Joshua Henkin's World Without You
A year after their journalist son/brother/husband was killed in Iraq, a family reunites for his memorial and for the unveiling of his headstone. I love stories about mildly dysfunctional families reuniting for some reason or another, and this one didn't disappoint--there are all sorts of conflicts and secrets and disappointments to hash out. I had mildly mixed feelings about the portrayal of daughter Noelle, who randomly moved to Israel and fell into Orthodox Judaism (the family in theory is Jewish, but are exceptionally clueless even for Reform Jews--and I'm one, so I know) but her feelings of being adrift and apart from her sisters are pretty well drawn. There isn't a satisfying conclusion, but that's realistic too. B/B+.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
2012 book 124
Patrick Ness' Monsters of Men
I had seriously mixed feelings about this as a conclusion to the Chaos Walking series. For one thing, after reading all three books in a row, I was SUPER SICK of Todd and Viola yelling each other's names all the time. And also, Todd is a complete moron. I swear, every third chapter (ie, every Todd chapter), I said out loud at least once, "Todd, STOP BEING STUPID!!" And I didn't love the end . . . by which I mean the last third of the book. The villain was completely ridiculous and I just got tired of the endless warring after a while. This wasn't bad, I just found it really annoying for some reason. B/B-.
I had seriously mixed feelings about this as a conclusion to the Chaos Walking series. For one thing, after reading all three books in a row, I was SUPER SICK of Todd and Viola yelling each other's names all the time. And also, Todd is a complete moron. I swear, every third chapter (ie, every Todd chapter), I said out loud at least once, "Todd, STOP BEING STUPID!!" And I didn't love the end . . . by which I mean the last third of the book. The villain was completely ridiculous and I just got tired of the endless warring after a while. This wasn't bad, I just found it really annoying for some reason. B/B-.
2012 book 123
Patrick Ness' The Ask and the Answer
Jezz, the second book in this trilogy is even more relentlessly grim than the first one! I mean, it's GOOD, just so hard to read. There's no hope at all and everything just gets worse and worse all the time. Of course I have to read the third one right now and see what happens. Now I'm kind of glad I waited to read these--I can't imagine having to wait months and months with all this in my head and no resolution. B+.
Jezz, the second book in this trilogy is even more relentlessly grim than the first one! I mean, it's GOOD, just so hard to read. There's no hope at all and everything just gets worse and worse all the time. Of course I have to read the third one right now and see what happens. Now I'm kind of glad I waited to read these--I can't imagine having to wait months and months with all this in my head and no resolution. B+.
Friday, April 27, 2012
2012 book 122
Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go
I've been meaning to read this series since the first one came out to rave reviews, but it just seemed so GRIM that I kept putting it off. But when all three books went on supersale for the Kindle a few weeks ago, I bought them, and when it was announced this week that Charlie Kauffman is on board to direct a movie version, it finally seemed like a good time to get started. But dang, it is GRIM. I mean, it's about young boy growing up in a world without women, where you can hear all the men's thoughts (and the thoughts of everything, actually, including crocodiles) and it's super super unpleasant. Second of all, there's a lovable talking dog you just know something terrible is going to happen to, and every scene you're just like "please let the dog be ok." Things start happening when the boy hears a spot of silence in a swamp and suddenly is on the run, without really knowing the reason why. It's a really really good book, and a quick read, but not at all an easy one. A-.
I've been meaning to read this series since the first one came out to rave reviews, but it just seemed so GRIM that I kept putting it off. But when all three books went on supersale for the Kindle a few weeks ago, I bought them, and when it was announced this week that Charlie Kauffman is on board to direct a movie version, it finally seemed like a good time to get started. But dang, it is GRIM. I mean, it's about young boy growing up in a world without women, where you can hear all the men's thoughts (and the thoughts of everything, actually, including crocodiles) and it's super super unpleasant. Second of all, there's a lovable talking dog you just know something terrible is going to happen to, and every scene you're just like "please let the dog be ok." Things start happening when the boy hears a spot of silence in a swamp and suddenly is on the run, without really knowing the reason why. It's a really really good book, and a quick read, but not at all an easy one. A-.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
2012 book 121
Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting
This is one of my all-time favorite books--I cry every time I read it--and I'm still really mad about that terrible movie they made starring Rory Gilmore. As an adult reading this book, I can't help but notice how evocative Babbitt's writing is--really impressive stuff for a children's book.
This is one of my all-time favorite books--I cry every time I read it--and I'm still really mad about that terrible movie they made starring Rory Gilmore. As an adult reading this book, I can't help but notice how evocative Babbitt's writing is--really impressive stuff for a children's book.
2012 book 120
Megan McCafferty's Thumped
The sequel to Bumped was less disappointing than its predecessor, or maybe my expectations were just lowered enough to find it less annoying. The writing is better this time, but it's still too short for any real character development--I'm just not really interested in either twin or their predicaments. And everything is super predictable. It's a quick read and more or less entertaining, but I really hope McCafferty goes back to writing contemporary stuff soon, b/c dystopias clearly aren't her strong point. B.
The sequel to Bumped was less disappointing than its predecessor, or maybe my expectations were just lowered enough to find it less annoying. The writing is better this time, but it's still too short for any real character development--I'm just not really interested in either twin or their predicaments. And everything is super predictable. It's a quick read and more or less entertaining, but I really hope McCafferty goes back to writing contemporary stuff soon, b/c dystopias clearly aren't her strong point. B.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
2012 book 119
Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity
Guys, this book was SO GOOD. It's about a young Scottish woman in WWII who's been captured by the Gestapo as a spy, and is being forced to write her confession. But what she writes is primarily the story of two best friends, herself and an amazing lady pilot, and how they met in the war, and the events leading to her capture. And then Wein turns everything on its head (more so than I even expected, and I suspected stuff was up). I will say that I spent the last third of the book basically crying, but that is because it was SO GOOD. This is being marketed as YA for some reason but is a great read for all ages. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on May 15.
Guys, this book was SO GOOD. It's about a young Scottish woman in WWII who's been captured by the Gestapo as a spy, and is being forced to write her confession. But what she writes is primarily the story of two best friends, herself and an amazing lady pilot, and how they met in the war, and the events leading to her capture. And then Wein turns everything on its head (more so than I even expected, and I suspected stuff was up). I will say that I spent the last third of the book basically crying, but that is because it was SO GOOD. This is being marketed as YA for some reason but is a great read for all ages. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on May 15.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
2012 book 118
Nell Freudenberger's The Newlyweds
Freudenberger's latest was apparently inspired by a Bangladeshi woman she met on a plane, on her way to marry an American. So yes, this is about a Bangladeshi woman who comes to America to marry a man she meets on some sort of mail-order-bride/internet-dating website. The usual culture shock is compounded by various family secrets--I love stories involving both of those things, so this totally worked for me. A few times the tension was so thick I was almost too nervous to keep reading and had to put the book down for a breather. I really enjoyed this, and think it'd be great for more literary-minded book groups (or literary-minded readers in general). A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released May 1.
Freudenberger's latest was apparently inspired by a Bangladeshi woman she met on a plane, on her way to marry an American. So yes, this is about a Bangladeshi woman who comes to America to marry a man she meets on some sort of mail-order-bride/internet-dating website. The usual culture shock is compounded by various family secrets--I love stories involving both of those things, so this totally worked for me. A few times the tension was so thick I was almost too nervous to keep reading and had to put the book down for a breather. I really enjoyed this, and think it'd be great for more literary-minded book groups (or literary-minded readers in general). A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released May 1.
Monday, April 23, 2012
2012 book 117
Louisa May Alcott's Rose in Bloom
I wouldn't have though it possible, but this was even more boring than its predecessor, and with even more annoying morals! Plus some extra-weird gender stuff--20-year-old Rose isn't allowed to read French novels; her somewhat naughty cousin's behavior is blamed entirely on his mother. As for Rose, she's so GOOD and PURE that she's completely boring. She doesn't have any kind of personality at all. And I found it kind of awful that everyone assumed she'd marry one of her first cousins and she doesn't have any other suitors. This book was SUPER ANNOYING. No wonder I never reread it as a kid! Rose is no Jo. She's not even an Amy or Meg!
I wouldn't have though it possible, but this was even more boring than its predecessor, and with even more annoying morals! Plus some extra-weird gender stuff--20-year-old Rose isn't allowed to read French novels; her somewhat naughty cousin's behavior is blamed entirely on his mother. As for Rose, she's so GOOD and PURE that she's completely boring. She doesn't have any kind of personality at all. And I found it kind of awful that everyone assumed she'd marry one of her first cousins and she doesn't have any other suitors. This book was SUPER ANNOYING. No wonder I never reread it as a kid! Rose is no Jo. She's not even an Amy or Meg!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
2012 book 116
Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins
I know I owned this (and the sequel) when I was a kid, but it wasn't one of the books I read over and over, and I didn't remember a thing about it. And now I know why! Alcott completely sacrifices plot for moral lessons on her pet topics--health, education, gender, whatever. Half the chapters are instructional and not entertaining at all. Even the hilarious ear-piercing chapter turns into a moral lesson little way down the line. I mean, there's still some great little stories and good characterization, but dang, take it down a notch, Alcott.
I know I owned this (and the sequel) when I was a kid, but it wasn't one of the books I read over and over, and I didn't remember a thing about it. And now I know why! Alcott completely sacrifices plot for moral lessons on her pet topics--health, education, gender, whatever. Half the chapters are instructional and not entertaining at all. Even the hilarious ear-piercing chapter turns into a moral lesson little way down the line. I mean, there's still some great little stories and good characterization, but dang, take it down a notch, Alcott.
2012 book 115
Jennifer Nielsen's The False Prince
A very satisfying story about an orphan who unwillingly becomes part of a plot to impersonate a missing prince and take over a kingdom. I have to assume this is the start of a series, because it's ripe for a sequel, and I'd definitely read one. A/A-.
A very satisfying story about an orphan who unwillingly becomes part of a plot to impersonate a missing prince and take over a kingdom. I have to assume this is the start of a series, because it's ripe for a sequel, and I'd definitely read one. A/A-.
2012 book 114
Francesca Segal's The Innocents
It's pretty ballsy to rework a literary classic, let alone set your reworking of Age of Innocence in the insular London Jewish community. So I figured this had to be pretty great, or extremely terrible. I should say at this point that regarding the original novel, I'm in the minority in not seeing it as a tragic love story, but as a book about two complete jerkwads. Seriously. Archer and Countess Ellen Olenska suck. Team May! (Age of Innocence is still a great book.) Clearly I went into this prepared to be horrified, or at least annoyed. But Segal's writing is strong--occasionally heavy-handed, but she does a great job of evoking the nature of a Jewish community (and its many food-filled parties)--and her Ellie is slightly more sympathetic than the original. Her Adam is even more of a wishy-washy jerk than Archer was, though, and her Rachel is even more of a non-entity than May. I didn't think the GREAT LOVE between Adam and Ellie felt at all realistic or natural, which is a bigger problem (it happens more organically with Wharton). None of that is to say the book is bad--it's completely impossible to judge on its own merits, after all. But I'm never going to feel for a guy who's engaged to a woman who makes him happy, and then decides to cheat on her with her cousin, no matter how great the writing is. And it's just pretty solid here. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
It's pretty ballsy to rework a literary classic, let alone set your reworking of Age of Innocence in the insular London Jewish community. So I figured this had to be pretty great, or extremely terrible. I should say at this point that regarding the original novel, I'm in the minority in not seeing it as a tragic love story, but as a book about two complete jerkwads. Seriously. Archer and Countess Ellen Olenska suck. Team May! (Age of Innocence is still a great book.) Clearly I went into this prepared to be horrified, or at least annoyed. But Segal's writing is strong--occasionally heavy-handed, but she does a great job of evoking the nature of a Jewish community (and its many food-filled parties)--and her Ellie is slightly more sympathetic than the original. Her Adam is even more of a wishy-washy jerk than Archer was, though, and her Rachel is even more of a non-entity than May. I didn't think the GREAT LOVE between Adam and Ellie felt at all realistic or natural, which is a bigger problem (it happens more organically with Wharton). None of that is to say the book is bad--it's completely impossible to judge on its own merits, after all. But I'm never going to feel for a guy who's engaged to a woman who makes him happy, and then decides to cheat on her with her cousin, no matter how great the writing is. And it's just pretty solid here. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
2012 book 113
Rosamund Lupton's Afterwards
Lupton--author of Sister--manages to largely avoid a sophomore slump with her second novel, about a woman and her daughter badly injured in a school fire. As their bodies lie in the hospital, their disembodied selves (I don't know, just go with it) invisibly follow their family members and attempt to figure out who set the fire (a sister-in-law who's a police officer helps with this quite a bit). The premise completely strains incredulity, but I liked the characters and the mystery/plot twists enough to get pretty into it. I was WAY less into the ending, which veers into almost Jodi Picoult territory (that's a very bad thing in my book, but should help this one be popular). B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book comes out on Tuesday.
Lupton--author of Sister--manages to largely avoid a sophomore slump with her second novel, about a woman and her daughter badly injured in a school fire. As their bodies lie in the hospital, their disembodied selves (I don't know, just go with it) invisibly follow their family members and attempt to figure out who set the fire (a sister-in-law who's a police officer helps with this quite a bit). The premise completely strains incredulity, but I liked the characters and the mystery/plot twists enough to get pretty into it. I was WAY less into the ending, which veers into almost Jodi Picoult territory (that's a very bad thing in my book, but should help this one be popular). B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book comes out on Tuesday.
Friday, April 20, 2012
2012 book 112
Nalo Hopkinson's The Chaos
So things start out almost completely normal--our protagonist is a teenage girl dealing with strict parents, a dance competition, and boy and friend drama. There are a few hints that things are weird but nothing too insane--and then the Chaos comes. And everything is SO WEIRD and makes no sense and there is no resolution to anything! None of my questions were answered at all! I felt like I was missed a chapter that contained key information. Yeah, I was not too into this. Props for featuring Baba Yaga and having a bunch of minority characters--too bad none of the characters were very well developed. B/B-.
So things start out almost completely normal--our protagonist is a teenage girl dealing with strict parents, a dance competition, and boy and friend drama. There are a few hints that things are weird but nothing too insane--and then the Chaos comes. And everything is SO WEIRD and makes no sense and there is no resolution to anything! None of my questions were answered at all! I felt like I was missed a chapter that contained key information. Yeah, I was not too into this. Props for featuring Baba Yaga and having a bunch of minority characters--too bad none of the characters were very well developed. B/B-.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
2012 book 111
Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl
Flynn is one of my favorite writers--if you like dark dark dark stories and haven't read Sharp Objects or Dark Places yet, get on that--and I've been looking forward to this book for ages. Luckily it doesn't disappoint, because it's Flynn! Anyway, this is about one Nick, whose wife has gone missing after an apparent struggle. And the husband is always the primary suspect, right? I had about three theories about what had happened, and was pleasantly surprised to get some answers halfway through--but since it's Flynn, things just get more twisted from there. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, on the verge of freaking out for a great portion of it. I did call some of it, but Flynn laid the ground so nicely that I didn't even mind. Deliciously dark. A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 5th.
Flynn is one of my favorite writers--if you like dark dark dark stories and haven't read Sharp Objects or Dark Places yet, get on that--and I've been looking forward to this book for ages. Luckily it doesn't disappoint, because it's Flynn! Anyway, this is about one Nick, whose wife has gone missing after an apparent struggle. And the husband is always the primary suspect, right? I had about three theories about what had happened, and was pleasantly surprised to get some answers halfway through--but since it's Flynn, things just get more twisted from there. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, on the verge of freaking out for a great portion of it. I did call some of it, but Flynn laid the ground so nicely that I didn't even mind. Deliciously dark. A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 5th.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
2012 book 110
Elizabeth Bear's Range of Ghosts
This fantasy book, set in a land that seems based on historical Mongolia, has gotten some great reviews. It focuses on a young man who's barely survived a great battle between the armies of his brother and his uncle over the throne, and a princess-turned-wizard going through some super boring rites of wizardry. The boy's story is pretty riveting; I was less into the woman's until they met up and things got more interesting. And then the end came, and I was not super into it, and of course it was all leading up to an inevitable sequel because no one writes stand-alone books anymore. I probably won't read the sequel b/c I honestly don't really care what happens to these characters and it seems like it'll all be war and annoying relationship stuff anyway. Though I did love the awesome horse. B-.
This fantasy book, set in a land that seems based on historical Mongolia, has gotten some great reviews. It focuses on a young man who's barely survived a great battle between the armies of his brother and his uncle over the throne, and a princess-turned-wizard going through some super boring rites of wizardry. The boy's story is pretty riveting; I was less into the woman's until they met up and things got more interesting. And then the end came, and I was not super into it, and of course it was all leading up to an inevitable sequel because no one writes stand-alone books anymore. I probably won't read the sequel b/c I honestly don't really care what happens to these characters and it seems like it'll all be war and annoying relationship stuff anyway. Though I did love the awesome horse. B-.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
2012 book 109
Carol Rifka Brunt's Tell The Wolves I'm Home
It's 1987, and a fourteen-year-old girl's beloved uncle has just died of AIDS--which was still a super weird and scary thing back then. Feeling bereft, she finds herself secretly befriending his heretofore unknown boyfriend, the only person who understands her loss. Interesting family dynamics at play here--I really liked the stuff with the girl, her older sister, and a portrait their uncle painted of them. The plotting and writing is occasionally a tiny touch overwrought (especially at the end) but I loved this and totally cried. I think this'll be a big one for summer reading and book groups--not to make it sound less literary, but I think there's a lot to discuss. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
It's 1987, and a fourteen-year-old girl's beloved uncle has just died of AIDS--which was still a super weird and scary thing back then. Feeling bereft, she finds herself secretly befriending his heretofore unknown boyfriend, the only person who understands her loss. Interesting family dynamics at play here--I really liked the stuff with the girl, her older sister, and a portrait their uncle painted of them. The plotting and writing is occasionally a tiny touch overwrought (especially at the end) but I loved this and totally cried. I think this'll be a big one for summer reading and book groups--not to make it sound less literary, but I think there's a lot to discuss. A.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Monday, April 16, 2012
2012 book 108
Stephanie Burgis' Renegade Magic
I do love all these fantasy-historical combos--Victorian vampires, regency magic, etc. This sequel to Kat, Incorrigible is more of the same--very fluffy and entertaining, like YA magic story meets Jane Austen. The villains are way too villainous and there are a few too many stupid miscommunications, but I like the characters and the world-building pretty well. B/B+.
I do love all these fantasy-historical combos--Victorian vampires, regency magic, etc. This sequel to Kat, Incorrigible is more of the same--very fluffy and entertaining, like YA magic story meets Jane Austen. The villains are way too villainous and there are a few too many stupid miscommunications, but I like the characters and the world-building pretty well. B/B+.
2012 book 107
Matthew Gallaway's The Metropolis Case
This book tells the story of four individuals who are all connected by their love of opera (and by other things that are REALLY EASY to figure out, and also GROSS at one point): two women singers in more-or-less present times, and two gay men, one in 1800s Europe and one in NYC right around 9/11. I was much more interested in the women's stories at first, and the men's were only occasionally compelling (I did get teary at one part involving a cat), but it all led up to an absolutely stupid and predictable ending. It's like Gallaway wanted to write his own version of something like Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, but I don't think he succeeded at all. This book was super annoying. C.
This book tells the story of four individuals who are all connected by their love of opera (and by other things that are REALLY EASY to figure out, and also GROSS at one point): two women singers in more-or-less present times, and two gay men, one in 1800s Europe and one in NYC right around 9/11. I was much more interested in the women's stories at first, and the men's were only occasionally compelling (I did get teary at one part involving a cat), but it all led up to an absolutely stupid and predictable ending. It's like Gallaway wanted to write his own version of something like Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, but I don't think he succeeded at all. This book was super annoying. C.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
2012 book 106
Diana Wynne Jones' A Tale of Time City
Any book could have seemed not-great when compared to Dogsbody, but this one held up tolerably well, being another Diana Wynne Jones book. Here, a young girl on a train of children being evacuated from London in WWII is whisked away by a boy from a mysterious city in the far-future. But she's the wrong girl entirely! Now they have to try and save the city and get her home--without getting into trouble with their parents (or the authorities). I didn't love the final resolution of this one, but everything leading up to that was pretty exciting. B.
Any book could have seemed not-great when compared to Dogsbody, but this one held up tolerably well, being another Diana Wynne Jones book. Here, a young girl on a train of children being evacuated from London in WWII is whisked away by a boy from a mysterious city in the far-future. But she's the wrong girl entirely! Now they have to try and save the city and get her home--without getting into trouble with their parents (or the authorities). I didn't love the final resolution of this one, but everything leading up to that was pretty exciting. B.
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