Cycler by Lauren Mclaughlin
OMG! I loved this book. Jill McTeague desperately wants to go to prom with Tommy Knutson, but she has an unusual medical condition that may stop her. Once a month, right before her period, she transmogrifies into a adolescent male for four days. Her parent’s keep Jack (Jill’s male persona) locked in the house each month for his entire four day existence. The family’s cover story is that Jill is absent once a month from school due to blood transfusions.
The problem is that Jack has a crush of his own, on Jill’s best friend Ramie, and decides to sneak out in order to express his adoration. As the book progresses the love triangle just gets more and more awkwardly humorous. As prom approaches Jill isn’t sure who is going to attend, Jack? Jill? Tommy? Ramie? Definitely pick this one up to find out, and don’t worry a sequel is already in the works. One FYI, this book does contain frank discussions of sex. Appropriate for anyone 14 and up. Highly Recommended.
September 30th, 2008
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.
September 22nd, 2008
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.
The main character of My Summer On Earth is Clint Eastwood. Well, it’s actually a “human suit” created by a race of incorporeal aliens to resemble a 16 year old Clint Eastwood, and sent down to Earth to be worn by one of their own adolescent beings. Clint’s mission is to find an alien previously sent to earth who has become a world famous movie star. Unfortunately, Clint’s superiors failed to teach him how to use the suit, or anything about human culture. He finds a friend in 15 year old Zoë, who has run away from home and crashes either with friends or on the beach. Clint also befriends Kip, an older homeless man with a heroin addiction. As a self-focused teen Clint quickly becomes sidetracked by the me-first culture of Southern California. There are many things Clint wants to do, other than his mission (his foremost concern is human lovemaking). Once he finds the alien movie star, he is introduced to Hollywood. The gleam of So Cal life soon becomes tarnished, and Clint discovers just how hard it is to be human.
I loved this book. It was very funny and read very quickly. Because of the adult content it is appropriate for older readers (16+). It would work really well for males who are reluctant readers. The sci-fi aspect is just a MacGuffin for a fish out of water story, and to satirize life in the 21st century. It’s also a coming of age tale where a young man, focused solely on his own pleasure, begins to genuinely care for those immediately around him, and then for all people. The book mainly focuses on its humor but the message is definitely there, it just doesn’t hit you in the face.
August 18th, 2008
Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
This is the first book in the House of Night series which chronicles the adventures of Zoey Redbird as she attends the boarding school for fledging vampires. As the novel opens Zoey is just a young teenage girl. She goes to school, dates the school quarterback, and gossips with her friends. There is a deeper side to her though. Her home life is far from perfect, with a demeaning and controlling step-father. Her one place she can be herself is with her grandmother, who owns a lavender farm and is part Native American. Zoey’s Cherokee heritage plays a big part in the novel and helps her overcome obstacles later on in the book.
Life changes for Zoey when she becomes marked as a fledging vampire. This happens one day after school and instantaneously a quarter moon tattoo appears on her forehead. This has happened before at school and always with ridicule for those who have been marked. But what is worse is that she knows that her step-father, who is extremely conservative, will totally freak out. She eventually makes it to her grandmother’s farm, all while getting increasingly sick. Those who have been marked become allergic to sunlight and will eventually die unless they make lifestyle changes. Zoey doesn’t find her grandmother on the farm, and ends up collapsing on a cliff. In her exhaustion she receives a vision of the vampire goddess, Nyx, who claims Zoey as one of her own and blesses her, and implies great things for Zoey’s future.
Fortunately for Zoey her grandmother finds her and delivers her to the House of Night. Most of the novel is spent introducing Zoey (and us the readers) to a new and different world. She quickly makes friends and gets used to going to classes at night. One major difference between vampire school and regular school is that at any moment a person’s body could reject the vampire mark, which causes them to die. And on top of this she has become enemy number one for the most popular girl in school, Aphrodite, a high priestess in training and leader of the Dark Daughters, an after school club for the most elite fledging vampires. Zoey has to rely on her heritage, her friends, and her faith in order to succeed.
I liked a lot of this book, but I disliked a lot of it too. Overall I thought it was pretty ingenious and a good mash-up of vampires and school drama. On the other hand it was very obvious that this is the first book in a series, as it is fairly light on plot (until the last 60 pages or so), and relies a lot on introducing readers to the life of a young vampire. This novel also wears its YA-ness in its sleeve. Some of the supporting characters intentionally use big words, only to have other characters define them for Zoey and the reader. (Honestly, Zoey is so worldly it surprises me that she has a rather limited vocabulary.) I do like the fact that it isn’t afraid to broach the subjects of sex and drugs, but again it goes out of its way to make sure that readers know that Zoey doesn’t do those sorts of things and in fact frowns upon them. I don’t mind the lesson in morality per se, but rather I dislike the ham handedness of it. The book at times seems to be trying to hard to be relevant to teens, instead of just telling a good story. That being said, this series is quite popular. I would recommend this book for younger girls (eighth grade and up) who have an open mind and are not put off with the frank discussions of sex, drugs, and the occasional swear word and with one caveat: Marked is great when it’s telling its story, but falls flat when it over reaches for relevance.
June 12th, 2008
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
This book deserves 4 stars.
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood was very good. But sometimes it dragged on too long about one topic. But overall it was a fantastic book!
February 13th, 2008
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
This book deserves 5 stars.
I absolutely loved this book, I thought that this book deserves 5 stars because the book tells about a teenage friendship and how strong it is. I thought that this book was very good.
February 13th, 2008
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
This book deserves 5 stars.
It was amazing.
February 12th, 2008
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