The Diary of a Teenage Girl by Phoebe Gloeckner

I was really blown away by the raw power of this book. Diary of a Teenage Girl is about a young girl named Minnie growing up in 1970’s San Francisco. It is written in a diary format that also includes cartoons, much like a graphic novel, that also tell the story. Minnie comes from a broken home and has no positive role models in her life. Feeling unloved and unwanted she turns to sex and drugs to fill the void in her life. This could easily turn into a cliche, but it is Minnie’s distinctive voice and the incredible artwork that lifts the material so it becomes a truly powerful story. Throughout the story Minnie battles with depression, suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse (by a family member and a friend), and drug abuse.

Because of the subject matter, this book is appropriate for teens that are 16 and older. It should be of interest to anyone who is into alternative and underground comics, coming of age stories, or has a connection to the subject matter. Highly recommended.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

The 39 Clues is a new book series released by Scholastic. Rick Riordan has written the first novel and plotted out the other nine books. There are also trading cards, a website, and sweepstakes tied to the series. If you create an online account, collect the cards, and figure out their clues, you could win lots of money. On one hand the profit motive is an obvious driving force for the series. Scholastic wants to make money. On the other it is a grand experiment in connecting a story through different media - a serialized novel, the audiobook, the trading cards, and the web. There are clues all over - in the physical book (there are misnumbered pages), a hidden track on the audiobook, and the trading cards have problems to solve. All this is well and good, but what is The 39 Clues about? And is it any good?

Let us answer the second question first. Is it good? Yes. I enjoyed it and found it to be an interesting mix of the movie ‘Goonies” and Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code. Rick Riordan has written a great start to the series and I hope the other books can live up to this one. Unfortunately each book will be written by a different author, each being released a few months after the last (book 2 is due in December) for a total of 10 over 2 years. Plus there is a movie already being planned. Between the interconnectivity and the schedule it makes the series rather complex, which makes selling it to readers rather hard. At times it almost seems like too much information at once. For example, here I am on my second paragraph of my review and I have yet to discuss any content. I have had similar discussions with patrons already, and then when we do get to the plot of the series it is almost as an afterthought. The consensus I have come across online is that the actual characters and plot might wind up like they do in my discussions of the book, an afterthought. Fortunately Riordan has made a very entertaining beginning and let’s hope that Scholastic doesn’t drop the ball in the following chapters.

So what is The 39 Clues about? Amy and Dan Cahill are caught up in a globe hopping adventure as they must find and deduce hidden historical clues. Their grandmother, Grace Cahill, the matriarch of the family, has suddenly died, and has left a peculiar will. A handful of family members are chosen as beneficiaries and given a choice. They can either collect a million dollar inheritance or they could receive the first clue to the Cahill family’s ultimate treasure, one that they have protected throughout history and one that would give the winning family member extraordinary political power. Those that choose the clue must compete against one another to be the winners. Unfortunately for Amy and Dan, their family members just happen to be the motliest, most dangerous, and most ruthless individuals this side of Voldermort. So begins their race to figure out the first clue. These clues could be invisible messages in ancient documents, or buried deep underground, or just in the local library. What the clues do, though, is lead them on a scavenger hunt that takes them around the world, and ultimately to Paris.

Honestly, think of The DaVinci Code, but with kids, and minus the religion, but with more of the type of danger the kids from “Goonies” find themselves in. I really enjoyed it. In the end I think we need to look past the complexity of the engineered 39 Clues phenomena and see the extremely enjoyable, well written adventure yarn that it is. Go read it. The Maze of Bones is highly recommended and suitable for all ages.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

The Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven
Rise of the Evening Star
Grip of the Shadow Plague

I have read the first two book so far and absolutely love these books. If you need a fantasy fix you should definitely check these out.

Kendra and Seth are just a normal sister and brother until their first visit to their grandparents’ estate. Their grandparents have always been aloof and mysterious. They hardly visit and when they do it is only one or the other but never both. When they arrive at the estate only Grandpa Sorenson is there to greet them, and lays out bizarre rules they have to abide by. They are given a chicken, to care for, forced to sleep in the attic, and not allowed to venture onto the grounds of the estate. Kendra is given however three small keys as part of a riddle. The riddle leads her to a seemingly empty journal, but she finds a small inscription towards the back, “Drink the Milk.”

Once she and her brother drink the milk, their eyes are opened to the reality of the estate - it is a giant preserve for mythical and magical creatures, Fablehaven. The butterflies they have been seeing are actually fairies. Seth inadvertently offends the fairies when he captures one and starts a chain reaction that turns their first visit to their grandparents into an adventure of life and death proportions. Soon a demon is loosed and is about to tear Fablehaven asunder. It is up to Kendra and Seth to save the preserve and find out about Evening Star, a shadowy organization who is really behind all the mischief in Fablehaven. The second and third books continue the children’s exploits at Fablehaven as they fight to stand against the overwhelming forces of the Evening Star.

This series is incredibly well written and highly enjoyable. After reading the first volume I had to pick up the second right away. I would have read the third by now but it was checked out. This series is enjoyable for all ages. Anyone who likes magic, fairies, ogres, satyrs, witches, and demons will love this series as much as I do.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

The Man With The Golden Torc by Simon R. Green

Add a dash of James Bond, a pinch of Clive Barker, and a heaping tablespoon of explosions, shootouts, and fisticuffs. Then bring to a boil and voila! You now have Simon R. Green’s heterogeneous mixture of these various genre elements, and you know what? It tastes good.

The Drood families are the secret protectors of the world. They protect the world from everything: aliens, monsters, extradimensional entities, demons, and even megalomaniacal villains who want to conquer the world. All Droods are given a golden torc (a necklace around the throat, sort of like a choker) which gives them the ability to cover their bodies with invulnerable golden armor, as well as superhuman strength. Edwin Drood, our hero, has been a faithful, yet distant, member of the family and has a reputation for punching first and not asking questions later. When he is declared rogue and his family turns on him, his world comes crashing down around him. He is now on the run from them and all the bad guys their money can hire. His only allies are former enemies, a witch, and an immortal Jack the Ripper. He will need to hit, break, smash, and crush everything in his way in order to clear his name. Along the way he starts to question his life, why he does what he does, and who are the real bad guys in the world. It looks like he will have to start using his noggin if he wants to survive.

This is an advanced read, and suitable for everyone 16 and up. There is a large amount of violence, lots of gore, but that is to be expected with a horror/action hybrid. There is also some minor sexual content as well that may make it inappropriate for younger readers. Another drawback is that the book takes a bit to pick up, but only because it is the first in a series and needs to lay out the foundation for its supernatural world. This book would mostly appeal anyone who is really into supernatural/gothic horror or who really needs a good action fix.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

My Summer On Earth by Tom Lombardi

Before I begin my review I would like to let you know that this book has a large amount of foul language, frank discussions of sex, nudity, and crass humor. This book is intended for young adults who are 16 or older and who are not put off by the previously mentioned items. With that out of the way, I really enjoyed the book and found it extremely funny, and think it would be great for reluctant older male readers.

Click here for the full review

Posted under a librarian reads, review

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Daniel X is a 14 year old orphan with incredible powers and a heavy responsibility. He can run incredibly fast, read minds, and create objects with his mind. He even recreates his murdered family when he feels lonely. And what does an orphaned boy with superpowers do everyday? He hunts aliens that are secretly living on Earth. Daniel owns a special laptop that supplies him with a most wanted list of alien threats to Earth. When he decides to go after #6 on the list he bites off more then he bargained for and may face his first defeat. The problem is that in his line of work defeat usually means death.

For me, this book did not live up to its potential. The idea of Daniel X, a teenage alien bounty hunter, is really cool but in the hands of James Patterson it just comes out as if you are reading the Cliffs Notes version of a better book. It is frustrating that the narrative is watered down as much as it is because it made it difficult for me to really get into and enjoy the book. By the end of the book I was enjoying it a bit more, although the ending is just as rushed as the rest of the book. The concept though holds a lot of promise and I really hope that the second in the series will slow down and show us more of Daniel, his job, and powers, and not the slide show tour that made up the first book. Daniel X is appropriate for all readers, and will interest boys who are looking for a quick action book with sci-fi elements. Its narrative problems may work in its favor when introduced to reluctant readers, who may not expect to invest a lot of time in a novel.

Posted under a librarian reads, review

Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper

This is the first of three (so far) books that mix vampires and pirates together and surprisingly they work pretty well together, not unlike a good fluffernutter sandwich. I know what you are thinking. How could peanut butter, bananas and marshmallow creme go well together? Dude. You just have to try it. And it is much the same with Vampirates. It has the swashbuckling adventure that we all know and love from those famous Johnny Depp pirate movies. It also has creepy gothic vampires who just happen to have an affinity for the seven seas.

Grace and Connor are the children of a reclusive lighthouse keeper. He sings them old sea chanties to calm them down before bedtime. The children’s favorite chanty is about Vampirates, a sea faring vampire clan that plunder, and pillage, but also feast, on human blood. Soon the kids grow into young adults and their father passes away. Left orphaned, they turn to the sea and take off on their father’s small yacht. Suddenly a storm comes from nowhere and they are cast into the sea. Grace is rescued by the mysterious Vampirates, while Connor is saved by a gang of pirates. It is up to Connor to learn the pirate trades of sword fighting and pillaging in order to rescue his sister from becoming a vampire’s dinner. And it is up to Grace to find the truth behind the Vampirates and their reason for sailing the ocean blue.

This book is suitable for all ages, and has strong male and female main characters. It would be a good read for anyone who likes adventure, vampires, historical fiction, and suspense. Justin Somper does a wonderful job of setting the stage for a series of books without being obvious about it. One warning, Demons of the Ocean has an abrupt end so make sure you have the second book on hand so you can pick up the story right away.

Posted under a librarian reads, review