Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Keith Thompson
published October 2009 by Simon & Schuster
440 pages (hardcover), MG/YA

This will not even vaguely resemble a review. For those of you (like me) who have never read or maybe even heard of steampunk, no explanation or summary I could give you would prepare you for the wonders in this book. My head is still spinning. There are links to proper reviews at the end of this post if you'd like such a summary, but please do come back to review my reflections and reading experiences.

I suppose I should start by saying that I'm not really a fan of science, science fiction, history, or historical fiction. These things make my brain hurt. I blame it on my public education, what with its reading and math rules the world philosophy. But even though I do not enjoy such subjects, which this book could not exist without, I loved Leviathan. Because Scott Westerfeld is more talented than I can comprehend. I can imagine that it may be very easy for a science/history buff with an imagination to write a steampunk novel, but what's not so simple is to write a steampunk novel that is accessible (and enjoyable!) to the least technologically, scientifically, historically inclined (raises hand) of us. This is the reason that Leviathan was so amazing to me - and probably why some steampunk fans were disappointed. Apparently, the audience for this book is the middle grade and younger YA set, but if you've never read in this genre before, age limits aside, this may be your gateway book.

I won't lie, Leviathan is filled with technical and scientific jargon - and even some great, made-up slang. (Because Westerfeld loves to play with words, and we love him for it.) Although most of the descriptions of war vehicles and living aircrafts were completely lost to me, I enjoyed getting to know the characters - which has actually been a criticism of the book by some, that the characters were not developed enough. I assure you that the only reason I continued reading this book was because of the characters - I felt sorry for Alek having just lost both of his parents and needing to flee for his life to Switzerland, and I fell in love with Deryn who had to learn to talk and act like an insufferable boy (and she was darn good at it) in order to pursue her dreams of flying. When the two meet, there must have been stars in my eyes. Not because of the romance which would inevitably brew, but because they have such different personalities and worldviews, which make their interactions hilarious and heart-warming. I sped through the last 150 pages of this book, wanting more of those interactions, more of the clashing of worlds, more of the misunderstandings and secrets and delicate friendships. And at the end, after 440 pages, I wanted more.

Again, I failed to do my research. Leviathan is the first book in a trilogy. Behemoth, the second book, is due out in October 2010. You can bet that I'll be re-reading Leviathan before I get my hands on Behemoth for a number of reasons. 1. I'll understand it better the second time around. 2. The writing is wonderful, and I'd like to star some passages. 3. I'll need to be reminded of what happened in the first book.

By the way, I finally decided to read Leviathan because it's featured on readergirlz this month. Lots of great discussion questions and extra content on the blog + a live chat with Scott Westerfeld this Wednesday, March 17 at 9pm EST. Check it out!

Others said it better:
Book Gazing; Guys Lit Wire; One Librarian's Book Reviews; Fyrefly's Book Blog; Book Nut; Laura's Review Bookshelf; A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Spring Break Reading Challenge - Activity #3

Not on Spring Break just yet? That's okay, neither am I. Join the Spring Break Reading Challenge anyhow, which runs from Friday, March 12 - Sunday, March 21.

Activity #3 - What are you reading?

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

It is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With the Great War brewing, Alek's and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way...taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.

It took me 242 pages to really get into this book. The technology is so beyond my realm of understanding and imagination that I found some passages quite difficult to visualize. But! Once it all clicked for me (and it did, more than halfway through), I started zooming through it. I appreciated getting to know Alek and Deryn separately, but the story really comes together once they meet. I love it! I want to go finish it now!

If you've never read anything by Scott Westerfeld, consider yourself truly deprived. Check out his website, designed in the Leviathan style at the moment, and follow him on Twitter @ScottWesterfeld.

Spring Break Reading Challenge - Activity #2

So, I'm signing up a day late to the Spring Break Reading Challenge, but that's okay because it runs from Friday, March 12 to Sunday, March 21. Karin from The Book Jacket is the lovely gal hosting this challenge. My break is actually the week after, but I thought I'd join in on the fun anyhow. :)

Each day boasts an Activity and a chance to win a Prize! Today's Activity is a Scavenger Hunt - woo! Here are the three things I need to find:

1 - Using keywords related to your interests, find a blog that is new to you.  Be sure to give us the Blog Title, Link, and Short Description of the Blog.
I took the lazy way out on this one and went to Kidlitosphere Central's Member List to find a new kidlit blog to add to my ever-growing feed reader. I chose:

Bottom Shelf Books

"picture books from a (somewhat) grown-up perspective"

 

2 - A blog belonging to an author from a book in your To Be Read pile (just a random one if you don't have a To-Be-Read pile).

Lisa McMann

Gone is next on my to-read list. :)

3 - A book releasing THIS MONTH you want to read.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Waiting for my library to buy this one!

Hope you'll join the Spring Break Reading Challenge too!

Shelfreading - 3

Shelfreading is a weekly personal meme that I created in order to showcase, remember, and reflect on the books on my shelves.

See, I don't buy books. Hardly ever. I'm very particular about what books I keep. The books on my shelves all have some meaning, some memories attached to them. Here I'll share them, a few books at a time.

This week's theme: books about books. I should have more of these in my collection because sometimes it feels like I talk and read more about books (and when I say books, I'm general talking about books read for pleasure, which for me is fiction) than I actually read books. Books books books books.

Sometimes, I can be an impulse buyer. I don't always have the self control necessary to stave off unnecessary purchases. And I also have a problem with Amazon, in that I am compelled to buy something anytime I visit (which is why I've switched to BN.com - they don't compel me). So, I have on my shelves a copy of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason AND More Book Lust: 1,000 New Reading Recommendations for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason both by Nancy Pearl. Oh, Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire - I also own your action figure.

Although these are not books to read cover to cover, I am comforted by their presence on my shelves because they assure me that I will NEVER run out of books to read. And that whatever my mood or current interest, I can find a book to satisfy my needs. Thank you, Nancy Pearl, for creating such varied, eclectic, and interesting booklists AND publishing them all in one two books. I will not read all of your suggestions, but I do appreciate them.

Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsense Guide by Betsy Hearne with Deborah Stevenson was required reading for a children's literature course but one I would have purchased anyway. If you haven't heard of these two women, have you been living under a rock? Perhaps it's my connection with the Center for Children's Books that leaves me a little biased, but I am definitely inspired by the extensive work in children's literature that these ladies have done. Take a look at this introduction:

The child is the beginning of life. The story is the beginning of literature. In the beginning, children and stories are deeply connected. The three decades I have spent evaluating children's books as a parent, teacher, librarian, reviewer, and writer have taught me one sure thing: storytelling, reading, and caring for children flow together in a natural way. Children's books can offer any family a humane counterbalance to time-clock living, a chance to pause and take a fresh look at each other.

The book is what it says it is - a commonsense guide to choosing children's books. Each chapter describes a certain kind of children's book - from picture books to different genres - and includes booklists at the end for easy acquisition of titles. Although this edition is already over ten years old, it may be even more useful because it includes classics that are tried and true with children. I'd definitely give this book to a parent who wants to be more involved in his/her child's reading.

My personal library is definitely lacking in books about books. Any favorites you'd like to share?

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund
published April 2008 by Penguin
246 pages (paperback), YA

Aurelia is a princess (please suppress your groans, I happen to like princesses), a crown princess for that matter, with the hope of becoming queen of Tyralt, a land that she loves. She is the people's princess, sneaking off in disguises to browse the market or walk the neighborhoods. She is also in mortal danger. She has unknowingly dodged murder attempts twice already, but that is twice too many. Enter Robert, Aurelia's childhood classmate and friend who has been living the frontier life for the past four years. He has come back to Tyralt to act as a spy and a protector - to figure out who is behind this assassination plot and to keep Aurelia safe. But matters of the heart distract him and Aurelia both.

In the first 20 pages of this book, I knew Aurelia, and I knew that I wanted Robert and Aurelia to be together. How is it possible to develop a depth of character in 20 pages?! I don't know, but Ms. Osterlund certainly did. Through conversations at a ball, we learn about Aurelia's character, her stubborness, her defiance and spirit. She is passionate and forthright - she will speak her mind even if it is not befitting for a princess. She is the dark one, perceiving herself as unattractive compared to her stepsister's blonde-haired, fair-skinned beauty. She's adventurous and curious, empathetic and humble. And this book is only 246 pages.

Although I didn't love love love the story, I certainly enjoyed it and finished it rather quickly. I would have liked Aurelia and Robert's relationship to be developed more, but I can imagine the constraints of living in a palace and fearing your life make this a bit difficult to accomplish. I was also surprised that this is a mystery - I suppose I expected fantasy just because it had to do with princesses, but a murder mystery was a nice twist. Part of the reason I read this one so quickly is because I needed to know who wanted Aurelia dead and if she would be killed. I'll say nothing more about that. :)

So, I'm a fan of Anne Osterlund, and I can't wait to read more from her!

Other reviews:
Books At Midnight, Book Nut, Abby (the) Librarian, Becky's Book Reviews

It's Monday, what are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey through a world of Books.

It's a way to highlight books read in the past week and books waiting to be read this week.

Read last week:

 

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Yep, that's it.

I didn't review this book because I read it so quickly, and I didn't have much to say about it. I liked it, and it was exactly what I needed at the moment. The main character comes from a family of witches, whose Talents surface at age 8, but she never discovered her Talent. Not until it was absolutely necessary - like life and death necessary. Honestly, I could have done with a little more character development, but the action was enough to keep me going in this one. I recommend it for witch fans (obviously) but also if you're looking for something quick and engrossing.

Currently Reading:

 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

(taking a break, but on page 243)

 

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

(on page 131)

So, I did it. I finally started Going Bovine. And I have to be honest, I'm not in love with it. I wish I read it long ago when it didn't have that imposing Printz sticker on its cover. I have a slight issue with Printz winners, but I'll save that for another post. I like it, but there's only so much sarcastic, angsty, swearing teen boy I can handle in one sitting. It takes a hundred pages for us to find out that Cameron has the human version of mad cow disease (which you'd already know if you read the one-sentence CIP summary), and at this point, I really don't feel sorry for him. Is that awful? I can understand the teen appeal, I guess, but so far, it's eh for me. 

Later this week:

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

By popular demand, I may start reading Leviathan, but only if I get through Going Bovine. If not, I'll have to take a break and read something I can zoom through. Perhaps:

or

Gone by Lisa McMann or Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Not to mention the manga awaiting my attention... Here's hoping for a better reading week!

Shelfreading - 2

Shelfreading is a weekly personal meme that I created in order to showcase, remember, and reflect on the books on my shelves.

See, I don't buy books. Hardly ever. I'm very particular about what books I keep. The books on my shelves all have some meaning, some memories attached to them. Here I'll share them, a few books at a time.

This week's theme is Dr. Seuss since we celebrated his 106th birthday this past Tuesday, which is also the day of the annual Read Across America.

Honestly, I've never been much of a Dr. Seuss fan. I don't have fond memories of his books from my childhood. I'm sure I had some exposure to them in school, but they were not favorites. It wasn't until I became interested in elementary teaching that I inevitably encountered Dr. Seuss. The picture below was taken at a local bookstore, six or seven years ago in my college days, of me reading Fox in Socks, with a stack of Dr. Seuss on me.

Sue sews rose 
on Slow Joe Crow's clothes.
Fox sews hose
on Slow Joe Crow's nose.

Hose goes.
Rose grows.
Nose hose goes some.
Crow's rose grows some.

Even still today, I don't understand the fascination with his books. They're nonsensical tongue-twisters that would drive a child learning to read insane. But I know that it's not about making sense of the text but instead about learning to make the sounds. In fact, on my edition of Fox in Socks, I have this note on the front cover:

This is a book you READ ALOUD to find out just how smart your tongue is. The first time you read it, don't go fast! This Fox is a tricky fox. He'll try to get your tongue in trouble.

So, back to the shelfreading aspect of this post - I do have Fox in Socks and The Foot Book on my shelf. They were probably both purchased at a library book sale because I felt that every aspiring elementary teacher should have some Dr. Seuss books. I think I had an obsession with socks at the time, so my selections seem appropriate.

However, I do wish that I owned another Dr. Seuss book - Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! One summer, I tutored a first grade girl - she was having trouble reading, so her mother said to me. The real trouble, I thought, was that she was a bundle of energy and had no attention span whatsoever. Sitting down and reading a book was not an option. I tried various approaches with her and found the one that worked best was a reader's theatre of sorts of this particular Seuss book. We first read the book together - I read one page, she read the next - with the enticement that once we finished reading together, I would read it to her, and she would act it out. Oh, how much fun we had! And I learned a valuable lesson - children will learn to read at their own pace, but they must first have the motivation to do so.

So, those are my Dr. Seuss memories. What Seuss memories do you have?

Library Loot - March 3-9, 2010

Library Loot is a weekly meme hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at ReadingAdvenures. It encourages bloggers to share what they've scored at the library that week. This week's loot is collected at Eva's blog.

I have a library addiction. I'm a big fan of my library's website (though I don't love their catalog), so I request most of my books while sitting here reading blogs, and like magic, they appear on a shelf at the library with my name on them. Yes, I'm a lazy library user. Generally, I have at least a dozen books/DVDs requested, thinking that they won't all arrive at the same time.

They all arrived at the same time. I nearly fell down at the sight of these beauties waiting for me to pick them up and take them to their new temporary home.

 

Gone by Lisa McMann

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

My Life in France by Julia Child

Ahh, where do I begin!? Do I really betray Going Bovine and start one of these instead? I've already given up on The Eyre Affair, after getting more than halfway through the book! I do like it, but I don't really care for where the story is going. It's more about the quirkiness of the world and the literary allusions, and I'm just not in the mood for that at the moment. But one of those books up there, oh, how can I choose?

I also visited another library today, where a book was specifically purchased for me. How cool is that? It's a high school library, so I browsed their graphic novel section too.

 

Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It by Kelly Gallagher

Kitchen Princess (Vol. 1-3) by Natsumi Ando

Chibi Vampire (Vol. 1-3) by Yuna Kagesaki

So, that's what's new this week. But I still have about 20 others checked out. I think I will have to read Once a Witch tonight/tomorrow morning, since it's due tomorrow, and I'm not allowed to renew it again. Perhaps I will get to Going Bovine over the weekend. 

And which of the new books should I read first? I welcome suggestions. :)

Amulet 1 & 2 by Kazu Kibuishi

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
published January 2008 by Scholastic
192 pages (paperback), middle grade

Back cover:

After a family tragedy, Emily, Navin, and their mother move to an ancestral home to start a new life. On the family's very first night in the mysterious house, Em and Navin's mom is kidnapped by a tentacled creature. Now it's up to Em and Navin to figure out how to set things right and save their mother's life!

What's missing from this summary is that the family finds itself in an alternate world by way of their new home's basement, an alternate world in which Em and Navin's presumed lost great-grandfather resides with a secret that will change all of their lives.

The story itself is quite engaging and action-packed. And I absolutely love the illustrations. I don't presume to know how to write about graphic novels. I don't know why this book appealed to me particularly - no more than the happy feeling I get when I read it and pore over the illustrations. It's all very mysterious to me, the process of drawing it all out, the decisions made regarding style and layout and colors. All I can say is, they were good decisions in this case! But I can talk about the story and that I did enjoy very much. Oh, how I love to think about alternate universes and realities! Emily and Navin, sister and brother, are likable and relatable children who are merely trying to save their mother from a large, squishy octopus-looking monster. Who knew that their new basement was a portal to another world? They're brave and unphased by the strangeness all around them, determined to free their mom and get back home.

Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi
published January 2009 by Scholastic
224 pages (paperback), middle grade

Yes, Emily and Navin save their mother, but unfortunately she's been poisoned, and they need to travel to another town to see a doctor for a possible antidote. The journey would take too long on foot, and they do not have any vehicles left - except of course, their house. Their house! Um yeah, that's ridiculously cool.

While The Stonekeeper introduced us to the Amulet series' characters, The Stonekeeper's Curse delves deeper into the story of the amulet itself (which was found by Emily in Book 1) and the powers it can have over its keeper. Not to mention the keeper's role in saving this town from the rule of the Elves!

This book was much more striking in its illustrations than the first. There was more variation and saturation of colors - blues and greys for the Elves, bright white tinged with pink for the amulet's power, and tons of reds and oranges for the village scenes. And four awesome pages of black with eye slits for a return to consciousness - this was too cool.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to upper elementary/middle school students. I don't think I need to say it, but I will anyway - fans of Bone will definitely gobble this one up. I don't normally pick up graphic novels that are drawn in this style, but I'm glad I read these two. I'm only sorry that the third volume isn't out yet!

Other reviews:
100 Scope Notes, A Year of Reading, Read About Comics, Omnivoracious

March Monday - What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey through a world of Books.

It's a way to highlight books read in the past week and books waiting to be read this week.

Read last week:

 The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

I also put up a Reading Recap post yesterday, which I'll be doing monthly in order to remember books read, choose a favorite, update challenge progress, and tally page numbers. Check it out!

Currently reading:

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Later this week:

I'm pretty embarrassed that Going Bovine by Libba Bray (2010 Printz Award Winner!) has been sitting on my to-read pile for months - months! And I keep trying to motivate myself to read it, but if you know anything about me, you know that I am very reluctant to read anything over 400 pages. It's not a philosophy or personal belief in any way - it's fear. Unexplainable, unjustified, ridiculous fear. "Chunksters" (as I've heard them called) intimidate me as a reader because they require so much of my attention. I like to finish a book in a day or two, and that's not always possible with these big books. But I will persevere - all it takes is a chapter or two, and I know that I will love this book like so many others have. Even looking at it now, how do you not get hooked with a first line like this?

The best day of my life happened when I was five and almost died at Disney World.

So, that's it for me this week. How about you? Any books on your to-read pile intimidating you?