Pretties

A brief interruption of your regular reviews to ask a question.

Is it just me, or have all Scott Westerfelds Pretties run away? I mean it, every single time I have been in a bookstore since reading Uglies (almost a full year ago) I can't seem to find a single copy. I have even tried my library and finally I have accrued a copy and right after that I'm told of a magical place where there are NINE copies. NINE!

I mean, I'm happy that people are reading Westerfeld's work, but I'm at a loss as to why Uglies will be there, Specials will be there, even Extras will be there but never Pretties. Can somebody explain this paradox to me? It would be greatly appreciated.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.
-Chrissy

Pirates!

Okay I have to admit, I was at my local library with Tina, and she was on one side of the stacks and just pushed this book through. I looked at her and laughed because of the title. Pirates! bye Celia Rees was shockingly good for a book I has reservations about.

Nancy Kington is a daughter of a wealthy merchant. She grew up with two older brothers and no mother so she is more of a 'boy' in those times, wanting to swordplay and play with her best friend William, the son of a tavern mother and a sailor father. When she's fifteen, her brother who likes to gamble and drink, gambles the money away that was going to make the sugar ships come to port safetly. With these ships went their fortune. And with the fortune went their father. Shipped off to her family's plantation in Jamaica, she befriends the slaves and is shockingly naive about everything in her life at that point. Not long after she arrives, events shift so she joins the renegades and pirates. Her life of piracy wasn't what she expected it to be and not long she meets with her William again (for they are betrothed) but circumstances keep them apart. Her former slave, Minerva goes with her on this unintentinal adventure, and they are bonded in ways they never knew they could be.

This book is fast-paced once Nancy gets to Jamaica and before that you can really see how she has changed in the few years it spans. My one and only annoyance with the book is Rees made quite a few obvious foreshadowings, but they didn't hinder the story in anyway. It's mainly by the point-of-view of a fifteen turned sixteen girl but I think any age will like to know of Nancy Kington's story.

So just like I did, Check It Out

-Chrissy

Guyaholic

Oh Dear! It seems I have been neglecting my review duties, and I have'nt a good reason for the last month.

Just this morning (about 1 a.m.) I finished a most fabulous book. Now I know I have been hassled to read this for months, but I was just too busy and whenever I was in a bookstore or a library it was never there.

Guyaholic by Carolyn Mackler is a true coming of.. well self story. With V (who you might have seen in her other book Vegan Virgin Valentine) is in her fairy tale romance, although she doesn't know it. When she gets hit by a hocky puck by her then boyfriend Amos she falls into the lap of wonderful and perfect Sam. Knowing it's getting about time when she needs to break up with the boy in her life, when Amos brings her the puck that gave her stitches she ends it. Who ever thinks a girl wants a hockey puck that gave them bodily harm, is beyond helping in that department.

Then Sam comes over to her house and life with each other beings. Now don't get me wrong, it's beyond perfect seeing as her Mom moves constantly and finally had V live with her grandparents in Brockport, after leaving the one boyfriend of her Mom's that she actually liked. After her Mom missed yet another big day in V's life, she gets back to her old ways of pushing everybody away and her favorite past time, drinking. With all of this she gets herself into trouble with Sam and sets off on a cross-country 'vacation'. In her car and with friends around the country she learns more about herself in a few days than she has in her seventeen years.

Mackler did a wonderful job of getting into V's head. You really got to understand why she acts like she does, with her meaningless hooksup and her relationship issues. I would definately recommend this for anyone who can understand the hardships of relationships and who has lost their first love. I got so wrapped up into it I didn't even notice the time until I finished, thinking only a hour had passed when two had. Definately Check It Out Worthy.

-Chrissy

Hawksong

Danica Shardae is an avian shapeshifter who takes on the form of a hawk. The princess of her people, she is reserved and disciplined. Yet, she is also passionate, and seeing her people die sickens and saddens her. Her people have been at war with the serpiente for so long that the reason for the start of the war is unknown and the word "peace" is a foreign term. After coming upon her own brother's dead body, the last of her family, save for her mother, Danica does not cry though she desperately wants to. Hearing a cry, Danica stumbles upon a dying member of the Cobriana, the ruling family of her enemies, about the age of her recently deceased brother. Ignoring her guards, Danica kneels down beside him in the bloodied battle field, holding his hand and singing to him so that he does not spend the last moments of life alone.

Danica's strong desire for peace is found to be echoed by Zane, who is to inherit the Cobriana throne. A neutral tribe, the Mistari, suggests Zane and Danica, as their tribes leaders, demonstrate to their people how strong they wish for peace--by marrying one another. Everyone is outraged, and the room soon is consumed by shouts, save for Danica's, as she seems to be lacking words. Though she and Zane both claim to be willing to risk anything and everything for peace, can they get over the revulsion, hate, and fear each has towards the other? And if they can, would their people accept their decision, and finally have peace?

I've had this book under a day and yet I've somehow managed to read it twice, I enjoyed it so much. It's like Romeo and Juliet, accept Romeo hates Juliet, and Juliet is afraid of Romeo. There's also a lot less suicide. I loved both Zane and Danica's characters, as well as many others. The story managed to be fast paced and leisurely at the same time, conflicts not completely solved until the very last page, but in a way that works (And that's one of my very biggest pet peeves, so that's saying a lot.) I loved the way that instead of being about how the characters dealt with the war, it was about bringing peace. I've just started it's sequel, and though a bit disappointed it's not from Danica's point of view, I have a feeling I might just love it as much as the first. So if you like shipeshifters, romance, and happy endings, check this one out.

-Tina

General Winston's Daughter

Seventeen year old heiress Averie Winston has traveled far from her civilized Aberelle to the exotic Chiarrin.  Averie is eager to be reunited with her father, the general, and her handsome fiance Morgan.  Both men are part of the Aberelle army who have invaded and occuppied Chiarrin for it’s stategic location.  Averie openly embraces the new land, eager to explore and make new friends--which a lot of people find shocking.  However, all is not as it seems and the people of Chiarrin are at unrest, and rebels begin to attack their own city.  In this exotic land, living a very different life than the one she lead in Port Elise, Averie forms new opinions and begins to voice them. It's not until they're voiced that Averie realizes that as she's changing and adapting, many others, specifically Morgan, are not as fond of her new opinions, as they go against the very thing they support. As more conflicts arise, Averie realizes she doesn’t love her fiance, but instead is in love with the mysterious Lieutenant Ke Du’Kai who comes from Xantai, another one of Aberelle’s oppressed colonies.   Averie must grow up fast in the face of war and forbidden love.

What touches me in this novel is that Averie's father--who she feels most distant to in the beginning of the book--understands her views, and even agrees with her, when others don't. I thought I had this book pegged from the beginning-- just a book about a make believe place, with make believe troubles, with a strong heroine who falls for the guy she's not supposed to. It is all those things, but it's much more than that. The author some how found a way to twist deep meanings into a small set of world that left you pondering over them. The characters are so diverse, and I found myself wanting to know more about them. Even Morgan, who you knew from the beginning wasn't going to be the one Averie ended up with, I found myself loving--even when I was desperate to be rid of him so Averie could be with Ket! I do wish Ket had gotten more page time, as he kind of reached his peak in the beginning of the novel, before coming in again towards the end of the story. There is an unexpected twist--at least, it was unexpected to me--within the last forty pages or so which left me staring at the pages going "NO WAY!" as I greedily flipped through them. A lot happened in those last pages, which most of the time makes me angry with authors, as if they'd rushed to include everything, and thus the book felt rushed. This ending didn't feel rushed. There was a relatively opened ending, but it was done in a way I enjoyed, and since I'm a pretty picky reader, that's saying a lot.

This novel is definitely under the "romance" category, though at times it feels more like a historical fiction--until you remember none of the places mentioned actually exist. Averie is stubborn, exuberant, open and thus the perfect protagonist. It takes a bit to get into the world, but once you're in, it's hard to leave. So go to you're nearest bookstore or library...and check this one out.

-Tina-

Dust! Mayhem! And other general woe of abandoned bookshelves!

Wow! It's been a long time since this blog has seen any posts. Honestly, there are no excuses (except for, you know, exams, periods of no internet access, and other general problems that plague our chaotic lives. But right. No excuses.)

I've read a lot of books recently, and so that this blog doesn't collect any more dust, I'm just going to rattle some good ones off and then hopefully be able to write in-depth reviews about them--soon (I swear! Soon! And not as in maybe-three-months-from-now soon. Soon-soon! (Like maybe tomorrow--err today!))

Triple Shot Betty

Kitty Kitty

Oh My Gods

Audrey Wait

Evernight

Stealing Heaven

The Summoning

I'll write more later--maybe even a double post. But in the mean time, go check those out!

-Tina-

Empress of the World

What do you do when you think you're attracted to boys, but then develop a crush on a girl? Nicola Lancaster spends the summer at the Siegel Summer Institute for Gifted Youth to decide whether or not she wants to be an archaeologist. There she finds out more about herself then she ever thought she would. Sara Ryan has some how made archaeology interesting and finding not only ones self, but real friends just as important. On the first day she meets Katrina, the excentric computer science geek, Kevin the spaced out music theory composer and Isaac the Jewish boy whos parents want him to be a doctor, so he decides to take Political Science. The thing that changes the most in Nics live is when she falls in love with Battle. Nic being there for archaeology, needs to have things in categories, while Battle thinks that "words fail". Things turn sour and both try to figure out their lives.

The title is a bit confussing for the book, until you read the two pivital points in both Battle and Nicolas lives. Although it was kind of obvious that she would end up with the "perfect" girl, by the synopsis on the back, it was nonetheless a good read. I'm itching to read the sequel The Rules For Hearts, as the ending was a bit open ended. For picking this book up on a whim after hearing Ryan speak, it's a great debut book for somebody whos just as funny in person as she is on paper. Ryan has somehow taken the struggles of girls who are trying to find themselves, and does so in a not a sterotypical way. I say if you are a fan of a good coming of age book, you'll love Empress of the World. So Check It Out.

-Chrissy

Rock My World by Liza Conrad

Livy James didn't have your typical childhood. With a rock star father who acts more like a child than she does, an ex-groupie mother, and a body guard- nannie combo, Livy is quite familiar with the rock and roll life style. 

She knows the good, the bad, and the ugly. She also knows that the bad and ugly can far out way the good-- Especially when it comes to the Babydolls, her Dad's band. There's a reason she has the 'no musicians rule' when it comes to dating, after all. But apparently no one told Nick Hoffman, member of the Wolves, the Babydolls tour companions.

 Just when Livy is trying to introduce some stability in her life- a writing intership for Rock on, good scores of the SATS, and college plans-- things are just starting to shake up. Truths are revealed and contradicted. Blow outs and make-out sessions to be had. 

Livy's insight, self- growth, and just her general voice create an aimable protagonist. It took me a long time to get my hands on this one (freaking library) but I'm glad I did, and was sad to put it down. Sure to be loved by fans of the Love Burkowski series (Emily Franklin) and Beige (Cecil Castellucci), this book definately deserves a place on your bookself. I wish I could write more, but it's 2 A.M. and I'm exhausted. And yes, I did just stay up this late so I could finish it. So go and get this as soon as you can (hopefully without all the trouble I had to go through to get it) and prepared to be sucked in to Conrad's prose, through which she seals the chaotic, gentle hum of rock and roll.

-Tina

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Welcome to the Hopewell Hotel. 

I cannot imagine a better book to write our first review about. Meet Scarlett, aka the blond on the cover. Trust me, after you read the book, she grows on you, and frankly, I'm just glad she has eyes (See Johnson's previous book covers if confused). Scarlett has hair that won't do what she wants it to do, an older brother Spencer, with whom she shares a uniquely hilarious, sweet, open and... dramatic relationship (get it? Cause he's an actor? *crickets*), an older sister, Lola, who has a wealthy socialite boyfriend, a little sister, Marlene, who is just generally miserable towards anyone but Lola, and understaffed hotel for a home......and when it's finally summer, and she turns fifteen... she gets even more on her plate.

 It all begins with the Scarlett's 15th birthday, Empire Suite, and it's new occupant, Mrs. Amberson. Spending time running errands for Mrs. Amberson is NOT how Scarlett expected to spend her summer, but then again, nothing involving Mrs. Amberson is ever what is to be expected. As Scarlett tries balance dealing with the eccentric Mrs. Amberson, saving Spencer's acting career, Lola's recent odd behavior, the guy she's crushing on, who just happens to be a stage partner to Spencer, Scarlett's got her hands full, not to mention her summer booked. There are near- arrests. There is tuna fish. And gross, but healthy, plums. Hamlet. Performed on Unicycles. Cute Actor boys. Fist fights (Both fake and real). Cancer survival patients. Tourist attractions. Lies. A black Dior dress. Unique, characters, each one with a backround, though not always fully revealed. Somehow Johnson manages to tie all these things into a neat little package that not only works, but surpasses my expectations, and trust me, I had high expectations for this book. 

This book is way better than any mint you'd find on your pillow. Run--don't walk-- to check it out... and check in to Suite Scarlett.

-Tina-

Welcome...kind of

Welcome to Check It Out. In the (hopefully near) future this will be a place for all you're YA book review needs. At the moment we're still setting things up, so bear with us. Until we're up and running...go read a book. Or many.