I'm Outa Here! (Briefly)

Hey y'all!

Just wanted to let you know that this will be my last until January... I am taking off for the sunny land of Thailand, and won't be blogging while gone.

Cheers, and I'll be back in 2010!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson-- John Green and David Levithan

Meet Will Grayson: He's the quiet almost-but-not-quite popular kid whose BFF Tiny is the biggest, gayest force in his small world. Will Grayson, his crush Jane, and Tiny take off for Chicago to catch an amazing band. When Will Grayson's fake ID doesn't work, he's reduced to passing the time in a very unlikely place...

Meet Will Grayson: He's the kid in all black, on antidepressants, and a closeted gay guy in love with his internet boyfriend Isaac. When Isaac proposes they meet IRL, Will Grayson travels to Chicago and finds the proposed meeting place, which is a very unlikely location...

Will Grayson stumbles upon the other Will Grayson... and when two universes collide, all kinds of unlikely things start to happen. Throw in some unrequited love, musical theater, lies, and recovery and you have this story. It's told in chapters narrated by alternating Will Graysons and each have a distinct voice and personality.

I enjoyed this book. It's a quick read and thankfully the concept of the two Will Graysons doesn't wear on the reader. The end was a little cheesy, but hey, you can't have it all, right? I would recommend this book to teens who like coming of age type stories, other books by either of the authors, positive coming out stories, or quirky concept type books.

This book will be published in April 2010.

Beautiful Creatures-- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate dreams of the day he can kiss his sleepy southern town goodbye. His mother died last year, his depressed father literally never leaves his study, and the family housekeeper Ama is getting crazier by the moment. When beautiful outsider Lana moves to town, Ethan can't get her out of his mind. Ama warned him to stay far away from Lana and her family, but Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her.

When I say Ethan can't get Lana out of his head, I truly mean that. They have a strange telepathic connection, and from the moment he meets her, Ethan's life is totally changed. He no longer cares about being popular, being a basketball star, or any of his friends except his BFF Link. Add in some voodoo, Daughters of the Revolution, magic, and graves and you've got Beautiful Creatures.

I'm kind of torn about this book. On one hand, I did enjoy it, and there will likely be a sequel which I will likely read. On the other hand, it was advertised as a southern gothic book, and while it was indeed southern, I felt it was a bit lacking in the gothic part. Either way, I would recommend this book to teen girls who are into the whole supernatural fiction thing, especially if they want books about witches.

Hush, Hush-- Becca Fitzpatrick

Well, there's one good thing I can say about this book... I've finally found a read-alike for Twilight that has the same stalkerish boyfriend, inexplicable draw, and kindof sub-par writing.

Is that mean to say?

Nora is peeved to learn that she has a new Biology partner... weirdo (but hottie) Patch has been assigned to her and seems to know everything about her. Even though she is afraid of him, Nora finds herself strangely attracted to him. When horrible accidents keep occurring, Nora finally has to admit that she is in over her head... but is Patch to blame for all the attacks, or is a darker force at work?

So this is a supernatural fiction love story. While Patch is no Edward Cullen (and he's a fallen angel, not a vampire), the same teens who liked Twilight will probably like Hush, Hush. Honestly though, I think Twilight was better. Personally, I struggled with this book. I really hope that Twilight has not spawned a whole group of stalker boyfriend romances... Twilight was pretty innocent, but Nora often fears for her safety with Patch, which takes on a much more sinister twist. Some people are saying this book is a read-alike for the (far superior) Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare... but I think the only resemblance is the whole angel on earth thing. Still, the cover's pretty cool, huh?

Viola in the Reel World-- Adriana Trigiani

What happens when your documentary filmmaker parents take off for a year in Afghanistan? You have to leave your Brooklyn home behind and spend a year in a boarding school in the middle of nowhere: South Bend, IN.

Viola is never seen without a camera in hand. She views life through the lens of a digital video camera, and will one day be a famous filmmaker. Settling into dorm life isn't easy, especially when only child Viola has to share a room with three other girls. But when she finally puts her prejudices aside and really starts living her life, Viola finds that friendship is powerful... maybe just as powerful as a really excellent movie.

I found this book to be pleasant, but not groundbreaking in any way. It's a great read-alike for Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants readers, or really any girl who wants a clean book about friendships. I was bored by the way the plot threads easily wrapped up, but teens might appreciate that they weren't left hanging at the end of the book.

How to Steal a Car-- Pete Hautman

Well, I guess I can say this book will be great for reluctant readers... but I didn't really like it much myself.

How to Steal a Car is about Kelleigh's foray into auto theft... sortof. For reasons not made clear to the reader, Kelleigh decides to rebel against her parents. First, she "steals" and returns her father's Lexus. Then so moves on to her neighbor's Caddy, etc. Finally she hooks up with drop out Markus and he decides to pay her to steal some nice cars out of a parking lot.

And that's basically the whole story.

Ok, sure, there are more plot details than I am describing, but so much is left out... and the stuff that's missing is what would make the novel compelling. The characters are flat, I can't find any motivation for rebellion or dissatisfaction, and the main character Kelleigh is sortof annoying... not a good combo.

Still, this book could be good for the reluctant reader, especially girls, and is a nice nongirly book for the most part.

Breathless-- Jessica Warman

I have to admit that I love this cover. Something about those underwater shots always grab me. Anyway, on to the book!

Katie's family wasn't always rich. They used to live in a cottage, hang out together, and be a "real family." But as her father started to make more money, he became more controlling... her mother in now an alcoholic, and her brother suffers from drug induced schizophrenia. When he tries to kill himself, Katie's father decides to ship her off to boarding school rather than deal with a family embarrassment... and her brother is shipped off to a mental institution.

Swimming has always been Katie's escape. When the captain of the swim team at her new school asks Katie what her best swimming stroke is, Katie shrugs and says all of them... and it's true. We follow Katie as she succeeds at swimming, but basically fails at the rest of her life. Compelling supporting characters, like her roommate Mazzie and her brother Will, really round out the story. I was tricked into thinking this was going to be another one of those rich girl boarding school books, but it's not... it goes deeper than that and teen readers will likely become engrossed in Katie's struggles.

I would recommend this to teen girls who like family dramas, boarding school books, stories that include lots of teen partying, and sports (swimming especially).