More mini-reviews - India, dystopia and turn-of-the-century Paris

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
I actually wanted to do a separate post about this book, but I read it back in August and left it so late and I've forgotten all the things I wanted to say. What stayed with me most, I think, is the feeling that I'm very lucky to be living where I'm living. I read this book - with its descriptions of the harsh realities of life in the slums and life as hired help for the rich - while on holiday in a lovely cottage in Wales, so I guess thoughts of gratitude were inevitable. The White Tiger is the story of Balram, a man born into a poor Indian family, but who isn't prepared to accept his fate, but instead dreams of escape. He eventually creates his own truth about what that means and about what successful people are prepared to do to get and keep success - and acts accordingly. A fantastic book, incredibly well-written, tackling interesting issues and exposing parts of the human soul that most of us don't like to think about... What are you prepared to do to get the life you want? The White Tiger won the Man Booker Prize in 2008.

Holes by Louis Sachar
This is what I read in one day when I was sick at home and trying to read A Discovery of Witches. I'm so glad I put that book down and picked up Holes instead, what a difference! Stanley Yelnats is accused of stealing a pair of shoes and is sent to Camp Green Lake as punishment. But Camp Green Lake is nothing like what it sounds - there is a warden who makes the boys dig holes all day, every day. No choice and no way out. Why? What's behind the digging? What's the truth about Stanley's family? Great book - it won the Newbery Medal in 1999 and the National Book Award in 1998, with good reason.

Gigi and The Cat by Colette
This is actually two books, which I didn't realise until I bought it! Gigi is on my 2011 list from Alex a.k.a. The Sleepless Reader - I didn't know the story and I enjoyed the turn-of-the-century Paris story of a young girl who everyone was trying to mould into a woman. I love how she thinks and I love how she turns out in the end. Charming. Strangely, since I'm a total musical fan, I've never seen the movie, but now I'll have to. I've never even heard of the second novella, The Cat, before, but I liked it even more than I liked Gigi! It's about a young couple where the man is more interested in his cat than in his young bride. And the young bride is jealous! I loved the slightly creepy feel to it, especially as the man became more and more like the cat.... Very Kafka-esque. Thanks Alex, for enriching my life with these classics!

Wish me Dead by Helen Grant

The first book I read by Helen Grant was The Vanishing of Katharina Linden and I loved it. I was so glad I did, because I'd never heard of it before buying it. I only got it because it was featured at my local bookstore as Helen Grant is a local author. Since I live in Belgium and don't read in French or Flemish, I was pretty excited about the whole local author thing. 

Now, having read Wish Me Dead, I can safely put Helen Grant on my favorite authors list. The combination of young adult lit, mystery, creepiness and folklore is right up my alley. And the Bad Münstereifel setting is wonderful.

Wish Me Dead is the story of Steffi and her friends, who come across a local myth about a witch and decide to see if there is any truth in it. Strange things start happening and people start dying - is it possible that just wishing something to happen is making it come true?

Chilling and entertaining, a great read. If you haven't discovered this author yet, you're missing out!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This is the story of a year in the life of Charlie, high school freshman. Charlie is shy, observant, intelligent, sensitive and genuinely nice, if naive. He believes the best of other people. He is befriended by two seniors, Samantha and Patrick, and with them starts participating in high school life, parties and such.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has loads of fantastic reviews and I've been wanting to read it for years. Luckily, I was only ever so slightly disappointed. I loved the beautiful writing and how it brought the relationships to life. I loved how the relationships developed. I loved how Charlie was slowly brought out of his shell and how he joined the real world, made friends, had experiences. He lived through some painful moments, but also through ones of awesome happiness. I especially liked his feeling of being infinite - I still remember that feeling from when I was younger, when I thought anything was possible and that the world was mine. 'Infinite' is exactly the right word for it and the fact that the author got this right is amazing in itself.

I said I was ever so slightly disappointed because there was one thing that bothered me and I wanted this book to be perfect for me. In the high school world I know, Samantha and Patrick (and their friends) would never have been nice to someone like Charlie. So their friendship seemed forced to me, I didn't quite believe it, I kept expecting them to turn around and do something nasty. This probably has to do with me being jaded rather than the book itself, but that's what I was thinking while I was reading it.

I just looked on Amazon to see Chbosky's other books but there aren't any - can that be right?

YA Mini-Reviews

I read a lot of YA literature. Some of it is the serious, heavy kind that tackles issues that are oh so difficult. And some if it's easy and entertaining and so, so much fun. These three YA books fall in the 'so much fun' category - though some have difficult issues touched upon in them as well.

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen CookHelen and Lauren have been friends forever. Lauren is popular and outgoing and Helen kind of stays in her shadpw. But they remain pretty much inseperable. Until right before they start 8th grade, when Lauren humiliates Helen and leaves her to be judged by her peers. School is horrible for Helen after that and Lauren is no longer a friend. Helen's family moves away and Helen can move on in a different school, but they end up moving back for Helen's senior year of high school. And that's when Helen sets out to ruin Lauren's high school life of glory. This involves some pretty mean stuff, but I really enjoyed reading about it anyway. ;-) Loads of (slightly wicked) fun.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

15-year-old Isabel (or Belly) spends every summer in the same beach house with her Mom, her best friend and two sons, more or less Belly's ages. Conrad, who Belly has always had a crush on, has always been aloof with her and Jeremiah has always been a buddy, someone to hang out and joke around with. But this summer something is different - the boys (and others too) are starting to notice Belly and things are changing. This is a book of discovery, both of oneself and of the world. It's a real book about what growing up feels like. I liked it, though nor enough to continue with the series. 

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I think this one was my favorite of this bunch. It's the story of 17-year-old Ginny's summer of adventure. Ginny spends a few months exploring Europe but following the instructions left in 13 letters left her by Aunt Peg, a favorite aunt who died suddenly. Ginny has to complete the tasks in each letter before she gets to open the next one. As she goes from task to task, she retraces her Aunt's journey of discovery and makes discoveries of her own. She finds love and meets people who will make a difference to her life and to the way she sees herself. I loved seeing Ginny grow during the book, change from a shy, self-conscious girl to the confident, worldly young woman she becomes. I enjoyed this story immensely - what a fun idea!

Winterborne by Augusta Blythe

Winterborne is the first book I review at the request of an author. I avoided accepting books for review before this - what if I didn't like the book and I'd have to write a negative review? What if I didn't have time to read the book at all? What if I started it and couldn't get myself to finish it? But when Augusta Blythe contacted me to review Winterborne, I had a good feeling. An urban fantasy YA novel about a teen waiting for superpowers to kick in? Just my thing.

Am I glad I trusted my instinct on this one! I could have easily missed out on an amazing book. I read it back in May, but still remember the strange feeling of wanting to read faster to find out what happens, but at the same time wanting to read slower because I didn't want it to end. Like watching Buffy for the first time. ;-)

Here's the plot, as summarised by the author:

Sixteen-year old Mia Winterborne is destined to be special.  Details are sketchy, though, as her dad disappeared with all the answers when she was five.  Mia only knows that she’ll inherit her kickass superpowers on her seventeenth birthday.  Helping Mia prepare for her anticipated ascendancy is Loie (rhymes with Joey) Bryce, her best friend and eternal sidekick extraordinaire.  The girls’ intense friendship has never wavered until now, when Andreas arrives in Salcey Ridge.  They both fall hard for the British hottie, who quickly becomes a fixture in their lives.  When they discover that Andreas is not who he appears to be, the frightening reality of Mia’s powers finally hits home.  The nearer Mia’s birthday draws, the more the danger escalates and long-buried lies are exposed, putting the girls on a path that they never expected. 

 

It's a good story. As an urban fantasy fan and a Buffy fan, I couldn't not like it. But I think that it's very easy to ruin a story like this one with poor characters or mundane style. Augusta Blythe did the opposite, she made the story a million times better. The main characters, Mia and Loie, are strong and intelligent female leads. They're best friends and they won't let stuff come between them. Many books introduce boys or other distractions to ruin friendships, but in this case the friendship got stronger and stronger. Finally, we have two teen best friends who are smart enough to recognise that what they have is special. I loved that.

 

I also loved the language and the style. Very witty and engaging.

 

All in all, this book is a winner. I can't wait for the next installment in the series. I hope that some of you will take a chance on an unknown author and that you'll be as happy with your choice as I am.

 

Winterborne is available via Amazon.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

It seems like so long ago that I read this! I do remember that I read it pretty much in one day, I didn't want to put it down...

This is the story of Taylor Markham who was abandoned when she was 11 and now, at 14, lives and studies at a boarding school where they woman who took her in works. It's the story of the conflict between Taylor's school's underground community, the Townies and the visiting Cadets. Taylor is drawn into the conflict and into relationships  she would normally avoid. She also finds a string of clues about a past tragedy that is somehow connected to the people around her.

I liked Jellicoe Road because it's different. Something about the author's tone makes the book unique, the atmosphere different from other YA books I've read. There is darkness there, and pain, but there is also this incredible feeling of realism, like I was watching real people in a world I didn't really understand. Nothing was simple and everything was a struggle. Isn't that what adolescence feels like?

Melina Marchetta is an Australian author, one of the very few I've ever read. Jellicoe Road won the Printz Award in 2009.

Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself by Judy Blume

This was my second audiobook this year and, although The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale is a touch act to follow, I thoroughly enjoyed this one too.

The best thing about it? The audio version of Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself was read by Judy Blume herself! It was great to listen to her read this to me, especially since she says that this is the most autobiographical of her books. I loved Judy Blume as a child and I loved re-discovering her now.

Sally is a great character for us bookworms. She loves stories and she's constantly making them up inside her head. She reads books, but she also watches movies and she wants to be a movie star. Or a detective. Or a ballerina. So basically she's a pretty typical pre-teen, except that she uses everything around her in the stories inside her head. A great character.

But what I enjoyed most about this book, which I would have no doubt missed if I'd read this as a child, was the social history. Sally and her family live in New Jersey, but move to Florida after her brother gets sick, to provide him with a better climate in which to recuperate. Sally's father stays in New Jersey and visits as often as he can afford to, which is not often enough. When Sally starts her new school in Miami, it turns out that there are loads of kids in the same situation. Loads of displaced families relying on the wonder of the Florida sun. Loads of families living without the father, who is back home where his job is and where they all want to be. Moving to Florida for at least part of the year was what one did if one could afford it.

The other social history aspect I found fascinating was the links to World World II and Hitler. The story takes place in the late 1940s and Sally's family was Jewish; they had relatives in Europe who died in the concetration camps. I don't suppose that any family would talk about Hitler all the time in front of their kids, but I guess some of it would be mentioned. Sally was obsessed with Hitler, to the extent that she was convinced that he was living in her building and she would be the one to turn him in. The whole concentration camp thing must have been a really strange part of kids' lives back then. I mean, they knew some facts, they overheard some stuff, parents probably didn't want to discuss it and they couldn't help but think about it. At one point in the book, Sally's preferred make-believe game was not Movie Star or Detective, but concentration camp, complete with fake showers and everything. What a topic to have to cope with at that age.

So - I really liked this short book. And it was very interesting to read it as an adult, just for the social history alone. Having Judy Blume herself read it to me was the icing on the cake.

Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

This is the second book in the Gallagher Girls series and was in my gift package from my Secret Santa, along with the first one, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, which I read as soon as it arrived back in December but never reviewed. Now that I finished the second one and still want to continue with the series, I thought I'd write up some thoughts.

But first... thank you, thank you, thank you to my awesome Secret Santa, Kathrin from Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic! Kathrin looked through my wishlist and chose books that she loved herself, which I think is the perfect way to choose gifts. Kathrin, they were great choices, thank you so much!

Now on to the Gallagher Girls... they are not just ordinary girls. They go to a special privileged school, but it's not what sets them apart. The Gallagher Academy isn't for rich girls, it's for future spies! Yes, that's right, we're talking about teenage girl drama set in a spy school! How fun is that?

The characters are fun, the back stories are intriguing and even the simplest story lines become fresh when you add some spies-in-training, some family secrets and practice missions to the local town where the boy you like lives. Oh and I love the 'in-passing' mentions of some fantastic inventions that originated in the labs of the Gallagher Academy. And the mentions of some of the exciting things the teachers did when they were still working as spies. Not in too much detail obviously, a higher level of security clearance would be needed for that!

These books are light and great fun so if the mood strikes... indulge. I am - I just ordered the third one, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover. :-)

Challenges: 2011 Challenge

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

The second book in this fun series was just as satisfying as the first one. Percy's adventures are extremely entertaining. I had a few 'isn't this just like Harry Potter' moments (like the trying to recreate a dangerous monster from his remains thing, what's up with that?), but mostly the story is very original. Or as original as you can get when all the adventures are pretty much based on Greek mythology. :-)

In any case, when I read this series I feel like I'm inhaling the story - seriously, these books finish so fast for me, a day or two and they're over! This is strange only because I no longer have that much reading time. Must mean that they're good reads then. And that I have the same taste in books as 9-year-old boys. Ha. :-)

Anyway, these are great fanntasy stories and if you loved Harry Potter then this should definitely be your next stop. Larissa, if you still read this blog, this means you. :-)

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge, What's in a Name?

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I loved, loved, loved this book! I'm very happy indeed that it's the first in a series of many and that I get to spend quite a bit of time with Percy Jackson.

Percy appears to be a normal boy, he goes to a regular school (although he gets kicked out a lot), he plays basketball, he loves his Mom. He accidentaly vaporises his math teacher and it becomes obvious to everyone that he's more than just a boy. In this first book, Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks that Percy stole his lightning bolt. Great stuff. I can't wait to read the next one in the series, it's on it's way already.

If you like Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman and myths and legends, you'll love this! And The Sunday Times apparently said 'It's Buffy meets Artemis Fowl'. How can you lose with that?

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd

The further adventures of Laura Brown, an ordinary English girl living in a time when natural disasters and right-wing politics plague the world and carbon is rationed. Doesn't seem implausible does it?

In the first book, Carbon Diaries 2015, we got a real taste for what life was like with carbon rationing. In this one, the idea is more established and accepted, the focus is more on social tensions and politics. This is a year of water shortage, student revolt, immigration problems and poverty. How is a poor student supposed to survive? Plus, all of Laura's friends are getting more and more revolutionary, resulting in a trip across Europe which proves that things are just as bad (if not worse) across the continent. Poor Laura.

I really like these two books, it's a fantastic idea for a story. Like I said when I read the first one, I hope that many young people are reading stuff like this and hopefully deciding to change behaviors so that we can avoid this kind of situation. No one wants to live in Laura's world.

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume

I always knew Judy Blume as THE writer for tween girls - I loved her books when I was 10, 11, 12, she was one of the only authors I could find whose characters I really identified with. I'd heard of Then Again, Maybe I Won't when I was a tween myself, but for some reason had never read it. Imagine by surprise when it turned out the star of the story is a boy!

The Again, Maybe I Won't is about a young boy whose family comes into some money and moves into a big house in a rich neighborhood. He is forced to leave his friends and to get used to this new environment, where he finds that rich people come with a whole new set of problems. All while dealing with the usual pre-teen boy issues and growing up.

I'm obviously not a boy, but I thought that these boy issues were really well-dealt with. I'd be curious to hear an actual boy's opinion though! :-)

I enjoyed the fact that it's so dated. I loved how the family, including an infant, were going somewhere by car and the adults would just pass the baby around to feed it, burp it etc. Nowadays you're not allowed to go home from the hospital without a car seat. How times have changed and the 80s weren't even that long ago! Or does it just seem that way because I'm getting old? :-)

I think that anything by Judy Blume is worth reading, that's my main message to you!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

What a book. Frankie is a perfect heroine. Brave, unfaltering, ambitious. I love her character and how she comes to be something more than her family's good little girl. I love how she challenges the male-dominated mindset in the private school she attends. I love how the other characters have cannot phathom what she is capable of.

Is anyone else a Gilmore Girls fan? Frankie reminded me of Rory and the boys at her school reminded me of the rich boys at Yale with Rory. The banter was so self-assured, so dripping with privilege and so intelligent, in both cases.

What E. Lockhart did with language in general was absolutely wonderful. Look out for the positives Frankie makes out of words, fantastic.

This book really is a gem, one of a kind. And (again) one of those books I never would have read if it wasn't for the blogging community. Thank you!!!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

The Babysitters' Club

I used to love these books when I was a kid and decided to re-read them now that I'm often in need of simple, brainless activity. They totally hit the spot - great for reading a few pages while doing night-time feeds with Baby! I liked the thought that I was a child when I read them the first time and here I am now, re-visiting them with my own child in my arms.

The collection I got has the first three books - 'Kristy's Great Idea', 'Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls' and 'The Truth About Stacey'. I doubt you'd like them unless you read them as a kid - there's no great philosophy to the story lines, they're just about a group of 12-year-old girls who form a babysitting club. There are more books in the series than I remember, I'll see what's available on Bookmooch!

Hope everyone is doing well - I still don't have the hang of fitting blogging into my days, but I'm working on it! Everything else is going well, I'm loving being a Mom and dreading going back to work in June! :-)

Challenges: Flashback Challenge

The Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Sequels aren't always very good so I was very pleasantly surprised that the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was just as gripping and enjoyable as the first. Seriously, this is such a page turner! I read it in just a few days despite having a new baby in the house so you can really believe me when I say that I couldn't tear myself away from it. :-)

The story of Catniss against the Capitol continues and takes several unexpected turns. I don't want to say anything about it so as not to spoil the suspense aspect... But go read it right now, it's that good! :-)

I love the imagination that went into the future world portrayed in this series... the differences between the districts, how the people of the Capitol look and act, the history, the technology, all the little things. It's very believable.

I'm still rooting for Peeta and I hope that that's where the story will end up. I have to wait to find out though, I can't believe the third part isn't out yet!!!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

The Hunger Games

Boy, oh boy, was that a page turner! So many bloggers have been raving about this series for months and you sure were right! Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games was a fantastic read and is likely to make my favorites of 2010 list, even though it's only my second book of the year... Yep, it was that good!

Well, it was good only if you like reading young adult dystopian literature I suppose, which I really do. The Hunger Games are an event that takes place in a dark future world where the North American continent is reduced to one victor country and a bunch of conquered 'districts' that are used for resources and labour only. To remind the 'districts' who's boss, the victor country holds the Hunger Games, a reality tv show with kids from the districts killing each other off to survive themselves. Very dark, but very, very good!

I ordered the sequel immediately!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

Just Listen

This Sarah Dessen title has been on my radar forever, since so many bloggers really enjoyed it. I read it in 2 days or so, I was completely engrossed in Annabel's story.

It's the story of the girl who has everything. Except that she doesn't. I loved that an engaging author covered this topic - it's so easy to assume that people like Annabel really do have everything. And comforting to discover that everyone has more-or-less the same problems and concerns when growing up. The idea of the book applies to adults too - just because people don't talk about their problems doesn't mean they don't have any...

Blogging has made me discover a whole new genre, young adult books. I am so glad that I started reading these, sometimes a reminder of those early life lessons is a good thing. :-)

Challenges: A-Z Challenge

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden

It's very fitting that my first post after the one about giving up on 2009 books is my thoughts on a 2009 book. :-)

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is a book by Helen Grant, an English woman living in Brussels, which is where I live. The book was on display in our local bookstore and I loved the idea of finally getting to read a local author, since I don't read French or Dutch, so I bought it immediately. The story sounded good too, something about girls vanishing in a small German town. Spooky.

I wasn't expecting it to be a page-turner. But it was. I don't want to talk about the plot too much, not to give anything away, but it held my interest all the way through. The story is told by Pia, daughter of a German father and an English expat mother. Pia is around 17 when she tells the story but the events themselves take place when she is 10 years old and she and her family are living in a small picturesque German town.

The only thing I will say is that the book had me pretty scared, scared enough not to want to read it in the evenings if I was alone, because I tend to get nightmares... just because it's about a 10-year-old is it really a YA book??

Being an expat myself, I really liked that aspect of the story too - the way the English mother is portrayed as she tries to fit into German society, with the different customs and everything. There aren't many books that deal with this.

Anyway, I would totally recommend this one to you. I read it in no time and loved it - it's definitely going on my list of faves at the end of the year. Plus you'll be reading something that is probably not very well-known (yet) where you live, which makes things interesting too!

Challenges: 999 Challenge, Suspense and Thriller Challenge

How I Live Now

I thought I should probably get around to writing down my thoughts about Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now before I forget them completely!

This is a book that got loads of attention in the blogoshpere at one point, one of those that everyone was reading and it consistently got good reviews. Perhaps my expectations were set a bit too high because of this and I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, nor as much as I wanted to.

The story is about American Daisy, who is sent over to England to stay with her cousins for a while and ends up having to live through war and occupation as England is invaded by an unnamed enemy. The cousins are separated as soldiers take over their house and are all sent off to work. Obviously the situations they have to live through are horrible and they need to all do a bit of growing to manage.

The storyline is interesting and after reading and absolutely loving Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It, I really, really thought I'd enjoy this. But. I did NOT like Daisy at all. I thought she was whiny and two-dimensional and I didn't really care what happened to her. Or to her cousins. And the relationship between her and cousing Edmond, with whom she falls in love, just creeped me out. It just seemed implausible and stretched and, well, creepy.

The ending was abrupt and didn't explain as much as I wanted to. I ended up feeling cheated!

Maybe I missed something, but I have to admit that I was very disappointed. Anyone else??

Challenges: A-Z, Dewey's Books, It's the End of the World

Wicked Lovely and another challenge down

Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely is my favorite audiobook so far. The narrator, Alyssa Bresnahan, was fantastic and totally brought the story to life for me. I will certainly look for other audiobooks that she has narrated.

Wicked Lovely was a great book. Magical and dark, fast-paced, with realistic characters that I really cared about. Ainsling is the story's central figure - she is not entirely a normal teenager, because she has 'the sight', meaning that she can see fairies. When she realises that a whole bunch of them are following her around and not letting go, a wondrous tale of the merging of two world unravels.

Although the setting is different, what with all the fairies around, the story has plenty of teenage issues, including young love. The development of Ainsling's and Seth's relationship is an aspect that I really enjoyed. The descriptions of the growing sexual tension between them and the problems related to their reluctance to do anything to ruin their friendship - well, it was beautiful. And refreshing!

Really, if you like fantasy then this is one for you. I loved the ending too, I was wondering how the author would resolve everything! I heard that the next book in this series, Ink Exchange, is even darker, but I think I'll have to try it anyway!

Challenges: YA Romance, 1st in a series, 999 Challenge, Audiobook Challenge

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This book completes the YA Romance Challenge for me. It was hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews and was great fun. I'm reading so much YA lately, so strange!

Here's what I read - to see my original plans, see my initial post.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (scroll up for my thoughts)

I couldn't pick just one favorite, these were all good! I guess this genre just appeals to me! :-)

Thanks Becky for hosting, looking forward to the next edition!