Spit-Spot!

Have you ever just wanted to read something FUN? Something not weighed down with heavy themes? Something that's entertaining, exciting, yet has a positive outlook on life?

Well come on down and see what I have for YOU!

It's My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger, and it's in stores now!!

This was a rather refreshing read, if I do say so myself. It was just... really freaking adorable. To put it simple. ADORABLE.

Summary of the adorableness:

The story centers around three teenagers in their freshman year of high school. T.C., Augie, and Alé. And its all about love. All types of love. Love, love, love! (And that's why this is adorable!) The love between two best friends (or brothers, as T.C. and Augie like to call themselves), the love of a teenage boy for a teenage girl, the love of a teenage boy for another teenage boy, the love of three friends for a young boy, and the love of a young boy for Mary Poppins.

That's lots of love.

It seemed to me, though, that readers kept trying to make this book... well, more. More than it is. And it is just a story about love.

But because of Augie's developing love for Andy, a boy -- it has to be about gay relations and sexuality. It's the same problem that I saw in We Were Here. It's like people are trying to force heavy themes on a lighthearted book. And that doesn't work. The book is supposed to be lighthearted! Fun! Adorable!

Just because Augie is gay, doesn't mean the book is all about homosexuality and a young person finding his sexuality, coming to terms with it.

He IS gay. There isn't an issue about it. The issue with him isn't about his gayness, it's about his difficulty in his relationship with his boyfriend. Which still isn't something that needs to be heavy! If it was a girl in this scenario, nobody would bat an eyelash at the fact that she has a boyfriend and that she's struggling with her relationship.

Even Augie's father says at one point something about how he never even had the "I'm gay" conversation with his son. There was no need! That's just who Augie is, and it's not an issue (in the same way that Miguel's race in We Were Here wasn't an issue).

Although YA lit can have really heavy themes and be really serious and deep and intense -- it doesn't always have to be that way. There can be novels that are read because they are cute and fun, and that's why I say you should read My Most Excellent Year.

It's REALLY enjoyable. Really, really. Trust me!

Race is a TOUCHY subject

Okay. I definitely slacked a bit on my blog posts. Once I got outta the groove, it was really hard to get back in it! And I have a lot of catching up to do.

So, my apologies.

In this post, I'm gonna talk about We Were Here by Matt de la Peña.

This one was a bit difficult for me to get into at first. But you know, I'm pretty easy to please. And I get rather sucked into books. So it didn't take too long for me to read, read, read and plow through the whole thing. No shocks there.

So QUICK SYNOPSIS.

A boy, Miguel, is in a group home because he did something bad. What? you might ask? Well, you find that out later. It gets juicy.

So he's in this group home with all these other boys and it's awful there. Not awful conditions, but just... awful. He has this counselor whose attitude is so positive, he might as well be vomiting rainbows and kittens all over poor Miguel. So Miguel generally hides away in his room reading. Because he finds that he loves reading (maybe he and I would get along swimmingly?).

Soon, though, he and two other boys escape and try and run down to Mexico to start a life of their own.

Tricky part is this- Miguel is half-Mexican. One of the boys (Mong) is Asian-American. Rondell (the third, who I love DEARLY) is black.

Tricky. Tricky.

It makes people FLIP OUT because since the three main characters are all minorities, this INSTANTLY becomes ALL ABOUT RACE. (Please hit your forehead against your keyboard... now.)

I hate, hate, hate when this happens. When books are GOOD BOOKS but all the focus is on is RACE. And okay, you may say that I hate this because I'm just a white girl. Sure. Go ahead and say that. I'm still gonna disagree with you.

I don't think de la Peña's intention when writing this book was to highlight race and racial differences and the injustice of being a minority. Sometimes, yes, that is the case of novels (such as Octavian Nothing, in my humble opinion). But that's NOT the case in We Were Here! Argh!

I'm not even discussing/arguing this with anyone and I'm already getting heated. Rawr.

The book is about growing up, about coming to terms with one's past, and about finding one's identity. It's as simple as that.

To ME... the whole race aspect of the book is totally secondary. I don't even know if that's the best way to describe it. I feel like de la Peña is trying to show that race DOESN'T matter. Kids of all races are in the group home. Rondell, Miguel, and Mong are of different races, but that doesn't hinder their friendship in any way. Yes, their skin is a different color. But it's not like that's stopping them from being friends. They accept one another EXACTLY HOW THEY ARE.

And isn't that how it should be? Shouldn't we follow the example of these "bad" kids?

Makes you think, doesn't it.

And I dunno... Maybe I'm crazy for thinking that the book isn't about race. Maybe I think that because I'm hopeful and optimistic.

Maybe I think that because I'm white.

Who knows?

Cinderella Stories

I recently did a book talk for Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. So of course, I read it again.

AGAIN you say?

Yes. Again.

Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite books of all time. Hands down, no jokes. I read it for the first time when I was fourteen? Maybe thirteen. Or fifteen. Okay, between thirteen and fifteen.

REGARDLESS.

My family had gone on vacation over the summer to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. And I brought Ella Enchanted to read. You know, just for the time on the plane. I devoured it. And when I was done, I had nothing else to read. So I read it again. And again. I think I read this one book seven times over the whole trip.

So I've probably read it through about twenty times in my life. I just love it.

I've even had to get a second copy (and this time, I got a hardback!) because my paperback copy was starting to fall apart!

I love, love, love this book and I HIGHLY recommend it. It's a refreshing twist on the classic Cinderella story. And it explains everything about the Cinderella story. It's just GREAT.

Amazing Grace

Okay, so I thought Graceling by Kristin Cashore was super cool. I don't know why. I mean, yes, it's a fantasy book. I'm gonna be clear with that. And generally fantasy books are not thought of as being cool in any way. Generally, they are considered to be a little... well... nerdy?

I, however, have absolutely no shame when I say that I LOVE fantasy.

NO SHAME!

But I will have to say that Graceling was on the lighter end of the fantasy genre. Kinda like... fantasy for people who don't like fantasy. There are no elves. No wizards. No fairies.

Just people. People with really awesome powers. Really RIDICULOUSLY awesome powers! And you don't even have to refer to them as powers. You could call them... talents? Or graces, which is what they are actually called.

Take Katsa (a name oddly similar to Katniss from the Hunger Games, which bothered me a little) for example. She has a fighting grace. She pretty much can kill anybody she wants to with very little effort. Sooooo naturally, the majority of people fear her.

She's a type character, in my opinion. She's a really strong female lead (strong physically, and later on becomes very strong in other respects). She doesn't want to get married or have children or be tied down in any manner. She just wants to be free.

And I found this to be really interesting...

BEGIN SPOILER ALERT!

Katsa constantly says how she doesn't want to be a mother and care for children. But she's actually super nurturing, in my opinion. And sure, you might be able to say that it's only towards those people who she loves (like Po), but what really struck me was when she and Bitterblue had to traverse the mountains alone.

Katsa displayed a lot of motherly qualities towards this frail, scared little girl who she had just met. I mean, yeah, she was supposed to be rescuing her, and maybe it had to do with the fact that Bitterblue is Po's cousin and maybe it had to do with her grace, but Katsa always made sure Bitterblue got everything first. She fed her first, she clothed her excessively before she even clothed herself, she carried her over the mountain even though she herself was freezing and hungry and absolutely exhausted.

And Katsa even insists on teaching Bitterblue how to defend herself instead of just doing all the work for her. She insisted on, well, "bettering" Bitterblue, something that she was never obligated to do. It seems like something a mother would do-- make sure her daughter can fend for herself when the time comes.

So yeah. It just seemed like despite all her complaints or whatever about not wanting to be a mother, Katsa seemed to show quite a bit of potential for doing a good job of it.

END SPOILER.

Graceling was well constructed in that manner of being a fantasy book but having all the "real world" problems weaving through it: feminism and marriage and first love and all that jazz. I think that's why fantasy is so great. Because it's not preachy. The main focus GENERALLY is the whole adventure and all the cool aspects of the world. And the real world problems are still there.

It kinda bothers me if somebody doesn't pick up a book just because it's fantasy. Be a little more open-minded, people! It's the same thing with YA lit and people who won't read it because it's YA. BE OPEN-MINDED. These books are GOOD! Ignore the classifications and take it for what it's worth. Ugh!

So yeah. Graceling= good. Not the best fantasy book I've read, I'd say, but I really liked it a lot. Recommended, especially for people who DON'T like fantasy!

Future criminal masterminds...

...take out a pen and get ready to take some notes when you read E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks!

Pens out?

Okay, so the basic plot:

Frankie is a sophomore at a boarding school, filled with rich kids from old-money families who are trying to make connections.

Frankie wants to join the school's infamous all-male secret-society, but isn't able to get in.

Frankie decides to take control and work behind the scenes, infiltrating the secret society.

Frankie... is a girl. Full name? Frances Rose Landau-Banks. (Yeah. I totally didn't see that one coming. When I read the title, I just instantly assumed that the protagonist was a guy. Silly me, making assumptions.)

Anyway, more plot. Frankie transformed into a total hottie over the summer before her sophomore year. And now she's getting oodles of attention, most notably from senior boy Matthew Livingston.

It's like... as soon as she got pretty and developed a figure, she was worthy of attention. It's something that kinda sickens me but at the same time it's one of those things that I know happens to girls. It's sad.

Anyway, back to the story.

Despite the fact that she's getting all this attention, and she is BASKING in it all, it's still not the kind of attention she wants. She is being severely underestimated and she's getting sick of all of it. She's a smart, witty, clever girl. But nobody seems to see that.

Her family calls her "bunny rabbit" and Matthew doesn't really consider her capable of much. He kinda treats her like a silly love-sick girl (which she is for a bit).

To prove herself (to her family, to Matthew, to the other boys, to herself) she uses clues to find out as much as she can about the secret society that everybody tries to keep hush-hush.

And other events ensue. But I can't tell you anymore. I don't want to spoil too much for you!

Lemme see... for me, this book was... hmm... okay. It's honestly really hard for me to dislike a book. But I definitely didn't love it. I maybe liked it a little bit. I was a bit disappointed with the end.

Still, though, it has won awards. That's gotta be worth something. (Not one but TWO shiny stickers on the front! Score!) This might have been one of those books that didn't agree with me specifically. I'm not going to say that it was an okay book. Only that it was an okay book FOR ME.

I did enjoy reading it and getting wrapped up in the narrative. As a girl, I did enjoy the whole girl power aspect. And I could totally relate to Frankie's way of thinking. The whole boys vs. girls theme going through, the fact that male-dominated society still affects us... it was interesting.

So yes, there were good parts.

But I dunno... I guess I developed higher expectations while I was reading that the end simply did not satisfy. I wanted more.

But hey, I'm greedy. What can I say?

Octavian ISN'T Nothing!

So... yeah...

Take a deep breath before you read the title of this post's book.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson.

Now that's what I call a LENGTHY title (which I will more than likely be shortening to simply Octavian Nothing in this blog post... unless I start to feel particularly obnoxious...). And it's a fairly lengthy book, might I add. In general, I can plow through a book in a good couple hours. This one I spent a few DAYS on.

Number one reason being that it is just plain HARD to read, something that I actually found rather pleasing about the book.

But hmm... summary right here would make a lot of sense.

Okay, so this book is about this boy, Octavian (cool name, no?) who is living during the era of Revolutionary America. He lives with his mother (an incredibly beautiful African princess) in a house full of old philosophers (or geezers, whichever term you may prefer). Now these philosophers perform 'experiments' of sorts on Octavian, in order to see if he, as an African, is as "human" as a European. And this whole time, Octavian thinks this is completely normal and is totally okay with it all (something that's difficult for us to wrap our minds around). Everything is good in his world, and he is receiving this top-notch education. Now since I don't want to spoil anything, I won't go any farther with my summary. I'll only say that Octavian's life drastically changes from what it was when the book begins.

Now, why is this kid so great? What makes Octavian so special, though, is that he is so incredibly bright, regardless of his education. He is insanely smart, and he's only seven when the narrative begins.

Smart little Octavian is the one who is telling the story, which is what makes this book so difficult for a lot of people, and yes, a little bit for me as well. Octavian uses complex syntax, difficult vocabulary, and an 'old' way of speaking, all of which would sound perfectly normal in his life, surrounded with philosophers and molded by a classical education. In our day and age, though, we just don't speak like this anymore (and a tiny part of me wishes we did... the language used is both elegant and eloquent).

I LIKED that it was difficult to read though. Too few books these days are challenging, and that's sad, in a way. Shouldn't we be trying to stimulate the world? We shouldn't make books easy just for the sake of being easy. I dunno... it's difficult to put all my thoughts on this together.

I guess...

Yes, it's difficult to read. Yes, it's boring at first. Yes, it's historical fiction. And YES, these are ALL things that make you not want to read it. But trust me! It's good!

But really, it's good in a much different way than I'm used to. Good books to me simply bleed emotion, and this didn't really do that for me. I wasn't overwhelmed! But this book made me think, and that may be more important than "feeling a connection to the protagonist" or whatever excuse somebody may use to deem a book "worthy".

I should better phrase what I'm trying to say before I move on....

A lot of times when I read books that are deeply moving, I bawl my freaking eyes out. I'm an emotional reader. I know, and I'm not ashamed.

However, when I read Octavian Nothing, I didn't bawl. I got to the point, though, where I WANTED to cry. I just couldn't. I was so touched by the book, by Octavian's story, that all I could do was think about what was going on, rather than acting in my own weird way (crying til I have no more tears). It was a rather cool experience.

Gosh, this post feels all over the place! Argh.

I'll end it now with a few last thoughts, so as to not waste more of your time.

1. Fabulous book. Different. Difficult. Special.

2. It makes you think, something that is becoming more and more rare in this world.

3. Incredibly moving and touching and heart-felt.

4. There's a second one (and eventually a third). I'm gonna have to get it one of these days.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Gosh, I should have done this blog entry right after I finished reading... I'm already having issues remembering all the things I wanted to talk about. La-dee-da... Okay, let's jump right into this.

BAM.

THE HUNGER GAMES.

Sounds cool, right? Yeah, it does. THE HUNGER GAMES. THE GAMES OF HUNGER. HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS. ...Yeah... that's not related in any way. Whatevs.

I had first heard of The Hunger Games from Stephenie Meyer (of Twilight fame), actually. She mentioned it on her website a while back when I was checking it on a regular basis... because... okay, I'll admit it. I was a pretty big Twilight fan... BEFORE the phenomenon rolled around and killed the fun for me. Dang phenomenon...

MOVING ON~

I just thought it was really cool that she actually dedicated an entire entry on her blog/website to the Hunger Games. That just sent big flashing signs my way-- THIS. BOOK. IS. WORTH. READING.

So I had pretty much determined that I was going to read this book. I am, however, extremely reluctant to purchase hardbacks. Only reason I do is if I know I'm going to reread them again and again and again (like my good ole Harry Potter books). So I kept putting it off. I picked it up on a few of my bookstore runs, but I kept telling myself to WAIT.

Couldn't wait.

Goodbye, 18 bucks.

Hello, Katniss Everdeen.

So, the story revolves around this 16-year-old girl, Katniss. She lives in a future world, in a country called Panem, in what used to be North America. (I wonder where the author got the idea for the name Panem. I'm always curious about those kinds of things.) She comes from a very poor family-- so poor that Katniss has to be the one to hunt for food.

Her life pretty much revolves around protecting and feeding her mother and sister until the drawing for the Games begins in her district.

See, in this future country, they hold the Hunger Games as sort of a punishment for the people. It's kind of a 'hey, we can take your kids and kill them and you can't do anything about it!'

And you must be confused by now... hmm... explanation time?

Panem is divided into twelve districts. The lower the number of the district, the poorer the district, essentially. (Katniss comes from 12, the lowest.) The country is run by the Capitol, the richest and most influential part of Panem. The Capitol controls the Hunger Games. And in these said Hunger Games, two teenagers are chosen from each district (for 24 total teens) to fight the others to the death.

The victor's prize?

Life.

Amongst other things... like fortune and fame and glory and all that jazz... but the most important thing is LIFE. THEY GET TO LIIIIVE.

And so right now you're saying, "Oh wow! Cool! Fight to the death! Bring it on!"

Um... yeah. So this fight to death is more of a... fight to survive? Not in some teched-out arena... but under the meanest conditions possible? Some teens have died in the Games without even getting a chance to fight. They can starve or die of thirst in addition to getting brutally murdered. And that just sucks, doesn't it?

Anyway, anyway, anyway-- Katniss' sister gets chosen to participate in the Games. Katniss refuses to let her leave and in order to protect her, volunteers to take her place.

And so Katniss gets thrust into this world that is much different than her own, and joins the struggle to survive. Some of the participants are small, some are huge. Some seem nice, some are terribly mean. Some are skilled, some are weak. And all have the desire to outwit, outfight, outlive the rest so they may have the opportunity of survival.

While I was reading, I couldn't help but think-- how would I go about this? What would I do if I was a participant in the Hunger Games?

I'd like to say that I wouldn't be a jerk about it. That I wouldn't team up with others, planning to backstab those around me. I don't even think I'd be able to kill another, even though that means that more than likely, I myself would be killed.

I like to think that my actions would somewhat resemble those of Foxface, a cunning, sneaky girl who has a knack for surviving without participating in the fighting in any way. But who knows? It's hard to say.

So if you ever have the chance to get your hands on this (reccommended!) book, it'd be interesting to think about which character's actions and motives you are able to relate to the most.

It'll really make you think about yourself... which seems super lame, I know. But it's worth the reflection.

Okay... Ending notes, I suppose...

1. I loved this book. But I generally like dystopian literature, so that might be a factor.

2. At first, it seems like another 'poor kid gets his big break' story. And yes, that may weave into the storyline, but it's much more than that. It's different and special, just like Katniss.

3. Any romantics out there (just like me) who love pairing up characters and trying to decide who ends up with who in the end? Yeah. That's a good chunk of fun in this book. I was freaking out a lot, and my choice of boy for Katniss kept changing! ... Good times, good times.

4. It's actually the first in a series of three. And I am a huge fan of series, mostly because it gives me more opportunity to get super attached to the characters. So I can't wait to read the next one, Catching Fire.

But... it's still in hardback... Maybe I'll be able to wait?

Yeah... no. Who am I kiddin'? I can't wait.

Impossible!