Friends with Boys, by Faith Erin Hicks

Courtesy of Google

I LOVED this book!  I always wished I had a brother or brothers.  J  I do gain one brother when I get married next year – admittedly it’s a little different, since I did not grow up with him. 

This graphic novel is about Maggie, who is about to attend her local high school after having been home-schooled her whole life.  She has three older brothers and has never really socialized with anyone but her family.  At school, she has to navigate a new environment and figure out how to make friends.  Friends with Boys is a great coming-of-age story with compelling characters.  I love the dynamic Maggie has with her family and how she handles high school. 

The art is fantastic! My fiancé read this as a web comic and later bought the trade paperback when it was released to support Ms. Hicks.  I could not put it down – I understand it was agonizing having to wait for each successive page.  ;) I recommend to teenagers and adults.  

Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume

Talk about books I haven’t read yet – hasn’t this one been out for more than twenty years??  Well, better late than never!  As a child, I made it through a few Judy Blume books; the Fudge books were favorites of mine, but I think I need to revisit and re-read Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret and Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself.  Perhaps I just did not relate to the title characters; to be honest, I cannot give a clear answer on why I did not read more of Judy Blume growing up. 

Courtesy of Google

I really enjoyed Tiger Eyes.  It is about Davey, a girl who is coming to terms with her father’s sudden death.  Her mother moves her and her brother temporarily to stay with relatives in the Southwest – far away from their home on the East Coast where the tragedy occurred.  Davey finds her aunt and uncle overbearing, overprotective and overeager to keep Davey preoccupied with activities and outings in their efforts to help her through her grief.  In other words, they’re well-meaning, but Davey is having none of it.  On the one hand, she is a typical teenager and wishes to assert herself and be more independent from the adults in her life.  She does a lot of soul-searching and we see her identity develop and grow throughout the course of the story.  On the other hand, she is dealing with serious trauma, and only she can work herself through it.  No one else can do it for her.  She mirrors her mother, who in handling her own grief becomes self-absorbed and distant from her family.

What struck me about this book is that the entire time I was reading it, it felt genuine.  There is nothing presumptuous or contrived about the story or the characters.  The motivations and actions taken by everyone are convincing and natural.  The dialogue is not forced.  The ongoing pain of loss and the concomitant acceptance of death are wrenching.

Recommended for teenagers and adults.

Truce, by Jim Murphy

Courtesy of Google

I did not know too much about World War I before I read this book aimed for young readers.  I think we barely scratched the surface of both the world wars in my history classes.  I do not think there is anything wrong, either, with an adult reading a children’s history book if one is looking for a simplified history of a previously unknown or seldom-studied topic.  Books aimed for children often provide a great introduction for the adult to various subject matter, especially that of science or history, which may be presented in a more complex manner in a book geared for adults. 

Jim Murphy elegantly tells the story of what is known as The Great War, focusing most of it on the events leading up to the famous Christmas Truce.  There are many photos and illustrations, and a useful map that helped me place where all the countries and trenches were in relation to each other.  His writing is truthful without going into too many of the gory details: I believe young children do not need to be exposed that soon to the terrible atrocities of war.  I recommend the book to anyone ten and up.

The Godfather, by Mario Puzo

Courtesy of Google

This is not a book for children.  Depending on the person, it might not even be a teenager’s cup of tea.  Having finished it a few weeks ago, I honestly do not know if I would have appreciated it as a teenager the way I do now.  As time has passed, I hesitate before I assign age ranges to books I read.  There are obviously books that should not be given to young people to read, and this is one of them.  But I would say an emotionally mature 15-year old could read and enjoy The Godfather. 

This story is not just about the Mafia as an organization, but about the men who are part of it.  The main characters are very complex, and the reader can see how they tread the line between what we believe to be good and evil.  On the one hand, we have these men who simply want to get by on life on their own terms: they’re quite entrepreneurial.  They also strongly value family and family life; their wives and children live comfortably and well.  On the other hand, their business practices are brutal and cold-blooded.  They do negotiate and to an extent are even reasonable, but fear is a weapon they wield with great skill and authority.   They have incredible power and connections: their footholds in various circles, whether they’re political, professional, or the general public, put an interesting spin on the importance of what we call “networking” today. 

It’s a fast-paced read that will keep a curious reader engaged from the start.  It’s a thriller, a romance, and a drama, and thought-provoking in every way.  It’s about human beings, their imperfections, and their triumphs.  If you’re in the mood to read about the mob, I recommend this one.

Back from Being AWOL

Hello, to anyone who comes across this blog in your browsing searches!  It's been a while, and I apologize.  I realize that bloggers need to provide a consistent stream of posts to keep people interested. Well, I obviously have not been doing that.

What was I doing?  Oh, this and that...life stuff.  Working. Getting my CPA license.  Reading books. Moving around.

This evening on my way home it hit me that I need to write more book reviews, because I hadn't written them in awhile, and I love doing them. I've read several books since the Shiver trilogy, and I am now getting around to staying better on top of my online presence and e-mail.

The goal is to put up a few new posts every month, in between work, reading, wedding planning, grocery shopping, and commuting.  It's taking me longer to read books these days, which will factor into how often I post.

I hope these reviews help those of you who are looking for something to read!

Shiver, Linger & Forever (the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy), by Maggie Stiefvater

Normally I do not go in for werewolf love stories, but these books were actually quite a fun read.  Grace lives right next to the woods, and for years she has watched and heard the wolves that roam the trees.  There is one particular wolf which Grace sees from her window quite often.  

Sam has a dual life: in the cold months he is a wolf, and in the warmer summer months he lives as a human.  When Grace and Sam meet for the first time, she is sure that he and the wolf she sees are one and the same.  But how can they stay together with Sam’s inevitable transformation come wintertime?

These are best read by readers 15 and up.   They’re lighter reads, but are better written than a lot of the other similar literature out there (Stiefvater also wrote The Scorpio Races, reviewed earlier this year—an excellent read).  I recommend it as an “instead of Twilight” series.  

The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling

All right, everyone- I am one of the biggest Harry Potter fans out there, which is why I put Harry Potter completely out of mind as I read Ms. Rowling’s new literary work. 

It is a very good read.  She is, as ever, and excellent writer, and despite the harshness and dark elements of her story, she draws you into the lives of her characters as skillfully as any good storyteller. 

It seemed to start out as a social satire, but as I read further I could see that there was a definite line of thinking that the author is pushing us, as readers, to pursue. 

I highly recommend this book: I enjoyed reading it and appreciate what Ms. Rowling is capable of, no matter how far off it is from her debut series!  That being said, THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN’S BOOK.  It is really for readers 16 and up.  It is not a beach read either: the subject matter is very heavy, so be in the right mindset when you read The Casual Vacancy.

Gone to Amerikay, by Derek McCulloch, Colleen Doran, José Villarubia Remember several posts back when I wrote about Mangaman (Barry Lyga)? Well, if you enjoyed Colleen Doran’s artistry as much as I did, you will not be disappointed in Gone to Amerikay. There are three storylines that intertwine as you follow the main characters from the beginning of the tale to its end. It is just as well-written as it is well-drawn. Find it at your local comic book shop!

Remember several posts back when I wrote about Mangaman (Barry Lyga)?  Well, if you enjoyed Colleen Doran’s artistry as much as I did, you will not be disappointed in Gone to Amerikay.  There are three storylines that intertwine as you follow the main characters from the beginning of the tale to its end.  It is just as well-written as it is well-drawn.  Also, Jose Villarubia is the colorist as he was for Gone to Amerikay!  Find it at your local comic book shop!

Get Jiro! By Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose, Langdon Foss, José Villarubia

Imagine if power was divided up among the best chefs in the area.  Get Jiro!, written by renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, envisions a future where if you are do not display the utmost loyalty to a given chef and constantly eat at his or her snazzy restaurant in what is supposed to be a future Los Angeles, your life is generally lacking.  But Jiro, a master sushi chef, is a quiet sort, who runs his restaurant out of a strip mall.  One day, the two rival chefs of the city learn of his existence and a race ensues in which they go to whatever extreme lengths necessary to get him on their respective sides…

This is a great read for readers 17 and up.  The artwork is amazing, and the concept is unlike anything I have ever heard of, which is why I picked it up in the first place.  Happy reading!

The 4th Stall, by Chris Rylander

What if a mafia was operating right out of your school bathroom?  Mac and his right-hand man Vince have a tidy operation going in the wing of the school that no one ever really frequents.  Their main objective?  Tickets to the Cubs game.  Their main problem?  It’s the one week where everyone has come to Mac with problems that might be too big for him to handle, and one of them is the school syndicate’s impending takeover by a local high school dropout.  Mac has some tough lessons to learn about biting off more than he can chew. 

I would recommend the The Fourth Stall to readers 12 and up.  The story deals with some serious situations.  What I like about it is that the main character is forced to make hard choices about what he’s doing and consider the ethical aspects of his decisions.  Boys may go in for this book more than girls, but I am always supportive of a person reading outside of his or her “comfort” zone.

Disclaimers!

All images courtesy of Google.com.

The opinions contained herein are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the opinions of Linden Tree Books (Los Altos, CA) nor the opinions of any of its employees.

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin

What if we lived in a time when caffeine and anything made with caffeine was illegal contraband?  Heaven forbid-I could not live without my tea and chocolate!!!  But this is the setting for our story: a world where the crime lords smuggle caffeinated food items from place to place.  Anya Balanchine is the teenage daughter of the Russian mafia’s now-dead boss, and she is trying to live as normal a life as possible in addition to taking care of her two siblings and passing high school.  But sometimes relatives just don’t leave well enough alone, especially when she is the perceived heir to the Balanchine legacy, and she finds herself entangled in her extended family’s doings.  Throw in the interesting new boy at school whose father happens to be the new assistant District Attorney (and intent on dismantling the big caffeine criminal organizations), and you’ve got yourself a quirky, fun read!  For ages 15 and up.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte & Jane, by April Lindner

Okay, here is the deal: read the original Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte first before you read April Lindner’s re-imagining of the story.  I first read Jane Eyre when I was 12 years old, and I LOVED it.  It was one of those days when I was done with all my library books and needed something new to read, and had to raid my mom’s and dad’s bookcase.  I did not have any problems understanding the language or the plot, and when I read it again a few years later for English class, I understood what was going on even better the second time.  I loved it!  In my mind, it's one of the greatest love stories ever told.  Jane by April Linder takes place in the 20^th century and substitutes a rock star for Mr. Rochester (appropriate, I think, since the original Mr. Rochester is a VIP in his own right) and is pretty much the same story, but for a teenage audience (15 and up).  It’s still a fun book, though, and what I would call a “beach read”.  

The Chaos Walking trilogy, by Patrick Ness

I have yet to read the final installment, but I can assure you that The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer are both incredible reads.  Patrick Ness has written a thrilling and thought-provoking science fiction trilogy that, to paraphrase his wording, raises questions about the amount of information available to us today and the ways in which it is controlled. Todd is the only boy left in his small town on a planet far away from the original Earth.  To become a man, Todd must undergo a kind of initiation ceremony, the details of which he is unaware.  What’s more, there are no women in this town, and all the men can hear each other’s thoughts 24/7.   Todd believes that the so-called “Noise” germ killed the women but only infected the men when they arrived on this planet.  He has been brought up by two men he calls his uncles, and one day, soon before he is to become a man, they tell him to take  run away to the next town and find other people, because the leader of the town has a very sinister objective in mind.  On the way, he discovers a crash-landed spaceship…and a girl, still alive.  Todd has never seen a girl before.  He knows he cannot leave her behind.  Furthermore, he cannot hear her thoughts at all…but she can hear his.  For readers 14 and up (there is violence, but it is not gratuitous).  

Bossypants, by Tina Fey

As I read Tina Fey’s memoir, I sometimes could not help wondering if I was reading a memoir about Liz Lemon as written by Tina Fey or the other way around.  It made me laugh out loud, and you can enjoy reading about the life and escapades of Tina Fey even if you are unfamiliar with the show “30 Rock” or, as I am, Saturday Night Live.  (Gasp-where have I been???  Oh, right…reading.)  Readers 16 and up will probably enjoy Bossypants most (especially if they already like Tina Fey) and be able to appreciate the humor, no matter whether you are male or female (I lent the book to my boyfriend and he really like it).  

A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin

I am not ashamed to admit that it takes me about 2 to 3 weeks to read each book in this epic fantasy series, because each tome is really heavy (literally and story-wise) and clock in at around 800 pages (on average)!  And George R. R. Martin has not even finished writing them. These books are excellent, and you do not have to like fantasy in order to enjoy reading them.  However, they are strictly for the 16-17 and up audience, and even then I would tread cautiously; just because I myself have been reading the books since I was 16 does not mean that everyone can or should.  These stories have everything in it, and by that I mean everything.  There are many themes and situations that may be disturbing to some readers.  The series is basically about a country on the edge of war; a usurper king has an unstable rule over the seven lands of Westeros, and plots and intrigues are rife throughout the kingdom and across the sea in the Eastern lands.  Triggering events pit people against each other even as new bonds are forged and old ones are renewed.  The story is told by various different characters, and the relationships among the different families and the histories of this world are vast and complex.  At a certain point, the reader just has to “go with it” and keep the books near at hand in order to refer to them about previous events.  Great storytelling and complex characters make for an engrossing, thrilling read!

Scary Godmother: Comic Book Stories, by Jill Thompson

This is a truly delightful collection of stories about Hannah Marie and her friends who live on the Fright Side of her bed.  It’s perfect for boys and girls 10 and up (and their parents and/or older siblings) who enjoy funny, spooky stories that are not too scary.  The artwork is whimsical and amazing to look at; it took me a week to read this book (almost unheard of; I am usually the one who finishes a book in a few days) because I spent a lot of time appreciating the artwork and examining the beautiful detail in all the panels.  People my age and older may be more familiar with Jill Thompson’s contributions to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, so if you have not yet checked out Scary Godmother, I recommend it!  Find it at your local comic book shop!

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

First of all, I have to say that I really, really hope Jacqueline Kelly writes another book about Calpurnia Tate, because I don’t think her story is yet finished.  It is 1899, and Calpurnia Tate is 11 ¾ and not your typical turn-of-the-century girl.  Calpurnia Tate is spunky and would much rather spend her time outside finding bugs and plants with her grandfather than inside learning how to sew a straight seam, cook, and do other domestic activities.  Give her credit for trying though!  She does at least attempt all of these things, with mixed results (but it makes Mother happy).  It’s a time of scientific progress and around the time that the theory of evolution is just gaining ground, and Calpurnia wants to be a part of that.  Calpurnia also narrates the story and, like Jerusha Abbott in Daddy-Long-Legs, is very witty and has a great sense of humor.  If a book makes me laugh aloud, and this one did, I usually determine it to be a good read.   Calpurnia reminds me of such favorite characters of mine as Amber Brown, Ramona, Clementine, and Scout.  This is an excellent story for ages 10 and up, and parents should enjoy it, too!

Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs is an epistolary novel (a novel told in letters or diary entries) that takes place in the early part of the 20^th century.  Now Amazon has posted a School Library Journal summary that suggests this book is for 9^th grade and up, but I disagree.  I think a 10- or an 11-year old could read it, and in fact, I have met 10- and 11-year olds that have read it.  Jerusha Abbott has a mysterious benefactor who pays for her college education, on the condition that he remains anonymous and that Jerusha write him once a month to tell him of her progress.  Since Jerusha is quite sure she saw the back of him as he left the orphanage where she grew up, she decides to nickname him Daddy-Long-Legs.  Jerusha is a spunky, intelligent girl who has a sharp sense of humor and displays wisdom beyond her years, and I absolutely loved this book.  It is an especially good read for girls and young women.  It is lighthearted but at the same time thought-provoking.

Bunheads, by Sophie Flack

This was a pretty good read about a young ballerina who wishes to rise in her company.  At the same time, she is starting to question all the time and effort she puts in, and the fact that her life truly is not her own, but given over to the dance.  As such, I have it on good word from a friend of mine who used to be a professional ballerina that this is probably not the best book to give a girl or guy who is actually a ballet dancer, or a former one.  After she looked at it, she determined that it was “too close to the real thing”.  SO, I think it is safe to say that this is a good book for those of us who love and/or would like to learn about the life offstage.  It gave me a very healthy appreciation for what these artists give of themselves in order to perfect their craft and create the magic of such favorites of mine as “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker”.  I suggest 15 and up as the best age at which to read this book, since the main character does deal with or encounter certain situations (e.g. eating disorders and sexuality).