Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi | Book Review

Throwback Review!

This is another trilogy that I'm trying to backwards-catch-up-on on this blog.  I've posted reviews of Through the Ever Night and Into the Still Blue (Books 2 and 3 in the trilogy) but then I realized I never posted my review of Under the Never Sky.  Guess what?  I went back to Goodreads (where I did all my reviewing before starting this blog) and I have no review!  I gave this book 2 of 5 stars and wrote NOTHING.  ARGH.  So.  Frustrated.  With.  Myself.  I ended up loving Books 2 & 3; what went wrong with #1?  Maybe I read it during a week that I really wasn't in the mood for it?  I read it because Veronica Rossi was coming to visit my library with a group of YA authors to talk to our teens.  Maybe I gave it less of a review because I was under pressure to read all these books by all these authors so quickly?  Looking back, I didn't really give great reviews to any of the authors' books I read for this program.  My bad.  But here's Goodreads' synopsis/review, so that you at least have the plot before you read my full, enthusiastic, positive reviews of the second and third books in the trilogy:

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Find It In Everything by Drew Barrymore | Book Review

(The book is about finding hearts/love in everything but there's no heart on the cover.  Hmm.)

Find It in Everything is a collection of photographs by Drew Barrymore (yup; that Drew Barrymore) that contain hearts found in everyday situations.  Some are kind of unique, like a photograph of a break in the clouds that forms a heart.  And a sun spot on a cat.  But others are kind of weird.  Like a piece of trash, a straw wrapper, that happens to have fallen in such a way that it vaguely resembles a heart.  

There are maybe 15 photos in the whole freaking book, and half that many words.  (I'm estimating, but really:  it's the most ephemeral book I've ever picked up and I work in a children's library.)  There were two photos where I wouldn't have found the heart without the caption to tell me where to look.  

I borrowed a copy for free from my library and spent about ten minutes on it.  I just kind of expected more.

Top Ten Tuesday

This is a neat weekly feature over at a blog I really enjoy, The Broke and the Bookish.  They read books similar to some that I've been reviewing, and they're fun and they write well.  Totally worth checking out.

Top Ten Books About Friendship

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  I really meant it when I said that I'd try to see if I could make some of my favorites fit every list!  But seriously, Anne does have a "bosom friend" in the books.  Anne and Diana are inseparable.

2. All of the Lord of the Rings books, but The Return of the King especially, by J.R.R. Tolkien.  That scene where Sam says that he knows that he can't carry the ring for Frodo, but that he can carry Frodo... just sends chills up my spine!  What a friendship!

3. The Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich.  Stephanie and Lula have definitely been through some things together, but they're still completely inseparable.

4. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  Maddie and Queenie have such a strong friendship that it even lasts through WWII.

5. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  The friendship between the sisters and Lily's mother, that then extends to Lily herself... it's beautiful.

6. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes manages to highlight the importance of being a good friend without having any of the characters actually befriend poor Wanda.  Such a touching story.

7. Oracle of Philadelphia and Raising Chaos by Elizabeth Corrigan.  The friendship between Carrie and Bedlam has lasted millenia!  That's a strong bond.

8. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews.  This is the story of Greg and Earl (already fast friends) and their budding friendship with Rachel, a classmate who is dying of cancer.  This was one of those odd books that made me laugh and cry in equal parts.

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor.  The friendship between Karou and Zuzana:  Zuzana remains steadfastly loyal to Karou, even knowing that Karou must keep parts of her life secret from her.  Zuzana's unflagging optimism helps buoy Karou often.

10. The Wisdom of Hair by Kim Boykin.  Zora becomes such good friends with Sarah Jane that Sarah Jane's family practically adopts her as one of their own!  In fact, by the end of the book I'd say that Zora was closer to Sarah Jane's mom than her own.

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier | Book Review

Born Confused is the narrative of a coming-of-age/coming-into-yourself summer through the eyes of Dimple Lala.  Dimple is the American-born child of Indian immigrant parents, and she's struggling to fit in her very white town of Springfield.  She's one of only two Indians at her high school, and considering that the other Indian is a Sikh, Jimmy Trilok, with his turban and his curried lunches... well, he's not friend material.  Her best friend is Gwyn, and they've been Supertwins since early childhood, despite their differences in appearance.  They're joined at the hip and do everything together.  They even share a locker at school!  Dimple is a talented photographer, and Gwyn is often her subject.  

In fact, Gwyn is often the subject for, well, everyone.  She's tall and thin and blonde and rich and popular.  She's got a great boyfriend with whom she may be doing, ahem, things.  And with Dimple newly single, it kind of makes for a third wheel kind of scenario.

Born Confused opens with Dimple's seventeenth birthday and so many things just go so wrong for her.  First, there's the absence of her grandfather, her Dadaji, who passed away the previous year.  She misses him so much.  They had such a special relationship, even despite not sharing a language.  Then there's her parents:  they're just so awkward and they sooooo don't even understand her.  They keep encouraging her to take color photos; don't they understand the art in her black and whites?  And Gwyn:  she gives Dimple a great new outfit to wear out on a double-date she's set up; but then Gwyn shows up in the same outfit looking twice as fabulous!  And gets Dimple drunk... infinitely embarrassing when she ends up sick in front of the guy Gwyn is setting her up with. To top it all off, her parents have the audacity to invite her super-judgmental cousin to her birthday dinner.  Kavita constantly taunted her when they were kids and Dimple would visit in India.  Can her life get any more horrifying?  Why yes, yes it can:  her parents arrange a meeting with a "suitable" (Indian) boy and his mother!  The first step in an arrangement.  

Through the course of the book we follow Dimple as she really comes into her own.  As she learns to embrace and not fear the unique differences between herself and Gwyn.  As she learns to embrace and own her Indian culture.  As she learns that her parents are people with their own stories to tell... and that they really do understand her!  As she finds love and acceptance in different places and with different people. 

This is not a fluff book.  It's long and it's deep and it's wonderful.  It's unpredictable in an awesome way.  And the writing:  WOW.  Tanuja Desai Hidier has this lyrical, almost poetic way with words.  I found myself lingering over and savoring passages.  I absolutely love the way that she describes people, places, things, experiences.  I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Stacking the Shelves Mega Edition

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews.  You can find their blog here:  www.tyngasreviews.com.  This weekly meme, which Tynga's team posts on Saturdays, is all about sharing the books that you received or purchased over the previous week.  This week's Stacking the Shelves is pretty immense because I've forgotten to post the past two Saturdays.  So this is 3 weeks' worth of haul!

ARCs & egalleys

The Copernicus Archives #1: Wade and the Scorpion's Claw by Tony Abbott:  I think this is a companion series to another series by Tony Abbott, but it looks pretty good and I'm going to give it a try.  

The Storm and the Tide: Tragedy, Hope and Triumph in Tuscaloosa by Lars Anderson: Adult nonfiction but I can definitely see teen appeal.  Very Remember the Titansish in feel, I'm looking forward to it.

Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Bosch: a standalone from the author of The Secret series!  It'll be hilarious.

Blackbird by Anna Carey: honestly can't remember the plot of this one, but I feel like I've read a good review or two of it.

Divided by Elsie Chapman:  unsolicited review copy, and it's a sequel to a book I haven't read, so it's not terribly high in my priorities.

Unmarked by Kami Garcia:  these books are supposed to be spectacular, but this is the sequel to a book I haven't read yet so I can't say whether or not I'm excited.

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory: who hasn't heard of Philippa Gregory?  So of course I'm kind of excited to have received a review copy of The King's Curse... even though it's Book 5 or something in a series I haven't even begun....

The Invisible by Amelia Kahaney:  this is a sequel to a book I hadn't even heard of before now, but will you look at that cover? AWESOME.

Whisper to Me by Christina Lee: I am not a fan of New Adult, but I've also only read 2 New Adult books ever, so I feel like I may be unfairly biased.  I'm going to give it another go.

Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little: Can't lie: I don't remember a durn thing about this book.

Pig Park by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez: This seems like it's going to be totally awesome, even though the cover is weird.  Definitely looking forward to this!

Get Even by Gretchen McNeil: I had this idea that Gretchen McNeil was also New Adult, but the plot for this one is about four high school juniors at an exclusive Catholic high school.  +Revenge.  +Cliques.  I'm hooked on Pretty Little Liars, so I think I'll really like this one.

The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye: Middle grades!  Beautiful cover!

Burn by James Patterson with Michael Ledwidge:  JAMES FREAKING PATTERSON.  I got approved for a James Patterson book?  YES, I WILL READ YOU.

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot:  This is terrible, ya'll.  I cannot let another three weeks go by between Stacking the Shelves.  I don't remember the plot of this one either, but I kinda like the cover.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch: I've been promised that this is standard-but-good YA dystopia.  Like the next Divergent.  I'm totally on board with that.

TodHunter Moon, Book One: Pathfinder by Angie Sage: Woefully, I haven't tried any of the other Septimus Heap books, but I look forward to trying this one.  And look at that cover!  Awesome.

Stray by Elissa Sussman: I think this was a fairy tale retelling?  I'm just totally mesmerized by that cover!

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley:  Civil Rights era fiction!  I'm totally hooked on that theme right now.

Robogenesis by Daniel Wilson:  I can't tell if this is a companion or a sequel to Robopocalypse... I have both an egalley and an ARC of this one.  The publisher really wants me to read it.

New

Always Emily by Michaela MacColl:  I won this in a giveaway on www.foreveryoungadult.com.  I didn't know it'd be a pretty, finished hardcover!  That's awesome.  I'm looking forward to trying this.  To win, you had to say which old-school YA author you'd like to see featured in the next book by Ms. MacColl and I chose L.M. Montgomery.

Library

(Who doesn't love free books?  Go use your local library!)

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare: got this on CD for the commute.  I know I'm years behind the rest of the world on The Infernal Devices series... isn't that cover pretty?

Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us by Matt Fitzgerald:  so what happens when you wait three weeks between Stacking the Shelves is that some of the books on the list have already been read.  Like this one.  Look for a review very soon.  And I LOVE that cover!  I don't know why, but the whole time I was reading it I kept showing off the cover to people around me.

Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature's Most Memorable Meals by Dinah Fried:  Another book I've already finished and reviewed.  Loved it.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd:  read it and LOVED it!  Immediately put in a request for The Invention of Wings at my library.  This was a sister-in-love recommendation.

George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade with Don Yaeger:  This one was is a recommendation from my sister, but I don't really need a recommendation to read a GW book!  Looking forward to this.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King:  I'm halfway through this and LOVING it!  If you read and enjoyed The Shining you need to read Doctor Sleep!  I'm listening to this on CD and the narration is fantastic.

Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers by Valerie Lawson: I'm about 40 pages in and just not really getting into it.  :/

Hysteria by Megan Miranda: You'll see a review of this really soon because I already finished it.  It was a fast read and it was decent but not great.

Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville with Lindsay Tkacsik:  Very recently I tried "freezer meals" for the first time and I'm hooked!  Hoping to pick up more ideas in this book.  I love the convenience!  One gripe already though: no pictures.  I prefer lots of color pictures in cookbooks.

So that's my looooooong haul for this month!  I'll be back next week with a shorter list.  Have a good weekend, ya'll!

Little Fish: A Memoir of a Different Kind of Year by Ramsey Beyer | Book Review

Little Fish is an autobiographical memoir of the author's freshman year at college.  After growing up rather sheltered in a very small town in Michigan, Ramsey ventures all the way to the big city of Baltimore to attend art school.  After being a good-sized fish in a little pond, she now likens herself to a little fish in a big pond.  The book is in graphic novel format, with some zine style elements.  The author also includes excerpts from her actual journal from that year.

I really liked Little Fish, and I can definitely see myself recommending it to my teens at the library, especially the ones who are college-bound next year.  Ramsey's voice is very genuine throughout the book.  I'm not too far removed from college myself and I totally remember the whole feeling of missing home while away and then almost immediately missing college when you go home for breaks!  The book's format is another plus; it completely works for the message that is conveyed and the audience that it's geared toward.  It's a pretty quick and easy read for someone who has so much more on their mind:  what will my roommate be like?  Will my classes be too hard?  What if I don't like the cafeteria food?  

I've read plenty of reviews of Little Fish that gripe about the lack of character and plot development, but I have to disagree.  I think Ramsey shows lots of growth through the book, and I don't think there needs to be an earth-shattering moment of conflict to count as "plot."  It's a memoir, so it is what it is.  Yes, Ramsey's freshman year is little sedate, but that's ok.  And I think that's an ok message to get across.  You don't have to have nights of drunken debauchery or high-risk shenanigans to have an awesome freshman year of college.  You can just enjoy making new friends through roommates and classmates, and go out to dinner and concerts.  I think one of the sweetest moments in the book is when Ramsey is packing for college and she takes a stuffed bear, then wonders if her roommates will think she's weird.  I took a bear to college too!  I think lots of girls probably take a little memento of home/childhood to college with them.  I also really liked the addition of the zine style elements to some pages of the book.  Ramsey switches effortlessly and seamlessly between zine style and graphic novel style and it totally works, and makes this book stand out.

Overall:  4.5 of 5 stars!

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan | Book Review

Throwback Review!

This is pitiful how many good books I've read and then didn't take the time to write out a review for!  I promise, there are full reviews of the rest of the books that I've read in this series.  They're fantastic books: full of adventure and laughs and gender-neutral.... great for middle grades and high schoolers.  On Goodreads, I gave this book, the first in the series, 3 of 5 stars.  I ended up giving the next two books in the series 4 or 5 of 5 stars each... not sure what my thought was only giving this 3 of 5 stars!  See, this is why writing something, even just a few sentences, is important when reviewing books!  Or how do I know why I thought what I thought?

Here's the Goodreads synopsis/review, so that you can at least have the plot before you read my reviews of the following books in the series:

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.