Sea Change

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman was an okay read. I had this book checked out from the library for roughly a month and a half before I started getting angry overdue email notices that told me I needed to return it, posthaste. It's sad to say that until last week, this book sat in my locker at work for a month and a half waiting for me to crack it open. I wanted to read this book solely for it's cover, yes I'm shallow, but how could you not? It screams of teen cheesiness and of a whirlwind, passionate romance- could it get any better than that? Frankly, yes it can. Although I did like the book on the whole, there were a couple things that I didn't really like about it which shall be addressed later in the post.

For recap, this is a story that could be classified as many things: summer romance, mermen (yum!), coming of age, befriending the popular kids, and more. The main storyline is this: Miranda is a high schooler in New York who plans on doing an internship at the National History Museum but gets spirited away by her mom to Selkie Island, an island off of the coast of Georgia so that they can get their dead grandmother's house ready to sell. Miranda isn't too happy that she has to delay her internship, but goes along because she's a "good" girl. Upon arrival she sees that there are many signs that boast of the danger of the island, and especially the interesting nature of the gorgeous boy "next door" who seems to be falling for her.

I enjoyed this book, though I didn't really like the whole way the "mystery" of the island was approached--it felt to fictional. I couldn't really connect with the main character, even though I did feel her plight, and her mother's descent into Southern Belle socialite bothered me. Other than those hard to overcome flaws, this was a pretty good book--at least one that was enjoyable to read on the whole.

Falling Angels

So by now you should have read my blog post spotlighting Tracy Chevalier, and why she's amazing. Obviously, this is going to be a positive review. So I'm jumping right into things.

This book is set during the end of the Victorian era, at the cusp of the new century, and opens up with the death of Queen Victoria. Kitty Coleman is a Victorian housewife who has nothing to fill her days, and obviously feels like her life lacks purpose. As Kitty, her husband, and their daughter Maude attend a memorial service at their local graveyard for the Queen, the Coleman's run into their graveyard next door neighbors, the Waterhouse's. Their daughter Lavinia is Maude's age, who through the story's development, becomes Maude's best friend. Though this book is told through the viewpoints of (roughly) 10 or so character's points of view, the main focus of the book is of the growing up of both girls. We see them caught up in the melodrama of being a girl on the throes of becoming a young woman in Victorian society, deal with loss and sorrow in a hypocritical age, reliving Suffragette marches, riding the waves of scandal, and understanding what it means to be a friend. The book is full of double standards, hypocrisy, melodrama, real drama and nostalgia, and should be read immediately. The genius of writing the story from several character's viewpoints only shows how capable Chevalier is at mastering the art of storytelling.

Not only is the story original and beautiful, but the writing itself is passionate and full of intrigue and romance that can only be found in one of Chevalier's books. I definitely recommend this book and advise you to read it tonight, cuddled up in piles of blankets. Chevalier's books have always left me wanting more, and this one was nothing different; after you finish this book, I'm sure you'll want to go and pick up a couple more of her books. My advice: give into the urge!

The Revolution of Sabine

The Revolution of Sabine by Beth Ain was stunning. Not only is the cover beautiful, but the writing is beautiful and engaging as well. Though this book is shorter and smaller, the content within packs a powerful punch.

Sabine Durand is the daughter of one of the upper aristocratic families in Paris (though her mother tries just a little too hard to be "cool"). Sabine is 16 and so fittingly, only ever thinks of wearing pretty dresses and attending parties, hoping that her mother will eventually stop making a fool of herself. When her mother throws a party for the upper class of Paris welcoming Benjamin Franklin to their shining city, Sabine begins to realize that there may be more to life than pretty ball gowns, being born into money, and marrying the man her parents have set for her.

After radical thoughts begin to stir in Sabine's mind, she winds up following Michael, her long lost childhood friend, to a salon where she meets Franklin. With their heated discussion of politics, Sabine learns to think for herself and contemplates getting out of her predetermined status quo. But what will her parents say when they find out that she has rekindled her "dangerous" relationship with the rakish Michael? And what will happen to Sabine's fiance, once he's realized that Sabine does not intend to be a doting wife? (Well, if you read the book, you'll find out!)

A fun historical fiction read that left me wanting more. This is definitely a little gem of a book.

North of Beautiful

So I read 142 pages of this book, and I still couldn't get into it. It may have been the whiny main character, or the un-engaging writing style, but I'm only sorry that I didn't stop reading it earlier. North of Beautiful is about Terra, a high school junior who just wants to get out of her small town and get to college as fast as she can. The main reason for this is because of her large purple port-wine birthmark on one side of her face; the other being that her dad is a total jerk to her and her mom. Terra is nothing short of paranoid about her birthmark, and freaks out if she doesn't have her layers of makeup on to reduce her "stain". Basically this tells the story of Terra and how she copes with being ugly (her words, not mine- though other than her birth mark she's virtually perfect) enough to step outside of her house every morning. The premise of the story had promise but was seriously poorly executed. I found myself struggling to go on after a couple pages, which astounds me that I read 142. Maybe I'm just a saint?

Smiles to Go

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli was an okay read. It was recommended to me by a friend who has gave it rave reviews, but I found it to be just okay. Definitely not my favorite book by Spinelli, but entertaining to say the least. This tells the story of Will Tuppence and revolves around the death of the proton. Will was told when he was little about how protons never die-which changed Will's life when he was a kid. It's when the first reports of proton death make the news that Will's life changes forever. From then on, Will decides to take more risks and document his life from the day the proton died. The story is full of heart, friendship, and unique personality. This is definitely an interesting take on the coming of age story; the sub-plot of Will's little sister being the biggest pain in his backside and their run-ins was funny to read, and being the older sibbling, I definitely related. Once again, not the best Spinelli novel I've read, but his definitions of character, voice and humor ring true, and is what Spinelli does best.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the original format of the story, the witty characters, and the humor that was laced throughout the framework of the book. The main premise of this book is that in one way or another, the entire story revolves around the character Margo Roth Spiegelman. So to get things started, the story is told from the point of view of Quentin Jacobsen, a senior in high school who has been in love with Margo since they were kids, who just so happens to live next door to him. After recounting stories of how odd Margo is, she shows up in the middle of the night outside Quentin's window asking him to join her in a night of revenge filled escapades. What follows is an interesting evening where we get another perspective of Margo that even Quentin didn't know existed.

Once Quentin and Margo both go home after their joyous evening of fun, Quentin can't help but think if Margo will talk to him at school tomorrow, share their inside secrets, or even acknowledge his presence (she is a popular girl after all). Once Quentin gets to school he realizes that Margo isn't there- no biggie, he'll just wait to talk to her later at home. Hopefully she has another night of madness planned. However, four days pass and no one has seen any signs of Margo. The cops are called but her parents aren't worried seeing as this is her 6th or so attempt to run away. They think she'll come home when she wants to, but Quentin isn't so sure- especially when he finds a clue that references the night that they both spent together, which seems to be left specifically for him. What follows next is Quentin's attempt to find Margo, along with his best friends, through the chain of clues that she's left him, hoping that he can bring her back to him when she's seemed to fall off the face of the earth.

I really enjoyed reading the first half of this book, and parts of the second half as well. There were a lot of hilarious parts where I found I had to reign back my laughter because my roommate was asleep in the next bed. The middle of the story, the part where Quentin is trying to connect the clues and find Margo was a little slow, and parts of the story where he's looking for a specific clue could have been edited- it took too long to find Margo through her clues. I know the story is supposed to be somewhat realistic, but Quentin is seriously obsessed with finding her- it would have been nice if Green would have sped up the process to either make it seem like Quentin isn't obsessing over Margo, who seems really odd and wacky, or have him give up at some point.

The ending was not what I expected at all, and looking back, wished that Green could have come up with another ending. Once you find out what happens, it's kind of a letdown. Other than that, the story is enjoyable, and worth reading.

Wintergirls

I just finished reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson over the weekend, and I gotta tell you- it's intense. It is definitely not a light read; man is this book hard to swallow (haha-pun not intended).

Wintergirls tells the story of two best friends, Lia and Cassie, who make it a competition to see who can be the skinniest. However, prior to the book's beginning, the girls have a falling yet (though neither can stop the competition), and Cassie ends up calling Lia 33 time prior to dying alone in a motel room. Lia doesn't get any of the phone calls/messages until after Cassie's death, and by listening to them, Lia begins seeing Cassie's ghost.

As the story continues, we read how Lia struggles with her weight (roughly 105 when the book starts and quickly dropping) and how she continues to force herself to lose weight even after 2 trips to rehab. Lia cares about no one (especially her relationship with her mom) except her stepsister, who she "tries" to set an example for. While trying to deal with everyday life, Lia constantly faces her own inner demons that only more weight loss and cutting can "resolve". As her inner thoughts believe, cutting and not eating are the only times she can feel something, and are the only things in her life that she can control.

I love Laurie Halse Anderson and the books that she writes, but this one was almost a little much for me, mainly because I'm trying to lose weight as well, and reading about how not eating and counting calories can make you lose a lot of weight definitely made me feel like eating extra amounts of food to keep both of us sustained. This book was a great look into the psyche of an anorexic/cutting girl, and made me appreciate my own sanity when it comes to food, weight, control, and feeling (anything). Though I'm not sure I would ever read this book again, it was a good read a definitely gave me a perspective on a life that I know I never will become.

Anderson said that the reason why she wrote this book was because she wanted to write something that could be a response to all the letters and emails she gets from teens across the nation about anorexia, bulimia, and cutting. In the acknowledgements she thanks all the doctors and psychiatrists that she worked with in helping her create Lia and making her believable as a girl with health and mental problems. Well done, Anderson, but prepare for intensity- it took me a while to finish just because Lia's problem is so heartbreaking and frustrating because she has the power to change herself; she just chooses not to.

Notes From the Midnight Driver

This is one funny book by Jordan Sonneblick. Not so much laugh out loud funny (though there were parts like that), but situational funny that you're glad you don't have to take part in. I can't remember how it was that I came across it, but I know I saw something about it on amazon. This is the story about Alex, a decapitated lawn gnome and a old spiteful Yiddish man.

With the opening of the book, Alex has just gotten himself smashed on his parent's vodka, hops into his mom's minivan and attempts to drive to his dad's house to confront him about dating his third-grade teacher. However, one block after he's started driving, he ends up on his neighbors front lawn with a headless gnome underneath the bumper of the minivan. (I just have to say that when I read this opening paragraph I started laughing out loud, especially when the police man lets Alex know he's just decapitated someone and he thinks he means a real person- wow it was funny!) Obviously, Alex ends up getting arrested, and ends up having his day in court and is sentenced with serving 100 hours of community service at the convalescent home his mom works at- she chooses an ornery old man for him to "help" because none of the on-call nurses can handle him.

Of course this is a coming of age story, but with a funnier twist: Alex is one sarcastic and satirical kid and so his inner thoughts and monologue are very funny to listen to. Because he's so witty and gets away with lots of things, Alex makes excuses for everything wrong he does. Sol (the Yiddish old man) quickly preys upon this and "helps" Alex grow up in a sense (more like making fun of him until he bucks up). A connection is made between the two unlikely friends through their guitar playing and conversation, and Alex learns what responsibility is and what it means to be a friend.

I really liked reading this book for its general humor and charm. I did read it within a time period of 32 hours, so you can see that it kept my focus. It's definitely worth reading today, if you're looking for something fun and light.

3 Willows

So I finished reading 3 Willows by Ann Brashares last night (or I should say this morning). It's been in my stack of books to read, and since it came out fairly recently I wanted to hurry and get it read so that I could get a review up. When I say that I stayed up into the early hours of the morning to finish the book, that may not mean that I necessarily found so good I couldn't put it down. This would actually be the opposite. I thought it was okay. I probably won't ever read it again, and will most likely never buy it, which I'm sad to say because I love Ann Brashares. This was a disappointing start to a new series that seems too caught up in the rediscovering of friendship between 3 girls that it looses its charm (and my interest). I appreciate that Brashares has begun a new series, and so bravely after her successful Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, but this one flopped. I had high hopes for this book and was so ecstatic to get a copy of it at the library, but found quickly why there weren't as many people on hold for it as I thought there would be.

3 Willows tells the story of three girls who used to be good friends: Jo, Ama, and Polly. Each girl is doing something different for the summer - Jo is going to her family's beach house, Ama is accepted into an outdoor scholastic camping program, and Polly is contemplating modeling camp. At the start of the novel you realize that each girl has fallen out of their friendship threesome, and now only have awakward run-ins with one another. However, the way in which the stories tie together seem to promise a friendship reunion. Each storyline is unique and individual to the girl, but the only part of the novel that I liked was when one of the main characters ends up making a special connection with her dad. That was just about the only part of the book that I could relate to and that I found interesting whatsoever. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but who knows, it could be yours.

*Also, a side note, the original Sisterhood members (Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby) are mentioned (and one of them makes a cameo), and Lena's younger sister Effie has a small role in one of the girl's summers. It was really weird to read their commentary about how obsessed they were with finding an object, like the pants, that could help solidify their friendship. My policy on things like this is that authors shouldn't mention characters from their previous works, even if the setting is in the same town and school, unless they're writing sequels. It just doesn't work out- it makes the author look like they can't write/sell anything after their greatest success without mentioning it, and it just leaves that reader frustrated, especially if the current book being read isn't that great.

I'm On the Fence About This One

My friend came into work the other day and returned the book Dairy Queen, which I then asked if it was any good. Her response took a couple seconds, and then said (more or less), "Yeah...it was okay. There's nothing too special about it; I didn't really think it was good, but then there were times as I was reading it that I found I couldn't put it down. I mean, I knew that it wasn't that great, but for some reason I couldn't stop reading it. I guess that means it's good." I was intrigued and so instead of reading all the other books that were (and still are) piled on my desk, read this one instead. I found that her recommendation of this book pretty much sums it up. To give you a brief synopsis of what it's about, here goes: a girl who has 2 older brothers who play football, and a younger one who is destined for NFL greatness is set among a dairy farm in Wisconsin. She (D.J.) is forced (for lack of a better word) being the only one in her family who can milk the cows and take care of the farm due to her father's bad hip and her brothers' star careers in sports. As the book goes on D.J. ends up training the star quarter back of the rival high school's football team all summer and learns how to overcome her social awkwardness, inexperience with boys (other than her jock brothers), develops a voice (in the literal sense; she rarely talks), and learns to embrace herself and try out for her high school's football team. The first half of the book was mediocre, but once D.J. made the decision to try out for football, things picked up. My friend's opinion of the book sums up perfectly how I felt once I finished it. However, because the second half of the book showed promise, I'm now reading the sequel, The Off Season. I know. Go figure.