Skellig (MG, YA)

Almond, David. 1998. Skellig. 204 pages. (But it's the Large Print edition)

I found him in the garage on a Sunday afternoon.

I was disappointed with this one. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. It's probably my expectations and/or my mood to blame for the disappointment. Skellig is pretty much unlike every other book I've read. At least that I can recall. It's a strange little book about a strange little man. And my guess is that readers (other readers at least) find him charming. He's a mystery alright. Is he a man? Is he an angel? Is he paranormal or supernatural? Michael, our hero, is a young man--a teen--whose going through a rough time. He's just moved into a new house, an older house that's not quite what it should be. His mom has just had a baby, a girl, but there were complications. She came too early. There are problems with her heart. No one can say for sure, but it's not looking too good. It's a delicate situation. His newborn baby sister is hovering between life and death. And in a way that means the whole family is hovering. When Michael ventures into the garage, he finds an old man sitting there among the shadows and the spiders and the mice droppings and the like. Not quite sure if he's imagining this man or not, Michael eventually seeks proof--he brings his neighbor friend, Mina, to see. Not right away. Not after he's seen him a few times. Not until after he's taken him leftover Chinese food to eat and aspirin to take. But still, Michael needs a friend to validate him. Well, Michael just needs all the friends he can get really.

It's a strange little book about friendship and family. And some people do really like it. I'm just not one of them. Maybe it's because I have a hard time suspending my disbelief that anyone--rather half-man,half-bird or all-angel would live in filth for years surviving on spiders and mice. Letting spiders and rodents and all crawl all over him. Anyway, for readers willing to go there, to believe, this one could work.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Sprout (YA, Adult)

Peck, Dale. 2009. Sprout. Bloomsbury. 277 pages.

I have a secret. And everyone knows it. But no one talks about it, at least not out in the open. That makes it a very modern secret, like knowing your favorite celebrity has some weird eccentricity or other, or professional athletes do it for the money, or politicians don't actually have your best interests at heart.

Meet Sprout. The green-haired wonder of a boy who doesn't have it all figured out. He's got some things figured out: he knows he's gay; he knows his father is an alcoholic. But he doesn't have his life all figured out. (Does anybody? If they say they do, are they are lying?) Since his mom died, Sprout's life has been, well, weird. It starts with a sudden move across the country.

"My dad and I moved here four years ago, when I was twelve. Long Island to Kansas. Fifteen hundred miles, most of it on I-70. We drove it in twenty-three hours, pausing only for food--McDonald's, Cracker Barrel, more McDonald's--and gas. There was no reason we didn't stop. It's not like there was anything waiting for us in Kansas. It was more like we were trying to get away--or he was trying to get away, and I was his hostage. I'm not even sure Kansas was our destination, or if it's just where my dad ran out of steam. Maybe it's just where he realized he couldn't run away from his memories."

Sprout is an eccentric teen, no doubt. And it's more than just his green hair. One teacher, Mrs. Miller, notices his genius, his gift for writing, his gift with words. She sees in him a chance to win big. The essay-writing contest. He just needs some polishing, something that she's more than willing to do day after summer day. And since Sprout isn't that popular a kid, he's got the time to spare. Will a summer spent in private with the teacher change a boy's life forever? Maybe, maybe not.

The narrative is practically perfect. Wit. Humor. Heart. This book has everything that I needed and wanted. Loved the writing of this one.

There were a lot of lies in our life, and if I end up telling a few, it's only because I'm repeating what I heard (13)

Mrs. Miller's detentions were famous: thousand-word essays on the history of the wheat; dramatic monologues on the Homestead Act of 1846; or just copying the complete definition of the verb to be from the dictionary--by hand, in crayon, using a different color for each letter. (16)

Sometimes my dad liked to drive. Sometimes my dad liked to take me with him when he drove. Sometimes I didn't manage to sneak into the forest before he found me. This must've been one of those times. So... (22)

I have to admit, though, in the two weeks since Mrs. Miller had put the idea in my head, it had grown on me. The truth is, I do enjoy playing around with words (if you're still reading, you might've noticed that). And I was also beginning to think maybe I had something to say. Like, you know: I'm a creep, I'm a loser, I smell like Teen Spirit but I'm beautiful no matter what they say, and I'm bringing sexy back, yeah! Does that make me crazy? Probably. But now it seemed Mrs. M. was telling me I couldn't write what I wanted. That I had to discuss a topic someone else picked out. This was starting to sound less like an extracurricular activity, more like, well, school. (45)

Should Sprout be allowed to write what he wants? To have the freedom to be himself? The freedom to just be. It's a charming novel about a boy's coming of age...and his first real relationship. This relationship is tastefully portrayed--much more tasteful than what I was expecting. (After reading The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second, that is). The emotions are there, but we're not privy to every single detail about Sprout's intimate life. The relationship just is, it doesn't feel like it's there for shock value or anything.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Silenced (YA)

DeVita, James. 2007. The Silenced. HarperCollins.

Marena hurried down the street, past the long stretch of identical home units, the winter air needling her awake.

Marena can barely remember 'the before.' But when she does, she breaks the rules. She writes down her memories. She fights to remember each little detail--as painful as those memories may be--because they are what keep her her. The Zero Tolerance Party wants people to forget their individuality, to forget their uniqueness, their differences. To embrace the group collective. Marena and her friends attend YTF, which I *think* stands for Youth Training Facility. Marena is suspect because her mother was a "traitor" to the party. She was active in the resistance. Marena lives with her father, whom she hates, and her little brother, whom she tolerates just barely. In Marena's world, sadly, it is illegal to write and read and draw (at least the old-fashioned way). Even illegal to own paper and pen (or pencil). There are exceptions, of course, people can read the sanctioned propaganda of the ZT party to their heart's content. They're required to recite it daily. Required to worship the words of this book which tells them what to think and how to act. Required to make their pledge of loyalty daily before lessons can begin.

Marena's life isn't easy. And by resisting, she's only complicating things. But does she have a choice? The Silenced is a novel about choices. Difficult choices. It's a novel about finding one's voice as well. Does Marena have the right to remain silent in the face of such injustice? When everything is so wrong with the world? Do you?

The Silenced has everything I love in a dystopian fiction. There were so many things I loved about it. Details that if I were to include might spoil it for you. So I'll leave off just why I loved it. But it worked for me.

"I want you to ask yourselves something and really think about it. If I were to take away everything about you that you think is you, who would you be?" He let the question sit. "Because that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill whatever you think is you. There's no room for you anymore. There's only room for us." (166)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
If you're reading this post on another site, or another feed, the content has been stolen.

Someone Like You

Dessen, Sarah. 1998. Someone Like You. Penguin. 281 pages.

I loved this book. I did. If you haven't read Sarah Dessen, you really should. Dessen, in many ways, is in a class all her own. There's the typically-delightful reading of a YA romance. (Something that I do a good bit of. And I enjoy almost everything in varying degrees.) And then there is the oh-so-wonderful-and-satisfying reading of a Dessen YA romance. There's just something about her work that is better, deeper, fresher. (I don't think awesomer is a word.)

In Someone Like You, we've got our heroine, Halley, and her best friend, Scarlett. When the novel opens, Halley is at summer camp when she gets the call that Scarlett's boyfriend, Michael, has just died. And so this often raw always emotional story begins. A story of friendship and love as Halley helps her friend through this trying time but also of loss and confusion as Scarlett discovers that she is pregnant and decides to keep the baby for better or worse. But this isn't just a story of Scarlett's life, of Scarlett's troubles. No, Halley has a life of her own. And her junior year is getting off to a weird--but wonderful--start when she begins falling for Michael's best friend (and ever-so-bad-bad), Macon. As her own relationship gets started, she's ever-questioning her life and love. Is she ready to go all the way? Does Macon love her even if he never says he does? Is she ready to open up herself to that kind of risk? Not only the risk of pregnancy, but the risk of having her heart trampled on by a boy who is more elusive than not. How much does she really know about him? about herself?

The story is compelling. It's masterfully told by Dessen.

Some of my favorite bits:

When I think of Michael Sherwood, what really comes to mind is produce. (41)

Halley's first conversation with Macon (which happens while they're waiting to speak to the school counselor.) He's in trouble; she's looking to change her schedule.

"Now, you know how to handle yourself in there, right?"
I looked at him. "What?"
"How to handle yourself," He blinked at me. "Oh, please. You need big help. Okay, listen up. Firs, admit nothing. That's the most important rule."
"I'm not in trouble," I told him.
"Second," he said loudly, ignoring me, "try to divert them by mention anything about your therapist. For instance, say, 'My therapist always says I have a problem with authority.' Act real serious about it. Just the word 'therapist' will usually cut you some slack."
I laughed. "Yeah, right."
"It's true. And if that doesn't work, use the Jedi Mind Trick. But only if you really have to."
"The what?"
"The Jedi Mind Trick." He looked at me. "Didn't you ever see Star Wars?"
I thought back, "Sure I did."
"The Jedi Mind Trick is when you tell someone what you want them to think, and then they think it. Like, say I'm Mr. Mathers. And I say, "Macon, you're already pushing the limits and it's only the first day of school. Is this any kind of way to start the year?' And you're me. What do you say?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea."
He rolled his eyes. "You say, 'Mr. Mathers, you're going to let this slide, because it's only the first day, it was an honest mistake, and the fire got put out as quickly as it was started.'"
"The fire?" I said. "What fire?"
"The point is," he said easily, flipping his hand, "that you just say that right back to him, very confidently. And then what does he say?"
"That you're crazy?"
"No. He says, 'Well, Macon, I'm going to let this slide because it's only the first day, it was an honest mistake, and the fire got put out as quickly as it started.'"
I laughed. "He will not."
"He will," he said, nodding his head. "It's the Jedi Mind Trick. Trust me." And when he smiled at me, I almost did. (54)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
If you're reading this post on another site, or another feed, the content has been stolen.

Streams of Babel

Plum-Ucci, Carol. 2008. Streams of Babel. Harcourt. 424 pages.

I sat very still, waiting for the police and ambulance to arrive.

I liked this one. I really liked it. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. But I liked it all the same. Told through multiple narrators, the book follows a terrorist attack on "Colony One". The water lines for a neighborhood have been poisoned with "Red Vinegar." And the race is on to find just what this Red Vinegar agent is, and to discover a cure before (even more) people die from drinking tap water. At the heart of this story are teenagers. The year is 2002. The threat of terrorism--the doomsday fear--is large. But for this New Jersey community, it is all too real. Unfortunately. With two fatalities already, this is no laughing matter. Can the case be solved? And quickly?! Help may come from two unlikely sources: a boy named Shahzad Hamdani, a v-spy who for some of the book at least lives on the other side of the world (Pakistan); and an American hacker-boy, Tyler Ping, who suspects his own mother of wrongdoing (though not necessarily in this terror cell). They along with the American teenagers of Owen and Scott Eberman, Rain Steckerman, and Cora Holman, are the narrators of the novel. It is through their perspectives that we grasp the terrifying (and isolating) situation.

It's a complex novel, but a good one.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
If you're reading this post on another site, or another feed, the content has been stolen.

Something, Maybe

Scott, Elizabeth. 2009. Something, Maybe. Simon & Schuster. Pub. March 2009. 224 pages.

Everyone's seen my mother naked.

Our heroine, Hannah, sure has embarrassing parents: between her dad, Jackson James*, and her mom, Candy Madison**, it's no wonder Hannah seeks a life of invisibility. Hannah prefers her "boring" life to the more notorious life she could be leading...if she followed in her parents' footsteps. And on the surface, Hannah's life is lacking a little in the social department. Her time being split between home, school, and work. The novel focuses in particular on her work environment, BurgerTown, and two of her coworkers--Josh and Finn. Hannah has a crush--make that crush--on Josh, a boy with a girlfriend, coffee habit, and 'reputation' for writing poetry and being 'all sensitive' and stuff. Finn, on the other hand, strikes Hannah as being more of a pain in the you-know-where. Though the reader can clearly see that Finn is the better of the two: he's down-to-earth and genuine. Hannah does attend school with both Josh and Finn, but she doesn't really speak to either outside of work. And she hardly speaks to anyone at school anyway. Her only confidante being a girl named Teagan.

The novel equally focuses on the developing relationships (romantic) in her life--Josh and Finn--and on her own topsy-turvy relationship with her parents. Hannah has a good amount of angst: she's still grieving the death of her stepdad Jose***; still bitter over how her last visit with her dad ended****; still hurt that he hasn't tried to contact her in around five years; embarrassed over her mother's lack of clothes; and frustrated that her mom won't talk about Jose even after all these years; she feels alone. ALONE. Alone and misunderstood. I loved her increasing vulnerability, her willingness to finally be open and true to herself, to life, to love.

And to be honest, I just loved Finn. I did. It was satisfying to read their story. It's a romance, yes, but it has heart and soul too. I haven't decided how this Scott novel compares with her previous works: Bloom, Perfect You, Stealing Heaven, Living Dead Girl.

*"Founder of jacksonjamesonline.com, the home of JJ's Girls, and current star of JJ: Dreamworld. He's 72, acts like he's 22, and once upon a time Mom had a child with him."(5)
**Her mom is "famous" for her Superbowl commercial--naked lady with a pizza box--and for briefly starring in a cheesy sitcom, "Cowboy Dad," but she now makes her living from doing live chats on the internet wearing lingerie.
*** whom she lost when she was twelve
****or how it ended up broadcast on her dad's show, how it was edited to make her look like a freak.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Shift

Bradbury, Jennifer. 2008. Shift.

It's yellow. There's a bicycle. The cover alone could never persuade me to pick this one up. Yet, I'm glad I did. Really glad. I enjoyed this one a great deal. I like the way this one is told. I like the story. I like the characters. I like satisfying nature of it all. She made me care. The story isn't traditionally told--it's revealed in bits and pieces. We'd have one chapter set in the present, the next chapter set in the past, etc. (This framework is a trend I'm seeing quite a bit of in my Cybils reading.) It's a good coming-of-age story, a realization that change is the only constant in life. The friend you thought you knew, the friend you grew up side by side with isn't necessarily going to keep on the same path that you are. Life changes. Friends change. Families change. You change. You grow. You can grow closer to someone, or you can grow apart. There's no real predicting which will happen. But change can be a good thing--a very good thing in some cases. And it's necessary to living life. Our narrator, Chris, took a bike ride across the country with his best friend, Win, but only one of them returned back home. The other has gone missing. It's the how and why and where of it all that keeps the pages turning...This is the story of both boys--recent high school grads at the beginning of their new lives.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Travel the World: England: Split by a Kiss

Plaja, Luisa. 2008. Split by A Kiss.

I am in a cupboard, and I'm snogging the coolest and most gorgeous boy in the whole school. And it's a big school. And really, we're kissing, not snogging. In a closet, not a cupboard. They don't really have snogging or cupboards here--they would laugh and tell me those are dodgy British phases. Except they wouldn't say 'dodgy'. That's just as dodgily British.

Split By A Kiss is both uniquely original and stereotypically typical. I'll probably spend the rest of the review explaining how that's even possible. Split By A Kiss has a very original structure--if they've been others of its kind, I've missed them. Our narrator, Jo (or Josie), 'splits' in two after playing a kissing game with popular guy, Jake Matthews. One personality, Jo, reacts to his wanting to do more than kiss with a slap--and a long list of insults. The second personality, Josie, reacts to his touch just as reluctantly--she does call a halt to things--but she keeps her 'cool' and keeps his interest. The book tells two very different stories. They're told in different fonts. Jo's story is typical--it's been done before; Josie's story is typical as well. Nothing in these individual stories is all that unique. But yet despite the fact that in a way it's all been done before, there is a certain satisfaction that comes from reading these stories. Though they are predictable--you can guess almost from the very beginning just how these two personalities will unite as one again--it's fun too. I liked the stories. I liked the boy that she's meant to be with. I like how it all comes together.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Swimming with the Sharks

fischer, Debbie Reed. 2008. Swimming with the Sharks.

The list is titled Top Ten Guys Who Are Still Virgins. Dorkowitz tops it off at number one, of course.

I didn't care for this one. I'll be honest. It's a book about mean girls--mean cheerleaders to be exact--who go to great lengths to torture the newest cheerleader, Ellika, and 'persuade' her into quitting. Why is she on the team to begin with? Her family is rich, they made a very large contribution to the school--to the gym I believe--and this was one of the stipulations: a place for their chunky/plus-size daughter on the varsity cheering squad. Our narrator, Peyton Grady, goes along with Operation Smellika--in fact she commits several of these cruelties personally--including smashing Ellika's glasses to pieces. It isn't until bones get broken and heads get concussed that Peyton sees the bigger picture and decides to break the pact. And even then it's a tough decision for her.

I suppose we're supposed to 'like' Peyton. This bystander who silently questions but still acts and goes along with the others on the team. Peyton has a conscience, but she's choosing to not listen to what her instincts are telling her. Peyton is clueless about many things. Things that the reader won't be. It's easy to predict each twist and turn in this one. Only Peyton and Ellika seem not to see the truth that's right in front of their faces.

Ellika. I have a hard time in believing in Ellika as a character. Yes, I feel sorry for her--in a way--but I have a hard time believing she could be so stupid or naive. Ellika is used to being teased, used to being called names, so why she goes and seeks out the popular crowd is beyond me. She's a new student, and she wants to 'buy' her way into the 'in' crowd? She thinks it will work? That she'll suddenly become popular? become accepted? That she'll be like that girl in the movies--the ugly duckling who transforms herself into the most popular, beautiful girl in the school. The fact that she perseveres no matter how much abuse--physical, mental, emotional--is piled onto her by her teammates...that she doesn't quit the team, that she doesn't tell her parents, that she doesn't want to change schools, etc. That she honestly believes that she can outlast and outwit the cheerleaders. That if she endures the pain, the torment, the abuse, that by the end of the school year she'll have made it, made new friends, found a place to belong. Why would she want to "belong" in the first place? Why would she want these bullies to be her friends? Why does she seek out their acceptance knowing how cruel and mean and stupid they all are? I have a hard time believing that anyone could ever welcome that much abuse into their lives.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Travel the World: England: Sovay

Rees, Celia. 2008. Sovay.

I liked this one a lot. It is about a female--young teen girl--highwayman. She didn't begin her life of crime out of need, or even for thrills. No, she began--her first armed robbery--solely for revenge. 1790s. England. Sovay is a young woman engaged to be married. When she learns that he has cheated on her, she begins plotting her revenge. But what she doesn't know is how trivial this will all seem within a few days. Sovay's family--her father, her brother especially--will soon be threatened; their lives at danger if they're found. For Sovay learns that her family is about to be charged with treason--among other charges--they stand accused of having the wrong views on the French revolution, of being symphatetic with the uprisers in France. The charges aren't exactly true--they support the philosophies not the murderous actions of the people--but true or not...there are people who will stop at nothing to destroy her family. Sovay is an adventurous, strong, intelligent heroine.

I won't go into much detail. It was fun. It was enjoyable. It was delightful. Most of the reviews of this one that I've come across have found it disappointing in one way or another. The readers have read other books they feel are better or more worthwhile. I haven't had that much experience with this time period, with this subject. So I didn't find it disappointing. I didn't find it unoriginal or uninspired. I found it entertaining and well paced. I enjoyed every minute I spent with this one.

Here is the UK book cover. Which cover do you like best?

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

Sitomer, Alan Lawrence. 2008. The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez.

I was born in the United States of America. That makes me legal.
Pero mis padres jumped the border to get here. That makes them illegal.
I have documents.
They don't.
I speak English.
They don't.
I have a social security number, a passport, and a license to drive.
They don't. They don't. They don't.
Actually, mi papi does have a social security number. Three of them. You can buy them for fifteen dollars apiece down at the taqueria.
I know it's wrong, but it's not like he's doing anything different from anyone else... (1)

Sonia Rodriguez wants to graduate from high school. Desperately. Unfortunately, her family is getting in the way of her big dreams, her big hopes for a brighter and more stable future than her parents have provided. The book is her journey of how she gets there, gets to the finish line.

There were many good things about the novel. I enjoyed it for the most part. The narrator was likable. Was believable. Felt authentic. And her family was as well. Her parents. Her siblings. Her drunk uncle or drunkle. Her grandmother and cousin from Mexico. The angst of first love. The wanting things to be different and the fear that things will never change. I think teens of any culture can relate.

What slowed down my enjoyment of the novel just a bit was that it was just too big a story. It covered too many years. We get little snippets here and there. Small doses of time from various years covering several impactful events in her coming-of-age story. The novel is a fictional autobiography. The narrative is designed that way--it's a purposeful retelling of life-events or life-stories. Reflective in nature at times. Slightly episodic.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. And I'd recommend it happily to others.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second

Ferguson, Drew. 2008. The Screwed Up Life Of Charlie the Second.

Okay, so maybe getting my scrawny ass pushed into the back of a Crystal Lake cop car wasn't the smartest thing I've done, but Dana's party last night--it sucked. She should thank me. The only thing anyone'll remember about the party is me getting busted.

What can I say about this one? I think you'll either love it or hate it. If you're looking for a book about the awkwardness and glory of a guy having his first boyfriend--plenty of firsts elaborately and graphically described--then this one may be for you. Not that you have to be looking for that to enjoy it. Drew Ferguson does a great job with characterization in general. From our main narrator, Charlie, to his boyfriend, Rob, to his best friend, Bink, to the families of Rob and Bink. Good characters. Good plotting. This is a nerdy coming-of-age story that no doubt is authentic--the awkwardness of being that age in general, the uncertainty of what to expect out of a more intimate relationship, the bittersweetness of life itself at any age--the loves lost and gained.

The writing is full of humor. But it isn't without heart. Charlie falls--and hard--for Rob. And the joys of learning that that love is returned brings happiness and joy. But it also adds complications. Rob is going through a rough time. His mom is dying (and does in fact die through the course of the novel). And Rob and his father are going through the stages of grief--shock, denial, anger, etc. Charlie is young and inexperienced (in more ways than one). He doesn't know how to deal with Rob's heartaches. Rob is on an emotional roller coaster, and Charlie doesn't know how to deal with the situation. I think few people his age would.

Friendship. Love. Heartache. Life lessons learned the hard way. Not for everyone certainly--no one book is for everyone.

A much better review is at Bookshelves of Doom.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Shifty

Hazen, Lynn E. 2008. Shifty.

Here was a novel that surprised me. The cover didn't necessarily show much promise that I'd love it. And if it hadn't been nominated in the Cybils YA category, I might have missed this one. And that would have been wrong. Because I enjoyed this one. I did. The characters are flawed--very human--but the narrator, Soli, (a.k.a Shifty or Solomon) won me over...and quite quickly at that. He is a fifteen year old guy who is doing the best that he can. He's been in the foster care system for a while now--since he was a preschooler essentially--and it hasn't always treated him fairly. But the place he's at now...is the best he's ever known. And he'll do almost anything to stay there. Martha, his foster mom, may not be good at sticking to all the rules...but she sure does have a heart of gold. Soli isn't her only foster child. There is also Sissy and Chance. (Yes, those are their nicknames.) Chance is a baby that was born drug-addicted.

What can I say about this family? I cared. Martha. Soli. Sissy. Their story engaged me in a way that I wasn't expecting. Once I picked this one up, I didn't want to put it down again.

Other reviews: The Ya, Ya, Yas;
http://www.shiftythebook.com/
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Spectacular Now

Tharp, Tim. 2008. The Spectacular Now.

So it's a little before ten a.m. and I'm just starting to get a good buzz going.

The first sentences does indeed set the stage for this YA novel which was recently nominated for a National Book Award. The narrator, Sutter Keely, often refers to himself as "God's Own Drunk" and it's not a bad description seeing as how he likes to drink all day and all night seven days a week. He likes to party. He likes to cut classes. He does smoke weed occasionally. And you can't keep him from telling jokes and stories. Sound like good boyfriend material?

Cassidy doesn't think so. Sure, he's a great to hang out with. But he's not that great a listener. And he's afraid of commitment. He's crazy about her, but she wants someone who's really to grow up just a bit now that their graduation is just a few months away. She wants someone who isn't always thinking of himself first.

After their break up, Sutter happens to take on a pity project. A girl by the name of Aimee. How do they meet? He wakes up in a stranger's lawn after a hard day's night of drinking (and driving--he can't remember where he left the car). She's the paper girl delivering papers. She's a nerd to the core. Loves horses too. Has big dreams. Never had a boyfriend. Sutter wants to change all that. Not that he wants to be the one to date her...but he wants to make her dateable. This is how he describes his interest with her to one of his friends:

"Hey, I told you--I'm not going to ask her out for a date. Let me repeat, she is not a girl I'm interested in having sex with. Not now or any time in the future. I will not have sex with her in a car. I will not have sex with her in a bar. I will not have sex with her in a tree. I will not have sex with her in a lavator-ee. I will not have sex with her in a chair. I will not have sex with her anywhere." (103)

Most of his friends disapprove of this project. After all, chances are he'll just end up breaking her heart if she falls for him. But Sutter won't be dissuaded. Show of hands...how many people think he'll end up being with Aimee?

The Spectacular Now probably isn't for everyone. There is a lot of drinking. A lot of drinking and driving. Light drug use. Definite language. Definite sex. Here is a guy with little respect for himself, so he does find it difficult to respect others. As long as he can be the life of the party, the class clown, the funny guy who can make anyone and everyone smile, then it's easy for him to pretend that his life is good--spectacularly good. But these good times can't last forever, can they? What is underneath the surface of this bad guy?

It's difficult to discuss this one without giving away too much of the plot. And while some aspects of the plot are predictable, I'd hate to spoil it for anyone.

Here is what the publisher has to say:

SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social …+ read moreSUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go
forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

It is set in Oklahoma, by the way, which is refreshing. Not too many books do the whole small-town-in-OK thing.

Other perspectives: The Excelsior File,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Something Wicked: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery

Gratz, Alan. 2008. Something Wicked: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery.

Horatio Wilkes is back in his second adventure, Something Wicked. We first met our mystery-solving hero (who is wonderfully snarky) in Something Rotten. A modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet set in Denmark, Tennessee. In this second adventure, we have a modern-day spin on Shakespeare's Macbeth set on Mount Birnam during the Scottish Highland Fair. (And although this is his second book, it is not necessary to have read Something Rotten in order to enjoy Something Wicked.)

So who are the stars of Something Wicked? Well, there's Mac (Joe Mackenzie), Beth (Mac's girl friend with attitude), Banks (Wallace Banks, cousin and friend to Mac), Duncan (Mac's grandfather, owner of the mountain and founder of the fair), Mal (Duncan's son and Mac's uncle), Mona (Desdemona, Horatio's older sister), and Megan Sternwood (Horatio's love interest from the Macduff clan). Of course, there are many others as well including a fortune-telling road-side psychic named Madame Hecate.

Here's how the novel begins:

History is full of guys who did stupid things for women. Paris started the Trojan War over Helen. Mark Antony abandoned Rome for Cleopatra. John Lennon gave up the Beatles for Yoko Ono. You can say I'm a dreamer, but they're not the only ones. Like my friend, Joe Mackenzie: He was about to jump off a five-story building just to impress a girl.
"Come on, you wuss!" Mac's girlfriend Beth yelled. "If you don't jump off that tower, you're not getting any more of this!" She lifted her sweater up over her head, showing her bra and her extraordinary breasts to Mac, me, Banks, and the five or six other people milling around Kangaroo Kevin's Bungee Jump-O-Rama in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. They actually inspired a small round of applause. I won't say what they did to me, but Beth's fun cushions certainly inspired Mac. With a Scottish war cry he charged the end of the platform and jumped headfirst, screaming all the way down. His kilt opened like a daisy as he fell, and everyone saw his stamen. (1)

This group of friends is on their way to the Highland Fair. (Horatio is the only one NOT wearing a kilt.) But before they arrive, they stop and several have their fortunes read by a woman who calls herself Madame Hecate. An activity that proves rather fateful and which sets the tone for the book. Mac is told that he will compete in the decathlon, he will win, and he will become king of the mountain. Banks is told that he is "lesser than your friend, but greater" and "not so happy, yet much happier" and that he will one day own the mountain. These "prophecies" set off a chain of events...

Something Wicked is a mystery. The mystery in this case? Who murdered Duncan Macrae? The man, the founder of the Fair and highly respected and beloved by all the clans, is found murdered in his tent on opening night. Horatio is the one who discovers the body. Who sees the name 'Malcolm' written in blood. Who reports the crime to the police. Who becomes friends with Sheriff Wood. It is Horatio who starts to piece together just who had the motive, means, and opportunity. He may not like being in the center of this unfolding mystery. (Especially as he discovers he has his own role to play in solving the case.) But Horatio plays a crucial role in bringing justice about.

I loved so many things about this one. It's a smart novel. Great writing. Good humor. Interesting twists.

From the author's site:

Something wicked this way comes,
and only Horatio Wilkes can stop it.

A Scottish Highland Fair turns foul when Horatio discovers the games' founder, Duncan MacRae, dead in his tent. All signs point to Duncan's son as the murderer, but Horatio's not so sure--especially when his friend Mac and Mac's girlfriend Beth start acting like they own the place. And that's just one of many mysteries: Like why are Mac's and Beth's fathers acting so suspiciously? What's the deal with the goth-punk bagpiper corps threatening Horatio's friend Banks? Who is the hot girl spying on everyone? And why, exactly, are there men in kilts tossing telephone poles around?

Horatio will need all his snark and smarts--and maybe a little amazing grace--to thwart the fate a road-side psychic laid out for him and his friends. Not that Horatio believes in that kind of thing anyway . . .

Kilts, Celts, and killers: the sequel to Something Rotten is "Macbeth" as you've never seen it before!

For a limited time, you can read Something Rotten for free.

Other reviews: Genre Go Round, Readers' Rants.

To learn more about Alan Gratz, Something Wicked, and/or Shakespeare...visit these other stops on the tour:

the 160acrewoods, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, By The Book Reviews Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Never Jam Today, Reading is My Superpower

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Suite Scarlett

Johnson, Maureen. 2008. Suite Scarlett.

"The Hopewell has been a family-run institution on the Upper East Side for over seventy-five years."

"Perhaps it sounds like a wonderful thing to be born and raised in a small hotel in New York City. Lots of things sound fun until they are subjected to closer inspection. If you lived on a cruise ship, for example, you would have to do the Macarena every night of your life. Think about that." (15)

The Martin family has owned the Hopewell hotel for years--several generations--and they want to instill a good work ethic in each of their children: Spencer, 19, Lola, 18, Scarlett, 15, and Marlene, 11. As each child turns fifteen, they are given a suite within the hotel that is theirs to manage. When their suite is occupied, it is their responsibility to see to their guest's needs. Since the family is struggling economically, the family has entered a crisis period. Each handles the stress in their own way. Spencer, the oldest, is an actor. He is doing everything in his power to make a go of it. He goes to audition after audition after audition. His parents have given him a deadline: get hired--Broadway, TV, movies, commercials, anything, etc. Or face the facts and seek another career--enroll in culinary school. Lola has a steady job, or so she thinks, but will her love life prove to be her undoing? Marlene is a tyrant--no other way to phrase it. A cancer survivor, she thinks that that entitles her to rule the world. And Scarlett? Well, Scarlett is about to have a summer experience that will either make her or break her. She's just turned fifteen, just been given her own suite, and just had her first guest arrive. Mrs. Amberson. Life at the Hopewell will never be the same again.

There is a depth to the relationships and characters in Suite Scarlett. There's a good amount of humor as well. I think most will like this one, and some will even love, love, love it.

This book had me from the dedication. "This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever played a dead body on stage or screen. It takes a big actor to lie on the ground and keep quiet. Droop on, my lifeless friends."

Also of note, the author's bio on the jacket flap, "Maureen Johnson lives in New York City. She wonders if you have read any of her previous books: The Key to the Golden Firebird, the Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, or Girl At Sea. It's okay if you haven't; she is sure to like you anyway. Unlike Scarlett, Maureen does not live in a hotel, but she wishes she did."

Other reviews: Reading Rants, bookshelves of doom, Tempting Persephone, Little Willow, Westerblog, Teen Book Review,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Steinbeck's Ghost

Buzbee, Lewis. 2008. Steinbeck's Ghost. (September 2008 release).

"Finally. He finally found the word he had been looking for.
Camazotz.
The moment Travis Williams stepped out of his house into the warm September afternoon, the word came to him. For months, ever since he and his parents had moved into the new house, he'd been trying to figure out what was so creepy about this place. Now he knew.
He stepped off the porch into the bright sunshine and whispered the word.
Camazotz.
A Wrinkle in Time was one of Travis's favorite books. He'd first borrowed it from the library a couple of years ago, when he was eleven, and had probably borrowed it three times since, read it he didn't know how many times. Whenever he thought of the book, he pictured the planet Camazotz.
On Camazotz, everything was perfect. Every house was exactly like every other house, every lawn like all the rest. Every garden grew the same kind of flower, and the exact same number of those flowers. Everyone in Camazotz dressed like everyone else, and they all did the same things and at the same times. One child played ball in front of each house, and each ball bounced to the same beat.
Camazotz was supposed to be a perfect planet. And in a way, Travis thought, it was perfect. Perfectly creepy.
Bella Linda Terrace was supposed to be perfect, too." (1-2)

For anyone who loves to read books about people who love books, Steinbeck's Ghost is the novel for you. Travis Williams loves to read, and he loves his library. When he hears the news that his library, the John Steinbeck library, is closing, he's shocked and disappointed and angry. Luckily, this news effects many people the exact same way. And fortunately, these people--from the elderly to the teens--is willing to put their time, money, and energy into saving it. Set in California, set in Salinas, our narrator, Travis, is fascinated with John Steinbeck. Loves his work. Got a few favorites among his novels, but has a familiarity with the world Steinbeck created. When this fictional world starts coming to life right before his eyes, Travis is both amazed and hesitant. Is he going crazy? Did he saw what he thought he saw? Can other people see these things as well? Travis isn't going crazy--at least we're led to believe that he's not going crazy--and soon Travis and a few select friends are following the trail, following the voices, the messages, that are leading them to discover the story that Steinbeck never wrote. Books. Libraries. Community activism. Friendship. Family. This one has a little bit of everything.

"Every book he recognized opened up the world of that book to him. These weren't stacks of paper bound together with glue or string--they weren't items or products. Every book was an entire universe." (26)

"Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book. You read the book in private, yes, but other hands had been on it, had softened its pages and loosened its spine. With hardcovers, the clear shiny Bro-Dart, put on to protect the dust jacket, quickly got scuffed and crinkly, and sometimes you'd find a thumbprint pressed into the plastic.
The book, when you were done with it, went back to the library, and from there to other hands. When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers." (56)

"When you read, the world really did change. He understood this now. You saw parts of the world you never knew existed. Books were in the world; the world was in books." (89)

Yes, the book has its strange moments. Moments when he's being "haunted" (or prompted) by Steinbeck's fictional characters. But the book is just as much about Travis discovering himself as it is about him discovering the world of books and also discovering the world around him. There is a certain authenticity captured in the pages of this book.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Shooting the Moon

Dowell, Frances O'Roark. 2008. Shooting the Moon.

One of the best books ever. Trust me. Here's how it starts:

The day after my brother left for Vietnam, me and Private Hollister played thirty-seven hands of gin rummy, and I won twenty-one. They were speed-ball games, the cards slapped down on the table fast and furious. My brother, TJ, was going to war, and I was fired up hotter than a volcano. TJ and I had grown up in the Army, we were the Colonel's children, but that was not the same as being a soldier in the very heart of combat.
"Whoa, hoss, slow down," was the first thing Private Hollister said when I'd charged into the rec center that morning, ready for action, but not exactly knowing what to do with myself. I'd been a rec center volunteer for three whole days, which had mostly involved picking up crumbled Coke cans from under the pool tables and handing out Ping-Pong paddles to soldiers. But now I couldn't settle myself down enough to go check the chore list on the clipboard Private Hollister kept on his desk. I wanted to spin around in circles, do jumping jacks, drop to the floor for a hundred push-ups. Big things were happening, and the excitement of it all was running through my veins and winding me up tight.
"Here. Sit." Private Hollister pulled out his desk chair and motioned for me to take a seat. "You got the look of a girl who don't know whether she's coming or going."
He sat down across the desk from me. "You ever play cards? 'Cause back home in Kentucky when we'd get too rowdy, my mom would get out the cards and get us playing poker or Hearts, just anything to make us sit down for a few minutes and relax."
I nodded. All at once my excitement had found a place to land. (1-2)

Beautifully written--almost lyrical in fact--Shooting the Moon is the story of a girl, Jamie Dexter. Twelve-and-going-on-thirteen, Jamie has a lot to learn about life, about love, about family, and about friendship.

Up until the time when it's her own brother being sent to war, Jamie has never doubted the Army for an instant. Never doubted the justness of the war. In fact, even when it's her own brother going, she's happy and proud. She loves him--no doubt about it--yet she doesn't question the rightness of his being a soldier. And his going to war doesn't terrify her. And as strange as it may seem, Jamie wishes it was her going to war. She's grown up idealizing the Army, almost worshiping her father who is a Colonel.

But once her brother is there, once she has seen what he's seen (in a very limited way), then she begins to question everything. How does she "see" the war? Her brother--instead of writing the traditional letter--sends her his film to be developed. He asks her to develop his film for him. So Jamie learns from one of the soldiers at the rec center how to develop film. She finds it to be a very precise, very demanding hobby. But she loves the work. She's excited to be trusted with her brother's film since photography is his hobby, his passion. Working with his film, she still feels connected to her brother. This experience, along with her developing friendships with some of the other soldiers including Private Hollister, change her mind about the war, about many things really. Some of the glamour, some of the glory is removed, it's true. But what she finds is the truth harsh and raw as it may be.

Shooting the Moon is her journey, her story. Full of depth and true meaning-of-life "stuff," Shooting the Moon is one of 2008's must read books.

Other reviews: Read, Read, Read, A Fuse #8 Production, Kiss the Book, Brenda Ferber's Blog, a wrung sponge, Dog Ear, A Year of Reading, 100 Scope Notes,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Starcross

Reeve, Philip. 2007. Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel, and Curious Hats. "Decorated Throughout" by David Wyatt.

Starcross is the sequel to 2006's Larklight: Or the Revenge of the White Spiders!: Or To Saturn’s Rings and Back!: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Furthest Reaches of Space. While I found the first book fun and silly, I also was just lukewarm about it. I neither loved it nor hated it. I saw the appeal, but didn't share in it exactly. With the second book, Starcross, everything has changed. I loved it. I mean I LOVED it. Still silly? Yes! Still fun? Yes! Still requires the suspension of disbelief? Of course! Maybe it is because I knew what to expect. Maybe the Moobs just make for a more exciting enemy than the space spiders. Who knows. I just know that I can't recommend this one highly enough!!!

Chapter One:

What a fuss! What storms of dust! What cannonades of hammering and what snarling of wood-saws! What quantities of sawdust and shavings heaping up upon the stairs and filling the very air, making the poor hoverhogs sneeze and cough! What endless, topsy-turvy rearrangements of the household furniture! What confusion! In short, we had the decorators in. Larklight, our dear old huse, which has hung in its lonely orbit north of the Moon for goodness knows how long, gathering space dust and barnacles and generally declining into a picturesque decay, was being renovated from top to bottom.

Our two narrators are Art (Arthur) Mumby and his sister Myrtle. The year is 1851. The plot of this one starts off simple--though as readers we know this cannot last long--the Mumby family is going to vacation--they've just received a special invite in the mail--at Starcross a "Resort" hotel "fitted with the very latest Scientific Furnishings, and staffed exclusively by the most tactful auto-servants. Offering, in addition, fine views, healthful air, & the best opportunities for sea bathing in the Solar System." Mom and the two kids will arrive first, Dad will be along after his business is finished.

At Starcross they meet a few new characters, and bump into a few of their old friends. Most notably Jack Havock who is going by the name the Honourable Ignatius Flint these days. (The rest of the crew of the Sophronia is about as well.) Their hotel is most mysterious, and it doesn't take them many days to figure out that something is wrong--very oddly wrong--about the hotel and its guests.

I loved this book. Loved the plot--the twists and turns. Loved the language. Loved the characters. Loved everything about it really.

Definitely recommended.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Nonfiction Monday: She Touched the World

Alexander, Sally Hobart and Robert Alexander. 2008. She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer.

Introduction:
If you had lived in 1841, the name Laura Bridgman would have echoed through your home, your school, your neighborhood. It would have rung out in the streets of Boston, in the halls of Congress, and across the ocean to England and Europe and beyond. By the time Laura Bridgman was twelve years old, she was that famous.
Like all children, you would have loved and admired her. You would have named your favorite doll after her...and then you would have poked out the doll's eyes.

Did that intro make you as curious as it made me? Laura Bridgman first came to my attention last year. She was mentioned briefly in the oh-so-wonderful-and-amazing Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller. When I saw her name pop up here, I knew I had to read this one and find out more.

Laura Bridgman was not born deaf nor blind. Both were the result of a childhood illness--well, an illness when she was a toddler. This book is the story of how she learned--with much help--to function and communicate in the world. At this time, there was no "help" to be had. No one had ever successfully taught someone who was both deaf and blind to communicate with others. There was no tried-and-true methodology in place. Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, a doctor and an educator, saw great potential in Laura Bridgman. While he had tried and failed in other cases (all adult cases I believe), he was ready to try again this time with a much younger student.

The book is well-written, well-researched, and interesting. The attention to detail amazed me--I certainly wasn't expecting that much from the book. And it truly is a fascinating story.

Sarah Miller's review.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews