Category Archives: Books

The Fault In Our Stars

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Book: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Publishing Info: Published by Dutton Books; 318; Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

I finally read A Fault In Our Stars, and I am so glad I did.  The hype surrounding The Fault In Our Stars is so deserved.  It was funny, but it also makes you cry.  Once I started crying, I couldn’t stop.

It is so beautifully written, and the characters came alive.  They felt so real, and even though I’ve never had cancer, I felt like I knew exactly what they were feeling.  It was refreshing to see cancer patients that aren’t your stereotypical cancer kids.  You know, the ones that find the meaning of life, and are all strong and brave because of their illness and start their own foundation so they have a legacy?  These are not those kids.  While there’s nothing wrong with the standard portrayal, it’s nice to see kids who want to be normal, but aren’t.  It’s nice to see kids that aren’t super-focused on their disease and how they can change the world.  As Hazel would say, this is not a Cancer Book.

Do Hazel, Augustus and Isaac wonder and worry about the people they’ll leave behind and their mark on the world?  Of course, but it doesn’t seem to consume them the way you’d expect.  I don’t know if this makes any sense (and it seems horrible to write) but she is just a kid who happens to have terminal cancer.

All that aside, I loved the relationships between the characters, and how Hazel’s favorite author was not the man she expected.  I loved that I can’t get Hazel or Augustus out of my mind, and that I could relate to them so well.

I give it a 5 out of 5.  This is a very special book, and it’s on the short list of books that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Spells

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Book: Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Publishing Info: Published by Harper Teen; 359 pages; Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger–and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.
When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

Spells is an interesting book.  It’s the sequel to Wings, and while it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, it wasn’t completely amazing either.

First of all, David and Tamani.  I don’t like either of them, and I have no clue why Laurel is interested in either of them.  Tamani and David not liking each other got old really fast, and by the end of the book, I totally hated both of them for forcing Laurel to choose between them.  Granted, she didn’t help either, because she kind of led Tamani on, and she wasn’t completely honest with David.  I think it’s cool that she wants to keep her life as a fairie and her life in the human separate, but at the same time, it wasn’t working.  Tamani seems to have some kind of plan…for something, and I’m curious about what this plan is.  I’m pretty sure it involves Laurel somehow.

Tamani and David were really irritating.  Tamani declares his love for Laurel, and it is a little unfair to Laurel, because she is (was?) with David.  She doesn’t remember the time when they were friends, but like I said, she wasn’t helping either.  But at least she realized what she was doing at the end- or least, she seemed to figure out.  For her, though, it meant David needing some time apart, because she snuck off to see a festival.

I liked Avalon.  It was mentioned in Wings that her old house was the gateway to Avalon, and in Spells, we actually get to see Avalon.  It’s not your traditional Avalon, but there are markets, an Academy, and all sorts of other things.  If Avalon were inhabited by fairies, you would end up with Pike’s version of Avalon.  She does incorporate Avalon as seen in Arthurian legend- I’m glad that she didn’t completely ignore it.

I loved the hierarchy of fairies in Avalon, and I really want Laurel to go back so we can see more of Avalon.  I loved the way Pike described it, and hopefully we’ll see more of it in the next book.  The customs, the way of life, and the fact that fairies bloom are really interesting.  She really does know how to make fairies interesting.

It gets a 3 out of 5.  I liked it, but it wasn’t spectacular.

Wings

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Book: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Publishing Info: Published by Harper Teen; 294 pages; hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful–too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Wings is another fairy story, and I liked it.

It was a typical fairy novel, in the sense that she’s around 15 when she found out.  She was placed with her “family” when she was 3, so it was nice to see she wasn’t a changeling.  And fairies in this book are more plant-like!  It was refreshing to see such an interesting twist on fairies, instead of going with the stereotypical fairies most books have.  I can believe that fairies are more plant-like, bloom, and have children by pollination.

At first I wasn’t sure about Laurel, because all she did was complain about how she wanted to be home-schooled instead of going to a public school.  As it wore on, she (thankfully) got less annoying.

And no novel is complete with a little love triangle.  I can honestly say that I don’t like either guy.  Tamani knew Laurel before she was placed with her parents, and they were even best friends…before she was given a potion to forget that part of her life.  He was annoying and his focus on her friendship with David got to be really annoying.  As for David?  He wasn’t very developed in this book, and I get the feeling he only wanted to help her because she was the new girl.  Is it too much to ask that at least one of them be mildly interesting?

It gets a 3 out of 5.  I liked the twist on fairies, and it was a pretty easy read.

Sarah’s Key

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Book: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Publishing Info: Published by St. Martin’s Press; 294; Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

I’m so torn about what to think about this book.  I love Sarah’s half of the book, and didn’t really care about Julia’s half, other than to find out what happened to Sarah.

Sarah’s half was powerful and compelling, and I wanted to know more about what happened to her, her parents, and her brother.  I felt for Sarah, and I want to know more about the Vel d’Hiv roundup.

What lost me, though, was Julia’s story.  I didn’t really care about her or her marital problems.  And the connection between her and Sarah?  It didn’t feel very believable.  It’s almost like de Rosnay decided that the only way to connect the two women was to have Julia’s in-laws live in the apartment that Sarah’s family lived in.

The ending was especially annoying, and I didn’t really care that Julia was divorced or living in New York.  It was no surprise that she named her 2nd daughter Sarah- the second Julia found out she was pregnant (and not sure if she wanted to keep the baby) I knew 2 things.  One, she would keep it, and two, her baby would be a girl so she could name her Sarah.

Anyway, it went from a really interesting and captivating story, and turned into something completely stupid once Sarah got back to her old house.  If only de Rosnay had focused more on Sarah, instead of having Julia figure out what happened to her…

I really wish I could give it 2 different ratings- one for Sarah and one for Julia.  But since I can’t do that, I’ll give it a 3 out of 5.

Extras

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Book: Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Publishing Info: Published by Simon Pulse; 417 pages; hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Fame

It’s a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it’s all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of “American Idol.” Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.

As if being fifteen doesn’t suck enough, Aya Fuse’s rank of 451,369 is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. But Aya doesn’t care; she just wants to lie low with her drone, Moggle. And maybe kick a good story for herself.

Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity…and extreme danger. A world she’s not prepared for.

This is the final book in the Uglies series, and while I liked it, I didn’t like it as much as the other three.

I think part of it is the fact that it felt tacked on.  Like an afterthought.  I had low expectations, because the series was originally a trilogy.  Perhaps that is why it feels like an afterthought.  It certainly doesn’t feel like a part of the series.

That being said, I liked that we got to see what life was like several years after Tally took down the old ways.  And it was interesting seeing life in a different city.  And using fame and reputation to decide who gets what?  It’s an interesting concept, especially with people trying to gain fame, and what they’ll do to get it.  I almost wished that Westerfeld had focused on that, instead ending up in Singapore trying to figure out what the metal cylinders are for.

Tally was interesting in this book, because she wasn’t a main character.  I liked seeing her through the eyes of someone else.  She came across a lot harsher, more violent, and more mentally unstable than she seemed in the first 3 books.  Given everything that’s happened to Tally, it wasn’t a surprise.

And what didn’t I like?  It didn’t draw me in the way the rest of the series did.  It was slightly more boring than I expected, and the new characters weren’t particularly interesting.  I just couldn’t care about about them.

Overall, it gets a 3 out of 5.  It was well-paced, and enjoyable, but missing that something special the other books had.

Every Soul A Star

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Book: Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass

Publishing Info: Published by Little, Brown Young Readers; 322 pages; hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Told from three very different perspectives and voices, this compelling and humorous novel weaves an intricate story about friendship, dealing with change, and discovering one’s place in the universe.

I’m not really sure what to think of this book.  I liked the 3 different voices, but the characters weren’t engaging enough for me.  They were all pretty typical, but I can see younger teens and even tweens liking them and relating to them.

I liked that 3 kids, who wouldn’t have met otherwise, all came together to witness a solar eclipse.  Ally was pretty sheltered, since she lives in a campground in the middle of nowhere.  Her parents decide that they want Ally and her brother Kenny to experience life in the “real world.”  It’s strange that after a good 10 years in the middle of nowhere, her parents suddenly decide that their kids need to be around kids their own age?  But then again, them moving means that Bree has to live in a world that’s completely different than the one she’s leaving.  Bree seemed really spoiled, but she seemed to mature a little throughout the book.  Jack was the most interesting of the 3, and it was nice to see that they’d still be friends, even after going back to their lives.

I found the astronomy aspect really interesting, and it was done a way that wasn’t boring.  I even wanted to know a little more, and I’m glad there were some resources at the end of the book.  I totally want to see a solar eclipse now.

It started off a little slow, but then the pace started to pick up.  Overall, it was pretty well-written, and well-paced.  And I liked that I knew who was narrating without having to look at the chapter title.

It gets a 3 out of 5.  It was a little younger than I expected, but still enjoyable.

Specials

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Book: Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Publishing Info: Published by Simon Pulse; 384 pages in hardcover

Goodreads Summary: “Special Circumstances”:

The words have sent chills down Tally’s spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor — frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally’s never been ordinary.

And now she’s been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it’s easy to tune that out — until Tally’s offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she’s programmed to complete. Either way, Tally’s world will never be the same.

Specials is the 3rd book in the Uglies series.  I think this one is my favorite one in the entire series.  It’s been so interesting to see how Tally has changed during the series, going from an Ugly to a Pretty to a Special.

While physical beauty is an important throughout the series, and especially important in the first two books, it wasn’t so important in this one.  The power of choices and the individual was pretty important- Tally always seems to overcome whatever surgery is performed on her.  And while beauty is skin deep is an important message, our choices andwhether we can overcome things is just as important.

It got me thinking about how we’re conditioned (or socialized) to act and behave.  And that there is a price to freedom, whether we realize it or not.  And I like the idea that we need to take care of the environment instead of destroying it.  It was there, but very subtle.  Westerfeld does a great job of making you think.

It was well-written, and I’m impressed with how relevant the themes are.  It gets a 5 out of 5.

Pretties

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Book: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Publishing Info: Published by Simon Pulse; 370 pages in paperback

Goodreads Summary: Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun — the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom — is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally’s ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what’s wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life — because the authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Pretties is the 2nd book in the Uglies series, and I really liked it.  I thought it was a good continuation of the series, and it is another one that can stand on its own, but also adds to the series and the overall story.

It is hard to believe that a lot of the characters are 16 to 18, because they seem so much older than that, but they’re still really easy to relate to.  The use of bubbly wasn’t annoying, which was surprising considering that it was used somewhat frequently.  I love New Pretty Town, and I continue to be amazed by the world and the characters that Westerfeld has created.  He has a way of making you think about what’s going on in the world, and he does it in a way that’s not obvious.  I think he understands his audience really well, and portrays all the different friendships and possible romantic relationships realistically.

It was really nice to see what it was like to be pretty, and Tally was really interesting.  It seems like Tally managed to retain some of her “ugly” self, and struggled to remember what it was like to be ugly.  It seems like the lesions can be overcome, and don’t need an actual cure, but I’d really like to see how it plays out in the next book.

And the ending!  Definitely a cliffhanger, and I really want to know what happens, so I can’t wait to start reading the next one.  I do like that you’re wondering what happens next…but could stop reading after any book and be fine.  He really is good at wrapping things up and not making me feel like I’m reading 1 or 2 books that are split into 3 or 4.

It gets a 4 out of 5.

Exposed

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Book: Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

Publishing Info: Published by Random House Books; 255 pages in hardcover

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Liz is Photogirl—sharp, focused and confident in what she sees through her camera lens. Confident that she and Kate will be best friends forever.

But everything changes in one blurry night. Suddenly, Kate is avoiding her, and people are looking the other way when she passes in the halls. As the aftershocks from a startling accusation rip through Liz’s world, everything she thought she knew about photography, family, friendship and herself shifts out of focus. What happens when the picture you see no longer makes sense? What do you do when you may lose everything you love most? 

Exposed is such an interesting book.  I liked that it was told through poetry, and the fact that it is through the eyes of the rapists’ brother made it a very interesting read.  I feel like a lot of books about rape are about the victim, but I may be wrong here, since Speak is the only book that comes to mind.  It is nice to see all of the people who are affected by it, not just those directly involved.

You can see life around Liz slowly change and fall apart.  Her relationship with Kate changes completely, and by the end of the book, they barely speak.  Her brother is also compeltely different by the end of the book, and she is torn between being glad he was found innocent and wanting justice for Kate.  You see her parents obsession with the trial, and the effect it has on them, and you see that people at school start acting differently.

I thought it was very moving, and the fact that it was told in verse made it very real.  You saw her thoughts and feelings spill out, and by the end, she learns that things are not always black-and-white.  I really felt for Liz, because she was caught in the middle, and wasn’t sure who to believe.

It gets a 4 out of 5.  It felt very real, and it was very vivid.

Fever 1793

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Book: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publishing Info: Published by Aladdin; 256 pages in paperback

Goodreads Summary: It’s late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn’t get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family’s coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie’s concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family’s small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie’s struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

This has been on my to-read list for a while.  I’m a big fan of Laurie Halse Anderson, and I assumed I would love this book.

But I didn’t.  I’ll admit, it’s strange to be reading historical fiction by Anderson, when I’m used to reading her more contemporary stuff.  And she did set the bar high with both Speak and Wintergirls.

I was bored while reading it.  I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.  They fell flat for me, and didn’t feel like real, living, breathing people.  I felt like I didn’t know anything about the characters by the end of the book.  The setting  was pretty generic, with very little descriptions of smells, sounds, or scenery.  If I didn’t know that it was set in Philadelphia, I would never have guessed that the novel took place there.

However, it is a good introduction to the yellow fever outbreak, and Halse clearly did her research about the yellow fever epidemic.  But I felt like her characters suffered for it, and that’s a disappointment, because creating vivid, memorable characters is one of Halse’s strengths.

I have to give it a 2 out of 5.  It was just okay, and not was good as I was expecting.