Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Finally finished this up! I wasn't totally impressed with the ending as a story, but the ideas in the novel were intriguing enough. This is like the original young adult dystopian novel that has recently become so popular. Lois Lowry knew what was up before there was even a genre for what she was writing. I see, though, why I was so unimpressed with this when I read it roughly twelve years ago. The story is kind of flat, with interesting things that are seen and then forgotten. The ending was rather abrupt, too. It leaves me with a feeling that it only brushed the surface of these ideas. Usually it would be fine to leave some of the interpretation to the reader, but with so little authorial input to guide, it ended up just sort of trailing off for me. So not amazing, but good enough that I would have it in my class for any interested students.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
I've only read about 70 pages of this so far because I'm trying to pace myself and save it, but it's already blown me away! It started out pretty harmless, and then looked like it would be a Tom and Huck kind of story mixed with To Kill A Mockingbird (interestingly, both books that are mentioned by the main character), where the main characters focus on this kind of crazy character that the kids all treat as some scary myth. It's a common enough plot line. However, upon entering the secret clearing, it took QUITE a drastic turn with the scraped and abused girl hanging dead from a tree. Well dang.
I was really impressed by how Silvey wrote the character Charlie realistically in this scene. It didn't feel like one of those books where the characters discover a dead person and are totally okay with hiding the body and investigating the murder themselves. Charlie is traumatized. I'm surprised he didn't get physically ill. His description of having to touch the girl to move her feels incredibly relatable and exactly what I would expect to feel in that kind of situation. Both Charlie and Jasper are painfully aware of the legal ramifications they could easily face, unlike the usual ignorant cheery kid who doesn't consider the rules of the real world. It was just very well done.
There was also, amazingly, a moment of absolute hilarity for me after this dead girl has been dropped into a lake by her boyfriend. How is that even possible? While the characters try to drink and smoke their terror and pain away, Charlie makes a comment about how he hates both of these vices that reading promised him he would adore! He cites one character who holds up booze like a housewife in a commercial, and the way Holden Caulfield reaches for cigarettes like an act of faith. He goes on to speculate about what sex might be like if it's as bad as these other vices he was promised he'd love. It's absolutely WONDERFUL, and I'll update this with the actual quote when I have the book on me again.
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
This book has been taunting me on my shelf since my first week back at school. Remember when I read We Were Liars? Yeah, well, this has been around just as long as that book. I finally got to it, and HOLY CRAP I LOVED IT FROM THE DEDICATION PAGE. It's dedicated to WRIMOS, also known as the fervent writers who participate in National Novel Writing Month every November with a 50,000 word target. This book is really two books. Two different stories. It's incredibly meta and I adore it already, though fair warning: this book is definitely not for someone who dislikes keeping track of different character story lines (think Game of Thrones but somehow even more complicated since the two characters don't even live in the same universe). One character is a 18-year-old girl who got her NaNoWriMo novel signed to a published and is going to New York after high school to revise it and write a sequel. The other half of the book is the novel that this girl wrote. It has so far been entirely unacknowledged in the WriMo story that it is in fact a story. I'm very curious, knowing Westerfeld, if he's going to turn this on its head at some point....
(Also, the book is visually awesome with the WriMo story designated by dark strips of black at the top and bottom of the pages. B-E-A-Utiful!)
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
September 13 - 19
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
I have been wanting to read this since my professor read aloud the first few pages in a class in Spring of 2014. It caught my attention immediately with the mindless destruction, and the mysterious character of The Avenger. I needed to know more. I finally got my hands on a copy and devoured it within just a few days. Just a page beyond where my professor had stopped, I was torn from the book into a far darker side of the story than I expected when I learned that not only was the house despoiled, but the youngest daughter of the family as well. Raped and in a coma. I thought that was dark, but then to discover that The Avenger is more properly titled The Murderer was a blow to the head. This book was just remarkably good. I'm going to remember this for a long time, and will definitely have this book in my future classroom if I'm able.
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
I love the idea of blackout poetry and I always have. It makes me feel like I could make interesting poetry, although reading some of the ones that this guy came up with make me feel inadequate already. They were really funny! I don't know how he manages it. If I ever am able to get newspapers regularly I'll start doing this for sure. I'm about halfway through, mostly because I want to ration them. It feels weird to read poetry straight through. I'll probably buy this book at some point, because I think it would be a very accessible introduction to poetry for students. Plus it's really funny, and I'd love to have access to it for myself as well! Favorite so far: "The Family Jewels."
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
I'm not very far into this, but I'm still already baffled by how much of this I absolutely did not remember from when I read it probably... twelve years ago? I read The Giver earlier this summer and had largely that same response, so I wanted to see if it would be like that for this not-quite-sequel of the same series. Answer: yes, it absolutely is. I didn't read too much more of this this week because of the other books that really sucked me in, but it's next up on the schedule.
I have been wanting to read this since my professor read aloud the first few pages in a class in Spring of 2014. It caught my attention immediately with the mindless destruction, and the mysterious character of The Avenger. I needed to know more. I finally got my hands on a copy and devoured it within just a few days. Just a page beyond where my professor had stopped, I was torn from the book into a far darker side of the story than I expected when I learned that not only was the house despoiled, but the youngest daughter of the family as well. Raped and in a coma. I thought that was dark, but then to discover that The Avenger is more properly titled The Murderer was a blow to the head. This book was just remarkably good. I'm going to remember this for a long time, and will definitely have this book in my future classroom if I'm able.
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
I love the idea of blackout poetry and I always have. It makes me feel like I could make interesting poetry, although reading some of the ones that this guy came up with make me feel inadequate already. They were really funny! I don't know how he manages it. If I ever am able to get newspapers regularly I'll start doing this for sure. I'm about halfway through, mostly because I want to ration them. It feels weird to read poetry straight through. I'll probably buy this book at some point, because I think it would be a very accessible introduction to poetry for students. Plus it's really funny, and I'd love to have access to it for myself as well! Favorite so far: "The Family Jewels."
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
I'm not very far into this, but I'm still already baffled by how much of this I absolutely did not remember from when I read it probably... twelve years ago? I read The Giver earlier this summer and had largely that same response, so I wanted to see if it would be like that for this not-quite-sequel of the same series. Answer: yes, it absolutely is. I didn't read too much more of this this week because of the other books that really sucked me in, but it's next up on the schedule.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
September 6 - 12
Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
(Incarceron #2)
So I actually started this a while ago and then sort of lagged on it for a while once I go back to school. There were so many new and exciting things to read! So I dropped this when I was about 2/3 done, and actually at quite a dramatic moment (a weird habit of mine). The ending was pretty impressive though, and I was certainly fooled by the identity of Sapphique. The mysteries of the realm were finally revealed, although at a certain point in this book they weren't really so much of a secret anymore. This book had an ending that doesn't actually resolve everything prettily. There are some still-bad situations going on, and some things that are left uncertain at best. However, I tend to like those kinds of endings because they often feel more realistic (in a book about a living prison...). Overall: solid. I'm a huge fan of this two-book thing, because it was just long enough. Three books can get tiring, but the end of one book can leave you wanting more.
Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Though this was assigned reading for my Young Adult Literature class, it really didn't feel like it. It actually wasn't even assigned yet; I just decided to read it because it sounded good. I get why it was assigned though. I was taken by surprise with how this book handles topics like abuse at home, a war-scarred brother, and assumptions made by community members. The view of the student whose teacher's treated him terribly, didn't believe in him, and basically just assumed that he would never amount to anything was especially powerful for me (most likely due to my designs to become a teacher myself). I am able to console myself with the thought that this novel was set in the 1960s (ish), a time when attitudes and standards for teaching were significantly different. Still, the mood of the student when teachers treated him well and as an individual rather than as his brothers before him with bad reputations... it was just stunning. I know this is fiction, but it certainly represents the truth well.
The not-quite-lead-poisoning at the end caught me extremely off guard. I love the way it was handled: never explicitly stated, the reader has to infer what is going on with Lil, meaning you can never be quite sure. All you know are the statistics, which, of course, don't mean anything. (Another love: this character switch from detailing everything and a fascination with statistics to a firm and repeated declaration that statistics do not matter.) As with the other book I finished up this week, the ending leaves so much in the air. I love it. I appreciate an author who refuses to tie everything up for the reader and hold the reader's hand and say, "and then everyone got better and got married and lived happily ever after in a castle made of candy!" This is not some crazy mix of a Shakespearean fairy tale comedy.
This is real.
(She says about fiction.)
(It's still so true.)
(Incarceron #2)
So I actually started this a while ago and then sort of lagged on it for a while once I go back to school. There were so many new and exciting things to read! So I dropped this when I was about 2/3 done, and actually at quite a dramatic moment (a weird habit of mine). The ending was pretty impressive though, and I was certainly fooled by the identity of Sapphique. The mysteries of the realm were finally revealed, although at a certain point in this book they weren't really so much of a secret anymore. This book had an ending that doesn't actually resolve everything prettily. There are some still-bad situations going on, and some things that are left uncertain at best. However, I tend to like those kinds of endings because they often feel more realistic (in a book about a living prison...). Overall: solid. I'm a huge fan of this two-book thing, because it was just long enough. Three books can get tiring, but the end of one book can leave you wanting more.
Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Though this was assigned reading for my Young Adult Literature class, it really didn't feel like it. It actually wasn't even assigned yet; I just decided to read it because it sounded good. I get why it was assigned though. I was taken by surprise with how this book handles topics like abuse at home, a war-scarred brother, and assumptions made by community members. The view of the student whose teacher's treated him terribly, didn't believe in him, and basically just assumed that he would never amount to anything was especially powerful for me (most likely due to my designs to become a teacher myself). I am able to console myself with the thought that this novel was set in the 1960s (ish), a time when attitudes and standards for teaching were significantly different. Still, the mood of the student when teachers treated him well and as an individual rather than as his brothers before him with bad reputations... it was just stunning. I know this is fiction, but it certainly represents the truth well.
The not-quite-lead-poisoning at the end caught me extremely off guard. I love the way it was handled: never explicitly stated, the reader has to infer what is going on with Lil, meaning you can never be quite sure. All you know are the statistics, which, of course, don't mean anything. (Another love: this character switch from detailing everything and a fascination with statistics to a firm and repeated declaration that statistics do not matter.) As with the other book I finished up this week, the ending leaves so much in the air. I love it. I appreciate an author who refuses to tie everything up for the reader and hold the reader's hand and say, "and then everyone got better and got married and lived happily ever after in a castle made of candy!" This is not some crazy mix of a Shakespearean fairy tale comedy.
This is real.
(She says about fiction.)
(It's still so true.)
Saturday, September 5, 2015
August 30 - September 5
Angelfall by Susan Ee
I realized that the final book in this series had come out, so I decided I would re-read it! I remember liking it a lot a year or so ago when I first stumbled upon it for free on Amazon. Who would have thought a free book would be so good? (Well, know I have several examples as to why that's a wrong though! Remember The Key?) So I re-read this in about a day as I was packing up for school and such. Pretty solid even still! Glad to remember that it held up. It made me laugh aloud several times, too. :)
World After by Susan Ee (book 2)
I remembered the second book less well for whatever reason, and daaaang did it get real! This was way darker than I remembered, complete with demonic baby sisters and flesh sacrifices, and horrific mutilation and disturbing psychological issues all around. Fun times! Not to mention the horrible depressing moments. Basically: a very good follow-up to the first.
End of Days by Susan Ee (book 3)
WHOOOOOOOO FINAL STAND! This book took me to hell and back, through the back of a demon. WELL DAMN. It was heartbreaking and gave some redemption to the bad guy. I love when books force the reader/characters to look at the situation and people from different perspecitves. Why is that guy so evil and miserable? Uh, well, actually, it's because you and all his friends abandoned him to eternity (basically) in hell. So that could really kill someone's kindness and all. I was pretty impressed with the talent show scheme at the end; that was really brilliant (literally, for the characters!) and touching and fun. And horrifying, of course. Susan did not skimp on the horror in the final book at all. In fact, she even set humanity up for the true apocalypse, complete with horrifying hell-monsters that are apparently going to lurk in the depths of the world until they decide to come back. The ties to the romance plot were meh, but that's not really what I cared about with this series. It was a unique dystopian kind of book that was written before this crazy dystopian fad became a thing. And having the monsters be angels? Well, okay, that just is not something I've ever read before. I'm super impressed with this series and admire Susan Ee for contemplating agnostic angels.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I've had my eye on this since early this spring and finally got around to picking it up in the few open days I had between moving back up to school and actually starting classes. Basic summary: Cadence is part of this super rich, super white family. They vacation on a private island on the east coast of the US every summer. She hangs with her cousins and a friend that she has a sort-of relationship with and they have a grand old time. But then Cadence learns that this last summer she came to consciousness on one of the small beaches of the island in just her underwear/sleepwear with a vicious head injury that kept her from remembering anything. Her family keeps her away from the island for a summer, and when she gets back no one will tell her anything. Her grandfather destroyed the old house though, and built this sad cold building of glass in its place. She slowly remembers bits and pieces of what happened that summer, like the manipulation of the adults as they tried to each win a piece of their grandfather's estate after the grandmother died a few years back. **HUGE SPOILERS** Highlight to read! Cadence remembers that she and her cousins decided to teach them a lesson about being greedy by burning down her grandfather's house and all of the things that the parents were fighting over possession of. Okay, she's pretty cool with that (which is weird). But then she also realizes that they killed two of the family dogs in that fire because they forgot to let them out of the room they had been locked in when everyone went off the island (a result of their fighting). Cadence is freaking crushed because HOLY SHIT she killed two dogs, their dogs, her dogs, she burned them alive, she's basically a terrible person. She runs through the memory of setting the fire, the plan to each take a floor of the house and douse it with gasoline, light it up, and run like hell. To ditch their gasoline-covered clothes and claim ignorance from a sheltered area of the island. She remembers that she had the first floor, the ground floor. She lit it up too fast, ran out, ditched her clothes, didn't see anyone, ran back in a panic, got badly burnt, trapped her cousins in the house from her fire on the first floor, trapped them in the house with the dogs, they died, the cousins and boyfriend died and she killed them they all burned to death in a fire with their beloved grandmother's memories and their two beloved family dogs.
SHE KILLED HER COUSINS AND BOYFRIEND IN A FIRE.
**END SPOILERS**
Okay, so that was a lot, but I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! I thought the dogs and the freaking ARSON were the big twists of whoa-ness not THAT! Wow. So I cried a lot as I realized what had happened. That's some hardcore real writing right there. I LOVED that this did not in any way have a happy ending. She states that she must endure knowing now what she knows, and knowing that her family kind of has an idea of what happened even if they don't want to face it, and knowing that the drinking and grief that has invaded the family is on her. It is.
Wow.
I realized that the final book in this series had come out, so I decided I would re-read it! I remember liking it a lot a year or so ago when I first stumbled upon it for free on Amazon. Who would have thought a free book would be so good? (Well, know I have several examples as to why that's a wrong though! Remember The Key?) So I re-read this in about a day as I was packing up for school and such. Pretty solid even still! Glad to remember that it held up. It made me laugh aloud several times, too. :)
World After by Susan Ee (book 2)
I remembered the second book less well for whatever reason, and daaaang did it get real! This was way darker than I remembered, complete with demonic baby sisters and flesh sacrifices, and horrific mutilation and disturbing psychological issues all around. Fun times! Not to mention the horrible depressing moments. Basically: a very good follow-up to the first.
End of Days by Susan Ee (book 3)
WHOOOOOOOO FINAL STAND! This book took me to hell and back, through the back of a demon. WELL DAMN. It was heartbreaking and gave some redemption to the bad guy. I love when books force the reader/characters to look at the situation and people from different perspecitves. Why is that guy so evil and miserable? Uh, well, actually, it's because you and all his friends abandoned him to eternity (basically) in hell. So that could really kill someone's kindness and all. I was pretty impressed with the talent show scheme at the end; that was really brilliant (literally, for the characters!) and touching and fun. And horrifying, of course. Susan did not skimp on the horror in the final book at all. In fact, she even set humanity up for the true apocalypse, complete with horrifying hell-monsters that are apparently going to lurk in the depths of the world until they decide to come back. The ties to the romance plot were meh, but that's not really what I cared about with this series. It was a unique dystopian kind of book that was written before this crazy dystopian fad became a thing. And having the monsters be angels? Well, okay, that just is not something I've ever read before. I'm super impressed with this series and admire Susan Ee for contemplating agnostic angels.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I've had my eye on this since early this spring and finally got around to picking it up in the few open days I had between moving back up to school and actually starting classes. Basic summary: Cadence is part of this super rich, super white family. They vacation on a private island on the east coast of the US every summer. She hangs with her cousins and a friend that she has a sort-of relationship with and they have a grand old time. But then Cadence learns that this last summer she came to consciousness on one of the small beaches of the island in just her underwear/sleepwear with a vicious head injury that kept her from remembering anything. Her family keeps her away from the island for a summer, and when she gets back no one will tell her anything. Her grandfather destroyed the old house though, and built this sad cold building of glass in its place. She slowly remembers bits and pieces of what happened that summer, like the manipulation of the adults as they tried to each win a piece of their grandfather's estate after the grandmother died a few years back. **HUGE SPOILERS** Highlight to read! Cadence remembers that she and her cousins decided to teach them a lesson about being greedy by burning down her grandfather's house and all of the things that the parents were fighting over possession of. Okay, she's pretty cool with that (which is weird). But then she also realizes that they killed two of the family dogs in that fire because they forgot to let them out of the room they had been locked in when everyone went off the island (a result of their fighting). Cadence is freaking crushed because HOLY SHIT she killed two dogs, their dogs, her dogs, she burned them alive, she's basically a terrible person. She runs through the memory of setting the fire, the plan to each take a floor of the house and douse it with gasoline, light it up, and run like hell. To ditch their gasoline-covered clothes and claim ignorance from a sheltered area of the island. She remembers that she had the first floor, the ground floor. She lit it up too fast, ran out, ditched her clothes, didn't see anyone, ran back in a panic, got badly burnt, trapped her cousins in the house from her fire on the first floor, trapped them in the house with the dogs, they died, the cousins and boyfriend died and she killed them they all burned to death in a fire with their beloved grandmother's memories and their two beloved family dogs.
SHE KILLED HER COUSINS AND BOYFRIEND IN A FIRE.
**END SPOILERS**
Okay, so that was a lot, but I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! I thought the dogs and the freaking ARSON were the big twists of whoa-ness not THAT! Wow. So I cried a lot as I realized what had happened. That's some hardcore real writing right there. I LOVED that this did not in any way have a happy ending. She states that she must endure knowing now what she knows, and knowing that her family kind of has an idea of what happened even if they don't want to face it, and knowing that the drinking and grief that has invaded the family is on her. It is.
Wow.
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