Between Shades of Gray

between shades of grey
ruta sepetys
read: february 2012

recommendation: historically important, so read it! ;)

This book came to be highly recommended - not only was it short listed for a bunch of awards, but it's about a girl being shipped off to Sibera during the Second World War. Right up my alley, I thought. However, I had a difficult time with it. I kept waiting for something MORE.

I think this book would have been much stronger without the little flashbacks.

That said, it would take almost half the book away.

In a sense, I felt like this book was trying to be too much at once - The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and something about Russian/Lithuanian history all at once. The story was interesting and strong enough on its own. And really, I wanted to know more about why the north pole! What were they doing up there? I never got a good answer.

The writing is strong and clear, just like Lina, who is a character you can relate to. I liked her relationship with her brother, and her mother, and her drawings. I just wanted more - of those characters, of the relationship, of the time, of the story itself. I felt like we had glimpses, and I am sometimes very greedy. It is a strong story, with heart and sorrow and hope, and that is very reflective of the reality of the time.

I guess also some of it felt heavy handed and scripted (the bald man, anyone? Am I the only one that saw that from his introduction?) but. You also have to remember that I have a very strong stomach for death and violence in writing (reading these things as primary sources will do that to a person) so that didn't hit me in the same way it seems to have hit a lot of people. Sometimes I think you read one book about prisoners on a train and you've read them all. This book had potential to be different though, because of the setting and the different circumstances and Stalin, not Hitler. I do think it lost a little of its specialness by not fully exploring those differences. Also, it's important to remember I studied this stuff for years, so I am once again, biased.

It tells a very important story that a lot of people haven't even thought of before, and for that alone, it deserves its accolades. Read it if you don't know anything about the non-German side of the war, and read it because it exists, and books like this should to be read, even if you find yourself wanting more. It's an easy read in terms of comprehension and the quality of writing, not so easy if you aren't used to reading books about horrible situations, fairly graphic scenes of violence and death, and what war can do to people and families and so called friends. Then again, that IS war, so it's high time we start recognizing it for what it is.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz (2010)

please ignore vera dietz
a.s. king
read: january 2012

recommendation: four out of five. definitely worth your time, and not just because it won a printz.

"Which zen guy said, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" That's how I feel without Charlie. Like one hand clapping."

I am late the party on this one, but better late than never! (I was possibly a little overdosing on "teens dealing with deaths of loved ones" and needed a break until now.)

I liked Vera. I really did. I liked how Vera never relented that she knew Charlie, the Charlie from before, the Charlie that was her best friend. And I liked Vera's dad. I might possibly love Vera's dad the most.

Most of all I think I loved the almost B plot of the parents - what is okay to talk about and what isn't, and how those messages get relayed to kids. How hard it is to know when a line has been crossed and when you need to say something, how difficult it is to find those words, especially when you don't want to lose your friend.

Maybe this book will encourage more kids to use their voices. To not ignore the Veras and Charlies. To listen to the Pagoda's of the world, and the Georgia's, and maybe adults will learn that kids have an innate ability to tell when something is seriously wrong, and they have not been conditioned by society to ignore or act differently. They simply know, and they want to make it better.

This book was clever, inventive, and oh-so-teenage. These kids talk like kids, and Vera is achingly real - in her grief, her struggles, and her self. She feels like someone you could know.

Circumstances aren't always the best. Ignoring things doesn't mean they go away.

But change is always possible. If even one person walks away from this book truly believing that statement, this book has given us all a fabulous gift by sharing this incredibly hard but real truth.

(Just look at a flow chart. You might go back to the beginning, but you get to start again.)

(And who doesn't love a book with flow charts?! People who despite John Green not included!)

Zombies vs Unicorns, an Anthology (2010)

zombies vs unicorns
holly black, justine larbalastier, editors

read: august 2010

So, as you should know by now, I'm not really a huge fan of short story collections, as I'm not really a fan of short stories. however, a lot of my favorite YA authors have chosen this year to be part of anthologies (Diana Peterfreund, Claudia Gray, I'm looking at you!), i have found myself reading more of them.

Which makes them a little hard to review - having so many different stories and authors.

However, I think this is the best collection I've read in a long time. First of all, you have zombies, which usually means the end of the world, which of course I love. And then you have killer unicorns, which thanks to Ms. Peterfreud, are the coolest things ever.

I remain fully on Team Unicorn, though Scott Westerfeld's zombie story, and Carrie Ryan (come on, she like re-invented zombies) as well as Garth Nix's (truly creepy - wait, that might have been a unicorn story too) were stand-outs on the zombie side.

But when you have a baby unicorn in a cardboard box in a garage who you know is a man-eating monster, another unicorn named (I kid you not) PRINCESS PRETTYPANTS who actually FARTS RAINBOWS, is there really a chance? Meg Cabot, I love you too.

Plus it was edited quite well, though I think Justine did a much better job defending zombies than Holly did with unicorns. But that's probably just because unicorns haven't always been scary, while zombies have. Going against the grain!

Conclusion: enough stories that I don't think you should miss to read it.

(Winners: Diana Peterfreund, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan. Major winners.)

Beautiful Creatures (2009)

beautiful creatures
margaret stohl and kami garcia

read: february 2010

recommendation: worth its weight in pages.

"Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena Duchannes moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them."

I don't know what I liked about this that other people didn't, and if I was just in a different mood/mind place when I picked it up, but I had a very hard time putting it down.

Yes, it's fat. It's a thick book with lots of characters and world-building, and yet the setting is this tiny town of Gaitlin, where the past is just as important as the present. Despite the length of the book, about half-way through, I was totally hooked. I couldn't put it down. I truly liked the "Casters" world - where almost every paranormal thing ever is somehow in the mix. It provided a nice break from the usual paranormal YA.

Characters that were my favorite: I loved Macon. I loved Amma. Their stories, their history, and the way they interact with the new generation - these things made me really happy and really involved in the story. I mean, Lena was kind of cool, but she wasn't . . . I don't know. I like very strong female characters, and Lena wasn't exactly the most active heroine anywhere. However, she isn't the worst. I did like her. And Link.

I liked the heaviness of the setting. To be honest, I don't think I've ever read anything that qualifies as "southern gothic" so I don't know how accurate that part was, but i definitely really LIKED the setting. I felt the town and the people in it, i felt like I could almost smell the trees and the weather. I could see Amma in the mist with her chicken bones, and Macon, and the house that makes everyone suspicious of Lena.

Looking back on it, I can see parts that I would have edited it out, or asked the authors to make tighter. (The song, for example, and the initial dreams don't exactly have a conclusion, there's so much about Emily - and we don't even know really what happened there.)

I didn't realize it was a series until the last page. Because this is a first book, I have hope the second installment will have a tighter plot and retain the visceral quality of the writing. The world building was lovely, and I do want to go back there.

And really, I had a very hard time putting the book down. Even with the length. But then again, perhaps the fact that I spent a lot of time reading and loving books that are considered "dense" by most people (Conrad's Heart of Darkness, all of Faulkner, etc.) that I wasn't turned off by the sheer size of the book. This is definitely a book that is worth the time it takes to read (though it *is* heavy to carry around!) and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Saving Francesca (2006)

saving francesca
melina marchetta

read: january 2010

recommendation: read. read read read.

Wow. Melina Marchetta blows my socks off yet again.

Frankie/Frank/Francesca is a year 11 in Sydney. She has switched schools because her former school stopped at year 10. And Frankie's mother, Mia, decides to send her to St. Sebastian's, where there are approximately 30 girls and a couple thousand boys.

As Frankie says, "You'd think this would be great, but it's not."

Oh, FRANKIE. Oh, Will and Luca and Robert and Justine and Tara and Sibhoan and Thomas and Jimmy and Nonno's and Nonna's . . .

Mia, Frankie's mother, has always been doing ten things at once. She's a personality, a force to be reckoned with. Until one day, the music doesn't go off at 6:45 am, and Mia doesn't get out of bed.

This is beautiful, brilliant, look at family and high school, also carefully dealing with issues of depression and blame and medication, etc.

Being your own person - not as a latch-key kid with responsibilities, but having your own personality and likes and expressions and having friends who like you for who you are and what you want to be - this book deals with that. This book is about the family you are born with and the family you choose, and what it means to love someone.

The prose is tight and beautiful. The slang and the words and the characters hold on to you, and bring you there, and show you the world from a different perspective.

I am so HAPPY to have this book, not just for me, but also for the possibility to give to kids who have parents or other loved ones who are depressed.

Marchetta is such an amazing author. But oh, I think this is my favorite out of all of them. I cannot recommend it enough.

Rampant (2009)

rampant
diana peterfreund
read: august 2009

recommendation: pre-ordered, and totally worth it!

I had been eagerly awaiting this book, thanks to my love of Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl series. I adore her writing, so I was already an easy sell. But then I discovered what this book was going to be about and I about died.

Killer unicorns, my friends. KILLER UNICORNS. (And ten million other brilliant things, but first: killer unicorns!)

Vacations from Hell (2009)

vacations from hell
libba bray, editor (5 short stories)
read: july 2009

recommendation: use your local library!


This is hard to review and rate because it's a collection of stories by different authors. In other words, an anthology. (Smart, self.) I should also mention upfront that I have never been the biggest fan of short stories.

So without further ado, the stories, individually rated:

#1 by Sarah Mlynowski - It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. Not particularly memorable for any reason - humor, angst, twists, etc. It felt kind of predictable and more two-dimensional that I like, but again, it's a short story. (4.5/10)

#2 by Claudia Gray - I want to read more more more. This is what I want short stories to do - either have me fulfilled at the end, or with an ending that leaves a multitude of possibilities, allowing the reader to create their own stories with the characters. Definitely liked this one, and I heard it inspired a new series - which I am already anticipating! (9/10)

#3 by Maureen Johnson - She gets points for the ending, but really? That's what you came up with Maureen? I have to admit I expected more. Usually she's so creative and funny while still maintaining some semblance of reality (disclaimer: Devilish is my least favorite of her books, and I went to an all-girls Catholic school with nuns!). This reminded me why I have a hard time with short stories - it felt like filler, and kind of frivolous. (5/10)

#4 by Cassandra Clare - Of course there's sibling love! ;) However, I really did not like this one at all - the set up, the ending, the premise, blech. I didn't buy it for a second, and thought it was over-wrought and trying too hard. Though I do like the fact that the main character ended up as strong as I hoped. (3.5/10)

#5 by Libba Bray - I found this story not immediately accessible, and kind of hard to get into - I think it would have been better in second person POV, if that makes any sense. The story asked for an immediacy with the reader that I think second person would have provided. Already the narrator talks directly to the reader through the concept of filming a youtube video, but it's not quite smooth. However, I liked the sense of unease, superstitions, etc. It was unsettling, which was refreshing in this collection! (7/10)

Do with that what you will!

A Curse as Dark as Gold (2008)

a curse as dark as gold
elizabeth c. bunce
read: february 2009

recommendation: definitely read, whether from the library or buying it, just read this book!

I don't usually seek out retellings of fairy-tales, but I heard good things about this one from people's opinions I respect, not to mention all the awards it won. And "Rumplestilskein" is one of my favorite stories, so there was added incentive to pick it up.

Note: Because of this book, I started to actively seek out more fantasy styled fiction, and I haven't looked back yet!

In the town of Shearing, there is a mill, run by the Miller family. Stirwaters has been in the family for generations and is the heart of this town, set in late 18th century England. When Mr. Miller dies, the mill falls in the hands of his daughters, Charlotte and Rosie.

And then everything at the mill starts to fall apart, no matter how hard Charlotte tries to hold things together. There are people who work for her that rely on her for their livelihood - the town itself relies on the mill. When things are at their worst, a mysterious man named Jack Spinner appears, with a promise to weave thread of actual gold - perfect for the cloth Charlotte needs to sell to save the mill.

But as is true of all stories like these, everything comes at a cost. The story brilliantly works with all the responsibilities Charlotte has to deal with, and to what lengths she will go to save her mill, her town, and her family. It's a ghost story inside historical fiction all wrapped up with a magical fairy tale bow.

There's so much to like about this story - first, it's fantastically historically accurate. The contrast of Shearing versus Pinchfields was beautiful, as it's so the story of cottage industries compared with the beginnings of industrialization. It's so seemlessly done you don't even realize what you are reading.

Second, the female characters are strong, brilliant, flawed and intelligent. Charlotte and Rosie are smart and clever, as well as possessing big hearts. This book passed the Bechdel Test a million times over.

Third, it actually makes the fairy-tale better, in my opinion. It makes it make sense. The gold spinner character actually has motivation other than wanting to steal little babies! Making the creepy little gnome sympathetic? A brilliant move.

Fourth, there's love, and there are male/female relationships, but they aren't fairy-tale perfect - they are realistic. (Especially of the time.) Which to weighs more - your home life or your new married life? How much to share with your new spouse, with your family, with your workers? What is the burden of responsibility and what does it actually mean when you marry someone? It's especially important to remember because Charlotte is so YOUNG, which can easily be forgotten. Rosie's only fourteen herself, which is a tiny side-note throw away line - but these two girls feel the weight of the village on their shoulders - and in a way, it is. As someone who is quite tired of books that Have To Have Romance, this was a great reprieve - the romance was there, but not forced, and it required work, as most relationships do.

Not to mention how much I loved everything that was going on with the girls' uncle on the side, and how he made so much of the story without overtaking it. The townspeople, the whole thing - every note seemed to be right in this. There's just the right amount of creepiness and horror and shock and panic and love and sensibility and everything. It's a very well-balanced book.

I really, really loved "A Curse as Dark as Gold" and can't say enough about it. Give it a try - past the first 100 pages if you aren't someone like me who finds a slow build immensely satisfying in the end. (I think this is why I root for the late closers in horse racing, and the teams that are behind in sports. Who doesn't love a ninth inning rally?!) I actually found myself feeling fond of Jack Spinner, and I can't say enough about Charlotte and Randall and how note-perfect almost everything was.

The plot at the beginning of the book is a bit slow, but press on, reader! Take the time to enjoy what you are reading too, and the fact that you are learning, because the historical accuracy is amazing. (Try convincing your social studies/world history teacher that this should count toward your class!)

I fell in love with these characters, and I think you will too.