2009

I Know It’s Over

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

I think I need to take a break from the Cybil YA books, they’re all going to pale in comparison to Disreputable History etc… Take I Know It’s Over, for example.

Damn good YA relationship book. No pulled punches on the abortion issue and a fairly good job with the gay issue. But, I was bored and I think it’s because I kept thinking “it’s nowhere near as good as Disreputable History….” I bet if I head read it before Disreputable History… I’d be raving about how good this book was.

But I’m not.

So no more Cybils YA for me for awhile. Middle grade fiction and graphic novels, here I come!

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My two favorite Cybils

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

When TW was reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Ladnau-Banks she made it sound like just another coming of age story… turns out, it’s a hell of a lot more than that. It’s not even just another girl dates one boy but likes another, boarding school, coming of age story.

This little book is one of the best pieces of YA I’ve ever read. Ever. But, then again, it speaks to the feminist in me.

I see that my behavior disrupted the smooth running of your patriarchal establishment.

Heh.

I’m buying it. A couple of copies actually. Maybe one of our girls will develop just a little bit more “Frankie Landau-Banks-ness” if they read it.

After I finished DHoFLB, I picked up the middle grade, Diamond Willow written by Helen Frost (whose Printz Honor book, Keesha’s House, I loved.) I was a little worried about it because it’s prose… written in diamond shape…with bolded words that tell another mini story.

I worried for nothing.

I loved this book. Totally different from Keesha’s House.

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Based on the Movie

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I found Based on the Movie sitting on the “just back” shelf at the library and I tossed it in my bag just because I liked the name.

It started slowly – I read a chapter and it almost put me to sleep. When I picked it back up the next night, I thought I was going to have to fight my way through it but 25 pages later I was hooked. And laughing. I’m glad I’m not in the movie business, just sayin’.

I don’t really love how it ended, but I don’t hate how it ended, either. And, I’m not sure what kind of ending I’d have preferred. There was just something a little unsatisfying about it.

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Jellaby

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

Jellaby is the graphic novel that Liz picked up rather than finishing Into the Volcano. She finished it pretty quickly and when I asked her about it, she never even mentioned the boy who was a primary character in the book. She talked about the girl and the really scary man (that really scary man was something she mentioned quite a bit, I’m surprised she didn’t dream about him herself!)

Anyway, I read it – and yes indeed, there is a scary man. There’s also a couple of weird kids and a weird purple monster and a dysfunctional mom and bullies at school and wow, that’s a lot of stuff happening in a really short graphic novel that has fewer words than a lot of graphic novels I’ve read.

It’s a busy little book and it ended with a cliffhanger, so now I have to go and get the next Jellaby book for Liz – but not for me, I don’t care enough to read anymore of them and besides, she’ll tell me what happens.

PS. Liz still says Chiggers is the best graphic novel we’ve read this year.

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The Graveyard Book

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

The Graveyard Book is indeed worthy of the Newberry (whatever that means) – it’s excellent. An excellent story, excellently written. It is significantly better than Coraline.

But – I could not persuade any of the kids to read it.

Prince J looked at it and said “interesting, maybe I’ll read it this weekend” – but he didn’t. I wasn’t interested and only said that to appease me.

RJ took the book from TW and said she’d read it – after TW told her she MUST, it was THAT GOOD and after I told her that she had 24 hours to read it because I would want it… she read a couple of chapters, put it down and picked up Dracula instead. She even chose to re-read bits of Breaking Dawn for the 800th time rather than read more of The Graveyard Book.

This, I’m afraid, is one of those books we’ll have to force our kids to read – and they’ll like it well enough, but it won’t be until they’re 25 that they’ll really appreciate the mastery of the story or the characters or the writing. It’s a shame. It’s the best Newberry winner I’ve read in a long time.

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The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Yay Willig! The Temptation of the Night Jasmine was fun, as expected. I really like Charlotte and of course the Dowager Duchess. I even like the Duke of Dovedal (and I don’t always really like the men Willig pairs her women with.)

Sassymonkey says Penelope is next, which I’m looking forward too. But, not if that means there wll be no book about Jane… are you listening Willig. The series must now be seven books, not the rumored six.

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Fire Study

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

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

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Women /

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

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, short stories, Women, Young Adult /

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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3 more Cybils

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Poetry /

Astronaut Handbook was cute, nicely drawn but not my cup of tea, really.

Honeybee was pretty good, better than I expected. I preferred the prose to the poetry but even some of the poetry drew me in. Young poetry and prose readers won’t be turned off by this, though in some places it reads a little older than I expected.

Ain’t Nothing But a Man was excellent. Maybe it’s just because I liked John Henry as a kid and so was already drawn to the story or maybe because it was just really interesting? I don’t know, but this is another one I’d like to own. (The information about how to be a Historian, in the back, was also excellent.) If I was a Cybils judge, I’d be sorely tempted to vote this one as the winner. (I know, I haven’t read the others yet but… still, this is going to be tough to beat.)

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