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MINI-REVIEWS: Shades of Simon Gray, The Wander Year, Flawless

Posted by Anastasia on February 14, 2012 No Responses »

Feb 142012

026. Shades of Simon Gray by Joyce McDonald
Publication: Laurel Leaf (May 13, 2003), Paperback, 272pp / ISBN 0440228042
Genre: YA Fiction (magical realism?)

Read: February 4-5, 2012
Source: Bought (UBS)

Mini-Review

I tend to buy books based on whether I like the cover or not, which sometimes bites me in the butt. I bought Shades of Simon Gray because I liked the cover, and my butt was only a little bit bitten. Shades of Simon Gray reminds me of a Lois Duncan novel, only with a little less thriller and a little more “growing up and finding out what sort of person you are.” With some magical realism/time travel/ghost things thrown in. I liked that the characters all had different reactions to the events in the book– some of them decided to do the right thing, to take responsibility for the bad thing(s) they’ve done (without actually telling anyone they were the ones who did the bad thing(s)) and to try to make up for it, while others thought they hadn’t done anything wrong at all. It was a nice spectrum of realistic reactions and personalities and whatever, and I liked it. The added touch of spooky atmosphere, weird biblical plagues, and ghosts just made reading it even more fun.

A book with similar themes (minus the magical realism) would be Nothing But the Truth by Avi, if that helps any. Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Boy Meets Girl, The Wizard, the Witch and Two Girls from Jersey, Stupid Fast

Posted by Anastasia on February 7, 2012 4 Responses »

Feb 072012

020. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
Publication: Harpercollins (January 1, 2004), Paperback, 383pp / ISBN 0060085452
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Read: January 27-29, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

Sometimes you just want to read something fluffy and silly and easy on the brain, and Meg Cabot’s books are really good for that. I haven’t read many of her adult books, but I think they’re basically like her teen books, only with older characters who have slightly different goals (starting families rather than making prom queen, for instance). Boy Meets Girl is adorable, with adorable characters and an adorable plotline. And as a bonus, it’s written in an interesting way: through emails and phone calls and IMs instead of straight narrative stuff. Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Vesper, Dramarama

Posted by Anastasia on February 3, 2012 No Responses »

Feb 032012

017. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Publication: Dell Books for Young Readers (April 26, 2005), Paperback, 352pp / ISBN 0553494791
Genre: YA Fiction

Read: January 26-27, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

I’ve been meaning to read this book for forever, mainly because it’s one of those generation-defining books that’re so important. I’ve seen bits of the movie and I know vaguely what it/the book is about, so I was expecting something cute and touching and possibly melodramatic. There’s actually not that much melodrama in it, but it IS cute and touching. And kind of boring, to be honest. Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Posted by Anastasia on January 27, 2012 11 Responses »

Jan 272012

014. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Publication: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 26, 1993), ebook, 210pp / ISBN 0440237688
Genre: YA Sci-fi/Dystopia

Read: January 24, 2012
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Review

I’ve put off reading this book for FOREVER, mainly because I really hate the cover. That old dude? Makes me think of The Cay. And The Cay? Made me cry my eyes out when I was in fifth grade. I hate crying, and I thought The Giver would make me cry, so I stayed away. Simple! Continue reading »

REVIEW: Planet Janet by Dyan Sheldon

Posted by Anastasia on January 25, 2012 2 Responses »

Jan 252012

011. Planet Janet by Dyan Sheldon
Publication: Candlewick (February 1, 2003), Hardcover, 240pp / ISBN 0763620483
Genre: YA Fiction

Read: January 20-21, 2012
Source: Used Bookstore

Review

Diaries-as-books are some of my favorite things, and I especially like reading teenage diaries. Maybe because I find them so funny nowadays? Teenagers can be melodramatic and selfish and very silly– and Janet’s all those things. In a funny way, of course! Well, mostly funny. Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Green Man by Michael Bedard

Posted by Anastasia on January 13, 2012 4 Responses »

Jan 132012

003. The Green Man by Michael Bedard
Publication: Tundra Books (April 10, 2012), eARC, 320pp / ISBN 1770492852
Genre: YA Magical Realism/Fantasy

Read: Jan 2-3, 2012
Source: NetGalley

This book will be released on April 10, 2012!

Review

I hadn’t realized that The Green Man is a sequel to another book when I requested it at NetGalley, but in retrospect I don’t think it matters all that much. Apparently it’s got some of the same characters from the first book in it, but the POV is mostly from a new character, so I don’t feel too annoyed that I read this one first before reading the previous book.

O’s aunt Emily is weird and probably crazy, but in the best sort of way. She’s a poet who owns a bookstore, and though O has reservations about spending the summer with Emily at The Green Man she wants to help her out after Emily’s recent heart attack. What O finds at the bookshop and about aunt Emily’s past, leads to a more exciting, magical, and poetry-filled summer than O ever expected. Continue reading »

REVIEW: Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield

Posted by Anastasia on December 23, 2011 No Responses »

Dec 232011

163. Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield
Publication: WestSide Books (December 15, 2011), eArc, 370pp / ISBN 1934813621
Genre: YA Sci-fi/Paranormal

Read: December 6-8, 2011
Source: Author (thank you!)

Summary from Goodreads:

Caitlyn, a telepath, lives in a world where all paranormal talents are illegal. She is on the run from government ParaTroopers. When Caitlyn falls for Alex, a Normal, and discovers dangerous renegade Paranormals, she must choose between staying in hiding to protect herself or taking a stand to save the world.

Review

Hunted is a somewhat atypical paranormal/dystopian book. It’s set sometime in the future, though I don’t think we’re ever told exactly how far in the future it is. It’s sort of dystopian, but only for the “paras,” really. It’s an exciting story, with some conspiracy things going on and a lot of omg-what’s-going-to-happen moments. The characters were pretty good, especially Caitlyn, who doesn’t really waste any time getting in the action. She’s a very active paranormal/dystopian heroine, which is great because normally I think the typical p-heroine is passive for at least the first half of the book. Continue reading »