Fiction

I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes

2 Comments / 2007, A to Z Challenge, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

In the spring of 2006 Sassymonkey started talking about I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes. She talked about it so much that I wanted to read it but it was Canadian or something and of course not available at my library. So, sassymonkey gifted me with it. And it’s been on my TBR pile ever since. I added it to my A to Z list challenge because I thought that would encourage me to get it read… and it did. I finished it last night.

But not before I griped about reading it. (and no I’m not sharing the video TW made of me griping about reading it)

The first 150 pages or so were so confusing and just a little slow. I just could not get into it and could not see why Sassymonkey had been talking about that book. And, I could NOT figure out how or why this was re-titled and published as YA in the US. (The Spell Book of Listen Taylor)

About half-way through, I figured out why Sassymonkey (and TW) enjoyed the book. I am here, grudgingly, to say that it WAS a good book. And it was interesting and different and if I’d have been Cath, I’d have killed the entire Zing family. Dead. OK not Cassie (or Taylor, part of the extended Zing family) ’cause they were kids and not involved. The rest – DEAD, completely DEAD.

I’m still not sure I like the idea of this being a YA book and I’m pretty sure there are huge groups of rabid, over-protective mommies who would hate the idea even more than I do. I just don’t see any of the YAs in my world ever sitting through the first 150 pages of this book, Coyote F*** or no Coyote F***.

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Elissa’s Quest

2007, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

It took me a very long time to read Elissa’s Quest and it should only have taken a day. It’s a very young book and a very easy to read book but I was distracted by kid activities and a heavy workload. Too bad – otherwise I’d have hopped over to the library to see if the sequels were available. I want to know what happens to Elissa next.

Very nice little girl’s adventure book.

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Hero

2007, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Queer, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

It’s all YA all the time for me. It seems like every book on my TBR pile is YA. Weird, but I like it except that it makes me want to do a year long YA challenge or something. Anyway, the YA I’m blogging about right now is QUEER YA! Hero was pretty darn amusing and that’s high praise because I don’t really love comic book heroes and that’s what this story is about.

A boy, who happens to be gay also happens to have super powers. He struggles with a dad who doesn’t have super powers but used to be a super hero and who doesn’t want his son to be gay. He struggles with a mom who left him when he was young and, well… I won’t give away more of the plot line.

There’s a very happy ending though not everyone lives happily ever after – which is as it should be in the world of comic book super heroes and families, right?

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The Off Season

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

I was a little wary of The Off Season. I liked Dairy Queen pretty well but I was worried about the sequel. There were a lot of “issues” brought up in Dairy Queen and I just wasn’t sure the sequel would handle them the way I wanted it to. If anything, The Off Season was better than Dairy Queen.

I was particularly pleased with the relationship between DJ and Brian and how that entire thing played out. I was even more impressed with the handling of Amber & Dale’s relationship and how DJ adjusted to that. (Very very amused by the end, when the women were cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner to a cd by “Melissa something”. Ha. Excellent.)

I’d love to say “I can’t wait for the next book” but I’m worried. The curse of the third book might strike here. I’m thinking Murdock should quit while she’s ahead with DJ and family.

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The Virgin Blue

2007, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

Oops.

I picked up The Virgin Blue in audio several months ago. I handed it to TW and asked her if we had read it because I felt like we had but I couldn’t remember it from reading the cover or reading the reviews and stuff on Amazon. TW felt like we had read it but also couldn’t remember it. So, we started listening to it, it did not sound familiar. And then the tape broke.

I took it back to the library and decided to reserve it in print so we could finish it. The darn thing has been on the shelf for months and was due back this week so I pushed it to the front of the TBR pile and picked up where the tape had broken. And that’s about the time it started to sound familiar. But I just kept on reading.

And oh yea! I liked it the first time, too. I remember now.

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May Bird and the Ever After

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I finished up May Bird and the Ever After on the plane yesterday and was glad this was the book I happened to be reading. I think I prefer children’s lit and young adult lit for plane rides. Light and easy but also sort of interesting. That’s what May Bird is. TW found it a little too dark but I thought it was fine and not nearly as dark as a lot of other books for kids. I wonder if the other books in the series are any good… I have to know what happens to May, Somber Kitty and all of these dead folks when they get to the Far North.

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Run

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

I hesitated to read Run because Patchett disappointed me so much with Bel Canto, I didn’t want to fall in love with a book only to have it come crashing down at the end…which is what happened with Bel Canto all of those years ago. Loved it, right up until the end and then hated it so much that I wound up hating the book. (I know, I’m one of the very few people who feels that way about Bel Canto. I’m odd, I’m used to that.)

Something else that made me nervous about Run… TW didn’t say one single word about it while reading it or after reading it.

Thank goodness. I wasn’t disappointed by the end. Wasn’t disappointed by any single word of it. Run. Was. Awesome. From the first page to the last page. I loved it.

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