Tag: Reading

Book Review: The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal

by

June 2, 2011

7:00 am

Comments Off on Book Review: The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal

Everything Else

, , , , , , , , ,

The False PrincessThe False Princess by Eilis O’Neal

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Source: Checked out from my public library

I was a good, quiet, and rule-following girl. The perfect princess, if not for my clumsiness and sometimes painful shyness.

Just after her sixteenth birthday, the Princess Nalia is summoned to meet with her parents. What they tell her could not have come as more of a shock. She is not their daughter, not the Princess. She is a commoner, brought to court as a baby to stand in for the real Nalia, in an attempt to keep the royal heir safe from a prophecy that she would die before the age of sixteen. Now, the real Princess is coming home, and her stand-in will be sent to her only living relative – a previously unknown aunt in a small village – and expected to make a new life for herself. But it is not long before Sinda (as she is now known) discovers that there is much more going on than the King and Queen know, and it just might fall to her save the kingdom itself.

There is a little bit of everything in this debut novel: fantasy, mystery, romance. O’Neal brings the elements together with a master’s touch. The plot is intricate, yet it avoids getting muddled. Characters are developed so that they show both strength and weakness, good and bad. In flowing prose, O’Neal creates a world that pulls the reader in and refuses to let go until the last page. Highly recommended.

View all my reviews

Top 10 Dystopias

by

May 31, 2011

6:00 pm

Comments Off on Top 10 Dystopias

Everything Else

, ,

Have you read today’s entry at A Fuse #8 Production? I only managed to read the first few items before I got lost in Books for Keeps and Geraldine Brennan’s article on Ten of the Best Dystopian Novels. What can I say? I enjoy a good dystopian tale, and I haven’t read all of these.

Actually, I haven’t read most of these. (Always seems to be the way with these book lists, even with the number of books I read.) Unwind was excellent in a very creepy sort of way. (Also, Unwind is the name of my local yarn store, for an added dimension of weird.)

I loved the Last Survivors books, but they’re not twins… it’s a trilogy. Or perhaps triplets, since the first two are companion novels that take place at the same time, with This World We Live In as a sequel to both of them. (That sequel was one of those books that I waited and waited and WAITED for the release date. I kept checking Pfeffer’s blog for updates.)

Matched is on my (very long) TBR list, and it looks like I’m going to have to add Mortal Engines and possibly The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

But, hey, where’s The Hunger Games? What titles would you want to see on the list?

Book Review: Wheels of Change by Sue Macy

by

May 30, 2011

7:00 am

Comments Off on Book Review: Wheels of Change by Sue Macy

Everything Else

, , , , , ,

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom by Sue Macy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Source: Checked out from my public library

Macy explores the history of bicycling and women’s rights, and how each affected the other, in this appealing volume. Vintage photographs, newspaper blurbs, and fun facts pepper the pages in the style of a full-color scrapbook. In the first chapter, Macy covers the invention of the bicycle and its rise in popularity, then turns her focus squarely on women cyclists. From public condemnation of the “spectacle” of a woman on a bike to changes in fashion spurred by the need for more bike-friendly clothing to the achievements of famous female cyclists, there is a lot of information packed in these conversational pages. Between chapters, double-page spreads touch on topics like cycling slang, popular songs about cycling from the late 1800s, and the variety of publications centered on cycling. A final spread offers two complementary timelines of milestones in women’s history and cycling history to put events in perspective at a glance. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

View all my reviews

Book Review: No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

by

May 24, 2011

1:00 pm

2 Comments on Book Review: No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

Everything Else

, , , , , , ,

No Passengers Beyond This PointNo Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Source: Checked out from my public library

You have to wait for good things to happen – wait and wait and work so hard – but bad things occur out of the blue, like fire alarms triggered in the dead of night, blaring randomly, a shock of sound, a chatter of current from which there is no turning back.

The three Tompkins siblings – dramatic charmer India, level-headed worrier Finn, and peculiarly clever Mouse – are unhappy passengers on a flight bound for Colorado. Back home in California, their mother has just told them that their house is about to be repossessed, and they will be living with their Uncle Red while Mom stays behind to tie up loose ends. India is furious about having to leave her best friend behind. Finn is concerned about how their family will move forward. Mouse is confused by the whole situation, but her invisible friend Bing is always there to reassure her. Even when the plane lands in a place called Falling Bird, where they are welcomed warmly and each given a dream home to live in. It will take all three of them to get back home, but do they all want to go?

This is a weird book, and I mean that in the best possible way. A Phantom Tollbooth kind of way. It starts off like a realistic novel: three (mostly) normal kids are hit with the horrible news that they are about to lose their home. And then it takes a sharp turn into fantasy, while all three kids keep trying to make logical sense of things. The narrative shifts between each siblings’ first-person perspective in alternating chapters, and Choldenko’s creation of three distinct voices is spot-on. (Little Mouse is particularly delightful.) While the time pressure the children face is keenly felt, the quick-paced action is never rushed. There is family drama at the heart of this story, wrapped in a satisfying blend of mystery and fantasy.

View all my reviews

Quarterly Report

by

April 2, 2011

6:30 pm

Comments Off on Quarterly Report

Everything Else

, , , , ,

Here we are, three months into the year. We’ve entered Daylight Saving Time, which means it’s dark when I get up instead of when I leave work (I don’t think much of this trade, frankly). It’s Springtime, so we’re ping-ponging between days of torrential rain and days of 90-degree (that’s 32 degrees for you non-Fahrenheit folk) sun, and we haven’t yet hit May Gray and June Gloom. It seems like a good time to check on those 2011 Reading Challenges.

First up:

This challenge is going exceptionally well, mostly thanks to NetGalley. I’ve read:

So, 13 books out of, um, 12? Clearly, I should have gone for a higher level of challenge. Especially since I still have a bunch of e-ARCs lined up on the nook, and I just checked out the library’s e-copy of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Next:

Okay, so those three ARCS from Hachette are still waiting for me to get to them. They’ve moved from the coffee table to my desk, where they are in grave danger of disappearing under a stack of knitting magazines and ukulele sheet music. I should probably rescue them. And I have both The Great Wall of Lucy Wu (which should be interesting reading right after Battle Hymn, eh?) and Across the Universe checked out of the library, but I haven’t started reading them. What have I been reading that actually fits the challenge?

  • This Girl Is Different by JJ Johnson
  • Bumped by Megan McCafferty
  • The Goddess Test (Goddess Test, #1) by Aimee Carter

All courtesy of NetGalley, and none of them were on my list back in January.

 

And finally:

Um, yeah. That one. I’m still reading Possessing Genius… when I’m not reading something on the nook and/or from the library. So many books, so little time.

How are your Reading Challenges going?

W… W… W… Wednesday for January 19, 2011

by

January 19, 2011

10:00 am

2 Comments on W… W… W… Wednesday for January 19, 2011

Everything Else

, , ,

W… W… W… Wednesdays is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers:

What are you currently reading? I’m into the second chapter of Possessing Genius: The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein’s Brain by Carolyn Abraham, the first book on my Off the Shelf Challenge list. I really am enjoying it; I just keep getting distracted!

And what is this distraction? This week, I’ve been distracted by Caitlin Shetterly’s Made for You and Me: Going West, Going Broke, Finding Home, another e-ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus

What did you recently finish reading? A couple days ago, I finished the NetGalley e-ARC of The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones. Scheduled for release in April 2011, this is Sones’ first novel for adults. It’s a novel-in-poems about a woman dealing with her ailing mother, her impending empty nest, and her own aging body. It’s a lot funnier than that description makes it sound.

What do you think you’ll read next? I have yet another NetGalley e-ARC, Jane Austen: A Life Revealed by Catherine Reef. Scheduled for release in April 2011, this is billed as the first young adult trade biography on Austen. Somehow, I have made it to my 30s without ever reading any Austen, so this should be especially interesting. I do have the complete works of Austen on the nook; think I’ll be inspired to read them after this?

See today’s other W… W… W… Wednesday entries at Should Be Reading.

Reading Challenge Update: January

by

January 15, 2011

11:00 am

1 Comment on Reading Challenge Update: January

Everything Else

, , , , ,

Here we are, halfway through the first month of the year. Let’s see how I’m doing on my 2011 Reading Challenges.

At the moment, I’m at 1/12. Technically, I’ve finished two e-books in 2011, but I started one of them in the last few days of December 2010. The one I started and finished in 2011 was Lauren Myracle’s forthcoming YA novel Shine, in e-ARC format, courtesy of NetGalley. I’ll have a review up next week. I’ve started another e-ARC, Sonya Sones’ first adult novel, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus. Like her YA books, this is a novel-in-verse. It’s very funny so far.

Um, yeah. Those three ARCS from Hachette are still sitting on my coffee table, and I’m waiting for the other titles on my list to show up in my library.

This one, I confess, is not going so well, either. I’m one chapter into Possessing Genius. I’m enjoying it so far. It’s just, you know, I have these shiny new ARCs calling to me from the nook….

I’ll get back to you next month.

How are your Reading Challenges going?

W… W… W… Wednesday for January 12, 2011

by

January 12, 2011

9:20 am

2 Comments on W… W… W… Wednesday for January 12, 2011

Everything Else

, , ,

W… W… W… Wednesdays is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
 

My answers:

What are you currently reading? I’m one chapter into Possessing Genius: The Bizarre Odyssey of Einstein’s Brain by Carolyn Abraham, the first book on my Off the Shelf Challenge list. I’m enjoying it so far.

What did you recently finish reading? I was up until 1 this morning finishing Shine by Lauren Myracle. It’s a gripping young adult mystery set in rural North Carolina. Strong characters and just enough misdirection kept me glued to my nook screen. I read it as an e-ARC via NetGalley; the book is due out in May of 2011. Full review coming soon.

The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus

What do you think you’ll read next? Next up is another NetGalley e-ARC, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonya Sones. Scheduled for release in April 2011, this is Sones’ first novel for adults. I’ve been a fan of Sones’ writing since reading Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy when I was in Library School.

See today’s other W… W… W… Wednesday entries at Should Be Reading.

Book Review: Penny Dreadful

by

December 11, 2010

3:00 pm

Comments Off on Book Review: Penny Dreadful

Everything Else

, , , , , , ,

Penny DreadfulPenny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Penelope Grey has a perfectly fine life. She lives in a big mansion in the City, where all the household chores are taken care off by pleasant staff. She doesn’t even have to go to school, as a tutor comes to her. Her parents – on the rare occasions that she sees them – are nice. She has a couple of nice playmates. Everything is nice. Nice… and really, really boring. She escapes into book after book (the shout-outs to familiar titles are a nice touch), finally deciding to do something that the characters do in each story. That’s how she comes to drop a wish into a well: “I wish something interesting would happen when I least expect it, just like in a book.”

And then, to her surprise, something interesting happens. Her father quits his job, the family runs out of money, and the unexpected inheritance of an old house in a tiny East Tennessee town seems like a lucky solution. But Penelope is about to learn that good things and bad things tend to come wrapped up together, and sometimes luck is a matter of perspective.

The first section of the book is pretty quiet, underscoring Penelope’s serious ennui. When the family leaves the City for Thrush Junction and its colorful inhabitants, the pace picks up. Penelope drops her boring first name for the more cheerful nickname of Penny, and she gets to know the local kids. She starts experiencing adventures instead of just reading about them.

This book got a little bump of publicity when a reader objected to the fact that Penny’s new neighbors include a pair of lesbian moms and their son, a family presented just as matter-of-factly as any of the other characters. For Penny, the fact that Willa has a wife is no more surprising than the fact that she has “hair to her knees.” Like any kid, she’s not all that interested in the relationships between the adults around her.

This is an illustrated chapter book, and Abigail Halpin’s slightly cartoony style offers the perfect complement to Snyder’s text. Throughout the book, the voice of the narrator is excellent. In the first chapter, when Penelope is living vicariously through reading, the narration sounds very much like listening to someone telling the story. As she makes friends and has real-life experiences, the voice of the narrator fades into the background. (With the right voice talent, this could be an OUTSTANDING audiobook.) Filled with gentle humor, quirky characters, and small adventures, this is a good choice for older elementary school readers, especially those who have read and enjoyed some of Penny’s favorite books.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Hanukkah Around the World

by

December 6, 2010

7:00 am

Comments Off on Book Review: Hanukkah Around the World

Everything Else

, , , ,

I picked this one up at the library to put in a holiday display, and I ended up bringing it home to share with Little Miss. At not-quite-four, she’s a bit too young to be very interested in the stories, but she enjoyed the illustrations and the short recounting of the story behind the celebration.

Hanukkah Around the WorldHanukkah Around the World by Tami Lehman-Wilzig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After a few introductory pages about the holiday story and symbols, and a two-page spread on how to play Dreidel, brief vignettes describe family celebrations of Hanukkah in Israel, the United States, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Italy, Australia, Poland, and Tunisia. Each story is accompanied by a note about the Jewish community in that country and a recipe (all of which look delicious), plus full-color painted illustrations. The stories are a little contrived, and explanations of things like why Hanukkah is celebrated in the summer in Australia would have been nice. Personally, I was mystified by the “Hanukkah Wheel”. Is this an East Coast thing? Still, the book is a visually appealing glimpse into Jewish customs around the world. Great for browsing, and likely to spark interest in further reading (and cooking).

View all my reviews

 

Check out more fantastic children’s nonfiction in the round-up at  The Reading Tub.