March 2011 on the Blog

This month was so exciting!!!

For one thing I came back to the blog after over a month away.

I reviewed:
The Running Dream
Purple Daze
Sean Griswold's Head
Strings Attached
The Real Real
Human .4
Like Mandarin
Between Shades of Gray (with a giveaway that ends Apr. 2nd)
and and and
Rival.

I listed books I didn't expect to like, some of the best romance in YA, and authors that I wish everyone knew of. I talked about YA book covers and how post-high school is portrayed in the genre.

Also also also I talked about teenagedom and YA novels, which is a post I extra-special love so GO CLICKY!!

A Few Small Reviews

There are a few books I've read recently that, for one reason or another, I'm not going to be writing full reviews of. I did want to share them with you guys though, so I'll be doing a couple of mini-review posts to give some idea of what these books are about and who might be the right readers for them.

THE KID TABLE
Andrea Seigel
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

After Ingrid's cousin manages to convince her extended family that she's a budding psychopath, Ingrid Bell has to find a way to not only convince them that she actually has emotions but also figure out what to do about her growing attraction to one cousin's boyfriend while helping another cousin with the problems in her life. Though Ingrid may have been a somewhat unreliable narrator (it's really hard to tell), I really enjoyed this book. The extended family aspect, especially the closeness between Ingrid and her five cousins, really appealed to me and I loved the format of the book as it's written around five big family events. This is Andrea Seigel's first young adult novel and I recommend it especially to those readers who like offbeat protagonists and family-centered stories.

WHERE I BELONG
Gwendolyn Heasley
HarperTeen

When the recession hits Corrinne's rich New York City family in a big way, she's pulled out of her exclusive private school and sent to live with her grandparents in rural Texas. This is your classic fish-out-of-water tale featuring a character who is, at least at first, ridiculously spoiled, superficial, and selfish. However, Corrinne grows up a lot through out the story; she develops a healthy attitude and a new perspective. In short, she's a character worth rooting for. The story itself is told with humor and I really like that the book reflects the current economic climate of the United States as this is something I haven't seen in many books before. It's a great lighthearted read for those looking for a fast and fun story.

EXPOSED
Kimberly Marcus
Random House Books for Young Readers

After a horrible fight one night, Liz Grayson's forever-best friend will barely look at her and Liz isn't sure how to fix things. When it comes out that something much worse may have happened to her friend, Liz's loyalty to both her family and her friend is tested. The protagonist here is a photographer and the verse style of the writing reflects moments captured as if in a snapshot. I'm a fan of novels written in verse, but I was looking for a bit more details to this story. However, in spite of that this is an emotional book that I recommend to readers interested in a book that deals with family loyalty and issues of trust and friendship. I'm deliberately leaving out a huge plot point so as not to spoil anything but this book definitely deals with a heavy issue.

TAKING OFF
Jenny Moss
Walker Books for Young Readers

Set against the backdrop of the 1986 Challenger explosion, this book tells the story of a girl struggling to find her own way in life. When she meets Christa McAullife, the schoolteacher going into space, Annie is inspired to find a way to go after her own dreams. This is a beautifully-written book that was so different from what I expected; Annie is a wonderful and inspiring main character and her journey is both universal and personal. This book is especially great for readers interested in the Challenger space shuttle and that period in time, but really I recommend it for anyone who might want to read a book about someone finding their way in life.

Tuesday Ten - Authors That Deserve More Recognition

This meme is hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Amidst the big author names in YA, such as Maureen Johnson, Suzanne Collin, and Sarah Dessen, are dozens of other authors I love that notably less people know about. Whether I've read two or a dozen of their books, here are ten authors that I would sincerely love to see get more recognition. (The reason I'm not including authors I've only read one book of -- or that only have one out so far -- is because this list would end up looking more like a list of 10 books that need more recognition instead of authors. Trust me, there are so many debut authors and novels that I love.)

Also, for those of us that regularly read YA and MG and are fairly involved in the online community, a lot of these are no-brainers, but they are the authors that I'd love to see get more recognition out there in the real world. In short, these are ten under-recognized authors that I wish everyone knew about.

In no particular order...

1. Sara Zarr (Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, Once Was Lost) -- I could talk for ages about the depth of my love for Sweethearts. It's one of my all-time favorite books, contains my absolute favorite quote, and is just so incredible. Sara Zarr is a brilliant writer and storyteller. Her characters and their relationships (in Sweethearts and Once Was Lost especially) are amazingly real and well-written. 
2. Kristina Springer (The Espressologist, My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours) -- Springer's middle grade novel, My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, is honestly one of the cutest, funniest, and refreshing books I've read. Though I generally have a harder time finding great MG than I do YA, this one was a slam dunk. Additionally, her YA novel The Espressologist is also so cute and awww-worthy.
3. Courtney Summers (Cracked Up to Be, Some Girls Are, Fall for Anything) -- There's a part of me that doesn't even know what to say about Courtney Summers. Her books are amazing, of course, and Some Girls Are is one of those books that has affected me more than many many other books. But more than that is the fact that Courtney Summer manages to write so well about anger and emotions and the different ways that girls can be messed up. Her books are dark but hopeful with dysfunctional characters that you (or at least I) just can't help but root for.
4. Gayle Forman (If I Stay, Where She Went) -- Gayle Forman has such a way with words. She writes about trauma, loss, heartbreak, and the most difficult choices ever with such beauty and ease that you'd think the words just fell onto the page. Any author with that kind of skill is one who deserves recognition.
5. Lynne Rae Perkins (All Alone in the Universe, Criss Cross) -- Like so many of the writers on this list, I just don't even have the words for how great these books are. All Alone in the Universe is quite possibly the one book ever that I've wished I was the one to write. And Newbery Winner Criss Cross has such searing moments of truth in it that it's amazing. Perkins also has a recent YA out (As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth) that I really want to read but haven't yet.
6. Robin Palmer (Geek Charming, Cindy Ella) -- I don't like Cinderella and I never have, but I absolutely adore Robin Palmer's retellings of fairytales. They're so cute! And the characters have winfaces! And I really want her to write more and more and then everyone know about them and read them and sorry for devolving into total spasms, but Disney Channel is making a movie of Geek Charming. This is incredibly exciting.
7. Wendelin Van Draanen (Sammy Keyes, Runaway, Flipped, The Running Dream) -- I thought that Flipped was one of those middle grade books that just everyone had read, but I've asked quite a few people and apparently it's not nearly as popular as I thought. Most people know Draanen as the writer behind the Sammy Keyes mysteries, but her stand alone novels are just fabulous. Flipped in particular holds a very special place in my heart, but The Running Dream is her new book and I also definitely recommend it.
8. Dana Reinhardt (How to Build A House, Harmless, A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life) -- It's been a while since I've read any of Reinhardt's novels, but her writing has a simplicity that I really love and though How to Build A House is a "quiet" book without a jump-out-and-grab-you hook, the story is wonderful. And I remember Harmless being a page-turner, though I haven't read it in years and years.
9. Sarah Ockler (Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah) -- Just the premise of Ockler's debut novel, Twenty Boy Summer, inspired me. Eighteen pages in I was crying. Sarah Ockler is such a great author; she writes the sad-but-real stories with both hope and bittersweetness; I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
10. AS ALWAYS, I KEPT ONE SPOT EMPTY TO SIGNIFY OUR HOPES AND DREAMS*

*Gavin Volure, 30 Rock.

Review - Rival

RIVAL
Sara Bennett Wealer
HarperTeen

The rich and popular Brooke Dempsey and shy outcast Kathryn Pease have two things in common: their love of music and the turbulent, complicated history they share. A year ago they had a close friendship that unravelled and spiraled out of control, resulting in a huge rift between the two. Now  in their senior year of high school, there's a bitter rivalry that sits between them, prompted by hurt feelings on both sides and spurred on by the important Blackmore singing competition that both girls are determined to win. As the year progresses and the competition draws closer, both girls are dealing with their own personal issues as well as bruised feelings in the aftermath of all that happened between them the year before.

Both Kathryn and Brooke are well-developed main characters who can hold their own; the two are perfectly balanced and the dual narrative of the story allows us to see both of their viewpoints. Kathryn, the outcast and loner, spent her Junior year trying to be popular and is spending her senior year dealing with all that happened after. Brooke, on the other hand, inherited the position of Miss Popularity from her older brothers, both of whom are high school legends. For her, popularity and all that goes with it is something she doesn't want anymore and this conflict - between who she sees herself as and who her friends see her as - comes through in a great way.

There's a theme of envy and admiration here that shines though and feels so real. Each of these girls envies something about the other's life: Kathryn wants Brooke's popularity and money while Brooke wishes she were as pretty as Kathryn and had her stable family life. These jealousies are written perfectly and ring so true, as is the rift that occurs and tears them apart. This is such a bittersweet story because of the fact that it is so incredibly authentic. It explores every aspect of friendship - the before, during, after, and after-after - in a very real way. So real it hurts.

This isn't a book about a singing competition. Or, it is but it's not. Though the story is set up around Kathryn and Brooke's aspirations and the approaching Blackmore competition, it's really a story very tightly focused on the hurt feelings both girls have as a result of their imploded friendship. Though there are very few scenes where the girls actually interact, you wouldn't know it unless you paid attention because the fact is that both of their stories are all about the other person. They're focused on each other in that way that you can become focused on someone who was once such a huge part of your life and then just... isn't anymore.

Aside from each other, Brooke and Kathryn both had very involved lives and worries. I've been wanting to find a book that explores the father-daughter dynamic for a while now and while that definitely wasn't the focus of Brooke's story, her absentee father does play a big role in her story as well as her as a character. As for Kathryn, her worries over money for college were, I felt, very realistic and this, along with the glimpses we get of her backstory pre-Brooke, helped to color the parts of her personality that were harder for me to relate to (for instance, her quasi-obsession with being popular even at the expense of her oldest and best friend).

I loved this book. It's well-written with an amazing cast of characters, completely bittersweet, and all too relatable for me. I said this on Twitter earlier but now I'm saying it here: If you're a girl and you've ever had a friend ever, this is the book you should read. 

Review/Giveaway - Between Shades of Gray

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
Ruta Sepetys
Philomel Books (An Imprint of Penguin, USA)

In 1941, when Josef Stalin wiped Lithuania off the map, 15-year-old Lina's family is taken from their home. Separated from their father, Lina, her brother Jonas, and their mother are sent to work camps in Siberia. Under incredibly harsh conditions, the Lithuanians must fight for their survival against the uncaring and callous NKVD (later known as the KGB).

Before reading this I had heard from others how powerful the story is, and they were right. Lina is an incredibly kind, caring, compassionate, and artistic character. She's also stubborn and struggles to hide her hatred of the NKVD in order to keep her and those with her safe. Lina is an artist and her drawings are a constant part of the narrative as she draws both what she sees and how she sees it, which means that if her drawings are found she could be killed. Instead she hides these drawings between book pages and in letters that she tries to get to her father. It's in part because of Lina's artistic and kind nature that the narrative is as beautiful as it is. These are characters that, despite undergoing incredible hardships, are still able to find hope and hold onto it. Lina's mother especially is one that is constantly hopeful and giving to others.

There is a strength of spirit here that is undeniable. These characters -- and this story -- are a triumph of the human spirit. It's a tale of not only physical, but also mental and emotional survival.

That said, the events of this book are gruesome and difficult to read. Inspired by the artist Munch, Lina's drawings are often grotesque or disturbing because they reflect her surroundings and the things she's going through. After being taken from their home, her family is forced to work on a beet farm in Siberia. They are given a very small ration of bread each day as "payment" for their work and when someone gets sick and is unable to work they aren't given rations. Lina watches as the people she lives with get sick and die. She watches a young woman who has lost her infant be shot in the head right in front of her. She sees her younger brother become incredibly sick with scurvy. The mother of Andrius, a boy she has feelings for, is forced to prostitute herself to the NKVD officers in order to save the life of her son. These are a short list of the atrocities Lina and her fellow Lithuanians face in exile and they are all portrayed in a starkly honest way. This is, as others have said, a very powerful book. It's beautiful and sad and all the more important because of how incredibly real it is. Through the characters are fictional, the events and many of the experiences are real -- things that actually happened to Lithuanians who were exiled and that the author, Ruta Sepetys, found out about through her extensive research.

While I typically keep the books that I really enjoy, this is one that deserves to be passed on and shared, so I'm giving my ARC away to one lucky reader. 

Due to shipping costs, US addresses only please. This giveaway will run until April 2nd.

FIVE BOOKS I DIDN'T THINK I'D LIKE...

1. Anna and the French Kiss - Sure, everybody rave rave raved about this novel when it came out, but I had a strong gut feeling that I'd be the lone blogger to just not like it. Surprisingly just the opposite happened: it was even better than the hype and I loved it more than I ever would have predicted.
2. Sea - Another novel that I'd heard good things about but was wary going into. However, the fact that I stopped my own writing and spent the entire day curled up with Sea's adventure speaks for itself.
3. Break - This book just didn't appeal to me at first. It wasn't until Cindy Pon said it seemed like something I'd love that I read it (thank you, Cindy!) and OMG am I ever glad I did. Amazing amazing amazing.
4. Twilight - I resisted reading Twilight for so long because, like with Break, it just didn't appeal to me. I didn't think I'd like it at all but I picked it up after a friend recommended it so strongly and couldn't believe I hadn't read it yet.
5. The Luxe - I don't read historical and I'm not a fan of Gossip Girl, which I'd heard this series compared to. In fact, I don't remember what ever compelled me to pick it up (maybe that gorgeous dress on the cover?) but whatever reason, it's now one of my favorite-ever series.

So tell me, what books did you not expect to like only to be surprised when you discovered that you loved them?

Personal Expectations

I try to go into a book free of expectations. I don't just mean books that are crazy-hyped like Anna and the French Kiss was, but just books that I'm really looking forward to and thinking that I'll enjoy.

I try to get rid of that bias before going into the book. It's so easy to expect one thing from a story (romance, action, family drama, anything) and then be disappointed if you get something slightly different or if, for some reason, it just doesn't live up to the image you have in your mind.

There are certain books that, regardless of any buzz they have or haven't gotten, I just expect to like. Twenty Boy Summer springs to mind, as does Fixing Delilah (both by Sarah Ockler), Beth Revis' Across the Universe, and Ally Condie's Matched. Each of these books sounded amazing to me when I first heard about it and I had to put my personal expectations of what I thought the story would be aside in order to read and review the books.

I was able to do this with three of the four books.
The fourth one was the only one I didn't really enjoy, and I can't even honestly say that I didn't like it because the truth is that it just wasn't what I'd imagined. There was this disconnect between what I thought the book would be and what it actually was. And in that space was a chasm of disappointment that came from me, not the story.

Recently I read another book I was really looking forward to. One that I first heard of long before it was published and that, from the get-go, sounded like my type of book. I really didn't want to be disappointed. I didn't want to go into it with expectations, imagining what the story would be and not being able to enjoy what the story actually was because of those expectations. I won't tell you what the book was or what I thought of it, but I want to know if you've ever experienced this... do you feel like you have to erase your personal expectations of a novel in order to really read and enjoy it for what it is?