2010 March » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Review: Odder Than Ever by Bruce Coville

Posted by Anastasia on March 31, 2010 2 Responses »

Mar 312010

57. Odder Than Ever by Bruce Coville
Publication: Harcourt Paperbacks (October 4, 2000), Paperback, 176pp / ISBN 0152024654
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, YA
Rating:
Read: March 6, 2010
Source: Bought
Summary from Amazon:

Beloved for his hilarious and unexpectedly moving novels, Bruce Coville is also a master of the short story. In this follow-up to Oddly Enough, he again presents a collection of unusual breadth and emotional depth. A ghost who died under uproarious circumstances haunts a kitchen baking “Biscuits of Glory,” while in the grand tale “The Golden Sail,” there are unexpected consequences when a young teen goes in search of his seafaring father. The collection includes a heartbreaking new story from Mr. Elives’ Magic Shop, “The Metamorphosis of Justin Jones,” and the bittersweet title story from the critically acclaimed anthology Am I Blue? A perfect introduction to Bruce Coville’s magic for the uninitiated, Odder Than Ever also has a treat for his die-hard fans: three never-before-published stories.

Review

I’m already pretty familiar with Bruce Coville’s books, though I’ve mostly stuck to his middle grade books like Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and the A.I. Gang series (which I adore partly because it’s so outdated now). I liked them well enough, but Odder Than Ever was a pleasant surprise because it was a little bit more adult than I was expecting it to be.

Not that it’s only suitable for adults, or that kids can’t enjoy it. But the writing seems a lot tighter, more precise and just overall more grown-up than some of Mr Coville’s other books are. I really enjoyed reading Odder Than Ever; it’s got some definitely good stories in it. On the other hand, there are some duds in there as well.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m too old for some of these stories or they just can’t stand up to the stories that are truly great, but I distinctly remember being unimpressed with “Am I Blue?,” the story where everyone who has some bit of gayness in them turns blue for a day. It’s an interesting concept, and I get what Mr Coville was trying to do, but I don’t think it went far enough with the concept. Okay, so people you don’t expect to be blue turn blue. So what? We’re already pretty familiar with closeted folks in unexpected places– that senator dude from a few years ago, for instance. Having visual confirmation doesn’t really change anything except that they’re forced to uncloset, and while I’d prefer everyone to be comfortable with their sexuality and for everyone else to not give a crap about other people’s sexualities anyway…I’m kind of uncomfortable with people being forcibly uncloseted.

Maybe I’m thinking too hard about this and maybe I’m just wrong, but having the story end where it did, with nothing about what happened after people turned blue (was it mass chaos? did people finally give up on homophobia? did the uncloseted people stay uncloseted?) both disappointed and annoyed me. I wanted more.

A story I did like was “Biscuits of Glory.” I actually think I’ve read that one before somewhere, because it sounded really familiar. Kid hears someone in his kitchen, it’s a ghost who makes biscuits every night because she cursed herself with her pride, he fixes it. It’s funny and quirky and really Southern, and I loved it. I also liked “The Stinky Princess,” which you really just need to read for yourself because it was AWESOME.

So I guess I liked about half the stories and either disliked or didn’t care about the others. In such a short book that’s not so huge a problem, and as you can tell by the rating the stories I did like, I liked a LOT. If you’re a fan of Bruce Coville this is a great book to read if you haven’t already– for nothing else than to see a different side of his writing, if you want.

And

Find your own copy @ Amazon or IndieBound

Other reviews: Have you reviewed this book? Let me know and I’ll link to it from my post here!

Review: Benny & Omar by Eoin Colfer

Posted by Anastasia on March 30, 2010 No Responses »

Mar 302010

71. Benny & Omar by Eoin Colfer
Publication: Disney-Hyperion (March 20, 2007), Paperback, 288pp / ISBN 1423102827
Genre: YA, Fiction
Rating:
Read: March 20-21, 2010
Source: Bought
Summary from Amazon:

Two very different cultures collide in this hilarious book about a young sports fanatic named Benny who is forced to leave his home in Ireland and move with his family to Tunisia. He wonders how he will survive in such an unfamiliar place. Then he teams up with wild and resourceful Omar, and a madcap friendship between the two boys leads to trouble, escapades, a unique way of communicating, and ultimately, a heartbreaking challenge.

Review

For all that I adore this little book, I don’t have much to say about it. I think it’s one of those things where you need to read it for yourself, because if I talk too much about it it’ll ruin the fun of exploring the story for yourself. Nevertheless, I am going to say some things about Benny & Omar because this would be a pretty useless review if I didn’t!

What did I like? I liked the writing, first off. I’m already pretty familiar with Eoin Colfer’s books (I’ve read about four or five), but this one is unlike his others (I mean the fantasies) both in plot and writing style. It’s way more Irish than his other books have been, more like the Roddy Doyle books than the Artemis Fowl books (I realize that AF is Irish himself). The feeling of the book is Irish, even when the story moves to Africa. It’s really great stuff, if you like that sort of thing.

I also liked the whole moral/theme/whatever! It was pretty blatant, with some of the characters even talking about the insider vs outsider thing, but it’s always good to talk about what happens when people from a first-world country move into a third-world country and…not take over, but dictate. It’s a delicate situation, and even though the way it’s presented in the book isn’t delicate, the friendship between Benny and Omar was.

That friendship is another thing I liked. It’s not new, having two kids from opposite “sides” become friends, but it’s always really effective and poignant and heartbreaking. Plus watching them try to communicate is really funny– Omar only speaks in phrases he’s gleaned from watching a bunch of television, and Benny can only say two or three words of Arabic/French. But somehow they get along and understand each other just fine, and it’s a great thing altogether.

So that’s just a little bit of what I liked about Benny & Omar! It’s a fun, fast-paced book with great writing and fantastic characters. I was really pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

And

Find your own copy @ Amazon or IndieBound

Other reviews: Have you reviewed this book? Let me know and I’ll link to your post from mine here!

Review: Theodosia & the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFever

Posted by Anastasia on March 29, 2010 No Responses »

Mar 292010

72. Theodosia & the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFever
Publication: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 9, 2007), Hardback, 343pp / ISBN 0618756388
Genre: Children’s/MG, Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Rating:
Read: March 22-23, 2010
Source: Library
Summary from Amazon:

Theodosia Throckmorton has her hands full at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London. Her father may be head curator, but it is Theo—and only Theo—who is able to see all the black magic and ancient curses that still cling to the artifacts in the museum.

When Theo’s mother returns from her latest archaeological dig bearing the Heart of Egypt—a legendary amulet belonging to an ancient tomb—Theo learns that it comes inscribed with a curse so black and vile that it threatens to crumble the British Empire from within and start a war too terrible to imagine. Intent on returning the malevolent artifact to its rightful place, Theo devises a daring plan to put things right. But even with the help of her younger brother, a wily street urchin, and the secret society known as the Brotherhood of the Chosen Keepers, it won’t be easy . . . she quickly finds herself pursued down dark alleys, across an ocean, through the bustling crowds of Cairo, and straight into the heart of an ancient mystery. Theo will have to call upon everything she’s ever learned in order to prevent the rising chaos from destroying her country—and herself!

Review

First off, how great is a name like Theodosia? I love it! I’d definitely name my kid that, if I ever wanted to have a kid. It’s so grand and quirky. I love it!

Anyway, Theodosia & the Serpent of Chaos is a great little book. I love Theo, who is spunky and intelligent and though adults may annoy her to tears, she doesn’t let them bring her down. I liked how competent she was with the curses and spells, and how she takes charge of situations and gets them fixed.

The story is pretty good– I have a real fondness for ancient Egypt and old-style archaeology. Add in some secret societies, plagues, curses, pickpockets, pesky younger brothers, and museums, and you’ve basically made me a fan for life. It’s an exciting story, as well, quite fast-paced with some definite thrills thrown in, which was great.

I do, of course, have some complaints. The time period wasn’t ever noted, though I eventually guessed it was sometime in the early 1900s based on the clues left strewn throughout the book (maybe right before World War I?). Not having to figure it out for myself would have anchored me into the story more quickly and given me a frame of reference besides. The archaeology of the early 1900s is very different from the archaeology of today, after all.

Theo’s parents are very neglectful, even for stereotypical, Mary Poppins-esque parents, so much so that it was kind of unbelievable. And there were several plot threads which were never resolved, as well. I assume they’re going to be resolved in the next book or so, but it was annoying to have them dropped so abruptly and never mentioned in the tying-things-up bit of the book.

Despite those problems, I did really enjoy reading Theodosia & the Serpent of Chaos. It’s a decent start to a series, with a wonderful protagonist and a great premise, and I can’t wait to read the next book!

And

Find your own copy @ Amazon or IndieBound

Other reviews: Strange & Random Happenstance | Books & Other Thoughts | Fuse #8

It kind of seemed to me like this was maybe going off of the 1932 The Mummy movie! Or at least taking into account those sorts of things. That’d be terrificly fun, of course.

It also feels a lot like the Amelia Peabody books, except with blatant magic usage. If you like the AP books you’ll probably like this one– just don’t expect the same levels of complexity in the mystery.

TSS (March 28): Black Jack & Skin Hunger

Posted by Anastasia on March 28, 2010 No Responses »

Mar 282010

I have two exams next week but I’m not particularly worried about them, so I spent today reading books instead of studying. I hope THAT doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.

Specifically, I read two books I had gotten through inter-library loan and needed to return soon: Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey and Black Jack by Leon Garfield. I thought instead of doing separate reviews posts for them I’d jsut talk about them a bit here.

I came across Skin Hunger through a Tor.com post, I think, though I neglected to note down the exact post in my Rec’d by Others thing, so I can’t say for sure. Anyway, I wasn’t entirely disappointed by it, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected it to be.

I really liked the writing; it was very atmospheric and conveyed creepiness excellently, but nothing happens. It’s like the whole book was a prologue for something else, and while it was a nice prologue, it didn’t really lead anywhere. I had no idea wtf was happening, honestly, until I read the summary (which I obviously hadn’t done before). THEN it made sense. A lot more sense! And I liked the book much better after it made more sense.

But why didn’t the book itself, y’know, tell me wtf was going on? Did I just skip something entirely in the narrative, or was I supposed to make a connection and never did? I think it might have been that last thing- I could see an obvious connection between Sadima and Hahp, but I couldn’t figure out what that connection was. Maybe I’m…stupid? I don’t know. I don’t think I am, but I can’t help but feel I should have picked up on stuff. Going back over it after reading the summary I can obviously see the clues that should have told me what was going on, but I just never made the connections.

Anyway, if you make sure to read the summary before you read the book, I’m sure you’ll have a better time of it than I did. It’s a really good book! It’s dark and borders on depressing, and ain’t no-one happy in it, but it was enthralling. I definitely want to read the next one and see what happens.
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Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Posted by Anastasia on March 27, 2010 2 Responses »

Mar 272010

63. Soulless by Gail Carriger
Publication: Orbit (October 1, 2009), Paperback, 384pp / ISBN 0316056634
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Horror
Rating:
Read: March 9-12, 2010
Source: Borrowed
Summary from Amazon:

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire — and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Review

I borrowed this from a coworker who told me it was a historical fantasy mystery with steampunk and werewolves and vampires, and the vampires weren’t ninnies. You can see she knows my taste in books extremely well– probably because I complain to her whenever I have a problem with a book! I’m always telling her I want to see something different in fantasy books, not just the same old stuff rehashed and stuffed into a leather miniskirt. And Soulless turned out to be that book!

My coworker didn’t tell me Soulless was a paranormal romance, though, which was probably actually a good thing because I tend not to like most paranormal romances (humans with paranormal creatures just squick me, okay). However, the romance in this book was actually quite interesting and, well, romantic, and I really liked it! I think this is because Alexia is human but she’s got an edge over paranormal creatures, so it kind of…evens the odds? Something like that.

I really liked Alexia, because she kind of reminded me of Marian from The Woman in White, except she’s not actually ugly and only thinks she is because her family keeps telling her that. That’s horrible stuff, and I didn’t entirely understand why her own mother was so horrible to her, but then I often don’t understand when mothers hate their children. Anyway, Alexia is smart and brave and obviously restricted under the Victorian mores and morals of the time, and I can’t wait until she finally breaks free and starts actually doing investigative stuff. And I loved the other characters too, especially the werewolves. I never expected to like a werewolf, mainly because I’m so disinterested by them in general. But I liked them in Soulless!

The plot was really interesting, too. It’s sort of like in the Sookie Stackhouse books, when the vampires reveal themselves? Except in the Soulless world it’s vampires and werewolves, mainly, and I think they revealed themselves rather early on. I read somewhere that Ms Carriger created her world with the idea that the werewolves/vampires helped England become an empire and so on, and I find that idea really fascinating, as well. Plus there’s some steampunk stuff, although not as much as my coworker would have be believe, and it all seems to take a backseat to the romance bit, anyway. But still, really exciting stuff.
Continue reading »

Go on, you know you want to

Posted by Anastasia on March 27, 2010 No Responses »

Mar 272010

You guys know about Nerds Heart YA, right? No? Well. It’s sort of a tournament thingy for under-appreciated YA books from 2009. I didn’t really pay attention to it last year (*cough*), but now I’m a judge for the first bracket and I’m veeeeery interested in what happens.

So! Nominations are still open, until March 31st! If you know of a book that’s gotten less than 15 reviews across the blogosphere, was published sometime in 2009, and contains one or more of the following categories:

Person(s) of Color (POC)
GLBT
Disability/Mental Illness
Religious Lifestyle
Lower Socioeconomic Status

submit your nomination TODAY. I sort of feel like a used car salesman, now.

Review: Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison

Posted by Anastasia on March 26, 2010 No Responses »

Mar 262010

69. Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison
Publication: Razorbill (May 19, 2005), Hardcover, 248pp / ISBN 1595140107
Genre: YA/Teen, Mystery
Rating:
Read: March 19, 2010
Source: BookMooch
Summary from Amazon:

Lulu Dark is the anti-Nancy—a chic, tough-talking city girl who never meant to get involved in a mystery.

But when her favorite purse is stolen during a Many Handsomes concert, Lulu knows she has to get it back. After all, it was one of a kind—and the lead singer’s phone number was stashed inside! Lulu dives deep into the fray along with her friends Daisy and Charlie, and discovers a twisted mystery involving a rock star, a rich socialite, a loony landlord, and a serious case of mistaken identity.

Review

Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls is a cute YA mystery with some interesting deviances from the more ordinary YA mysteries (cute or otherwise). It was a really quick and fun read, and it’s a great start to a series. It does have some bumps that I couldn’t ignore, unfortunately, but if you need something like Meg Cabot’s books but with a bitch for a lead character– this is a good book for that.

I call Lulu a bitch because quite frankly she is one. If this was Mean Girls she’d be Regina George, or at least Cady after she gets pulled into the MG mentality. Lulu isn’t nice to, like, anyone except her close friends and her family, and though she sort of recognizes that she’s mean she doesn’t really try to change. It comes back to bite her in the butt a few times, but there isn’t a turnaround like at the end of Mean Girls.

Anyway, I actually kind of liked the fact that Lulu was a bitch. I was really tired of nice-and-nerdy chicks starring in my lighter fiction reads, and reading about someone who can not only stand up for herself but scares other people with her fierceness and verbal vitriol was great! Not that I have anything against nice-and-nerdy girls (hi, I am one!), but I like having variety in my books.

The other characters were pretty standard, though. Think of The Princess Diaries movie– Lulu’s best girl friend is sort of like Mia (at the end of the movie, when she’s self-assured), and her best guy friend is like Michael, but a little shyer. They keep Lulu in line, a little bit, and they let her know when she’s being too MUCH of a bitch, but where they fail in personality they excel in helping solve the mystery.

The mystery– okay, here’s where one of the bumps happen. I liked the mystery right up until the end. It was creepy. It was intriguing. I wanted to know the solution! And then when I got the solution…ugh. It sucked. It made NO sense, and the way everyone treated the villain, like she was a kitten or something, when she had killed someone and stalked at least two others and did all sorts of horrible things, and yeah, she’s insane and everything, but c’mon! She’s obviously dangerous! She’s not a kitten.

Right up until that horrible ending I was really enjoying Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls, and thought the secondary characters weren’t as vibrant as Lulu was, I pretty much enjoyed reading it. I definitely want to read the next book in the series, as hopefully those things are better handled, and I love Lulu. I want to see more of her family– her dad’s gay and her mom’s a wannabe actress!– and I want to see her embrace her calling as a girl sleuth, even if she does deny being a Nancy Drew throughout the whole book.