2009

Some more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult /

First, graphic novel Emiko Superstar, by the author of Skim. Loved Emiko, more than I loved Skim. I’m looking forward to Liz reading it. I think she’ll like it. Also hoping there’s an Emiko sequel.

Next, On the Farm, listed in the Cybils under poetry. Errr, well yea it is, I guess. Mostly I really liked the woodcuts and ink (TW did not like them at ALL – she said the animals were creepy.)

After that, How to Heal a Broken Wing – didn’t expect to love it. Loved it. Great story. Great drawings. But, if I had a small child I would be worried that my small child would find it perfectly acceptable to pick up a dead (or injured) pigeon and eww. no. those things are dirty!

Last, but not least, a book I loved and hated. More than Friends, a YA poetry anthology written by a man and a woman, from his perspective and hers. Really interesting and pretty stereotypical – which was what I both loved and hated about it. I can’t decide if my teen girls (or young adult girls) should read it or if I should hope they never see it.

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Some books that aren’t Cybils

2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Don't Read This, Favorites /

Let’s see… I read Yellow Elephant because the Cybil Imaginary Menagerie was so interesting. Yellow Elephant was wonderful. If my daughter ever has a child, she will have to own it. She may need to own it even if she does not have a child.

Then, RJ showed up with a book that she was SURE I would love. And I did, sort of. But not for reasons she thought I would love it. is a sarcastic or maybe humorous take on the puppies and dogs in pop art, from what just happens to be my childhood. I loved flipping through the pages of those dogs that I have known and loved but I did not love the “humor” attached, in most places.

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Savvy

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I think Savvy was maybe mis-categorized in The Cybils. I think it should have simply been a middle grade fiction book because then it might have had a chance to win. Or, probably not but I’d like to think it would.

The writing isn’t exceptional. A good bit of gratuitous use of silly words and descriptors but I get why it’s written that way. It’s a fantastic story. Really excellent. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we all got our “savvy” at 13?

I love, love, love Mibs’ “savvy” (but I do NOT want to have that “savvy” for myself. I’d never be able to spend time with my big kids!) Brilliant. I don’t think there are many children’s authors who’d have taken that direction.

I think Liz will love this one, if I can convince her to read it.

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Jellicoe Road

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Young Adult /

Another good Cybil YA book, Jellicoe Road but there are a couple of problems with it.

First, it’s Australian. And while I like Australian books, the more modern of them can be difficult to wrap my head around. The characters confuse me – they some times seem American and other times seem European and I need them to seem Australian, whatever that means.

Second, it’s a YA problem book, which is enough to make you crazy. And the damn problems are all related to just how stupid adults can be when it comes to raising children.

OK another problem, the confusion of the characters makes for confusion in the book which causes confusion for the reader.

Once I settled into the confusion, got my bearings a little bit – I liked the story, though it was a wee bit predictable. I liked all of the characters from the beginning – except maybe the original five (which makes sense because they are the adults who screwed up the main characters in the story…)

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2 more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Young Adult /

I finished Duel! a few days ago but didn’t feel like blogging it by itself. It’s ok but boring. In fact, I cannot figure out how you can make a duel between Burr and Hamilton boring – but after reading this… well it’s possible. Yes indeedy.

And then there was graphic novel Three Shadows. Oy. Liz read this and she really liked it. I had high hopes. And then I read it and OY! She liked this? I mean I get why a 10 year old would like a story about a father who turns into a Golem but… man… this thing was deep. And depressing. And drawn in dark dark colors, not pretty at all. And not really a happy ending, in the sense that 10 year olds generally understand happy endings.

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A Mercy

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I am a Toni Morrison fan. A pretty big Toni Morrison fan. I don’t re-read books very often but I’ve read Song of Solomon, Beloved and The Bluest Eye several times each. Which really just means I am sorry to say that I did not love A Mercy.

I didn’t hate it. It’s impossible for me to hate anything Morrison writes but I didn’t love it. I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t even really like it. I am glad I read it, that’s about the best I can say for it.

I should have just re-read Song of Solomon or The Bluest Eye.

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Two more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult /

Imaginary Menagerie – wow. The pictures are fabulous. The poetry is a little ho-hum but not bad. What TW and I wonder about is how many small children have had this book read to them and then had nightmares. Hobgoblins and Trolls and the like are scary creatures and both the images and the poetry don’t soften them up any. I’ve never read The Yellow Elephant but I’m reserving it at the library now.

A graphic novel, There’s a Wolf at the Door was not bad – Liz liked it but not as much as Rapunzel’s Revenge or Jellaby. It was a little “young”, a little lightly drawn, and the wolf’s clothes reminded me of the ringmaster at the Flea Circus we saw yesterday. I kept getting distracted by that.

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When Madeline Was Young

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

It’s been a long time since I read a book by Jane Hamilton and after reading When Madeline Was Young I’m trying to remember if I really liked Map of the World or Book of Ruth. Were they as ODD as When Madeline Was Young? Or as slow?

I didn’t hate this book, it was just…slow and weird. And kind of amusing since the Macivers lived in our neck of Chicagoland.

Would YOU take care of your new husband’s ex wife who had been in an accident that left her with brain damage causing her to be perpetually 7 years old? My answer is heck no.

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The Host

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I swore I was not going to read The Host. I was sure I wasn’t going to read it. I never put it on the library list. I had no intention of buying it. Even if RJ showed up at the house with it, raving about “souls” instead of vampires, I was NOT going to read it.

But I read it.

TW found it on the shelf at the library and she read it first. Even as she read it, I swore I was not going to read it.

But I read it.

All 500 something pages of it. It was heavy.

It was also pretty darn good. Darn it.

I even liked the ending which I did not think I was going to like. Darn it.

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What I Was

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

While I waited for Liz to pick out some graphic novels, I noticed What I Was sitting on the “new” YA fiction shelf. I dropped it into my book bag, sort of expecting it to be a sequel or a prequel to How I Live Now – a book I really liked.

TW started reading it and informed me that this was not a sequel or a prequel or in any way related to that book. Huh. OK. And then, she didn’t say much more about it…

So I picked it up without any real expectations and I was loving it. Super surprised by the “boy” love story.

And then… the end came and… I don’t want to screw this book up for anyone reading this who might be interested in the book… it’s well worth reading, it is. Meg Rosoff is an excellent writer and creates fantastic characters. I should just leave it at that. And if you want to discuss my thoughts (and TW’s as it turns out) about the book, I’m happy to engage via email… because again, I really don’t want to color anyone’s reading of the book.

Just read it and find out for yourself….

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