The Woman in White

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by Wilkie Collins
ages: adult(ish)
First sentence: “This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve.”

First off — and I know it’s bad form to do this — I have to say novels that have been serialized and I have not gotten along in the past. Yes, I stand here and say that I dislike Dickens. Sorry. But, novels like these tend to go on and on and on and round and round and round and take FOREVER to get to the stinking point. Which drives me batty.

That said, I — mostly — liked this one. Yes, it was serialized, but for the most part, Collins handled that serialization quite well. He is a master of the cliffhanger. At one point while reading this book (if you really need a summary go here; it takes way too bloody long to explain, as I discovered the other night when trying to sum it up for my husband…) that if I had been alive in 1859 when this was being serialized, I would have totally lined up to get a copy. Every single day/week/time.

The mostly part is because the middle part is the best. It takes a while to get going — say 150 to 200 pages. But by the time Walter (our hero) is out-of-country (having been Spurned in Love) and Marian and Laura (our two heroines: Marian being strong and sensible and ugly; Laura weak, flighty and beautiful. Guess which one gets the guy…) are in the house of Sir Percival and under the influence of Count Fosco (our villains) and you don’t quite know what everyone is up to… that’s the good part. It’s okay after the first couple of twists, and Walter (who came back) sets about avenging the women, and is on the trail of Sir Percival’s Secret and there are still several twists you don’t quite expect. But the last 120 pages… yawn. I skimmed. I slid. I wished it would go faster… think of it as a really, really good TV show that kept you engaged throughout the entire run, and then completely and totally tanked on the season/series finale. Then you’ve pretty much got how I felt.

That said, I think I’m going to give Moonstone a go, if only because I’ve heard it’s better (that, and it’s on the schedule for my in-person book group…). And because, all my complaining aside, I did enjoy the ride that this book was.

Supernatural Graphic Novels

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I’m not sure if that’s the right description, but “fantasy” and “paranormal” didn’t quite work for this pairing either.

First up:
Kin (The Good Neighbors, Book 1)
by HollyBlack and Ted Naifeh
ages: 14+
First sentence: “West City, Thursday evening.”
(First sentences in a graphic novel is almost self-defeating…)

I’m conflicted about this one. I liked it well enough: the basic story is a girl, Rue, whose mother has disappeared after a fight with her father. Soon afterward, Rue starts seeing things she’s not supposed to. Turns out her mother was a faerie, and is slowly dying because Rue’s father had betrayed her. The art was a lush black and white (I think color would have overwhelmed the book, so I appreciated that choice), and I liked the characters okay (especially Tam; even though he doesn’t have a large role, I appreciated that nod). However, while I think it’s a good beginning to a series, it doesn’t really hold up as a stand-alone. It’s all set-up, no action, no resolution. And just leaves you feeling weird. However, I’m going to have to get the next volume, if only because I’m curious what happens to Rue.

Up next:

Life Sucks
by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece
ages: 16+
First sentence: doesn’t really have one. As I said, that’s pretty self-defeating when you’re dealing with a graphic novel.

This one has a fantastic premise: the undead are alive and among us. Dave, a college schlep who needs a job, applies for one at a 24 hour convenience store called Last Stop. Little did he know that applying for the job comes with a catch: being turned into a vampire. Stuck in a dead-end job (ha, no pun intended) working for a vampire master he loathes, Dave figures there’s nothing worth living (ha, again) for. So far, so good. Dave making his way as a vampire is pretty funny, the fact that he’s got a human roommate, and undead friends. His boss, Lord Radu is a great parody of the immigrant entrepreneur.

Then Dave sees Rosa, that is. A goth girl with an obsession with vampires, she would die (ooh, I’m killing myself… whoops, did it again.) to actually know (or be) one. He musters up some courage and strikes up a friendship with Rosa, not revealing that he’s a vampire. Then things start to go south, at least for me. Wes — the evil undead surfer dude (such an oxymoron) — decides Rosa is hot, and he decides that what he really wants to do is bite and bag her. (He’s got three vampire brides and could use one more.) Dave makes a valiant attempt to stop Wes, making in the end a dare out of seeing who Rosa would go for. And that’s when the book tanks. It gets all sex-obsessed (big-boobed, scantily-clad bimbos anyone?), and violent, and just plain weird. It wraps up badly — could they not think of anything better? — and leaves us hanging.

Sigh. I had such hopes for both of these.

Like I Really Need Another Challenge

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But I was going to do this anyway, and I’m always up for supporting bloggers when hosting their first challenge…

Em is hosting her first challenge: The Sarah Dessen Challenge! The rules:

1) Read all 9 books by Sarah Dessen.
2) Set your own time frame. My goal is to read all 9 books by June 30th but yours could be by the end of 2009 or by the end of the summer. Whatever works best for your schedule. Don’t stress…this is supposed to be fun! 🙂
3) Comment on this post or link to this post on your blog. The more people that hear about this, the more people we’ll have cheering us on!

I’ve read:
Lock and Key
That Summer
Someone Like You
Just Listen

Books to Movies: The Bee Season

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Ack.

The movie was just scenes from the book, which didn’t endear me to it.

If you hadn’t read the book, it wouldn’t have made much sense (I know, because Hubby didn’t get what was going on.)

There was no visible emotion. It was telling us what the actors were supposed to be feeling, but it felt like everyone was going through the emotions.

Richard Gere’s hair was nice, but Juliette Binoche and the girl who played Eliza were just weird.

They did change a bit of the story, drawing out the spelling bee so it lasted the whole story arc, but that really wasn’t enough to make it likable.

And it still didn’t make any sense.

Perhaps I should just chalk this whole thing up to “outside of my realm of enjoyment” and move on.

BOB Final Round

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I’m going to make you work for it today. If you want to know who won, click through to the BoB blog. Can I tell you that I like that Lois Lowry said she was pissed that she didn’t have a book in the running? And that she says she has an ax to grind with Roger Sutton?

Just go read it. It’s worth the time. (Even if the ending’s not really surprising.)

P.S. Don’t forget to read the comments. They’re just as fun as the piece itself.

Library Loot #17

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Another week, another bunch of books. Only one for me (though I might read the Maureen Johnson one I got for M…), because I really, really, really need to read the books I have on hand. I have made headway since last week, though.

For A/K:
Marvelton, by Bruce McCall
My Bear and Me, by Barbara Maitland/Illus. by Lisa Flather
Lottie’s New Friend, by Petra Mathers
Countdown to Kindergarten, by Alison McGhee/Illus. by Harry Bliss
Duel!: Burr and Hamilton’s Deadly War of Words, by Dennis Brindell Fradin/Illus. by Larry Day**
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, by Mo Willems**
Night’s Nice, by Barbara and Ed Emberley**
Wild Boars Cook, by Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall**

For C:
The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prineas
Chiggers, by Hope Larson*

For M:
Devilish, by Maureen Johnson*
Cyrano, by Geraldine McCaughrean
Black Horses for the King (Magic Carpet Books), by Anne McCaffrey
On Etruscan Time, by Tracy Barrett
Stravaganza: City of Stars, by Mary Hoffman*
Stravaganza City Of Masks, by Mary Hoffman*
The Falconer’s Knot: A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play, by Mary Hoffman*

For me:
Life Sucks, by Jessica Abel/Gabe Soria/Warren Pleece*

The roundup is either at Out of the Blue or A Striped Armchair.

*Ones that M eventually read.
**Picture books we really liked.

48 Hour Book Challenge. Oh, Yeah.

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Okay, okay. I know. I said I wasn’t going to do this again when I finished last year. I said I needed to wait a few years. But… I found myself a couple months ago thinking about what I would read “when” the 48 hour challenge came around, and how to plan for the weekend it comes around, and… I realized that, in retrospect, I had a grand time. It was fun. I’m looking forward to it. M says she wants to join me in the whole endeavor. And, yay, the sign up is here!

Follow the link for the rules, and to sign up (hope to see you all there, even those of you who just did the 24 hour read-a-thon!).

The Amaranth Enchantment

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by Julie Berry
ages: 10-14
First sentence: “I sit on a velvet stool at Mama’s feet, watching her brush her hair.”
Review copy provided by Bloomsbury.

I’m doing Dewey’s Q&A review, as part of requirement #3 for this week’s geek.

From Sherry: Is the story based on one particular fairy tale or is it just fairy tale-like?
It’s not really based on a particular fairy tale, though it does have elements of the Cinderella story. It does, however, read and feel like a fairy tale. A girl’s — Lucinda — parents are murdered, and she’s brought up being a servant in her Uncle and Aunt’s jewelry shop. Until one day, when a woman — the dreaded Amaranth Witch — comes in and leaves a stone to be repaired. That, and a visit in the night from Peter — a street thief whom Lucinda has never seen before — set in motion a series of events that end up changing Lucinda’s life.

What other books did it remind you of, if any?
That’s a hard one, mostly because I’m bad at that. I would say it feels similar to a Shannon Hale or Jessica Day George book. It’s a bit darker, though, more like the original Grimm tales. But really, it’s its own thing.

From Shannon: Did the fact that The Amaranth Enchantment was fairy tale based make it more interesting to read or less? I did find that it felt like a fairy tale made it quite interesting to read. I did like that the magic felt effortless, and wasn’t overbearing. It did have many of fairy tale elements, including the requisite bad guy, but he didn’t really do much except lurk around in the background. It really was just a tale of a girl trying to figure out how to get her old life back.

From Care: Is this the first book you’ve read by Julie Berry? Would you read another?
Yes, because it’s her first book. I would like to read more by her; she’s a good storyteller.

If you could only pick three words to describe this book, what would they be?
Unique. Intriguing. Fun.

And a bunch from Suey: Is this book a fantasy? It sounds like one.
It is but it isn’t. It’s could be called historical fiction, the country and place felt real even if it was imagined. And although there’s magic, it doesn’t really play a huge role. So, yeah, I think it’s fantasy, but not your traditional one.

What was your favorite thing about the story?
Hmmm. Tough question. I liked the mix of religion (of sorts) and history (of sorts) and magic (of sorts) to create a fairy tale (of sorts). It felt different than what I was expecting.

Who was the most interesting character?
I liked Peter best. Lucinda was interesting, but I never really quite got into her head. And Gregor (the love interest prince guy) was a bit too… shallow? perfect? good to be true? one-dimensional? for my taste. But, Peter. He wrapped me around his fingers and stuck me in his pocket from the moment he climbed in Lucinda’s window until the very end.

Thanks to all who provided the questions!

The Last Olympian

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by Rick Riordan
ages: 9/10 (depending on the reading skill level) +
First sentence: “The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the roof of my car.”

Things you need to know about this book, without giving too much away:

1. If you have not read the Percy Jackson series (I’m looking at you, Corinne), you are totally and completely missing out. However, now you can safely start the series, since the final one came out today.

2. Rick Riordan is an AWESOME plotter. He writes brilliant action, but he also does lulls and humor and keeps it all going so that you want to keep turning pages. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Down. (But then, I expected that.)

3. He also writes first person narrative really, really well. M was saying that he’s captured Percy’s voice perfectly, and I have to agree. That holds true in this book.

4. For the first time in the series, he hasn’t (I don’t think) taken on a Greek myth. There’s mythological aspects to the story, but it’s not based on any (well-known) at least. **Edited to add: Actually, a friend told me that this is the story of the Iliad. Didn’t know that. And, I have to admit, now I want to go read the Iliad…

5. There will be HP7 comparisons. But I think he handles the “understand your enemy by understanding their past” well. And it’s not too long or too boring.

6. It’s a perfect ending.

Go read it.

The Lucky Ones

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by Stephanie Greene
ages: 10-14
First sentence: “They were two little girls, six and eight.”

I picked this one up at the library because the cover caught my eye. It’s a very cute cover, isn’t it?

But. (You were expecting that, weren’t you?)

I’m halfway through, and I just can’t get into it. I can’t figure out when this is supposed to be taking place — it’s about family on an island, told from the point of view of the third child, 12 year old Cecile — is it contemporary? The 60s? The 40s? And for some reason this fact really bugged me. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters: Cecile is struggling with the loss of a relationship with her older sister, Natalie, and with the impending doom of puberty and is alternately cute and really annoying. Natalie is, however, a royal wench. I loathed her. And their mother. I know women can really be like her, but I really wanted to throttle her. And halfway through, the plot consisted of Cecile whining and trying to enjoy the vacation on the island, and everyone else being different than before. Not much to keep my attention, especially when Percy Jackson is beckoning.

And then there’s all this sub-plot stuff that I kept reading into it: why was the oldest boy, Harry, banished to Canada? Are the mom and the next door neighbor on the island, King, having an affair? Really, do I care that much?

For the record: when I announced at breakfast that I was abandoning this one, M looked a me, kind of sheepishly, and said, “Well, I thought it was good.” So, there. Someone in the age group it’s targeted for liked the book.

That’s probably a better recommendation than I could give, anyway.