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Holy wow, this was a killer read! There isn't a whole lot I can say without spoiling the plot, so I'm just going to send you here to watch the book trailer. Creeped out yet? You should be. This book oozes that yummy something's-not-quite-right flavor of suspense. Don't let the futuristic sci-fi feeling steer you away. I don't like sci-fi either, but I'm downright crazy about Jenna Fox. THIS is the kind of story I was hoping for and didn't get in Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac -- loaded with questions about memory, identity, and...lots of other interesting stuff I can't tell you about yet. Just read it. If it doesn't wow you, then let's just say I'm glad I'm me and not you, ok? ps: The cover? Perfect.
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Down Sand Mountain
Now here's a book that's left me boggled. Inarguably well written, with spot-on voice, and characters as true-to-life as they come. It made me laugh, it made me angry, it made me suck in my breath in dread. I loved little things like references to Bill Bojangles Robinson and Florida's Weeki Wachee Springs, and big things like not flinching from the cruelty even good kids succumb to now and then. So why only a three-star rating? To be fair, Down Sand Mountain deserves four objective stars for its quality of writing and realistic characters. But here in my subjective little corner of the web, I'm sticking with three. Brace yourself for a backhanded compliment: for my taste, the plot was somehow too lifelike. Real life isn't composed of orchestra-swelling moments of self-discovery and/or triumph; neither does it have a distinct plotline to guide you neatly from one conflict to the next. Like Down Sand Mountain, life tends to range among many issues at once, leaving you to create change and build insights bit by bit. Nevertheless, as I read I found myself craving a clearer sense of Dewey's goals and desires, and wishing for a firmer grasp on the driving force behind the story. In consequence, I didn't feel as much resolution or sense of accomplishment at the end as I would have liked. In editorial terms, I need a more prominent emotional arc and/or story arc to find a novel completely satisfying. Yet the plot isn't dull, as my reaction may imply. Dramatic stuff goes on here, and issues as weighty as race and sexuality permeate the story. Overall, the perspective of a middle school kid is so well done I'm still not over it, yet the sensibility and pacing of the book strike me as distinctly adult. In many ways this is an excellent book about children, but I'm not sure whether it's aimed squarely at children. Granted, this type of plot may well work better for others than it did for me. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be shocked to find Down Sand Mountain on the Boston Globe-Hornbook Fanfare list or something similar next year. You have my full permission to say "I told you so" when the time comes. (Available in October.)
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Boy oh boy, do I love a good rant. Maybe it's a sign that I'm treading the path toward fuddy-duddyness, but I cheered and chortled my way through this whole book. My favorite two points: 1. "Criticism is treated (and reacted to) as simple aggression. And this is very frightening."
2. "Locutions of passivity"
Onward, Ms. Truss, onward. This is a cause far nobler than correct usage of the apostrophe, if you ask me.
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Gully's Travels
Well this is cute. Not as dear as Gooseberry Park, of course, but definitely more endearing than a certain snobby china rabbit you might have heard tell about in the last couple years. In a nutshell: pampered pooch meets real world. Perhaps a tad highbrow for the audience in spots, but still an appealing adventure. There's a flavor of the old-fashioned in this canine escapade, but oddly that has to do less with sweetness than a taste of old-school reality. A couple characters drink beer (shock!), one young man doesn't believe in God (mercy on us!), and our downtrodden doggie hero even contemplates suicide (horrors!). Call me perverse, but I like a little of that, even in a kiddie book. I think it's the same part of me that loves the more acidic qualities of Harriet the Spy. (Available in September.)
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House
Hmmm... Looks like it's safe to say that one sailed right over my head. But hey, it's an 80-page wordless graphic novel, so it's not like I invested hours trying to dechiper it. No complaints, I guess, just a general sense of "What the...?"
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White Rapids
The back of the book will tell you Blanchet used a "retro-inspired aesthetic" drawing on "Art Deco and fifties Modernist design," but to this Disney-dork White Rapids felt reminiscent of nothing so much as Uncle Walt's Oscar-winning 1953 short, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom. (That's a good thing, by the way.) Never mind that White Rapids is a true story the rise and fall of a corporate town in northern Quebec, and the Disney cartoon is a talking blue owl's lecture on musical instruments -- it's just something about the style of the decade. Seriously now, this book is great fun to look at. It oozes 50's retro coolness, and the text is cleverly incorporated into the artwork whenever possible -- on billboards, drive-in movie screens, elevator directories, and so forth. The whole thing is terribly stylish and appealing, even if, like me, you usually don't "do" graphic novels. ps: The inevitable noodling around on YouTube produced this link to yet another blatantly 50's Disney offering. This one's even attuned to the palate of White Rapids.
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Ashley Bryan nailed it:
Does it ever. You don't often find a novel with rhythm and cadence like this. Matter of fact, I'd go even further than Mr. Bryan -- I'd tell you that The Underneath reads like a round. A handful of characters and stories all sharing the same melody weave in and around each other until they end together in the final note. There's a fair amount of repetition in here that might make some readers itchy, but think of it this way: when you sing a song, you have to repeat the chorus every now and then. Just let the tune carry you, and have a good soak in the ideas and images floating by. Now, I've been known to secretly roll my eyes when someone claims a book 'begs to be read aloud,' but darn it, Kathi Appelt's convinced me. She must have positively wallowed in the oral tradition before she wrote this baby. The narrative voice is just the right combination of wise and folksy, and you never escape the feeling that someone's telling you a story. Done right, The Underneath will make for one knockout audiobook. This is a rich, rich story, which doesn't flinch from tenderness nor darkness, but neither is it lurid or sappy. It has heart, plain and simple. If you harbor affection for critters, folklore, Native American legends, the bayous of Texas and Louisiana, or just darn good writing, then wow -- treat yourself. I'm pretty much agog, and if you ask me, I'l tell you I think it's a Contender. I should probably say something about the art, but any time I think of David Small I invariably drift off into a daydream wherein I'm a cat living under his porch, with his wife Sarah Stewart feeding me bowls of cream...
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Cybele's Secret
Well now, how many months did that take? Nevermind... Funny thing about Juliet Marillier's books -- they're never dull or slow, but they do have a certain density about them. They take time. In fact, sometimes I need as many as 100 pages to hit my stride, and I've been known to get a little grouchy about the length of the chapters, yet the stories are still worth it. A note of intrigue always manages to pull me through. Here's the scoop. As a sequel/companion novel, Cybele's Secret rates well. It stands alone. It doesn't hammer its predecessor (Wildwood Dancing) into the ground. It plunges a familiar character into a fresh setting and plot while incorporating elements of the previous tale. As for the story itself, I've got some quibbles. I loved vicariously wandering through Constantinople, but I missed the fairy tale quality of the Other Kingdom. I also missed the camaraderie Paula shared with her sisters. (I know -- first I praise the sequel for standing on its own two feet, then I turn around fuss about its differences. I never promised my reactions would be logical.) For my taste, some elements suffered from stiffness or lack of subtlety. Of course I appreciated Paula's love of books and knowledge, but I tired of being reminded that the Other Kingdom's trials exist to teach human beings lessons and enable them to grow. (See what I mean about stiffness?) Her spunk and independence were also admirable, but the characters' recurring commentary about the roles and rights of women struck me as heavy-handed in spots. Occasionally a modern-sounding phrase drew undue attention to itself. On the whole, in spite of its foray into the Other Kingdom, Cybele's Secret came off as a story driven more by ideas and intellect than emotion and magic. Given Paula's scholarly personality, that's not exactly a criticism -- it fits her character. Still, if you're a fan of Wildwood Dancing, reading this companion story could be a bit like tasting Pepsi when you're expecting Coke. (Available in September.)
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Peeled
In the grand tradition of Joan Bauer books, Peeled is: Fun
Wholesome
Thoughtful
Realistic
Folksy
Seriously, what else do you need to know?
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If I told you this is a book about a spring break trip to Cancun, you wouldn't expect it to be full of delicious writing, would you? C'mon, 'fess up. You're thinking tequila, tanning oil, and wet t-shirts, right? You probably wouldn't expect it to spiral into an edge-of-your-seat page-turner, either. Feathered is and does. The setup is simple: three friends fly to Cancun, eager for fun, sun, and a taste of freedom. Two of them tell the story in alternating chapters. I thought I knew right at the outset what was going to happen, who would get in over her head, where disaster would strike. I was wrong. The shifting perspectives, styles, and tenses all conspired to keep me from figuring out who really had a handle on what was going on. Suspense abounds, and it's almost impossible to untangle the elements of danger, safety, and trust before things spin out of control.
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How They Met, and other stories
Well that has to be one of the most remarkably even collections of stories I've ever read. Usually three or four are great, a big chunk are worth your time but not amazing, and a couple leave you stone cold. These are all darn good, almost without exception, and not mushy-gushy either -- stories about love, as opposed to love stories. A quirk: when you're reading a set of stories comprised of equal parts gay and straight characters, it takes a few pages to figure out the gender of the narrator every time you start a new one. In this case, a glance a hot boy or girl is no longer a reliable indicator. Ever seen Desk Set, with Hepburn and Tracy? I kept thinking of this exchange and giggling to myself: Richard Sumner: Now what is the first thing you notice in a person?
It's true, and it's funny how not knowing for a few pages can leave you feeling momentarily stranded and befuddled. Still, I really enjoyed these stories -- every last one.
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Sweethearts
It's been a while, but I'm pretty darn sure I like Sweethearts even better than Story of a Girl. There's something very real about Sara Zarr's writing, and I appreciate it even more knowing all the second-book angst she plowed through to make this story work. The end, especially, went over well with me. Everything doesn't have to be all hunkey-dorey to make a satisfying conclusion, and Sara Zarr knows how to pull that off. (Short & sweet, wasn't it? Let's pretend I was trying to mimic that yummy cover...)
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Reading Like a Writer
Fine, so I skimmed a little here and there. Found some rich and worthy tidbits, but it took some chewing to get there. I guess I was hoping for something a little more lively, and a little less context-bound. The regular need to explain the plot surrounding each excerpt wore on me, as did the minute analysis that followed. Now and then it's wise to examine the things you absorb unconsciously in concrete terms, but yipes. Another frustration: the examples cited are typically old school - Hemingway, Stein, Woolf, Nabokov, and so forth. Pillars of the art, to be sure, but must we always hear from the same batch of dead writers? I feel a bit thick admitting this, but a fair number of the passages Francine Prose selected didn't come off as so exemplary to me. Some were downright tiresome, which probably brands me as some kind of hedonistic ignoramus. I gradually developed the notion that the author didn't trust me to recognize good writing all by myself. (Judging by my reactions, she isn't entirely unjustified...) Really though, if you have to explain at length why an excerpt is great, then something's outta whack. Nuances, sure, but overall, great writing should stand on its own two feet and speak for itself - even to the uninitiated.
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The Fortunes of Indigo Skye
Just over a year ago, I met Deb Caletti at Halfway Down the Stairs. She's a blast -- genuine, mildly insane (in the best possible way), a screaming hoot, and able to captivate high school kids for longer than the average TV show. Indigo Skye captures all that Debness and wraps it in a knockout premise: 18-year-old waitress gets REALLY BIG tip. With that combo, you can't lose. Quibbles:
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I love that book
Love to eat it in one sitting
(Review inspired by Mr. Walter Dean Myers, and Jack.)
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The Dead and the Gone
Better than Life as We Knew It? That's hard for me to say objectively. (You may recall wasn't all that crazy about LAWKI in the first place.) Pro:
Con:
Toss up:
Similarities:
In spite of my gripes, I have to admit that The Dead and the Gone is the type of sequel I like best: a completely new angle for a familiar premise. If, unlike me, you loved the first book, there's a darn good chance this one will capture you, too.
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The Adoration of Jenna Fox
