My Reading Frenzy

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

This is the first book by Patrick Ness I have read.  I will be reading more.  Apparently the idea for this book originated with Siobhan Dowd, however she passed away before she could write the story.  Patrick Ness was asked to do so....he did, with great success.  I do not want to say anything about the plot because I think it might lessen the emotional impact to have any expectations.  I really had no idea what this would be about when I began...it was a powerful story.  READ IT!

Wildwood - Colin Meloy

Generally I find it pretty irritating when people who already have fame and fortune in one arena feel the need to seek it in another.  Really, must singers/actors/artists also be famous as writers/fashion designers/perfumers?  Wouldn't it be nicer to leave those spots open for someone who is not already famous, spread fame and fortune around a bit.  Case in point: Madonna and Ethan Hawke had no business writeing books.  I am a humble librarian and normal person and I would love to be a writer, but the chances of getting my fabulous book (which I have yet to write) published is almost nil, whereas someone who already has name recognition in another area can slap some crap on a piece of paper and in a few weeks it has its very own display at big box book stores.  THIS IS NOT FAIR! (John Grisham, with your Theodore Boone debacle, I am talking to you!)

Happily I can say the above does not apply to Wildwood by Decemberists songwriter and lead singer Colin Meloy, despite his double whammy of fame, as his wife is a children's book illustrator. 

One day as Prue takes her baby brother Mac out for a stroll he is carried away by crows.  Thus begins Prue's adventure in the "Impassable Wilderness" to get him back.  As it turns out, both Prue and her brother, as well as her friend Curtis are significantly connected to the magical world of the Woods, where coyotes are soldiers for the Dowager Governess Alexandra, rats can be good friends, and bandits may not be so bandity after all.  The action is pretty steady with moments of introspection for our main characters to reflect on the amazing sights and their role in this world and home.  Really a lovely story, well-written and illustrated aptly for this fantasy world.

The Maze Runner etc. - James Dashner

I loved this series....I may have liked it more than The Hunger Games series though I would probably have a pretty good fight on my hands if that information go out....so keep it to yourself.  I listened to The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, but was not prepared to wait for my library to acquire The Death Cure to find out the fate of Thomas, Minho (my favorite), Newt, Teresa, Brenda and the others.  The first book opens with Thomas waking up in a box from which he is soon released finding himself without a memory and surrounded by teenage boys. The premise of the protagonist in a new place with no memory that puts him on equal footing with reader is not new, but Dashner's dystopia (Inquirey: Why doesn't spell chcek recognize the word dystopia?) is certainly unique.  Before I read these, people had said they were similar to The Hunger Games books, but not so.  Outside of living in a dystopia a few other superficial details, I did not really see much they have in common.

As I am a purist, I do tend to get a bit upset when my core group of characters is infiltrated by a stream of newbies, which happened in both books two and three.  Luckily most of these characters fit well into the story and did not feel like "add-ins." There were some elements of The Death Cure (book 3) that did not thrill me, but I was more than satisfied with the ending.  There was no slow down and wrap up, Dashner kept the action and suspense high right until the very last moment. 

Half Brother - Kenneth Oppel

I really enjoyed Half Brother by Ken Oppel.  I did not expect too because I was afraid the premise of a family "adopting" a chimpanzee was going to be sappy and trite.  (For the record I had never read a book by Oppel before.)  Instead the book addressed issues of animal cruelty and experimentation, the definition of "family" and "brother,"  all the while exploring the maturation of Ben alongside that of his "brother" Zan.  There were certainly sappy moments, but they were true moments of affection between Ben and Zan as well as with Ben and his mother, and Ben and Peter, a student who comes to the house to help care for Zan, who Ben also adopts as a brother of sorts.  I am not sure how to categorize this novel, there was some romance, but it was certainly not a romance, nor is it science fiction as the concept of teaching chimps to communicate through sign language is commonly accepted, and it also avoids some of the stereotypical teen angst.  Yet again it is a middle years or YA novel that shows a young person grappling with his role in the world, it just so happens that in this case he occasionally tries to use chimp-like behaviors to become popular, assert his strength, and get the girl.

Not what I expected...

when I started The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell.  Retellings of fairy tales are quite popular now, but they have to have a significant twist for me to be interested.  I am glad the book jacket blurb did not do this book justice because I do not think I would have read it if the description had really summed up the story.  I thought I was reading a charming, little story based on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" or whatever the title of the original fairy tale is, but with the heroine Reveka the story is much more.  A little bit of herb lore, some good old fashioned bravery, a foray in the Underworld and this story is an adventure I really enjoyed. 

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Candor is a dystopian novel more along the lines of The Giver and Matched than The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner.  However, unlike in The Giver and Matched, I believe the mastermind and some others know what they are doing to people is bad even if they believe the results are good.  One element I especially liked about Candor is that it did not end the way I expected.

The premise is that in Candor, FL everyone is controlled by subliminal messages embedded in music that plays all the time.  In fact, once someone has lived there for a while, going without the "Messages" results in insanity and death.  Oscar's father is the developer of the technique along with the town.  Adults who bring their families there know what is happening, most of the children do not.  Oscar of course is one of the ones who does know exactly what happens to people when they move in.  Some of what goes on in the novel is predictable (romance, friendships, themes of authority vs. autonomy), but generally the book is an original take that poses interesting questions about the power of adult authority and teen rebeillion. 

Troubletwisters

Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Action : Check

Kids with powers: Check

Bad guys in the form of a nebulous power: Check

Inane title: Check

Not enough background because they are going to put it in the sequel: Check

I did not hate this book, but I did think it was lacking.  It left too much out in anticipation of books to come and the characterization of the hero and heroine was shallow for perhaps the same reason.  But it left too many holes, and not the kind I want to fill with the next book.

A Tale Dark and Grimm

Adam Gidwitz, the author of A Tale Dark and Grimm, has managed to make me think "Hmmm, that is quite original."  I have a difficult time with books sometimes, I have read enough in both YA and adult to see similarities everywhere.  This cynically makes me wonder if there are any new ideas left out there or will all the books I read from now on be imitations of each other?  So reading this novel made me happy because while it is clearly a take-off on the Grimm brothers' fairy tales, it did so in a clever way. 

The main characters are Hansel and Gretel.  They live their own tale, but also become significant in some of the Grimms' lesser know stories like "The Seven Swallows" and "The Three Golden Hairs."  I like how Gidwitz wove the stories together so we got the essence of the originals with Hansel and/or Gretel as the protagonists.  Really well done. 

The part of the novel that seemed familiar to me was the narrator addressing the reader, which reminded me a bit of the same device used by Lemony Snicket.  This is not a criticism, just a familiarity I felt. 

The Cheshire Cheese Cat - Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright

Since my time these days in encumbered by reading for the Cybils, my reviews are going to have to be proportionally shorter.  I finished The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright with drawings by Barry Moser last night.  I was tempted to blog about it right away, but I try not to do that to give myself time to mull over a book first.  I found this novel delightful, though a bit reminiscent of The Tale of Despereaux.  Not in a bad way though, I loved Despereaux.  Talking mice are a nice plot device.  A few talking cats in the mix helps too.  Throw in Charles Dickins, William Makepeace Thackery, and Queen Victoria and you have a sweet and charmingly unpredictable tale.

If you must read one vampire book..

... it should be Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.  It is a vampire based romance, but both main characters are more engaging than those kids from that other vampire series.  There is also a whole lot less angst.  After a while the turmoil, and teen angst begin to wear on me.  This book has its fair share of drama, but it is more tolerable and the characters are so much more likeable.

Jessica is an unsuspecting teen in rural Pennsylvania until the day Lucius arrives and begins calling her Anastasia.  As it turns out, Jessica is a vampire adopted and taken away from Romania when an angry mob kills her parents.  Lucius has come to the farm to claim her as his bride, which she must become according to a pact signed when they were babies.  Teen behaviors ensue, some romance brews and a bit of vampyness emerges.  All in all an entertaining read. 

There is a sequel due out in January, but I am not sure I will read it.  I liked the first book well enough, but I was satisfied with the ending and the fates of Jessica and Lucius. 

Cybils Nominations

The Cybils or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards nominations are open from now until October 15th.  I have been selected for the middle grades science fiction and fantasy Round 1 panel.  This means I get to read a TON of books, always a great responsibility to have, and recommend with my fellow panelists a few to proceed to the judging.