Read recently

Sometimes I just don't have the energy or thoughts enough to devote to one book, so this is a nice way to catch up on what I've been reading. For you and for me!

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway
published August 2010 by Razorbill
256 pages (hardcover), YA

I loved Benway's first novel, Audrey, Wait! so yes, I was a little disappointed with her second. April, May, and June are sisters, one year apart each in high school, and they are all recently discovering that they have special powers. April sees the future, May disappears, and June reads thoughts. While April and May are perfectly fine with blending in at school, the youngest sister June wants to be popular. So of course June uses her mind-reading abilities to turn the popular girl's friends against her so that she can get in her good graces instead. But April disapproves of the girls using their powers for selfish reasons and tries to be the responsible older sister by suggesting they use their talents for good and not evil.

Okay, I have to stop there because I'm getting bored just writing about it. Sigh. It wasn't a boring book, really. But it wasn't all that engaging either. The characters were bland, besides having special powers, and the plot either didn't go anywhere or went too many places - I can't decide which. Maybe I just had too high of hopes for this book, but it just didn't do anything for me.

The Body at the Tower (The Agency #2) by Y.S. Lee
published August 2010 by Candlewick
352 pages (hardcover), YA

I liked the first book in this series and saw endless possibilities of where it could go. This book went to a strange, unexpected place. I know that I say quite a bit that I'm all about the characters in a book and don't care much for plot. But I also can't read a book if the plot is so boring and distracting from the characters. And that's what I felt here.

Mary has a new case at the Agency. Dress as an apprenticing boy to gain access to the Big Ben worksite to solve the mystery of an unexplained death. Yeah, what else can I say? It certainly didn't grab me, but I read it anyway because I like Mary. We learn a little (itty bitty bit) about her past, and we also see potential changes in the Agency. That irritated me. I hardly know what the Agency is about, after only one book in the series, and now it's changing? But that's okay because I like Mary. And that's enough for me to read the potential third book in the series.

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich, read by C.J. Critt
published 2003 by Recorded Books
9 sound discs (10 hours, unabridged), adult pop lit

I love Stephanie Plum. These books are perfect for long drives because they're formulaic but most of all, they're hilarious. The situations are ridiculous, and Stephanie's decision-making skills are laughable. In this installment, Stephanie is looking for a man whose work visa is just about to expire. This case takes her in many different directions - with a trip to Vegas to boot! But who cares about the mystery? It's Stephanie's love life that keeps me reading, or rather, listening. She's back with Morelli, even living with him for now because her apartment is just too easy to break into. They're together but still not ready for marriage, even though Joe hints that he wouldn't mind if Stephanie was pregnant! Which she's not; her sister is. And Ranger? Well, he takes a backseat in this one, but I can't imagine that will last very long.

I also really like the narrator's voice, which I recognize from previous Plum novels. She uses different voices for Stephanie, Lula, Grandma Mazur, Ranger, Joe, and others, so it feels like there's a full cast. She reads well. :)

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
published January 2010 by Simon & Schuster
454 pages (hardcover), YA

Hanna has issues. She's manic-depressive. She talks to her dead father. She's run away from home because she nearly killed her aunt. And now she's on her mother's doorstep, a mother who wants nothing to do with this teenage daughter of hers. Here we are in Portero, Texas, where the world is not quite the way it should be. Evil spirits more than just lurk; they are deadly. Portero is a portal to many other places and worlds, with hidden doors littering the entire town. Nothing is impossible in Portero. Odd as it may be, Hanna actually feels at home in this town that defies reality - mostly because it's weirder than she is. But Portero folk are not that accepting of outsiders, and Hanna must prove that she can fit in if she wants to stay with her aloof mother.

I love this book. I needed this book. I read it at exactly the right time - the weather finally turned chilly, I was curled up in bed ready for the kind of creepy, spooky book we all want to read this time of year.

Let me just say again that this is definitely a creepy, spooky book. Blood. Gore. Violence. Nudity. Sex. Drugs. Monsters. Just the kind of book I should be reading during Banned Books Week - but shhh, don't say I said so. It has that weird Going Bovine feel to it, where you're not quite sure if what you're reading is actually happening in the story or if it's just a hallucination trip, and it's creepy in that Girl, Interrupted way because people who are not quite mentally stable are apt to do unpredictable and very dangerous things. Add the likes of the City of Bones, with portals to other worlds and otherworldly creatures, and you've got most of the elements of this book.

But what I loved most was not the strange story or fantasy setting or troubled characters but instead the way they were seamlessly intertwined. There was no moment of suspending disbelief for me here; I just went with each twist and turn as if it was all normal. That's how much Ms. Reeves pulled me in from the start. Wow. Just wow.

There's not much else I can really say about this book. You'll love it or hate it. The story will grab you or repel you. I will say this, don't be fooled by its length. If you love it, you'll fly through it. I did not want to put it down! One late night and early morning later, and I was finished. Sad but sated.

Four purple crayons for the wow factor and fresh perspective.

Others said it better:
Book Gazing; Reading in Color; Bookworming in the 21st Century; read what you know; Presenting Lenore; Bloody Bookaholic; The Neverending Shelf; Pure Imagination

Book love

I just finished re-reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. This is a BIG deal. For me, at least. I don't re-read. As much as I love a story, I don't feel it's fair to all the books I have not yet read for me to read a novel twice. But I made an exception. I've been drooling over Linger for quite some time now, but I told myself that I'd have to first read my personal copy of Shiver (because of course I bought it after I read and loved my library copy) before I could indulge in the green font.

So how was the second telling of Shiver, you ask? I didn't think I would, but I love it just as much as the first time around. Don't be fooled, this is not a review. I can't do that with this book. It's too emotional of an experience, lending itself to many romantic sighs and sad but happy tears. Maggie's writing is lovely. The last thing she writes in this book is a thank-you to her husband, who made the romance in her words come alive. Isn't that just heart-tickling?

There are only a handful of books that affect me in grand ways, and this is one of them. And I know that that's just a really personal thing to say, but this blog is rather personal. I don't pretend to be objective, and there's no way that I could with this book. I wish that I knew better how to describe all the ways that it just gets me. I'm so happy that I broke my rules and read it again before reading Linger. It's exactly what I needed right now. A soft, cozy, happy place to go to.

And now I can read Linger!

Princesses, faeries, and debutantes

I'm in a serious girlie rut right now. I have been steadily gravitating toward the more feminine type of book (I'm not in the mood for this debate - but yes, I do gender stereotype. I am a product of society, what can I say?), and I'm just about sick of it. I haven't seen a male protagonist in who knows how long. ::checks GoodReads:: Okay, I read the graphic novel of Fahrenheit 451 last week, and there were a couple others last month, but it certainly feels like a lot longer. It's all princesses and faeries and debutantes these days.

Be warned - these are not reviews of books but reflections on my reading experiences. Sometimes, that's just more interesting (to me, at least).

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
published January 2009 by Bloomsbury
288 pages (hardcover), YA

Well, I really enjoyed this book. It's a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling, and we all know how much I love my retold fairy tales. Even though I was not all too familiar with this one. I just appreciate Jessica Day George's writing so much. It's the kind that's effortless to read, like it would just flow off your tongue if you read it aloud. It's not too flowery, but it's still beautiful. She has a gift of setting a scene without using too much description. I have quite a few mental images of the castle and the garden and even the town outside the castle, but I never felt like I was trying to get through detailed passages to move on to the action (coughHobbitcoughcough). I can't speak much to the originality of the story because it's a retelling, and I don't know the original tale that well. I liked it well enough and will be happy to read the companion Princess of Glass (a Cinderella retelling!) when it comes out in May.

Darklight by Lesley Livingston
published December 2009  by HarperCollins
312 pages (hardcover), YA

I read the first book Wondrous Strange sometime last year or maybe earlier upon the recommendation of a student. She thrust the book into my hands (an ARC, I believe) and said, "You have to read this!" So, I did. I will always read a student recommendation - a professional courtesy, I think. Anyhow, I liked it okay, but I knew that she loved it, so I let her gush until her heart's content. Why did I read the sequel if I only liked the first so-so? Let me tell you, I have very little self-control when it comes to faeries and series - and this one hit them both! It was action-packed (and mildly confusing - who's whose parent?) for a cover like this (which is also another weakness of mine, ack), which definitely intrigued me. But I found myself sighing in exasperation and putting the book down a few too many times. I needed more character development. I needed to remember better what happened in the first book. And I needed to just plow through it instead of reading it in short spurts. An average read for me, but I'm not a fan of average. I would prefer to be wowed.

Splendor by Anna Godbersen
published October 2009 by HarperCollins
391 pages (hardcover), YA

Am I the only one hooked on these books? And am I the only one wondering if Gossip Girl will ever come back to the television screen? While I wait for a new GG episode, I have a Luxe novel to hold me over - over what, I don't know. I suppose I should explain the connection between the two - high society New York, Luxe set in the early 1900s, GG present day. This is the fourth and final book in the series, where I'm told much is wrapped up nicely. I've only just begun reading it, but I don't anticipate writing a review, so I thought I'd share it now. I can't explain the draw to these books - not much more than "they're pretty." They're the kind of books I imagine Melissa de la Cruz would like reading (among many others, of course). The writing is grand, in tune with the lifestyles of the rich and proper girls it describes. It's a pleasure to read, really, but I think it may be an acquired taste. I need to find a day to spend curled up with this book because I don't like having to break it up.

My goal in the sometime near future is to re-evaluate the books I have currently checked out of the library. Unfortunately, some of them will have to be returned unread. There are only so many hours, so many days. And the real goal - the challenge - is to find books that are out of my comfort zone, that are "boy" books, and that I wouldn't normally pick up or give a second glance at. Because I know that I can read more broadly and enjoy it. I just have to remember to do it more often.