InterWorld

Interworld
by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
YA fantasy. 239 pp.
Eos. 2007.

back copy:

Joey Harker isn't a hero.

In fact, he's the kind of guy who gets lost in his own house.

But one day, Joey gets really lost. He walks straight tout of his world and into another dimension.

Joey's walk between worlds makes him prey to armies of magic and science, both determined to harness Joey's power to ravel between the dimensions. The only thing standing in their way is Joey—or, more precisely, an army of Joeys, all from different dimensions and all determined to save the worlds.

Now Joey must make a choice: return to the life he knows or join the battle to the end.

I enjoyed this book. What I found most intriguing was the alternate reality in which it played out. Essentially, every time a significant decision has to be made, a world splits, each of the two worlds following the path of one of the opposing decisions. That said, the realm of worlds exist on a plane that shifts from magic to science, the bulk of the worlds residing in that center space.

So when Joey inadvertently Walks between worlds, flags are set off as the civilizations existing at the extremes vie to capture Joey (and the other Joeys) to harness his essence to conquer the universe. Through this all, Joey must learn who he is and who he wants to be. (This summary doesn't do the story any justice at all, which I guess would explain why the authors had difficulty summarizing it to pitch it to television producers. A crying shame, really, because this would serialize fantastically.)

Joey is extremely likable. He's flawed in believable ways but emotionally endearing. Whereas the conflict in the plot does seem to stem from his decisions, it wasn't the kind of conflict where I spent the bulk of my time muttering about how stupid he was. I don't know how much of the writing was Gaiman's and how much was Reaves', but I'm starting to understand why people praise it so. (Which makes me look forward to reading Coraline now that I have it.)

As a complete and utter side note . . . Remember how Gaiman won the Newbery this year for Graveyard Book? I found a new reason to love Gaiman after reading his blog post about his experience:

You are on a speakerphone with at least 14 teachers and librarians and suchlike great, wise and good people, I thought. Do not start swearing like you did when you got the Hugo. This was a wise thing to think because otherwise huge, mighty and fourletter swears were gathering. I mean, that's what they're for. I think I said, You mean it's Monday?

"You can tell your agent and your publisher, but no-one else," said Rose. "And it will be announced in about an hour."

And I fumfed and mumbled and said something of a thankyouthankyouthankyouokaythiswasworthbeingwokenupfor nature.

Then I phoned my agent and my publisher, both of whom seemed to have intuited my news already through secret methods, but it may have just been that I was calling them on this particular Monday morning (and, in retrospect, someone must have phoned someone to get my home phone number). (Merrilee-my-agent: "You didn't start swearing, did you?" Me: "No." Her: "Oh good.")

Something Rotten

Don't forget about our Twelfth Night Celebration this coming Monday.

Something Rotten
by Jasper Fforde
Fantasy. 383 pp.
Penguin. 2004.

back copy:

Detective Thursday Next has had her fill of her responsibilities as the Bellman in Jurisfiction. Packing up her son, Friday, Thursday returns to Swindon accompanied by none other than the dithering Danish prince Hamlet. But returning to SpecOps is no snap—as outlaw fictioneer Yorrick Kaine plots for absolute power, the return of Swindon's patron saint foretells doom, and if that isn't bad enough, back in the Book World The Merry Wives of Windsor is becoming entangled with Hamlet. Can Thursday find a Shakespeare clone to stop this hostile takeover? Can she vanquish Kaine and prevent the world from plunging into war? And, most important, will she ever find reliable childcare? Find out in this totally original, action-packed romp, sure to be another escapist thrill for Jasper Fforde's legion of fans.

Completed July 19.

It has been well-established that I lurves me some Fforde. This has been my least favorite book in the series. Not that that's bad—it's still Fforde and it's still the brilliant world he's created. But I think I might be burning out a bit on it. I think that's why I just recently finally started the fifth novel in the series. Regardless, you should read The Eyre Affair so that you too can fall in love with the series.

Swish

Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever
by Joel Derfner
Personal essay. 255 pp.
Broadway. 2008.

flap copy:

Joel Derfner is gayer than you. Don't feel too bad about it, though, because he has made being gayer than you his life's work. At summer day camp when he was six, Derfner tried to sign up for needlepoint and flower arranging, but the camp counselors wouldn't let him because, they said, those activities were for girls only. Derfner, just to be contrary, embarked that very day on a solemn and sacred quest: to become the gayest person ever. Along the way he has become a fierce knitter, an even fiercer musical theater composer, an so totally the fiercest step aerobics instructor (just ask him—he'll tell you himself).

In Swish, Derfner takes his readers on a flamboyant adventure along the glitter-strewn road from fabulous to divine. Whether he's confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the Internet to "meet" men—many, many men—or plunging headfirst (and nearly naked) into the shady world of go-go dancing, he reveals himself with every gayer-than-thou flourish to be not just a stylish explorer but also a fearless one. So fearless, in fact, that when he sneaks into a conference for people who want to cure themselves of their homosexuality, he turns the experience into one of the most fascinating, deeply moving chapters of the book. Derfner, like King Arthur, Christopher Columbus, and Indiana Jones—but with a better haircut and a much deeper commitment to fad diets—is a hero destined for legend.

Written with wicked humor and keen insight, Swish is at once a hilarious look at contemporary ideas about gay culture and a poignant exploration of identity that will speak to all readers—gay, straight, and in between.

To say that I loved this book would be a bit of an understatement. Such joy and amusement while reading. (If you ask Dec, too much joy and amusement, otherwise he wouldn't have told me to be quiet so he could sleep or concentrate on his sudoku.) Derfner has a voice and attitude rather similar to Dan Savage, and I think we all know how much I love Savage. When it comes down to it, Derfner is a good cross between Savage (wit and wisdom) and Sedaris (narrative storytelling).

And when you read other reviews where they talk about how Derfner manages to carry you over a multitude of emotions, it's true. Really, the book was quite good in capturing a range of feelings and experience and juxtaposing them against unexpected backdrops. For example, the chapter about the ex-gays included an insightful discussion of the differences in forgiveness in the Jewish and Christian traditions and what it means to love one's self. Or this snippet from the chapter about teaching aerobics:

"What would you say being gay means to you?" my sociology-student friend had asked.

I had thought for a long time before saying, "It's nothing, and it's everything."

Yes, being gay is just one of a thousand thousand traits that make up my character, no more remarkable than my love of M&M's or my ability to mess up a room in fifteen seconds flat or my failure to understand the appeal of Luke and Owen Wilson.

But I believe that the desire to love and be loved is the strongest force on earth. And in that way, being gay affects every interaction in which I take part—just as being straight affects every interaction in which straight people take part. Every human motive is in the end a yearning for companionship, and every act of every person on this planet is an effort not to be alone. (129)

When all is said and done, Derfner is a pleasant read, with plenty of humor mixed in with thoughts and lessons about life, insecurity, self-worth, and love.

Other reviews:
Hawley Blog | Bilerico Project

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
by J. K. Rowling
MG fantasy. 111 pp.
Levine. 2008.

back copy:

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger's new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot," "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," "Babbitty Rabitty and Her Cackling Stump," and of course, "The Tale of the Three Brothers." But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter.

I'm glad that Rowling is not letting the Harry Potter universe fade away. As I've noted before, I'm not overly fond of Harry himself, but I do like the universe in which he exists. So I'm glad we get some of the fairy tales that form the core of that universe. I'm pleased that we get Dumbledore's commentary with them; he's so much more likable than Harry.

The illustrations are the primary drawback I see to these books; I so very much prefer Mary GrandPré's style to Rowling's. (And can anyone explain the actual anatomy of the horse on page 70? I mean, is his leg supposed to be an extension of his neck? It's a minor thing, but it troubles me.)

One False Note

The 39 Clues: One False Note
by Gordon Korman
MG fiction. 174 pp.
Scholastic. 2008.

back copy:

The race is on to find 39 Clues that safeguard a great power, and fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, are shocked to find themselves in the lead. The search seems to be taking them to Vienna, and they hold a coded piece of Mozart's sheet music that's key to finding the next Clue. But tailed by a pack of power-hungry relatives, Amy and Dan can't see if they are sailing toward victory—or straight into a deadly trap.

When I reviewed the first book in the series, I complained about the alternating first-person chapters, because I hated being in Amy's head. Fortunately, Korman has moved the story to third person, which works a lot better for me as a reader (even if I'm not fond of third-person omniscient or Korman's frequent shifts in character POV throughout the novel). I think it also works better for the story. There's something to be said for following the mystery while observing the action as opposed to being the action.

Korman downplayed much of the historical tidbittery of Mozart. Whereas this helped move the action along more smoothly, I miss the fleshing out of the historical character.

Perhaps the greatest improvement Korman has brought to the series is the diminished role of the Cahill cousins. I think it was important to get some heavy exposure to them in the first book, especially considering that they're the antagonists of the series. But I like not having to focus on so many of them all the time.

In the end, I'm really liking the way the series is progressing and developing. The multiple authors are going to provide some variety, and right now I'm okay with that. (We'll see how I like it after the third book, considering that I already love reading Riordan and Korman.)

Other review:
Help Readers Love Reading

What I Saw and How I Lied

What I Saw and How I Lied
by Judy Blundell
YA historical fiction. 281 pp.
Scholastic. 2008.

flap copy:

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was rally a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between loyalty to her parents and feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?

After my experience with Chains, I was not looking forward to continuing forward with the NBA finalists, especially considering that I've been avoiding the Lockhart book since its release. Fortunately, when the NBAs were announced, What I Saw came out as the winner.

Then I started the book. Despite an intriguing opening scene, I feared I was in for more blah. The beginning is slow. The initial looks at the characters are as through a dirty window. The setting and atmosphere are okay, but nothing to shake a stick at.

But then it kicks in. And the book is good. More than anything, Evie turns out to be phenomenal. Her growth and development is unexpected and wonderful. You watch her do hard things, impressed that she's actually able to do them. And yet she redeems herself so that you're not as worried about who she might become.

I really liked this book in the end. I liked the characterization and the setting, especially as Blundell managed to turn post-War Florida into a character itself. So I'm pleased it won the NBA, spurring me to read it.

Other reivews:
Becky's Book Reviews | YA Books Central | The Virtual Loft

Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-Man by Night

Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-Man by Night
by A. E. Cannon
YA fiction. 133 pp.
Delacorte. 1988.

flap copy:

Cal Cameron, high school jock and superhero comic book fanatic, is an insider at Scenic View High School. He's popular and he does the "right things." But Cal's life isn't as perfect as it looks. His cranky old granddad practically lives in Cal's back pocket, and Cal resents his brilliant sci-fi nut brother whose friends go to restaurants dressed as their favorite science-fiction characters. It is his emotionally distant father, with whom Cal has nothing in common, who saddens him the most.

But at the beginning of his junior year, cal's popular facade disappears. his heart isn't in anything—not even football. It's a time of crisis for Cal Cameron.

Enter Marti Jeffs, who has legs "like Charles Atlas" and isn't ashamed of them. Brand-new at Scenic View High, Marti doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks about her. Cal, who has made a career of being "in," is fascinated by Marti. They become friends, but Cal is careful to pursue their relationship away from high school because Marti is so unlike Cal's friends, and around her Cal acts like a different person. Cal feels as though he's leading a double life—Cal Cameron by day, Spider-Man™ by night.

This provocative and engaging novel, winner of the Fifth Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding Young Adult Novel, introduces a remarkable, appealing hero, and A. E. Cannon, a highly original and witty writer.

I have a tendency to be rather forthcoming with my thoughts about the books I read. Occasionally, I have thoughts about how unabashed I may have been. For example, sometimes an author will come across my blog. When that happens, I reread what I've written about their book. With the most recent time this has happened, I reread the review to discover that I didn't say anything positive about the book. And I felt bad about that, because the book wasn't bad; it was just mediocre. But more than that, I felt bad because I've met this author before (maybe a couple times even) and she is wonderful and nice. So I decided that I would remedy this by reading one of her other books.

Hence Cal Cameron. I'm actually a bit surprised that I hadn't read this particular book before, but I'm glad I hadn't. You see, it's nice to come across something that is older. It's oddly refreshing. It's nice to have a story that's told rather straight forwardly. It's nice to have normal characters who aren't riddled with dysfunction and abnormality. The writing is good. The characterization is good. Actually, this is how good the characterization is—Cannon actually got me to be sympathetic toward and like a quarterback. That in and of itself is a feat worth commending. I really like how she walked us through his growth to where he becomes a better, truly likable person.

Fobby tells me that he thinks I'll also like Charlotte's Rose, despite my strong misgivings toward pioneer stories. (Really, if you have read as many pioneer manuscript submissions as I have, you'd have your misgivings about pioneer stories as well. Just ask DesMama.) So maybe I'll pick that one up sometime soon.

Mothstorm

Mothstorm; or, The Horror from Beyond Uranus Georgium Sidus; or, A Tale of Two Shapers: A Rattling Yarn of Danger, Dastardy and Derring-Do upon the Far Frontiers of British Space!
As Told by Art Mumby, Esq. (with the Usual Interpolations by Miss Myrtle Mumby) to Mr Philip Reeve (Purveyor of Scientific Romances to the Discerning Gentry) & Illuminated Throughout by Mr David Wyatt ('The Devonshire Da Vinci')
MG fantasy. 387 pp.
Bloomsbury. 2008.

flap copy:

Say it isn't so! A sinister cloud has appeared on the edge of the Known Universe, and it seems to be moving closer. The nearest planer, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary reverend Cruet and his daughter, Charity. Their last communication? 'Great danger—imperative that—' And then nothing. To determine the nature of the threat and rescue the Cruets, Art, Myrtle and family decide to bravely go where only one man and his daughter have gone before.

But the mothy evils they discover within the monstrous cloud are far beyond anything their imaginations could concoct (and that's saying quite a lot). Lucky, then, that Jack Havock is hot on their heels to help in battle to save the Universe . . . again.

So, after much waiting, I finally got my book. Not from the Devil's Den, mind you, but from your good old-fashioned neighborhood independent bookstore.

Really, there's not much to say about Mothstorm that hasn't been said about the previous two books in the series. I enjoy the voice and writing. I enjoy the story and the alternative world the author has created. It all just makes me quite happy.

If anything, I'm just disturbed that I can't seem to come across any reviews of it online. That's just not right. It must needs be more popular than it is.

Out of Patience

Out of Patience
by Brian Meehl
YA fiction. 292 pp.
Delacorte. 2006.

flap copy:

Twelve-year-old Jake Waters is mortified by his dad's dream of opening the American Toilet Museum. Jake's heard enough about antique toilet seats, royal chamber pots, and vintage plumbers. Toilets have caused enough turmoil in Patience, Kansas, already.

You see, Patience is cursed. Has been ever since 1877, when Jeremiah Waters installed the first flush toilet west of the Mississippi. The Dolphin Deluge Wash-Down Water Closet caused a mighty big stink, and since then Patience has been drying up like a cow pie in August. Sure, Jake likes playing work-up baseball with his pals Howie and Sira, but he's tired of waiting for the curse to finish off their tiny town.

Jake wants out of Patience.

Sure enough, when Jake's father brings an ancient relic back home for his museum, it triggers the curse's last promise: "The day the Plunger of Destiny returns, the final destruction begins!" As clouds of doom gather, Jake is torn between the urge to run and the desire to do the one thing that might save Patience: solve the mystery of what happened the day Jeremiah Waters last sat in the water closet of doom.

Join Jake and his friends as they try to flush out the truth in Brian Meehl's twisted tale of pipe dreams and toilet trouble.

I got this book a while ago because it sounded quirky and fun. Then it ended up on the To Read Pile of Doom, and eventually settled down to the point where it finally winded up shelved and unread. While I was shelving the books I've bought and read in the last few months, I remembered that I had this book as I put Suck It Up, also by Meehl, in its place. This weekend, because I finished a couple books and Mothstorm still hadn't come in from the Devil's Den and I was just having a hard time getting into Inkdeath, I decided to pick this off the shelf.

I'm so glad I did.

Out of Patience is delightfully quirky in the same way that Holes is quirky, though not quite as complicated. And what's not to love about a story that revolves around the history of toilets and plungers and a bizarre curse? Where the local baseball team gets up for the Seventh Inning Stench as the trucks from the local fertilizer company drive by making their deliveries? The characters are realistic and truly likable. I think this is something Meehl does well, as I compare his two books. He creates protagonists that are quirky and lovable and who you really want to succeed.

Anyway, I recommend this book to those who enjoyed Suck It Up or Holes.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
YA fiction. 312 pp.
HarperCollins. 2008.

flap copy:

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.

There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breath-taking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

There is, apparently, this cult of Neil Gaiman out there. I only know this because every now and again I hear whispers of this master who must be worshiped and adored. Having never read anything by him previously, and seeing this book in the Devil's Den, I asked Sean where I should begin. Of course, he hadn't finished Graveyard yet, so he recommended something else. But then I saw that he loved and adored this book, so I got it.

I must confess to being very pleased with this book. It has a slow start as far as pacing goes, but the writing really is quite lovely. And the characters are drawn rather well. I like the layout, with the novel being composed of a number of short stories that tie together to reveal the overarching plot and denouement. Overall, it works quite nicely. And I think it is also a rather appropriate seasonal book.

Now, if you're into audiobooks, Gaiman apparently narrates the official audio. Or you can even go to his site and download video of him reading the entire novel while on his book tour.

Other reviews:
Books & Other Thoughts | Cecily | Boingboing

My Most Excellent Year

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park
by Steve Kluger
YA fiction. 403 pp.
Dial. 2008.

flap copy:

TCKeller: What's "flap copy" anyway?
AugieHwong: It's what they put on a book jacket to tell you what's inside, you rock-head. We can use the one from Liza Minnelli's bio as a template.
TCKeller: Or not.
AlePerez: This is positively mortifying. They were just supposed to be classroom essays! I can't believe the entire world is about to find out how I played Anthony like a violin for five months.
TCKeller: I let you do that. Hey, why don't we open the flap with a quote about the 1918 Red Sox—
AugieHwong: No way, dude. If you're looking for a warm-up act, we open with Bette Davis in All About Eve.
AlePerez: Hello? Jacqueline Kennedy would be a far more appealing, not to mention intelligent, choice. Besides, I outrank both of you.
TCKeller: Oh,yeah? I have a Carlton Fisk rookie card.
AugieHwong: I have Angela Lansbury's autograph.
AlePerez: I have a Secret Service agent.
TCKeller: Guys! Why don't we just forget the flap copy and start at the very beginning?
AugieHwong: A very good place to start . . .

This was such an enjoyable book. Really. I found myself entertained throughout. The flap copy doesn't really tell you much about the plot. Part of that is because what really matters in this book is the characters. Fortunately, unlike the award-winning atrocity that is Criss Cross, this character-driven book has well-drawn characters who you can actually like. It also has wit and heart. As another blog I came across at one point (but can't find now) put it, this is a book about the family you're born with and the family you choose. T.C. and Tick are best friends. Actually, they're more than best friends; they're brothers. And they decided that when they were in first grade some time after T.C.'s mom died: ". . . that's when I knew for sure that I wouldn't be sad forever. Well, anybody who can pull off something like that for you isn't just a best friend—that's brother territory. So Augie told his mom and dad that they had a new son, and I told Pop the same thing. Screw biology."

Anyway, so the book employs various forms to narrate the story, including diary-assignment passages, memos, e-mails, IM logs, and what not. And there's just a lot of good stuff in here. Even when considering how improbable a lot of the book may seem, it still has an authenticity that makes it believable. That's also assuming you ignore the first and last few chapters where the characters reveal they're writing this memoir as a junior-year writing assignment about their freshman year yet the rest of the book is essentially written with present-tense knowledge instead of past-tense knowledge.

One of the criticisms that I've seen crop up is about the lack of drama with Augie's coming out:

I must further confess that although I consider Augie a delightful character, I found one aspect of his coming out a bit implausible. Everyone around him greets his being gay with complete acceptance. This is very nice to see, but really? No one from school gives him a hard time? There's no weirdness from the male best friend with whom he regularly shares a room? Still, I do love the way Augie is open about his feelings, and notices everything about Andy

Except, well, T.C.'s words:

I'm five weeks older than Augie is but he's a lot smarter than I am, except that he doesn't know he's gay yet. I don't see how he couldn't. I guess he figures that because he loves women like Audrey Hepburn and Judi Dench so much, he's automatically going to wind up with one. (Shh. What he really loves is their clothes.) But Augie is the best at everything he does and I'm betting that once he puts 2+2 together, he'll have a steady boyfriend before I even get this new girl Alejandra to think about kissing me. (22)

Anyway. It's an enjoyable read with plenty of humor and good writing and not so much angst.

Other reviews:
The Ya Ya Yas | Jen Robinson's Book Page

The Last Apprentice: Wrath of the Bloodeye

The Last Apprentice: Wrath of the Bloodeye
by Joseph Delaney
YA fantasy. 511 pp.
Greenwillow. 2008.

flap copy:

Thomas Ward has spent two years as the Spook's apprentice. He's faced unimaginable peril, and survived. But a new danger has emerged: an ancient water witch, Bloodeye, is roaming the County intent on destroying everything in her path. To strengthen his skills, Tom is sent to the far north to train with the demanding Bill Arkwright. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh, and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. Will Tom's new bag of tricks be enough to overcome a critical mistake that leaves him confronting Bloodeye on his own?

For starters, I'm not happy with the flap copy as it's quite misleading. The Fiend (a.k.a. the Devil) is roaming the County, intent on destroying everything in its path. And yes, it wants to destroy Tom, but it has its reasons for sending its daughter Bloodeye after Tom instead. And I really don't see the "critical mistake" that Tom makes. True, he makes a questionable choice, but it really isn't a mistake. Unless all choices that lead to difficult or trying circumstances are mistakes. I always figured that was just part of living life and growing.

Anyway. I love this series. The writing seems to improve with each book. Each book seems to have impeccable pacing, and I wonder how Delaney learned to do that. It must be a natural gift since I can think of no other author who consistently does that. The characters are so well portrayed, it's rather scary. Even his stock characters (you know, the ones that are supposed to be flat) have some dimension.

So, yeah. I like this series. Heaps. You should too.

Generation Dead

Generation Dead
by Daniel Waters
YA fiction. 392 pp.
Hyperion. 2008.

flap copy:

Phoebe is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He's strong and silent . . . and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic," they are doing their best to blend into society again.

But the kids at Oakvale High don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear—for good.

With her pale skin and goth wardrobe, Phoebe Kendall has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids: not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has realized that his feelings run much deeper than friendship. he would do anything for her—but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Since I'm still unwilling to pick up the Vampire Craptastica burdening my shelves, it makes perfect sense that I would instead pick up a book about zombies. I found this to be an intriguing book. For starters, I really like the premise—some teenagers are undead, and we have no idea why. I like that instead of being about popularity (like the other zombie books out there), this one is about social integration and community tolerance.

The writing is pretty good. The chapters are told in alternating perspectives, and it works in this novel. Even when the reader is thrown into the head of one of the antagonists (though I found him to be a rather pathetic person). The action is very slow moving in the book—probably intentional and appropriate, given the general portrayal of zombies herein. But the tension grew steadily throughout.

My major complaint with the book is that not a single story thread or conflict is resolved in this book. Not one. That irritates me. Yes, there's a sequel coming out in May, but that's no excuse not to resolve anything in this novel. Unless, of course, the author intended these other conflicts to be mere red herrings. If that's the case, I feel a bit betrayed as a reader.

One of the things I do like about this book is that Tommy has a blog. And unlike Suck It Up where the actual website merely bounces you back to the author's page, Tommy's blog is an actual blog.

Other reviews:
Miss Print | The Book Muncher | Teen Book Review | Persephone Reads | NYTimes

The Maze of Bones

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones
by Rick Riordan
MG fiction. 220 pp.
Scholastic. 2008.

back copy:

What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 Clues? What if you were give a chance—take a million dollars and walk away . . . or get the first Clue? If you're Amy and Dan Cahill, you take the Clue—and begin a very dangerous race.

This book is a little bit Westing Game meets DaVinci Code meets Baudelaire Orphans meets Harry Potter.

Westing Game. So Grace Hill, the last matriarch of the Cahill clan, in the last five minutes of her life decides to pull out The Other Will. Only a tenth of the people who attended the funeral are even invited to the reading of the will. Those who do attend are informed that they can take a million dollars or a clue that will lead to other clues that will lead someone on to become the most powerful person in the world. Oh, and did I mention that anyone in the history of the world who has even been a mover and a shaker is a Cahill? It's true. And this series will introduce readers to some of these people from the past.

DaVinci Code. So the whole point is to follow the clues and find the prize before any of the other teams. (Many of the readees took the money; those who took the clue may be working alone or in pairs or as a family totaling seven teams.) Our first Cahill that we're hunting down is Benjamin Franklin, which takes us to Philadelphia and then on to Paris. And there are riddles and puzzles and danger and all sorts of stuffs to confront.

Baudelaire Orphans. The book and the series (I presume) follow Amy and Dan Cahill. Their parents are dead (killed in a fire even). They're Grandma Grace's favorite descendants, even though she has pawned them off on their great aunt Beatrice and has never told them anything about the extent of their family or this little inheritance game. That they realize; I suspect she has been giving them information that they just don't realize they have. Because Grace is shrewd that way.

Harry Potter. The Cahill family has broken into four branches—Ekaterina, Janus, Lucian, and Tomas. The founders were siblings and apparently had a fairly nasty falling out. And their descendants do their best to maintain the rivalries.

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this book. Dog Ear claims the writing in it is better than Riordan's Percy Jackson series; I completely disagree. I think this book lacks some of the substance and wit that you find in Percy Jackson. I don't like the alternating chapter viewpoints in this book. I'm really not fond of Amy; her primary weakness is aggravating and unbearable, particularly since you have to live inside her head for half the book (I think I wouldn't mind it so much if I never had to be in her head). In some regards, Amy and Dan's traits are fairly gender stereotypical—quiet v. loud, books v. math, reserved v. pluck.

On the other hand, I love all the Benjamin Franklin stuff, and I'm looking forward to the W. A. M. in the next book. I'm fascinated by the premise behind the series and can't wait to see what Gordon Korman does with book two. (That said, I do think 90 days between release dates is too long to sustain interest in and build the series in the way that Scholastic wants to.) I'm intrigued to see how the series plays out as a whole. I like the online component and may actually participate in that and get cards. (And they tell you what branch of the family you're from. I'm Ekaterina, which is essentially the Ravenclaws. You know, the smart ones.) I like the anagrams and number games you find in the book.

Other reviews:
Dog Ear | Mystery Books

Saints of Augustine

Saints of Augustine
by P. E. Ryan
YA fiction. 308 pp.
HarperTeen. 2007.

flap copy:

Sam Findley and Charlie Perrin. Best friends. At least they used to be. But a year ago Sam cut Charlie out of his life—no explanation, no discussion, nothing.

Fast-forward one year, and both Sam's and Charlie's lives are spiraling out of control. Sam has a secret he's finding harder and harder to hide, and Charlie is dealing with an increasingly absent dad and a dealer whose threats are anything but empty.

As told in alternating chapters from Sam and Charlie during the sticky Florida summer before their senior year, the ex-best friends are thrown together once again when they have no one else to turn to.

Completed June 7

This was a slow book to get into, but in the end, I enjoyed it. It's not at the top of my to recommend list, because I really don't recall much more about it other than the impression that I appreciated how Ryan approached their friendship and the tension Sam brought to it because he wasn't able to own up to his homosexuality or how that would affect his friendship. In the end, it was a non-issue. However—and perhaps this is one of the thinking points for this novel—was it a non-issue because of who Charlie is or because of Charlie's own loneliness during the past year and his newfound appreciation for the what he and Sam had?

Saints of Augustine was a finalist for this year's Lambda Literary Award in the Children's/YA category. (Apparently Hero won the award; though I think this is the best book of the five titles in the running for the award in this category, I still don't think it should have been in this category. Coming-of-age story does not equal YA novel.)

Starcross

Starcross; or, The Coming of the Moobs; or, Our Adventures in the Fourth Dimension: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel, and Curious Hats
As Narrated by Art Mumby, Esq. (& Miss Myrtle Mumby) to Their Amanuensis, Mr Philip Reeve, & Illuminated Throughout by David Wyatt
MG fantasy. 370 pp.
Bloomsbury. 2007.

flap copy:

There is an old saying: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Take the holiday that Art Mumby, his mostly irritating younger sister, Myrtle, and their mother take to Starcross, a hotel which advertises itself as the finest sea-bathing resort in the entire Asteroid Belt. The fact that there are no seas anywhere in the Asteroid Belt should be the first sign that the place is not what it seems.

Sure enough, Art and family quickly find themselves grappling with French spies, Yankee rebels, and man-eating starfish, not to mention an awful lot of sinister top hats. With stops to the future and back to prehistoric Mars, it's all Art can do to keep his head about him. Which is all the more important, considering everyone else is losing theirs.

Starcross continues the Larklight saga, and it's every bit as enjoyable as the first one. What's especially nice is the quick pacing, especially from the get go. Of course, this is possible because the world has already been set up, and we know how to approach it. Art is still quite enjoyable in all his proper British stiff upper lipness.

I'm looking forward to Mothstorm's release on October 14.

Other reviews:
B. E.
Abby (the) Librarian

Attack of the Fiend

The Last Apprentice: Attack of the Fiend
by Joseph Delaney
YA fantasy. 532 pp.
Greenwillow. 2008.

flap copy:

I see your future clearly. Your master will be dead, and you will be alone. It would be better if you had never been born.

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who banishes boggarts and drives away ghosts. But now a new danger is threatening Tom's world: the witches are rising and the three most powerful clans are uniting in order to conjure an unimaginable evil.

Tom and the Spook set out to stop the witches before they unleash the demon. But when Tom finds himself on his own, he wonders if he has the courage and cunning to defeat the most powerful enemy he has ever encountered.

Completed April 19.

I find that this series gets better and better with each book. Unlike Harry Potter, Tom continues to grow and learn and piece things together on his own. Yes, he makes some poor decisions, but he's drawn in such a way that you care about his learning curve and the conflict he has with his emotions and his profession.

Ooh! I'm excited! I just discovered on Devils Den Online that the fifth book, Wrath of the Bloodeye, will be released August 26.

Thomas Ward has spent two years as the Spook's apprentice. He's faced unimaginable peril, and survived. But a new danger has emerged: an ancient water witch, Bloodeye, is roaming the County intent on destroying everything in her path. To strengthen his skills, Tom is sent to the far north to train with the demanding Bill Arkwright. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh, and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. Will Tom's new bag of tricks be enough to overcome a critical mistake that leaves him confronting Bloodeye on his own?

That gives me something to look forward to reading.

Other reviews:
TeenZone Blog

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly
by Marie Phillips
Fiction. 292 pp.
Little, Brown. 2007.

flap copy:

Being immortal is not all it once was. Yes, the twelve Greek gods of Olympus are alive and well in the twenty-first century, but they are crammed together in a London town house—and are none too happy about it. Even more disturbing, their powers are waning.

For Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator), and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic), there's no way out—until a meek cleaner, Alice, and her would-be boyfriend, Neil, turn their world literally upside down. When what begins as a minor squabble between Aphrodite and Apollo escalates into an epic battle of wills, Alice and Neil are caught in the cross fire, and they must fear not only for their own lives, but for the survival of humankind. Nothing less than a true act of heroism is needed—but can these two decidedly ordinary people replicate the feats of the mythical heroes and save the world?

Gods Behaving Badly is that rare thing: a charming, funny, utterly original first novel that satisfies the head and the heart.

For starters, had I known I could get the book with this cover instead of the other cover, I would have. But that's a given.

This book is clearly not for everyone (chapter two is Apollo and Aphrodite going at it—bored—in the bathroom). That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So much. I'm trying to think of how to describe this book to give it justice. Basically, I found myself laughing. Often. I was so entertained by it. Your main character in this one is Artemis, which was pleasant to see since she's often ignored in mythological retellings for the other more boisterous gods, and she's rather disgruntled and unhappy. Of course, you cram the gods and their larger-than-life personalities into a London town home when they're dying because people no longer believe in them and that's bound to happen. Though, truth be told, Hermes is my favorite god in this book. Of course, that's likely due to him getting some rather choice scenes, such as when he goes to meet Alice to escort her to the entrance to the Underworld.

"Alice Joy Mulholland?"
Alice turned.
"Hermes?"
"Yes," said Hermes. "How did you know?" . . .

"I don't understand," said Alice. "What do you mean, how do I know? You know me. You said my name."
"That doesn't mean anything," said Hermes. "I know everybody's name."
"But you do know me," said Alice. "I clean your house."
Recognition bloomed.
"Of course," he said. "Sorry. Out of context." . . .

"You did hit your head," confirmed Hermes. "But that's not what killed you."
"What?" said Alice.
"It was a lightning strike," said Hermes.
"You mean," said Alice, "you mean I am dead."
Hermes cocked his head.
"Best to make sure," he said.
He reached inside her chest and pulled out her heart.
"Yup," he said. "Definitely not beating."
He put it back.
Alice screamed. She screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed. She screamed and screamed and screamed, and as she screamed she became aware that the screaming wasn't exhausting her or relieving her or even making her throat sore. The scream was having no effect on her whatsoever.
Eventually she stopped screaming.
"Are you done?" said Hermes, who had been standing still, watching her, all this time.
"Yes," said Alice.
"Good," said Hermes.
He took a pair of earplugs out of his ears. . . .

"If you're a god . . . does that mean that the others are too?"
"The others? You mean the rest of the family? Yes, of course. You're pretty slow on the uptake."
"So Apollo—he's a god too?"
"God of the sun. In practice that means he has absolutely nothing to do. Sun goes up, sun comes down. Child's play. Why?"
"I . . . He . . . I . . ."
"Did you shag him?" said hermes. "I wouldn't worry about that. Everybody shags him. Even I've shagged him. That was during a very boring decade. Oops, nearly missed my turn." . . .

"Please, can you just do something for me?" Alice pleaded. "Neil—the man I told you about—APhrodite knows who he is. So does Ares. And, well, Apollo, but . . ."
"I can't believe you didn't figure the god thing out for yourself," said Hermes. "Weren't the names a dead giveaway? No pun intended."

Or when Artemis finally realizes that Alice is missing.

"Why is the house so filthy? Have you seen Alice anywhere?"
"Yes, I saw her," said Hermes, coming to the threshold of the kitchen and leaning against the doorway. "A couple of weeks ago. I took her down to the underworld."
"What?" said Artemis. "Why did you do that?"
"Well, because she's dead," said Hermes.
"Dead?" said Artemis? "She can't be dead! Damn it! I've been so preoccupied. I should have known something like this would happen if I didn't supervise her properly. But she seemed so trustworthy! Stupid mortal. What did she go and die for?"
"It's not her fault," said Hermes. "Zeus killed her. Lightning bolt. On the day he got out."
"Zeus!" said Artemis. "How did he find out about her? I told her not to go up to the top floor."
"She didn't," said Hermes. "If you want my opinion, it's got something to do with Apollo."
"What?"
"Well, she was on that program he did," said Hermes.
"She what?"
"—and Aphrodite got me to bring her in—"
"Aphrodite?" said Artemis. "What's she got to do with anything?"
"—and Apollo was acting all weird around her the whole time she was here, and then they kissed, and then he tried to rape her—"
"Hermes, how do you know all this?"
"It's my business to know."

Eros is another delightfully portrayed god in this book. But, then, he's also converted to Christianity.

"Eros, do you have the power to read minds? You've never done it before."
"No," said Eros. "It's just that, unlike you, I am familiar with feeling guilty. It's one of the things you have to learn if you're going to be a Christian."

Anyway, I found the book to be thoroughly entertaining. Yes, it can lead a bit toward the crass side. Ooh. So basically,

Bridget Jones's Diary : Pride and Prejudice :: Gods Behaving Badly : Greek Mythology/Orpheus

I think that sums it up rather nicely. The last twenty to thirty pages seemed to peter out a bit, both in terms of humor and style, but the rest was fun.

And, a special treat for Samantha, it is good to be a Scrabble master.

"Scrabble? Why didn't you say that in the first instance?" He sat forward eagerly. "Are you gifted?"
"Not really," said Alice. "I did come third in the British national under-sixteen championship."
"You are too modest," said Mr. Kunmanara. "At last this is something which can be of some use! Leisure, entertainment, these are the lifebloods of the dead community. You cannot yet imagine, Miss Mulholland, how very boring it is to exist here. A person of advanced skill at board games—this is a rare find indeed! Believe me, you will find yourself endlessly in demand."

Other reviews:
Becky's Book Reviews
Readers' Blog
Adventures in Daily Living
Indelible Inc

Suck It Up

Suck It Up
by Brian Meehl
YA fiction. 321 pp.
Delacorte. 2008.

flap copy:

Dear Reader,

Are you up to your neck in bloodsucking vampire stories?

Tired of those tales about dentally enhanced dark lords?

Before I wrote this book, I thought all vampires were night-stalking, fang-popping, bloodsucking fiends.

Then I met Morning McCobb. He drinks a soy-based blood substitute called Blood Lite. He believes staking should be classified as a hate crime. And someday he hopes to march in a Vampire Pride Parade. He was also the first vampire to out himself and tries to show people of mortality, like you and me, that vampires are just another minority with special needs. Trust me—this is like on other vampire book you'll ever feed on.

So, as my buddy Morning says, "Pop the lid and suck it up."

Portia Dredful
(aka the author)

The undead get a madcap makeover in Brian Meehl's funny-bone-chilling tale, as creatures of the night shape-shift into creatures of the twenty-first century.

I read this book at the behest of Fobby, and I'm glad I did.

It's part vampire novel/part superhero novel/part gay metaphor novel. But it's fully enjoyable. The author has done a grand job of creating a character—Morning McCobb—who is so fully likable. And that's nice for a change. I like the snippets of the IVLeague.us website that have been included. (Though I was greatly disappointed to find out that when you log on to that website, it is not the IVLeague website but is merely a redirectional link to the author's website.)

My one gripe with this book is PoV shifting. Nossa. The author has a tendency to switch point of view without warning, and I find that so irritating. Especially when it comes without warning or you only realize it at the second or third sentence into the new PoV.

Despite that, I still recommend this book. It's definitely far better than the quasi-porn travesty people picked up to read this weekend.

Unwind

Unwind
by Neal Shusterman
YA science fiction. 335 pp.
Simon & Schuster. 2007.

flap copy:

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them.

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed—but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life—not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive.

Yes, it's another sci fi novel. And this one is good too. It's dark, there's no denying that. I mean, consider the premise: as a political compromise between the pro-life and pro-choice camps, legislation is passed that prohibits abortion, though when kids turns thirteen, they can be retroactively aborted, but all their parts must be harvested and recycled. Creepy. (Especially since you actually get to have a scene where a kid is being unwound.)

I like the style of the novel; the multiple character point of views works in this instance. I like the drama and tension. Again, it's a great book, but be warned that it's dark.

Other reviews:
Presenting Lenore
Reader Rabbit
Abby (the) Librarian