My Reading Frenzy

Nebula YA Nominees

The 2010 Nebula YA nominees are:

Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi
White Cat, Holly Black
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch
The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North
I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner 
Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld

The rest of the nominees are listed at the SFWA website.

via bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com

Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi
White Cat, Holly Black
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch
The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North
I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner 
Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld

The rest of the nominees are listed at the SFWA website.

Cosmic

I am not sure if Cosmic, which I finished over the weekend, is primarily science fiction or just young adult disguised as science fiction...I guess technically it is science fiction because a group of five young teens does fly into space, but the space part of the story is not the primary focus.  The novel is really about Liam who is as tall as a man and has facial hair...he is 12.  In order to win a trip into outer space, Liam pretends to be a dad, to his classmate Florida.  Complications ensue and Liam learns about acting responsibly and appreciating being young and carefree.  There is a whole cast of odd characters in the book, primarily the other kids who are going on the trip and their dads.  Their parenting style is an amusing contrast to Liam and his own father. 

I liked the book, but there was something odd for me about the writing style.  Something I cannot quite describe, whatever it was it was distracting.  Not bad, just distracting. 

I am planning to begin The Vast Fields of Ordinary this afternoon.  I also ordered The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell and Marcello in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork today from my favorite on-line book seller.  As usual I am looking forward to their arrival but have no time to actually read them for about 2.3 weeks.  Sigh...never hurts to have lots of books around. 

 

Whew...

Deanna Raybourn has done it again.  I thoroughly enjoyed Silent in the Moor.  The characters were interesting, the ongoing sexual tension between Lady Julia and Brisbane was palpable, and there were even some nice Wuthering Heights references.  Despite these positives, I did have a primary element of the mystery figured out less than half way through the book.  Usually that turns me off to a mystery writer, but I also usually give them at least one more chance.  After a break from her books I will pick up Dark Road to Darjeeling.  Since the book seems to begin another three book cycle, maybe the mystery will be fresh as well.  Even if it is not, the characters are really likable so it should be an interesting read in any case. 

Up next is The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown.  After that I have three YAs lined up...

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce, 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison, and Close to Famous by Joan Bauer.  My mood at the time will determine which I read first....they are very different.  Cosmic is sci-fi, 13 Treasures is fantasy, and Close to Famous is just going to be a nice story.  As much as I love both sci-fi and fantasy I think it is important for young adults and kids to have some books available in which the angst is light.  Because, despite our changing society, some kids do have nice lives and they should get to see that reflected in literature. 

 

Latest Read

It is good I did not review Lemonade Mouth before I finished it.  Had I, I might not have had very nice things to say.  About one-third of the way through it got really interesting and by the end I was cheering for all five main characters.  It is really an ensemble novel, told from the point of view of five high school freshman who form a band during detention one afternoon.  Wen is from the novel I Am the Wallpaper, though Floey Packer, from that novel, makes only a brief appearance in this book.   There are also Stella, Mo, and Olivia, an interesting mix of misfit musicians.  The group is completed by Charlie, the unorthodox drummer.   Looks like the author Mark Peter Hughes released another book this summer, A Crack in the Sky, a post-apocalyptic story of the type so popular now since the Hunger Games trilogy, which by the way is brilliant and you should read it...if you have not already, in which case you know exactly what I am talking about.  Since I enjoyed both books by Hughes I will give this new one a try; I am interested to see how he fares in the science- fiction genre.