Click on the badge in the right sidebar titled ‘2010 Debut Author Challenge’–I found this blog whilst, well, searching other blogs, and it is amazing! Beyond the actual challenge aspect, the author of the blog does a FANTASTIC job of reviewing (extremely) current young adult literature. I will most definitely be referencing this blog frequently. Please visit the site–The Story Siren— and consider participating in the challenge!
I bought this book months ago–right before I got my Kindle–and right AFTER I got my Kindle, reading books ‘the old fashioned way’ seemed so 20th century…so I didn’t even pick this book up again until last night. And I’ve already finished it–so that says a lot!
This is the story of a girl named Vassar Spore–in case you didn’t know, Vassar is an extremely competitive college in New York (state, not city); the character was ‘named after’ this college. Her mother is a life coach and her father is an efficiency expert, and she states her main life goals in the first chapter, which include but are not limited to graduating with a 5.3 GPA (this is actually possible–I looked it up) getting in to ACTUAL Vassar, and marrying a surgeon or lawyer. She’s almost–ok totally–unbelievable as a character in the first third of the book. But she’s forced to loosen up–and thus becomes more believable–when her grandmother blackmails her parents into letting Vassar (well, MAKING Vassar, really) accompany her on a summer-long trip through Southeast Asia.
I really liked this book–as I’ve said, I read it in less than one day–but am interested to hear if actual teenagers like it at all. It seems like the kind of story you need a little life perspective to appreciate, but then again, a lot of young adults have much more life experience and perspective than I do, and I’m an ‘old lady’! To be fair, I cannot imagine anywhere I’d less like to visit than Southeast Asia, but halfway through this book I found myself google image searching the ruins of Angkor Wat (which is in Cambodia–I’d already checked out my globe to locate Cambodia!). It looks like this…
Maybe this is a trip I will take some day. And if a book can get me to want to visit Cambodia, well, that’s some book!
Well, I finally finished reading Linger. I think my reluctance to finish it was because, well, I didn’t want to finish it. And not because it was so awful I couldn’t continue, but because I knew that once it was over, it was over. At least for a very long time, until the third book comes out. Yes, that’s right, the third book. I should have known–I should have assumed, or done simple research on the author’s web page (which I did immediately after reading the last word of Linger). The third book, which I can only assume is in the ‘being written’ stage (sob!), is called Forever, and there’s not even a google image available of what the cover might look like. I am inconsolable. But it will give me something to look forward to…for a very long time!
Linger was very, very good. As I mentioned in a previous post, it did take me a while to get used to so many different points of view–there are four different points of view in Linger, two more than in the first book, Shiver. I really want to know if this point of view ‘shifting’ was done on purpose, to make some larger statement or, perhaps more accurately, to give the feeling of, well, shifting, that you should get from reading this book; for those of you who have not read either yet, I use the word ‘shifting’ because that is what the wolves do–they shift. It is a werewolf story, after all. If this shifting of perspectives was purposeful, it was also masterful.
The story itself went far beyond what I would have thought possible at the beginning of Shiver–but it is so interesting, with such great (and different from each other) characters, that it makes for one great read. I only have one copy available, and two people are already waiting to read it, but when they are done, feel free to ask me to borrow it. Or wait until July 20th…though I certainly couldn’t!
I just finished reading Beautiful Creatures–as in just now, this very minute. And all I can think is something along the lines of ‘pfffff’. ‘Pffff’, in case you were wondering, is the sound of me pushing my eyebrows together, frowning, and blowing air through my grimacing mouth. I really, really liked this book. It had everything I’m looking for in a book–characters who are at once believable and utterly unrealistic, a great setting that simply HAD TO be, love, magic, mystery–it is a great book. But then ending…pfffff. I just don’t know. I just…don’t know.
I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone interested in reading it–and I will buy a copy for my classroom before the end of the break (this was the first book I read entirely on my Kindle, which is difficult as I have so many previews on there–but that’s a topic for another post.) But a basic summary is…ahem…boy dreams of girl, boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl (or was he in love with her all along?), boy finds out there’s something very…different…about girl. Chaos ensues.
If you are a fan of history–and even if you are not–you will appreciate the flashbacks that tie past and present together in an interesting way. If you are a fan of romance, you will not be disappointed, but if you’re NOT a fan of romance, you won’t be grossed out, either. At no point do anyone’s eyes smolder, like they do in some other books…cough….Twilight…cough.
Read this. It is worth it. Even with the ‘pffff’ factor.
Great news–the books I ordered last year to add to my classroom library have arrived! This is bookshelf one of two that I just filled with new titles for you guys (and girls) to check out. Stop by my room tomorrow during homeroom for the the best selection.
This is your typical girl meets boy story. There’s only one complication-the boy is dead. Please note, this was written BEFORE Twilight (and Hush, Hush, and Shiver, and all of the other ‘I’m in love with a supernatural creature’ books came out).
How would you feel about the idea of e-readers being available to you in the classroom? I realize if you are a student reading this blog, you are likely already a reader yourself, but do you think that having some form of electronic book ‘gaget’ –for lack of a better term–would encourage you to read more? Do you think it would encourage some of your not-so-much-a-reader friends to read more? In what ways would it help encourage reading–or, alternately, why do you think it would not help? In my opinion, one of the main benefits is the fact that you can’t physcially see how long the book really is, and you moniter your progress in ‘percentage complete’ (at least that’s how it works on my Kindle), which kind of reminds me of some forms of video games. But I realize that my opinion is often just that–an opinion–and is often incorrect. Any thoughts?
I’m currently reading two different books, depending upon where I am. At home I’m still reading Linger, the sequel to Shiver that I was–and still am–very excited about. When I’m anywhere else, I’m reading Beautiful Creatures on my K
indle. I started reading it as a preview, and when the preview ended, I bought it immediately.
So far I really like Linger, and I’m extremely glad I was able to get an advanced copy. I feel terrible for the people who finished Shiver and have to wait until the summer to get the next book–but then again, I guess it is oddly appropriate to have to wait until the weather changes. If you’ve read the book, you understand. And if you haven’t–read the book! I like Linger, but it is getting kind of hard to follow. It is told from four different points of view–Grace and Sam, as in Shiver, and now Isabel and Cole, two ‘new’ characters–though Isabel was in Shiver, she didn’t play as big a role. The changing back and forth from point of view to point of view is a bit disorienting, but again, if this is on purpose–the ‘shifting’ of points of view, if you will–then it is genius. Again, if you’ve read the book, you’ll understand.
Beautiful Creatures is my ideal book–it is at once extremely realistic and completely fantasy. I. Love. It. As I mentioned, I started reading it as a preview on my Kindle–a fantastic option that has kept me out of the coffee shop at the book store for over a month now (that’s where I used to sit and preview books), and as soon as I realized the ideal-ness, I bought it. I promise I will also buy a hard copy for my classroom. It is told in first person, from Ethan’s point of view. He’s a typical guy, but not really, because no guys (or girls) are ‘typical’; he dream-meets a girl who he finds out is the niece of the town shut-in, and odd things continue to happen to him, mainly involving terrible rain and a very mysterious song that I’ve not figured out the point of yet; again, I’m only maybe a quarter of the way through the book. But I’m enjoying it very much and will strongly recommend it.
I will review both of these books in full as soon as I’ve finished one or both. But they are definitely worth checking out.
I realized that since I’m in charge of this blog, I can write anything I want…as long as it has to do with books and/or reading (I even make rules for myself–odd!) So I thought I’d post a question–are there books that you would recommend to others to read, either to me or to other kids? I am currently ordering books for next year’s classroom library, and I’d love some suggestions. So…suggestions anyone?
I truly believe the title says it all. This is the story of a girl trying to find her place as a normal and imperfect human being in a world where perfection is overly important to others. This book is very real but also very funny. It is one of my all-time favorites. Carolyn Mackler–the author–has several other good books, too.
The Teacher Shelf 