Fiction

Fire Study

When I realized there was another book published in Snyder’s series, I was soooo excited. I was also apprehensive because series have a way of letting you down. Fire Study didn’t let me down but it sure did start slowly.

But, that starting slowly thing was also helpful because it’s been so long since I ready Poison/Magic study that I needed to ease in. And then, I didn’t want to put it down… which is why I was up until midnight finishing it. (Also finishing it means I get to start the new Willig which means after that I get to read Gaiman. What a great weekend for books.)

Is Air Study next? Anyone know?

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The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

I don’t usually love or even really like books written as letters so I was prepared to grumble my way through The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, but I didn’t.

Olivia Hunt writes a great letter – it doesn’t matter what kind of letter she’s writing, it’s excellent.

I don’t really want to completely pan everything else about the book because for what it is, it’s darn good. The problem is what what it is – a story about a good sister who has a good marriage who gets sick and dies. While the bad sister works in Hollywood, has bad relationships and lives.

Now I know Elisabeth Robinson worked in Hollywood. And I know she has a sister who died. So I get it. But this isn’t non-fiction and I’m a little tired of the good die, leaving the rest of us better people because of all we’ve learned and by the way, we really miss them and cancer sucks.

Been there, done that.

Except I have to say again… Olivia Hunt writes a great letter and for that, it’s worth reading the same old story again.

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Blood Roses

Ah Francesca Lia Block…. Blood Roses was not your best but it wasn’t bad either.

I pulled it from the shelf at the library just because I miss Michelle Belle and also to remind me that I never sent her the books that I swore I had bought for her for Christmas… and then couldn’t find.

Short stories about a bunch of girls. Typical Block ie fantasy, dark thoughts, deep feelings. TW couldn’t finish it, which is not surprising.

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Three Cybils

First Cybil for the weekend, Big, Bad Bunny. Ho hum. It was cute but I don’t think it’s a book any of my kids would have crawled into my lap to hear over and over again.

Next, Mo Willems strikes again! I love new my toy isn’t nearly good as Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus but… it’s got something that made me smile all the way through it. Even when I read it a second time, over TW’s shoulder. (How come the elephant has a name but the pig is just “piggie”?)

Last one, graphic novel Into the Volcano. Great illustrations. Pretty decent story. I have a feeling Liz won’t like this one as much as the last couple of graphic novels I’ve given her, but we’ll find out this weekend. Updated: Liz liked it but not as much as she liked Chiggers.  It took her all weekend to finish it – not normal graphic novel behavior for her.  She usually refuses to put them down until she’s finished them.

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People of the Book

You know what happens when an author writes one book that you really LOVED and another book that let you DOWN? Well I don’t know what happens to you but what happens to me is… I hesitate. Did I really want to read People of the Book? March just wasn’t great. Year of Wonders was great. What will this book be?

It was very good. Ten times better than March though not quite as good as Year of Wonders. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it – such a mishmash of characters but it didn’t take long for me to settle in and begin to like Hannah and all of the “people of the book”.

Excellent ending, I was worried. In fact worried enough that with about 30 pages left, I was tempted to put the book down and not finish it.

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Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale

I don’t know how we missed the release of Ironside in 2007 but we did. If I hadn’t taken RJ to Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks to spend her Christmas gift card (thanks Mom!) I never would have known she had written another book in the series. I was just sitting there on the floor in the YA section discussing the merits of the various pirate and vampire series’ with RJ and there it was – staring at me from the shelf.

No I did not buy it. I put a note in my iPhone to remind me to reserve it at the library, duh.

And now I’ve ready it.

Wonderful. Ten times better than Valiant and as good as Tithe. Characters from both are in Ironside and they’re brought together perfectly, seamlessly even. Holly Black writes YA dark faery stories fabulously.

Now, a question – if you were a changeling, would you tell YOUR mother?

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Cabinet of Wonders

I loved, loved, LOVED The Cabinet of Wonders! I started it last night and could easily have just read it straight through. But, sleep is important to us old folk so I didn’t. As soon as I finished it, I handed it to RJ telling her she must, must MUST read it right this second. I hope she likes it as much as I did.

What great characters – I want Iris’s power, errr curse, errr power, lol. Acid is cool. Petra is fabulous. I want Astrophil. And the marbles… now wouldn’t those come in handy?

Fantastic story – just the right length and pace. Perfect. Good Cybils finalist! Great, even.

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Chiggers

Chiggers was a lot more popular with my 10 year old graphic novel lover than it was with me. She read it first and reported that “it was better than good but not quite great” – I read it and thought it “ok but not quite good”.

But, I’m really not a huge graphic novel fan.

The idea was a good one. Summer camp and teen girls. Freshmen or not quite freshmen in high school. The mean girl thing. The feeling like you don’t fit in. The feeling like everyone changed and you’re still you. Very good idea and I suspect that’s why Liz liked it and I didn’t.

She’s not a summer camp fan. While she’s not a teen, she is in a new place and trying to figure out where she fits. And again, she really likes graphic novels.

I think she would say this should be in the finals for a Cybil award.

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Marsbound

I’m not really a SciFi fan so I would never have picked Marsbound from the library shelf. I would never have even looked at it close enough to see the author’s name and realize, “Hey, that’s Unca Joe!” that way TW did. I just don’t do much SciFi.

But man I’m glad that a) Lorena talks about her Unca Joe b) TW likes SciFi and pays attention to what Lorena says because Marsbound was excellent.

While TW was reading it, I asked her how it was – and she said good, sort of YA-like (though errr YA books don’t generally have their 18 or 19 year old teen girls having space sex with 30 year old men) and sort of “Acorna-like”.

TW was right, it was YA-like and it was Acorna-like because it’s such an easy and interesting read. You don’t have to work TOO hard to follow the story. The characters are likeable (except the “dragon lady”) and the story moves along at a fairly steady pace. No significant dragging, no jumping ahead and causing you to say “Hey, what happened there?!”

Loved the book. I want a sequel. Maybe an entire series.

Oh yea, also good – books about Gainesville that do not contain characters who are falling all over themselves to worship Gator football or basketball or any other GATOR sport. Nice touch, Unca Joe. Very nice.

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4 Cybils I did love – or at least like a whole lot

I didn’t plan to read quite so many of these last night but it happened and it was fun. There were four that I loved or liked a whole heck of a lot.

First, a non-fiction MG/YA – 11 Planets A New View of the Solar System – the only concern I have about this book is its listing as a YA. It’s a little young and a little light for a YA. Though, honestly at 45, I found the refresher pretty interesting and even helpful when I started reading Unca Joe’s latest book Marsbound (but that’s another post entirely.) So maybe it is YA – for the really non-science geek crowd? It was well written, well organized, great photos, interesting charts in the back. It almost made me wish I was in 4th grade and needed to write a report about the planets.

Next, A River of Words (non-fiction picture book) – what a fantastic book about William Carlos Williams. Great illustrations, they were perfect and really helped make the book so interesting. I’d like to own this one.

After that, Houndsley and Catina and the Quiet Time hahaha – great book and not just because Catina feels the way I do about the snow (or she did at the beginning of the book.) Nice illustrations. This is a book I think all of my big kids would have asked me to read to them over and over again – and then enjoyed reading on their own.

Last but not least, a last minute read when I needed an easy quick book to read so that I could start Unca Joe’s book as soon as TW had finished it – and she wasn’t quite finished – Alvin Ho (middle grade fiction.) I laughed out loud. A lot. It reminded me a little bit of the graphic novel, American Born Chinese – without the illustrations (though there were some and the ones that were there were fabulous.) When Alvin has his “Astroman” incident I seriously laughed out loud which is good since I’m like Alvin’s dad – do not touch my toys, darn it! I loved, loved, loved this book and I’m hoping to convince Liz to read it.

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