Waiting on Wednesday (33)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Siege and Storm To by Leigh Bardugo which is due to be released on June 4th.

 Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

I know I am defintely not alone in my love for Shadow and Bone so I am sure this one is on a lot of lists for June.  Bring on more Alina!

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Dare You To by Katie McGarry which is due to be released on May 28th.
 

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Pushing the Limits and I am so excited to dive back into Katie McGarry's writing.  I really liked Beth and I think she is the perfect character to headline this next installment.

ARC Book Review: Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Title: Openly Straight

Author: Bill Konigsberg
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Rating: 4/5

Cover Impressions:  This cover is ADORABLE.  I love the choice of tiffany blue for the background and the emoticon choices.  I think this one will stand out on a shelf and is unique enough to intrigue potential readers. 

The Gist: Rafe's entire life has been colored by the fact that he is gay.  He is comfortable with who he is, and is proud of what he is accomplished, but he really wants a chance to see what life would be like without the label.  He gets his opportunity when he transfers to an all-boy boarding school in New England.  Suddenly he is able to fit in with the popular jocks and experience a side of life he never realized he was missing.  As Rafe begins to fall in love with one of his newfound friends he must face the predicament in which he has put himself - a lie allowed him to develop a beautiful relationship and the truth may destroy his love and his friendship.

Review:
Openly Straight featured a unique perspective.  Rafe is "out" and in the public eye.  His parents support him, he is an equal rights advocate at his school and even speaks to other youth on what it is like to be a gay teen.  But, he often feels that this label places a barrier between him and his peers.  He plays sports, but doesn't feel like part of the team.  Other students and teachers constantly turn to him to provide "the gay point of view" and, despite his being out and available, he still doesn't have a boyfriend.  With his entry to a new school, he finally has a chance to get rid of the label and remove the barriers - but it means leaving a big part of himself behind.  I loved getting a chance to see the challenges that can be faced by a teen even if he is supported by his family and is part of a (fairly) liberal school.  

This novel featured a lot of fun and unique characters.  Rafe and his friends are smart and witty and their comments and conversations often left me smiling, if not laughing.  These are the types of characters that could easily carry a novel of their own and I often found myself wondering what they were doing when they were not with Rafe.  My absolute favorite scenes were those with his parents.  they were fun and quirky and wonderful examples of supportive parents - which is refreshing in a genre where absentee parents have almost become a cliche.  I was also quite pleased that Openly Straight showed (if not featured) several gay characters and did a great job of breaking stereotypes.

Openly Straight is not a book with a particularly strong plot.  It follows a "will they, won't they" love story that was often sweet and romantic.  Rafe did have a tendency to live in his own head and the introspection slowed the story considerably.  This was really noticeable in the last 1/3rd of the book and resulted in an ending that was much more of a whimper than a bang.  I also wish that it didn't contain quite as much swearing and sexual behavior as this limits me in which students I can recommend the book to.  However, I really enjoyed the unique perspective that this novel provided and I was entertained by the fun cast of characters. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing, Masturbation, Sex between Teenagers
Violence: None
Inappropriate Language: Lots and Often: ass, shit, dick, shit, faggot, piss, bitch, fuck, retard, whore, slut, prick, cock
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking

Book Review: Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

Title: Gone, Gone, Gone
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Rating: 2/5

Cover Impressions:  Meh. Kinda boring.

The Gist: In the wake of 9/11 two boys struggle to make sense of the world and each other.  Craig is still in love with his (sort of) ex-boyfriend but, despite himself, is falling for quiet and reserved Lio.  Lio is a cancer survivor and still reeling from the loss of his twin brother.  The boys cling to one another in tragic circumstances and develop an intense relationship that teaches them about longing and love.

Review: Wow.  This one was surprising.  The reviews for this one have been fantastic.  Nearly everyone on my Goodreads list who has read it, has loved it.  And I .... didn't.  I just didn't.  This is my second foray into Hannah Moskowitz's writing and I think it is just not for me.  Her characters are a little too quirky to be real, her plots are a little too plodding to keep me interested and her storylines tend to include elements that make me cringe (though the ones in this particular book were a lot easier to take than in Teeth.  Perhaps, I am too mainstream for this type of writing.  I feel like I need a pair of ironic glasses and some beat up Chuck Taylors just to understand what message Moskowitz is trying to send in her novels.  For example, one character was scared of a sniper, one was not.  We have random killings with no real purpose other than to give the two main characters a reason to skip school and then the snipers are caught (in the last line of the book noless) with no clear effect on the plot.  I know, I know, the message was about love - but it didn't really feel that way.  The two boys just seemed to be playing at love and enjoying a remarkable sense of freedom from parental supervision (what the hell parents?). 

Clearly, this book resonated with a lot of people.  I think that perhaps my time spent teaching ACTUAL teenagers makes me extra cynical when fictional teenagers seem too mature, too precocious and too intense or damaged.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing, Sex between teenagers
Violence: Sniper shootings (several victims, including children)
Inappropriate Language: Bitch, Shit, Fuck, Slut, Cock, Piss, Jesus Christ, Faggot, Pussy,
Substance Use/Abuse: Smoking

Waiting on Wednesday (31)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg which is due to be released on May 28th.

Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.

And, oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased, and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff. And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but not the headline, every single time.

So when he transfers to an all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all, he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is possible.

This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate being different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.

I am really excited to read a book from such an interesting perspective.  We often read about how difficult it is to be "in the closet" but not about how difficult it can still be to be "out" and in the public eye.  

Book Review: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg

Title: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: March 1st, 2013
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions:  The cover is cute, though a bit simplistic for my taste.  I might prefer if it had something in the background, like a mirror that the lipstick was scrawled on...

The Gist:  Lexi has spent years catering to her 7 year old sister turned pageant princess.  She sews, she primps, she meets the ever-increasing demands of her overbearing mother.  She is known as the girl with the "great personality" and she is ready for a change.  When her best friend challenges her to put some serious effort into her personality, she reluctantly relents, if only to prove that she is a hopeless case.  Armed with perfectly coifed hair and fabulously fake lashes, she receives more attention than she ever dreamed, including one very cute guy - even if it isn't really the guy she wanted.  As her world changes, she begins to doubt which Lexi is the real one: the beautiful girl, or the one with the great personality?

Review: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality was a fun read with a few flaws.  I loved the premise and the glimpse into the world of the sister of a pageant princess.  Lexi had an interesting voice and I loved that she didn't buy into the whole pageant world.  She was a but too whiney for my taste and she constantly lamented her lack of beauty (which was easily solved by a modicum of makeup - really, you're hideous and a touch of concealer fixes everything?  I don't think so.)  I thought the sometimes rocky but always backed by love, relationship between the sisters was pretty realistic.  Even though it was sometimes painful to read about, so was the relationship between the divorced mother and her daughters.  The mother was truly damaged and looking for validation in all the wrong places.  At one point, she made a move so heinous that I was left feeling shocked and betrayed along with Lexi and it amped up my feelings of disgust and re-engaged me with the plot of the novel.  Unlike the familial relationships, I didn't feel any real connection with either of the love interests but, to be fair, I don't think Lexi really did either.  They mostly served as a backdrop against which she could make new discoveries about herself.  Her friends, however, had a lot of unrealized potential.  They were interesting, but fell flat and undeveloped while we followed Lexi through the "popular" world. 

The thing that irked me about this novel was the way in which Lexi preached to pageant parents at the end.  Being in a profession where I, occasionally, come across entitled, know-it-all children, I found her lecturing to be very off-putting.  Her experiences with her sister and mother give her an insight into the beauty and ugliness of the pageant world, but they do not make her an expert on each family's situation not do they give her the right to judge parents who have twice (or more) her life experience.

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality is, ultimately, a cute novel with a good message about self-love that would be enjoyed by most teenage girls.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 12 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Teen gets slapped by parent
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking

First Lines: April 2013

The first words you read can often set the tone for the entire story.  I thought it would be fun to keep track of the first lines of the books I read each month and share them with you.  Below are the first lines for all the books I read in April. 

 Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

"I did not arrive at the convent of Saint Mortain some green stripling."

 Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

 "'Sir ?' she repeats.  'How soon do you want it to get there?'"

 The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

"I smelled blood as soon as I walked into the room."

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

"Keeping secrets isn't my specialty."

 Everybody Sees The Ants by A.S. King

"All I did was ask a stupid question."

The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble
“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
"Applying butt glue to my sister's backside is, without question, not the first way I'd choose to spend a weekend."

Ok, so this one is going up a bit late.  I have been so busy lately with work that May just snuck up on me. 

So, my favorite line this month was from Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality - it just paints such a fantastic picture while interjecting some humor. 

My least favorite, was probably The Eternity Cure.  That was actually a did-not-finish for me, I just couldn't get back into that world and I didn't really care for the main character.