Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Book Review

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
(Razorbill, Hardcover)
Rating:

This book isn't out until October 18th but I just had to post on it right away. Why? Because this is absolutely my favorite book of the year. Put it on your wishlist now and when you get it, be prepared to sit down and read it cover to cover. Here's the premise...Clay Jensen returns home from school one day and finds a package of 13 tapes on his front door step. Only, the tapes are from a girl in his class that committed suicide.

Here's a short excerpt to show you what a great writer Jay is (and I'm paraphrasing)...
"Hello, boys and girls. Hannah Baker here. Live and in stereo. I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why. I'm not saying which tape brings you into the story. But fear not, if you received this lovely little box, your name will pop up...I promise. Now, why would a dead girl lie?"

Each of the 13 tapes tells the story of one person and how they contributed to Hannah's suicidal state of mind. This is a story of Hannah, but also of Clay who is the narrator. This book sat on my bookshelf for months and I kept thinking, oh, I don't want to read a depressing book right now. But I promise, this book isn't the average dying-teen book. It's so much more. It's the story of how one boy copes with the death of a girl he liked. And it's the story of how each action affects someone else. And it's the story of how brutal high school can be. And it's the story of the importance of connections, how tenuous they can be and how strong they can be. I haven't read a book that was so riveting and thought-provoking in years. I know you can't judge a book by it's cover, but in this case, it really captures the tone of the novel.

Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith Book Review

Betwixt by Tara Bray Smith
(Little Brown, Hardcover)
Rating:

I read this book a few months ago and forgot to write notes about it, so bear with me. To give you an idea of the plot, here's the excerpt from the back of the book:

"Beautiful Morgan D'Amici wakes in her trailerpark home with dirt and blood under her fingernails. Paintings come alive under Ondine Mason's violet-eyed gaze. Haunted runaway Nix Saint-Michael sees halos of light around people about to die. At a secret summer rave, the three teenagers learn of their true, changeling nature and their uncertain, intertwined destinies."

If you liked A Great & Terrible Beauty, Tithe, or Wicked Lovely, you'll like this book. Odine was my favorite character - I especially liked how paintings seemed alive when Odine looks at them. She was a little more fleshed out than the other main characters, maybe because the book started with her. I usually cling to whatever character a book starts out with...do you do that? I'm giving this book only two stars because it was hard for me to keep track of all the characters at first and because, well, after a few months the details just fade away.

Oh, and let's talk about the cover for a second...it kinda turns me off. Maybe because it's an ugly bright yellow with tints of green. What do you think? "Yay" or "No Way" on the cover?

Jinx by Meg Cabot Book Review

Jinx by Meg Cabot
(HarperTeen, Hardcover)
Rating:

Another fabulous read by Meg Cabot. I just don't think she could write a bad novel if she tried! This book tells the story of Jean AKA Jinx. I absolutely love that everyone calls her Jinx - what a cool nickname! She's so nicknamed because trouble just seems to follow her everywhere she goes. And now, she's living in New York city and has a crush on her next door neighbor - only so does her cousin! Jinx's cousin, Tory, believes she's a witch and will do anything to sabotage Jinx. But is Tory a witch? Or is Jinx? Cabot keeps up the suspense until the very end. The ending, by the way, is kinda spooky so I recommend reading it on a dark and stormy night. :-)

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga Book Review

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
(Houghton Mifflin, Paperback)
Rating:

When Josh was only twelve, his teacher sexually abused him. Now it's five years later and his teacher is getting out of jail. Plus, the girl that Josh thought he lost forever is talking to him again. And all he really wants to do is graduate and move to a town where no one knows about his past.
Lyga writes about a very controversial subject in an informative and sensitive way. I sympathized with Josh because he's under the impression that having sex with his teacher was his fault. It's easy to see how a sexual abuse victim feels responsible, which is probably one point that Lyga wants to make. Boy Toy has intermittent flashbacks to when Josh was twelve...some of them have very graphic content so I would only recommend this for mature audiences. That being said, this is a really good book because it takes a disturbing topic and shows how friends and family play a big part in helping an abused person to recover. I give this book four stars because I hardly ever read disturbing books because I don't care for the graphic content, but this book made a positive impression despite the heavy topic.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock Book Review

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
(Graphia, Paperback)
Rating:

First off, let me say, I don't like football. Not at all. Not even a little bit. So I was very surprised that I liked this book. There is quite a lot of football talk in Dairy Queen. It's actually the only thing that DJ's family seems to talk about. No one talks about the important issues and lately DJ feels like a cow (not fat, just that she's always following the herd). So when DJ tries out for the boys football team, she's not only asserting herself as a strong female, she's also forcing her family, her friends, and the town to talk about important issues. I really liked the character of DJ's little brother - he's quiet and has a weird collection of animal skulls. Brian, the rival team's football star and DJ's new friend, seems like most of the jocks I've known, except with slightly more potential (only slightly though). All in all, this was an easy fun read and I'll definitely pick up the sequel, The Off Season.

An Eva Ibbotson Compendium

Awhile back, I got on an Eva Ibbotson kick and read several of her books. I thought I'd just do a quick little review of them all here. I enjoyed reading them around the same time because I was able to really get into her writing and also because in every book the main character is a different age so you can read about kid heroines all the way to teen heroines. Plus, all of her heroines are plucky. Don't you just love a plucky heroine?

Star of Kazan: This was a great rags-to-riches story. 12-yr-old Anika is an orphan until one day a suspicious rich lady claims to be her mom. Highly enjoyable, sort of like Harry Potter but with no magic.

A Countess Below Stairs: Russian history fascinates me so it's no wonder that I loved this book! I think it's definitely my favorite of Ibbotson's books. All the minor characters are well-written and Anna is wonderfully down-to-earth for an exiled countess who is now working as a maid. (not quite sure how old Anna is, maybe 17?)

A Company of Swans: This one was lots of fun to read because it takes the reader into the jungles of Africa. This is a classic romance, complete with a brooding hero with skeletons in his closet and a run-away heroine. (Harriet is 19 yrs old.)

The Morning Gift: Another enjoyable classic romance from Ibbotson. The Nazis are invading Vienna and Ruth is supposed to escape with her family but the plan goes wrong. In order to hide her Jewish heritage, she marries a young scientist. I especially enjoyed this novel because Ruth loves learning and is working towards her degree at the local university. This provides for an entertaining cast of minor characters. (Ruth is 20 yrs old.)

Ok, sheww, guess I said enough. But you should also check out Jennie's Ibbotson reviews - A Countess Below Stairs and A Company of Swans. Plus, I'm totally in love with her icons. :-)

Undercover by Beth Kephart Book Review

Undercover by Beth Kephart
(Harper Teen, Hardcover)
Rating:

You must rush out and get this book as soon as it's released (Sept. 18th, I think). Seriously, it's that wonderful! I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and I fell in love with it as soon as I read it and here's why...
Elisa ghostwrites love letters for boys at school, which sounds corny. But it works in this novel because it's so ironic - Elisa gets to talk to all the popular boys but, unless she's giving them a love letter for their current girlfriend, they don't notice her. So shy, clumsy, totally-un-girly Elisa surrounds herself with writing and learning to ice skate. This book was magical for me because I completely escaped into Elisa's story and her beautiful writing (if you only read a few pages, read her poems). Oh, and Elisa's English teacher recommends that she keep a "book of words" which is basically a journal of words and their definitions, some real and some made-up. I was so inspired that I started my own word journal. This isn't a love story, per say. It's a novel about finding yourself. As the front cover says, "Nature is not the number one mystery. It's the heart that takes top honors."