Evidently Cambridge is the country's most well-read city. Given that I've read almost 300 books since moving here, I have to say I agree.
Back to Laini Taylor's ah-mazing Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
Kamis, 26 Mei 2011
Jumat, 20 Mei 2011
Book Review: Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
This afternoon I finished up the remaining 100 pages of Craig Silvey's Jasper Jones, an Australian YA novel. The day before, I gave myself the lofty goal of reading three books. Well, I read three books, but I only managed to finish one of them yesterday. The other two I finished off earlier today. While the other two were quite good, Jasper Jones was the one that truly kept me spellbound.
The effortlessly moody coming of age story starts off when teenage Charlie is awoken at night by Jasper Jones, the half-Aboriginal outcast in town. The two barely know each other at the novel's start, but as it continues, their stories become intricately entwined. Jasper has found something horrifying in his eucalyptus hideout: Laura, the head of the shire's daughter, whom he had been secretly seeing at night, is dead, battered, and suspended from the tree. He knows how he is seen in town. No one will believe that he didn't do it. So the two young men do the only thing they can imagine doing at that point. They hide the body and tell no one.
With purposeful echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird, Silvey sets Jasper Jones in a town with two Boo Radleys: Jasper Jones and the Jack Lionel, the reclusive old man that Jasper holds under suspicion for killing Laura. What impresses me about this book, though, is that there is so much of interest going on in addition to the murder mystery (itself quite captivating). Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War as witnessed in a small Australian town, there is Charlie's friendship with Jeffrey Lu, a Vietnamese refugee whose hilarious conversation topics belie the serious mistreatment his father receives from their neighbors. And we also have Charlie's family life, with his horrid witch of a mother, and his hapless teacher father, the tension bubbling to the surface only towards the novel's end. And then there's Charlie's budding romance with Eliza, Laura's sister.
This is a rich, textured novel that readers will want to soak in, not hurry through. Teenage Me craved books like this, with glimpses of the messy grown-up world, and beautiful writing.
This is coming of age at its best.
The effortlessly moody coming of age story starts off when teenage Charlie is awoken at night by Jasper Jones, the half-Aboriginal outcast in town. The two barely know each other at the novel's start, but as it continues, their stories become intricately entwined. Jasper has found something horrifying in his eucalyptus hideout: Laura, the head of the shire's daughter, whom he had been secretly seeing at night, is dead, battered, and suspended from the tree. He knows how he is seen in town. No one will believe that he didn't do it. So the two young men do the only thing they can imagine doing at that point. They hide the body and tell no one.
With purposeful echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird, Silvey sets Jasper Jones in a town with two Boo Radleys: Jasper Jones and the Jack Lionel, the reclusive old man that Jasper holds under suspicion for killing Laura. What impresses me about this book, though, is that there is so much of interest going on in addition to the murder mystery (itself quite captivating). Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War as witnessed in a small Australian town, there is Charlie's friendship with Jeffrey Lu, a Vietnamese refugee whose hilarious conversation topics belie the serious mistreatment his father receives from their neighbors. And we also have Charlie's family life, with his horrid witch of a mother, and his hapless teacher father, the tension bubbling to the surface only towards the novel's end. And then there's Charlie's budding romance with Eliza, Laura's sister.This is a rich, textured novel that readers will want to soak in, not hurry through. Teenage Me craved books like this, with glimpses of the messy grown-up world, and beautiful writing.
This is coming of age at its best.
Rabu, 18 Mei 2011
I love the mailman
At least, I do when he deposits this on my doorstep.
I guess I know what I'm reading this afternoon!
Rabu, 09 Februari 2011
New favorite authors
There's nothing quite like discovering a new favorite author. That feeling, just a few paragraphs into a book when you realize that your specific reading taste and something about the way that author writes, imagines, or explains, are completely in sync. The other night, when I read the first page of Tim Tharp's latest novel Badd, I had that realization.
His National Book Award-winning The Spectacular Now was one of my favorite books the year it was published. It, too, was one of those delightful surprises, a book I read only because it was nominated for the National Book Award. Somehow, it fell just under my radar. Well, that was not to happen with his new book. When I saw the galley at ALA Midwinter, I thought in a Liz Lemon-y way, "I want to go to there." Finally, I've had the chance to go to there, to sit down and enjoy this book
Okay, enough blabbering. To the book!
Ceejay is not a girly girl. She's stubborn and a little difficult, and she idolizes her older brother Bobby, who was, to put it frankly, a badass all through high school. It was his final act of badassery, though, that put him in the situation that would change his life. He stole a car, and the repercussion for him would be either jail or a joining the army. He chose the latter, unaware that it would involve actually going to Iraq.
Bobby is finally coming home, and Ceejay's anticipating a hero's welcome, followed up by (fingers crossed) the opportunity to move out of her parents' house and in with Bobby. But life is never that easy. The Bobby that returns home is not the Bobby that has left. He's depressed, he drinks too much and in a different way than before, and he's befriended the town weirdo, Captain Crazy.
While a central part of this book is Ceejay's growing understand of what happened to Bobby and why he has changed -- that they can't so easily go back to the way things were -- it is also so much about family and the connections people make with each other. Ceejay and Bobby have been at odds with their parents and siblings, but at least for Ceejay, that starts to change. Big family events bring them together in ways that allow Ceejay to get a different perspective on her younger sister and her mother. And maybe a family isn't just your mom and dad, and your siblings. Maybe family means taking care of someone else that you grow to know.
Tharp's latest book is so refreshingly honest. It is about real people -- they live in Oklahoma, they do not have a reality show, they are not vampires or werewolves. They have to work, they fight in wars, they get by. Bobby's story, when it finally comes out, is heartbreaking and unforgettable, just like this book.
If you read and enjoyed Dana Reinhardt's excellent The Things A Brother Knows, you must read this one. I have a feeling we'll be hearing much more about it. Clearly, I have a new favorite author.
His National Book Award-winning The Spectacular Now was one of my favorite books the year it was published. It, too, was one of those delightful surprises, a book I read only because it was nominated for the National Book Award. Somehow, it fell just under my radar. Well, that was not to happen with his new book. When I saw the galley at ALA Midwinter, I thought in a Liz Lemon-y way, "I want to go to there." Finally, I've had the chance to go to there, to sit down and enjoy this book
Okay, enough blabbering. To the book!
Ceejay is not a girly girl. She's stubborn and a little difficult, and she idolizes her older brother Bobby, who was, to put it frankly, a badass all through high school. It was his final act of badassery, though, that put him in the situation that would change his life. He stole a car, and the repercussion for him would be either jail or a joining the army. He chose the latter, unaware that it would involve actually going to Iraq.
Bobby is finally coming home, and Ceejay's anticipating a hero's welcome, followed up by (fingers crossed) the opportunity to move out of her parents' house and in with Bobby. But life is never that easy. The Bobby that returns home is not the Bobby that has left. He's depressed, he drinks too much and in a different way than before, and he's befriended the town weirdo, Captain Crazy.
While a central part of this book is Ceejay's growing understand of what happened to Bobby and why he has changed -- that they can't so easily go back to the way things were -- it is also so much about family and the connections people make with each other. Ceejay and Bobby have been at odds with their parents and siblings, but at least for Ceejay, that starts to change. Big family events bring them together in ways that allow Ceejay to get a different perspective on her younger sister and her mother. And maybe a family isn't just your mom and dad, and your siblings. Maybe family means taking care of someone else that you grow to know.
Tharp's latest book is so refreshingly honest. It is about real people -- they live in Oklahoma, they do not have a reality show, they are not vampires or werewolves. They have to work, they fight in wars, they get by. Bobby's story, when it finally comes out, is heartbreaking and unforgettable, just like this book.
If you read and enjoyed Dana Reinhardt's excellent The Things A Brother Knows, you must read this one. I have a feeling we'll be hearing much more about it. Clearly, I have a new favorite author.
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
It's official
After nearly a week of meetings in sunny and gorgeous San Diego, we hemmed and hawed and ultimately, committed to a list of 99 titles in the first ever YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list. And here it is!
I'm so happy with our list and the diversity of titles recognized. There were some personal favorites that didn't quite make the cut (okay, and some that weren't even close) but that's all part of the pleasure of working with 14 individuals from around the country, bringing such a variety of tastes and experiences to the table.
Our work does not resume until February 1, so I am rewarding myself for all that reading with, okay, a bit more reading, but also some serious indulging in the things I have missed for the past several months. I am sorely behind in watching Oscar-worthy performances. My to-watch list is nearly matching my to-read list. Okay, that's not exactly true. My to-read piles are still rather impressive, in that they span about 5 shelves. But I'm trying to mix in some fabulous grown-up books with the must-read ARCs picked up at Midwinter. Just finished Rhoda Janzen's Mennonite In A Little Black Dress, a delightfully funny and surprisingly profound memoir. Next up: ARC of Sarah Dessen's forthcoming What Happened to Goodbye and the Newbery winner, Moon Over Manifest. Also, must finish Gary D. Schmidt's Okay for Now. I've historically never been one to read multiple books at once, but I think I'm embracing this new reality.
I'm so happy with our list and the diversity of titles recognized. There were some personal favorites that didn't quite make the cut (okay, and some that weren't even close) but that's all part of the pleasure of working with 14 individuals from around the country, bringing such a variety of tastes and experiences to the table.
Our work does not resume until February 1, so I am rewarding myself for all that reading with, okay, a bit more reading, but also some serious indulging in the things I have missed for the past several months. I am sorely behind in watching Oscar-worthy performances. My to-watch list is nearly matching my to-read list. Okay, that's not exactly true. My to-read piles are still rather impressive, in that they span about 5 shelves. But I'm trying to mix in some fabulous grown-up books with the must-read ARCs picked up at Midwinter. Just finished Rhoda Janzen's Mennonite In A Little Black Dress, a delightfully funny and surprisingly profound memoir. Next up: ARC of Sarah Dessen's forthcoming What Happened to Goodbye and the Newbery winner, Moon Over Manifest. Also, must finish Gary D. Schmidt's Okay for Now. I've historically never been one to read multiple books at once, but I think I'm embracing this new reality.
Minggu, 26 Desember 2010
Holiday reading update
Nothing says the Holidays quite like doing something you don't want to. Wait. That didn't used to be true! Well, this year, like it or not, that is my reality. Yesterday was all about spending time with family (including my hyped up 3 year old nephew who was still so excited about Christmas that he was playing with his fire engine in bed at 11:30 p.m.), eating lots of delicious food, and opening presents. Today is about hunkering down in the much-anticipated blizzard and reading.
Last night I treated myself to the last book of the remaining 10 that I actually had an interest in reading: Adele Griffin's Picture the Dead. It's my second Adele Griffin book this year, having read and reviewed The Julian Game for School Library Journal. While Julian didn't really do it for me on a personal level, I quite enjoyed Picture the Dead. I can't think of too many Civil War historical fiction titles that take place in Brookline, Mass., and I enjoyed the local connection. I must admit, I also enjoyed the really short chapters, as my attention span was limited due to frequent interruptions by my nephew. The packaging on this one is absolutely gorgeous -- no wonder Bryan Selznick blurbed it -- and I will be keeping it, since I allowed my nephew to color all over the inside of it during the Christmas Eve Mass.
I'm taking a little break from Lish McBride's Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, my second book in a row about the dead (actually, I think a good percentage of my remaining to-reads are about the dead or the undead). I just read the most startling scene out of this entire year's worth of reading. Which is kind of weird because until that point, the book had been pretty funny with hints of weird stuff under the surface. Only 8 5/6 books to go!
Last night I treated myself to the last book of the remaining 10 that I actually had an interest in reading: Adele Griffin's Picture the Dead. It's my second Adele Griffin book this year, having read and reviewed The Julian Game for School Library Journal. While Julian didn't really do it for me on a personal level, I quite enjoyed Picture the Dead. I can't think of too many Civil War historical fiction titles that take place in Brookline, Mass., and I enjoyed the local connection. I must admit, I also enjoyed the really short chapters, as my attention span was limited due to frequent interruptions by my nephew. The packaging on this one is absolutely gorgeous -- no wonder Bryan Selznick blurbed it -- and I will be keeping it, since I allowed my nephew to color all over the inside of it during the Christmas Eve Mass.
I'm taking a little break from Lish McBride's Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, my second book in a row about the dead (actually, I think a good percentage of my remaining to-reads are about the dead or the undead). I just read the most startling scene out of this entire year's worth of reading. Which is kind of weird because until that point, the book had been pretty funny with hints of weird stuff under the surface. Only 8 5/6 books to go!
Senin, 13 Desember 2010
The one's I've been putting off
That said, I would be lying if I said that I was really excited about any of these books. A quick glance shows that there are no contemporary coming of age stories left. They were gobbled up nearly instantaneously. What remains are the ones I've been squeamish about, and for a wide variety of very random reasons. One of them uses a very small font; I don't care much for very small fonts. One that didn't make it into this photograph is about a pegasus. I've never been a big fan of, umm, pegasi? Needless to say, when I look at this pile and I have to choose what to read next, there's a big of cringing and trepidation. Sort of like when Buddy the Elf decides to ride the escalator. It's like, do I really have to? And yes, I do. I really have to. I'm soooooo close to having read all 191 nominations. The clock is ticking.
Let's see if there are some hidden gems here. I'll be posting my reactions over the next few weeks. In the meantime, a clip from Elf:
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