Dreams of Joy

2011, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I was looking forward to Dreams of Joy, the sequel to Shanghai Girls, because the ending of Shanghai Girls really left us hanging.

Unfortunately, it was a little to slow for me. And I just wanted to shake JOY every step of the way. Well maybe not there at the end but for the first 150 pages or so, at least.

I still liked Pearl. I even liked what little bit of May we got to see. And, I did like Z.G.. And Daun. And Cook.

It was Joy. Joy. Joy. Joy.

I understand that she was upset and confused and had a bit of brainwashing going on about China. But to have rushed into that – and to have been that blind to what was really happening… she was too smart for that. Or I thought she was. Apparently not?

If there had been a way to get Pearl to China, that didn’t involve Joy being an idiot – then I’d have liked this book a lot more, I think.

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The Wager

2011, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Young Adult /

I like fairy tales. This means that I was pretty sure I would enjoy The Wager. And I did – after I got about halfway through the book. Before that – not so much. I could not seem to get attached to Don Giovanni. I didn’t really care whether he won – or the devil won. (Though I was pretty sure the devil wasn’t going to win…)  If it hadn’t been a Cybils book, I’d have probably put it down before Don Giovanni met Cani.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can say that I’m glad I stuck with it. I do wish it hadn’t been quite so slow in the beginning, though.

(Two more cybils left! I’m going to do it!!!!)

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Ship Breaker

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

People who write in library books should be shot. DEAD. Seriously.

Some idiot wrote in the copy of Ship Breaker I picked up from the library. They didn’t just make a couple of notes or underline a few passages – they marked up the entire book. Going so far as to write down the name of the character speaking in the margins. Who does that? Who even NEEDS to do that? The writing made it incredibly difficult to focus on the story – my eye kept getting drawn to the recap written in the margin. Or the extra stupid rephrased question. Or the name of the character.

Anyway, enough of that.

Ship Breaker was… not bad, all things considered (see above).

I feel like I’ve read a similar story – or met similar characters but I can’t quite put my finger on the story or the characters I’m thinking of. It will come to me – probably in a dream (or the next time I come across a marked up library book.)  

I found myself more interested in the supporting characters than I was in Nailer. Or even Nita.  For instance, I’m fascinated by Tool and would love to see his story in another book.  I want to know more about Pima and her mother. Even Lucky Strike. And Robertson? Reynolds? (What is her name?) The woman on the Dauntless, the one who was the patron of Knot – what’s HER story?

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Three Cybils Non-Fiction

2011, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Young Adult /

Goodness these three non-fiction books were long! At one point I told TW I would come watch a movie once I finished this book. She said “that’s another baby book, why haven’t you already finished it?”  I showed her why… there were a ton of words in that thing and all three of them were like that. A little surprising since the non-fiction genre can sometimes be light on words – particularly when they’re heavy on photos, as these three books were.

First, my favorite of the three – and maybe my favorite from this year’s non-fiction lists, Kakapo Rescue. You’re shocked, aren’t you? I am not a bird person and spend a considerable portion of my life cursing RJ’s cockatiel and counting down the days until it moves out of my house. I hate that bird. Kakapo’s, however, COOL and totally should be rescued. How fascinating. I want to rescue Kakapos!

Next, Hive Detectives – this is the story about the honeybee problem. Unfortunately, no real solutions – just a solid reporting of what happened and what scientists (and bee keepers) are doing to figure out what happened (and prevent it from continuing). We need bees so I hope they figure it out soon.

Last but not least, Unspeakable Crime. This is the story of Leo Frank and Mary Phagan. What happened? What didn’t happen? Interesting read.  I’m glad I didn’t live in Atlanta in 1913. Or anywhere in 1913, really.

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Ivy & Intrigue

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Three things about Ivy & Intrigue:

–          I’m glad I didn’t read it when it first came out. Reading it close to Christmas and close to the next book made me happy.

–          Lauren Willig should have written one holiday novella every year, in between books. That would have been awesome.

–          I cannot wait for the next book (even if it is titled badly – a garden is not a flower!)

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Pod

2011, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Pod was… depressing.  Obviously. A story about aliens who take over the world has got to be depressing.

On the other hand, it was pretty fascinating. Not so much the would you eat your father part (or your dog) – that’s something that would obviously have to come up. More the what were those aliens doing? Seems to me they were cleaning the earth of contaminants.  Reducing the population without completely eradicating the population. Leaving the bikes but taking the pollution-creating vehicles.

Fascinating. Really.

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Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Young Adult /

I almost did not reserve Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick.  I’ve got more than enough to read and more, more, more than enough YA to read and I just didn’t believe it was going to be THAT good. But after reading other people’s posts about it, I figured what the hell and reserved it.

It was that good.

The college essay questions at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch. A very nice touch. In fact, perfect.

There must be a sequel and Sassymonkey said something about a movie. It will be an awesome action movie (no vampires!)

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Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction /

Sad, sad, sad. Also, did I mention Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze is sad? I think it’s miss-titled, too. Otherwise – good book. I liked the drawings a lot.  I’m not sure whether middle graders will really love this book – sad, sad, sad – but I definitely did enjoy it. Except where it made me almost cry.

It was the blanket that did me in.

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Spilling Ink

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Non-Fiction, Young Adult /

When TW read Spilling Ink, it made her want to write so badly that we had to dig around in the car to find a piece of paper and a pen so that she could write RIGHT THAT MOMENT. When I read Spilling Ink, it didn’t really make me want to write. It did make me want to pull out my altered book, though. So it definitely does something to spark creative juices.

I was hoping it would be a good book for RJ but it’s a little young for her – or she’s a little too sophisticated for it. Or … she’s too “something” for it. That’s ok, it did cause me to think of another book about writing that I think she will appreciate…

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