Uglies

When I read the first paragraph, I thought this was going to be another lame teen novel. It begins, "The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit." It goes on to detail what you would need to feed your cat in order to get the correct color of sunset-barf. I don't know why the author chose to keep this opening: it has nothing to do with the rest of the tone or writing of the book. So don't judge it on the first paragraph. After that, I was instantly hooked on this post-apocalyptic novel about a world in which everyone is surgically made to be "pretty" when they are 16. The world in which all the "uglies" and "pretties" live is very well developed, with original details, innovations, and flaws. The writing is effortless and I enjoyed the characters. The novel is not exactly unpredictable; yet, I was hooked from start to end.

If you like science fiction, I found a Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. short story called "Harrison Bergeron" that is similar in theme, except that instead of trying to raise everyone up to the standard of equality, the future world is bringing everyone down to a generic level.

Definitely check it out!

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This was given to me by a middle school librarian who wanted to suggest to me that more books be written in this format (I like to draw and write), because it's very easy for struggling readers to connect to. The print is large and "handwritten", the drawings are clever, and the book is quite long, even though it only took me about an hour to read. Yet, there was nothing about the book that was remedial. It's not in the same class as Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , but it's comparable in both style and theme. You could say that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the middle school, white, tamed down version of
Sherman Alexie's book, but still has the same undercurrent of biting honesty. I think it's genius and speaks to a larger audience than just troubled readers.


Author: Jeff Kiney

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon

The concluding book of this very fun trilogy had me a tad disappointed, but over-all I had a wonderful time reading the Peter Pan books. They are creative and fresh, the writing is great, and the innovations on the classic tale feel very exciting. The whole time I felt like I was reading the "truth" behind the made-up story of Peter Pan, or a prequel to what what would eventually become a classic tale. As with the first two, they are excellent read-out-loud books and are infused with Dave Berry's humour throughout. No going wrong with these books, even though the last one felt a little slow and disjointed to me.

Authors: Dave Berry and Riley Pearson

Meet your daemon

In celebration of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass being made into a movie, you can go to the official website and answer a twenty-question test to find out who your daemon is.

I have a sneaky feeling there are only something like 10 options. When I googled it, I saw instantly that most people had snow leopards as their daemons. Mine, by the way, was Aenad the Jackal, which stood for modest, spontaneous, responsible, sociable, and solitary. Nevermind the whole usher-dead-spirits-to-the-netherworld association. So there you have it. Because there aren't enough ways to waste time on the internet.

http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/

MALE AND FEMALE FANTASY?

Nothing kinky. I mean this purely as a gender issue in sci-fi fantasy. I've been putting a lot of thought into this, especially since my husband keeps wanting me to review books like the Hobbit and Redwall and Stardust. I've read them. They just didn't hold the same amount of interest for me as other books I've been reviewing here, and I finally decided it's because there is a vast difference between "male" and "female" fantasy. Let me preface this by saying that I generally don't buy into stereotypical gender differences, but that's not to say that I don't acknowledge gender differences. And it's funny that I would find them so starkly in young adult fantasy books.

Okay, here's my thought. There is a style of fantasy written primarily for boys and men. I can spot it almost instantly. The best example, of course, is The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. A very small handful of female characters. Mostly action. Mostly fighting or preparing to fight. Of course, Tolkien is also an exception to the style in that he includes plenty of lush description and even a fair amount of character insight. Other books, though, tend to stay on the surface of characters and have an almost lackadaisical quality to the writing; it's sparse, and almost self-aware. I had a creative writing teacher who once said some books have the feeling that the author is looking over your shoulder while you read and distracting you. I would say that Male Fantasy has that quality. The best example of this is Neil Gaiman's Stardust. Two-dimensional characters who move swiftly from one tension point to another. Women as objects or evil witches. Stupid little author asides (I find this to be true of all Neil Gaiman's books, by the way).

Female fantasy follows similar sterotypes. Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days comes to mind. There is one small scene of violence, but otherwise the majority of the story is set inside of a tower. For almost three years. But you get to know the characters so well. You're inside of Dashti's head for the entire novel. The Twilight Saga is overtly feminine literature. Each novel builds up to a big scene at the end, but otherwise dwells of character development (not to be confused with maturity) and insights. The language is prosaic and descriptive, and plots follow a long, general arch, as opposed to male literature which would look more like an EKG readout if it were drawn linearly.

There are plenty of androgynous books out there, too. All the Harry Potters, His Dark Materials, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness all come instantly to mind. Perhaps they have just the right combination of the above qualities?

So there, Hubby; I've now reviewed the Hobbit and Stardust.

New Moon and Eclipse

Disclaimer: I am writing this BEFORE I've even finished a cup of coffee (and I can hardly open my eyes before two cups, generally), after having stayed up late so that I could finish Eclipse. I'm debating what sort of verdict to render upon this whole series. Of the three Twilight books, I found New Moon to be the most readable. For one, Edward is gone for most of the book, and we are introduced to a new character. So there's already more action than in the first novel, in which Bella and Edward basically breathe on each other for about three hundred pages. For the record, I like Jacob. Until he phased, I pictured him as a larger version of Noah Hathaway AKA Atreyu from the Neverending Story. He was my first movie-star crush. Which I think just dated me. But it was enjoyable nonetheless.

So New Moon gets a thumbs up. Enjoyable, still somewhat suffocating, but with more action than just watching Edward sparkle in the sunlight.

Now on to Eclipse. As Aunt Linda would say, I give this book an "Oh Brother." It was agonizing to watch Bella and Edward play house. Trust me, I married my high school sweetheart (who I love, but I'm trying to make a point); I KNOW what two teenagers playing house is like. It causes extreme eye-rolling and annoyance. Edward becomes a disturbing combination of father and husband, and is borderline abusive under a facade of keeping the damsel in distress out of too much distress. Meanwhile Bella becomes a contrite whine-fest who spends the whole book playing the field and then wanting others to berate her for it because she's too immature to stop.

Issues of sex and marriage abound, and I really don't know what I thought about the presentation of either. It felt like author Stephenie Meyer was trying to appease too many camps: teens who want to read a good sex scene (don't hold your breath); parents and publishers who don't want the book to be a sex-fest (you'll be pleased); and some kind of moral christian proper order of events that goes love, marriage, lose virginity, become a vampire. In the end, it becomes a contrived tension point that goes absolutely nowhere. So there.

Well written, interesting, but suffocating, contrived, and VERY teenager-ish. I'm glad I read them. I think they're worth it, and I'm glad to see so many people, teens in particular, reading them. It satisfies the teen need to feel that there's something super dramatic going on that the adults are all oblivious to. Also, no matter what you look like or who you are as a person, you might smell good. To vampires and werewolves. Enough to make you the center of a mythical world. And best of all, you might end up with the splendid choice of an overprotective vampire father-husband or a drooling immature werewolf brother-boyfriend. And isn't that what we all secretly desire?

Author: Stephenie Meyers

Book of a Thousand Days

Another great work by Shannon Hale! I fell instantly in love with Dashti, a Mucker (you have to read the book to find out what that is!) who lived on the steppes of ancient Mongolia before becoming a lady's maid. When the Lady she serves is imprisoned in a tower, Dashti is locked up with her and keeps a journal of their imprisonment. This is a lovely, compassionate book with faceted characters and beautiful setting. I thought I had this book figured out in the beginning, and I was delighted to be wrong. LIke all of the Shannon Hale novels I've read so far, the heroine is strong and caring and will win you over. Great read-out-loud!

Author: Shannon Hale

Jack of Fables, vol. 2

If you aren't familiar with Bill Willingham's Fables, you're missing out. This graphic novel series follows the lives of Fables living in a secret section of New York City. Snow White runs the town (although King Cole is officially the mayor) and they are plagued constantly by the Advesary who originally drove them from their fable Homelands. I couldn't read these fast enough. Thank god there were the Jack of Fables spin-offs or I would be very sad indeed. The two graphic novels entitled Jack of Fables detail the exploits of Jack Horner (AKA Jack of beanstalk fame, Jack the Giant Killer, and even Jack Frost).

Authors: Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges

The Golden Compass

I just reread this book, and liked it even more the second (or third?) time around. I wanted to be all brushed up before I go to see the movie. As with almost any book, I'm sure the movie will never equal the richness of the written text (the one exception is the Princess Bride, which I thought was a stupid book but one of the greatest movies of all times), but I'm looking forward to it none-the-less. I'm a total Philip Pullman fan, so I expect I will gripe and fawn in equal parts over the Golden Compass movie. I never realized what a fantastic read-out-loud book this is, but I began reading it to my daughter and we both found it enchanting. The book on CD is also very enjoyable; it's supported by a full cast (who are much more authentic than my fake Cockney and London accents, but my daughter doesn't seem to care). The complexity of the Dark Materials plot lends itself well to frequent re-reading. Even this time through I caught things I didn't previously. So if you haven't already, dust this off and curl up with a blanket and cup of coffee before going to see it in the theaters.

Author: Philip Pullman

FOLLOW-UP: I saw the movie. It was actually better than I expected. The film rearranged some sequence of event that worked to not only condense the plot but make it more linear and focused; and the conflict between the Church and free will was made much more clear. I admit that the books left me working harder to discern the importance of Dust, the reason the Maagestrium was after the control of Dust and the purpose of the Intercisions. The movie actually clarified a lot for me. The morphing of Pan and the other daemons also worked very well. Yay!

The Woman Who Rides Like A Man

I'm so totally hooked on this series. They transport me every time, and I love the journey. This is the third book in the Lioness Quartet, and I think they're just brilliant and pulpy in the best sort of way. Alanna is a great heroine and I think her love life is so fun: should she marry Jonathan, the hasty prince who has been her lover but who might want to marry for the wrong reasons?; or should she side with George the King of Thieves, who loves her completely but has a dangerous life style? We still don't know. But Alanna stays true to herself and follows her heart, even if it may take her away from both of them.

Author: Tamora Pierce

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Holy. Smokes. Bravo, Sherman Alexie, on this spectacular first novel for young adults. Of course the minute I learned this book had come out I went out a bought it in hardcover (eeks!) because I want to support our local authors, even if they're already superstars. If you've ever read a Sherman Alexie novel before, you'll already be prepared for his depressing sense of humour and tongue-in-cheek descriptions of life as a Spokane Indian. If this will be your first time entering Alexie's rez, brace yourself for an emotional ride that skids just above the suface of sarcasm and leaves you going WTF?!? but in a good way. I think. It's hard to tell. This morbidly funny diary details a year in the life of Arnold Junior Spirit, who decides to venture off the rez and become the first Indian student in an all-white school. This novel wouldn't be half of what it is without the fantastic drawings by Ellen Forney. This is a fast read, and a compelling story for all ages.

Author: Sherman Alexie
Illustrations by Ellen Forney

Twilight

I started planning what to say about this book as soon as I got a few pages in to it, but I still don't know exactly what to think. It's gotten a lot of hype, and according to my middle school librarian source it's fairly controversial because of its purportedly erotic nature. On the one hand, this book never would have made it onto my bookshelf if it hadn't been well-publicized as being edgy, because it is a teen vampire novel. Gag me. But the other interest I had in it was the setting, which takes place mere few hours from my hometown here in the Pacific Northwest. Forks, the town in which the novel is set, really is an ex-logging town on the Olympic Peninsula, and I enjoyed reading the lush descriptions of local forests, beaches, and, of course, weather. The book centers around two teenagers, Edward and Bella, who are in love. It's giving away nothing to say that Edward's a vampire, since the book's jacket says so in the first sentance; however, it takes Bella the first hundred pages or so to figure it out, and the rest of the book she spends all googley-eyed and loopy at his amazing vampire-ness. I can see how this could be a sensuous novel to a young reader, but there are very convenient limits to how far their relationship can go: they cannot really kiss; they cannot have sexual relations; they cannot get too excited around one another or else he might eat her. There's the basic tension for the whole of the novel. In fact, I found their relationship to be extremely suffocating. Often I rolled my eyes thinking to myself, "how can they possibly be so glued at the hip? How can anyone keep up that level of intensity and inseparability?" Ah, but you know? It's a teen vampire novel. Enough said, I guess. But as much as I could rant about the book and it's somewhat under-developed characters, it's mushy main lovebirds, the annoying repetition of different variations of "he's so perfectly beautiful and his breath smells so good and his eyes are so amazing and he drinks grizzly bear blood", there was something that also held my attention. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't put this book down. In fact, I may even read the sequel. I can't explain it. Maybe there's just something so parasitic and mysterious about teen love and obsession that it just makes sense.

Spirit Walker

When I first heard about the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series it was through this book. I was drawn to it because a rave review from my favourite local bookstore, but also because the cover art looked so Pacific Northwest. It is, in fact, supposed to be set in a more nordic setting, but I couldn't help but think of ancient times in my own backyard San Juan islands. Hey, we have Orcas too, you know. Once again Torak, Renn and Wolf must vanquish a terrible evil that threatens the Forest, and this time their trek leads them to the Sea. Michelle Paver's dedication to first-hand research made the setting come alive for me, and I saw many elements of Haida and Inuit cultures sprinkled throughout the novel, but never too heavy-handed, which was refreshing. Although these book are a little predictable, I still enjoy being transported to a fresh-scented outdoor world filled with spirits, demons, and lots of adventure. I put this in the "Mist of Avalon" catagory, but I would liken it most to Clan of the Cavebears.

Author: Michelle Paver

Flora Segunda

There is a lot of honesty in this book, although it is sometimes covered up by too much effort to create a parallel world. Once you get past the jargon and the altered realities, you meet a girl who is different enough to be compelling. There are nice touches that made this book stand out for me: her mother is a hard-core military hero (which is different); her father is an alcoholic nutjob who lives in the attic; and the house comes with its very own immaterial servant who ends up nearly stealing our heroine's life force. It could almost be a metaphor of not giving ones self away to easily to please others, but I think I was reading too much in to it. Fun, strange...that about sums it up.

Author: Ysabeau S. Wilce

East

Are you getting tired of the girl-meets-talking-bear theme yet? Yeah, me neither. This was a terrific novel that wove in elements of Nordic mythology and fantasy together with a strong heroine and compelling story. Bears, weaving, family, solitude, evil sorceresses...all great themes that kept me up way past my bedtime. This would be a great book to curl up with on a cold, snowy day.

Author: Edith Pattou

Inkheart

They're going to make a movie of this, aren't they. Sigh. Oh well. Read the book anyway. It's good. Book characters come to life, heroine must stop them, evil is evil, good is good; all in all a fun read that takes you across a well-drawn European landscape (ah, Italy especially) and kept me engaged throughout.

Author: Cornelia Funke

Stargirl

I get the hype. This book was excellent. It's not technically sci-fi or fantasy, but I felt compelled to read it because of the press it has received, as well as the success of the sequel and journal.

I connected to this book on a personal level for many reasons; I've always been strangely drawn to Arizona, and I see a very strong part of myself in both Stargirl and in Leo. I think the simultaneous desire to fit in and yet stand out—or better yet, stand out and be loved for it—surpasses middle school or high school culture. We can all identify with that, which made it a beautiful read for me as an adult. Hardly any books about high school would find their way onto my bookshelf at this particular time, namely because you could not pay me enough to be a teenager again (don't get me wrong, I loved it. And I would not wish it on anybody all the same breath. Maybe I'll read some trashy teen lit when my daughter is *eeks* in high school).

Anyway, far from being just a cathartic novel about being different, this novel has something truly unique to it, something that captured my heart as easily as Stargirl captured Mica High School. It helps that it is beautifully written. It helps that the characters are, for the most part, fresh and real (with the slight exception of the wizened old man who sits on his porch smoking a pipe). I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been to high school, who has/had a child in high school, or who wishes they could forget about high school. Basically, anyone. It's a fast read and worth the poetic mental trip to the warm, Arizona desert.

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

As sequels go, I found this to be a strong and entertaining follow-up on the very popular Fablehaven. Seth and Kendra must go back to Fablehaven (for their own protection, of course) and get into the usual this-could-be-the-end-of-Fablehaven disasters. While Seth didn't annoy me as much this time, he still is his usual out-of-control self, and Kendra is once again the reluctant hero, although this time she posesses fairy powers. The trouble I had is that she hardly ever USES her amazing fairy-ness, so I'm hoping her magic powers will blossom in the third book, due out in 2008. Entertaining, a little convoluted in some places, and overall a very enjoyable book.

The Hollow People (The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus, Book 1)

Strange book of the Hidden Hero persuasion. A young boy who has so far been treated like garbage discovers he has amazing powers of control over theenigmatic Odylic force (which was a concept explored by real-life scientist Baron Karl von Reichenbach in the 1800s). It has a ring of Jedi Knight-ness to it. The tone of the book is dark and unworldly, with just enough unique narrative detail to make it stand out. It is, by the way, the first of a series which I abruptly found out when the book ended quite suddenly and on a major cliffhanger. Drat.

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness)

I picked this sequel up the moment I finished Alanna: The First adventure and read it in one day! I'm totally hooked! I've only read these two books of Tamora Pierce's many titles, but I would say that at this moment I am a fan. I loved that the main character, who is a young woman in disguise (althoughyou'd think that by the time she hasn't grown a beard or had her voice drop her friends may have figured it out) separates sex from love. It's, I think, an unusual concept for a YA book, but I really loved it. It's such a nice spin-off from the conservative idea of abstinence and sex-before-marriage-and-only-if-you're-in-love crap. It was very subtle, and I appreciate that Pierce has given young women an alternative to the hype of sex and made it seem totally natural. Alanna, the main
character, still struggles with love and trust throughout the book which is a welcomed tension. Also, as her closest friends discover she is really a woman, they accept her as much if not more than they already had. No ostracizing here, which is a great message to young women, and even grown women. We all need reminding that we are
wonderful and powerful just for being ourselves.

Author: Tamora Pierce