00

So we went to the National Book Festival today in DC. It was great for the first hour or so. We checked out books from all 50 states, got a free Maisy Mouse book for three year-olds, and watched someone talk about their new picture book, 14 Cows For America. And guess who showed up? Rick Riordan.
Haha. Yes, him. He was signing books, of course. I toted around my copy of The Last Olympian to the signing desk. And waited. Among tons of literally bouncing boys wearing Camp Half-Blood t-shirts. And girls wearing Yankees caps (Intu will get that one).
Then it started to rain.
I mean, AUGH.
It wasn't too bad, but water droplets add up fast. Most people got wet, except for those who were hiding under the umbrellas of smart people. I did that. We waited in the moshpit of a line for another hour, and when we finally got close enough to actually see the big "Book Signing" banner, the staff told us that Mr. Riordan was leaving to do his speech in the pavilion. Everyone left totally downcast. So my book remains exactly as it was before.
Well, maybe it got wet too.
Fail.

By the way...
Don't take this the wrong way, but Rick Riordan looked like his neck disappeared because his shirt collar was so big.

Suite Scarlett

2009-09-26T15:48:00.005-04:00

How about an average chick lit book to conclude my two-week (or something) absence. I cringe.
So hopefully you remember Maureen Johnson, the author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes. This is one of her, ah, lesser-known books. I seriously could predict the basic plotline of this book, although a few times there was an unexpected twist or two. The characters also sometimes seemed a little too perfect, even though they're constantly described as having many problems. The high point for me was the to-the-point and funny narration. The low point, if there was one, is the high cliche level. I read the back of the book and I went, Gee thanks. Now I know what happens.

Sometimes Scarlett Martin and her large family (who each gets a suite when they turn fifteen) can't help but daydream of the time when the Hopewell, their New York hotel, was full of exotic guests, their family members each brought in tons of money, and everyone's relationships were simple. Now there's only three customers at a time, all the staff members have been laid off, and Lola, the oldest child, just broke up with her not-so-money-challenged boyfriend. And when Scarlett gets her very first guest in her suite (who happens to be a movie star who can pull a LOT of strings), she doesn't know what to make of her life. Not to mention her playacting brother just happened to bring his new friend/fight partner home. Scarlett likes him. Very much.

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

The Goodness Gene

2009-09-17T19:21:00.006-04:00

For some reason, I found that it was a lot harder for me to actually get into this book than usual. Maybe the topic of genetics (which is usually interesting to me) was off, or maybe it was boring. Or both.
Yeah. Probably both.
So. Although The Goodness Gene got off to a slow start, the overall dystopian world was very different, and I like the eerie look into our future it provides. Technology played a big part in the storyline, but it sometimes got a bit tricky figuring out what everything is and what they do, especially in the beginning. The characters of the story were well-done, for the most part, and you could really see some changes in personality by the end of the book. The plot was kind of choppy and unfeeling, though, but I think it got much better later on. If cloning, heavy duty sci-fi, and humanity is something you like, this is probably a good read for you.

As the son of the Compassionate Director, Will has always been expected to follow in his dictator father's footsteps. He has been brought up in the spotless, uber-high-tech near-fantasy world of 2305. Then, when the Director feels it's time for Will to start learning how to lead a nation, Will is sent on a "pageant" around the not-so-wealthy world around him that he hardly knew about. There, among the actually organically grown food and the obsolete technology, he meets Leora, a beautiful girl who seems to know everything about the Earth, their history, and even a secret or two she's hiding from Will.
But maybe it's better if she never tells him about, well, him.

Related links:
• Author's website
• Wikipedia article on cloning

So Yesterday

2009-09-11T15:18:00.005-04:00

Oh man. I feel so bad that I haven't posted for more than a week!!! The treacherous hand of homework is beginning to close upon me...
Hopefully this weekend will bring more stuff. Articles, if I can't review something.
Okay. Book. I have been on a Scott Westerfeld roll these days, and this is one of his older books. I absolutely love the main idea of his story, and the way he pictured being "cool". Apparently there is behind-the-scenes work done to shape the world's idea of popular things. The characters seemed a bit underdeveloped (except the narrator, of course), though. Also, the whodunit part of the book was clichéd (first half: ooh, suspense! Second half: huh? Where'd the mystery go?) Other than that, the descriptions were pretty nice, there were quite a few funny spots, and the witty dialogue was on the spot. A good choice if you like chick lit-ty, unique novels about fame and being cool.

It's very important for people like Hunter to keep their real life a secret. His coworkers, called "cool hunters", traipse around the New York City streets to look for random strangers who have something the cool hunters believe could be it. A picture is taken, and sent back to their boss (of a sort), Mandy. Then the whole group keeps it quiet, sending an Innovator to show off this newborn fad, and sooner or later, it becomes popular. So one day, Hunter spots Jen, a girl with some very neat shoelaces, and gets her picture and talks to Mandy. But when Hunter takes Jen to one of his cool hunting conferences, he realizes what an Innovator she would make. And that special leadership quality is put to the test when Mandy suddenly goes missing. Following a sure trail of clues, the two intrepid teens embark on an undercover mission to find who kidnapped Mandy. And everyone's looking suspicious.

Related links:
• Author's blog

Pretties

2009-09-07T16:50:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure how he does it, but Scott Westerfeld somehow combined aspects of today's teen troubles (such as drugs and cutting) and stick them into a futuristic, dystopian-in-a-way world in a context that's different but still makes sense. For example, two of the characters starve themselves, but only to get clamped handcuffs off their wrists. Plus, the world he created even has its own unique language and cliques (something that he's pretty fond of, judging by his other books). In terms of plot, Pretties had a healthy dose of adventure and survival, plus some boy woes and recurring villains. Although I couldn't shake the feeling that it was staged so much like Uglies, the first book in the series. I mean, first half of the book, everything's fine and dandy, then something is learned, and then comes a survival part and then in the end, the main character is changed. Hmm.

Despite the constant parties, fun, and clothes in her new life as a pretty, Tally can't help but know in the back of her mind what her old life was like. Chopping trees, getting hoverboard scrapes, and outdoor toilets. I mean, ewww. But her faded memories are confirmed when she gets a letter from her past self telling her that being pretty is almost like living with an empty head, and follows the instructions to become real again. But now a secretive government group has figured out that Tally's mind isn't as blank as she and her boyfriend are pretending, and they're coming to get her. No matter what it takes.

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

The Supernaturalist

2009-09-06T10:49:00.004-04:00

Another book by Eoin Colfer, The Supernaturalist (or as one character mistakenly thinks, the Naturists) has a very interesting plot and cast. The story was full to the brim with out-of-the-box adventure and fighting scenes, as well as backstabbers, moody teenagers, and creatures made of gobs of blue. This book took on a more serious tone than Artemis Fowl, although Colfer seemed to still have a blast with heaps of sci-fi futuristic...stuff. The Supernaturalist was pretty much made of equal parts action, extraterrestrial life, and the consequences and reasons of misunderstanding.

For fourteen torture-filled years, Cosmonaut Hill has been recruited to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. Clarissa Frayne is an orphanage, a medical testing laboratory, and above all, a horrid place where the "caretakers", or marshals, get to vent their considerable anger at the working kids. So one day, when the vehicle they were being transported in was in an accident, Cosmo and his friend escape. Except...he, too, almost died in an accident involving rooftops, a broken nose, and a very, very angry marshal. And as Cosmo feels the life leaving him, he sees a small blue figure sucking the life out of him. Cosmo would've died, if it weren't for a raggedy group of three people armed with lightning rods, who blasted the little blue guys into smithereens. When the strange group realize Cosmo's potential, they decide to adopt him and introduce Cosmo to a behind-the-scenes world of real risks. And...Pigmobiles...?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

2009-09-03T17:22:00.006-04:00

Huzzah! It's my first book review since we moved!
The description on the back of this book says that "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read." I daresay that is a very true statement (daresay. Now I'M talking like the book)! Basically, Seth Grahame-Smith took Jane Austen's famous novel and added parts to it consisting of zombies and the like, actually making it hilarious and fun to read. I love the way the original old-fashioned (and slightly hard to understand) writing was intermingled with words such as "vomit", "ninja", and "brains". Sometimes, it was painfully obvious where Austen's writing ended and Grahame-Smith's started. Technically, this isn't his fault, because writers are supposed to have their own style and blah blah blah. Despite the characters lacking as much pizazz as the added writing, PaPaZ makes a rollicking read for anyone in pursuit of well-tweaked literature.

As a strange plague of zombies, or the "unmentionables", arrives in England, every man, woman, and child must learn how to defend themselves, whether by sword, karate, or musket. One family with five daughters, the Bennets, have prided themselves on their combined training and charming personality, especially their second daughter, Elizabeth.
In other words, they're crazy good.
The Bennet girls have attracted many young men as husbands, but there has never been one so skilled in fighting, odd in personality, and dashing in general as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Who just happened to maybe fall in love with Elizabeth. As jealousy attacks, relationships flare, and zombies rage, will the Bennets be able to stick it out to the end?

Related links:
• Wikipedia article on Pride and Prejudice

Wikipedia is a lovely place, no?

Sporadicity

2009-08-31T17:45:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-08-27T19:35:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-27T13:06:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-24T16:14:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-22T13:37:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-20T15:43:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-17T19:43:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-17T12:31:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-11T17:33:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-10T11:37:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-08T13:01:00.006-04:00

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

2009-08-04T13:46:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-03T10:23:00.010-04:00

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

2009-08-02T11:02:00.010-04:00

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?

2009-08-01T14:12:00.014-04:00

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*

Two-Way Street

2009-07-31T17:36:00.004-04:00

Ah yes. This was a very cute book by Lauren Barnholdt. It's really amazing to see how people can care so little about someone that they really care about so much. The problems and conflicts in the book were believable things that high school exes would run into, there was a touch of suspense in the beginning to keep things interesting, and you just can't go wrong with a happy ending like that, can you?
Oops. That kind of spoiled it.
Well. The story was more straightforward, and although there are a few unexpected things, it isn't much if you like tons of road trip-esque adventure. Still worth the read, though!

Courtney McSweeney is on a road trip to college orientation with her boyfriend Jordan. Four days all to themselves, and it's gonna be great. Except...Jordan's her ex-boyfriend, and Courtney thinks that there couldn't be anything worse than this. I mean, he dumped her for some girl on MySpace (whom Courtney is sure is named Mercedes) and now they're supposed to get together on a road trip. Agh. But beneath all those layers of hate is one small part of her that's still attached to him. If Jordan can reveal the big secret about why they couldn't be, is it possible that he can still return her feelings?

Related links:
• Author's site

Airhead

2009-07-29T12:36:00.013-04:00

After quite a bit of "It's stupid." "It's not." "It's stupid." "It's not." from Intu there, she finally convinced me to read Airhead, a book by someone we've all heard about, Meg Cabot. This book is getting a tad more hype than necessary, with the sequel that used to be on the top 10 list. I love the way that Meg Cabot writes her stories about normal teenage girls, but manages to put in a minuscule amount of unique modern fantasy or fairy tale aspects to make it go just a bit beyond average chick lit. In this case, it's not princesses or spirit mediators, but supermodels and brain transplants. The writing is subtly sarcastic (just how I like it), and there are cliffhangers at every chapter to keep you reading more. However, some parts of the story felt like they were skipped, and I felt that the writing got a little rushed and under-done during the middle. All in all, it's a fair representation of a total newbie supermodel.

Life in Tribeca Alternative High School has Emerson Watts labeled computer geek and resident freak. And to make it worse, her little sister is turning into "popular material", and demands to see Nikki Howard, teenage supermodel, at the grand opening of the new mall (all the cool girls want to). That is, until a protester's paintball gun screws up a plasma TV. Mayhem ensues as the huge screen crashes down to the ground...right where Em is standing. Once the chaos is over, police find Em's body among the rubble. Then, right afterwards, the tabloids are eating up a new story about Nikki Howard's case of amnesia. Could these events be connected? Of course not. And Em is definitely dead.
Right?

Related links:
• Author's site

The Magician...sequel to waaaaaaay back, The Alchemyst

2009-07-27T14:44:00.011-04:00

After The Magician, I'm afraid that my head will explode if I read the third book, The Sorceress, anytime soon. Well, that's actually a good thing, because Michael Scott's characters, despite being actual mythological creatures and people, are packed with personality and feeling that make them seem real. The plot, however, got a bit confusing during the climax and the some of the characters started acting a lot less believable in the middle, but otherwise, I loved this sequel to The Alchemyst. The best part for me was the blend of modern and magical (alchemyst = rock star), which wasn't too different from the style of Percy Jackson.

After a narrow escape from California, master Alchemyst Nicholas Flamel, (real) vegetarian vampire Scathach, and the supposedly all-powerful twins Sophie and Josh, find themselves in Paris. Flamel is overjoyed to see the city of his birth in the 1500's, but not everyone is a happy camper. Josh is growing increasingly jealous of his sister's new magic powers. Sophie is growing more and more convinced that the only reason why her little brother (by 26 seconds) is in danger at all is the work of their so-called allies. Like-minded after a disastrous run-in with a ginormous monster, Josh is starting to wonder whether the bad guys might be the good guys after all.

Related websites:

Literary Pizazz

Troy

The Atlantis Complex

The Necromancer

Extras

Invisible I

Blue Plate Special

Shiver

Airman

Catching Fire

The Prophet of Yonwood

Specials

Double Identity

What? NO WAY!!!!

FAIL.

Suite Scarlett

The Goodness Gene

So Yesterday

Pretties

The Supernaturalist

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Sporadicity

Al's Book Club!

The Sorceress

The Queen of Second Place

Undine

Savvy

Troy High

Bewitching Season

Fix

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

Gamer Girl

The People of Sparks

Uglies

Jinx

Movies?

Two-Way Street

Airhead

The Magician...sequel to waaaaaaay back, The Alchemyst

Um...heh...please don't kill me...

Zenith

The Time Paradox

Deadly Little Secret

Shark Girl

Sarah-Land!

The City of Ember

13 Little Blue Envelopes

The Fire Eternal

The Hunger Games

Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator

Rate this book

Comments

The Last Olympian—finally

Percy Jackson movie!!!

How My Private Personal Journal Became a Bestseller

The Lost Colony

Fire Star

Wherever Nina Lies

Icefire

Graceling

The Fire Within

Lock and Key

The Opal Deception

The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Eternity Code

Related links!

What I Meant...

The Alchemyst

The Arctic Incident

Crown Duel

The Titan's Curse

The Sea of Monsters

Vibes

Keeping the Moon

Oops

Percy Jackson and enchiladas

Someone Like You

Sarah Dessen (and This Lullaby)

Artemis Fowl

Hi