Young Adult

A Step From Heaven

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Young Adult /

No, I’m not here to suggest that the Evanston area is a step from heaven. It is not. A Step From Heaven is a YA “problem” book that was up for a Printz Award.

We started listening to it on audio during our trip to Tampa last weekend and TW and I finished it up on the way to the airport yesterday.

It is a YA problem book or more to the point, a YA Korean immigrant problem book. The best type of problem book, according to those who nominate books for awards. Problem books – good … Immigrant problem books – better!

Or not.

How depressing. With a happy ending!

Ho hum.

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True Believer

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Queer, Young Adult /

When TW read the CD case for True Believer and told me it was the second in a trilogy I almost said “forget it” – Printz Challenge or no Printz Challenge. I do not like to read books out of order. Ever.

But, I said what the heck and put the first CD in the player.

Right off the bat, it was a little disconcerting because the voice of LaVaughn is the same voice as “Baby Girl” from Upstate. I was afraid it was going to be such a similar book that I’d just be confusing my characters all of the way through. But it wasn’t like that at all.

None of the poor black teens went to jail. None of the poor black teens were having sex that they shouldn’t have been having, though there was Jolly who had already done that – a couple of times. There was also the gay boy storyline, very unusual in a novel about black city teens.

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May Bird: Warrior Princess

2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I was worried about May Bird: Warrior Princess because third books in series are cursed. And also because Cat was unhappy with it, or so sassymonkey said. I read it anyway and I think knowing the book was cursed helped.

I didn’t hate it.

I also didn’t love it. But really, I did not hate it.

Pumpkin? Liked it.
Legume? Liked it.

The end – did not like and that makes it hard to remember that there were pieces that I did like.

NASA? Ummm no. Unnecessary and wrong.
Somber Kitty? No, no and no again.

I hope this is the end of the series, for real, otherwise I’d be asking for a do-over – Somber Kitty and May deserved better than the last book they were dealt.

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2 more Printz books down

2 Comments / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Printz Award Challenge, Young Adult /

I picked up Freewill expecting, I don’t know what… TW read it last week and said she didn’t understand a word. Well. Yea. Weird book. I cannot imagine a teen reading this book and really enjoying it. Pretty disappointed Printz Award nominee, I think. It feels like a book we should all like and one that kids should all like – but we don’t, and they won’t.

Then, because I didn’t know what I was supposed to be reading next, I grabbed Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by 20th Century Art. Quick and easy to read and finish – and it was. I didn’t really expect much from it. It looks like a little kids’ book but it wasn’t. The poetry was interesting and the art was fantastic. And that’s what this is about – poets choosing a work of art and writing poetry inspired by the art. Good stuff.

So – one Printz not so good, another very good and two more scratched off the list. It was a good night for challenges.

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Two more YA and a Printz update

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Young Adult /

I accidentally finished two more YA books last night which means two more books from my Printz Award Challenge are complete. Cool. I’m betting 2001 was a tough year to pick the winner. These books were good.

We started listening to The Body of Christopher Creed on audio and got about halfway through it and cassette number four wouldn’t play properly. That was frustrating. The story was really getting going. I kept forgetting to reserve the print version and was pleasantly surprised when I found it on the shelf during our Wednesday trip to the library.

So I picked it up and started in on Chapter 13 and before I knew it, it was 11pm and I’d finished it. It was good. Very good. Loved the characters. Loved the setting. Loved the storyline. Is he dead or is he hiding – building a new life somewhere?

Before that, I read Many Stones which was also good but incredibly depressing. Super short book, very quick read and very depressing. But I said that, right? I guess the murder of your sister when you’re a 16 year old and then facing apartheid can’t really be anything BUT depressing, right?

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Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Young Adult /

I didn’t expect to enjoy Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging but I did. I enjoyed it very much and I laughed out loud a lot. Now that I’m finished, I’m also anxious to know what happened with the Sex God.

I’m so glad that the books on my Printz challenge have been really good, not like a lot of books that make the adult awards short lists (or long lists, for that matter.)

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Kit’s Wilderness

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Kit’s Wilderness written by David Almond (author of the fantastic YA book Skellig) wrote this one and it was good but not quite as good as Skellig.

Creepy but maybe a little too creepy? Or maybe a little too “much”? I’m not sure what it was about Kit’s Wilderness that made it not quite as good as Skellig – but it was something.

I did love Grandpa and Allie and Kit and even John. It wasn’t the characters – it might have been the dream woman and the baby.

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May Bird: Among the Stars

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

For some reason I think Karen’s friend Kit Cat did not like the other books in the May Bird series and I’m wondering why. But I don’t have time to surf her blog to find out if I’m imagining that or why she didn’t like them. Maybe I’ll get caught up enough at work later today and figure it out. Or maybe not. Whatever.

I liked Among the Stars (book two) a lot. I’m so glad her mom ummm would that ruin the story if I said what I’m glad her mom did or did not do? Probably, so I won’t say anything. Very glad mom did what she did. Also glad about Beatrice’s mom. I’m just glad about the moms in the story, in general. Also glad about the good characters who aren’t all good and the bad characters who aren’t all bad.

I just like these books. Enough to stay up far too late in order to finish book 2 just a few hours after I started it. heh.

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