Robbie's Reads

Dragon Flight

by Jessica Day George

Published April 2008

Bloomsbury USA

288 Pages Hardback

In this sequel to Dragon Slippers, Creel and company travel to the southern country of Citatie, where an army mounted on dragons is poised to invade Feravel.

Seriously, that is my whole summary. The plot is so simple and elegant, but so wonderfully crafted, that all I have to say about it can be summed up there. Of course, there are some points that I would not spoil for you, so you’ll just have to read and find out.

Let me start with the negative point. At the end of Dragon Slippers, a certain event/adventure is hinted at. At the beginning of Dragon Flight, that adventure/event has already happened and the reader is left scratching their head for fifteen pages or so until what exactly happened is explained. Actually, as a whole this novel starts off slower than its predecessor. The first novel gripped me from the very first sentence, whereas this one took until page 74 until I was really into it (yes, I can pinpoint exactly when it got juicy).

Despite those points, though, Dragon Flight is every bit as wonderful and for the same reasons as the first. The story is a traditional “high fantasy”, executed with an understated elegance and simplicity. There are twists and turns, sure, but overall it’s just a classic story that’s fun to read. All the characters from the original return, excepting antagonists such as Amalia and Derda (who is debatable as being an antagonist, but I digress). There are new characters too, but they are mostly villains to take the place of the ones we’ve lost, as well as a few new dragons. We also get to see Marta fleshed out more.

I would also like to point out that there is no map in this book. I was under the impression that Roulain was to the north of Feravel, when it is actually South. A handy map would have been nice.

Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this followup, and I’m going to the library tomorrow to inquire as to why they own the first and second books in a trilogy but not the third. Then, I shall proceed to be cranky until it arrives from some other library.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

As part of my FCC compliance, this is my full disclosure of where the last 20 books I reviewed came from. Actually, I don’t really care about the FCC, but this is an interesting way to see how I am balancing my reviews. I don’t remember who actually started this trend/meme/whatever-you-call-it, but if someone does, let me know so I can spread the link love.

What They Always Tell Us–libary

Leviathan–library

Dragon Slippers–library

Will Grayson, Will Grayson–Bistro Book Club

Candor–library

Everything Beautiful–publisher sent to me (I did not request)

Side Effects–already owned

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days–library

Beastly–library

Beautiful Creatures–Bistro Book Club

Hush, Hush–I requested from publisher

David Inside Out–author requested I review, Bistro Book Club

Hate List–Traveling to Teens Tour, provided by publisher

Under the Mountain–interlibrary loan from Utah

Mysterious Mr. Spines: Wings–picked up at publisher’s booth at ALA in January

Wings–picked up at publisher’s booth at ALA in January

Another Faust–Bistro Book Club

Gay America: Struggle for Equality–received as gift

Surf Mules–publicist requested I review and provided book

Libyrinth–I requested from publisher

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

What They Always Tell Us

by Martin Wilson

Published August 2008

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

304 Pages Hardback

I didn’t finish this one either. I picked it up at the library because, based on the cover and flap, I guessed that it was a GLBT book, even though there’s no mention of that whatsoever. I was right.

What They Always Tell Us is the story of two brothers, James and Alex, who have grown apart. James longs to get accepted to Duke university and get out of the town they live in; Alex is known around town for drinking Pine-Sol at a party a few months ago.

The first thing that really, really jarred me was that the book is written in third-person present. For example, James does this and thinks that and runs over there. There’s only ever been one other book I’ve read that was written in that way, which makes sense. It is a very very awkward way to read. Throw in the alternating protagonists, and I just felt estranged and alienated.

Other than that, though, I felt that the book was very slow. I kept reading for awhile because I was mildly intrigued, but after fifty pages I called my losses and decided to not finish the book. I will point out, though, that it has very good reviews on Amazon, so I’d recommend checking out some other reviews before passing.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Lisa Mantchev, author of the fabulous Eyes Like Stars understands that money is tight this holiday season, and so she’s giving away some cool prizes over on her blog! All you have to do is let her know, in some creative fashion, how the fairies (Mustardseed, Cobweb, Peaseblossom, and Moth) would help hinder help you prepare for your holiday of choice!

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Leviathan

by Scott Westerfeld

Published by Simon Pulse

Published October 2009

448 Pages Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1416971733

I was looking forward to reading the newest novel from Scott Westerfeld for some time, especially what with all the great reviews the teens at the Bistro Book Club gave it. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get very far into it before deciding to put it down.

I would like to begin with, of all things, the design and layout. The book is awkwardly shaped, being taller and thinner than a “standard” sized hardcover. This makes it awkward to hold and read, and with the margins it means that there isn’t even a lot of text per page. My best guess as to the odd size is that it fit the drawings better.

I generally do not enjoy historical fiction, and Leviathan helped me to pinpoint why: I feel like I need to know things in order to read it. Sure, all the information you need is in the novel, but I still felt like I was missing things, like why Alex’s parent’s had been killed. I remember reading somewhere… Anyway, that really bothered me.

On the matter of the illustrations, it was a nice attempt, but I felt that they were not right for the novel. For one thing, they were too detailed and made it difficult for me to picture the characters and machines as I envisioned. There should be more illustrations in YA and MG books, but this didn’t feel like one of the ones I would have put them in.

In all, it was just a bunch of little things that irked me about Leviathan, and I have no doubt that were it not for them, I probably would have enjoyed the novel had I stuck it out. But, alas, I haven’t the time to give a novel more than its fair chance when there are others calling to me…

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Dragon Slippers

by Jessica Day George

Published by Bloomsbury USA

Published March 2007

336 Pages Hardcover

I first read Dragon Slippers, Jessica Day George’s first novel, back in 2007 right before it was released. A friend of mine had obtained the very last ARC of it at the ALA’s annual conference. Apparently, the spine had been sliced when the box was being opened, and what was left was two halves of the book bound together with a rubber band. How endearing it was. Anyway, I really enjoyed the book then (click here to read my original review) and always sort of wondered if the sequel(s) had been released. It was at City Market (!) a few months ago that the third book was available for purchase and I realized I needed to go back and start from the beginning again. My earlier view still holds.

Creelisel Carlbrun is an orphan from the town of Carlieff. With no dowry, her aunt decides to leave Creel in the local cave where a dragon is rumored to live, with the hopes that a knight will rescue and marry her. Instead, though, Creel bargains with the very much real and alive dragon, and walks out of his cave with a new pair of shoes, destined for the King’s Seat to make her way as an embroideress. On the way, she meets another dragon, a prince, a princess, and several seamstresses (including a “dressmaker who breathes fire”). In the end, though, it’s just this simple girl on whose shoulders the fate of the kingdom rests.

The best way I can think of to summarize Dragon Slippers is “old-fashioned”. It reminds me very much of the work of Tamora Pierce, in that it is traditional fantasy with a strong female heroine. The characters aren’t very original, and there’s no experimental innovation, no sparkly vampires werewolves twins pirates knitting patterns, it’s just a simple, clean fantasy story the way they used to make them.

I really enjoyed this book, both the first time and three years later, and I recommend it to anyone who likes traditional fantasy or just good storytelling.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

This is a new meme from Book Chick City, inspired by The Story Siren’s “In My Mailbox” (which I rarely participate in). Anyway, I’ll talk about a book(s) that I do not have yet, but would like to purchase or receive as a gift. This week I wish ti talk about Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. Seen it floating around for several months, and heard great things about it. Debut author, so always want to read those. What’s more, I’m kind of meeting her in a few weeks when I go to Salt Lake, so I know I’ll buy it at the event and have her sign it. Still, though, it’s one that I’ve wanted for awhile and not purchased for some unidentifiable reason.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Book Chic had an excellent idea. Do a sort of mini-review style thingy, and then hold my full review back until closer to the publication date. Thus, I bring you my first PReview. Gettit? Preview-Review! Look for my full review in March!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green & David Levithan

Published by Penguin/Dutton

Release Date: April 6, 2010

Annotation: Two teenage boys, both named Will Grayson, meet under unlikely circumstances and watch as their lives intersect.

Thoughts & Observations:

Alternating points of view. Easy to tell which chapters were written by which author.

No capitalization in what I assume are David Levithan’s chapters. This made sense, but was kind of annoying.

I got the reference for Tiny Dancer, but that’s an age thing I think.

Had a “David Levithan Ending” where all the characters have revelations about the meaning of life.

Had gay characters.

Cover is amazing. And shiny.

John Green and David Levithan. So much awesome.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Well, there have been sightings of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s Beautiful Creatures for the past two days or so, and apparently Amazon is shipping it, despite the release date of December 4. This is hardly uncommon, but there are exactly two bookstores in my town. Thus, I set out today to locate the elusive tome “in the wild”.

I first stopped at Borders. I told the saleslady that I was looking for a book that  hadn’t hit street date yet, but that some stores have it already. She looked it up on the computer, and she turns to me and says, “It’s not out until December 4th.” I stare at her, since I know that I already told her that. I ask if she can check if it might be in the back, and she says something about getting sued for putting a book out early, that they don’t have it in the back, yadda yadda yadda. Well, Borders, I consistently find rude and/or stupid associates at your store, so no wonder you’re almost going bankrupt.

Next I hit Barnes and Noble, and much to my glee, there were three shiny copies on the “featured” young adult shelf! I snapped a copy up, and gushed about it to the teen girl and her mother there (as well as some other books), and they picked it up to buy. That left only one copy left on the shelf, so I really hope they have more on order!

Overall, my mission was a success!

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Candor

by Pam Bachorz

Published September 2009 by Egmont USA

256 pages, hardcover

ISBN: 978-1606840122

Egmont is a well-known publisher of children’s books in the UK, but when they decided to roll out a USA branch this year, they were gambling. The economy of the book world is suffering, and there are so many great children’s publishers here in the USA. Luckily, Egmont acquired some fabulous titles by authors both new and old for their fall catalog, among them Candor, by first time author Pam Bachorz.

Candor, Florida, is actually the opposite. The whole town is a lie, built upon subliminal messages fed to the population through constant elevator music. Children do what their parents tell them to, put academics first, and are mindful of respectful space in every place. Except for one. Oscar Banks is the son of the founder of Candor, and he’s trained himself to resist the messages when he wants to; most of the time, though, he pretends to be the good teenager he is supposed to be. Until Nia Silva skateboards into town with a can of spray paint and black nail polish, and Oscar can’t stand to see her brainwashed. Will he risk everything for love and freedom?

The idea of people being brainwashed isn’t really new, but I can’t think of any YA fiction that deals with it. I also can’t think of scenarios where people from the inside are doing the rescuing, rather than someone from the outside. There are a lot of very interesting plot elements that made Candor very easy to read. Foremost in my mind is the ending. As I was barreling towards it, I was biting my lip hoping and praying for a certain ending, and Ms. Bachorz gave it to me. I think that the ending (which I will not be revealing) is absolutely perfect and that other authors should take note.

Oscar is a great narrator. I loved seeing the internal struggle against the Messages, and found the whole thing very eery but fascinating. Seeing when he would go along, when he would fight, et cetera. Campbell Banks, Oscar’s Father, was another good one, reminding me of the father from The Compound, although I would have liked a little more of him. Nia was fairly standard, but I enjoyed her more in the second half of the novel. Then, of course, there are Sherman and Mandi, the two that I loved to hate.

With its page-turning suspense and tight plot, Candor was easy to read and very enjoyable. I recommend it for fans of dystopian science fiction and psychological horror especially.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

The winner of the Hush, Hush mini poster is…Amber! I’ve e-mailed her already, but I wanted to thank all of you for entering. All six of you. =P

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

I need y’all’s opinions on something. I finished reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan. It doesn’t come out until April 2010. Now, in the past, I posted reviews as soon as I had read the book, so my Catching Fire review was (I think) the first one on the internet. However, I know that it’s more advantageous for a book’s sales if reviews are posted right before or on the sale date. Still, though, then we have all these posts of the same books floating around the blogosphere.

There are also a few reviews that I withheld for months, like Beautiful Creatures and I wonder if I couldn’t have written a better review earlier. ‘Course, I could have written it after reading and scheduled it I suppose.

Opinions? Thoughts? Etc. I especially want thoughts from readers, other bloggers, authors, publishers, editors, and agents. I need as many different views as possible here! Thank you.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Everything Beautiful

by Simmone Howell

Bloomsbury USA, 2008

292 Pages Hardcover

I was mildly intrigued by the cover and flap for this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everything Beautiful ended up being a humorous, fresh, and intelligent coming-of-age story.

Riley Rose has been exiled to The Palace of Suckdom, more commonly known as Spirit Ranch. Located in the middle of the Australian wilderness, Spirit Ranch is basically a “Jesus Camp”, and Riley is firmly agnostic, not to mention that she’s going to miss Ben Sebatini’s party. However, Riley is surprised to find not only people at Spirit Ranch who she can call friends, but also Dylan. Dylan is returning to Spirit Ranch this year with a new twist; his legs are paralyzed and he is confined to a wheelchair. Riley finds a kindred spirit in Dylan, and maybe the Palace of Suckdom doesn’t have to suck…

I have to start off by mentioning the cover. Whoever designed it has obviously not read the book. First, the main character is described as being significantly voluptuous; second, at the beginning of the novel Riley cuts off all her hair and dyes it purple. The cover model (which is from stock photography like many YA covers) is not heavy and has shoulder-length brown hair.

Anyway, getting past that. The style and voice of Everything Beautiful are what carries the otherwise simple plot to make the book excellent. While some of the vocabulary was a bit magniloquent, the overall tone is acerbic and witty. Oftentimes simple observations can be very amusing, and such was the case here.

Riley is an interesting character. Many times, a good girl finds a bad boy, but in this case a bad girl finds a bad boy and the combination is fresh and interesting. Despite Dylan’s paraplegia, this book isn’t overly preachy, so that was a nice bonus. Several supporting characters are at first stereotypes, but every single one of them is fleshed out until that is no longer the case. Even the camp counselors have added depth and dimensions so that they are multi-dimensional characters, distinct creations that will stay in your head.

I was not fond of the ending, I must say, but on further consideration I realize that the ending is probably significantly more realistic than the one I would have preferred. Certainly, Riley has grown as a character and discovered who she is and how she fits into the world around her, which is kind of the point of a coming-of-age novel. The ending isn’t sad or happy, because it’s not really and end so much as a beginning.

Overall, Everything Beautiful was an effective narrative combining a vivacious narrator and great characters. Definitely recommended for those that enjoy “issues” novels.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Side Effects

by Amy Goldman Koss

Roaring Brook, October 2006

144 pages, hardcover

ISBN: 978-1596432949

My original review from 2006:

Isabelle wakes up one morning with swollen throat glands. After a doctor’s visit, it is discovered that she has stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a kind of cancer. SIDE EFFECTS is about Izzy’s struggle to survive amidst a crumbling life.

So, a cancer story. She dies, and before that there’s lots of angst and woe, right? WRONG! SIDE EFFECTS, which is based off the author’s experieince with a loved one’s battle, is different. Izzy does not die from the lymphoma (you find that out from the very beginning), for one. Moreover, Izzy is a defiant spirit, and for much of the book she is vibrant and alaive [sic] and just plain FUNNY! She has a quirky attitude and a devil-may-care outlook on life that nis [sic] very refreshing.

The book is paced quite well. At about 140 pages, you won’t get bored. Even if it were three times as long, I doubt I would have cared, as it’s just such a fresh new look and so entertaining. This is a book that you won’t want to put down. And I can’t say I blame you. 5Q, 5P

Three years later, Side Effects is just as funny, moving, and well-told as ever. I enjoyed laughing with Izzie at ridiculous things (peeing into a bowl), I felt miserable when she did (chemo. ew.), and I was amused at some of the antic that she got into (medical marijuana causes the munchies, after all).

I think that the volume’s slim size is just right. While the later parts of the book are actually quite brief, Izzie is so miserably sick that they seem prolonged, and it’s just a relief when it’s all finally over. It’s probably more realistic this way, as well, since the more sick Izzie gets the less will to fight she retains, much like actual cancer patients.

Definitely recommended for fans of books like Tuesdays with Morrie, anyone who likes “issues” books, or anyone who has ever known anyone with cancer.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

I’m having trouble coming up with idea for my next (few) Reader’s Advisory post! What genres are you all looking for new books in? What are books you really liked that you want to read things similar to?

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (#4)

by Jeff Kinney

hardcover, 224 pages

Amulet Books, October 2009

ISBN: 978-0810983915

The latest installment in Jeff Kinney’s inventive bestsellers, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, follows Greg Heffley as he navigates his summer vacation. What starts as a plan to stay inside playing video games may not pan out when Mom and her plans for “family bonding” come along, and a trip to the beach may leave Greg a little shaken from the Cranium Shaker.

Overall, this installment is stronger than the last (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw) thanks to an overarching theme, but it lacks the punch of the first two. While amusing, I didn’t laugh out loud as many times. Still, the mix of inventive real-life-inspired narrative and amusing caricatures proves as always to be a winning combination. And really, we’ve all been traumatized by those people in the changing room.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Beastly

by Alex Flinn

hardcover, 320 pages

HarperTeen, September 2007

ISBN: 978-0060874162

A modern fairy tale. Paranormal romance. A male protagonist. All things that I usually like to read. Unfortunately, Beastly began well and slowly began to deteriorate, and by the end I was not impressed.

In this modern-day version of Beauty and the Beast, we follow Kyle Kingsbury, who is handsome, rich, and a total asshat. When he accidentally pisses off a witch, she curses him with the appearance of a beast. Only if he can find someone to love who will love him in return will he be returned to his former self.

The basic idea is nothing new, but certainly interesting. Modern fairy tales are such a great way to infuse new life in to a story. In this case, I really enjoyed reading about Kyle’s life before the transformation and how he deals with it immediately after. I found the idea of a witch disguised as a high school student amusing and fresh. Once the “beauty” shows up, though, the story starts to become uninspired and bland, and by the close of the novel I was ready to hurl from all the sappy sentimentality (which is not something I’d usually say). As the story wore on, it felt like Flinn ran out of ideas to keep it fresh and fell back on the Disney movie for the bulk of her inspiration.

Kyle begins the story, naturally, as a non-literal beast, and then transforms into an actual one. I liked the reading and how he filled his time in the first half of the book, but later on he started talking and thinking in a more traditional fairy tale way that seemed out 0f character for him. He also mentions this in the text, and if a character mentions that they are speaking strangely, it’s usually a good indicator that the author should change the text. I enjoyed Will, the blind tutor, and his mixture of sarcasm and caring. A little voice inside of me kept thinking that if the novel really wanted to throw a twist to the reader, Will would have been the “beauty” character, but that doesn’t pan out. As for Linda, well, her name means “beauty” in Spanish, so there was a hint of irony there, but otherwise I found her ridiculously bland and one dimensional.

I really enjoyed this book at first, but when the actual fairy tale elements started feeling crammed in I grew tired, and the second half feels less inspired than the first. Not a bad novel, for sure, but I felt disappointed.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Beautiful Creatures

by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

hardback, 576 pages

Published by Little, Brown, December 2009

ISBN: 978-0316042673

Ok, Beautiful Creatures isn’t technically out until December, but I know for a fact that the actual books are printed and ready. Thus, they’ll probably start trickling onto a few shelves within the next month or so. Since I read this novel a few months ago, I have been trying my hardest to keep my mouth sealed. I caved and made my first trailer instead.

Ethan Wate lives in the small, Southern town of Gatlin. We’re talking one road and a gas station small. His life is a pale imitation of what it could be; his father has become a recluse since Ethan’s mother died, and while the housekeeper Amma is kind and caring, Ethan dreams of something outside his tiny cage. Then one day, Lena Duchannes comes to town, the eccentric niece of the town hermit. Ethan and Lena have an instant attraction to one another, but while their friends and family try to keep them apart, there are more sinister problems brewing. Magical problems.

The story begins as your typical paranormal romance, albeit from the male’s point of view and with the unique Southern flavor. Small town, new girl, instant attraction, danger, yadda yadda yadda. It develops into so much more. Stohl and Garcia have crafted a world so rich and full of history that has taken place more than a century before the characters were born. There are flashbacks to the Civil War era, and action then will have repercuions in the present. One of the most elegant plot points is the ambiguity of good and evil; this contrasts nicely with the controlled unravelling of the mysteries. What may seem true one moment will be shattered the next, only to be reassembled as something else later. Also of note are the detailed family trees of several characters.

Speaking of which, the characters are definitely the selling point of the novel. First there is Ethan, our young protagonist. He’s a basketball player, and he fits in alright, but of course he really doesn’t. It makes perfect sense that he should gravitate to the world of the weird. The dichotomy between the starcrossed lovers is amazing, both lost in different ways. He fits into the real world, but isn’t where he wants to be; she struggles to find a place in that world, but she is tied to the supernatural. I was also fond of the supporting cast, in particular Amma and a certain uncle.

In an atmosphere where paranormal romances are a dime a dozen (and many are sub-par), Beautiful Creatures stands out as a lovely, elegantly crafted mystery-romance, and I look forward to the rest of this projected five book (!) series.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Ok, I am ashamed to say that I have yet to finish The Kindling of GreeFyr by Mark Freeman. I’ve had it for a few months now, and I’m part of this week’s Traveling to Teens tour. I’m chipping away at it (it’s over 500 pages!), I promise, and I will write a review as soon as I can. In the meantime, I’ve compiled a list of other reviews to look at. Many other bloggers have posted positive reviews for this novel, which is actually self-published through PublishAmerica. So if there are any editors reading this, you may look into purchasing the manuscript. Also, the first chapter is up to view on Goodreads.

The Book Cellar — 3.5/5 Stars

Bookworming in the 21st Century — 5/5 Roses

Cornucopia of Reviews — A-

Teens Read Too — 5/5 Stars

Chica Reader — A-

Once again, I do apologize for everyone (anyone?) who was looking forward to my review today. I shall kick myself in the pants.

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.

Ok, so I really liked the ending in the advance copies of Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush. However, for the actual book, she reverted to the original ending she used. And while I miss a certain line, it’s basically just an extension, and it’s even better. Blame the romantic in me. Anyway, the cover for the finished book is lovely, printed on sort of shiny matte paper. It’s really lovely, and I was lucky enough to receive three mini posters of it. I’m keeping one, and donating one to the public library here, so that the teen section can be less sucky. The third one, my pretties, is going to be mailed out to one of you!

Simply post a comment and you’ll be entered to win. USA/Canada only, sorry. Contest ends October 31st!

Mirrored from BoyWithBooks.com.